My Dad was scammed into a timeshare nearly 20 years ago. It wasn't all bad in the end. He picked up a new hobby from it. Whenever he can, he goes into timeshare meetings to collect the incentives to go to the meeting. He's received broadway tickets, snorkeling trips, free nights at hotels, so so very many breakfasts. It's not just about the perks, though: you should see how giddy he gets when he explains that he goes in and loudly and covertly points out all the hidden costs for others to hear. Meanwhile, he is more than happy to stay for a 5 hour meeting: he considers it a sport to waste everyones time.

I was approached by a timeshare outfit.  They claimed I had inherited a timeshare that my father purchased.  Their beef was that I was currently $17,500 behind in maintenance fees and $30,000 in annual membership fees.  I told them to submit everything to my attorney and we'd 'discuss' the matter further.  Turns out that my father DID purchase a timeshare from this outfit and that they were, in fact, deducting $6,000 per year from his bank account, along with the additional $3,500 for 'property maintenance' fees.
Yeah, he signed their contract........18 months after he'd been diagnosed with Alzheimers and was suffering from dementia.  He also died five years ago.  
Anyway, they tried to sue me after my attorney told them they could take a long walk off a short pier and we filed counter-suit and the DA filed criminal charges against the company, the salespeople, and their management staff.  I walked away with no 'inherited' timeshare and $218,000.
Oh, did I forget to mention that the timeshare property was a vacant lot?  Yeah, the house that sat there was condemned and destroyed by the county it was located in.
F*ck these people!

My wife and myself ended up getting swooped up for a timeshare presentation on our honeymoon. Once we realized what was happening we lied and said I had lost my job and the only reason we were still on vacation is because we would lose our deposit. They gave us a free lunch and sent us on our way. One of the best quick thinking moves we have ever made

16:28 "Suddenly gone with no warning. Like a ghost. Or a TV show on HBO Max." I love how much John delights in biting the hand that feeds him.

A key sign of a scam is when they want you to commit on the spot - that rule applies to anything that someone is trying to sell you if they refuse for you to think it over and come back to them . Then it’s a scam.

It really is kind of amazing that in America you can get in trouble for so many little things but you can spend a lifetime swindling people out of timeshares and never face consequences

When I was a kid I remember going to Orlando. My mom had a brain tumor and she wanted to go to Disney so bad "in case something happens" during the surgery she had to get. So my pretty poor family managed to go but our hotel made us do a time share presentation. My little sister and I went around going "this is a scam" to everyone until they let my family go because it was causing a scene and making people change their minds. This was like the early 2000s. Thanks for making me remember this, fuck the time share scam. It's not a business, it's a scam!

Edit: It was West Gate in Orlando.

TOP TIP for dealing with High Pressure Timeshare Sales Presentation:
I brought along a full sized bag of extra crunch potato chips.  Every time the presenter got to a dramatic sales pitch part, I started rolling my bag of chips.  It was loud.  
Then I would stand up and say "My bad." and sit down, because I am English and that's the polite thing to do.
That lasted about 10 minutes then they asked me to step outside.  
As I went outside, I passed by the table with the giveaways and I took my two champagne bottles and two envelopes filled with COCO BONGO tickets with me.


That's called WIN - WIN!

In my twenties, I was a timeshare telemarketer.  I was making 3500 a week, but I'd go home, and just sit, and replay each and every person I had screwed over.  Started drinking heavily.  Started having panic attacks getting ready for work.  Burned out after 4 months.  Swore I'd only make an honest buck from now on, and went back to day labor.  I been doing construction and restaurant work for the last twenty years, and I am a happy, satisfied man.

My husband and I sat through a timeshare pitch to get a $100 gift card. That salesman was relentless after we said we couldn't afford it (we listened, heard the numbers and realized we really couldn't), No matter how many times we said it, he kept running back to his boss and coming back with "an even better deal that he couldn't believe he was allowed to offer." I finally had to say in so many words, "We don't want it." He very indignantly gave us the gift card, and it was not worth the time and anxiety. As we left we saw an elderly couple holding hands looking nervous. Just awful.

