The Timeshare Law Firm has secured lawful Timeshare Divestments for over 9000 consumers. However, Victims of the Con-Artists faced an 82% Fraud Rate in the aftermarket industry. Consumers seeking a legal timeshare divestment were faced with a daunting task, and we have yet to find a legitimate resale program where consumers actually make great profits, or an Exit Company (or even claimed ‘lawyer’ service companies) that is legitimate, as in real Lawyer-Client legal representation and lawsuits to back it up.
Victims of Timeshare Fraud scams in literally thousands of these consumer reports, evidence deceptive tactics used to trick them.
Below you will find a list of some common Fraud-Scams that timeshare victims have faced. If you are a victim of timeshare fraud, The Timeshare Law Firm has experience with over 9000 consumers that have successfully divested from their timeshare. Give us a call at 321-224-1111 and ask to speak with us directly for a with a Consumer Protection Attorney that is skilled in Timeshare Law.
TIMESHARE FRAUD — TOP 10 SCAMS
Scam #1: Timeshare is a Good Financial Investment
Timeshare sales can be totally worthless (NOT worth $1.00 on eBay). A true, honest representation by the sales rep would be that the timeshare value is zero and the reality that the timeshare sale was exclusively based on lifestyle (with no mention, whatsoever, of potential profits), then the deal is legitimate. Unfortunately for all of our clients of the law firm, Timeshares may not be a good financial investment. If a salesperson knows that, and in order to make a sale they promise it’s “a great investment” and an “asset” to make “huge profits” that don’t exist, this constitutes a consumer fraud.
Scam #2: The Timeshare is Easy to Resell
Often the consumer concern is “What if I ever need to sell my timeshare?” For some people, the purchase & sale of vacation ownership is a new experience. So many people simply want to calculate their potential downside risk. In many cases fast answers are given to financial planning questions concerning a rainy-day fund or cashing-in when they get too old to travel, etc. Like promises of huge future profits, this may not be true. No matter what some Rep or Manger says to sell you (something like a big fat check for listing your timeshare for sale), it doesn’t mean in the real world [of no resale value] that the consumer automatically makes money or can sell their timeshare all! Thus, such promises are highly deceptive to consumers.
Scam #3: We’ll Buy Your Timeshare or Sell your Timeshare
Whether it was a buy back or a resale program, the common theme is typically that the owner shall make great profits through the sale of a timeshare down the road. Victims of these misrepresentations report claims where down the road they find out it was untrue. In almost all cases they find out that the resale (or buy back) program does not exist (or was canceled between the time of their purchase and their call).
Scam #4: Promises of Future Sales Profits
Another common theme is that in almost every consumer report thus far, the promise of profits are completely fabricated. In our Consumer Interviews of about 9000 Timeshare Purchasers, this Law Firm has yet to find a legitimate resort resale program or a function [vs. fabricated] buyback program, where the consumers make these great profits for their timeshares that are frequently promised at the point of sale.
Scam #5: Book Anytime, Anywhere, Worldwide
When a timeshare salesperson makes the claim that you can “book anytime, anywhere,” it’s not true. The availability of specific locations and times is often limited by factors such as popularity, peak travel seasons, and maintenance schedules. Furthermore, many timeshare agreements have blackout dates or restrictions on when and where you can book, making it difficult to truly have the freedom to book whenever and wherever you want. Additionally, some timeshare companies may require you to book through their own booking system, which may limit your options even further. While others have booking companies with obtuse restrictions [6-11 months advanced booking requirements] and highly restrained availability [that is often available online anytime, even book today and stay tonight].
Scam #6: Save money on booking vacations
When a timeshare salesman claims that you will save money on vacations, it is often a misleading statement. While timeshare presentations may emphasize the cost savings of owning a timeshare, the truth is that these savings are often nonexistent, or worse still, can cost consumers hundreds of percent (200% to over 1000%) more than just booking online. Timeshare owners typically have to pay high-interest mortgages [often doubling the cost] along with maintenance fees and other ongoing costs that can add up quickly, which is far from potential savings. Owners end up paying exorbitantly more for their timeshare than they would have for comparable (or often the exact same) vacation accommodations online. In our case against Wyndham, (now “Travel + Leisure Co.”) in Federal District Court, we saw many of our clients paying over 10 times more, check out that lawsuit.
Scam #7 Rent a Timeshare for a Profit
Can’t book it yourself… so how do you book to rent? Sometimes the consumer has said, “NO” for literally hours, but a sales representatives may push even harder, and have stories about Timeshare Rental Profits to pay your mortgage, maintenance, and make thousands in profits. Some consumers report that they were not even really interested, but were lured by promises of yearly income from rental profits made over the amount of the annual fees, or in some cases both the annual maintenance fees and their monthly mortgage payments would be paid with the yearly rental income, along with some extra money that would be profited to the consumer. So if you pay hundreds of percent more to book (see scam #6), there is no return on the investment and never any profits.
Scam #8: Sell a Timeshare You want out of, for a Profit
In this timeshare sales scam, the consumer already owns a timeshare, and the timeshare sales rep leads the consumer to believe that they will buy [unwanted] timeshares or sell a timeshare for them making a huge sum of money. In this scheme, the money acquired from the sale of the old timeshare usually is more than the new timeshare (because they gave you such a great, once-in-a-lifetime, deal). So the consumer is told they will profit from the net transaction of the two timeshares, meaning that they will put thousands of dollars in their pocket. However, the reality later discovered is that there is no old timeshare purchase, and at best a Listing Company (sham) that takes Upfront Fees to Sell a Timeshare and never sells your (or anybody’s) timeshare. Since the consumer already paid many thousands of dollars, they are now out that money, as well as the increased debt for the new timeshare.
Scam #9: HUGE Discounts on airfare, cruises, etc.
Sometimes commissioned sales reps can over-exaggerate the benefits to entice a sale. A sales rep might write down a bunch of financial numbers, but to increase desirability and make a sale, they explain how you can also get you hugely discounted cruises, airfare, hotels, car rentals and/or regular hotels and it is exclaimed that these prices are slashed 50% or up to 75% less of what it would usually cost on the Internet. However, there are often obtuse (and somewhat planned as confusing and frustrating) rules and restrictions. And, typically the savings are readily available on the Internet, and with some digging can be even cheaper than the claimed “discounts”.
Scam #10: Tax Advantages that are bad legal advice
This particular sham involves claims of timeshare tax benefits through the purchase of a timeshare interest, and often are equated to the Mortgage Interest Deduction that consumers get for their primary residence. There is one problem however, the promised tax incentive (or as sometimes claimed, 100% write off of everything paid for your timeshare), are tax advantages for purchasing a timeshare that are nonexistent. Check with the IRS before you listen to a bogus promise from a timeshare salesperson. In fact, don’t get Tax Law advisement from anyone else but the IRS… except a Tax Lawyer.
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A complementary discussion with a Consumer Protection Attorney will determine if you may have a good case for Timeshare Divestment. If appropriate, you will have all the information you need to decide if you want to take advantage of our services… Then it’s all up to you. The good news is, that you will have a skilled Timeshare Law Firm that is devoted to negotiated settlements directly with multimillion and billion-dollar resort General Counsels (their highest lawyers), and when needed Litigation to get legal compliance from a billion-dollar resort. You can control the direction and decisions for your timeshare divestment, best, when you know your Legal Rights
You can call The Timeshare Law Firm at 321-224-1111 and ask for a case analysis with one of our Timeshare Lawyers.
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