Can someone help me interpret this?

[Tonya]

As some of you know, I had gotten the corporate office to agree to buy my timeshare back from me. But now, it looks like she is trying to go back on her word. I'm going to copy and paste our emails on here. Can someone help me interpret what she's trying to say? I want to be prepared when she calls me. (I lied about skiing Monday, BTW...I was trying to get her to talk to me about it through email.)

First letter:
Dear Tonya,
I am very sorry to her about your grievances with your purchase with the
Shell Vacations Club. I appreciate the opportunity to respond on behalf of
the company.

Although you are able to request a reservation with short term notice, space
is always based upon availability. As you already know, high demand areas
during peak seasons do require more advanced planning as space fills up
quickly.

I am very disappointed to know that our reservation staff failed to inform
you properly when inquiring about hotel space. At any time, you can convert
your points to a SVC Rewards Card. This is a pre-loaded MasterCard that is
accepted at any hotel worldwide that accepts MasterCard. You can convert
your points to whatever dollar amount is needed, order the MasterCard, and
stay at any hotel you wish. Upon check-out, you simply present the
MasterCard for payment of your room charges. This option provides you with
being able to go whenever you want. The MasterCard is activated for a
period of 90 days before it expires. You can travel as much as you want
within that time period until the dollar amount loaded on the card is used
up. You can order as many of these throughout the year as you wish until
your points run out. Proper disclosure of this simple option would have
prevented much of your frustration.

Regardless, I am going to agree to cancel your membership and refund all
your monies that have been paid into Shell. I will notify the corporate
office and have them send you the required paperwork. Once they receive the
signed, notarized paperwork back, they will submit a refund request. This
usually takes approximately 6 weeks to complete.
I would also like to thank you for the heads up for the "Shell employee"
that responded to your Ebay ad.......we will certainly look into that matter
immediately.
Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

Sincerely,

Sheila A. Skuda
Regional Verfication and Compliance Director
***********
Second letter:

Tonya - I am going to try to call you on Monday. I sent the request to
corporate. They gave it to legal for review. They are not in complete
agreement with me. I would like to discuss it with you then if possible.


Sheila A. Skuda
Regional Verfication and Compliance Director
**************
My response:

We'll be skiing on Monday, I am not sure that my cell phone will work
up there. What is the problem?

**********
Third letter:

the issue of misrepresentation.
When would be a better time to reach you?

*********

What's she getting at?
:confused: :confused:

[GraciesMommy]

Looks like she is avoiding putting anything in writing now that can come back on her. Very strange

[Tonya]

I am thinking that I should call her on it. That I should write back and just come out and say "It sounds like you are wanting to go back on your word..." I am thinking that I should refuse to talk to her on the phone and do mail correspondence only. If she trys to back out, phone conversations won't be easy to use in court unlike emails. What do you think? Can anyone help me word my response because my brain is frazzled.

[Tonya]

Here's my original letter, BTW:

To whom it may concern:

On June 16th, 2003 we went to a sales presentation for Shell Vacation Clubs. Nicholas Wright was our sales person. We did not see any reason for purchasing a timeshare in our home state when our dream destinations were in exotic locations like Hawaii, Australia, and Japan. He was very adamant about the fact that our timeshare is so simple to trade. He couldn’t express to us enough about how wonderful San Francisco is and how much more valuable it is then any other timeshare. He showed us articles on how it was the most traveled location in the world. Our other concern was the availability of the timeshare. He told us that there was never a waiting period. He expressed that the timeshares are never booked because Shell has such a large network; in fact he (and everyone else) always books at the last minute so that they can get more value from their points. He also stated that there were multiple resources, that we are affiliated with other timeshares, properties, motels and hotels, etc... He showed us pictures of himself in exotic locations, introduced us to his fiancé and told us stories about how they travel around the world, always on a whim. We were told that there was just one number to call, one number to deal with (877SHELL10) and they could help with us with all of our needs. I specifically asked time and time again questions such as “So, I can call this number two days before, and ask to go to Hawaii and they’ll have me booked for that weekend?...even during peak season?” Every time, he answered “Yes.” He would basically repeat the things that I stated above.

