Silverleaf Resorts review: scam 99

We have been scammed by Silverleaf Resorts as well. We purchased one of the sampler vacations. We've requested a refund. All they have been telling us is that they will honor the week vacation that we have paid for.

I called their Corporate office today. At 5:03 I was told everyone was gone for the day. I told the representative that I was not an idiot and there's no way that she was the only person left in the building. A few minutes a later a supervisor came on the phone. I requested that she direct me to the portion of the contract that stated no refund of deposit or moneys applied. No where does it state that.

The legal department is supposed to be calling me tomorrow. Maybe I can get some resolution with them tomorrow. If not I guess I will take the week vacation and for a portion of each day I will sit in the waiting room and warn everyone I can of the scam that Silverleaf Resort really and truly is.

Maybe I won't get my $1, 000 deposit back but I will force them to spend much more than that to get customers that I have just scared away. I will be sure to direct them all to this website as well.

I will inform them exactly the type of organization that Silverleaf Resort is.

I happen to be in school online right now in a Marketing class and this happens to be the week that we write about a good customer service experience and a bad customer service experience. I will certainly be writing tonight that this is bad customer service. I will be touching some people that are right here in this area, Atlanta, GA, I have classmates from Iowa, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Tennessee, Texas, Ohio, Minnesota, California, and Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles.

Wow, I had no idea that there were students from so many different places. I may have to direct personal at Silverleaf to this website myself and let them know how many people I may be able to affect. Nothing like negative advertising.

Not only do I have access to the discussion board for the assignment we have a virtual commons area that I can post a warning to students. I don't know how many students attend this campus but I certainly have the ability to tell at least thousands and thousand of people in many different parts of the world. This can be seen by everyone. But school is a community and you are more apt to listen to someone who is part of your community like students at AIU.

I read your complaint and Yes it is a big rip off! But I got out of it. All you have to do is tell them that you want to deed it back to them they will give you trouble but just give them a sad story about a death or loosing your home and your wife being pregnent or just something bad and tell them that you will give them 400.00 dollors for them to deed it back. It might work for you. You have to talk to a guy named Eric if you can and have your money ready to pay. He will send you a paper to sign and send back then it is off of you.

I hear the same complaints everyday that you have on your site regarding Silverleaf Timeshares. The maintenance fees keep going up, the bonus times keeps changing for the worse and due to the oversaturation of the resale market you can’t even seem to give them away and people keep paying companies more and more to only end up disappointed again and again.

What I have to offer is definitely not for everyone but I wanted to let you know that I work on behalf of a Charity that is looking for Silverleaf Timeshares and unlike other charities we are approving all Silverleaf Timeshares, no matter where, season, size etc…. the only stipulation is that it is mortgage free and current on maintenance fees.

The donor will receive a tax deduction of up to 5000.00 and it cost nothing, we pay for everything including closing cost and the transfer fees.

Again, this is not for everyone but for those that just want out from underneath their ownership this might be a solution and it is definitely a win win for the owner and the charity.

If this is something you might consider advising the owners on your site, please have them go to www.trejesto.com for more information. On the website it states that your timeshare will have to go through a market analysis but I wanted to let you know that ANY Silverleaf Resort is automatically “APPROVED” right now.

Good Luck
Andria

P.S. Just for your information, Silverleaf’s Bonus time has changed AGAIN….. If you sale it, the new owner gets limited bonus time and if they sale or transfer it the Bonus Time DOES NOT transfer. This means that they will have 1 week a year period ! This is going to make the sale of Silverleaf timeshares even harder to sale, and this is why the market is saturated with these timeshare now for resale.

Just an FYI ~ I just purchased a Silverleaf timeshare and I did get the bonus time transfer with it. I used it a couple of weeks ago, so I know its there.

Kim

We have been Silverleaf owners since 1991 and I can honestly tell you they have gone to *** in a hand basket. We recently stayed out at the Villages for "complimentary" stay as long as we attended the meeting. Well fine sure we needed a short getaway. So we get there on a Friday around 9:30pm, as we had to work all day, and low and behold they put us up in one of the oldest condos they had and we were specific we told them we wanted a lodge unit, not a condo unit. So we check in and get to Unit 71 and OMFG it was a dump! First sign we got to high tail it out of there was an unlocked, ugly ***, sliding glass front door. Boy that was so inviting.

My husband called the front desk and told them they better find an open lodge unit or he was packing up and heading back to Dallas. They gave some song and dance about how they didn't have lodge units available at that time (we found out later it was a first come, first serve basis). So, we toughed it out for the night as the kids were tired and cranky from the 3 hour drive. While we had the chance we wrote a list of all the things we found wrong with that one condo (surly the same things wrong in all the other older ones):

1) Right away, unlocked front door

2) Musty, moldy smell

3) Footprints, handprints and pencil marks on the walls throughout

4) Water stains on walls and ceilings

5) Water damage to sheetrock, behind 30 layers of paint

6) Appliances dated back to 1978

7) Carpet was stained and dingy

8) Handles missing off nightstands

9) Ice maker did not work

10) Awful cable reception

11) Insignificant light switches that served no purpose

12) Shabby, torn bed linens

13) Vertical blinds missing slats and pull rods

14) Walkway up to Condo was dangerous

15) 2 washcloths for 4 people

16) Sagging mattress

17) Kitchen floor was rotting out

18) Broken kitchen cabinets

You get the idea right...

