Festiva Development Group’s earns a 3.2-star rating from 112 reviews, showing that the majority of timeshare owners are somewhat satisfied with vacation experiences.
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total scam
Promised when transferring deed to The Sandcastle Resort that no special assessments would be given as long as we purchased at that time. Well an assessment has been given. Also promised deed back however the deed was recorded incorrectly at Registry of Deeds. The new deed references two different weeks. Salesman at the time promised no special assessments. We were told that as long as we paid maintenance fee 13 months in advance we would be able to use our unit. We did this and still did not receive our unit. Do not do business with this company. Apparently this company does not have any idea what they are doing.
ripoff
On august 14th, 2010, we signed a contract with this company. That day we paid the down paymentbwhich was over 2, 000 dollars. Then on august 20th I paid the entire balance for a total of $10, 590plus $365. The on ausust 31st my husband past away. I called them immediatly and told them. I also wrote a letter to the main office and sent them a death certif. They told me of I would pay another $695.00 that they would let me out of the contract. That means they got $11, 650 and I get no refund at all for the 10, 590. This is terrible to take from a widow.
Thanks for accepting this complaint
Donna m. Tanner
Charleston. Sc 29412
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
My question, your husband bought this for you and him, why not enjoy what life you have remaining? The same thing happened to my dad when mom died, but he kept his and has very much enjoyed it as she would have wanted it. I am sure your husband would want you to go and enjoy the rest of your life of which you can, what better way to remember him than by using something he believed in.
timeshare nightmare
We own week one at the Charleston, South Carolina Resort. Since that very first year that we didn't get to use because we had just completed a vacation in August we have consistently been given the run around to use our week. We must pay our maintenance fee before we can book, but the amount or notice is not sent out until December. Now this year they assess a "special" assessment and that has to be paid before we can use our week. We are going to try go in March, not our assigned week, and we'll see how much runaround we get this time. Last time we went they tried to strong arm us into switching to 30 year kind of a contract wherein they would get to claim their property back after x number of years. When we refused they pretty much threatened us. We walked out. There have been just so many problems trying to reserve a week, our week, each and every time that it has left nothing but bitterness. If someone wants to buy a week one, deedable to their children, or so we were told when we bought, contract give me a holler.
OMG I wish I had read these articles before getting involved with this company! It has been an awful experience! We hhave been with them for three years and have NEVER been able to use the services that we are paying for. There is always some excuse. They put you on hold forever. when you finally get through either you lose the connection and have to start all over again or nothing is available. Each rep has a different story. Each one wants a different sum of of money they want before they will make reservations. This has been the WORST INVESTMENT we have ever made. There is a site that says these complaints are not from actual customers. We have paid over $3000 for a vacation that we a could have only paid $1000 if we had not joined this stupid clud. They are conartists.
Yes they had a special assessment but they gave each owner a free week and for $400 you cant go anywhere for a whole week for that kind of money. I have been an owner for over 5 years and have never had a problem, of course, you can not be ignorant to use this ownership when time for booking, just as when you were booking a motel room. Now, as for claiming the property back after X amount of years, I would have to say you really showed your ignorance here! LEARN TO TELL THE TRUTH!
extra cost
IS anyone else upset about the extra $200.00 they want in NOVEMBER ? If you are, please contact the attorney general of south carolina, thats the place to start. i have yet to be able to use my festiva resort location.
everywhere is always unavailable when i try to book time at one of the locations and they can never find my negative emails. They complain about the economy affecting the bottom line but what about my bottom line being affected by the economy. I DIDNT authorize the renovations of the resorts. what about you if i dont have the money i dont buy it .
I agree 100%. Festiva does nothing but scam the people who purchased timeshares from Equivest/Peppertree. We were told we would have assessments once yearly. We paid our assessment in January, 2010, and have paid every assessment since first purchasing this timeshare over 10 years ago. In 10 yrs. we have used this twice. Now we receive another bill from Festiva for assessments of over 300.00. We have refused to pay and plan to file suit against them. We also intend to report this company to the Attorney General for SC, Attorney General for NC, Better Business Bureau, NC Chamber of Commerce, Secretary of State for SC and NC and the Federal Consumer Protection Agency. We were also told when we purchased our timeshare that we would be able to book our vacations through Interval International and that our membership would be paid by Equivest. We no longer have this option and believe this to be a breach of contract. We have also tried on numerous occasions to book vacations with our membership and have been unable to do so. Anyone wishing to join us in this suit please contact us at pamg1812@gmail.com. This company is completely totally dishonest in its business practices and has over 150 complaints filed against it. Something needs to be done and it needs to be done NOW! We sent a certified letter advising them that we would file suit against them if we did not receive a response within 10 days of receipt of the letter and they are so arrogant they did not even bother to respond to the letter.
We are sorry you seem to be having trouble with availability and reserving a vacation. If you email us at comments@festiva.travel with your contact information we can review your account and have someone contact you to answer any questions or concerns you may have. We look forward to hearing from you and resolving your issues.
fraud
In 2007 we traded our timeshare at Green Mountain for one at Stormy Point. We were told that the "public" was being charged $32, 000 per unit, but since we were already owners, we get in for $22, 000. The "salesman" even showed us how the prices were scheduled to increase over the next couple of months up to $36, 000.
Now, when we are called about selling our timeshare, we are told that we can only get $22, 000 to $24, 000.
