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The Tuesday Slot

Welcome to The Tuesday Slot, today we welcome another new contributor John Collick, who is seeking the Republican nomination for Congress. We begin with a short biography of John and his military career, then John explains his views on protecting not only military personnel but all consumers from unscrupulous timeshare sales agents.

Inside Timeshare also asks all our readers to sign this petition on change.org demanding reform of the timeshare industry. So far there have been 2,700 signatures and we are working to achieve 100,000 by next legislative sessions in 2021. Click on the link below and sign.

https://www.change.org/p/state-legislators-in-arizona-florida-and-nevada-demand-reform-of-the-timeshare-industry-s-unfair-and-deceptive-practices

Why Military Families Need Greater Timeshare Disclosure

https://www.valoans.com/articles/va-loans-escape-clause/

By John Collick

July 2, 2019

https://www.collick4congress.com/?fbclid=IwAR2JoSF5-2j3HM7wgR_Y5LBab112dzCj8qyR6PmiZsUJDFE1Q9sL1eIl4sY

It’s Time for a Military Vet to Represent a Military Community

After a distinguished military career, John knows how to listen and act. As a timeshare owner himself, John understands the concerns of timeshare buyers that may have experienced unfair and deceptive timeshare sales practices. Inside Timeshare has heard from 112 veterans and active duty service members harmed by timeshare. Of particular concern are our active duty service members who can lose their security clearance over a timeshare foreclosure. Some companies target veterans, particularly disabled veterans, such as John. John would not meet George Bernard Shaw’s definition of a politician. Irene Parker, Inside Timeshare

“He knows nothing and thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.” George Bernard Shaw.

Suffolk resident John Collick is seeking the Republican nomination for Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mr Collick served our nation for over 35 years combined – in the Marine Corps, as a contractor, and as a government employee. He served as an Intelligence Specialist during his entire adult life, working at all levels of the Intelligence Community.

As an Intelligence Specialist, he worked on high priority missions, including the International Port Security Program for the U.S. Coast Guard; the Syrian Refugee Vetting Process for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; and an Asymmetrical Threat Methodology for the United States Standing Joint Forces Headquarters, Homeland Security, in Norfolk. With extensive knowledge of the Middle East, he was recruited into the private sector to work on a Defense Intelligence Agency Contract as the HUMINT Issues Manager for Yemen. These projects are in addition to his Marine Corps career as a Signals Intelligence Collector, Linguist, and Analyst.

If elected, several of Mr Collick’s priorities for the families of Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District include:

  • Providing the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security with the resources necessary to protect the United States at home and our interests abroad.
  • Working with area educators, employers, and local leaders to reduce the unemployment rate in the 3rd Congressional District from 7%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, to the national rate of 3.8%.
  • Ensuring the rights and freedoms identified in the Constitution can be enjoyed by all Americans, without abridgement by any state, local, or municipal government.
  • Enacting a school voucher program for children in underperforming schools and school districts, particularly in low-income and inner-city neighborhoods.
  • Propose term limits so that no legislator can serve more than six terms in the House of Representatives and two terms in the Senate.

Mr Collick will serve no more than 3 terms if elected.

Propose significant changes to the Timeshare Industry, including:

  1. A 24 hour “cooling off” period offered before signing a timeshare contract. Timeshare sales presentations can last six hours or more. The buyer is told they must buy the same day. A rescission period is the time a buyer has to rescind a contract after signing. The rescission period varies by state.
  2. If the signing of a timeshare contract is recorded, there needs to be a mandatory recording of the sales presentation, with copies provided to the customer. Sales agents often coach buyers on how to “pass” the closing session.
  3. Eliminate perpetual contracts – no person should be allowed, wittingly or unwittingly, to agree to a perpetual contract with no secondary market.
  4. Buyer to be provided with a single complete and understandable summary disclosure document and the reviewing of the document should be on the recording. Presentation of the Public Offering Statement should also be presented on the audio recording so that it is not buried in a stack of documents with the dismissal, “You can review these when you get home” or “No one reads this.” Despite initials acknowledging receipt and review, given the high pressure and long sales presentation, adequate time to review complex and lengthy documents is not provided. Buyers unknowingly initial that they have read and reviewed the POS when they have not. Most consumers don’t know of its existence until asked to look for it. 
  5. To alleviate buyers of timeshare paying more than those booking the same property at the same time online, units available for rent at timeshare properties should not be rented below 5% of the cost of the highest amount paid for timeshare ownership plus applicable maintenance fees. E.g. Week at Fun Times Timeshare cost $22,000 for 1 week of annual usage and maintenance fees are $1,000 per year, the cost per week is $1,100 + $1,000 for a total of $2,200 per week. This will encourage Timeshare Developers to ensure there are ample units available for members and an incentive to keep maintenance fees as low as possible. 

For more information about John Collick and the campaign, visit 

www.collick4congress.com

John Collick on Timeshare

The more I became involved with those who have purchased timeshares, the more I learned about veterans and active duty service members reporting unfair and deceptive sales practices. Given an active duty service member can lose their security clearance over a timeshare foreclosure, I agree this could present a threat to our national security. The bar to get hired to sell timeshare points is pretty low, and in a state like Virginia, which is home to many military personnel, those with ill intent could seek to jeopardize security clearances.  

If an American citizen, military or civilian, has a security clearance and they default on a loan, their clearance will normally be suspended and often revoked. The consequence can be loss of job, career, and even bankruptcy.  This could mean discharge from the military. 

Most of these folks are upstanding Americans who want to continue in their careers but are prime targets for an unscrupulous timeshare salesperson. If an active duty service member buys into a timeshare, they’ll do everything they can to prevent foreclosure. I expect there are many who have no idea what they can do to save their clearances and/or careers.

The advice I give, especially to military personnel, is to NOT purchase a timeshare on the day of a timeshare presentation. The price WILL NOT CHANGE. Do your research. Talk to other members, check with the Better Business Bureau, and have an attorney review the contract. Any honest businessman or woman would give you 24 hours to think about making a sizeable purchase, especially one accompanied by rising annual maintenance fees and no secondary market.

The lack of a secondary market is even more of a risk for active duty service members, due to the mobility of service life. Decisions can be made on a moment’s notice, making the disposition of timeshare even more cumbersome.

Let’s say that you’re interested in purchasing a timeshare. If the first thing you’re told is the company’s motto: “We will say whatever it takes to make a sale” and then you look up and see a poster illustrating the Timeshare Consumer Lifecycle stating, “From initial contact through debt collection $$,” would you stick around for the presentation or simply get up and walk away? Of course, you would walk away. Well, this Timeshare Consumer Lifecycle was presented during a timeshare industry conference in Las Vegas, Nevada last year.

We all know that salespeople may exaggerate, but in general, consumers depend on salespeople to provide us with correct information on which to base our decisions. Based on timeshare encounters with other members of the military, I have found a high number of timeshare members and former members that have purchased timeshare points – not deeded timeshares – based their decision to buy by listening to salespeople who provided inaccurate, misleading, and sometimes complete fabrications to make a sale. 

My family’s first purchase of a “perpetual” vacation was a camping membership over three decades ago at Wilderness Resorts Campground in Spotsylvania, Virginia. I was on active duty in the Marine Corps and we didn’t have much money, so this ensured that we had a vacation almost every year. 

We often visited the same location every year but about a decade ago, we decided we wanted something different; camping had become difficult, so we decided to buy a timeshare. We purchased a 2-bedroom timeshare at The Colonies of Williamsburg, the week before the 4th of July. The cost was about $40,000 and maintenance fees $750 a year. Over a decade maintenance fees only increased by about $125. We had great experiences with both memberships. Our vacations were perfect. 

Others were not so lucky. Some have experienced maintenance fees that escalated dramatically – and they have no deeded interest in any property, just points that they might be able to use somewhere, sometime. Timeshare problems are not isolated to just one company. Complaints of existing members being presented maintenance fee relief programs that do not exist exacerbate the problem. You need to attend a meeting this week.  It’s not an invitation but a demand. Some don’t even know it’s a sales presentation. Those attending presentations are sometimes held “captive” for several hours waiting for “gifts.” This is not fair to soldiers suffering symptoms of PTSD.

Veterans have reported being told of special programs for veterans (that do not exist) or eligible for, in my case, a disabled veteran program, eligible to receive a lower price. Later I learned there was no “special price” for disabled veterans. 

The standard response to complaints is typically, “it doesn’t matter what the salesperson told you or wrote down…. You signed the contract.” “You have no proof” is often seconded by some state timeshare divisions. Timeshare contracts are not contracts that can be signed in good faith, believing the information provided by the sales staff. Think how many times you purchased a car or home, relying on the ethics of the real estate professional.

Heavily discounted promotional trips typically mean a conversely high-pressure sales session. Unlimited entertainment, food, and drinks often mean unlimited high pressure. A 60 to a 90-minute presentation which you are told emphatically is NOT a sales presentation, will often turn into a tag team of three against two that can last for hours. Promises are scribbled on paper, but the paper disappears.

Anyone buying a timeshare should research the company, the industry and any points-based product. This is something I should have done. I found over 200 people across the United States, including other Disabled Combat Veterans and active duty service members, who described unfair and deceptive timeshare sales practices.

There are also complaints describing credit card fraud. Members did not know until they returned home that a card had been opened and charged. Several hours before the transaction, they were told to fill out a form to see if they qualify for a down payment. In addition, members report being told they will be able to pay maintenance fees by using a timeshare company sponsored credit card, unaware this will offset only 1% or 2% of the maintenance fees bill.

A lifetime is a long time to bet nothing will happen to make the timeshare unaffordable. There is no secondary market for timeshare.

Recently, when my wife and I were told of an update we needed to attend, I politely asked the clerk to mail us any pertinent information – she understood that we weren’t interested in attending any more timeshare sales presentations.

This is one veteran’s story. After 9/11 Terry volunteered to go to Iraq. He was close to retirement so he felt it was the last thing he would be able to do for his country. After he got in country, he again volunteered with six other guys to be on a team deployed to Basra where the British had a FOB.

A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward military position, commonly a military base used to support tactical operations. (Wikipedia)

Terry was diagnosed with blood cancer after living next to a burn pit is Basra.

Terry was the lead man for the C-RAM program.

C-RAM: Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar abbreviated C-RAM or Counter-RAM, is a set of systems used to detect and/or destroy incoming artillery, rockets and mortar rounds in the air before they hit their ground targets, or simply provide early warning. (Wikipedia)

Terry and his guys would monitor incoming fire. Basra was one of those places where they were the only Americans so it was hard to get medicine and supplies. Terry and the guys lived in tents next to burn pits where the British burned anything that could be burned. Then there was Afghan. Terry was there for eighteen months until he was sent home after a diagnosis of blood cancer. He also served twenty years in the National Guard. He is 55 years old.

I really don’t know what else to say – he lived army ‘til he couldn’t anymore.

