The Newest Timeshare Scams: Don't Turn Out To Be Their Newest Casualty
To begin with, it is pretty much worthless naming and shaming the outfits that are continuing these widespread scams, simply because as soon as they get any harmful press they are shutting down and reopening with a different identity, even operating from fresh offices. For this purpose, I have simply given a broad overview of the way in which each scam works:
1) A person will contact you (by telephone) asking if you wish to get rid of your timeshare. They will by and large declare that they have someone who wants to shell out thousands for your timeshare. The fact is that after a lot of smooth talking you have to pay them typically anything from £300-£1,000 (US$500 or more) in advance of the sale. They will even assert that you are covered for fraud by paying with your credit card, so this is a very popular scam, which a lot of owners fall for. In reality you will not get cash for your timeshare as there is no waiting customer and your credit card payment will be paying for a elusive thing such as 'marketing services' which are naturally non-refundable. At some instant your waiting 'buyer' will without explanation withdraw from the deal but not until your payment has been taken.
2) This is a telephone call intended to establish a bond with you. They may inform you that RCI have a legal case in the USA that could entitle you to reimbursement of up to £15,000 (US$25,000) as an RCI member. They may well refer you to a website that provides you with an overview. The objective is to get you to go to a face to face meeting. They will invite you to meet with them to complete a survey on the subject of your experiences with RCI and then to establish what you're entitled too. The bottom line is that you will be asked to part with cash to join a new fabulous "Vacation Club" where they maintain you will be able to access timeshare apartments from £99 with no problems with availability. They also say that you will be able to take as many as you desire with the cheapest flights around and possibly bargain price cruises. They will tell you anything you need to hear in order to get your payment.
3) Another telephone call with a different tact to put you at ease. This time they promptly point out they don't want any money in advance. However they have a genuine buyer who wishes to purchase your timeshare for x amount. They will take their commission from this. They will point out that they are in your locale and only request that you bring down with you your deed and a utility bill as evidence of ownership. You turn up to a room with other timeshare owners to find out that it's a talk on a holiday club. They will trade in your week worth x amount against theirs which is apparently worth more.
4) This telephone call is to notify you that your resort will not permit you to simply hand back your week if you no longer wish to possess your timeshare and that they will send out the debt collectors to make sure maintenance payments are made. They may also convince you that even after your death your timeshare will pass on to your next of kin as part of your estate, so they will pursue them for maintenance payments too. They very helpfully will take over your timeshare generally if you pay up the next decades' worth of maintenances to them.
Holiday Clubs. These are best avoided. Their presentations revolve around the theory that you don't have to be the owner of timeshare but can access them for as little as £99. They are dressed up sometimes with two for one cruises and or heavily discounted flights. Again, whatever that needs to be promised to get the sale will be integrated into their presentation.
Nearly all of these holidays clubs don't even exist aside from on paper (they do not own accommodation or have property or systems in place to protect your investment). You will only ever see polished sales and marketing materials. Most of these holiday clubs have only very poor availability and only access a limited range of destinations. Their stock is basically 'fly-buy' accommodation, where resorts pay them to get persons to be present at timeshare presentations whilst staying at a specific resort. So the perpetrators of these scams get paid by you when you join AND by the resorts that you visit.
The 'Money Back' Scam persists: this is where a company will dress up their proposal with an opportunity to get your funds returned following a certain period of time.
Normally you are told that you will get your funds back after about 3 years with a generous interest payment too. They explain in order to receive this you have to present your cash-back official document on a certain day. As most members 'forget' to do this or the documentation gets mislaid, this (they say) is how they can afford to offer a 'cash back'. They will inform you that they will not remind you and it's down to you to remember and turn up on the day. They will put on view various testimonials and legal bodies showing you that this is a legitimate offer. They can be very convincing but yet again, it's a total scam.
TIPS
IF you have been phoned once, you are more than likely to be on a listing somewhere that will be accessed by other conmen , so anticipate lots of calls. Just advise them that your timeshare has been disposed of already. That information will slowly filter down and you will get fewer calls.
The conman will be regularly be looking at new methods to access your cash and persuade you that they have something that will be of benefit to you. You will have heard the adage that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Check out offers by using a Google search and don't forget to ask your local trading standards agency for assistance, as they are often the first to hear about the latest scams.