When I told the lady that called us that they were selling for $32, 000 to $36, 000 a few years ago, she said that that's what they tell you. It is just a sales pitch. So, isn't that fraud? Isn't that illegal? She even said the timeshares go down in value, not up. What a bunch of crooks! You pay over $500 a year in maintenance fees, not to mention the monthly payment. It is certainly a better deal to get a motel than buy into a timeshare.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
paradise harbour club & marina special assessment
My husband and I received a special assessment for heating and ventilation from Festiva Resorts for our timeshare at Paradise Harbour Club and Marina. No one at Festiva corporate offices in Asheville, NC nor the manager at the timeshare on Paradise Island would provide us with simple direct answers to the following questions: 1) who makes up "the "board of directors" 2)who represents the timeshare owners? 3) where is the Statement of Revenue and Expenditures outlining this special assessment or some other doccumentation. The next move is to contact the ceo of Festiva Don Clayton as well a the US Dept of Justice, State Attorney General and the Justice Dept.
Good luck to all of you in this same predicament.
DID YOU BUY YOUR TIMESHARE IN THE BAHAMAS CAUSE i WAS TOLD BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL THAT BECAUSE IT WAS AN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR THAT SOUTH CAROLINA HAD NO JURISDICTION. THIS WHOLE NIGHTMARE IS NOT GOING TO END. i HAVE BEEN IN THE BAHAMAS AND IF YOU ARE RECIEVING THE INVOICE OF THIS ASSESMENT FEE IT IS PROBAPLY INFLATED. i HAVE WATCHED SOME OF THE BAHAMIANS WORK AND TRUST ME THEY ARE WORKING ON THEIR TIME NO NEED TO HERRY OR ANY URGENCY. YOU SEE IF YOU HIRED SOMEONE TO DO WORK ON YOUR HOME YOU HAVE THE POWER TO NEGOTIATE AND GET WHAT IS NEEDED TO BE DONE. WE HAVE NO POWER HERE OUR MONIES IS BEING HELD CAPPTIVE.
did you have any luck with this? We are in the same predicament.
calous disregard for leasees
I had called Festiva on several occaisions to settle a bill pertaining to an asessment that they instituted one year after they purchased the Atrium Resort Sint Maarten N.A..and just settled recently ( they were the on sight sales agents for five years prior to the purchase).
We had never received an official bill for this particular unit and so I needed the documentation to pay said bill prior to their self instituted deadline. after fumbling around with several stories.
I.E. the bill will be mailed later. we can't locate the party on your lease. etc. I received an email extending their deadline for two weeks and promises that a new bill would be mailed soon. it newer came.
what did come several weeks later was a threatening letter to pay a $170.collection charge. $50. pluss $120. and a deadline to do so. If I didn't, the threat was that they would forclose on my $22, 000 paid in full timeshare. and damage my credit by fowarding my account to another collection agency.or words to that effect. Imagine the hutzpah!
this company is brutal! in my opinion from dealing with them for many years is that their only concern is to blead you of your money and strip you of your property. so as to sell points.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I totally agree that they are BRUTAL in their collection practices. After being a member for 26 years and always paying our maintenance fees and assessments on time, we had one misunderstanding of a billing and the fees they mounted on were $155! And you, the member/customer are always wrong, even when you prove Festiva wrong. When first contacting Festiva about the billing and explaining the problem, it was represented to me that the fees would be waved. (No, I didn't write down verbatim what was said). When the fees were not removed a few months later, I called back. One representative argued with me endlessly that I had never called about the billing and fees, and that I should educate myself on my finances better. Then I was transferred to another representative that brought up all of the notes about when I had previously called. I was transferred to another representative who told me I was never told they would remove the fees, and that I should record my conversations. Every representative said there is nothing they can do about the charges and they do not have the ability to make any adjustment, however, they would not let you talk to anyone that does have the authority. As a customer and "member" of something, I have never been talked to in such a demeaning way. I was shocked at their attitude to a long time member; they simply throw up their middle finger and say too bad. Pay it, or you don't get to use your place. They have you in a corner and they know it. They can charge whatever they want. My family has always enjoyed going to our timeshare at Blue Ridge Village, but I will never again buy something from this company nor recommend them. They are horrible.
I am sorry to see that you are having billing issues. If you would email your contact information to comments@festiva.travel I will have a manager review your account and we can work towards a resolution. We hope you give us the opportunity to address your concerns as we take customer service very serious.