Our timeshare experience November 16, 2017

We were told in Gatlinburg at a group presentation that points were an investment and could be sold for a profit. My husbands diagnose of blood cancer was in 2014. We could no longer afford the timeshare. We know the agent lied about being able to sell timeshare points. We are not concerned that we cannot make a profit as the agent claimed, but are concerned that timeshare points are worthless should a member need to sell. Sales agents should not sell points based on the points being an investment. There were several in the room who heard this claim as it was made in the group presentation and in our individual meeting. Also, Cammie said all we had to do is when we got back home was go to our bank as we wouldn’t have a problem getting a lower interest rate. This was not true. Banks will not finance timeshare.

It’s not right. Our veterans deserve better.

We seek to provide timeshare members with a way to proactively address membership concerns; to advocate for timeshare reform; to obtain greater disclosure from the company; to advocate for a viable secondary market, and to educate prospective buyers.

https://www.facebook.com/timeshareadvocategroup/

https://tug2.com/Home.aspx

https://everythingabouttimeshares.com/consider-exchange-options/

Free at Last Timeshare Support Course offered by Straight-A-Guide

https://www.udprep.info/june

Bluegreen Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/180578055325962/

Wyndham Facebook

New: https://www.facebook.com/groups/376743609795740/  

Sapphire Starpoint New: 

https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgroups%2F292083584642570%2F%3Fref%3Dshare

Diamond Resort Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/

Gold Key Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1639958046252175/

Inside Timeshare Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2213231165610648/

Thank you, John, for your wonderful contribution, we and all our readers at Inside Timeshare wish you all the best in your campaign, also a very big thank you to Irene for her time editing the Tuesday Slot and Friday’s Letter from America articles.

If you have any comments or question on this or any article published, please use our contact page, we would love to hear from you.

The Tuesday Slot

Welcome to The Tuesday Slot with Part III of our series on the abuse of Veterans and the elderly with Irene Parker and Eddie Rodriguez. This article is just another in the series Inside Timeshare has dubbed “Nightmare on Timeshare Street”, which at the last count numbered 111 complaints from veterans alone. All we can ask is when will the industry take notice and stop these predatory practices by sales agents which are destroying lives.

Inside Timeshare has been informed of the following post by this company:

Timeshare Cancellation Guaranteed | ITT Exit – Call Toll-Free 1-800 …

https://www.ittexit.com/

At ITT EXIT, we know that when you purchased your Timeshare, it seemed like a great idea at …. these stories, Inside Timeshare has received around 111 complaints from Veterans and how … The AP news staff was not involved in its creation.

Inside Timeshare does not endorse this company, we are however happy for them to publish links to our articles. Inside Timeshare will not endorse or recommend any Exit company as we have in place a tried and tested formula for US owners/members to self-advocate.

Irene reached out to ITT Exit. They said it was not their intention to mislead and they would have their IT person change the description. We always appreciate a good line of communication with any exit company or developer.

Now for this weeks article.

How to Reform Timeshare to Protect Veterans

By Irene Parker and Eddie Rodriguez

June 25, 2019

Part I Theresa Taylor Provides Insights into Timeshare Defaults

https://insidetimeshare.com/the-tuesday-slot-35/

Part II Ron Tzinski Timeshare Lending Compared to Subprime

https://insidetimeshare.com/fridays-letter-from-america-55/

Part III Why the Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect Suggestions Offer Little Help

Army veteran Eddie Rodriguez called me after reading veteran Ron Tzinski’s article and the timeshare complaint disabled Marine veteran Richard Valdez provided. Eddie wanted to reach out to these veterans and also explain to me why the suggestions offered by the Center Of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect in all likelihood won’t work for veterans or our non-military readers harmed by timeshare.

For veterans, Eddie suggests time would be better spent working directly with veteran organizations like the DAV, VA, and VFW. Eddied managed U S Post Offices and is a former lobbyist. He was vice president of the Postal Union NAPS, Branch 164. The following disabled veteran’s complaint infuriated Eddie and me. 

Given the service Richard Valdez gave to his country, the extent of his injuries, and the report the VA provided, as to the reasons why this veteran should be released from his timeshare loan, we question the timeshare lobby ARDA’s assertion that timeshare members don’t need to contact an attorney or a timeshare exit provider. ARDA and industry executives insist their companies have hardship departments. We identify Richard, but not the timeshare company, because when we sent the report to the company, we heard back that they had assigned someone to investigate. We are grateful, despite being a bit late.

I spoke with Richard by phone. He lives in Honolulu. Richard retired from the Marine Corps as a Corporal IE 4. He earned a Purple Heart. During combat, Richard encountered explosive rounds in contact with his platoon. They had to shoot flares to see the enemy because there was no light. The 60 mortar rounds backfired. Fighting mountain to mountain, he was exposed to Agent Orange. He had a golf ball size growth in his head, maybe a little smaller. It took him a long time to get to reality. Richard says is often confused. He can’t comprehend when reading, so he just signed the timeshare contract.

Richard is the 6th Agent Orange exposed Vietnam veteran to contact us. Inside Timeshare has heard reports of unfair and deceptive timeshare sales practices from 111 veterans/active duty service members, and a total of 864 families. This report, by Richard’s son, explains our outrage.  Richard is 100% disabled. This is how he was treated by his timeshare company.     

I am writing this on behalf of my father. He sustained significant brain trauma due to intense fighting in the Vietnam War and is not capable of understanding difficult concepts or following complicated instructions so I am doing this for him. He purchased a timeshare for $23,800 in 2016. My father obviously does not have the capacity to understand what was happening or the details of the contract. After he used it the first time in Las Vegas and realized what it was we sent a letter from the VA outlining my father’s condition as the reason for him misunderstanding the product, but it has been ignored. I think it is disgusting that my father is being treated this way after serving our country at such a cost to his own life. My father is 100% disabled and incapable of understanding complex concepts.

The company has now passed him to a collections company who are harassing and stressing him out with threats to his possessions. Please look into this and help in any way you can. If you can talk to him, you will see he was taken advantage of badly.

Four out of the six organizations the Center Of Excellence on Elder Abuse & Neglect suggested have not helped any our readers resolve timeshare disputes. We had provided the link to this resource in Ron Tzinski’s article. Two of the organizations mentioned I had not heard of. We’ll try them next.  

http://www.centeronelderabuse.org/veterans.asp

The six organizations

1) The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been all but dismantled. Even in its heyday, it was usually impossible to file a timeshare lending complaint because timeshare companies were not an option from their drop-down menu. Timeshare loan payments are often made to timeshare financial departments. Borrowers didn’t know the identity of their lender. A credit card lender, selected by default, rationalized that they did not sell the timeshare or open the credit card. https://splinternews.com/mick-mulvaneys-complete-dismantling-of-the-consumer-fin-1826649324

2) Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud is to be explored.

On July 11, 2018, President Trump signed Executive Order 13844, establishing the Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud and identifying the Deputy Attorney General as its chair. The Task Force is part of a government-wide initiative to combat fraud against consumers – particularly the elderly, service members, and veterans – and corporate fraud that victimizes the general public and the government. https://www.justice.gov/fraudtaskforce

3) Consumer Federation of America is to be explored.

https://consumerfed.org/issues/consumer-protection/

The Consumer Federation of America provides a summary of protections against predatory lending for servicemembers

4) The FTC Consumer Sentinel Military Network (Military page not found)

https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/consumer-sentinel-network

All of our readers are directed to file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission. While a spokesperson for the organization expressed sympathy and passed along information to FTC attorneys before leaving the FTC, we are not aware of any action taken by the FTC to reduce timeshare fraud. It can take thousands of complaints to get a lawmaker, law enforcement, or a federal regulator to act, so we encourage our readers to file. It’s hard to even find the timeshare tab on the FTC complaint site. Instructions are in this article.

https://insidetimeshare.com/fridays-letter-from-america-47/

5) The Better Business Bureau

Two of our readers, out of 864, reported being helped by the BBB. The BBB evaluates how efficient a company is in responding to complaints. Given timeshare companies are quick to respond, “You signed a contract” and “We are not responsible for what our sales agents say,” some have high ratings. It is important to file because bad timeshare companies have over 1,000 complaints or more on file over a three year period, while better timeshare companies only have a few hundred complaints.

6) AARP We learned AARP had been linking an article suggesting timeshare members contact a listing service to sell timeshares. This company not only stole our keywords, using search words “Inside Timeshare Sales and Rentals,” they routinely accept timeshare listings, charging timeshare members $1,500 to $1,700 to list timeshares known to be worthless. We were able to convince AARP to stop linking the article that would cause timeshare members to throw good money after bad. It is helpful AARP suggests members file with the FTC and BBB.      

I had a difficult time talking to Richard because he sounded just like Leo Gomez. Leo passed away last year from pancreatic cancer. Leo was 100% disabled, Agent Orange exposed. I link Leo’s article every chance I get, because Leo’s last words to me were, “I want my story told.”

https://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Fourth-Agent-Orange-Vete-by-Irene-Parker-Fraud-180917-513.html

One of the first 100% Agent Orange veterans to contact us incurred a $170,000 1099c tax liability for a timeshare loan cancellation. We directed him to an expert who could help dispute the tax bill as he certainly gained nothing in exchange for the cancelled loan. This veteran was one of 20 complaints against the same Las Vegas sales agent.

Eddie Rodriguez is a veteran himself. A native New Yorker from Brooklyn, Eddie had the basic ability to fight for the rights of post office employees as a union representative. A Westgate and High Point timeshare owner, unable to dispose of the timeshares, Eddie has taken up our cause, lobbying to provide more disclosure to veterans buying timeshares. In the primary housing market, this is already required.

A Coalition to Reform Timeshare (CRT) was launched to advocate for the rights of more than 9 million timeshare owners in the U.S.  

Our volunteer Supporters at Timeshare Accountability Group™ (TAG) feel both ends of the timeshare sale need some reform. The Change.org petition has already received over 1,300 signatures.  Sign our petition today to show lawmakers and the Timeshare Industry at large that there is a need for change.

Inside Timeshare supports John Collick for Congress, (VA-3). John is a friend of mine who understands our concerns. I’ve read comments from members who say Republicans are not interested in consumers. At the Florida legislative workshop I attended in Tallahassee March 12 of this year, it was Republican representatives who spoke up for the consumer. Florida Representative Newton shared how he had to file for bankruptcy in the 90s to get out of his timeshare. 

https://www.collick4congress.com/?fbclid=IwAR2JoSF5-2j3HM7wgR_Y5LBab112dzCj8qyR6PmiZsUJDFE1Q9sL1eIl4sY

Let’s hope level heads on both sides of the aisle recognize the need for change. We owe that to our veterans and to our active duty service members. Too many families have been harmed.  

We seek to provide timeshare members with a way to proactively address membership concerns; to advocate for timeshare reform; to obtain greater disclosure from the company; to advocate for a viable secondary market, and to educate prospective buyers.

https://www.facebook.com/timeshareadvocategroup/

https://tug2.com/Home.aspx

https://everythingabouttimeshares.com/consider-exchange-options/

Free at Last Timeshare Support Course offered by Straight-A-Guide

https://www.udprep.info/june

Bluegreen Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/180578055325962/

Wyndham Facebook

New: https://www.facebook.com/groups/376743609795740/  

Sapphire Starpoint New:

https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgroups%2F292083584642570%2F%3Fref%3Dshare

Diamond Resort Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/

Gold Key Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1639958046252175/

Inside Timeshare Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2213231165610648/

Thank you to Irene, Eddie and all the other contributors to this three-part series, these are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg, Inside Timeshare receives a what can only be described as a never-ending stream of emails looking for help. It is a story that unfortunately will not be going away until the industry changes its ways.

