Cancelling thousand trails

[Gilex2]

I am wanting to cancel my thousand trails membership but they say I have to pay for I more years. I am very unhappy with the lack of quality and poor upkeep of their parks many of which don’t even offer sewer hookups. Is there anyone out there who has been successful in cancelling?

[SeilerBird]

Did you pay by debit or credit card? If so you could put in a fraud complaint to the bank.

[Tom]

Reports I've read here suggest that there's a spectrum of "quality" and "upkeep" of their parks. Our (my) only (recent) experience was not very good, and I was glad we'd never bought a membership.

I've read about issues with canceling membership, and hopefully some of our members will jump in on this.

[donn]

Read your contract.  Unless things have changed you bought a time share and are obligated to fulfil the contract

[Oldgator73]

We received free trial with the purchase of our TT. Used it once in Gettysburg and was not impressed with the CG at all. Needless to say we did not buy a membership.

[glen54737]

Read your contract.  Unless things have changed you bought a time share and are obligated to fulfil the contract

It depends a lot on which type they bought there are several dozen types some are for only 1 season others are lifetime and can be resold.

[Tom]

It depends a lot on which type they bought there are several dozen types some are for only 1 season others are lifetime and can be resold.

Thanks Glen. That's the stuff I don't understand about TT memberships, and haven't attempted to educate myself about. IIRC when we looked 30+ years ago, there was only one option.

[John From Detroit]

Every TT park I have been had Sewer hookups and dump station(S). and Im sitting in one as I type this.

This is. however. why I suggest a zone pass before any other. it is a one year membership. you don't like it, do not renew.

[WILDEBILL308]

I am wanting to cancel my thousand trails membership but they say I have to pay for I more years. I am very unhappy with the lack of quality and poor upkeep of their parks many of which don’t even offer sewer hookups. Is there anyone out there who has been successful in cancelling?

Welcome to the forum. Sad to see the Thousand Trails bunch still taking advantage of people. About the only way is to transfer or sell your membership to someone you don't like. It is like owning a condo you owe forever weather you use it or not.
Bill

[Arch Hoagland]

Gilex2...How long have you had it? 

Where/who did you purchase it from?

[camperAL]

Hi Gilex2 and all,

I wonder if there is anyway to be thrown out if you break certain rules? Ideally nothing illegal.

[Arch Hoagland]

Hi Gilex2 and all,

I wonder if there is anyway to be thrown out if you break certain rules? Ideally nothing illegal.

Ha.....I like your way of thinking!!!

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Sad to see the Thousand Trails bunch still taking advantage of people.

I guess I'm just an "old school" kind of guy, but how is requiring that the contract terms be fulfilled considered "taking advantage"?   

...many of which don’t even offer sewer hookups.

About half of the 249 sites have sewer - the rest are water & electric.  Seems to me a rather typical proportion for any RV park. Heck, state and local parks often have no sewer sites at all.

In any case, Gilex2 signed a contract for x years (usually 10, with renewal rights), and is obligated for that amount of time.   About the only option short of that is to sue TT for breach of contract, claiming that they failed to provide the facilities promised. Lot's of luck with that!   Or sell the contract to someone else, which involves a hefty transfer fee.

[Old Racer]

Quite a few years ago a very nice lady at a park in Texas offered to sell me her membership. When I said no she offered to GIVE me her membership.  Still no.

I have read that a technique to rid yourself of this is (and I do not have the reference) to form and fund a LLC corporation, sell the membership to the corporation, which uses up the funding, then quit the corporation. I have no idea if or where this can be done, mentioning it FYI only.

[SeilerBird]

I guess I'm just an "old school" kind of guy, but how is requiring that the contract terms be fulfilled considered "taking advantage"?   

I agree with your sentiment Gary. But I feel where the problem lies is the way that people get talked into signing a long term contract that they don't understand. I have no experience with TT because I avoid joining groups. From what I have read there is a lot of pressure to sign up for their services. And I am sure they put on a spectacular presentation to actually talk people into signing up. I don't understand the point of having people sign contracts that they can't get out of. TT must realize they are screwing people, otherwise getting out of a contract would be no big deal.