increasing fees and adjustments
Whatever you do, do not purchase a timeshare from Festiva Resorts. We bought ours 2 years ago. First we were told if sent people to try out the resort $100 would be deducted from our maintenance fee if they gave our number. I for a fact 4 different couples gave our number and we did not see a reduction. We paid off our time share the next year and that followed with a 40% increase in the maintenance fee. Now this year in addition to another increase in the maintenance fee which is now over $1000 we are asked to pay 2 special assessment fees...due upon receipt of bill of $200 each. If we don't pay these fees we just get additional fees added on until we do pay. We are stuck. DO NOT INVEST IN THESE TIME SHARES.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
And now I know why! My wife and I and our best frieds spent a week at Peppertree Atlantic Beach from October 1 to October 8, 2010. During the check-in, the lady at the desk told me if I could get my friends to listen to a sales presentation by Festiva, that Festiva would send me a check for $100.00. October 4th our friends attended the sales presentation. On 1 Nov, I still had not received the check. I called Festiva and they told me that there was no record of my friends going through the presentation at Peppertree, that they would check further into the problem and give me a call back. Well, I never received a call back. So I called again. Again I was told the same thing, that there was no record of my friends attandance and that they would check and call me back within three to four hours. Again I did not receive a phone call. So I called a third time and was told that the matter would be turned over to a supervisor and that the supervisor would be in touch with me. Today is the 11th and to this date I still have not had a return call from a supervisor at Festiva and I don't expect to receive one. I believe that if my friends had purchased a unit I would have received the $100.00 promised. That is why I opened with "And now I know" because this is just one tactic of Festiva to avoid keeping a promise. Everysince my wife and I switched to Festiva we have had nothing but problems: This year we had to pay close to $1000.00 (in addition to our regular Maintenance fee) because of other owners failure to pay their Mortgage Which I thought was unjustified and unfair to those who paid. This should have been a Festiva problem instead they passed it on to the owners. Now we have been assessed $200.00 for some other reason. When will it stop. By the way, The money that was collected for renovations are not being used for that purpose During our stay at Peppertree the only real improvement was the TVs for the Living Room. Lastly, During our stay at Charleston this year, Festiva had the nerve to offer us an upgrade for an additional $3500. which would have had us paying more for the same points without really giving us anything in return. With having all the money that we have invested, we still cant get the places we really want to vacation. I will be contacting the North Carolina Attorny General with thesse assessments and contractual aggements with Festiva. I surely would like to know if there is anyone out there with intentions of filling a Class Action Suit againgt Festiva. Bobby Howell, Highly dissatisfied Festiva Owner.
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I am facing the same problem and I would like to know if it is legal for Festiva to charge us additional assesment fees in addition to our yearly maintenance fees.
excess dues/assessments/no representation
Festiva resorts... Anyone who has joined the festiva resorts, has traded their timeshare weeks for "points", and/or who has paid money for this convenience.. Should know by now that we've been taken into a horrible scam.. The yearly dues have risen over 30% in 2010 vs 2009.. And on top of that we're getting an immediate 2010 assessment and expect a 2011 assessment.
This is in the absence of owner representation/any explanation of where the money has gone/will gone.
The intention is to bleed out the owners until they relinquish their properties (I mean points) back to festiva who will continue to expand their "adventure club" properties with them..
This is cross state lines and must be logged in both with your state department of justice/consumer affairs and also with the federal department of justice.
Please let's all communicate using new eamil address
[protected]@gmail.com
Anyone know of any pending class action law suits again festiva
I have no idea who "Vacation Lover" is, probably one of the owners of Festiva or works for them. This company is a total scam. Yes we plan on filing a class action suit, and we would be more than happy to deed back their "points" to them free of charge as they are completely worthless to us. Maybe Vacation Lover would like to have our points free of charge. Just let us know, more than happy to deed them to you and you can pay the exhorbitant assessment fees. We will be reporting this company in South Carolina, North Carolina and to the Federal Consumer Protection Agency immediately.
WHY CAN'T YOU PEOPLE TELL THE TRUTH?! I HAVE BEEN AN OWNER SINCE 2005. I HAVE HAD ONE INCREASE IN MAINTENCE FEES ONE TIME IN THAT PERIOD. IT WAS A WHOLE $54 FOR THE YEAR! NOW FOR THE ASSESSMENT, IT WAS $400 AND IN RETURN FOR THAT MONEY, MY FAMILY GOT A WEEK FOR NO POINTS OR FEES. FESTIVA LOOKS AFTER THEIR OWNERS VERY WELL. PLEASE KEEP ME INFORMED ON YOUR STUPID CLASS ACTION AS I WILL BE ONE STANDING BY FESTIVA! WHY DON'T YOU TAKE A STEP BACK AND TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR IGNORANCE?
quit claim used as trade in on purchase
I purchased this timeshare and signed a quitclaim deed as trade-in towards purchase price. The following January, I received billing for the maintenance fees for the old timeshare which I had signed the quitclaim deed for. I called the company and they told me that several people had been done 'that way' but that I still owned the old timeshare due to Festiva not recording the quitclaim with Horry County courthouse.
After phone calls and even a visit to Festiva, I was treated as though that quitclaim never took place and that I owed full price. I had the quitclaim deed in my posession and was asked if they could see it. I was showing it to the female and she took it to make copies but never returned it to me saying her manager would take care of it but in the mean time they wanted to offer me options! Options for upgrading, etc. of which I wanted nothing of the sort. Now I have no proof of them taking the quitclaim deed and I have maintenence fees for both places AND I just received SPECIAL ASSESSMENT FEES of $465.00 apart from regular maintenence fees for Festiva. Reason? They can't pay their bills! Well, I can't pay their bills either.
What recourse do I have? PLEASE HELP ME. I'm having difficulty paying my own home payment, etc.
In response to the two above situations, I totally agree and something has to be done. I sent my daughter and son in law there for thier honeymoon last year and they received very rude treatment and the accomadations were less than desireable. There has to be a recourse and I think we need to seek that end. I, like so many others, don't even have savings now and I'm not paying for the corporations lack of business abilities. The greed and dishonest business approaches have caught up to them. A local TV station (South Carolina area) did a spot on them. I think if we could all get together, something would be done to resolve "our loss." I'm still paying monthly mortgage payments and the maintenace fee and they want more! NO CAN DO!