Anfi Tauro Beach Project

The story of the Anfi Tauro Beach Project which we have been following over the past few years has now seen the ex-head of the Coastal Authority José Maria Hernández de León finally found guilty of falsification in an official document and administrative prevarication.


José Maria Hernández de León

As we already know he allowed the work on the beach by Anfi to go ahead even before all the licenses and official documentation was in place, then signed the documents months after the work started.

The court has sentenced him to 3 years in prison, nine years of disqualification from public office and a fine of 3,900€. This sentence is not final as the parties may appeal in the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary islands.

We will bring you more on this as it happens.

See link below for the full La provincia story.

https://www.laprovincia.es/gran-canaria/2019/06/20/condenan-ex-jefe-costas-canarias/1186170.html

Friday’s Letter from America

Welcome to another Friday edition of Letter from America, today we welcome the Madden Family with their “Nightmare on Timeshare Street”, this time it is Orange Lake in Orlando. It is another story of deceptive sales practices by sales agents working on behalf of the timeshare developer and the lack of a secondary market. It is a story we are all too familiar with at Inside Timeshare.

A TRUE STORY by an Orange Lake Timeshare Buyer

May 31, 2019

By the Madden Family

We recorded our Orange Lake experience on YouTube hoping to prevent others from making the decision we unfortunately made. I’m told Orange Lake is no worse than several other timeshare companies. Buyers who no longer can use the timeshare are held hostage with no choice but to walk away due to the lack of a secondary market.

Our YouTube

We purchased an Orange Lake Resort Timeshare in Orlando, Florida in 2014. It was the day after Christmas. After hours of mouth flapping, winning smiles, scribbled notes in illegible writing, we were fairly pliable and ended up signing a contract we now know is worthless. This has been a source of massive stress.

Here are the unfair and deceptive timeshare sales practices we experienced which readers will have heard countless times: The sales agent told us that we were making an investment that would appreciate like any other investment. Timeshares are worthless.

  • The sales agent said the timeshare had built-in equity from a prior owner. There is no such thing as equity when it comes to a timeshare. Timeshares are a liability. The sales agent said that since this had been owned by a prior party, we had to buy “today” or the price tomorrow would be without equity, so full price. This was nonsense.
  • The sales agent said we could easily refinance, replacing the exorbitant 26% financing provided by Orange Lake. This was not true. Banks don’t finance timeshares because they are not an asset.
  • The sales agent said there was a resale market. We tried that market but were scammed the same way we were scammed into buying the timeshare.
  • The sales agent said he wasn’t a salesman, just there to help timeshare owners find buyers. He was a salesman.
  • The sales agent said an Orange Lake timeshare is like any other property. You can deduct mortgage interest. You can’t deduct timeshare loan interest.
  • The sales agent said we could cover the cost of owning the timeshare by renting it out. He said he would help us rent. He didn’t.
  • The sales agent said we could book wherever we wanted easily. We wanted to book west coast Florida but were told it was unavailable and would be unavailable through the next year. We tried to book Cape Canaveral, Panama City Beach Resorts or Galveston, but that was unavailable. We ended up in Las Vegas as a last resort. We were never able to book with the ease the sales agent promised.

The moral of our story is that you can’t believe a word a timeshare sales agent says. I know there are timeshare members who use and enjoy their timeshare, but there are also thousands and thousands of complaints. Before buying, check the happy and unhappy buyer sites. Weigh each side, because your only discernable truth will come from those who bought timeshares, not from those who sell them.    

We tried reaching out to Orange Lake with our concerns but were ignored. The lack of communication from Orange Lake made us feel like they have no cares whatsoever for their customers, or about the deceptive claims their sales agent make, as long as they get their money. They were never in a hurry to answer our concerns, but have invested considerable time to call us daily, repeatedly, to collect money.

When we filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, Orange Lake responded with a copy of our contract. Surely signatures do not exempt a company from promising a diamond but delivering a piece of coal. Where is the Federal Trade Commission?

We intend to tell our story in as many places as possible to warn others. Too many families are being financially harmed so that sales agents can earn commissions and timeshare companies can report profits at the expense of hard-working citizens. Citizens harmed spent a lifetime buying cars and houses, relying on the integrity of the seller, integrity that, based on our experience, does not exist in timeshare.

Join our efforts!

Contact Inside Timeshare to join this family’s efforts to help others. Following are self-help groups we feel are not industry influenced.

We seek to provide timeshare members with a way to proactively address membership concerns; to advocate for timeshare reform; to obtain greater disclosure from the company; to advocate for a viable secondary market, and to educate prospective buyers.

https://www.facebook.com/timeshareadvocategroup/

https://tug2.com/Home.aspx

https://everythingabouttimeshares.com/consider-exchange-options/

Bluegreen Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/180578055325962/

Wyndham Facebook

New: https://www.facebook.com/groups/376743609795740/  

Sapphire Starpoint New: https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgroups%2F292083584642570%2F%3Fref%3Dshare

Diamond Resort Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/

Gold Key Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1639958046252175/

Thank you to the Maddens for sharing the experience of your own “Nightmare on Timeshare Street”, many of our readers will recognise some of the tactics and deceptions from their own experiences. Is it not time the timeshare industry reigned in these unscrupulous sales agents, then they may have a product which does not court controversy, complaints and above all misery to consumers. It is only through you the readers sharing your stories and coming together which helps others to see that they are not alone, together you do have a voice that can change the industry.

If you would like to share your own “Nightmare on Timeshare Street” or have a happy story to tell of good sales practise and consumer protection, Inside Timeshare would love to hear from you.

Are you a European owner of a timeshare in the US and want to get out, are you a US owner of a timeshare in Europe especially purchased in Spain and want to know how Spanish law protects you, then use our contact page and lets us know, we will point you in the right direction.

Have a great weekend and join us again next week.

The Tuesday Slot

Welcome to The Tuesday Slot, today we welcome another new contribution from the Valdibieso Family, with their “Nightmare on Timeshare Street”. These features are becoming all too commonplace, so it does beg the question, When will the industry take note and change?

Our very own Irene Parker has reported that the Platinum Protestors, protesting out front of Diamond Resorts Cypress Pointe Resort in Orlando over the weekend, especially on Sunday, had a steady stream of horn honks, thumb’s up, and members who talked about their experiences, and many who asked questions about their concerns. On Friday, May 17, they protested outside the Florida Timeshare Division. One person who works inside the state facility, who asked not to be identified, suggested they protest every Friday. Unfortunately, since the protestors live in NY and AZ, it would be difficult to commute. All in all, it was a major success. A full report will be presented in Friday’s Letter From America.

Don’t Buy a Timeshare Without Checking Good and Bad Reviews

By the Valdibieso Family

May 21, 2019

Our nightmare began after we purchased a Sapphire Resort timeshare in Las Vegas in October 2017.  From the start, our timeshare experience has been one of anger and frustration.

We have joined efforts with Vanessa Hernandez who purchased a Sapphire timeshare the day of the Las Vegas mass murder. Her article is linked below. Vanessa was uncomfortable after signing her contract, so planned to review her contract that evening, but attended the concert that devastated her life. She could not even get out of bed for a long time due to the trauma. Even a horror like witnessing a mass murder did not move Starpoint Sapphire to cancel her contract, despite reported misrepresentations.  

I found 221 Starpoint Sapphire complaints on file with the Better Business Bureau, in addition to a host of complaints on other complaints sites. Starpoint has an A+ BBB rating. The BBB basically assigns a rating on how efficiently a company handles complaints. As you can see, Starpoint Sapphire is quick to respond that you signed a contract so you’re stuck.  

https://www.bbb.org/us/nv/las-vegas/profile/resort/starpoint-resort-group-inc-1086-66568/complaints#176983305

Vanessa and I have joined forces to get the word out to let others know the timeshare you buy is worthless if you need to sell it. Not only is it worthless, it is accompanied by rising maintenance fees. I know of no other product that holds the buyer hostage, making sure they stay vacationed or else.

This is the link to our Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgroups%2F292083584642570%2F%3Fref%3Dshare

Join our consumer protection efforts. If you bought a timeshare and are happy with it, we understand. Not all sales agents are deceptive. We intend, like so many other timeshare buyers who feel they experienced unfair and deceptive sales practices, to build our Facebook group and start a RedWeek and Timeshare Users Group thread.

Until the timeshare industry wakes up to the fact that they are financially destroying family after family by allowing unfair and deceptive sales practices, and restricting the secondary market to the extent you can’t dispose of it, consumers will be harmed. Publicly traded timeshare companies even warn their stock investors that a secondary market is a risk to THEM. What about us?

Our Timeshare Nightmare

Our Sapphire sales presentation dragged on for hours. To seal the deal they offered us a free trip to Hawaii or Cancun but said we had to sign quickly because they were only giving one free trip to our group.

After we signed a contract, something didn’t feel right. We decided to cancel the contract. When we talked to them about cancelling, we asked how the timeshare could be transferred to someone else and – boom! That’s when we found out about maintenance fees and all the fees that would be needed if we wanted to sell the timeshare. They also informed us that if we could not sell it, we did not have the right to cancel. None of this was mentioned in the presentation. A company representative suggested we put it on Craigslist and hung up. We have tried to contact Sapphire, to no avail. They could care less about misrepresentations.

We were told we would be allotted 5,000 points annually that would allow us to go anywhere. This was not the case. The Sapphire points are not good everywhere. They can only be used at certain places and then only thru RCI. This was crazy because I did not even sign up for RCI. When we attempted to reserve a stay, we were informed that our points would expire on July 10, 2018. We could roll them over, but we could only roll them over one time. The points eventually expired.

All the locations listed in a book that was given to us required over 5000 points. We were also informed we could purchase trips for only $269. That was not the case, because again, we could only book through RCI and they have different rules. This had not been explained.

The free trip to Hawaii turned out not to be free. The sales agent failed to mention all the fees that we would have to pay, or that we would have to fly out from a specific airport, one we did not have easy access to. We would have to pay for plane tickets to the required airport and back. The free trip to Hawaii was what eventually sold us. If we knew about the costs associated with the “free” trip, we would not have signed the contract.

We have never used our timeshare.

This has literally been one of the worst experiences we have ever had in terms of deception and aggressive sales tactics that seem geared to wear you down. They brainwashed us and have caused our marriage to fall apart due to the stress of this purchase.

Only false promises accompanied our purchase.

Excerpt from Vanessa’s Starpoint Sapphire Resort article

October 30, 2018

To be honest, I don’t remember as much as I’d like about the purchase of our Starpoint timeshare October 1 of last year. That night Rogelio and I went to the concert that flipped Vegas upside down. We hid and ran for our lives, hoping to make it out alive. Thankfully we did. We cut our trip short, so I didn’t look over the paperwork as I told myself I would. I couldn’t get out of bed or eat for a month.

