Florida "up front fee" company ordered to pay refunds

This appeared recently in the Florida Sun Sentinel newspaper:

South Florida time share companies will repay consumers
By Diane C. Lade | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
1:29 PM EDT, April 17, 2009

Two affiliated West Palm Beach time share companies will pay consumers $190,483 in restitution as part of a settlement over their marketing and advertising practices, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced Friday.

Timeshare Travels Inc. and World Timeshares Inc. allegedly were not promoting time share listings as aggressively as they had promised, state regulators said, and charged an exorbitant advertising fee. The state, which began investigating both operations last year, also had received complaints about the companies' customer service.

Along with consumer reimbursement, World Timeshares also agreed to no longer solicit customers for time share resales. Timeshare Travels now must clearly disclose how it will advertise properties and what services the advertising fee covers.

AARP's Florida office praised the settlement, as the majority of complaints came from senior citizens. "With turmoil in economic markets, falling housing values and widespread anxiety, older Florida consumers are especially vulnerable in these times to misleading and questionable sale practices," said AARP State Director Lori Parham in a written statement.

Consumers who have a complaint about the companies should contact the Attorney General's office at 866-966-7226 or by going to: www.myfloridalegal.com.

Nice.

This is great news. Hopefully, this AG office and others will expand their efforts to crack down on the scammers in the timeshare industry.

Consumer Restitution for Timeshare Travels

I was wondering if you could provide some additional information on how to apply for this consumer restitution. I paid $1249 on May 12th, 2008 to Timeshare Travels. They faxed me some false paperwork stating that they've already had a deal for me and after one week they told me the deal fell though and soon after stopped returning phone calls. Thank you for taking these people to court.

Andrew H. Lin
4370 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92104
(337) 577-7580

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April 17, 2009
en EspañolPrint Icon Print Version
Media Contact: Sandi Copes
Phone: (850) 245-0150

South Florida Timeshare Companies to Pay Over $190,000 in Consumer Restitution

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced his office has reached an agreement with two affiliated South Florida timeshare resale businesses over issues related to the companies’ advertising and marketing methods. Timeshare Travels, Inc. and World Timeshares, Inc. allegedly led consumers to believe their timeshares were being aggressively marketed when in fact the timeshare listings were only posted on a website. The companies also charged an exorbitant up-front “advertising fee” solely for this website listing.

The Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Division began investigating the two companies in 2008 after receiving numerous complaints about the lack of advertising or marketing the companies were using to sell consumers’ timeshares. According to consumers, the companies were not using any other avenues to market their timeshare to potential buyers and were not providing sufficient customer service for current customers. According to the investigation, a large number of affected customers were senior citizens.

As part of the agreement, both companies will pay a total of $190,483 in consumer restitution and will reimburse the Attorney General’s fees and costs of the investigation. World Timeshares will no longer solicit consumers for timeshare re-sales and Timeshare Travels must clearly and conspicuously disclose the specific types of marketing which will be used to advertise a seller’s timeshare and exactly what the consumer is actually purchasing in exchange for paying the advertising fee. These disclosures must be made before a fee is paid.

Both companies have also agreed to send their customers written confirmation of a sale within three business days of the sale, and will respond to all future consumer inquiries within 72 business hours upon receipt of the communication. Finally, although not required by the settlement, Timeshare Travels has voluntarily added to its website a “bid-ask” program so potential purchasers may make counter offers for the purchase, sale or rental of listed properties and has hired additional staff to assist in the purchaser/renter communications with timeshare owners.

Timeshare Travels, Inc. and World Timeshares, Inc. have fully cooperated with the Attorney General’s Office since the start of the investigation.

Andrew, Probably a good idea to edit the above post to remove your personal info.

alin_1974 said:

I was wondering if you could provide some additional information on how to apply for this consumer restitution. .

Click to expand...

Consumers who have a complaint about the companies should contact the Attorney General's office at 866-966-7226 or by going to: www.myfloridalegal.com.

hello, I am one of the people who listed my timeshare with timeshare travels inc. I was told many lies about how they would be marketing it for sale. Does anyone know if we will be getting a refund?