Next day, we get a phone call from one of the managers explaining that a lodge unit would be available by 11 am, go figure (they sucked up because they thought we were potential upgraders to their Diamond Club, fat chance). We get into the nicely decorated and much more up to date lodge unit and kids want to take advantage of the water park (which Silverleaf maintenance fees paid for because they obviously aren't being used for maintenance). Now this water park was a neat idea, but my problem with it is this, members have to pay $20.00 per person to use it...and it's open for the public to use as well ... the PUBLIC! Since when have Silverleaf amenities been open to the public?

Another thing that bothers me is the meeting we had to attend. First of all, as members were coming in they had to fill a survey. Most of that information was NONE of their business! They had no business knowing such personal information like which credit cards you used while at the resort, your occupation, where you worked, income and children's names and ages. Once the form was turned in they offered up tickets to the BBQ...we never got any and weren't even offered any. Was it because we chose to only write out names on the form and nothing else? Regardless, the service was rude!

Once they got us into their office to go over their 2 hour sales pitch and tour of what we CAN'T use currently, we proceeded to tell them what was WRONG with the current condos, built in 1978. They grabbed a maintenance sheet and pretended to act like they cared and when they thought we weren't looking they secretly slid the maintenance request form into the garbage. Of COURSE they don't care, they're there to sell, not listen to members.

Now that leads me the *** 'n bull story the salesmen have to tell as to why all the new Presidential, ambassador and wife else grandiose crap they're building is being built. They say "Silverleaf members have spoken", my *** they've spoken. Which ones did they speak to? The ones who have more money than brains? You can't say a handful of surveys represents ALL Silverleaf owners, because that's BS!

Ok, so as we start the tour of the beautiful Beach Resort at the Villages, btw did you know they trucked in white sands from Florida for the private beach? Yeah, we Endless Escape owners can't use that either, unless we spend another $8, 000 on top of what we already spent the first go round to buy into the Diamond Plus Club. We're escorted into this beautiful 1200 sqft condo and they think it's gonna wow us into buying ... WRONG. We were not falling for their horse 'n pony show. I tell the young salesman, with the smug attitude, to stop at the condo they put us up in the night before and he acted as though his hearing aid battery fell out...turned a deaf ear mind you. They're not interested in the old condos, NO, they want you to buy a new one. We're not stupid!

He then proceeds to tell my husband, who at one point said he got to stay at a presidential condo in Galveston, that it'll never happen again ... why do you say that you effin punk, gonna fix it so he can't ... smug bastage. Any who, after we get back to the member services building he takes us to a showroom of floor plans and photos of the new condos, the ones we can't use, and I ask "Why aren't there photos of the old condos on here, you know the one we got stuck in Friday night?" Again, no response. Why they wouldn't sell condos at the rate they are if they had photos of the old condos.

I then asked, "So how come you don't walk potential owners through one of the condos you put us up in Friday?" Again, dead air. When he couldn't seal the deal, they brought a closer in ... he made the upgrade seem so cheap and easy. He figured he'd give us a deal ... $5, 620 plus a $1200 down payment with payments as low as $88 a month for life... bet you're thinking man that's a sweet deal! NO EFFIN WAY! Here's the catch though, he wanted to make our home resort in Massachusetts with a white week. Why the *** would we want a white week in Massachusetts, when we already own a red week at Holly Lake, where the PGA golf course is? BTW, they're now building presidential condos at Holly Lake.

When the closer started talking all I heard was blah blah blah horse 'n pony show blah blah blah. This smug *** then says, "I own 3 weeks, " well la de da jack ***, who cares. He also goes on to say that he is taking his kids to places he grew up going to and wants them to learn what a good vacation is all about. Shoot, I must be doing it all wrong cause I'm trying to teach my kids how to earn a dollar. What a hole he was. He couldn't seal the deal either and walked out completely defeated and huffy.

We did learn a vital piece of information...RCI members have more clout at Silverleaf Resorts than Silverleaf owners... Yeah you saw it right here. The reason we couldn't get into a lodge condo the night we got there is because Silverleaf "HAS" to leave a section blocked out specifically for RCI members. Ain't that a kicker. We got screwed because RCI takes precedence. Sorry POS! No offense to RCI members, but uh HELLO Silverleaf owners made Silverleaf, not RCI.

Anyway, we went back to the condo, checked out a day early and went the *** home. We traded our red week for a week in Branson next summer. And we were grandfathered in where we get to use all the Silverleaf resorts ... like it matters. Silverleaf Executives are crooked ###.

It is a big rip-off...I didn't buy into it...I went to get the free gift, I already knew that they were going to try to get me to sign, but I wasn't having it. Once they figured out I wasn't going to sign, there whole attitude changed. This was the location in Irving TX...the guy that was dressed in a suit, that looked like a clown suit was very rude. I just laughed at him, besides I thing he was a little confused one what he wanted to be...I think he and his boyfriend might have had a fight.