I remember feeling pressured and pushed into buying the timeshare, which was why I told myself I needed to look over the paperwork as soon as I got home. The reasons I felt uncomfortable with my decision:

  • They said the timeshare was prime real estate,
  • I was not aware the credit check was being run,
  • They told me to wait 30 days before booking,
  • They promised a free trip (which never materialized).
The Tuesday Slot

If you would like to join Mari and Vanessa’s Advocacy Facebook, contact Inside Timeshare and we will put you in touch with two more timeshare regret consumers dedicated to warning the public about the negatives of timeshare, to counterbalance timeshare developers and lobbyists insisting few regret their purchase.

Self-help groups we feel are not industry influenced:

We seek to provide timeshare members a way to proactively address membership concerns; to advocate for timeshare reform; to obtain greater disclosure from the company; to advocate for a viable secondary market; and to educate prospective buyers.

https://www.facebook.com/timeshareadvocategroup/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/

https://tug2.com/Home.aspx

https://everythingabouttimeshares.com/consider-exchange-options/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/180578055325962/

New: https://www.facebook.com/groups/376743609795740/

https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgroups%2F292083584642570%2F%3Fref%3Dshare

https://www.facebook.com/groups/465692163568779/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1639958046252175/

That’s all for today, thank you to our latest contributors for their story, if you have a story that you would like to share, whether it be a “Nightmare on Timeshare Street” or a positive experience (which we would love to hear about just to make a change), use our contact page and get in touch.

Friday’s Letter from America

Welcome to this weeks Letter from America, today Irene Parker sets out instructions on how to file complaints with the FBI and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). Unfortunately, many of the requests for help Inside Timeshare receives fall into the category of fraud, yet the industry still does not recognise that they need to change.

Before we start a bit of news from the Spanish Courts.

The lawyers from Canarian Legal Alliance have been at it again this week with a resounding 25 sentences issued against timeshare companies.

These have been broken down as 3 issued from the High Court and 22 from the Court of First Instance. With Anfi receiving 24 judgements against them and Club La Costa receiving 1. The Club la Costa case was heard at the court of First Instance in Fuengirola, Malaga and is the very first case to involve one of CLA’s Spanish clients. (Click on the PDF below for the court sentence).

F1 Club La Costa data protected (ote)Download

The other cases were clients from the UK and Scandinavia, with most receiving double the deposits paid and the return of legal fees, all contract were also declared null and void.

The total amount awarded in all these cases is a staggering 828,329€. So congratulations to the clients and also the entire legal team at Canarian Legal Alliance.

Now for our Letter from America.

Timeshare Accountability Group™

FBI and FTC Filing Instructions and Talking Points

April 26, 2019

By Irene Parker

When timeshare members feel they have experienced unfair and deceptive timeshare sales practices, the member should first reach out to their resort in an attempt to resolve the dispute. If informed, “You signed a contract” or “We are not responsible for what our sales agents say,” file a Better Business Bureau complaint and file a complaint with the Attorney General from the state where you signed a contract.

Unfortunately, some timeshare complaints meet the FBI definition of white-collar crime. If the complaint is of a nature that meets the following description, file with the FBI at IC3.gov or file orally by contacting an FBI field office.

# 1 IC3.gov

Timeshare fraud falls under White Collar Crime/Mortgage Fraud/Financial Institution Fraud/Fraud for Profit. click on the link below to read about mortgage fraud. The general definition of white-collar crime is “deceit, concealment, violation of trust, and bait and switch.”  

Fraud for profit: Those who commit this type of mortgage fraud are often industry insiders using their specialized knowledge or authority to commit or facilitate the fraud. Current investigations and widespread reporting indicate a high percentage of mortgage fraud involves collusion by industry insiders, such as bank officers, appraisers, mortgage brokers, attorneys, loan originators, and other professionals engaged in the industry.

Fraud for profit aims not to secure housing, but rather to misuse the mortgage lending process to steal cash and equity from lenders or homeowners.

The FBI prioritizes fraud for profit cases.

https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/white-collar-crime/mortgage-fraud

To file a complaint with the FBI, select IC3.gov from the three choices available. It’s confusing because IC stands for Internet Crime, but it doesn’t have to be about internet crime. That’s just the name of the portal. You can file a complaint on behalf of someone else. At the end of the form it will ask if you are filing on someone else’s behalf.

https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

Some of the information that the IC3.gov online form asks for is not necessary – fields like routing numbers, bank addresses. Don’t worry about having all that information. They are not required fields. Victim bank is the bank from where you made payments or the credit card company. Subject bank is where you send your payments.

If you receive additional information after filing an original complaint, there is a handy box to check that asks, “Is this an update to a prior report?” Start the complaint over, but check that box to add the new information.

Step #2 File an oral FBI report 24/7

You can also file orally by contacting an FBI field office. Contact the field office where you signed a contract. Members have reported some agents have spent one or two hours on the phone with them. One member met with her FBI agent!

When you call the field office, select “Submit a Tip” then wait for the white-collar crime prompt. One person ended up in the wrong pew of the right church told they had to have lost a million dollars or more to file a complaint. That’s not true.

Members report the FBI has been responsive, but the FBI agent needs to be convinced getting a lawyer will do nothing to stop the problem of timeshare fraud for profit. Timeshare companies have armies of lawyers and they can drag a proceeding on forever until the member is broke. It is an understatement to say timeshare attorneys don’t look favourably on the arbitration process.

In Florida call the Tampa Field Office

https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/

Whether filing at IC3.gov or orally, you can provide the name and phone number of other victims, especially if you are aware of similar complaints. That way the FBI can look up other reports directed against the same repeat offender sales agent.

Sheila Brust’s article, “Just the Facts, Ma’am” is about her experience reaching out to the FBI. Sheilah worked for New York Governor’s Office of Employee Relations. The FBI advised Sheila to file with the Secret Service because her allegation also involved credit card fraud.

The Tuesday Slot with Irene

www.secretservice.gov                                                       

Don’t expect to hear back from the FBI. They don’t work like that. That doesn’t mean they are not listening. It takes volumes of complaints and a pattern of complaints to launch any investigation, whether with the FBI or with an Attorney General.

Filing your own complaint requires dedication and perseverance. Resolutions can be accomplished, empowered with information the member needs to take matters into their own hands. Thinking beyond their own dilemma, members can become one of our volunteer Supporters to help others.

Our Complaint Instructions were revised by a millennial timeshare buyer who followed our complaint instructions to resolve her dispute.

How to File a Complaint revised January 25, 2019

Friday’s Letter from America

Timeshare member complaints tend to start out convoluted and confusing. We suggest having a friend or neighbor, not familiar with timeshare, read your complaint to see if it makes sense. Provide examples. Expect to be denied. Read the reason for dismissal and respond with a rebuttal.

Saying things like “I can’t afford this” is useless. You can’t go to your home mortgage lender and say “I can’t afford my home mortgage” and expect them to take your house back. You signed a legally binding contract. If there was no deception, you are bound by the contract, although it’s possible to request a contract cancellation due to medical or financial hardship.

We refer to a lawyer about one in ten times when all else fails, or the member does not have the time or energy to follow our process, which is admittedly timeshare consuming. A list of reputable law firms is provided upon request.   

#3 File with the Federal Trade Commission

The FTC online form has a “Timeshare Sales” option. It’s not easy to find. Instructions are in this article. Don’t be discouraged by receiving only a “Here’s some timeshare tips!” response. https://insidetimeshare.com/the-tuesday-slot-13/

Extra Talking Points

You must inform the FBI agent why you experienced unfair and deceptive sales practices. The agent you speak with may know nothing about timeshare basics. Explain the contract is perpetual, there is no secondary market, and when members complain, the company often hides behind the oral representation clause.

Your mission is to convince the FBI that this is not about only a few complaints. This article “Timeshare Foreclosure Explained to Lenders” lists just a few of the Attorneys General investigations and lawsuits, and the St. Louis Better Business Bureau report tells consumers what to watch out for:

Timeshare Foreclosure Explained to Lenders

The Tuesday Slot

St. Louis BBB report

https://www.bbb.org/en/us/article/news-releases/18149-dont-fall-for-deception-pressure-and-traps-disguised-as-vacations-a-better-business-bureau-study-of-the-missouri-timeshare-vacation-club-industry?bbbid=0734

Why doesn’t the government do something about this?

  1. There is no federal enforcement,
  2. Timeshare Attorney General Investigations and settlements are usually mere financial speed bumps, comparable to fining an NFL player $10,000. One exception is The Manhattan Club settlement. https://nypost.com/2017/08/17/new-york-ag-reaches-6-5m-settlement-with-manhattan-club
  3. When a member complains, they are shown their initials on the fine print,
  4. Retaining an attorney will not stop unfair and deceptive business practices,
  5. Litigation is time-consuming and expensive,
  6. Arbitration is widely known to be pro-industry. If you lose you can end up paying the resort’s arbitration fees. The resort hires the arbitrators.
  7. The CFPB has been rendered ineffective. Even in the CFPB heyday members could not file a complaint because the borrower often doesn’t even know the name of their lender. You had to select a financial institution from the dropdown menu and timeshare companies are not a choice.
  8. Some lawmakers may be influenced by lobby dollars, as reported by The Daily Courier. https://www.dcourier.com/news/2019/apr/16/opt-out-provisions-timeshare-bill-no-longer-table/
  9. Some state AGs turn a blind eye. At a Florida legislative workshop in Tallahassee March 12 of this year, the spokesperson for the Florida AG reported their office received 1,600 annual timeshare complaints in 2017 and 2018, mostly about the initial sales presentation, 50% seniors, of which the AG engaged only 42 of the complaints, mostly about resales. This spells no enforcement. The Nevada Real Estate Division responded to all our readers with a “You have no proof letter.”
  10. Timeshare members give the ARDA ROC Political Action Committee approximately $5 million dollars annually, often “Opt-Out” donations. We have heard from over 800 timeshare members. Not one could tell us what ARDA ROC even stands for. ARDA ROC vigorously opposed recent proposed pro-consumer changes in Arizona.  

Let us know if you are active duty military, law enforcement, a government worker or a veteran, as we are supported by WhistleBlowers of America. They added timeshare fraud to their March 14, 2018 report before the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs (the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has since been all but dismantled and we changed our name from TS Advocacy to Timeshare Accountability Group):

United in Speaking Truth to Power

www.whistleblowersofamerica.org @whistleP2P

601 Pennsylvania Ave, South Tower, Suite 900 Washington, DC 20004

Statement of

Ms. Jacqueline Garrick, LCSW-C

Executive Director

Whistleblowers of America

Before the

Committees on Veterans’ Affairs

U.S. Senate

U.S. House of Representatives

March 14, 2018

House and Senate Committee Members:

Whistleblowers of America (WoA) was incorporated in 2017, as a newly focused nonprofit service organization providing peer support to whistleblowers, so we are honored to be able to share our concerns with you today. The majority of our contacts are with Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees or veterans who have identified waste, fraud, and abuse, medical errors, denials of care or benefits, discrimination, harassment or bullying.  For doing so, they have suffered reprisal and retaliation. From the report:

Fraud and Scams Against Veterans:

Although WoA recognizes that it is not inherent within the VA mission to protect veterans from fraud and scams that could cost them their benefits, it suggests that it could be assistive in educating veterans against these unscrupulous tactics. For example, WoA has had multiple complaints from veterans related to timeshare deceit and bait and switch tactics, which are defined by the FBI as fraud for profit.  Often elderly veterans are mentioned as being targeted by the Timeshare Advocacy Group, TM which fights for active duty and retired military who fear losing their security clearance, career, homes or other assets.  Foreclosures and financial distress because of these misrepresented investments are happening every day to elderly disabled veterans and their families. In the past, VA has cooperated with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) over mortgage and other loan scams that caused financial hardships for veterans.  Home loans and timeshare loans are identical as both are reported as foreclosures. WoA asks that Congress consider a role for the VBA Employment and Economic Initiative (EEI) could play in cooperation with CFPB to educate and protect veterans from unscrupulous financial predators and fraudulent practices.

