Please report upfront fee scammers to Attorney General ..... there's power in numbers

lindab916 wrote:

I'm new the RedWeek site. What is the success rate of renting and/ or listing a timeshare? Would appreciate hearing from other people their experiences. Thanks

Hi Linda,

There is a section on our forums called "Successful Resales & Rental Feedback Wanted" under "Buying, Renting, and Selling Timeshares". The direct link is:

http://www.redweek.com/forums/messagesthread_id=1634

You should find some good information in there to answer your question.

Thanks, Marty

Can we report upfront fee scammers who just call you but you don't fall for their scam (I'm currently not on the Do Not Call list)?

It seems like the online complaint form is only for those who have actually fallen for the scam and paid the upfront fee?

Can you at least list them on here and brag about the fact that they did not scam you.

judikoz wrote:

Can you at least list them on here and brag about the fact that they did not scam you.

I should be the last one to brag because I got scorched by one of these companies. Thanks to Redweek forums, it prevented me from falling for another one.

Even if I list and expose the company, it will probably just shut down and resurface under a new name.

I just if reporting them would get the states' A-Gs to turn up the heat on these upfront fee scam schemes. The online reporting sites seem to be only for filing a complaint as opposed to reporting criminal activity.

lancec13 wrote:

Can we report upfront fee scammers who just call you but you don't fall for their scam (I'm currently not on the Do Not Call list)?

It seems like the online complaint form is only for those who have actually fallen for the scam and paid the upfront fee?

I doubt just filing a complaint concerning a phone call would work as they haven't actually scammed you (even though you know they would have if you had taken their offer). Unless a person has actually been scammed there would be no paper trail or evidence.

REport them anyway so the department has their name. We are sending them every phone call we get so they can see the pattern. Enough phone calls there will be a scam coming.

Here's another one to watch out for....Resort Tours International. The salesman is Craig Freed and he's good! Very sympathic if you've been scammed and promises that he will sell your timeshare in 90-120 days - guaranteed, but won't put that in writing. He and his company are just total scammers like all the others out there. It's sad that people have become so blatently dishonest. These people truly have black hearts!

marya825 wrote:

marty8084 wrote:

lindab916 wrote:

I'm new the RedWeek site. What is the success rate of renting and/ or listing a timeshare? Would appreciate hearing from other people their experiences. Thanks

Hi Linda,

There is a section on our forums called "Successful Resales & Rental Feedback Wanted" under "Buying, Renting, and Selling Timeshares". The direct link is:

http://www.redweek.com/forums/messagesthread_id=1634

You should find some good information in there to answer your question.

Thanks, Marty

There might be a section for success in renting timeshares or resales, but how do you go about verifying if they are written by legitimate people or by the people at Redweek.? There is no way to verify if the stories or answers are legitimate. Mary

There might be a section for success in renting timeshares or resales, but how do you go about verifying if they are written by legitimate people or by the people at Redweek.? There is no way to verify if the stories or answers are legitimate. Mary

Hi Mary,

We don't verify owners. We highly suggest owners/renters use a vacation rental escrow company to secure the payments. Anyone who is willing to use the escrow service most likely has what they say they have. You can also try calling the resort and ask if that person is an owner. Some resorts will give out that information but others won't. We rely on the owners/renters to do their own homework before exchanging money.

Thanks, Marty

I was not speaking about verifying the owner of a condo who is selling or renting it.

I was referring to the place where people who have supposedly used your service/web site with success and have written the glowing reviews.

Anyone could be writing those reviews -- including the people who own Redweek.

There is no way to verify if those postings are real.

marty8084 wrote:

There might be a section for success in renting timeshares or resales, but how do you go about verifying if they are written by legitimate people or by the people at Redweek.? There is no way to verify if the stories or answers are legitimate. Mary

Hi Mary,

We don't verify owners. We highly suggest owners/renters use a vacation rental escrow company to secure the payments. Anyone who is willing to use the escrow service most likely has what they say they have. You can also try calling the resort and ask if that person is an owner. Some resorts will give out that information but others won't. We rely on the owners/renters to do their own homework before exchanging money.

Thanks, Marty

marya825 I was not speaking about verifying the owner of a condo who is selling or renting it.

I was referring to the place where people who have supposedly used your service/web site with success and have written the glowing reviews.

Anyone could be writing those reviews -- including the people who own Redweek.

There is no way to verify if those postings are real.

marty8084

When I post on the forums it says "RedWeek.com Staff" under my name. But you're right, Mary, anyone can be writing these. As a paid member you can email and ask them. That's about all I can suggest to you. For example, to send me an email through RedWeek you would use this link http://www.redweek.com/member/contact/username/marty8084. To email others, change the username at the end of the link from marty8084 to their username.

Thanks, Marty

Marya,

I don't normally do this . . . .however, I'm in the business and I can tell you that Redweek does what it says it does.

We may have some other differences about methodology but that's all college level business stuff.

I have no problem with a client also posting on Redweek because I know the service is honest.

Ok, that's my good deed for the day.

Price your timeshare the correct way and if you pick the right company you will find a buyer! Not all companies are bad.

Another upfront fee resale scam shut down:

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2011/07/22/three-charged-palm-beach-county-scheme.html

I got out of my timeshare by using timeshareutopia at www.timeshareutopia.com. They charged an upfront fee but my timeshare was eliminated right then and there. They do not try to sell it they eliminate it just like their website stated. thanks

I would love the name of an honest realty that does not try to charge an upfront fee.

keithk109 wrote:

I got out of my timeshare by using timeshareutopia at www.timeshareutopia.com. They charged an upfront fee but my timeshare was eliminated right then and there. They do not try to sell it they eliminate it just like their website stated. thanks

How can a company "eliminate" your timeshare, let alone "right then and there"? No one can "eliminate" a timeshare. The might have got you to sign a Power of Attorney in order to, in turn, try to sell or give it to someone else. But there is no way of "eliminating" a timeshare.

What exactly did this company get you to sign? And what was their upfront fee?

How does a person find the right company to sell their timeshare? I am willing to list my timeshare at a very low price, but don't know what companies to use.

Go to www.ltrba.com

richardk276 wrote:

How does a person find the right company to sell their timeshare? I am willing to list my timeshare at a very low price, but don't know what companies to use.