I also was a victim of silverleaf, I bought it in march 2008, almost everything that they told me was a lie, I couldn't sleep after I found out that other people were also a victim. I read all their complaints and I got mad. I also threatened to go to silverleaf resort in Illinois and tell every person that walked in the door what had happened to me. I also told them that I was going to talk to the news channel about them, I got my money back months later, I lost about $2000 in deposit and monthly payments, everytime that they call me to go and stay for free, they tryed to talked me into upgrading. all they want is money, they told us that we couldnt go to florida because it was all a red season, and we owned a blue even if we payed extra. we we looked into it and we could just buy it from rci. but we would probably wouldnt get in if we just deposited our week to them. because our season was not really a good season in florida. they also told us that they have plans in building a water park in illinois, they even showed us the land. Then we wanted to go and stay for bonus time, they told us that they were full, but that they will call us 2 days before we actually went there. 2 days. I wasnt going to wait till that day to make plans, I wrote an email to texas telling them my situation and told them that I was going there for the day, since it was free, and see for my self if there were actually full. cus everytime we were there it was always empty, they called me back the next day to tell me that there was room for me if I still wanted it. That time that we were there, we got this Vin Diesel looking clown with a suit trying to sell us an upgrade, that silverleaf was going to leases instead of deeds, that was a lie. They wanted us to upgrade before they started to go in to leases. We didnt buy, I was so pissed at that time. My wife told me to just go ahead and buy it, since they already tricked us, I said no. good thing I did. They also told us that The Wilderness Resort was part of rci. that resort is famous in the midwest. Its in wisconsin dell. that was a lie too. They also told us that we could make money selling our week on ebay to the highest bidder, liers. I called rci to make sure that was true, not. we can only let our family use it, if we get any money, well rci will never know, this was the number one reason why we bought it, to sell it to friends and other people we knew. Everyday that I loged in online and found more lies, I got more pissed. The fees every year were around $700. I keep thinking to my self, well we can take a vacation with that time of money, atleast it would pay for half the vacation. Not to mention their interest rate were 21%. wow. I bought it and I was going to pay it off in less then a year. Even though I got out of it and loss a couple thousand dollars, I am writing because I dont want anybody else to go to the same problem we did. We didnt get that blue card in the mail like some other people, we went to a childrens expo in illinois, and there was a man who told us if we want a free vacation to orlando, all we had to do was to go to a resort and attend a meeting. I will never forget that day, One of the worse decisions of my life. I have to warn others about silverleaf resorts, they need to control their employees and make them not to rip off innocent people. I am not saying all silverleaf resorts are scammers, just some people in Illinois location, My first clue of the problem should have been when they told us not to sue, that we can negotiate it inside the club house. What can we do to stop this, I would want to gather people around to go to silverleaf and tell people who were there what had happened to us. But I dont know about the legal issues, will we get arrested for protesting? I forgot to mention what had happened when we went in our bonus time, we got put in to another building, different from the once we went to stay for free, when they try to sell us an upgrade, We were in a building dirtier than the others, no shower head, and I the middle of the night, there were screams of a girl fighting with other boys. she was screaming so loud that I thought someone was going to get killed or something. I tryed to called someone, but no one was at the office, or security. bonus times sucks.

Sounds to me as if you spent more time trying to find things wrong than making the best of what you have. Sounds like you made it a wonderful short vacation for you kids. And not to mention teaching them how to complain and whine. I have stayed in the older section of the Villages also and didn't have any problem. You want to have a great place to stay in, you want the newer places, then turn around and complain that they are building the newer buildings. I don't own Diamond, I own Presidential. I have never had the problems you have. What do you expect? As you said the buildings were OLDER. There are going to be some problems. Who are you to think that just because you wanted a lodge you should get it. Then get there earlier. Why should someone who got there early be put out because you want what you want and will whine and cry till you get it. Instead of being grateful they went to the trouble to get you a lodge unit you still complain. I was told from the start that it was on a "space availability" to get in if you are not using your week. Learn to ask questions. RCI only gets those rooms when people have given up their week. I don't think anything was going to make you happy except complaining.

Quit signing up for all those sweepstakes you sign up for and the offers will stop.

Just a warning to all:

My credit card company must be on to their scam, because my credit card was closed and a new one reissued to me. I also looked at a new credit report and found that Silverleaf Resorts made an inquiry. I have never contacted this company, nor have I received anything from them. I'm not sure if these two events are related, but they both happened in the same month. Everyone BEWARE!

We too, my husband and I, got duped as well. We thought it was a good idea to have it since we have a lot of friends who would come to Atlanta from NY and this could accomodate us and another couple. Plus we were getting married on 08/08/08 and thought we could take advantage of the "free" cruise they offered just to attend the presentation. You don't know until you get there that unless you buy into it, you ain't getting s@#$! Once you do it, you still had to jump through too many hoops to get the cruise and you couldn't just pick a date, you had to submit 3 dates and hope we got one to coincide with the time we planned our honeymoon. Never happened! Never got to take the cruise and then to make matters worst we find out AFTER THE FACT that even though we signed up in June, 08 we were not eligible to use their facilities until an "odd" year; which meant we had to wait until NEXT year in 2009!

Because of the economy, my business closed and my husband's job said he would be laid off in November so of course this would be the last thing on our list of priorities. OMG they called non-stop even if you told them you would try to do something when you could. I told them surely they did not think that paying them mattered in lieu of paying for a roof over our heads and food to eat; especially when we have NEVER used thier facility and have nothing tangible we possess that we purchased. You can't eat a piece of paper!