Consider a donation to Whistleblowers of America if you have been helped by Timeshare Accountability Group™

It’s remarkable that a timeshare member must go through this many stressful hoops concerning a product that was sold to be stress reducing. If you have skills that could help others, consider becoming a Supporter. Contact TAG.

Related articles:

3Rs or F of Timeshare

Friday’s Letter from America

The Timeshare Tax Trap, February 26, 2019

The Tuesday Slot: The Timeshare Tax Trap

Arizona HB 2639, March 1, 2019

Friday’s Letter from America

Arizona HB 2639, March 5, 2019

The Tuesday Slot: Arizona House Bill 2639

Florida HB 435, March 15, 2019

Friday’s Letter from America

Florida HB 435, March 19, 2019

The Tuesday Slot: More on Florida House Bill 435

Nevada SB, March 22, 2019

Friday’s Letter from America

Arbitration October 24 2017

The Tuesday Slot: Arbitration

Member self-help groups

We seek to provide timeshare members a way to proactively address membership concerns; to advocate for timeshare reform; to obtain greater disclosure from the company; to advocate for a viable secondary market; and to educate prospective buyers.

https://www.facebook.com/timeshareadvocategroup/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/

https://tug2.com/Home.aspx

https://everythingabouttimeshares.com/consider-exchange-options/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/180578055325962/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/465692163568779/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1639958046252175/

Thank you Irene, this information should prove a great help to many of our readers, it is just a shame that we have to resort to this type of action. One day the industry may just realise that it is through their own greed that they are on the receiving end of so many complaints.

Once again the weekend is upon us, whatever you are doing and wherever you are, have a great weekend and join us next week for news and information on the murky world of timeshare.

The Tuesday Slot

Welcome to The Tuesday Slot, this week we have another in our series of Secret Shopper reports, but first some news from the UK about ABC Lawyers, one of the Mark Rowe owned companies.

On 8 February 2019, an application to wind down the company ABC Layers Ltd was filed by Mark Rowe with Companies House. The appointed liquidator is David Meany of Quantuma LLP, The Old Town Hall, 71 Christchurch Road, Ringwood, Hampshire.

ABC Lawyers is just one of the companies under the umbrella of Advanced Business Consultants Legal SL,  (formerly registered as Jive Hippo SL), CC Fañabe Plaza 338, Avenida Bruselas, Costa Adeje, 38660, S/C de Tenerife, it is also known as ABC Legal/Other companies are Timeshare Compensation, Timeshare Lawyer, ValueMyTimeshare and Timeshare Advice, all owned by Mark Rowe.

Mark Rowe is also the owner of the following companies registered in the UK, TULOCA LTD (10748107), LANSDOWN FINANCIAL LTD (09742346), STAYCATION LODGES (SCOTLAND) LIMITED (SC549238), STAYCATION LODGES LIMITED (10332646), JIVE HIPPO LIMITED (09863488), MONSTER TEMPCO LIMITED (09855107) and GORLEY VALE FARM LIMITED (09669372). Although he resigned as Director in February 2019, leaving Nicola Helen Rowe as the sole director.

The question being posed now is what will happen to all those clients who have signed up with ABC Lawyers for “compensation claims” and “relinquishments”, are they going to have the work completed?

As we know, several of Marke Rowe’s companies are under police investigation, could this liquidation be a move to prevent yet another of his companies falling under that investigation? Only time will tell.

Now for today’s Secret Shopper Report.

Timeshare Wars!  Deeded Timeshare Owners Fight Back

What kind of business sells points by demanding that if you don’t buy our timeshare points, your children will have to be our customer?

A deeded owner

Marriott Vacation Club Fights Back

Not since the Book of Genesis [1:9-10] has the extraordinary feat of creating land from nothingness been chronicled … and Marriott “saw that it was good” for business. (Plaintiff’s response to motion to dismiss)  

By Another Deeded Week Secret Shopper from Out West

April 23, 2019

Some Vacation Clubs employ predatory and deceptive methods to convince deeded week timeshare “owners” to give up their deed to become a “member” of a points-based timeshare program. Owners are lured to “mandatory” updates designed to convince them why they should join their vacation club.

Last Tuesday a Secret Shopper shared his experience. Shopper owned two continuous deeded weeks at Virginia Beach. He determined that if he had agreed to forfeit his deeds for points, it is unlikely he would have access to the vacation location the family had enjoyed for years.

The Tuesday Slot

Some timeshare point members have no “beneficial interest” in actual real estate. Wyndham does sell a point-based deeded timeshare. The (intended pun) point is that just because points are used to identify one’s use interests, does not necessarily make the timeshare a users’ rights product.

In the case of non-deeded points, the point buyer buys points in a “right-to-use” program. Ownership rights are stripped away from the actual real estate. It’s more like buying a membership in a country club than buying a condo, except it’s a country club membership you can’t easily terminate unless the membership is free and clear. If there is no loan and maintenance fees are current, the resort MAY take the timeshare back in return for nothing more than the peace of mind knowing you are done with it.

Charging closing costs for a product that is not real estate was the basis of a class action lawsuit against Marriott Vacation Club.  In a recent ruling,

A Florida Judge has sustained central claims in the class action against Marriott and their points based system. “Consumer Deeds are invalid because they lack any cognizable legal description of a real property interest being conveyed as required by Florida law.”

https://www.nyrealestatelawblog.com/manhattan-litigation-blog/2019/april/florida-judge-sustains-central-claims-in-suit-ag/?fbclid=IwAR2wlVr8NIPBZj9Mcg8vVQI7_yHJvTHkIWTU4NdT9XEC8QANg0rfR9wmZrs#.XKZAISFvVH0.facebook

Our Secret Shopper Experience

Throughout our presentation, we were concerned about the sales agent using terms associated with real estate. Our sales agent said points are backed by real estate held in a trust. Agents used words and phrases like “opening escrow” and a 30 to 45 day closing period. One particularly deceptive use of real estate jargon was stating maintenance fees as HOA fees. They are not the same. It would take another article to explain why they are different. They would not disclose the terms of a loan unless we agreed to purchase.

My husband and I went after them from a financial angle. We said we were concerned about the company’s financial health. We felt the thousands of complaints that can be found about this company on the internet, over 1,000 Better Business Bureau Complaints, a government action, and numerous lawsuits would eventually catch up with them. That doesn’t mean all their sales agents are dishonest, but there are a disproportionate number of complaints compared to other timeshare companies.

What seemed to be the craziest comment came from an agent who came over to answer our questions about the budget report. We had asked:

“Is the Club solvent?” “Are they in debt?”

The agent shockingly responded, “Why would that matter to you?”

We asked for their California public report. We showed them that there was a deficit of $9.696 million. We asked why the public report does not show a reserve account. They said it’s typically not shown in a public report. This makes no sense as that is one of the first things to put in a public report to make the consumer feel more secure. The truth is – there is no reserve account based on documents we had analyzed.

Our sales agent seemed a bit dumbfounded. Our session ended without the usual downturn in attitude when a member says no and means no. We don’t think these agents are used to informed buyers. But Vacation Clubs don’t just try to take your deed. They try to take your Resort!

We are longtime owners at one of the resorts that have opposed the Vacation Club’s attempts to take control. Owners realized a few years ago that the Club was rapidly accumulating inventory. Some owners started reporting that they had been to presentations or updates where they had been informed that either the Club already ‘owned’ our resort, or used scare tactics to convince the owner that if they didn’t convert their deed to points, their deed would be worthless and would be subject to a special assessment. Often, especially seniors are falsely told that if they don’t give up their deed and convert to points their children will be required to be club members when the owner passes.

The Vacation Club business model dealing with “Legacy” resorts is well known. I call this model extortion. Here’s how it works:

  1. The acquiring company takes over management,
  2. Substantially higher fees are charged than the resort was currently paying,
  3. Deeded owners’ maintenance fees are raised substantially,
  4. The cost of club operations is shifted to the deeded owners,
  5. Excessive capital reserve projects are imposed in order to collect additional fees from deeded owners,
  6. Availability, especially for desirable weeks, is reduced for deeded owners.
  7. Desirable weeks are rented to the public to increase income to Club managers.
  8. Nuisance fees are added that are applicable to only deeded owners such as parking fee, split week fee.
  9. Benefits deeded owners enjoyed for many years are eliminated, such as day use and bonus time
  10. Information available to deeded owners is reduced in order to force them to attend high-pressure sales presentations or “updates” designed to wrestle the deed away from the owner.
  11. The value of deeded ownership is demeaned by emphasizing the negative aspects of deeded ownership.  Deeded owners are threatened with special assessments, higher maintenance fees, less availability.
  12. Exchange options become limited for deeded owners in order to coerce them to convert to club membership.

Our Club has used unscrupulous Florida title companies to purchase units from deeded owners under false pretext and transfer them to the Club. The Club has pressured management hired by the resort to enact policies beneficial to the Club.  The Club has brought frivolous legal action against the association and board members individually to intimidate vendors and board members so that the Club can gain control of the resort.

The intent of the Club has been to purchase voting power rather than quality ownership. They have done this by acquiring less than desirable units in less than desirable seasons. The units are not used by the Club for occupancy, yet they still pay the dues for these units. As a result, the Club is determined to take control of the resort so that they can better monetize this worthless inventory.

What can be done to keep our resort?

Our resort has taken advantage of social media to increase owner engagement and the free flow of information among owners and between owners, the board of directors and resort management.  The availability of timely information to the deeded owners has empowered our resort to resist the persistent pressure from the Club to take control of our resort.

Our owners and our board are passionate about our resort and determined to maintain the control that allows them to continue enjoying what they purchased. Deeded owners must unite and organize to hang on to what little real timeshare real estate is left. To think the timeshare world will be nothing but points is sad.

We seek to provide timeshare with a way to proactively address membership concerns; to advocate for timeshare reform; to obtain greater disclosure from the company; to advocate for a viable secondary market, and to educate prospective buyers.

https://www.facebook.com/timeshareadvocategroup/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/

https://tug2.com/Home.aspx

https://everythingabouttimeshares.com/consider-exchange-options/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/180578055325962/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/465692163568779/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1639958046252175/

Thank you to our Secret Shoppers for their report, these do help others to be aware of what actually goes on at these presentations and helps them to be prepared.

If you have any views or comments on any article published, use our contact page, Inside Timeshare welcomes your insights.

