Anonymous

Mainteance fees keep on growing

The original purchase price is the least of your worries. The maintenance fees will eat up your retirement fund.

My wife signed up for this before i met her. 20 years later, still paying. Our contract basically says that they can raise the annual “maintenance fees” to whatever they like. For me, its now like Im paying 250 per night to stay in a room that i apprently own already.

At this rate, we will be paying $10,000 per year by the time the contract expires. Its basically a permanent blank check. Even if you die, your estate is liable. Why would anyone sign a contract like this?

You dont know what kind of vacation you will want 40 years from now. You see that guy sitting in front of you, giving you a sales presentation? He earns money for this. That money comes from you.

All the staff at GeoHoliday are now on your payroll, sucka. How could you possibly think you are getting a deal, when you’re hiring a middle man who takes a commission? Nobody in this world is gonna sell you a discount, thats just not how business works. The geo resorts weve been to are boring...

you get a condo in a complex, nothing else included. So its a complex full of timeshare people who dont wanna spend any money, so the whole place is just kinda dead and boring. The staff have no incentive to entertain you, the restaurant is empty. We usually just let our points expire every year, because its not worth the airfare.

The free room isnt so enticing, if you have to spend on airfare, restaurants, and vacation days off work to go on a vacation thats kinda dull in the first place. The RCI resorts are better, its worth doing the exchange. Ive seen websites that offer to help you sell your timeshare, but im sure these are just another scam. Nothing is free in this world.

I noticed a few postings trying to sell their membership for $1. That tells me that nobody is buying. If you regret the decision, get a lawyer and try to get out. If its an older contract, maybe theres some relevant case law that can save you.

If you are young and dont have much net worth yet, seriously consider declaring bankrupcy. You can walk away from that student loan at the same time. This is exactly what bankrupcy laws are there for. They protect the moron like you who signed a 50 year contract that you didnt understand, or the guy who spent more money than he earned and didnt see the problem until his credit card was maxxed out, now all his disposable income is spent on interest payments.

Without bankrupcy laws, a company could own you for life just cause you made one dumb decision when you were young and naive. If you think bancruptcy seems too drastic, Try this little exercise: open up an excel spreadsheet, and figure out what those maintenance fees will add up to over the life of your contract. You can assume an annual increase of 7.3% a year, thats what we have experienced. Enter your current maintenance fee in cell A1.

Now in A2, enter “=A1*1.073” Now cut and paste that equation into each line, one per year, until your contract expires. You will *** your pants. Exponential functions are a ***. Now go find a lawyer.

Ive made a few costly decisions in my life, but never one as stupid as signing a lifetime supply of blank cheques. Always. Read. Before.

Signing. Anything.

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2 comments
Guest

Absolutely right!

Guest

One disagreement with you... student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy.

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Ashanty Dmd

This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ

Verified Reviewer

They are a scam

You pay US $533 annually in maintenance fees and you "lose your points" if not used by year end.(I am not sure why they can not do it automatically). They only have 2 places/resorts in Ontario that you can use and if you try to use RCI there is always an extra fee to pay, your points are never enough... DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!! {{redacted}}
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Reason of review:
Bad quality
Ashanty Dmd

This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ

Verified Reviewer
| map-marker Toronto, Ontario

GEO HOLIDAY IS A SCAM

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I have been a user for 15 years and find it VERY EXPENSIVE. the maintenance fee is $533 per year, which I have paid on time every year.

I only receive points every 2 years. Called Geo Holiday to pay my bills and to roll over my points (which I do every year) and I was told that I can not roll my points !!!!!!!!! That means I am paying maintenance fee for nothing... I am not sure why they do not do it automatically.

I am done with Geo holidays. They will never see my money again!!!!!! in addition, They only have 2 locations in Ontario and they charge extra fee every time you have to use your point through RCI. They way I see : if you are going to lose your points, DO NOT BUY THE MEMBERSHIP!!!!!!