[Gizmo]

I agree with Gary.  Likely the OP signed a contract that is obligated to and the old basic adage "ignorance of the law" applies.  When one signs a contract it needs to be read and understood.  This means if  in reading the contract one does not understand the language or has questions it needs to be addressed prior to signing.  Typically with these kinds of products there is a 3-day rescind opportunity to finally decide whether the program is right for the buyer. I recognize this does not help the OP at this point, but going forward and for others who are thinking of purchasing such a membership, buyer beware.  Now if re-reading the contract it is clear there is a right to cancelling or if services are promised and not delivered on, then that may become a legitimate legal question.  Afew years ago we looked into Thousand Trails but found most of the parks were not in areas we were interested in, so we passed, glad we did.

[WILDEBILL308]

Heare is some stuff I posted before about my experiances with Thousand Trails.
Well I got talked into a TT (Thousand Trails) membership. At the time we purchased our Zone Pass in2014, they were running a “buy one zone, get one free” deal for $545, so we got both the Northwest and Southwest Zones for that price. The sales rep we spoke to, added Encore properties to the deal. The big hook for me was were guaranteed 7 days at the property just outside Yosemite National Park.
We were staying at the TT property Medina Lakes outside San Antonio Texas for a rally. I did not realize that this place pretty much mired the rest of the parks. Older Run down narrow camp sites. The campsite was on dirt no patio no table or outside amenities.
The roads were dirt with lots of potholes and rough spots. There was a water leak in the dirt road in front of my campsite. As an aside it made for some good wild game watching as there was a drought in the area. All the game came to water right in front of us.  The drought was so severe the lake was dry with people planting crops in the lake bed. The lake was over 80 feet below level yet according to a couple that was next to us TT was still promoting the water sports at the park when they called about a reservation.
Back to Thousand Trails. 
 South west zone includes 6 states 18 camp grounds 3 states don’t have a camp ground and Nevada and Arizona have one each. The one that I stayed at in Arizona was an Encore Property and was one of the better places. We were parked on a big flat parking lot with hookups. It is primarily for snow birds and is 90-95% permanent park model type structures.  I will say this it was one of the only places that had a readymade package of information about the area and some coupons for local attractions.
North West Zone includes 9 states 18 campgrounds; 7 states have no campgrounds. Only Oregon and Washington have camp grounds. Saying you have a zone that covers 9 states sounds good but it is actually only 2 states have any campgrounds you can use.
Read and understand the rules and fine print. Little things tend to aggravate like you can stay free but if you want 50-amp service that is an additional $5.00 per night.
The thing that made/makes me mad is they repeatedly said this was a one-year deal and I could renew it if I wanted to. Yet they charged my credit card without my permission. They said that by singing the original paperwork it became an automatic renewal. I had asked repeatedly if it was a one-year deal and was assured I would have to renew myself or it would end. I looked and my lawyer looked it over and could find no such clause. They refunded my money and we are all happy now.
Some other things they didn’t mention when selling the contract.
Members are allotted 30 nights of free camping in any of the Thousand Trails campgrounds covered by your Zone Parking Pass(PER YEAR). Additional nights are charged a small service fee (see the end with the bit about Las Vegas). Members may stay up to 14 consecutive nights at any one campground based on availability. Reservations are advised, particularly for longer stays and during holiday periods. Keep in mind that even though camping is complimentary with membership (first 30 days), last-minute cancellations or no shows will be charged cancellation fees. Campers who stay at any Thousand Trails campground for more than four consecutive nights must wait at least one week before camping at another resort in the chain.
I have stayed at the Thousand Trails Las Vegas Resort. It took 3 different spots before I found one that had power. As far as location it is out by Sam’s Town and not to convenient to the strip. Staying over the limit there is $120.00 per night. (Market Price) Interesting because I stayed at Oasis for $67.00 for a premium + site. Well ok 3 days were $33.50 because I used Passport America.
TT  can say they are busy and limit you to 7 days. Not the 14 days.
Thousand Trails Long Beach Resort was so tight that to back in to the spot you had to drag the front of the coach through the brush that was up to the edge of the road.
Bill

[Gary RV_Wizard]

But I feel where the problem lies is the way that people get talked into signing a long term contract that they don't understand. I have no experience with TT because I avoid joining groups. From what I have read there is a lot of pressure to sign up for their services. And I am sure they put on a spectacular presentation to actually talk people into signing up.