The Tuesday Slot

Welcome to our Tuesday Slot, this week Irene Parker explains why she is an advocate. As many of our readers will know, Irene has been coming increasingly under attack by the industry for her role in helping timeshare owners with their “Nightmare on Timeshare Street” stories. This replaces the scheduled article which will be published at a later date.

Two Timeshare Developers Want to Depose Me

I asked why? I’m told they probably want to ask:

What personal benefit do you gain by your efforts?

My answer: A reduction in survivor guilt

By Irene Parker

April 9, 2019

Abraham Lincoln described it best. Abe was riding in a carriage. He asked the driver to stop, got out of the carriage, waded through mud, and pulled a stuck pig out of the mud. When he got back into the carriage his driver told him he was a good person to have waded through mud to help the pig. Abe answered back, “No, I am a selfish person because seeing the pig stuck in the mud made me uncomfortable. Pulling the pig out of the mud made me feel better.”

I was losing sleep over being deposed by two timeshare developers’ attorneys over a lawsuit. I’m told these attorneys are aggressive and lose their cool if you don’t give them the answer they want. Timeshare members communicate with this debt collection law firm. An article was published about the lawsuit a while ago. Inside Timeshare and I were mentioned as supporting the law firm being sued. I reread the article yesterday. It sounds like lawyers quibbling. I asked an attorney why they would want to depose me. He speculated that they might want to ask:

What personal benefit do you get out of your efforts?

MY ANSWER

I compare myself to John Walsh, host of the popular American television show America’s Most Wanted. His four year old son was murdered. A tsunami of grief and horror can turn inward and destroy you. If directed outward, you devote your life to helping victims. A detective said you never get over a homicide.

I have only faced pure evil three times in my life. Many have told me I should write a book. This blog will suffice.

My first encounter with evil occurred at age 24. My first husband Raymond was diagnosed at age 24 with “Wilson’s Disease” (hepatica-lenticular degeneration). His sister died of the disease two months after she married. Ray lost his ability to speak, drooled constantly, teeth rotted, fingers turned to pretzels and bizarre personality changes materialized. He had been a caring EMT, but gradually over three years became dangerous and violent due to the disease process.

In the middle of all this my best friend since third grade, Jayme Simmons, author of her version of I-Ching, called. Her husband John almost killed her, her mom and her two year old. Her mom was left with bite marks on her arm. He was jailed for 30 days. There he told everyone he would murder her when released. My friend was in jail with him. Dental students had a habit of not paying their parking tickets.

Jayme lived with me the last two months of her life before he shot her in the face three times in front of her two year old. I was to testify premeditation, but he switched his plea to guilty. The judge sentenced him to seven years. Seven years. Jayme was a songwriter. The song “I’m not Lisa, my name is Julie” is prophetic because the adoptive family had to get her husband’s permission from jail in order to adopt the child. They changed her name to Julie. This happened in 1974.  Jayme was stunningly beautiful. When Jessi Colter turns her head a certain way, she looks just like Jayme. Jayme asked me to look out for Julie. My eyes are blue.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcsaoffblock&p=I%27m+not+Julie+My+name+is+lisa#id=1&vid=e5a006190234c57bb3b5beb102cf4a9b&action=click

Evil #2 happened after I retired from Edward Jones Hawaii in September 2001. We exchanged our timeshare for a timeshare in northern Michigan. The church we attended was embroiled in a horrific controversy over a renovation. The prior priest had received death threats. It was the new priest’s first Sunday. He began, “I know five priests have refused to come here but I’m not afraid of you.” No one played the piano, so I asked the priest if he wanted me to play as we still had another week’s vacation. Father offered me a full-time job that came with a $500,000 pipe organ renovation. The pipe organ renovation sealed the deal.

Three years later, I noticed a headline in our local paper, “Unholy Childhood School of Jesus” about how Notre Dame Nuns at our sister parish had sexually abused Chippewa and Odawa Indian boys from the 1st to the 7th grades. Long story short, since I filled in at the cathedral on the pipe organ, I knew the Bishop at least to say hi. I arranged a meeting between Tribal Peacemaker Paul Raphael and the Bishop. When I wrote to the Bishop, he replied, “I don’t know how to stop it (Catholic sex abuse in general).”

At first Peacemaker, Paul didn’t want to meet the Bishop. He had not been abused. He had been told to turn around and watch TV. The nuns only abused dark-skinned Indian boys. Peacemaker Paul asked me how meeting the Bishop would help them. I said, “It won’t. But it will help the Bishop and maybe stop a child from being abused.” When I met Peacemaker Paul at the Diocese, I could sense how difficult it was for him to face his evil.

I introduced Peacemaker Paul to the Bishop. I held their hands and I prayed to Jesus, Mary, Joseph and Tecumseh. I left them and waited outside with my husband. Don said if it only takes a few minutes, this didn’t work. They talked for over an hour. When Peacemaker Paul left us, it was the first time I saw him smile.

The end result was the Bishop issued a formal apology in the local newspaper. This meant a lot to the tribe. When I first asked about this horror, one priest I worked for said, “There’s no bonafide evidence to prove that happened.” This will sound familiar to timeshare victims, especially in Florida and Nevada.  

The four-part articles about the abuse were published in 2008.

https://www.northernexpress.com/news/feature/article-3760-unholy-childhood/

I was introduced to Whistleblowers of America over a year ago. A veteran I helped introduced me to the organization. Last summer I attended the Whistleblower Summit in Washington D.C.  This summer I have been invited to be a panel participant. I will explain the advocacy “bug” one catches when a troubled life you touch turns calm and I will explain how fighting predators, whether child abuse or timeshare, is similar. I met OpEd News at the summit:

https://www.opednews.com/articles/Catholic-Predators-Compare-by-Irene-Parker-Predator-180901-986.html

The Unholy Child School of Jesus experience led me to become a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer. I raised enough money through car shows and with the help of a grant writer, to work two years to develop and launch Fostering Futures, a program to assist teens ageing out of foster care.

Evil #3 is predatory timeshare sales. There are timeshare sales agents intentionally harming the young and the elderly. Perpetrators can earn top dollar, sometimes over $2 million a year. I have many horror stories. Leo Gomez last words to me before he died of pancreatic cancer were, “I want my story told.”

I have been described by one timeshare developer to Attorneys General and the Better Business Bureau: “It appears they talked to Irene Parker, a third party, not a lawyer, not a professional journalist, a self-styled “advocate” helping her “clients.” It is of note that the member changed their story after talking to her. She purports to get people out of their legally binding contracts.”

What I do is direct a member like Leo Gomez to file complaints with regulatory agencies if the member describes unfair and deceptive sales practices.

Yes, Leo changed his story after talking to me. I bought the same points Leo purchased. It was not necessary for Leo to give up his points to switch from one program to another. Leo didn’t know he had been duped until he talked to me.

I first told Leo I did not hear anything deceptive, but when he told me he only had 30 days left to live, I was concerned. Leo was 100% disabled due to Agent Orange. He earned two Purple Hearts and was the sweetest man ever. I went to sleep that night but woke with one of my timeshare moments. I asked myself, “Why did Leo switch programs??”  I called Leo the next morning and asked. He said, “They said I had to because my resort went bankrupt.” My next question, “Leo, did the sales agent know you have pancreatic cancer when he told you this?” Leo answered yes. Leo was a victim of financial elder abuse. Leo is one of 102 veterans and active duty service members to report timeshare fraud.

https://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Fourth-Agent-Orange-Vete-by-Irene-Parker-Fraud-180917-513.html

As a result of Jayme’s murder, I was hospitalized three times between the ages of 24 to 28 for symptoms relating to PTSD. My undergraduate degree was financed by Vocational Rehabilitation. I credit my husband with saving my life. I understand why soldiers suffering from PTSD, survivor’s guilt, commit suicide.

I also helped a family who purchased from the developer who wants to depose me. Mom had given birth to a blue baby. The baby had to have open heart surgery in her first week of life and then a second surgery. The timeshare sales agent told the mom when she bought the timeshare that it would be easy to sell. Mom submitted an article about their financial hardship. She sent me pictures of the baby with a smile that broke my heart, the baby smiling with oxygen tubes in her nose.

The parents were stressed beyond words and worried about timeshare foreclosure. I sent a draft of the article to the timeshare company’s media department for comment. They resolved the complaint. The article was scrapped.

I did not remember the mom’s name or the baby’s name. I remembered the media contact’s name because he asked for an additional week to respond due to damage sustained from hurricane Maria. I said two weeks was fine. Right before the article was to be published mom called and said they had resolved their dispute. I recently found mom’s Facebook page and there was the baby. Beautiful and strong, sitting in a flower garden looking at what could be a butterfly, with that same smile.

That’s why I do this. I take calls from timeshare members desperate, angry and confused. When I tell them how to proceed with regulatory complaints, if they are dismissed with “You signed a contract” or “We are not responsible for what our sales agents say,” they become empowered.  

I hope this answers the questions two developers are likely to ask me, “What personal benefit do you gain from your efforts?”

I doubt the lawyers will understand or accept this answer. It’s the truth. I don’t think those so motivated by greed will be able to understand.

Self-help groups we feel are not industry influenced:

We seek to provide timeshare members with a way to proactively address membership concerns; to advocate for timeshare reform; to obtain greater disclosure from the company; to advocate for a viable secondary market, and to educate prospective buyers.

https://www.facebook.com/timeshareadvocategroup/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/

https://tug2.com/Home.aspx

https://everythingabouttimeshares.com/consider-exchange-options/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/180578055325962/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/465692163568779/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1639958046252175/

Thank you, Irene, for all the great work you do for timeshare owners, Inside Timeshare knows that you get a tremendous amount of support from our readers and the members of the facebook groups you have helped to get started. Keep up the good work and let the industry be damned.

The Tuesday Slot: Arizona House Bill 2639

Welcome to The Tuesday Slot, this week Irene Parker continues our articles on the Arizona House Bill 2639, with a contribution from Fran D, a Registered Nurse.

ARDA Timeshare Lobbyist Don Isaacson Opposes Arizona House Bill 2639 – A Bill to Safeguard Timeshare Buyers

ARIZONA TIMESHARE BILL PASSES OUT OF HOUSE COMMITTEE

By Irene Parker and registered nurse, Fran D

March 5, 2019

Arizona has proposed a timeshare bill to protect timeshare buyers, but this bill is being contested by timeshare lobbyists. If Arizona HB2639 passes, it would help to protect consumers from fraud and deceptive sales practices by allowing a 14 day rescission period, among other safeguards. Fran, an Arizona resident, hopes that by sharing her timeshare experience that took place in Sedona, Arizona, and Maui, Hawaii, it will help lawmakers understand what buyers face when purchasing a product improperly presented.    

Timeshare members pay $5 million in annual “voluntary” donations to ARDA ROC. ARDA is the American Resort Development Association and ROC is Resort Owners’ Coalition. Out of 717 timeshare families who have reached out to Inside Timeshare, not one member could tell me what ARDA ROC stands for.