We also spoke in great length about how my husband races motorcycles and we have many weekend hotel stays. He convinced us that purchasing this timeshare would be perfect for that situation. We specifically named off the oddball cities that we stay in and he said that we would have no problem trading our points for hotels in those cities. It sounded perfect.

After several hours, Nick convinced us. We trusted him. We gave a deposit of $1,473.90 and financed $13,265.10. Our total cost was $14,739.00. Also, we were told to go out to dinner, spend up to $100, send the receipt to Nick, and he personally would reimburse us. We were never reimbursed. The $100 is the least of my concerns, it is much less painful then the $14,739.00 that I flushed down the toilet that day. That is just an example of his dishonesty.

At the end of July 2003, I promised my family that we would go to Hawaii for Christmas. I called Shell and requested reservations from December 19th to December 26th anywhere in Oahu. I was told that there was nothing available. –Disappointing but understandable; after all, it was Christmas. I asked for the Kona Coast Resort, the Holua Resort, or the Kauai Coast Resort all that week. The answer was no. I then asked if there was anything else on any of the islands that week. By then, I didn’t care if it was a hotel, motel, RCI, etc… Still nothing. I had promised my family, so I was determined. Eventually after an hour on the phone, I had requested every possible location during the month of December or January and still, nothing.

In the mean time, I was continuously trying to book my three day two night stay in Tahoe. It was an opportunity given to me on the initial call from Shell Vacations. I believe that I actually paid a small amount for it. I made many phone calls and never successfully booked that trip.

October, 16th, 2003 I got a phone call that my grandfather was dying. I needed to be in the Southern California area. I called Shell once again. I could not find a hotel or timeshare within a 200 mile radius of San Diego, California anytime during the month of October or the first week of November. I even asked for weeknights only, thinking it was the weekends that were booked. Still nothing. I was offered a Yacht for Thursday night October 23rd, and a yacht was available again for Monday night, October 27th.

I then realized that this timeshare may not be so wonderful after all. I decided to start documenting my calls to Shell Vacation Club. I have called Shell Vacation Club twenty six times in 2004. Each time, I wrote down the location(s) and the date(s) that I had requested on my calendar. Nearly every time, after being rejected, I requested a hotel instead and was given a negative answer. I asked the representative almost every time for additional options and suggestions. The answer was always no.

I then decided to sell the timeshare. I spent $400 on an advertisement on a website that specializes in selling timeshares. Three different representatives of that company stated that Shell Vacation Clubs is horrible; that they hear many complaints about them often.

After a few months on that website, I spent another $175 to post the timeshare on EBAY. Through that auction, I received an email from a person, claiming to be a SHELL EMPLOYEE. It says “HA! SUCKER I WORK FOR SHELL AND BY NO MEANS CAN YOU GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD NICE TRY!!!” The address she had through EBAY was [email protected] which is not a legitimate email address. But through some research, I did find that [email protected] IS a legitimate address. In fact, the account for the person that sent me this email via EBAY is registered under the name Jenny Swanson. I am attaching copies of that email. Only you can determine if Jenny Swanson is indeed an employee of yours.

The email was adding insult to injury, but it is not the true issue. Regardless of rather or not that email came from a Shell Vacations Club employee, I am still a dissatisfied customer.

I am requesting that Shell Vacations Club buys the timeshare back from me. I think that will be a good resolution all around. I have never used the timeshare, so Shell will not be losing money. We can both walk away from this ordeal peacefully.

I will wait for a response until Friday December 17th. After that, I will begin pursuing other avenues to resolve this situation. I have already filed a complaint with the Attorney General. My next step is a complaint with the California Real Estate Commission and the Better Business Bureau. After that, I will post on every vacation and timeshare forum that I can find on the internet. I will then write to every major newspaper and assemblyman that I can get a hold of. If I have to, I will obtain a lawyer. I will not stop until I get a satisfactory resolution.

