Jesse Jones: Marysville couple loses 20k to timeshare deal

SEATTLE Wash. — When a Marysville couple signed up for a timeshare presentation while on a Vegas vacation, they didn’t realize it was the beginning of a nightmare.

In 2018, Olufemi Adepoju and his wife attended a Westgate Resorts timeshare presentation. The 90-minute presentation turned into a 7-hour high-pressure sales pitch, during which staffers promised the couple access to destinations like California and Florida. The couple signed up.

Now, he and his wife are on the hook for close to $20k.

But they say that Westgate didn’t hold up their end of the deal because the timeshares were never available, “One time it was too early - and the next time was they were too late.”

Their Attorney Nick Price says canceling with the company is nearly impossible, “I’ve tried looking up their corporate structure and it’s so complicated that even as a lawyer, I can’t tell how many how many business structures they’ve got for this whole setup.”

We contacted the Better Business Bureau about Westgate. It has an A+ rating while having more than 583 complaints closed in the last three years. Holly Salmons with the BBB in Orlando says consumers should step away and create space whenever they feel pressured. That big takeaway bears repeating. Take the information home. If you are being pressured to buy - leave.

Also, she says, be aware of the state’s recession law. “Once you sign on the dotted line, the clock starts ticking,” says Holly. In Nevada, you have five days to cancel a timeshare deal. Meaning you could still be on vacation when your right to quit the deal is gone.

Olufemi Adepoju says he just got tired of paying, “I just told them I cut my losses and I so I wasn’t doing enough.”

We’ve let the Attorney General’s office know about Olufemi’s case. Westgate did not reply to our attempts to get their side of the story.

However, they did respond to his lawyer saying: “…our records do not indicate that your clients reached out to Westgate and were denied a reservation request while attempting to book their contracted week.”

“…Westgate’s position is that Mr. and Mrs. Adepoju’s contract is valid and legally binding, as we did not find any wrongdoing that would negate their signatures.”

In the meantime, Olufemi says his credit score is plummeting, going from 850 to 660, “It’s almost like selling somebody a lemon car. And then not buying it back when they tried to trade it in.”

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