ME AND MY WIFE ALSO WERE DUPED IN THIS (SO CALLED VACTION EXPERINCE)BUT ALL WE CAN SEE IS MONEY HUNGRY BUISNESS TRYING TO FEED OFF OUR EASY GOING NATURE.I AM DONE WITH THAT AND I AM PRPARED TO FIGHT THESE IDIOTS.IF ANY ONE NEEDS MY SIG OR HELP IN ANYWAY PLEASE EMAIL.LEXIRIP@HOTMAIL.COM
After a very high pressure sell-job, I stupidly agreed to purchase an interval arrangement wiht Festiva. Attached to that was a piece of paper that I signed agreeing to purchase a "Trustee Registration Fee" of $395, this is before I am able to use the club that I have paid faithfully on! Yes, I did make that agreement, yes, I did pay down payment and am paying the monthly payments. Now, I believe I have been duped - $395 is not a huge amount of money, but unethical business practices are unethical business practices. When I called a few minutes ago to discuss it, the person I spoke to, although polite, was not in the least concerned that I am not pleased.
I'm all in! I have been stuck with Festiva for past 3 years, and with Peppertree the provious 10 years. I paid off the Peppertree and my progressivly rising maintaince fees, only to bullied into purchacing additional points and upgrading in order to recieve what they claimed to be better availability and service through Festiva. I also recieved the assessment bill, and would like to know what they do with the money they get from all the walk in guest who use our resorts. Festiva only has access to a limited amount of units they can provide for us owners, the rest are at the disposal of the resort property to do as they will. Is this fair? I could go on, but the bottom line is we must ban together to put these crooks out of business, and take the money we are paying them and take real vacation. My name is Randy and you can E-mail me at CTERo6@AOL.COM Maybe we can get enough of us together and take em down!
Hi there! we are also Festiva Owners and I am extremely dissapointed as we were locked in a hotel conference room and pressured into buying this timeshare. Our children were very scared and upset! In any case we bought into the timeshare, with the intention of going back the next day to give it back. Well we were met with some serious resistance and of course the office was closed when we were told a time to come back at certain times. Once we returned to CANADA we telephoned the company and they told us that we sighned a legal binding agreement. SO WE SUCKED IT UP! Until recently we received our assesment fees and our maimtenance fees we were very shocked to say the least. My annual taxes for my home that I own are cheaper. All the promises that the company employees promised were not legal and should be reviewed by The Attorney Generals Office. In Canada these people would be out of business let alone even start up a business. like this. My only hope here is that the Attorney General hears the complaints and shutts these people down. My family was lied to we were held captive, we were forced into something that we would not normally be willing participants of such a racket. My only hope is to hire a good attorney in the United Stated to see if we can have some course of action. I want to say to people out there if you are considering buying a Time Share DONT DO IT. If you can't go home and think about a large purchase and weigh your options then i personally guarantee you will end up like the rest of us writing on these blogs. Festiva and its corporation should be ashamed to sell their timeshares as a five star resorts they are at best a 2 star. Yes banning together lets stop the criminals who are robbing us and as we are all passively standing by and letting them do so.
I totally agree. Ellington is being very shady with their "special assessment" This is the second one I got for $465 on top of my maint fees and the first one was supposed to be for "improvements". I went there this summer with my family and long behold its still run down with very little improvements if any I could see. What are they doing with the money? And a second note they have no security and no fencing around the property. We brought 4 bicycles with us for our family and they were stolen! They do not even provide bike racks for our own personal bike. Very poorly run resort if you ask me!
I also received a Special Assessment bill for $465.00. I am furious that I pay increasing mainenance fees year after year and am now assessed additional fees. Proper use of past maintenance fees should have kept the resort maintained. The items listed in the letter that need to be fixed and updated are supposed to be covered my maintenence fees. I would sell this timeshare in a heartbeat! I am so very disappointed.
predatory practices
They sat me down for a 2 hour speech & slide show. Then immediately after, asked me to shell out over $25, 000 for a vacation package I didn't even fully understand the details of. When I asked for more details, our rep, called over some guy who talked even faster and more confusing. He shoved loan papers in our face for us to apply for a $26, 000+ loan at 15% interest for a term of 7 years with like $2, 500 down right now today.
I said that any financially responsible person would verify affordability before any such agreement. The monthly payment was $485 a month. It really seemed like you get a lot for the money but I didn't want to commit without being sure I could afford it. That wasn't acceptable to them. The guy got mad & said I should never have came because I promised I'd be ready to make a decision today.
The average middle class American cannot or should not make such an expensive decision without planning. When I pressed that point, they told me if I didn't do it right now, I would never get another chance to participate.