I used to go to Timeshare presentations for the free gifts.  When they find out you are just there for the gift, they make you wait after you are done.  Then I learned if you start making noise, like yelling in the room "I WANT MY GIFT NOW! PLEASE", they get your gift to get your disturbing ass out of there.  Works every time.

Guy's that manager talking about "saving lives" is Richard Siegel. He's the son of the owner of Westgate Resorts; David Siegel. He was my VP of Sales for a phone department I was in. I won an award for "Rookie of the Year" when I was very young. At the awards banquet when I was receiving my award it was my first time meeting him. The only thing he said to me was "700k in volume this year? Thats it? Next year get me a million". I'll never forget the greed and moment of realization that I was part of a nasty business. These are the people who own these companies, they're like a legal mafia. Be careful and stay away!

Wife and I did a timeshare presentation while on a work "vacation" recently. The saleswoman quickly realized she got the worst couple: childless millennial civil servants with student loan debt from one of the poorest, most rural regions in the country who only ever "vacation" when its work-related (i.e. paid by employer). She literally couldn't contain her shock when we explained the different ways we're able to save costs and still have fun trips.

Got a free carriage ride, free expensive dinner, a tour ride, and tickets to a museum for 2 hours of saying "No" various ways and watching her eyes widen as we explained the monthly "costs" for the timeshare would be double our mortgage... Worth it.

If you've lived your life surrounded by good, normal, honest people, you can be totally unprepared and vulnerable when a seemingly-good person is really trying to take you for everything they can.

Pro-tip: During the timeshare presentation, inform the salesperson that "my lawyer will need to look this over before I sign". Stay firm. They will quickly walk you over to the "gift area" then the "exit".

My wife and I were given the opportunity to have our tickets for various activities at a holiday location in Australia reduced to $20 each from $200 each.
All we had to do was show up to a 1 hour presentation.

That afternoon, we were huddled into a Wyndham Resort sales pitch office.
After the 4 hour presentation, we were sat with a young girl who attempted to finalize the sale.
Being in the sales game, I mentioned to the salesperson that there is a cooling-off period for any financial sign-ups that include leasing.
She begrudgingly acknowledged the fact.

They asked us for a $5000 card payment, which we refused.
We paid $100 deposit in cash, took our discounted tickets, went back to our hotel room, had a glass of wine and after 1 hour, I walked straight back in and asked for my deposit back.
They said they'd need to confer with the salesperson.
I said "I'd like to exercise my right to my cooling-off period." and walked out with my $100, 2 minutes later.

When your industry has its own exit industry, it needs John Oliver's anti-entrance industry.

My husband is a very kind person and he struggles to say no. One day he told me that we are going to this time share pitch. I was not happy and my face showed it. This guy came out and started talking and then he asked a question to the group: " Do you know why you are here?" So I put my hand up, he smiled and I said: "We are here because you want to sell us something that we don't want or need." His smile dissapeared and we went home. I had so much fun!🤣🤣

My mom and her first husband got a free weekend getaway in exchange for listening to a timeshare pitch. After listening for a few hours and not biting, they got moved into one of those car dealership style little rooms for the final pitch. They still didn't bite at which point the saleswoman flipped out and shouted: "YOU JUST CAME FOR THE FREE BUFFET!". My mom was totally nonplussed and just said: "Well, yeah".

My mom owns a fixed week—to a single room at a resort we’ve been going to for 20 years—and the resort is furious about it. They call us “owners”. They’ve been chasing her down for it since the whole floating points system—clear scam—became standard. Am concerned by how safe she feels. I went to one meeting, asked too many questions, and every year since they’ve strategically started trying to isolate her from the family to get the fixed week back.