Then they started a tag team, the "good" cop, "bad" cop routine! One day a woman would call as though she was a "friend" who "understood" and would "pray" for us that everything would work out alright. Then call every damn day after that and on alternate days some dude would call and act like the typical "collector" talking about foreclosure, yada, yada, yada... I told him do what you must, you can't get blood from a turnip, as the old saying goes...and hung up on his "stoopid" @#&! LOL!

Now I check EVERYTHING on line for scams...we learned our lesson the hard way! We haven't decided on what to do to try and get out of it. We certainly don't want a FC on our credit report.
All I can say is BUYER BEWARE!

I am going through the same thing right now. This company sent me a card in the mail, stating that I had won a cruise and a chance to win a BMW, Jaguar, etc. Stupid me, I called and set up an appointment to meet with someone. I had no idea what I was in for. Had I known that this stupid time share was a scam I would've never wasted my time. They corner you and make you feel bad and use your kids and family against your decision. And then when you tell them that you cannot afford it, they will bargain down to the last dollar. They tried to get thousands of dollars from me. Long story short. I have had this stupid property since May last year and have only been able to use it 2x's which was the free stays. If you own one right now, BEWARE, this is their way of getting you to come and have some shady ### salesman try to upgrade you and trade your property in or purchase one that has "lapsed" with someone else. These people corner you into a small office. I have since lapsed and refused to pay because of all the things that I have read about this company.They hound you. They call every number they have and leave 20-30 messages on your voicemails. I have lost my job because they kept calling my work. And do not fall for the blocked called ID [protected]. This company is so desperate and stupid. I read that it is illegal for a company to block their ID using the 000's. The reason that I know it is this company is because when I had a a phone I saw they called me and then right after that all day that stupid 000 number would call me.

I have cancer and have had to do alot of back and forth visits to the doctor UNinsured and even had my doctor write me a letter of hardship and sent it to them. I dealt with so many people on this matter. I even had someone tell me that they didn't think that I had cancer and that I was trying to make excuses out of my deed. I as a customer took that into OFFENSE. I CANNOT believe that someone would tell me this. AND yes they do play good guy bad guy. One day your "assigned account" person is a guy and then the next it is a girl. These people are scammers. They try to act like they are going to help you but then you have to deal with someone ignorant telling you that you have to go borrow money from your family or bank accounts. I even told these imbicials that I have had a change in my financial status and that my kids are more important than they are right now. Putting a roof over their heads and food on the table is more important. These people are scams and they do not care about anything but getting money from innocent people. Do not fall for it like I and others have. This company has threatend foreclosure on my credit. But what can I do if I do not have money to shell outta my butt for them. I tried to tell them my situation and yet they did not want to hear it. After so many fights with my husband and tears after hanging up with these people, I have decided to give up and ignore them. I am not going to let them ruin my life and put me out on the streets because they did not care about my medical situation. My story is a bit all over the place but all is true. I can state more of the story in detail but I do not want to waste any of your time like this company has of mine. DO NOT FALL FOR SILVERLEAF'S SCAM! They will put you out on the streets if they have to.

I very sick about this entire situation. My grandparents have been members for the past 28 years and the sales team (tricked) them into "upgrading" and that was not the case at all. My grandparents have been able to go every year and this so called "upgrade" changed everything to two years and they tricked them into direct deposit which my grandmother would never do -- my grandparents are both 80 years old and was I think forced to sign a 15 year promissory note which makes no sense. I am not sure what direction to even take with these low lifes. After all the years that my grandparents have been with this company and for them to treat them this way is just not right.

Gloria, I would start by going to the silverleaf resorts site, silverleafresorts.com under contact us you will find the email address. I would write what you have put here with attention to : Sharon Brayfield who is the president. I would make it clear that you would like the matter resolved but if it becomes necessary you will contact an attorneyfor legal advice. The corporate office is easier to deal with then the sales department. Hopefully they would not want the negative publicity that could arise from taking advantage of a couple your Grandparents age. There is a 3 day or 5 day rescind period but that has obviously passed. There may be a problem in that if your Grandparents are considered of sound mind, which they no doubt are then it may be hard to prove they were (tricked) but I would certainly try dealing with the top as you will have no luck trying to call at the resort they bought from or from the sales department. I am sorry this happenned and would be curious to hear if you get a response. If you don't mind give me an update, jejones3329@aol.com . I own and like sillverleaf but I bought mine cheap off of ebay and use the bonus time freq as can travel during the week when they have vacancies. Judy

my husband and i own 2 deeds, and we are never able to get any bonus time. everytime we call we get the same answer no! this is sad.

I agree with all the comments above, we have two weeks which were bought for the bonus time more than the weeks because we have a boat and like to take long weekends with our kids rather than weeks.

They are getting so desparate to sell that they are allowing anyone with a checkbook in and now the resorts are unsafe. For those of you who visit the Piney Shores location there was a murder on Saturday April 25th. A man was shot to death near the pool at 5:20 in the morning, witnesses called the resort and reported gunshots and they didn't respond until 7am.

I have spent almost 20K on the two weeks I got and nothing has gone the way the sales people promised. Absolutely NOTHING! Yeah, I have gotten some accomodations from Admin but it still is not what I was promised in the sales pitch which is why I bought.