They put together a great presentation and I am sold on the product. Their sales tactics are offensive, and discouraging. It's like being bullied. It made me feel like they wanted me to hurry up and buy before I find out something that would change my mind.
false promises, no free gifts
My husband and I attended this presentation in February 2010 which lasted every bit of 3 hours. As a last ditch effort we were offered the Explorer package which we signed up for where we were to pay $45 twice a month and after paying them $90 for a year we're suppose to get a 7 day getaway to one of their resorts. We were to receive free gifts just for attending the presentation, one of which was a Carnival Cruise along with a free weekend car rental. We were handed several papers that we had to mail within 21 days in order to get the free gifts, which we mailed certified. Red Flag...They started drafting our account in May and we haven't received anything from them yet. We have called numerous times and many times we've been told that they have absolutely no information on us at all. Finally I called the cell phone number of the very salesperson with whom we signed. She stated that she was out to dinner with her family and that she would be working the late shift the next day and would be happy to return my call at that time. That time never came. I called her a week later and after about 4 days of calling at least once a day she finally returned the call. She gave the excuse that Festiva isn't the company that makes the offers of gifts that's an outside company. Well it wasn't an outside company when we were sitting in that presentation listening to the lies and promises of the best resort company ever. Finally, I was told to write a hardship letter to Owner Services in Asheville, NC. A hardship letter? Because your company failed to deliver what you promised. If you hear FESTIVA Resort - RUN!
of course they know what they are doing stealing your money
YOU ARE A TYPICAL MOOCHER! YOU WANT SOMETHING FOR NOTHING! YOU OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T LISTEN WHEN YOU WERE THERE. THE EXPLORE PACKAGE IS A TOTAL OF $900 DOLLARS AND ONCE THAT IS PAID THEN YOU CAN GO TO THE RESORT OF YOUR CHOICE. BUT ONLY PAYING $90 YOU ARE NOT GOING! YOU CAN GO STAY A MOTEL 6 OR SUPER 8 FOR A DAY OR SO FOR THAT MONEY BUT THAT IS ABOUT ALL. I HAVE BEEN AN OWNER FOR OVER 5 YEARS AND HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS WHAT SO EVER. IT IS NOT A SCAM OR FRAUD, YOU ARE JUST A SIMPLE MINDED MOOCHER WHO WANTS ANYTHING FOR NOTHING. GET A JOB WORTHY OF YOUR DESIRES AND THEN MAYBE YOU WILL ENJOY LIFE A LITTLE MORE.
I am sorry to see you have been having issues with your gifts. Early in 2010 we did have some issues with an outside marketing company who did not honor some of their certificates. Anyone effected by this gifting issue we have been able to work with to find a resolution. If you email us directly at comments@festiva.travel with your name and contact information I can have a manager review your account.
scammed
While looking for a vacation condo at Atlantic Beach, I saw an ad for the Sheraton, e nights for $199.00. Clicked on the link, filled out a little info, saw that it involved a timeshare presentation so immediately closed the browser. Unfortunately, a Festiva rep called me that night. I explained to him that my mother, her friend, and myself would be traveling to the beach for Mon through Wed. I said know to 3 festiva reps but after lots of extras thrown in, I finally said yes. This call took place on a Monday evening. I was supposed to have a package delivered by mail and they gave me a confirmation number to check things out online. The number did not work. On thursday, i receive a call that I would need to arrive on Sunday or stay through Thursday afternoon. I explained to them over and over again that i could not do that because my flight was on Monday and I had plans on Thursday. After a lengthy conversation, they agreed to give me my money back. Thirty seconds elapsed the phone rings, and they found a way for me to tour on Tuesday. Arrived in Atlantic Beach the next Monday, went to Festiva to get the paperwork for my tour and Sheraton reservation, and found out that I did not qualify for the tour because my husband was not traveling with me! Stay away from this company! I called the rep from my phone call from the festiva office and he indicated the told me my husband must attend. He kept lying and the people at the office would not help me.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I am sorry to see you have had trouble with the tour. We take customer service very seriously and are more than happy to work with you directly. Please send us your contact information to comments@festiva.travel and I will have a manager look into your issue.
employee treatment
I used to work for the company. You would think that the company would take care of its people but I have a totally different story to tell. I am giving them the opportunity to make some things right by all of its employees and if they dont do the right thing then Everybody will be able to refer back to this message board to find out everything you ever wanted to know about the practices of this organization. I will keep you all posted of the outcome. there is a class action lawsute in progress against the company on behalf of its employees.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I work for Festiva and have for years and I love my job! Oh and learn how to spell, lawsuit:) Tara Elliott
I think that you all need to grow up. I worked for Fesiva for a litle over two years, my job was to sit and listen to people like you complain all day long. The difference is I felt that I was worth much more than I was being paid. I asked for a raise and was denied so I did something about it... I left! My wife is still employeed with Festiva. In my time as an employee of the company I feel as if I were treated well with te exeption of one member of management.I still loved my job and the company I worked for When I left I was paid the money that was owed to me.
The point I am tryng to make is that if you are not happy with your JOB and if you are not happy with your ivestment only you can change it. I spoke with many happy owners wtih Festiva and many that were happy with their tour. The ones that I have spoke with who complain and threaten to sue are the ones who do not really have the money to own and maintain it. My advice... do not live above your means.My advice to the employees quit go do something else do not moan and whine and make yourselves appear to be deginerate! There are several individuals employeed by Festiva who have been there 5 plus years who are salesman and some that are administrative...My guess is you were a salesmen you couldn't hack it so they let you go! If you work at Walmart and can't perform your duties they too will let you go! GROW UP AND GET A JOB! By the way if you have balls enough to post be grown up enough to include your name !
