[ 2018 ] Is Omni Ellis familiar to anyone (re: cancelling TS contract)??

[Sunflower1884]

We went to a presentation at a Marriott Hotel in Tulsa, supposedly by Omni Ellis using timeshare attorneys to cancel contracts with a Branson timeshare resort (no mortgage). They showed Omni Ellis has a BBB rating of A+ on the BBB website. They mentioned a well-known timeshare (cancelling contracts) attorney called Mitchell R. Sussman, who also has an A+ rating on the BBB. Our concern is that they wanted several thousand dollars up front; and signing a contract that says they will refund it (Omni Ellis) after 18 months if they fail to get your contract cancelled.
HAS ANYONE ELSE USED THESE PEOPLE?? Or know anything good or bad, about them???
All help much appreciated, many thanks.

 

[chapjim]

Sounds like a "last resort" place. I'd want to be certain that I'd exhausted all other possibilities before plunking down a few thousand.

 

[moonstone]

An upfront fee of any amount is a huge red flag. Tell them to take any fees or commissions (or whatever they call them) out of the proceeds of the sale.


~Diane

 

[LannyPC]

There is this thread talking about Mitchell Sussman:

https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/contract-cancellation.251772/

That being said, rarely does anyone on TUG recommend a company that claims to "cancel" TS contracts. Most of them, at worst, are outright scams. At best, all they do is charge you thousands of dollars to do something you can do yourself with a little time and effort for a lot less money.

If your goal is to get rid of your TS, try advertising it here in the Bargain Deals section that you want to give it away:

https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/how-can-i-give-away-my-timeshare-on-tug.132509/

Have you asked the resort to take your timeshare back:

http://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/give_back_timeshare.html

 

[TUGBrian]

if you have a paid off branson timeshare, have you attempted to give it away (and cover closing costs)? that would be far cheaper (and more successful) than using an upfront fee company.

 

[WackyLucy]

We went to a presentation at a Marriott Hotel in Tulsa, supposedly by Omni Ellis using timeshare attorneys to cancel contracts with a Branson timeshare resort (no mortgage). They showed Omni Ellis has a BBB rating of A+ on the BBB website. They mentioned a well-known timeshare (cancelling contracts) attorney called Mitchell R. Sussman, who also has an A+ rating on the BBB. Our concern is that they wanted several thousand dollars up front; and signing a contract that says they will refund it (Omni Ellis) after 18 months if they fail to get your contract cancelled.
HAS ANYONE ELSE USED THESE PEOPLE?? Or know anything good or bad, about them???
All help much appreciated, many thanks.

I know nothing about this dubious "Omni Ellis" outfit, but while briefly visiting in-laws in Naples, Florida last week I noticed that Omni Ellis had a rather large, full color "timeshare escape" ad in the local newspaper.

I don't recall seeing any reference whatsoever to "attorneys", but found it odd to see the ad in that paper.
I'm not sure that local (affluent / overprivileged / residential) demographic would have much involvement or interest in timeshares or timeshare related matters and such large, full color ads can't be cheap to run.

 

[Sunflower1884]

Thanks for your reply. Interesting. Apparently they use an attorney in San Francisco to do their legal work; I'm sure he has a large team.

 

[Passepartout]

Thanks for your reply. Interesting. Apparently they use an attorney in San Francisco to do their legal work; I'm sure he has a large team.

WHAT 'Legal work'? There are NO magic words or incantations that an attorney can make to terminate a lawful contract. If, as you say, you have paid in full, no mortgage timeshare week(s), have you listed it here in the Bargain Deals sub-forum, or on Craigslist, Redweek, or anywhere else. Consider offering a prepaid gift card to a new owner, or pre-book a nice vacation for them to use while the ownership transfers. Or, of course, contact the HOA in writing about giving the deed back to them to re-sell to a new owner.
But what I'm saying is NOT to do business with ANY timeshare cancellation service. We've found all of them to be scams. Once they take your money, they have zero incentive to do anything other than list it for sale or giveaway- and you can do that. For FREE!

Jim

 

[theo]

Thanks for your reply. Interesting. Apparently they use an attorney in San Francisco to do their legal work; I'm sure he has a large team.

I cut out and saved an ad I saw in Florida, which was in the Sunday edition of the News-Press on March 11, 2018. The Omni Ellis "Regional Owners Assiociation event" was to be held March 17, 2018 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Myers.

The ad overtly claims that "we have the guaranteed timeshare exit solution". The language and hotel location "meeting" nature of the ad had all the earmarks of a PostCard Company-type operation (i.e., pay us thousands of dollars upfront, sign a Power of Attorney, then we will (...maybe) try to find a way to dump your timeshare for you --- one way or another).

Per previous input, neither the word "legal" nor the word "attorney" appears anywhere within the ad, which states "What sets us apart is the honest answers from our associates rather than a commissioned sales agent working on behalf of a resort" (...what on earth do lying resort sales weasels have to do with the topic of timeshare "exit" anyhow?).

Unfortunately, our scheduled plans did not allow us to attend this "event" (not that we would ever do so; we do not believe in fairy tales or magic beans or secret elixirs --- and we have no interest in parting with our timeshares anyhow.

 

[TUGBrian]

still seems to be in business taking folks money...