I've been to a couple of their sales events and it is lot glowing reports about how good life will be and how much money you can save in campground fees if you become a member and stay there to the max provided in the contract.  Not sure I would call that "high pressure", and certainly not on a par with a time-share sales event or even buying an RV. But is it a one-sided view of the value of the contract?   Sure - it's a sales pitch.  It's also an expensive way to buy in - one can pay far, far less buying a re-sale rather than entering a new contract.   Which ought to tell prospective buyers something about the value they are getting...

As for not letting you out, what you are buying is a package discount on a fixed amount of camping nights spread over x years. At the very least you should expect an early cancellation fee to make up for the full package discount.  I agree that TT ought to have that sort of clause in their contracts, but I suspect that the early buy-out fee would be hefty enough that we would still hear moaning and groaning about it.

As you can see, I don't have a lot of sympathy for folks who enter contracts they cannot be bothered with reading and understanding.  Or considering that things can change over the life of a multi-year arrangement like that.

[WILDEBILL308]

As you can see, I don't have a lot of sympathy for folks who enter contracts they cannot be bothered with reading and understanding.  Or considering that things can change over the life of a multi-year arrangement like that.

How do you feel about people committing fraud to get your money? Just one example is when they charged my credit card with out permission. Don't tell me about reading the fine print as neither my attorney or the state attorney generals office could find any verbiage making the contract "auto renew"
They (Thousand Trails) quit making threats on the phone and quietly refunded my money.
Most of the burdensome rules were not in the contract. You find out about them when you go to your first campground.
If you don't believe me you can look up the rules on line and see how convoluted and misleading they are.
Bill

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I'm an ex-Thousand Trails member myself but do not want to get into a peeing match or even appear to be defending them. The topic concerns getting out of a previously agreed contract, not whether their policies are user friendly.

[WILDEBILL308]

I am wanting to cancel my thousand trails membership but they say I have to pay for I more years. I am very unhappy with the lack of quality and poor upkeep of their parks many of which don’t even offer sewer hookups. Is there anyone out there who has been successful in cancelling?

Un fortunately the essayist and probably the cheapest would just pay the final year (make shure it is the final year) and that you meet all the fine print requirements to cancel. Never trust them to do the right thing.
Bill

[rbrdriver]

This is why I HATE contracts for almost anything, such as cell phone service, cable, etc. Anymore in my life as soon as I hear the "C" word mentioned my first instinct is to run...........

[Bill and Debbie]

With all due respect to many on this thread, there is so much misinformation here regarding what TT is and is not, it does a disservice to anyone who might actually want to look into what they offer. If anyone want serious accurate information please feel free to message me.

While my membership renews annually, at my option, just like cell phone providers, cable providers, Cal Am, Colorado River Adventures, there may be contracts which obligate the customer for a longer period of time.

[Oldgator73]

With all due respect to many on this thread, there is so much misinformation here regarding what TT is and is not, it does a disservice to anyone who might actually want to look into what they offer. If anyone want serious accurate information please feel free to message me.

While my membership renews annually, at my option, just like cell phone providers, cable providers, Cal Am, Colorado River Adventures, there may be contracts which obligate the customer for a longer period of time.

Wouldn't it be more beneficial if folks asked their questions here so we can all benefit from your wisdom.

[Gary RV_Wizard]

This is why I HATE contracts for almost anything, such as cell phone service, cable, etc. Anymore in my life as soon as I hear the "C" word mentioned my first instinct is to run...