Candie Cooper
strongly agree..all ocncerned owners/employees that can provide documentation of fraudulant activites on Festiva's activites pleae contact us
festivaclassaction@gmail.com
Get a life! BRAINWASHING? Television brainwashes people everyday I dont see you complaining to CNN! And as far as a paycheck goes, if you would have followed the training you would have sold something. When you sell something you get a paycheck, so maybe you need to go back through training.
I agree with this statement and am a former employee having massive lies and difficulities trying to obtain my final paycheck from the company. I have recently recorded such a conversation and was hung up on when I let it be known that I have the person saying "we do not follow those laws" (I could not take her saying that she did not use those words anymore, so I offered to meet at the sales center for a playback - end of call). After the third phone call of being lied to I became smart and recorded every second. I recently "referred" someone to a "recruitment" who was then hired and have since obtained 14 hours of recorded "training" - - I am in currently reviewing the offer to create a documentary
Please email me at nategoesthere@gmail.com and i am willing to share my story and I believe that all former employees should come forward regarding the tactics and brainwashing that this company partakes in.
beware, scam alert
We were told we would receive a free Carnival 4 night cruise for listening to a 90 minute presentation. That turned into 3 hours and with me being rude and insisting that we have to leave. Be prepared for them to insult your intelligence and basically tell you if you love your family you will buy this. Hope you have an additional 30k lying around but if not they will finance you for about $600 a month. But really what is the cost of love, right? And if you don't spend 30K after there presentation they don't want to see you again. YOu won't be allowed back because you would be like a bad date and why would they want to go on a bad date again? I'm not making this up. It was so over the top it was almost funny, but just a bit too insulting to be funny. After we finally left with our free cruise pamphlet I called to see what fees were involved. Well as I should have guessed it was a scam! The free cruise was only $9.92 cheaper than if I just went to Carnivals website and booked it myself. What a waste of my day. Don't get fooled like we did! If it sounds to good to be true it is! FESTIVA LIES!
My name is sherry council. I have been dealing with festiva for two years. I have never been able to book a vacation! I'm currently trying to book a vacation for our family on my daughters 21st birthday. Once again we are getting the absolute run around. Just like the other customers state all of a sudden we had to pay $288 to make a reservation. After we paid the all of a sudden new few, we then had to wait 2 days to make the resevation. We have done this before. When we call in two days there will not be anything available. I will keep you updated. We live in Florida I would like to know if there is an agency to report them to. They have made things very tough for me and I plan on doing the same for them.
Of course you are not a real family person. I have used this company for over 5 years. I purchased because I see the saving, over time, that my family and I will make. If you like motels then move on as I don't want someone like yourself lying next to me by the pool with your derogatory insults and ignorance. If you want to pay Paris Hilton a portion of her income then continue to rent. Oh, by the way, are you a renter or home owner, either way, you are paying maintence fees, insurance, taxes, upkeep and so on, unless you live in a real dump.
not what promised
Went on line to find a place to vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC., I ran across a 4day/3 night deal with Festiva Resorts at the Wild Wing Resort in Conway, SC., when I tried to set the dates, the customer service rep. (KIM) told me she had no availability at the Wild Wing but had comproble accomodation at River Oaks Plantations, needless to say, this was no where near comproble, looked like a run down apartment someone had just moved out, no jacuzzi tubs, no internet access, no playground, pretty much everything we were looking for as a vacation spot. Once we went down to veiw the available resort facility, it was not the Wild Wing but another location in Surfside Beach, SC., 30 minutes from Myrtle Beach. While going through the sales pitch, the speaker said if this is something you cannot afford or not interested in then, just walk away with no hard feelings. That must have been the joke or the punch line, I have still not figured it out. Once we decided we were not interested, we were rudely rushed out the door and told not participate in anything to due with Festiva Resorts. Save yourself the headache, pay a little extra and have a great time, we saw beachfront resort rooms going for $79/night.
im a former employee at festiva, and they are CONS! in training we were given information about the resorts and what to say to customers. when i wanted more information on what i was selling, i wa stold that "you are selling a vacation package that anyone would be stupid to pass up". i convinced my dad to buy a golf package that included "3day2night @ condo in myrtle beach w/ 2 rounds of golf at a PGA rated golf course. all for $199 and 90 mins of his time." REALLY it cost him $199 plus money for recreation, food, etc. 4 hours of his time, and a headache. ALSO due to the lengthy HIGH PRESSURE "no-obligation" presentation he was left with no time for golf. after seeing how big of a scam these people were pulling off, i quit immediately. also for anyone wondering about the company: the free dinner for 2 is not free! you pay for your food and get a rebate. Carnival Cruise is not affiliated with Festiva and your free cruise (if you ever receive it and usually you wont) is going to cost you over 200 dollars per person! i hate that i was ever affiliated with such a misleading company, and i apologize to anyone who was taken advantage of.