Timeshares have little to no secondary market. ARDA ROC has launched 8 Tips to Navigate the Resale Market. I contacted 22 licensed brokers. Not one would accept a listing for my timeshare points, feeling the restrictions placed on the use of secondary points too restrictive. For the members of my timeshare company, there is no resale market. http://www.ardaroc.org/timeshare-resales-resource-center.aspx

Many of the families affected by the lack of a secondary market for timeshares have been financially devastated. The majority of our readers have reported unfair and deceptive timeshare sales practices.

ARDA – Is this is our voice?

According to ARDA lobbyist Don Isaacson:

But the bottom line, said (ARDA lobbyist) Isaacson, is that the state should not step in to protect people who didn’t bother to understand the nature of the deal.

“You read the documents,” said Isaacson. “And unless there is fraud, you are bound to that particular purchase.”

Anyway, Isaacson argued that too much is being made of the issue. He said the 250 complaints a year to the Attorney General’s Office pale in comparison to the 600,000 timeshare units owned in Arizona.

Timeshare bill passes out of House committee
















What Mr. Isaacson doesn’t understand, is that members are bound by the contract, despite fraud, with the vast majority of complaints alleging deception dismissed with “You signed a contract.” It’s not that buyers don’t understand the product. It’s that they understand the product as it is so often deceptively presented. Three major timeshare companies have received, respectively, over 2,000, 1,000 and 800 Better Business Bureau complaints over the last three years.

When buyers complain, they are typically told they signed a contract. How many people buy cars and houses without relying on reading every word of a contract, relying on the ethics of the real estate or automotive broker? It is only in timeshare that the oral representation clause is so abused and so overused. The industry itself calls deceptive practices “pitching heat,” a term unique to timeshare sales.

There are many ways to deceive, such as:

“This is a new program, so don’t say anything because I could get fired.”

Access to booking is not allowed until after the rescission period, so reading the contract would not help.

Wait until you make a few payments before refinancing – when banks don’t finance timeshares.

Fran’s complaint, recently sent to the Arizona and Hawaii Attorneys General, was dismissed by the company, responding that there were no misrepresentations. You be the judge. She will file complaints with the BBB, the FTC, the FBI at IC3.gov and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Fran hopes ARDA lobbyist Don Isaacson reads her complaint. She will be reaching out to the following Arizona representatives involved with the bill:

Excerpts from the complaint Fran filed with the Arizona and Hawaii AG offices:

  • We purchased 8500 points in Sedona Arizona April 24, 2017.
  • Purchase price: $29,955.00
  • Down payment: $6,150.00
  • Amount financed $23,805.00

Sales agent Eric told us that we were buying points at a low rate, less than $ 4 per point, and that “at this price the point value can only go up.” We could sell some points at a profit and keep the original base points for travel. Ultimately getting our entire purchase for free, he called it a “401-V”.  He said he would lock the price for one year in case we decided to get more points later to utilize our “401-V”. We have since learned Diamond points are virtually worthless on resale.

The forms were long and extensive. We asked for time to review the documents but were pressured into signing “today” or not get the price per point offered.  After seven hours, my husband got upset and left. Eric followed us to our room insisting that we sign. We thought that Eric must be telling the truth, because if he wasn’t, there would be some sort of regulation. We incorrectly put our faith in Eric.     

We were referred to ARDA. ARDA’s advice leads members to scams, as licensed brokers will not even accept a listing for Diamond points, feeling the restrictions Diamond places on the use of secondary points excessive.

Virginia Beach, August 2017

The sales agents in Virginia were also very high pressure. They told us what we bought in Arizona was not worth it for us and that we had to purchase another 8500 points in order to keep the price of less than $4 per point.  The agent said that after that day the price would be higher. We did not buy. Being deceived into attending the presentation, under the guise that we were getting an education toward our membership was unfair and deceptive. The insistence that we had not purchased enough points made us so angry we did not buy.      

Maui, Hawaii, February 12, 2018

We purchased an additional 5,000 points and switched our US Collection points to the Hawaii Collection to total 13,500 Hawaii Collection points.

  • Purchase price $56,510.00
  • Down payment of $2,731
  • Amount financed $47,713.00

We met with sales agent Sequan R. This again ended up being a hard sell when we told him that we were expecting more of an educational meeting. He said he would give us all the education we need as he had left the company to give independent conferences to teach people how to maximize and exit a timeshare through “Timeshare Confidential Seminars,” but said Diamond hired him back to the sell side of the industry. We were again told “You can’t travel to where you want to go with what you have.” We have since learned that 8500 points were enough points to meet our needs.

Sequan told us we could use a program called Club Combinations at least six times a year to rent out to generate income that would offset the cost of our mortgage. Sequan also told us that we are lucky that the agent in AZ locked in the price because points have already gone up to $8.00 per point so we could already sell points and double our money.  Sequan said that many more high income level people are coming into this resort for the investment which is why the company started the rental program. He said at that income level people want to see a good return on their investment. I told Sequan I did not have time to spend on rentals because I work a lot of hours. Sequan said that the company would appoint someone to help us so we could start to offset our cost right away. I asked Sequan what if they don’t help us. He gave us his cell number and said to call him if that happens. We called Sequan but there was no person by that name.

Later we called and asked how to rent out our club combinations listings.  We were told there was no such program. There was no such thing as a rental program or selling of points for a profit.

Most buyers are on vacation without funds available for a large purchase, so end up signing off on high interest rate loans.  We went into debt to invest in Diamond’s timeshare points.

We had hoped for great vacations and the ability to sell some points for profit as had been explained.  Diamond’s motto “Stay Vacationed” for us means being held hostage. This vacation nightmare has become a major stress in our lives. Filing regulatory complaints is like having a part time job. I am a registered nurse and have spent many years working hard. My husband has worked hard for 40 years. We trusted the timeshare salespeople as we would trust any real estate broker, relying on the ethics of the real estate industry. It was a mistake.

Please do whatever you can to pass this bill and not allow ARDA, a paid lobbyist, to change your minds!

Thank you to Fran for sharing her timeshare experience. Inside Timeshare sent a draft of this article to ARDA. They did not respond. Of the 717 families who have reached out to us reporting unfair and deceptive timeshare sales practices, 99 are veterans and active duty service members. Several of the veterans are disabled, five Agent Orange disabled.

Proposed Florida HB 435, in which developers are worried about members deceived by timeshare exit companies, is supported by ARDA. A recent Florida whistleblower lawsuit was filed on behalf of ten former Wyndham sales agents. The actions of deceptive sales agents also harm honest timeshare sales agents.

Friday’s Letter from America

IMPORTANT LINKS CONCERNING ARIZONA HOUSE BILL 2639

Press Release: http://insidetimeshare.com/fridays-letter-from-america-43/

To Track Arizona HB2639: Trackbill.com

https://trackbill.com/search/#/direction=desc&page=1&sort=relevancy&tracked&upcoming_hearings&type=bills&state=all&session&query=AZ%20-%20HB2639%20timeshare

Proposed HB Bill 2639

https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/54leg/1R/bills/HB2639P.pdf

Request to Speak for Arizona Residents

https://www.cebv.us/rts.html?fbclid=IwAR2784DcGDTFFg0hoQKi_WPJvhNaz7bvoPylIqRLxoBSStSdlH8Z3qGGD_o

The “Kill Bill” Guide – How it Works

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y4w31DQFznxoTDZDru86qzDoku3wuHaW/view

Coalition to Reform Timeshare

Major Consumer Rights Coalition Launched








Preparing a narration for a governmental agency or a timeshare loss mitigation department is difficult for some due to age related issues or language barriers. We’re here at Inside Timeshare, along with our Supporters, to listen and educate. Contact us or one of these self-help groups we feel are not industry influenced if you experienced unfair and deceptive timeshare sales practices.  

We seek to provide timeshare members a way to proactively address membership concerns; to advocate for timeshare reform; to obtain greater disclosure from the company; to advocate for a viable secondary market; and to educate prospective buyers.

https://www.facebook.com/timeshareadvocategroup/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/

https://tug2.com/Home.aspx

https://everythingabouttimeshares.com/consider-exchange-options/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/180578055325962/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/465692163568779/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1639958046252175/

Thank you Irene and Fran, it is now down to you the readers to do your bit and make your voices heard, this bill is to protect you the consumer, do not let the industry that has walked over you for years do it again.

In Spain, the law is on the side of the consumer, the industry is being taken to the cleaners after years of predatory selling, with many other European Countries with timeshare resorts looking to follow Spain’s lead. This is a result of the European Union issuing several directives on what timeshare is and how it should and should not be sold, which each state having to place this into their own laws, Spain was by far the strongest in its implementation. It took many years to get to this stage, but at least the consumer has the full protection of the law.

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!

The Tuesday Slot

Welcome to the Tuesday Slot, this week we welcome Pete Gibbes, with another Secret Shopper report. Pete as Secret Shopper Coordinator, has revised the secret shopper questions, this is part 1.

But first a quick summary of some news from the Spanish Courts. Canarian Legal Alliance has reported that last week they received eleven (11) new sentences, these were against Anfi Del Mar, Silverpoint and Petchey Leisure. Once again the courts have declared the contracts null and void, plus ordering the return of substantial sums of money to the clients, with this week alone over 340,000€ having been awarded.

Over the next 30 days, CLA have informed Inside Timeshare of the number of trial and pre-trials they have in various courts around Spain, it is a staggering 101! That is certainly keeping the judicial system busy.

Their execution of sentence department headed by Cristina Batista and Judith Diaz Pascual, have filed “provisional executions”, with a total worth of over 6 million euros against all major timeshare resorts. The total value is over 6.000.000,00 € and is against all of mayor timeshare resorts.

These execution orders are made in the interests of the clients and ensure that the resorts payout what they have been ordered to.

Now for this weeks article.

Secret Shopper Questions Revised, the Backstory – Part I

Part II – Friday February 8, Secret Shopper Questions

By Pete Gibbes, Secret Shopper Coordinator

January 29, 2019

I previously wrote about a positive timeshare sales presentation I attended not long ago in Sedona, Arizona. I mentioned that my Diamond Resorts sales agent and manager expressed shock and dismay at the misrepresentations we told them we experienced at a November 18, 2016 Virginia sales presentation. The Sedona agents stated that they were appalled and determined they would go to bat for me by contacting headquarters. I was asked to write out my complaint. Wary but hopeful, I waited. As expected, nothing happened.

http://insidetimeshare.com/fridays-letter-from-america-29/

To recap what happened at the 2016 Virginia presentation, we attended a member update hoping to learn about how to get rid of 11,500 timeshare points we had previously purchased. After several hours our sales agent had an epiphany. He recalled a new program that would give us the option to sell ALL of our points back to Diamond Resorts! We listened to three more hours of this agent’s version of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. After the sixth repetition, we became convinced this program existed. He told us, (and wrote down on a paper), a figure of $108,000 which was the amount he said we should be able to sell our points back for in three years. While I presently cannot locate the paper with $108,000 written on it, I do still have this agent’s “pencil pitch” indicating a “value” of $72k ($72,420 to be exact if you multiply the 8,500 points proposed times $8.52 per point). A formal proposal containing the exact numbers was presented, but that document is proprietary so we cannot present in this article. Diamond will argue that $8.52 per point represents “retail” not “resale” value, but I contend not disclosing Diamond points are virtually worthless is a material omission. Licensed timeshare brokers I contacted, who do not charge upfront money to list timeshare points, will not accept a listing for Diamond points.