A good instinct for any buyer, I think.  Among the very first self-questions ought to be "are the benefits enough to make a multi-year commitment?" and "what happens if my life situation changes?".    A 10 year contract commitment is a long, long time to forecast future wants & needs for what is essentially a discretionary expense.

[kdbgoat]

The OP hasn't been back since they posted. It would be nice to know if they just bought a zone pass, and if so, did they make monthly payments, or if they bought another type of plan. The zone pass expires a year after it is purchased unless one makes monthly payments to TT, then it is automatically a two year deal. Says so in pretty plain language if one looks at TT's site. If they bought a used plan somewhere, that's a whole different story.

[Lou Schneider]

I have stayed at the Thousand Trails Las Vegas Resort. It took 3 different spots before I found one that had power. As far as location it is out by Sam’s Town and not to convenient to the strip. Staying over the limit there is $120.00 per night. (Market Price) Interesting because I stayed at Oasis for $67.00 for a premium + site. 

Wow, that must be some resort to command $120 a night "Market Price".  I wonder how they determined that, especially since there are  two or three perfectly nice non-affiliated RV parks about a mile north of there whose "Market Price" is in the range of $20 a night or less!

[SargeW]

Since the OP has not returned (and probably won't) since he didn't get his quick solution for his problem. I am sure he wasn't looking to hear what a mistake he made.  But, I will throw in my story of time shares. 

While a very newbie RV'er, our first TT, we got a mailer offering 3 days free stay and some gift or other to come to a "RV paradise" for a seminar that would only take an hour or so of my time. We figured "what to we have to lose?", so we went.  We arrived on a Friday, and the seminar was on Saturday. 

It was a nice mountain resort, wooded and many campsites. It was somewhere in the San Bernardino mountains.  We sat through the seminar (sales pitch) and afterwards we were led out of the seminar to a room full of desks and "sales consultants."  I approached one guy and told him I was not interested, but he countered with "I have a 2 minute speel that I have to give you, then I get your gift and you are on your way".  So I sat down. 45 minutes later I was still there, getting mad as heck, while sales guy was getting more and more aggressive.  I finally stood up and  told him "I am walking out of here. Past you, or over you. Your choice".  I really thought for a minute he was going to take me on. We walked out through one door with an "associate" standing in front of it. When he looked at me and my  expression, he stepped aside.  We walked out, hooked up the TT and left immediately. 

The moral of the story is, I can see how someone may get "bullied" into a purchase  that they are not sure that they really want.  That was 20+ years ago, and I really don't remember if it was a TT park, or someone else. Since then I won't give a salesman a snowballs chance in Hades of selling me something that I don't want 100%.

[Tom]

There was a time when Chris used to fall for the "free gift if you attend our sales pitch". She eventually figured out they were merely high-pressure sales activities to sell timeshares or RV resort memberships, and the "gifts" were a piece of crap.

"... Past you, or over you. Your choice."  I really thought for a minute he was going to take me on.

That would not have been a wise choice on his part Marty 

[Oldgator73]

Some friends of ours from New Zealand moved to Mexico. They called us when we lived in Japan and asked if we wanted to go in with them on 10 acres on the beach. We did it and a few years later we went to Mexico to look at our land. We stayed in Xtapa for a few days before going down the coast. We were coming out of our hotel one morning and a white van stopped and the passenger asked if we wanted a free breakfast. All we had to do was look at some property. Being the suckers we are for free food we went. It was at the top of a bluff overlooking the bay. Really beautiful. We had a nice breakfast and tour. Then we got the spiel. I kept telling the guy I didn't want a timeshare but I would be interested in buying a unit. I told him the only problem was we had a house in the states that the buildier put liens against and was suing us for $100,000. He said for us to sit tight, he was getting his supervisor. The supervisor came out and said he understood we were dealing with a crooked builder in the States. I said yes that was why we couldn't do anything at the moment. The supervisor said he could have the builder taken care of. We asked what he meant by that. He said please do not ask. We left.