[GraciesMommy]

I am thinking same...at first I was going to suggest letting her call but I dont think you can record the conversation without her knowledge and use it in court if it goes that far..and I am sure she knows that and that is why wants to call you to discuss it. Try to keep it in email correspondence.

Hopefully some one on here has had some experience or is/married to a lawyer/student and can help on wording

[Cincy'sMom]

Here's just a quick stab at a start....

Sheila,

In regards to your note, I would prefer to keep our correspondences at through email, so I have a paper trail. Because of my luck with your company so far, I am reluctant to talk to you over the phone, where I have no documentation.

As I stated previously, I have been very unsatisifed with the (lack of) service I have received as a Shell vacation member. I hope we are able to resolve this issue, together, however, if neccesarry, I will seek legal advice.

It is my feeling that your legal department is going to reverse your decision to refund my money. Did you not have the authority to make this claim? How can misrepresentation be an issue, when i have called your company over 20 times, and not once been able to use my membership, in any state. month, or day of the year?

[Karen]

It doesn't seem to me like she's trying to go back on her word, it just says "corporate didn't agree with her." I would speak to her, but ask if you can have it as a scheduled, pre-agreed to be recorded conference a call that includes your lawyer.

[moosmom]

I agree with Karen. I'd also consult a lawyer. Sounds to me like she made a commitment that goes against company policy. Another person you might want to PM and ask her advice is Cataholic. She may give you some insight into what your rights are as a consumer. I also call the BBB.

Good luck honey!!

[Tonya]

I just got this email from her:
********
I'm on my way to the airport.........I will draft something up for you and
send it......you can review it when you get a chance. don't break a leg!!

******

I guess I will just wait and see what her draft says before I jump to conclusions.

I like that note, Cincy's mom...if I need to I am going to use it. Thank you.

[Tonya]

I just emailed her back...I should have added a "Hope your plane doesn't crash." for her tacky "Don't break a leg." comment. lol.

Here's what I put. Hope it sounds good. Sorry to bore you all with these details.

Sheila,

I am a bit confused by your emails, so I suppose I should make sure that we are on the same page before you write anything up. I wouldn't want you to waste your time.

I don't quite understand what you mean by "misrepresentation". That could mean you, Nick (the salesman), the Shell representatives, myself... I think that we already have this resolved and that we are just dealing with paperwork now.

The emails sort of indicated that there is a problem, so now I am unsure of what is going on. From your emails, it is my feeling that your legal department is going to reverse your decision to refund my money. Did you not have the authority to make this claim?

I apologize if this email is unnecessary. Because of my luck with your company so far, I am a bit reluctant. I just want to let you know before you draft anything that I expect what was promised in the original email from you.

[Jods]

Has she written back??

[Laura's Babies]

Sounds like the shell shuffle where the have a pea under a shell and shuffle it around and you have to guess which shell the pea is under... What a SCAM!! Thats what it all sounds like to me...A SCAM!

[Tonya]

No, she hasn't responded yet. Still waiting!

[Corinna]

I do beleive that if you call here and ask or tell here so you can have what she said for your husband to hear that you would like to record the conversation . you can then record it with her permission but start the tape before so you have a ok or no on the tape.
I was wondering also if she was thinking Nick, but how can you prove what he told you. Went through a simular thing with a large timeshare place. I never did sign the papers but they had me down for all these charges and tried even charging my bank account, luckly a freind at the bank knew I never would athurise a bank draft with out first notifing her. She called me to check , (they had been getting a lot of those . turns out their sales guy was running his own scam on the company useing records and info from the corparation stuff which he was not suppose to have access to. We and about 5 other couples got him indited Jailed for forgery. Whar he said he couldn't deleiver but we couldn't prove it to corp. But the bank records were something they couldn't be a fantasy as they told me when I talked to the reps.
Stick with it don't let them get away with it. If its so popular they can resell your place in no time.So what is the problem of taking it back?