Pacific Resort Exchange

rhonski · Oct 1, 2011

Anybody know if this company -- Pacific Resort Exchange is legitimate? the company sent me a "Purchase Agreement" after a couple from Las Vegas, Nevada contacted me that they are interested in purchasing my Westgate Timeshare and will be going throught this company called -- Pacific Resort Exchange.

Thanks,

Rhonski

LannyPC · Oct 1, 2011

rhonski said:
Anybody know if this company -- Pacific Resort Exchange is legitimate? the company sent me a "Purchase Agreement" after a couple from Las Vegas, Nevada contacted me that they are interested in purchasing my Westgate Timeshare and will be going throught this company called -- Pacific Resort Exchange.

Thanks,

Rhonski

Did you even have your timeshare listed for sale? If not, then something should be ringing off the alarm bells right there.

How much did they offer you. Westgate timeshares are not selling for mega-bucks right now. So if they offered you thousands of dollars for it, then that would be another sign of a scam.

It sounds like you want to sell your TS but are unsure how to do it. Check out this stickie thrread:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44

Do not pay any party any sort of hefty fee before a sale takes place regardless of how this party labels it (ie. pre-paid closing costs; lien search fee; escrow; refundable deposit; etc.).

RX8 · Oct 1, 2011

Scam Scam Scam

They claim to be in business since 2003 yet their website was created June 2011. This is very likely a reincarnation of another scam company that ran its course and needed a new name.

According to their website, their business model is the same as the developers - attract vacationers with bribes/gifts and then sell them a timeshare. They claim to have a huge inventory but their website lists ZERO timeshares and only focuses on the "sales" process, all to simply get your money.

Maybe they should change their motto, as listed on their website, from "When it comes to selling your timeshare property, NOBODY has more success!" to "When it comes to scamming your money, NOBODY has more success!"

DeniseM · Oct 1, 2011

There is a simple rule of thumb for dealing with timeshare business offers:

Any company that charges you a large upfront fee of any kind to sell or rent your timeshare, or to get your money back from another company, makes their money from the upfront fee - they have NO intention of providing any services to you. You might as well flush your money down the toilet!

They make their money with the upfront fee and then they make no attempt to sell/rent your timeshare, or to get your money back. They ALREADY have your money - why should they!

Legitimate businesses charge a commission after the service, but these companies all ask for a large upfront payment.

Here are some warnings signs with these kinds of companies:

1) Did you get an unsolicited sales call or mailing or email from them?

2) Do they say that they already have a renter/buyer for your timeshare? (Or an established market like people attending conventions.)

3) Do they claim that they can get your money back from another scammer?

4) Do they want you to pay hundreds/thousands of dollars for a title search, or transfer fees, or taxes, or a closing fee, or appraisal, or ANY large fee, UPFRONT?

5) Are they offering to rent/sell it for far more than the market value?

6) Do they want you to pay a large up front fee that supposedly you will get back?

7) Do they want your credit card number over the phone?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then this is the usual scenario:

Once you pay the fee and receive the contract, you discover that the company has only promised to advertise your resort, not to rent/sell it, and they don't mention having a renter/buyer in the contract.

Then, you won't hear anything from them for a long time, and when you contact them, they will tell you that the renter/buyer backed out, but they will advertise your timeshare on their over-priced website.

Finally, when you try to get your money back, they will point out that you signed a contract, and it's only for advertising.

When you try to challenge it with your credit card company, they will tell you that you only had 60 days to dispute the charge, and that it's too late to do anything.

This is a bitter pill to swallow, but right now, most timeshares are selling for 0-20% of the original retail price. It's not a good time to sell a timeshare.

To see what your timeshare is really worth on the current resale market:

1) Register with ebay
2) Sign in
3) Search for your resort by exact name
4) From the menu on the left click "completed listings"
5) The next page will show you current selling prices

(Be sure you look at the completed listings - those are actually SELLING prices - you will find asking prices all over the place, but what really counts is what they actually sold for.)

rhonski · Oct 4, 2011

LannyPC said:
Did you even have your timeshare listed for sale? If not, then something should be ringing off the alarm bells right there.

How much did they offer you. Westgate timeshares are not selling for mega-bucks right now. So if they offered you thousands of dollars for it, then that would be another sign of a scam.

