Canceling a timeshare contract is not as easy as you might imagine, and there are in fact very few instances where you are legally able to do so. The sad thing is that there are various online companies claiming to offer legal advice or attorney services to cancel your timeshare when in most cases you are not going to win your case. You just end up losing more money on legal fees and still not be able to cancel your contract.

The first thing to consider is that the laws are different in all countries; however, if you have signed a legal contract, you are not likely to be able to break that contact in any country unless you can prove that you were mis-sold a timeshare or involved in a deliberate fraud, such as the timeshare never gets built.

You will find there are laws in most countries to protect buyers from deliberate timeshare scams and those cases will most likely be treated as criminal proceedings. However, the majority of cases where owners wish to cancel a timeshare do not fall into that category and you will find it difficult to cancel your timeshare through the courts.

It is important not to confuse the cooling off period with timeshare cancellation. You do not need to consult a lawyer to cancel your timeshare contract during the cooling off period. You simply need to follow the indications for cancellation that should be stipulated in your buyer’s pack. The cooling off period varies from country to country and can range from 5 to 10 business days. If in doubt, you should check with the timeshare company before signing your contract should you have any doubts about cancellation.

If you are in the process of cancellation and have legitimate grounds for canceling your timeshare, it is important that you check your rights with regards to paying maintenance fees. During the time when you are dealing with your case, you may be liable to pay the maintenance fees.

In the unfortunate circumstance that you find yourself unable to cancel your timeshare and you really cannot afford to use your timeshare, all is not lost. You can rent your timeshare to family or friends until such time as you can start to take vacations once again. In the last case scenario you could always sell it.