Diamond Resorts has launched a program called CLARITY™ promising clear, concise, transparent and accountable information.  This is what I was provided:

At the bottom of this unclear pencil pitch, you see “G 2” and “S 3”, and below that ‘Loyalty 3 ys’. This meant that in 3 years we would have earned enough loyalty to sell the points back at a handsome profit. If we became Gold, we could sell back in two years. According to the sales agent, this new buyback policy was not available to mere Standard members like us who owned less than 15,000 points. We agreed to buy 4000 points for $15,500 to become coveted Silver members in order to qualify for the buyback program.

When I complained to Diamond I was told I did not have sufficient written evidence. I made up G2 and S3?

I remember asking the sales agent how Diamond could afford to offer a $108,000 buyback which could have exceeded our cumulative purchase price plus maintenance fees. He mentioned investment returns Diamond makes on sales. As an MBA and a CFP this made sense to me, as it made sense to George Yamada, a pension administrator who purchased Diamond points thinking he was making an investment. George is an Army veteran, Agent Orange disabled.  

http://insidetimeshare.com/the-tuesday-slot-5/

It appears I was not the only member excited about how this ingenious new buyback program was going to make their product more attractive to buyers. The sales agent, Mark Wilkerson, no longer works for Diamond, but he explained the program as a brand new Apollo related deal. Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, acquired Diamond Resorts.

Does Diamond think I would go to this much trouble if I was making this up? Under threat of perjury, I have filed a complaint with the Virginia Attorney General’s office that has been under review.

Unfortunately, I do not possess a video tape of the presentation. This has prompted me to volunteer to be our Secret Shopper Coordinator. I’m on a media binge to warn other timeshare buyers to RECORD THE SALES SESSION! This is legal in Virginia as Virginia, like some other states, is a one party state. I feel this is the only road to true clarity.

https://www.justanswer.com/law/4cemo-illegal-audio-record-someone-virginia-without.html

Not only did we pay $15,500 for nothing, we incurred additional ongoing maintenance fees and $2,250 in income taxes on a retirement distribution I had to make to pay for the purchase.

I asked for the contract to be cancelled and my down payment refunded. I am asking nothing for my permanent loss of faith in humanity. Like several members of our 2,400 member sponsored Diamond Facebook page, I am disabled. My sole source of income is my SSI disability income. I have learned from our Facebook other timeshare companies also respond to complaints with, “We are not responsible for what our sales agents say,” and “You signed a contract.” I received a certified letter from Diamond’s legal department (Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Officer) asking for written evidence. I provided the pencil pitch above, but even that does not break through the oral representation clause.   

Timeshare sales agents are not supposed to deviate from company approved sales strategies, but complaints from timeshare buyers continue to flood the internet, Attorneys General offices, the Better Business Bureau and other regulatory agencies. With little enforcement, we feel members need to take matters into their own hands by becoming Secret Shoppers so we can evaluate for other members how near or far a timeshare sales agent ventures from his or her script.

We have about a dozen Secret Shoppers. We arm our Secret Shoppers with intelligent questions timeshare buyers often forget to ask. It is our hope we can publish some positive Secret Shopper experiences. After compiling over 500 timeshare complaints, we have determined the most popular complaints involve:

  • Maintenance fee relief programs that do not exist,
  • The ability to sell points or weeks when there is no secondary market,
  • Misrepresenting the value of using a credit card to offset maintenance fees,

Having run on for many words describing what was supposed to be a brief introduction to our Secret Shopper questions; Friday, February 8 we will publish our revised Secret Shopper questions as a Part II to this article.

Contact me at Inside Timeshare if you would like to become a Secret Shopper.

We seek to provide timeshare members a way to proactively address membership concerns; to advocate for timeshare reform; to obtain greater disclosure from the company; to advocate for a viable secondary market; and to educate prospective buyers.

https://www.facebook.com/timeshareadvocategroup/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/

https://tug2.com/Home.aspx

https://everythingabouttimeshares.com/consider-exchange-options/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/180578055325962/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/465692163568779/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1639958046252175/

Thank you Pete, we look forward to part 2 next month.

If you have any questions or comments about this or any other article, contact Inside Timeshare, we welcome your input.

Do you have any questions regarding your timeshare, how can you get out or if you have a valid claim, then again use our contact page, we will try to answer your questions and point you in the right direction. Remember, not everything you will be told by many of these companies touting for business will be true, most will only be after your money, so do your homework and do your due diligence.

 

The Tuesday Slot

Welcome to this weeks Tuesday Slot, today Irene Parker looks at what constitutes proof when making a complaint, this is something Inside Timeshare has heard from the many readers who have reached out with their “Nightmares on Timeshare Street”, “you have no proof”. Attorney Mike Finn also gives his view on the subject, as usual his contribution is clear and concise.

Some Timeshare Regulators Respond: You have no proof

What is Proof? Strength in Numbers

By Irene Parker

Tuesday January 15, 2019

Rule 406 – Habit; Routine Practice

Evidence of a person’s habit or an organization’s routine practice may be admitted to prove that on a particular occasion the person or organization acted in accordance with the habit or routine practice. The court may admit this evidence regardless of whether it is corroborated or whether there was an eyewitness.

There are volumes of timeshare complaints and a sizeable timeshare exit industry created by the lack of a secondary market and by the practice of “pitching heat” which is defined by the industry as the practice of unfair and deceptive timeshare sales practices. It is a term well known and unique to the timeshare industry.

Why do some state Attorneys General pursue complaints based on a volume of complaints, while Florida’s timeshare division, the Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR) and Nevada’s Real Estate Division (NRED) dismissed all of our readers’ complaints with, respectively, “Verbal representations are hard to prove” and in Nevada, “You have no proof.”

Not all Attorneys General turn a blind eye. Outgoing Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen recognized the problem in Connecticut, nowhere near the hotbed of timeshare sales as Florida or Nevada. Still, any regulator speaking up to support the reduction of unfair and deceptive sales practices in the acquiring or the disposing of a timeshare is appreciated. Timeshare complaints rank second on the list of complaints at the Connecticut Attorney General’s office.  

https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Timeshare-Troubles–What-To-Do-Before-You-Buy-and-Sell-504017151.html

So what does constitute proof?

After hearing from 659 timeshare members, including 94 veterans or active duty service members, the best item of proof I can determine from the illustration above is probable cause: facts and circumstances that would lead an ordinary person to believe. We have compiled a summary report of 71 highest loyalty timeshare members who all describe how they were up-sold into insolvency, believing sales agents who told them that by buying additional points they could sell points or be able to pay maintenance fees. These programs did not exist. I find it hard to believe anyone with an ounce of common sense could read this 135 page report and not conclude these previously loyal members had been duped. I have sent this report to Senators, but they seem to feel “They signed a contract” suffices. Influential lobbyists likely play a part.

I asked attorney Mike Finn about proof. According to Mike, proof is anything that a trial judge receives from the witness stand or by the introduction of a document. “It is up to the judge to decide what is relevant – the testimony can be either oral or documentary. A judge may or may not deem the testimony allowable as evidence, but don’t undersell oral testimony,” Mike explains. “As stated in Rule 406 above, is the evidence presented of a common theme or is there a consistent pattern of complaints? It may still be hearsay, which makes it less reliable or relevant, but a summary report from 71 high loyalty timeshare members, all testifying that they purchased for similar reasons, reasons that did not exist, may very well be credible. Trial judges have a lot of discretion or latitude to render a decision over what is relevant or not relevant. Oral proof can serve as proof.”

One obstacle is that about half of the 71 highest loyalty timeshare members signed a non-disclosure agreement. Does that mean they cannot share their experience in a court of law? According to Mike, “There are times when a disclosure can be made despite the witness having signed an NDA. Even if a subpoena cannot overcome an NDA, the fact that all of these people filed claims and prevailed after signing a confidentiality agreement, would present a common intent, plan, scheme or motive that encouraged unfair and deceptive sales practices. It becomes more relevant when the practice has been reported time and time again. Everything is possible, but may not be probable. Not all judges see things the same way, but common intent does follow the rules of evidence. Rules of evidence are reliable and courts use them.”

In Florida, a two party state, both parties must be aware of an in-person recording, making proof even more difficult to come by. In Nevada, only one party must be aware of an in-person recording. Members should consider recording their sales session in states where this is legal.

It seems we keep circling back to the court of public opinion. Let the timeshare buyer be informed that all complaints that begin with, “The sales agent said” will be dismissed with, “You signed a contract.” Then at least the timeshare buyer would know they cannot believe a word a timeshare sales agent says. That at least would be fair and not deceptive, a level playing field.

 There seems to be in the timeshare industry a corporate culture that promulgates deceit. The sales agent deceives, the company responds, “You signed a contract” and when this response is seconded by the state regulator, there is, in effect, no regulation. One former timeshare sales agent described this process as a hamster wheel of recycled inventory, leaving the young, the old, veterans and active duty service members in the wake of timeshare foreclosure. Families are financially and sometimes physically devastated. Many seniors have reported weight loss, inability to sleep, and in one case, a heart attack, when questioned about the financial harm caused by buying a timeshare. It is ironic that vacation plans are supposed to reduce stress.    

Another question raised is whether the buyer signed under duress, after hour’s long sales sessions, provided only a 20 minute signing period for a buyer to review a document that the best lawyer could not review in less than a few hours.

Where do we go from here?

Strength in numbers – Keep sharing your stories.

We hope regulators, lawmakers and Wall Street will not turn a blind eye. We have heard form 659 readers, and these are only the readers we have followed along with resolution or lack of. There are thousands of Better Business Bureau complaints, lawsuits and Attorneys General investigations involving thousands of timeshare buyers. Let’s hope greater awareness will at least alert the consumer, the deck is stacked against them.

Self-help groups we feel are not industry influenced:

https://www.facebook.com/timeshareadvocategroup/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/

https://tug2.com/Home.aspx

https://everythingabouttimeshares.com/consider-exchange-options/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/180578055325962/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/465692163568779/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1639958046252175/

Thank you Irene and also a very big thanks to Attorney Mike Finn, Inside Timeshare is sure this article will help to explain to our readers the problems that many of them face when filing complaints. This is a huge problem not just in the US but also in Europe and the rest of the world. The one thing that can be said is that Spain has brought in laws to regulate the sale of timeshare, the industry had plenty of time to get their house in order, but as we know they thought they were above the law. Now they are finding the full wrath of the law and it is costing them millions.

For those who purchased timeshare in Spain, they now have the courts and judges on their side, no longer can the sales agents use misleading tactics to gain a sale. We are also seeing a very significant drop in the sale of timeshare, with many sales decks being closed down. The unfortunate side effect of this are the number of bogus claims companies getting on the bandwagon, using the law to dupe the unsuspecting owners. Many of these have been set up by former sales agents and managers and in many cases using stolen data of their former clients to “scam” them out of yet more money.

Whether you attend a presentation for a timeshare, receive a call about claiming or relinquishing or even find a company on the internet or advert in a publication, the advice is always the same, do not commit to anything until you have done your homework.