BY the time you pay US $1066 plus the RCI fee, you pay for a week of the resort yourself and do not lose anything.. WASTE OF MONEY!!!!

View full review
Loss:
$1500
Pros:
  • Resorts ammenities
Cons:
  • Losing points that you paid for
  • Prcing
Reason of review:
TEhy are scam. Paying membership fee and lost my points.

Preferred solution: I want to cancel my membership.

3 comments
Guest

no good

Mary C Yoi
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1975319

I had the same Timeshare in Vegas. They lied to me about everything.

I cant book anything and they never told me fees would go up. I finally hired a firm called Timeshare Debt Release in Nashville and they got me out of the contract and debt. I owed 43k.

Maybe they can help you. Guy that helped me was Mike Schuster 615-878-****

Guest

Were you ever able to cancel your contract? Has anyone?

I'm in the same boat as everyone else who thought they were purchasing a worthwhile product but ended up getting taken. Thanks justnlookn@***.com

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Anonymous
map-marker Las Vegas, Nevada

Total Scammers Save Your Money

Geo Holiday sent 3 closers at me when I went into their sales presentation. One of them was really nice and made me a deal I thought I could handle. He even offered me a Hawaii get a way that according to him was totally separate from the actual time share. It was a gift for agreeing to get the downsized plan I agreed to purchase. I was given a payment plan to pay the down payment which I did. But I was not told that I also had to pay an upfront Maintenance fee right after and before I could book any vacations with the plan. So when I found out about the maintenance fee I couldn't pay it. It was not in the budget. I tried to get the vacation and it was blocked by them because I did not pay the maintenance fee. They also would not give me my down payment back even though I explained that the guy did not mention a maintenance fee for the current year. I called and called and they did not try to help at all. They are the worst. Try POLO towers Diamond resort time share if you really want one...
View full review
Loss:
$950
Cons:
  • Scammed they lied about maintenance fees
Reason of review:
Not as described/ advertised

Preferred solution: Full refund

Anonymous

Geo Holiday - stay away

I have been a Geo Holiday owner since 2015 and have paid the increasing annual dues each year in spite of never using the service. I wish to cancel my contract but like so many others, have been unsuccessful.

Is there any way to get out of this 'life sentence?'. Like hundreds of other unsatisfied Geo owners, I have found that booking my vacations through Expedia is preferable since you can get the location and dates desired which is not the case with Geo. Their properties are few and far between. The booking fee with RCI negates any advantage of using them, especially with the Canadian/US exchange rate.

Geo staff have not been helpful in providing travel advice as I was told. All in all a very upsetting experience dealing with this company.

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Reason of review:
Problems with payment
1 comment
Guest

Absolutely agree with you! It is horrible their service is horrible once you sings the contract they have you!

Do Not Buy Anything from them! It's All Lies!

Anonymous

Cancelation

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Has anyone discovered how to cancel or get out of this contract. We are almost 80 years old and with our health, we are unable to travel. I have called Geoholiday, and tried to explain my situation, but they said that there was no way that we could cancel. It is for life! It could also be charged to my children for payment. I can't afford to keep paying for something that we are not using or will not use. I have tried another transfer company, they returned my money and stated that they could not handle this vacation club.
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Reason of review:
Need to cancel this travel club
3 comments
Guest

The timeshare company is using scare tactics to force you to pay the HOA dues, when they say your children will be responsible for the unpaid debt(s). Only individuals who are named on the ownership title are legally obligated to make payment.

(Make sure your kids are not on the title!)

If you don't have an estate to pass down to your children or income from work, you can elect to stop paying the fees.

Presuming you have only retirement funds (such as Social Security and/or IRAs), collection agencies normally can NOT legally go after retirement funds to settle private debt (seek an attorney for legal advice). Your credit score will be negatively affected for sure, but does having good credit really matter this point in your life?

Guest

My mother is going through the same thing and she is 81! No transfer company will handle them because are basically on the lowest scale of timeshare companies and most of the choices they have for options are pitiful or always booked up.