I would say to anyone purchasing any extras during this economic environment, buy solid ground, not a peice of paper full of empty promises. Buy you a stationary location on a lake somewhere. You can always rent it on your offtime and make some money of your own.

I bought it 2 years ago, had my kids added as users, until they tried to use the bonus time, which is what I bought it for, and to date have had one bonus weekend where they tried to "Upgrade" my plan, not going to happen.

I have never been to a Silverleaf property, but it sounds like some are unhappy with their vacation. If you are interested in a great golf vacation or please visit www.USGolfDesk.com

Last month we receive a phone call with the all to well known, "you have won a car, vacation, or money...yada yada yada...so we go to this "tour" and then my husband and I bought into Silverleaf, thinking it was not a bad buy since we have kids and we use our WorldMark for our vacations and we can use the additional week with RCI (that gets rolled up with our worldmark RCI). Last Thursday I started to call and proceeded to be on hold for 2 days...yes 2 days and now an email, ending with no room ever getting book. I then call the rep that sold the account to us and she explains how "that never happens" and she will fix it by booking the following weekend with a compt rate and would receive confirmation on this Wed. LMAO! Now we have tried several times to book 1 weekend of our bonus days based on the "reservations" we had this weekend and to no surprise they have NO record of our reservations at ANY resort! So now we have family and children ready with no condo. With what you pay a month you could easily stay in a hotel for 2 nights a month and have a great time still.

We understand this is a timeshare, but where they are selling a product we expect to be capable of utilizing that product! And to think this is just month 1 we can only imagine what is to come in the months to follow!

M&E Palubicki
Texas

Last month we receive a phone call with the all to well known, "you have won a car, vacation, or money...yada yada yada...so we go to this "tour" and then my husband and I bought into Silverleaf, thinking it was not a bad buy since we have kids and we use our WorldMark for our vacations and we can use the additional week with RCI (that gets rolled up with our worldmark RCI). Last Thursday I started to call and proceeded to be on hold for 2 days...yes 2 days and now an email, ending with no room ever getting book. I then call the rep that sold the account to us and she explains how "that never happens" and she will fix it by booking the following weekend with a compt rate and would receive confirmation on this Wed. LMAO!

We understood we were buying a Timeshare...but we bought a product and have yet to be able to use that product. There is a HUGE misrepresentation to this...they need to tell you..."we can sell you this, but you can't ever use it!"

So once again we have family and children ready to stay in the condo with no condo. With what we pay a month we can be staying in a nice hotel for the weekend and still be enjoying all that is offered in the area...so we pay that same amount for access to a waterpark (you have to pay to use $$$) and woohoo a putt-putt golf center with a few pools...what we thought was going to be a good buy because we have kids turned into nothing more than a money pitt that my kids don't get to enjoy. I wouldn't recommend this one to ANYONE...there are several other timeshares out there that are much more reputable.

Had we had the chance to do some reasearch on Silverleaf Resorts we would have opted out.

We were given a bait and switch. I am filing a complaint with the BBB on Monday. We bought a Getaway membership in Galveston. The sales manager told us we would be able to stay at the facilities in Galveston to use our bonus time. My wife has had strokes, has had a device put in her heart, and needs a handicap accessible unit. We were sold a unit at the Villages. Then when they gave us a comp weekend in Conroe they put us on the second floor of what was a one bedroom with a couch that pulled out into a bed. After some complaining to the front desk we were moved to a first floor room with three kids and the same size room. We would have not taken the trip had we known cramped we would have been, and the darn room had the mounting hardware where the smoke alarm belongs but no alarm. They told us we didn't have to do the orientation meeting it was a comp weekend. They kept calling to get us to go to Galveston to do our orientation, so we went. We got there and they put us on the third floor. We were angry so the put us on the second floor. A member of the resort staff told me this kind of thing happens a lot and if I heard the things that were said at their "POWER" meetings we have every right to be angry. Then when we went to the orientation meeting, the idiot with member services didn't even know what he was talking about which only we me more irritated. The handicap access was not enter into the system. They told me not to worry about the situation with the handicap access. It would be resolved before we left, , , , NOT! When we got home I looked through our contact. The carbon copy of our application with RCI and Silverleaf clearly states the need for easy access, but the copies ran of the complete contract does not show this at all. I want out, by my count they have breached the contract twice. No part of this experience has left us feeling satisfied with our ownership.

just curious if you go do you really get the prize?

I have owned a Silverleaf time share since the Eighties. I have had mainly positive results. I agree that their Sales Dept. may be less than above board and their tactics questionable.

I have my three grown kids on the deed and they are also very happy with getting their bonus time. Just next week my son has reservations at Branson, using bonus time and at the same time my daughter is there for the same week using a week that I had banked from last year.

Weekends are very difficult to obtain, but that is understandable and I have no problem with that. Once school is in session, I have had very little trouble booking bonus time during the week. In fact I prefer going when there aren't kids there making noise all the time.

I believe that too many people expect too much regarding their reservations. I have talked with and read comments that in my opinion are not realistic. Bonus time is not guaranteed, but is a nice benefit that few time shares offer. I also have three friends that purchased from Silverleaf and they share my feelings. In fact many times all four of us have gone at the same time and each brought another couple.