It sounds like you want to sell your TS but are unsure how to do it. Check out this stickie thrread:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44

Do not pay any party any sort of hefty fee before a sale takes place regardless of how this party labels it (ie. pre-paid closing costs; lien search fee; escrow; refundable deposit; etc.).

Thank you for your response.
Yes. I listed my Westgate Timeshare with Timeshares by Owner in 2008 and lost $499 after being promised that my property will be sold or rented out for me. Then three weeks ago, I received a call for a "retired" couple from Las Vegas offering me 20k for my timeshare. They said they will be going through this company called Pacific Resort Exchange. In a couple of days, the company called me and got the details on my timeshare and sent me a purchase agreement saying

DEPOSIT : Buyer’s deposit in the amount of $10,000 is given as a partial payment toward the purchase of the aforementioned property. Seller(s) are responsible for registry certification (CCT) costs ($2495) obtained on behalf of Seller(s), to be held in lieu of real property, and transferred to Buyers(s) at closing.

rhonski · Oct 4, 2011

RX8 said:
They claim to be in business since 2003 yet their website was created June 2011. This is very likely a reincarnation of another scam company that ran its course and needed a new name.

According to their website, their business model is the same as the developers - attract vacationers with bribes/gifts and then sell them a timeshare. They claim to have a huge inventory but their website lists ZERO timeshares and only focuses on the "sales" process, all to simply get your money.

Maybe they should change their motto, as listed on their website, from "When it comes to selling your timeshare property, NOBODY has more success!" to "When it comes to scamming your money, NOBODY has more success!"

Thank you! thank you for your reply. I have my reservations with the company because they only post their number and doesnt show their address.

I checked them with BBB and did not find anything on them.. probably because they were only created in june 2011. How should I report this company?

rhonski · Oct 4, 2011

DeniseM said:
There is a simple rule of thumb for dealing with timeshare business offers:

Any company that charges you a large upfront fee of any kind to sell or rent your timeshare, or to get your money back from another company, makes their money from the upfront fee - they have NO intention of providing any services to you. You might as well flush your money down the toilet!

They make their money with the upfront fee and then they make no attempt to sell/rent your timeshare, or to get your money back. They ALREADY have your money - why should they!

Legitimate businesses charge a commission after the service, but these companies all ask for a large upfront payment.

Here are some warnings signs with these kinds of companies:

1) Did you get an unsolicited sales call or mailing or email from them?

2) Do they say that they already have a renter/buyer for your timeshare? (Or an established market like people attending conventions.)

3) Do they claim that they can get your money back from another scammer?

4) Do they want you to pay hundreds/thousands of dollars for a title search, or transfer fees, or taxes, or a closing fee, or appraisal, or ANY large fee, UPFRONT?

5) Are they offering to rent/sell it for far more than the market value?

6) Do they want you to pay a large up front fee that supposedly you will get back?

7) Do they want your credit card number over the phone?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then this is the usual scenario:

Once you pay the fee and receive the contract, you discover that the company has only promised to advertise your resort, not to rent/sell it, and they don't mention having a renter/buyer in the contract.

Then, you won't hear anything from them for a long time, and when you contact them, they will tell you that the renter/buyer backed out, but they will advertise your timeshare on their over-priced website.

Finally, when you try to get your money back, they will point out that you signed a contract, and it's only for advertising.

When you try to challenge it with your credit card company, they will tell you that you only had 60 days to dispute the charge, and that it's too late to do anything.

This is a bitter pill to swallow, but right now, most timeshares are selling for 0-20% of the original retail price. It's not a good time to sell a timeshare.

To see what your timeshare is really worth on the current resale market:

1) Register with ebay
2) Sign in
3) Search for your resort by exact name
4) From the menu on the left click "completed listings"
5) The next page will show you current selling prices

(Be sure you look at the completed listings - those are actually SELLING prices - you will find asking prices all over the place, but what really counts is what they actually sold for.)

Thank you! i'm normally wary about companies that charge large upfront fees.. but the modus operandi of Pacific Resort Exchange is to have the prospective buyer call you and offer to buy your timeshare... then then the company that they are using "to handle the transaction" will call to ask you details about your timeshare then send you a "purchase agreement" with the fee hidden as "registry certification (CCT) costs "

thank you! thank you for the heads up!