My mothers fees have risen from 500 to 1K over the past 12 years and she has another 33 years left which means they will get another 33K in her lifespan and her children's and we refuse be apart of this scam! So, I have suggested to her to stop paying and let it go into default and to count her losses. There is no point in holding onto something that is more expensive than booking your own vacation on Expedia. Every year we've had to pay for a transfer fee to RCI because nothing looks appealing or available on there site so really our fee every year is $1400.

We spoke to an agent and she said if you stopped paying your fee they could take legal action but it's high unlikely as it will cost them too much money in court fees and why bother if they can sell or rent it out themselves.

Regards,

L.Shaw

Guest

Just don't pay it *** them

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Anonymous
map-marker Dallas, Texas

Pissed off, customer

SCAM****SCAM***GeoHoliday, Geo Holiday, Sapphire, Jockey Club, Starpoint. this timeshare is a scam.Their sole purpose is to collect your annual maintenance fees, while providing very little in return. We bought this timeshare on a trip to Las Vegas on our honeymoon in June 2015. Paid 8K for this and in December I had to pay $900 maintenance fees, for something that I had not used yet! Paid $450 in 2016 maintenance fees. In June 2016, tried to get a family vacation, but was never able to get a condo available for the whole family. Had to pay outta pocket. Everytime we call to setup a vacation those days are booked. The free trips and cruise was not even used. To my knowledge of what I have heard from others is that once I set up they will charge to upgrade to a better cabin or room. I want to get out of this! It is not worth it! If anyone knows how I can get out of this please let me know. Pissed off, customer!!!! BCortez
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Reason of review:
Problems with payment
4 comments
Guest

I heard if don't pay your fees, they you to court, But they would be wasting lawyer fees too.If everyone stops paying their fees that might just get them up the *** because it's hundreds against one.

Guest

We are also trying to get out of Geo ownership. We were sent an agreement that for $2000.00 we can get out. Has anyone got the same offer and has acted on it?

Guest

Transfer ownership to your worst enemy! Hahaha!

Guest

If there was a way to get a list of all "owners" and all walk away refusing to pay another maintenance fee leaving them penniless perhaps they would close their doors. I wish there were laws against such business practices.

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Anonymous

GeoHoliday - Review in Hotels and Resorts category

Getaways Resort Management was formed to manage the inventory Geo Holiday owns it is a seperate company however they claim offer even advertise over 70 home resorts thats a lie they have way less than that the others are affiliates where they trade weeks for weeks some of these resort companies arent in business any longer many wont deal with them at all that in its self is a breach of contract as they advertise them in books and on their web sites Geo Holidays parent company is selling units at many of their resorts after becoming partners with the Alderwood Group. Pushing out Canadian members as this is no longer a Canadian company the Toronto office can only deal with Geo P week owners the rest have to go through the Las Vegas office. Buyer beware they are turning more towards a rental cash based vacation club after selling credit packages which 5k is all they sell and booking windows of 30 days or less. Reach out to ex employees as they have no no compete contracts or signed documents you will find those who will talk
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Katti Zed
map-marker Sacramento, California

GeoHoliday/Sapphire impossible to work with

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Updated by user Jun 02, 2016

Geo Holiday uses lots of names to try to hide:

GeoHoliday, Geo Holiday, Sapphire, Jockey Club, Starpoint and probably others as well. It's all basically the same scam.

Original review Jun 01, 2016
Be aware--this timeshare is a scam. Their sole purpose is to collect your annual maintenance fees, while providing very little in return.

The website is non-functional with information only--no availability info or ability to actually book anything. Personnel answering the phones are very difficult to reach, and then very unhelpful. Resorts are second-rate, at best. Be warned.

Stay away from this one.

We contracted with another timeshare (1/2 the maintenance fees for same value) in June 2015. Paperwork was illegally never provided by Sapphire until very late in December so that the transfer could not be completed. THEN, they expected payment of 2016 maintenance fees. We had warned them in October that if that was their game, we definitely would not pay 2016 maintenance fees.