A typical time share gives you one week a year PERIOD. I have talked with other time share owners that can't believe that I have more than my assigned week.

My only real complaint with them is that many of the rooms are not being updated and are beginning to show their share of wear and tear.

i HAVE THIS RESORT AT 'THE VILLAGES :" OVER TWO YEARS. ALL I CAN SAY IS DO NOT, DO NOT GET A TIMESHARE THROUGH THIS COMPANY. THEY TELL u to come for a "update meeting", it turns out being a"upgrade meeting" they want. and there customer service is "horrible" there rooms are nasty, and old looking, . If you get a good room ur lucky. Plus they raised there maintance in past two years twice, talking about upgrades. They dont stop harrassing you or your friends to "come out", then when get there, long wait to see someone. the ones who like silverleaf. Believe me they probably work for company. who have all those resorts in there family . come on now. WARNING, AND I RARELY COMPLAIN. DO NOT GET THIS RESORT. U WILL REGRET IT.

bonus time is not guaranteed, and we are lucky we have it, the rooms are by far better than what you would stay in at a motel 6, and you stay for free, so stop ###, we get a week every year for less than three or four vacations would normally cost, and its for life... stop a second, think about it. and tell me again that this program is not BAD ###... Owner of a Red week out of Piney Shores.

i am a owner of a red week too, in PINEY SHORES, did you check your newsletter recently"scammer", they increased again the fees to get upgrade on there "broken equipment, cigarrete smoked room, dusty furniture, (all wood and old) appliances are old, they even use the old electric stove top (but dont change the pan that you put underneath, have food still on there. I stayed many times and have to be moved to different room. They do not change the comfortors, have holes in them. WARNING, WHEN YOU GO IF YOU GO, LISTEN TO THEM IF YOU WANT TO GET YOUR FREE GIFTS, then they will try to pursuade you (maybe even throwing in pictures of there family (using rci or traveling) . then when you say no, they will send a manager over to pursuade you some more. It is good to get a timeshare you can trust . but this company can scarely get you into your bonus times. have young people greeting you who dont have good customer service, plays behind counter, even in the cafe when serving food. they close pools sometimes even when it is summer. i can go on and on. but my final warning. there rooms are horrible, customer service bad, will raise maintance on you any time, very harrassing with family and friends. and they lie about there promises. My resort is paid off. and i bought a red deed for 7885. t hank god i done with that. But i get calls ever week asking me to come and "DO AN UPDATE", THERE IS NOTHING I NEED TO COME OUT FOR THAT I CANNOT BE TOLD ON PHONE, I HAVE BEEN TRICKED BEFORE TO COME OUT AND THEY TRIED TO SELL ME ANOTHER SHARE. NO MORE. I DO NOT TRUST THEM AND SO SHOULDN'T U. like one sales person told me. "we are a business in selling, so of course when you come out we will try to present our new resorts we have "presidental, diamond "/ no THANK YOU. I FEEL BAD FOR PEOPLE TRAPPED PAYING THE HIGH INTEREST ON THERE. GOD SPEED AND GOOD LUCK. FILE WITH BBB. AND WITH THE BUTT HEADS WHO LIKE THE RESORT .SELL IT TO YOUR MOTHER, OR ANYONE YOU CARE FOR LIKE U DO TO LOW INCOME . OR STRUGGLING AMERICANS.

I just submitted this complaint at http://www.complaintnow.com

Silverleaf told my husband that he could use the purchase as equity and could be used for an equity loan and it was real property. at the time he bought it he thought he was building equity (being young). We know that this is untrue because when we went to buy a condo after paying $10, 000 for the timeshare, the bank nearly laughed at us saying that there was absolutely no equity in the time share and it cannot be used for anything.

they stated they were in a deal with American airlines and avis so that he could get deals when he traveled. they lured him there telling him that he had a chance to win a car.

this happened in 1999. i know there is probably not much that can be done now but i just wanted this on the record. it's paid off now and we pay fees monthly that rise every year with no reason why.

It's funny how most of the complaints, like COMP22's, are poorly written. You're probably too stupid to use your program effectively. The gifts are not the best but most of the people, like you, are not smart enough to read the odds before they attend. They are right on the back of the letter you know :) The gifts are great if you use them CORRECTLY. But you need half a brain for that as well. This program changes people's lives for the better! It's up to you to use it to its max potential. White week owner at Oak N' Spruce since 2007

