I worked at a timeshare SCAM....I want to tell you about it.

colvind wrote:

Yes. I work for the company. NO IT IS NOT ILLEGAL.

I'm not accusing you of doing anything illegal. I'm just wondering why last year you came on these boards hailing the praises of this company who "bought" your timeshare from you and now you tell us that you work for that company.

So you were so impressed by what that company did that you decided to go work for them?

I believe it is a service sorely needed by some who don't wish to or cannot travel anymore. What are they supposed to do? I got an 85 year old woman out of a timeshare in Tennessee. She lived in Arizona. Hadn't been there for 15 years. No family (That wanted the timeshare). Told me her finances were barely getting her by. I know she is relieved not to be burdened with a property that is a liability. The resort had told her it was an asset-Ha. The resort had the audacity to insist she pay them $299. to transfer the property on their books (even though it had already been legally deeded away from her at the Cumberland County Courthouse). No way she had to pay, she asked the resort for a copy of the contract stating where she would pay them a transfer fee and they could not produce one. Just trying to scare an older person into paying them more money.

Yes I do work there. I believe I can get 99 percent of people out of their timeshares.

Since Redweek does not want me to post on here, I won't anymore. They must not really want people to get out from under a burden a timeshare sometimes is.

Hi! I worked at a timeshare scam too. At the begining it becomes really interesting because the money was too good, and I don´t know exactly what it´s all about. Around my second week at work I´ll realice what have I done. The company tell the people that they´re located on the States, but they really are on Mexico. They ask to us to use a false name and give the people and adress that really exist and a phone number that exist too. The company give us an speech: "... I represent to a buyer company who is really interest in purchasing your property.... would you be interested?... they´re offering (is a very high rates). After you sign the contract of resale, they move your file with THE BUYER COMPANY who ask you to pay a fee over mexican taxes on the property, then another to pay other kind of paper work. At the end the company sais that the are not interested any more on your property and the keep the money. Please be carefull!! Don´t trust any body. And I sorry if I hurt you.

Interesting discussion no doubt. While I agree with you that consumers are free to sell their timeshare or any other product to whomever they want, I am curious about the title and the annual fees.

Did your company pay these annual fees while the timeshare was in the company's name?

Any person who wants to have you sell your time share to them, and is not using an independent company for closing, is to be suspected. Your contract - and there HAS to be a contract - to sell, MUST include statements to the effect that they will be responsible for all fees and costs after a certain date. It must also spell out that you are not responsible for any fees, other than those listed on the closing documents, and all those monies are to be held in escrow, subject to the actual transfer of the deed and transfer of ownership at the resort, so you don't get any more annual fees bills.

You should NEVER pay monies to the buyer directly, or to any third party that you have not been able to verify through the BBB. There are just to many slick scam artists that want to steal your money and leave you with the timeshare bills.

Not sure who you are asking for the phone number of. I am not familiar with the Silver Lake 'mess' .

If you need out, and want that at any price - then I suggest you list on eBay, with a price of $1.00, (usually the minimum sale price to record a deed). Offer to pay all the closing costs, you can secure you own closing company. I can recommend one if you need a suggestion; one I have used three times with no issues.

This will cost you up to $750 to do, but may be worth it to you in the long run. You will have costs to join eBay's verification process for selling time shares - was about $75 for a year. You have to send them documents proving you own what you are trying to sell. Then there is the fees to the closing company and listing fees on eBay.

You time share will have to be current on all fees and mortgage paid in full, or it will be nearly impossible to sell. Only exception would be if they paid for 2012 fees, in return for 2012 usage. If you have banked usage that is paid for in full on the fees - you may want to throw that into the deal to sweeten the pot.

Good Luck.

anybody know about a UK reseller called "Confused About Timehshare" whether a legit business or another resale scammer??

johnh889 wrote:

anybody know about a UK reseller called "Confused About Timehshare" whether a legit business or another resale scammer??

Bottom line .... if they ask for a large upfront fee then they're a scam.

Never try to sell a timeshare with David Bond. He ripped me off with our deposit.