That's exactly what happened. Turns out, this 'membership' is no more binding that perhaps a gym membership. Just don't pay the dues and there's nothing they can do other than a bit of harassment. Ignore them!

Good luck with this losing organization. We feel sorry for all who work there and hope they can find better jobs.
View full review
Loss:
$12000
Cons:
  • Second-rate resorts
  • Confusing myriad of names
  • Poor website
Reason of review:
All of the above

Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution

Anonymous

How to cancel timeshare: Geo Holiday - Sapphire Resorts - Starpoint Resort Group

We were in Vegas summer 2015. Wanted to see a show and were invited to visit a newly refurbished hotel and obtain 50% on show tickets.

We decided to go next day. Turns out it was a timeshare. Sat through the long presentation and ended up buying into it. Figured over the long term it would be profitable as we travel quite a bit.

However, when it's too good to be true... Neither of us ever buy into these types of deals. But salespeople are quite good and appear legit. We wanted to discuss it and do some research and return the next day if interested.

We could not. One shot deal. Reluctantly signed all papers and left with coupon for the show. Show was good.

But same evening, we both began to have our doubts. Woke up middle of the night and began doing some research only to confirm our concerns. Many people were unhappy with this company. So started reading every document we had signed to see how we could get out of it.

Section 6.2 of the purchase agreement and according to the Nevada State Law, "the purchaser of a time share may cancel, by written notice, the contract of sale until midnight of the the 5th calendar day following the date of execution of the contract". By 10 o'clock next morning, letter was sent to their offices through FedEx cancelling contract and requesting full refund of deposit.

Received reimbursement within a month or so and never heard from them again. Success!

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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
18 comments
Guest

Can I please have the address to send the recension cancellation letter to?

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1319657

Please provide address to submit cancellation letter

Guest

Great way to get free tix to a Vegas show! Just agree to buy and cancel within the 5-day grace period.

I've done the same to a few timeshare presentations.

Even got a room upgrade, if you're staying on the property (you have to pro-actively ask for it). Normally, I use my credit card for the deposit, so that I have an additional way-out if I need to dispute the charges (within the grace period).

Guest

Just got suckered into the same contract, can you please provide me the exact address to that you sent the recension slash cancellation letter to so that I can follow the same procedure that you did. Right away!

Email me. {{redacted}} or abifero@***.edu

Guest

How do i cancel????

Guest

hi, this is very helpful information. We just came from Las Vegas and your story is exactly like ours.

We are wondering if this was a good idea so we started reading reviews, ALL BAD.

My only question is what address do we send the letter of cancellation to? There's Sapphire, Starpoint, Geo Holiday...?

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1247539

Where did you send the letter? Did you get a refund?

Guest

We did not buy any plan. Thank God.

Wasted almost 3 hours. Not planning on using their $100 gift card.

Read the policy for hotel stay gift voucher and convinced that it is had many catches. They must be sued.

Guest

We were just there but skipped out of the presentation. This company seems shady! Got our $80 back for the show/dinner.

Guest

Where did you send it to? Where did you locate the address on the contract?

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Anonymous
map-marker Lemoore, California

Short Review on May&nbs-04:00;25,&nbs-04:00;2016

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We made the purchase, but the free gifts were not granted. The resorts are never availabile. We have to pay additional charges to stay at any resort.
View full review
Reason of review:
Poor customer service
Anonymous

Worst decision ever made to be a member of Geo Holidays

We paid $10000 Canadian dollars for member fee for 150000 points for every alternate year. In addition to the above payment, we are paying every year around US$600 for Geo's and Club Wyndham's maintenance fee, which we cannot afford. Not sure why Geo should charge for maintenance fee when Wyndham is charging us. Today when I contacted Geo Holiday they says there is no company as Geo Holiday any longer and the company's name is Safphire (not sure this is correct name). We never received any kind communication from this company and paid all money to them. Wyndham claims they are not receiving payment from Geo. We are not at all happy with the resorts or their services. The amount we are paying to the above companies, I can make couple of trips to different countries. We never get the reservation whenever we need. This is a trap and want to get out of this. Can someone help?
View full review
Cons:
  • Locations hardly available
Reason of review:
Problems with payment
2 comments
Guest

See other complaints & comments for suggestions.