My husband and I have been owners for 7-8 years now and we have had good and bad experiences. I believe that is how it is in all huge companies. When they hire people some can be good and some can be bad employee's. There are some people in the world that use every trick in the book to make a sale and make money. Then there are others that truly believe in what they are doing that make a sale by seeing the big picture and hoping you and your family have a wonderful vacation experience. My husband is a work-a-holic and we bought a week at Fox River so he would take a scheduled week off. We took our kids and their friends and we had a blast! We then upgraded to Bransen, we went there a couple times and had fun too. My only complaint was our unit really needed to be painted, which I marked on my comment sheet. Then we bought another week from a shady salesperson that was inviting owners to meet at a retaurant to buy us dinner and let us know about point, click and stay. When he told us about how we could pick up a unit that had been foreclosed on at a dirt cheep price in Texas we jumped at the opportunity. We had some friends that wanted to come with us to see what we bought and it was a nightmare. It was NOT what we had been told we were purchasing. We stayed there that night and I could not wait to get to the office to tell them what this con man had done.
The manager of the resort used this opportunity to tack on a few thousand dollars to make the upgrade (we paid more for what we already purchased) and got us moved to a unit we thought we had already purchased. When we got home I was really angry about the whole thing. When they wanted us to come out to their new Lombard location my husband didn't want to go but I insisted that I was going to tell them what was on my mind and I did. The manager there came in and said that he was going to be going to every location and weed out these kind of empolyees (they had already fired that man that had lied to us) and for our trouble they were going to offer us a fantastic deal. This really angered me and we walked out. When we got home and got talking about it we thought it WAS a great deal so we called our guy "Phil" and for our 25th Anniversary we took the offer. We have NOT been there yet, we are going in December and we are taking friends with again. I will report our findings. We are using 2 weeks we had banked to take our kids and grandkids on a family vacation in a week and we are all looking so forward to it. As with any deal you make be sure to know what you are signing up for. We were very trusting in the beginning and sometimes you get burned. It has made us more cautious. With all life experiences, live and learn. Pam

All I can say to motoguy3 is you must work for Silverleaf. I don't think that anyone happy with Silverleaf would even vistit this website. Plus your language is much like the the harrassing people who are calling me for more money which I refuse to pay. They have already gotten 20K out of me so good luck!

Same to svlf4live. Would that spell out Silverleaf for Life? Lets see what happens when Silverleaf goes under and what your life will be. Obviously you are an employee too. These are the type people they employ. As far as the boards being poorly written, we can say the same about this timeshare program that is poorly managed, maintained, obviously defended (duh the recent shooting at Piney Shores) !

Totally agree, this company is horrible, it do not matter how BORELY THE COMPLAINT IS WRITTEN, the fact remains. This company is a rip off. If you see positive comments, it probably includes negative aspects of this company or IS AN EMPLOYEEE. I AGREE With penny webb. I am comp22 and i wil say this. RUN FAST AS YOU CAN AWAY FROM THE COMPANY, I AM SAYING THIS AGAIN. AND I HAD some good times, but the bad outways the good by far. it is cheaper to rent a hotel for a weekend, then pay as much as they charge you a timeshare and maintance good byeeeee

Do they give you one of the free gifts if you just attend the 90min tour or would I have to pay for something?

Sure go for the "90" minute tour which is like a trip to "Gilligan's Island". If you even act like you are interested, no way you will get out of there in 90 minutes. Try more like 4-5 hours. Not worth the gift in my opinion. If you act disinterested they rudely give you your gift and send you on your way.

If you are the type who has the time to spend that much time sitting in a chair in a office where sometimes the sales person leaves the room for up to 30 minutes "to take a call" but what they are doing is giving the husband wife time to argue it out. If the sales person is not effective enough they send in a "senior manager" who can work you an even better deal than the sales person offered, and then again and again. He is really the "closer". Usually a very big intimidating looking person.

Look, I agree, when we first bought we did enjoy it because we were allowed our bonus time which is why we bought and admitted that to them on more than one occasion. After 2-3 years and buying a second week to get us to "Diamond" status and adding our children for a fee, we nor our children could get in on the bonus time.

After the killing at the Piney Shores location and finding out they opened the waterpark to the public, which in my opinion is opening their security up to even more trouble, we have decided that for $500 per month, we could go to Europe in a year ALL EXPENSES Paid.

Recently we exchanged a week to go to Costa Rica and had to pay the $247, not the original cost quoted when we bought of $199 and couldn't get in a straight exchange within a 5 month range and ended up having to be in an all inclusive resort and paying $150 for food we rarely ate because we were fed on excursions.

Nothing has turned out the way it was described in the sales pitch. And it's not about knowing "how to use the system". After being an owner for 7 years, beleive me I know the drill, it's about what I was promised 7 years ago is not what they are now giving because they are overselling the properties and just like Fanny May they are selling to anyone with a check book and now they are desparate because I am sure in this economy, these luxury items are the first to go.

My heart goes out to the owners who have paid for their weeks because with the amount of disatisfaction that I have incurred and discussed with so many people, this company like many others will not be able to stay in business much longer. What really happens to that property you own a deed to that probably millions of others do too, even if they file bankruptcy, do you think that you will get the money you have invested in it. NO WAY!

I say save those payments, put them in a savings account and pay cash for your vacations. For what I was paying I could go to a hotel every weekend where they will serve me breakfast for free and their beds and pillows are more comfortable. There is no true safety in buying in a resort.