I HAVE BEEN AN OWNER SINCE 2005 AND HAVE STAYED AND GONE TO NICER PLACES THAN YOU HAVE. I AM SURE OF THAT. IT IS PAID FOR NOW AND I VACATION IN 5 STAR RESORTS ALL THE TIME. WHY BLAME FESTIVA FOR YOUR IGNORANCE OF NOT BEING ABLE TO THE TREES FOR THE FOREST? I HAVE MORE THAN GOTTEN MY MONEIES WORTH FROM THIS OWNERSHIP. YES IT WAS A FINANCIAL BURDEN AT FIRST TO TAKE THAT PLUNGE, BUT THE END RESULT IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR AND GOT. SORRY YOU WILL NEVER BE AN OWNER WITH THIS COMPANY BECAUSE OF YOUR IGNORANCE. IN FACT, I AM GLAD THEY MAKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU HAVE TO MAKE A 90 MINUTE CHOICE! IT ELIMINATES ME AND MY FAMILY FROM HAVING TO DEAL WITH JERKS LIKE YOURSELF ON OUR VACATION. GOOD LUCK WITH THE WAY YOU ARE DOING THINGS AND I WILL VACATION WAY BETTER THAN YOU FOREVER... LOL
misleading salespeople
Don't believe everything you are told! When they asked how we travel, we told them we travel on short notice to Charleston all the time. They told us the package they sold us would be perfect for that. Well we have had this package for over a year now and Church St NEVER has openings available on short notice. Since then we have been told several times by Owner Services that Church St. is a very popular location and is usually booked months in advance. My job does not allow me to plan months in advance which is why we always go on short notice when opportunities present themselves. This means I have been sold a package which is just about useless to me and there doesn't seem to be a way out of it. The availability of this resort was GREATLY misrepresented during the sales pitch. Now all our travel money is used to pay a monthly payments on something we cant use. Thanks to Festiva, my family can't travel as often as we used to BECAUSE we bought their vacation package.
UPDATE - I was contacted by the home office by a very nice woman who wanted to find out more about the issues I have been having. She told me that while it isn't easy to get last minute reservations at Church St. it should be possible. She also got me a reservation for next weekend. This is the first time someone has really worked on my behalf to try and help me use my vacation points. While a lot of the complaints focus on the salesmen, I think that fact that Festiva checks these boards and tries to rectify these issues does speak well for them. Perhaps this new level of customer service means Festiva has taken some of these complaints to heart and is perhaps changing for the better. I do hope so.
My contact information has been sent. I have spoken to owner services several times and get the basic "Church St. is popular. Sorry nothing more we can do." I sincerely hope you aren't going to contact me just to say the same thing again...
I am sorry that you are having trouble with reservations. We are more than happy to work with you directly to resolve your issue. Please send us your contact information to comments@festiva.travel and I will have someone contact you.
4 day carnival cruise offer and rude person on phone
I just came back from a 7 day cruise on Carnival and in my mail was a "Free 4 Day Cruise Offer" from Festiva Resorts. I figured that this was one of those timeshare "High Pressure Sales" scams, but I said what the hell, I will call them anyway. So I called and spoke to a young man that kept saying that I had "Won" this gift and that all I had to do was come and pick it up at the office at Water Front Park in Charleston TODAY and guess what, yes I had to attend a 90 minute presentation. there was what I was waiting for, getting to the truth. Did I mention that I just got back from a 7 day cruise... So I have a ton of things to get done by morning. He would not take "no not today" for an answer. I finally got tired of arguing with him about going down there today and told him that he was now wasting my time and that if I had time in the week I would call back.
After the call I decided to look them up on the web, and guess what, They have a whole lot of complaints about deception, scamming, misleading, and downright dishonest business dealings.
But the more I think about it, I am going to make and appointment with your company to pick up my "4 Day Cruise Voucher from Carnival". And I will not be bringing my wife, but my good friend and attorney. Especially after the comment that the phone rep said, "Bring your Drivers License and a major credit card, It cannot be a debit or check card" Now why would this be, Well maybe becuase they can only charge a limited amount on a debit or check card. But that is just my guess...
Look forward to getting my 4 Day cruise that was promised to me. And I WILL NOT be bringing or giving you ANY type of Credit Card. The offer was for a "FREE" Cruise. If any Port fees or other misc fees need to be paid, they will be paid directly to Carnival.
Jack Goynes
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I could type until I'm blue in the face, but I'll try and keep it short. Sales pitch was VERY pushy but I was reassured I was getting a FREE trip and I ended up agreeing to sit for the presentation. After hanging up the phone, I go on google and do a websearch for Festiva where countless pages come up of unhappy customers getting empty promises and end up essentially paying for the cruise. I called back to discuss my uneasiness where I was directed to a sales manager who yelledat me and even threatened me! I couldn't believe it. The manager was yelling "you can't believe everything you read online!" I told them that with the demeanor that was just demonstrated, in this case, I can believe what I read online.
I recently received one of the Festiva "Free 4 Day Cruise Offer" in the mail and decided to give it a try. Last night, 9 Sept 2010, my wife and I attended the 90 minute sales pitch knowing that we would not be purchasing any time share. For the life of me I just don't understand why anyone would buy such a thing. Anyway, we listened to the salesman repeatedly say that all we had to pay was $870.00 a year for the time share so I thought, "for the use of 27 resort properties, $870.00 a year isn't bad". Of course after he finished with us and the "boss" came out, that $870.00 turned into $47, 000. I couldn't believe it. I said to them both that I was more than dissappointed because from the beginning I asked for the button line price. I didn't want the typical used car salesman approach and just wanted to know what this would cost. How did they go from $870.00 to $47, 000? Needless to say that after our 90 + minute sales pitch I politely asked for my free gift and left. They were not very nice at the end...I will call today and arrange for my cruise and will come back here to let you all know what happens.
