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Scam, I think.

Ruger2506

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Any of you hear of Allied Escrow International out of Texas. All seemed legit till they wanted me to send $4327 to SAT in Mexico. Seems fishy as heck to me now.

My story now sounds very similar to others listed on here. They have a buyer who wants our timeshare but we must pay Mexican tax Before funds are released.
 

Passepartout

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They have a buyer who wants our timeshare but we must pay Mexican tax Before funds are released.

Not likely. To the best of our knowledge, there is NO Mexican tax that is required to be paid before a timeshare Right to Use (remember, there are no deeds- In Mexico, you own nothing) can be transferred.

We understand that some resorts are requiring many multiples of MF to effect a transfer, but it isn't a tax.

Best wishes.
 

Ruger2506

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This was a tax to be paid to the SAT (Mexican IRS) before the funds could be released for reimbursement.
 

Passepartout

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Did the bill come directly from them (SAT) or from the 'escrow' outfit? And to satisfy my curiosity, how much is this 'ready buyer' paying for your timeshare? Mexican TSs seldom rent for enough to pay MF, I'm skeptical.

At the least, I'd call Profeco, the Mexican Consumer Protection agency and ask.

Jim
 

Ruger2506

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Allied offered us $34800 (us) and they said they will middle man it (sell it) for $36200 to the buyer. 200 weeks at the El Dorado Royale Riveria Maya.

SAT bill came from ALLIED. said we could go to Mexico and deal with SAT in person if we liked. Just seems fishy as heck to me.
 
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Ruger2506

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For what it is worth, we really do want to get ride of this package. Despite the scammers calling us.
 

Passepartout

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I would be VERY skeptical. Even the very BEST, most stable, deeded TSs, Hilton, Sheraton, Hyatt, Marriott, etc, seldom sell for as much as $10,000 resale. I couldn't find yours on eBay, but that doesn't mean much. I think you would send that much money at your peril.

I would communicate to the 'escrow' outfit that they pay the 'tax', and you'll take $5,000 less at closing, giving them a tidy $600 extra profit. I think you'll never hear from them again. It's a scam to separate you from your money, the 'buyer' will evaporate and you'll still have the TS.
 

RX8

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Not a shred of doubt in my mind - this is a scam.

This is now an old Scam. First a cold call, then claiming they have a buyer waiting to pay thousands of dollars for something that is worth practically nothing. When they get you drooling over your windfall they hit you with a required "tax" to complete your sale. Finally, they promise you will be reimbursed for the tax you have to pay so you still have your full windfall. Once you pay they disappear.

More proof that this is a scam? They claim on their website that they have handled thousands of transactions. However, their website was created in July 2013. Scammers create "throw away" websites that they use until they scammed enough people and word gets out that they are a scam. Then, they simply create a new website and start over. They probably do this many times over.

Oh, one more red flag. They claim they are in Texas. However, if you Google or call anyone near that address you will find out there is no one at that address by their name. Even though their telephone appears to be a landline in Dallas it is actually a VoIP (Internet number). They are likely working from Mexico well out the the range of US authorities.

Edited after a little research:

Below is a copy from the USPS website. In short, their address doesn't exist in the eyes of the postal service.

You entered:
1122 WOOD ST
DALLAS TX 75201
Here's the full address, using standard abbreviations and formatting...

The address you provided is not recognized by the US Postal Service as an address we serve. Mail sent to this address may be returned.


Edited one last time:

Another way you can spot a scam is to take a snippet of their website verbiage and Google it. Doing so in this case reveals that a whole paragraph of the scammers "about us" page is stolen from www.timeshareresalesusa.com page. I know nothing about that timeshareresalesusa but they have been around since 1997.
 
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pjrose

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Sing to the tune of the Howdy Doody show:

It's Scam-a-Roonie Time,
It's Scam-a-Ronnie Time......
 

pacodemountainside

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Tell them you have a friend that owns six of these and will sell to them for $10K each so they can triple their money.:banana:

Modified version of olde Nigerian trunk of money scam. :ponder:
 

capjak

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post it on TUG for free, you may get a bite or ebay for free.
 
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