I think all sales people tell you what ever to get a sale. but they should be forced to back up what they say. We have owned a Silverleaf time share for about 8yrs now and love it. We have always gotten bonus time and endless excape time We just last weekend upgraded to the diamond plus and bought an extra week at the villages in Texas. I do agree they really will do what ever it takes to make a sale right now, I told them no we cant afford this price right now and was walking out they ended up givving us a red week at the Villages for 6thousand and the maintance fees of only 49 an month. So i know there is some good still in silver leaf sorry to hear about your bad time and hope it all gets resolved

I also have bought into the so called Silverleaf Life, this was problably the most stupid thing we have ever done. We bought back in 1995 and was told of all the great things that they would be adding. When we entered there was a large crane sitting ontop of this site, they said they were being to break ground for all the new amenitities to come. The following year we went back for our week and dam if that crane was still there. The following year, you guessed it that crane was still there. I think they rented that dam crane and just pitched it as the new silverleaf to come. We didn't go after that until this year 2009. I recieved a phone call and was asked why haven't we been there, they wanted to make it up to us and have us stay at one of the better buildings, a FREE mini weekend, ya know the kind you have to sit through a meeting for two hours so they can pitch you their song.
Well first off when we got there at 7:00pm I made a pot of coffee, the pot apparently was broken and the coffee ended up all over the counter and floor. I called the front desk and was told "oh were sorry, but no one is here to help you with that until tomorrow mornning." Fine I thought things break. The next day we went to the Reck room, which is problably the perfect name for it. It was a Reck, The carpet was beyond dirty, the airconditioners were dripping water on you while you and your children were playing the arcades. The employer there was vacumning around the kids while they were trying to play, it seems he wanted to go home on time, the room closes at 10:00, this was 9:40. Please give your patrons the rescept and wait till we leave to clean. They penny and dimed you for everything $1:00 for each game of pool, etc...The next day I hoped would be better we planned to go horse back riding that morning. Nope not having that, it was cancelled due to the rain the night before, mind you it's 80 degrees already, but it's still wet to them, ok, lets make it for that afternoon. We pay upfront because you know they just don't trust you. We return later and guess what no horse back riding due to an injury. I'm sorry is there only one horse. Hmmmmm. I go back to cook up some food and guess what my oven is broken, The jets are broken can't cook. I'm outta here. I wish I could scream and warn all the poor people who are step up for such a fall. They will swoon you and promise you things, but as soon as you buy in, there is no one there to hear anything you have to say. Please be warn... And as far as that guy wrote who said they were great, trust me he problably works for them. Bye the way when I complained there was a women sitting there who called me over to say thank you. It seems she got there and found a mouse trap in her room they moved her to a new one which now had ants, she was really angry too and no one was listening to her either.

I agree I am one of those persons with a check book and we just got caught up in all the fun we would have. First on all we don't have very many vacations cause money situations and this can up. We got in over our heads and we bought. The guy keeped giving us a better and better deal cause we were interested worked with us with our money situation. He promised us a week before the kids go back to school so I called to day he don't answer then his assistant calls says he had a family emergancy and won't be back til next week. (what happened to my week before the kids go back to school?). I just gave them all my money to be able to go and now left with nothing and no money too. I called back and I wanted to cancel and get my money back. Then he calls saying that his assistant said he would be back tomorrow. (Whatever) Want so tip on how to get my money back? Please Just bought 8/09/09 can anyone help I want all my money back.

If they have not cashed the check, stop payment.

My husband and I got married in April and went to Six Flags as part of our honeymoon. I came out of the bathroom there to see my husband had won a "free trip" and this guy told us to set up an appointment with these Silverleaf people. I had a bad feeling about it from the beginning, but good luck trying to tell my gullible husband anything. Anyway, we went to the appointment for this 90 minute tour. Sure enough, they were trying to sell us these "timeshares", switching them with RCI, etc, etc, etc. Well, my husband thinks it would be a good investment, so he buys into it (I'm still very leary and skeptical). We had just gotten married the previous weekend, so we especially sure didn't have a lot of money. We tried to tell them that, but they just kept widdling it down until they backed us into a corner and we agreed to it. They had us buy this "foreclosure" for a much cheaper rate (probably some poor couple they foreclosed on because they couldn't afford it).
To make this a little bit shorter, they have hounded us at LEAST every other day on average. And also, they want to call you in to a resort for these "important meetings" which last about an hour and a half. We've only had Silverleaf for a few months, and they have tried calling us out to 3 of these "important meetings" now. They just want to try to sell you an "upgraded" package, so they bribe you with a free weekend at one of the resorts.
The most recent "meeting" they're setting up with us was just a couple of days ago. This guy called me, who was very rude, by the way. When I told him my last name, he argued with me because when we bought this account, they put it under my maiden name, because we had just gotten married and my DL didn't yet reflect those changes, even though I showed them our marriage license showing my new name, they wouldn't accept it. Then he offered to set up this meeting at a resort 3 1/2 hours from where we live and told us my husband would have to miss work for it, because "we just don't do weekend appointments" he said. I told him that just a month ago, we were at The Villages resort with a Sunday appointment (I caught him in a lie). And furthermore, he said it wasn't a "free stay" weekend, we would just drive to the meeting and turn right around and go back home. We have a 2 year old son, who was from my previous marriage. He knew we had a small child and told us he would be "fine" with 6-7 hours of sitting in the car round trip AND the hour and a half meeting. I told him I don't think so, and no, my husband cannot miss work M-F. Then he said he'd have a woman call, which she did. She was much more polite and fixed us up with a "free weekend" at a much closer resort, with a weekend appointment. And I already e-mailed Silverleaf's Vice President about my complaints, and as far as buying another single thing from them, forget it! I simply tell them in those meetings that we just can't afford it, and we don't back down. The trick with these sales people is this: Say you can't afford it, and DON'T BACK DOWN! BUYER BEWARE!