About a year ago I was offered the 4-day cruise to attend a sales presentation. My wife and I didn't choose to buy that day and the Festiva reps did their darndest to get us to change our mind. While their efforts were evident in no way were any of the reps rude or pushy. In the end they even apologized to us if we felt any undue or inappropriate pressure to buy. We were escorted to the department that handled the cruise voucher and we were thanked for coming in and asked that we tell friends about the offer. I immediately went home and called the travel agent listed on the voucher we went over the dates we were considering and everything that should have been explained to us was explained and we were quite pleased with the honesty. I'm so sorry to hear that it didn't work out for everyone like that.
Sounds like you're the SCAMMER.
I am sorry you are having some complications with the touring proccess. Please email us at comments@festiva.travel with your direct contact information and we will be sure to have someone from the correct department contact you to resolve and issues.
actual number of time shares festiva owns
I just called Festiva and asked how many units Festiva owned in each of their 26 resorts. They said they didn't know and could not answer that. I asked to speak with someone who could answer that. They said that NO ONE in their whole company could answer that. Anyway, to let others out there know, just by doing a quick search, Hilton Head's Resort has 33...
Read full review of Festiva Development Group and 5 commentsstay away
I was in Charleston, SC on April 1st 2010 with my wife and two young kids. We were at the welcome center on April 2nd 2010 where it all started and the rep talked us into going on a 90 mins presentation and receive a $75 gift card. My wife was excited and thought if a company can offer $75 just for listening; imagine what they would do if you were the member. We went there with open mind and listen to their presentation. It was interesting and I liked the sales presentation. Afterwards we sat down and started talking about buying into their point system. After consulting with my wife, I signed the documents to purchase the membership. Before signing, the supervisor told us that everyone would be approved for the financing that day. We spend close to 1 & 1/2 after the 90 mins presentation, filling in the paper work and signing the contract. For the down payment, I gave them my check card and it was charged as well. After spending all this time and getting my check card charged, the supervisor, Mike comes to me and informed me that the down payment would have to be doubled as my credit score was not good enough for them. I asked him, then why did he not tell me this upfront about their benchmark so I would not have wasted my time. I especially asked Mike about it upfront and he told me that regardless of credit history, everyone was going to get in house financing that day. By now my kids were getting frustrated too. We finally left and Mike gave me a refund slip as well. I was able to put down 20% upfront but what stopped me doing that was just a little thought that if a company can get you in like this and after charging yourcheck card wants to get more money, it is better to stay away then be sorry. Mike was so desperate to get more money that he was even willing to spread out that down payment on 60 days. I am thankful that I saved my self that day! The only thing bothers me that I went in there with good heart and wanted to listen to them but they really pissed me off, especially for putting my 2 young kids through this as well.
LewisClark;
The primary reason my posts are all very similar is that there are rarely any specific complaints with enough information that can be resolved through this forum. If I am not able to tell who a person is to research their account history, then there's no way for me to help them.
This is why we ask people to contact us directly so that we can get them to the correct person who can resolve their issue.
We are always willing to work with owners and members to explain the membership and correct any problems, simply contact us at comments@festiva.travel.
This is a scam to get money.
I've noticed that with all the complaints I have read - The Festiva Rep always says the same thing. Not very helpful.
I talked to the person who conned me into buying this horrible plan - He only makes a small hourly wage - He works technically on commision. If he doesnt sell anything one week and then sells something the next, they take back the amount he was paid the week before and gives him the difference... its a huge scam.. stay away!
I'm sorry you had a negative experience with our company and you weren't made aware of the credit requirements up front.
We do have a thorough training procedure for all of our sales representatives and if you did not receive the proper information we will be happy to look into it. Please send an e-mail to comments@festiva.travel with your name and the date of your tour so that we can look into the situation.
Due to the recent economic changes, we have changed our credit requirements in order to meet those requirements of our lenders which allow us to offer financing. We will pre-approve you for credit, but the down payment amount does depend on the credit score based on the requirements of our lenders.
We are fortunate to be able to offer financing as some vacation ownership companies do not. Please contact us at comments@festiva.travel if you have any other questions.
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Festiva Development Group emailsmemberservices@festiva.com100%Confidence score: 100%Supportmedia@festiva.com94%Confidence score: 94%communicationmembersolutions@festiva.com93%Confidence score: 93%communicationownerservices@festiva.com92%Confidence score: 92%support
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Festiva Development Group address4700 Millenia Blvd, Suite 405, Orlando, Florida, 32839, United States
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At a festiva presentation in charleston, sc were promised they would buy our aruba timeshare. Because we were being charged at the aruba timeshare $900 for years 2017, 2017 and 2017 for renovation and maintenence fees. The presenter said festiva would purchase our timeshare and we would never see a bill again from aruba. We paid in full for the festiva timeshara and soon after the purchase of the aruba timeshare was rejected. The last page of the contract we signed has a disclaimer which states that festiva does not have to honor any promises made by the agent or presenter. We contacted the attorney general. They can do nothing at this time, but did advise me to pay the maintenence fees on time because of high late fees. Also the collection agency has higher late fees.
Funny that the Atty General for SC is Henry McMaster and the Atty handling our Church St Inn timeshare transation (and paid well for doing so) is his relative and Law partner, George Hunter McMaster...Conflict of Interest?
Correct site for Festiva complaints, call to action and discussions http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Peppertree-EquivestOwners/