Guest

How can you get out if you can no longer travel. Paid full amount but maintenance fees still outstanding even if you don t use it. Any suggestions

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Anonymous
map-marker North Las Vegas, Nevada

Short Review on April&nbs-04:00;12,&nbs-04:00;2016

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I wish I never signed up. Too many restrictions. Never availability.
View full review
Reason of review:
Bad quality
Anonymous
map-marker Ottawa, Ontario

Want to leave Geo Holiday, facing collection agency!

We have been with Geo for about 15 years. It was OK when we were younger, but now we don't want to go to a resort: we prefer to cruise, and don't want to to continue to pay condo fees. The Uniform Commercial Code 2106: (3) and (4) covers time-share agreements, and indicates that they do not go in perpetuity. I am going to threaten to take legal action if they do not let us leave without harassment. They have already had a collection agency send out a bill. Mike & Rose, Ottawa
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Reason of review:
Problems with payment
4 comments
Guest

Please provide update...been a member since 1992, now in our 70s, husband as Parkinsons, how can we get out?

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1235555

If you don't have an estate to pass down to your children or income from work, you can elect to stop paying the fees. Presuming you have only retirement funds (such as Social Security and/or IRAs), collection agencies normally can NOT legally go after retirement funds to settle private debt (seek an attorney for legal advice). Your credit score will be negatively affected for sure, but does having good credit really matter this point in your life?

Guest

Any update???

Guest

Please provide an update - we are in the same situation!

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Anonymous
map-marker Las Vegas, Nevada

Getting out of Geo Holiday Timeshare

I did call Geo Holiday to see about a "Deedback" or "exit program" to get out of the timeshare. I was told only way is to sell or sign off to someone else which I consider bad options -- why would I want to give this heartache to another human being.

Because I do not like either options, I am now consulting a law firm.

I just want to get out of the contract and learn from this bad experience. Has any one else been able to get out of contract without having to pay some one to sell the timeshare?

View full review
Cons:
  • Wasting my time and lying
Reason of review:
Poor customer service

Preferred solution: Just cancel my contract and end my monthly payments.

37 comments
Guest

I have not called Geo yet, but timeshare exit companies tell me I would be wasting my time. Of course they would say that.

One offers to negotiate out of the contract for an exit fee which may be payable to GEO...on top of the fee I pay to the exit company.

Why would I do that? I would rather contact Geo directly and negotiate for myself.

Guest

Ron - Oshawa, ON, Canada I also was talked into signing a contract with Geo Holiday Club, not fully understanding what I was getting into. Anything I can do to get out of it I am up for!

Loula Aop
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1804988

I want to get out of Geoholiday too. What can I do? Pls contact me at chimanchong@***.ca if there is any class action

Raissa Esp

I want out too!!!

Guest

Hey guys I'm an unsatisfied timeshare owner of Geo Holiday. This is the bad decision I made. Don't be fooled in their presentations.

Shakima Sgr
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1646612

Me too ! I just want out of this bad decision!!!

I don’t want to pass this to my children. This is a money scram!

It never ends not even at my death! My family will inherit this debt into eternity!!!!

Guest

Class action lawsuit against Geo Holiday, count me in! Please contact me ghitruck@***.com

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1635463

i want out never used once.

Guest

Been a member since 1997, we called a day after signing and were told we can’t otherwise will face legal action. They used scare tactics.

Used ours 2x and haven’t been able to use since.

Started wit biennial dues but now it’s yearly and keeps increasing. Can’t afford anymore

Guest

Any update on class action lawsuit???

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