Hamm v Wyndham

Summary:

Timeshare owners Gary and Linda Hamm alleged that over the years they were pressured and/or bullied into agreeing to purchase multiple upgrades of their Wyndham timeshare properties even as Wyndham has systematically eliminated benefits that impact timeshare owners’ usage. They allege they were falsely misled with offers and/or claims such as good for “one-day-only”, being able to vacation anywhere at any time, the ability to use the timeshare as a tax deduction and that maintenance fees would be lowered if they upgraded or traded. In reality, their desired vacation dates were never available, hard to secure or extremely limited. In addition, Wyndham misrepresented that there is a market for rental of the owners’ interests. Allegedly, Wyndham did not disclose to the Hamms that Wyndham openly markets and rents units to the public at large through third-party sites and at costs far below the costs incurred by the timeshare owners, unfairly competing with timeshare owners.

In addition, the timeshare owners allege that Wyndham sales representatives told them to falsify their income on a Wyndham visa card application and that Wyndham would buy back the timeshare if they no longer wanted it. Finally, the Hamms allege Wyndham used high pressure sales tactics to hurry them to a decision and that sales representatives would become demeaning and angry if they wanted to leave or think about their decision.