Wow. Great read. There are a lot of timeshare scams out there. It's important to look up a company first at the BBB before going with them. Most up-front fee companies are scams and will never do what they have been contracted to do.

This story has more twists and turns than the HBO show about the Medici's. except a timeshare company doesn't use poison. It is more insidious, it uses 21st century technology to poison peoples credit ratings, faith in the marketplace and self-confidence. The term "a sucker is born every minute" should be their mantra. So you just have to be smarter, act smarter and be a real SOB to make the deal work. It will not be pretty, and you will get your hands and brain a little soiled, but in the end the individual might survive.

Haha. I enjoyed that. With so much money in timeshares and the owners trying so hard to get out of their units it's no wonder this sort of thing keeps happening.

If you can get 99% of people out of their timeshare, then tell me how to contact you, and I may give you some business.

SO, my husband and I own a timshare, we have went threw several, what appear to be scams (there was never an exchange of money-I did research first :)) BUT, is there actually any company that is not fraudulent and will sell our timeshare? And if so, is there anyway to not only cover what we owe, but to make maybe even a SMALL SMALL proffit??

amandah223 wrote:

SO, my husband and I own a timshare, we have went threw several, what appear to be scams (there was never an exchange of money-I did research first :)) BUT, is there actually any company that is not fraudulent and will sell our timeshare? And if so, is there anyway to not only cover what we owe, but to make maybe even a SMALL SMALL proffit??

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but...>90% of the timeshares out there right now have a resale value of about zero. Since you have many questions about your timeshare, I'm assuming that yours is one of the 90%.

That being said, if you still have a mortgage owning on it, your chances of even giving it away (let alone making a profit) are between slim and nil. Many timeshare owners are trying to give their timeshares away and can't find takers. Dozens of timeshares are being listed all over the 'net for $1 or less and can't find buyers.

As for finding a legitimate company that will sell your timeshare, go to ltrba.com. There you will find a list of licensed real estate brokers. They won't charge you anything until after the sale (i.e., they take their commission out of the proceeds of the sale, not ask you to send them their commission when the sale happens). Keep in mind however, that they charge a minimum of $1000. Since your timeshare is probably only worth a fraction of that, I would recommend just trying to sell or give it away yourself.

Also, please don't be delusional about the value of your timeshare. If you think you can sell it for more than what you owe on it, then you're making yourself an easy target for scam artists. They'll make all sorts of loony claims that they can sell your unit for a large profit, get you out of your mortgage, sue the salesperson who sold you the timeshare, etc. if only you pay them some sort of fee upfront. Don't fall for any of these.

So I just saw this message board. I was thinking of listing with REDWEEKS to get rid of my timeshare in Mexico. Bad Idea? Any other choices? I've already tried Ebay and Craigs list with no replys. Janet

bobs967 wrote:

So I just saw this message board. I was thinking of listing with REDWEEKS to get rid of my timeshare in Mexico. Bad Idea? Any other choices? I've already tried Ebay and Craigs list with no replys. Janet

Remember, timeshares in Mexico are a dime a dozen. Some people cannot even give them away right now. How much did you advertise the price for here on RedWeek?

If there was no response, don't panic. Many of these take time to find a taker. Sadly, many people in the same boat as you, out of frustration and desperation, turn to timeshare "cancellation" services only to find out that they have forked over more money and still own the timeshare.

Also, try Timeshare Users Group (aka "TUG"; tugbbs.com) and go to the Bargain Deals section. Follow the directions at the top of the page there.

amandah223 wrote:

BUT, is there actually any company that is not fraudulent and will sell our timeshare? And if so, is there anyway to not only cover what we owe, but to make maybe even a SMALL SMALL proffit??

Not in this economy ..... many timeshares can't even be given away = no takers.

Have you heard of TIMESHARE HELPING HAND. I just called this company and Michele told me my FESTIVA timeshare was worth $18,000to $22,000. She said she would be working a function this weekend and probably be able to get it on the table after I pay her over the phone $498.00.