A Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, couple says they were misled into paying nearly $30,000 to exit their timeshare contract — only to learn the deal wasn't what they expected.

Christina and Joe Lehnert owned a Marriott Vacation Club timeshare for more than 30 years.

"It was kind of good for us for quite a few years," Christina Lehnert told CBS News Philadelphia, "because we didn't travel much before that."

But when their family grew and travel needs changed, they say they asked to end the agreement in 2024.

The Lehnerts claim that in a meeting with a Marriott employee, they were told the only way out was to pay about $30,000 to convert their deeded timeshare into points, which could later be sold back to Marriott.

The couple says they were promised Marriott would buy back those points, allowing them to recoup the money and terminate the contract.

"[The Marriott employee] wrote everything down on pieces of paper, he said, you know, 'if you do this you'll get this much for a point,' and it was like $28,000 and some dollars, which was basically what we were going have to pay out," Christina Lehnert recalled. "We said, 'Can we think about it?' He said, 'No, you walk out the door and it's done.'"

Feeling pressured, they agreed and paid for the points.

But when they tried to sell the points back, that's when they said they learned Marriott had stopped buybacks years earlier.

"We were misled," Christina Lehnert said. "We finally talked to this one person who said they haven't done buybacks since 2020, 2021."

With no written proof of the promise, the Lehnerts contacted In Your Corner for help.

In a statement to CBS News Philadelphia, a spokesperson for Marriott Vacations Worldwide said the company found "no evidence of misrepresentation regarding the sales discussion," but agreed to do what was "in the best interest of [the Lehnert's] ownership."

After months of back-and-forth, Marriott refunded the full amount — $29,178 — and ended the agreement.

Kevin Brasler, executive editor of nonprofit Consumers' Checkbook, says the Lehnerts' case is a reminder to get everything in writing and be cautious with timeshare agreements, which often last indefinitely.

"The thing with timeshares is you're committing to having a vacation with a certain company forever," Brasler said. "It's better not to marry yourself to one company for anything."

In Your Corner has helped viewers recover nearly $165,000 in money, goods or services in the past year.

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