Company claims it will get you out of a timeshare; a local couple strongly disagrees

After the pandemic, so many people are looking to travel, but some want to put an end to their vacation contracts. Here’s a 5 On Your Side Warning about one company that promises to help you.

www.news5cleveland.com

shame these folks never find TUG first.

 

[jules54]

What resort is it? That will give us an idea as to how fast you might be able to give it away. As others have said why pay thousands of dollars to get rid of your timeshare when you can give it away for maybe a few hundred.

 

[DeniseM]

Brian updated this thread today, but the original post is from 2018, and the poster is long gone:

 

[RX8]

Just another low life scamming company. They have an alert with the BBB, a rating of “F” and lots of complaints. They also falsely claim on their website that they are BBB accredited.

Omni Ellis, LLC | Better Business Bureau® Profile

This organization is not BBB accredited. Timeshare Cancellation in San Francisco, CA. See BBB rating, reviews, complaints, & more.

www.bbb.org

Shouldn’t be of any surprise but they are also operating ILLEGALLY because their California LLC has been suspended. On top of that, the article that @TUGBrian posted was a story of an Ohio owner who attended Omni Ellis’s presentation in an Ohio hotel. Any legit company is required to have a foreign corporation filing in the states in which they do business. According to Ohio SOS there has never been an Omni Ellis filing in the state of Ohio.

 

[TUGBrian]

sorry yea, i revived an old thread as its pretty fascinating to me to see how long some companies operate even after being reported over and over.

 

[RX8]

sorry yea, i revived an old thread as its pretty fascinating to me to see how long some companies operate even after being reported over and over.

I agree. This is also a good example of how these businesses start off looking good (positive reviews, likely fake, and A+ BBB through accreditation). Time eventually reveals their true personality but unfortunately leaves many victims in their wake.

 

[chapjim]

I remember responding to that post. The thing that impresses me now, three plus years later, is how often posts like that come from people in their first post on TUG, or one of the first half-dozen posts. Some are blatant shills and get called out for it.

 

[LannyPC]

What I don't get about the person complaining about the company is that he paid $3300 to get rid of a TS that only costs him about $1000 per year. He's complaining about how expensive the MFs are which, if he pays them, he can still use the TS or rent it out. Yet, he was willing to fork over triple that and not be able to use it.

That's one thing I just don't understand about owners who pay thousands of dollars to get out of a contract where they are paying MFs.

 

[theo]

<snip> That's one thing I just don't understand about owners who pay thousands of dollars to get out of a contract where they are paying MFs.

What I find even more puzzling in these times of easy information retrieval via the Internet is the apparent lack of much (if any) research effort into these assorted so-called "exit companies" --- before writing out a check for several thousand dollars.

After all, first hand accounts of failure, fleecing and fraud (and the resulting disappointments) are very easily found in great numbers, while verifiable reports of success basically do not exist. Yet, little or no effort is apparently exerted to discover that retrievable fact.
It is disheartening that the adage "A fool and his money are soon parted" is proven true time and time again --- for years on end.

 

[SR97355]

I researched Omni Ellis in February 2019 on the internet (the only source for information I could think of, at the time). I did not find any seriously negative information on them. A few comments about "slow going but eventually got there" type. Now, 2.5 years after signing with Omni Ellis--we still have not exited. Our maintenance fees are approximately double what Omni Ellis charged us. In March 2021, supposedly we were at the last step in the exit process. Have had no "live" communication from them since then--just a few canned emails from gmail accounts.

 

[theo]

In March 2021, supposedly we were at the last step in the exit process.

Omni Ellis' "last step" actually occurred a long, long time ago --- when your check cleared or the deadline for you to file a credit card charge dispute passed.

You can ultimately "exit" as a result of involuntary foreclosure if you are not paying your maintenance fees, but you could have achieved that particular end result at no cost and without any Omni Ellis "involvement" whatsoever. In fact, looming foreclosure might well be "the last step" to which those thieving parasites made reference.

*IF* your fees are up to date and you want a clean, legitimate and permanent "exit" from your ownership, contact DRI directly about their "Transitions" program (a "deedback" option). That being said, I seem to recall reading that DRI will only entertain "deedbacks" under their "Transitions" program if the original purchase was made directly from DRI (i.e., not purchased in the secondary / resale market). It's worth at least looking into, as it will cost you nothing to inquire further. Good luck.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Facebook has been inundating me with timeshare exit company ads. I think the more I report them, the more I get.

Not one of these companies can do anything more than you can do.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

I researched Omni Ellis in February 2019 on the internet (the only source for information I could think of, at the time). I did not find any seriously negative information on them. A few comments about "slow going but eventually got there" type. Now, 2.5 years after signing with Omni Ellis--we still have not exited. Our maintenance fees are approximately double what Omni Ellis charged us. In March 2021, supposedly we were at the last step in the exit process. Have had no "live" communication from them since then--just a few canned emails from gmail accounts.

Tell me you don't really believe that that Omni Ellis is going to do anything for you do you?

May I suggest you make alternative arrangements immediately and DO NOT pay anyone any upfront money to unload this for you.

Best of luck!



.

 

[RX8]

Is it any surprise that their LLC is still suspended and that their website is inactive? I guess their claim on the BBB that "We have a 100 percent money back guarantee on all of our services." is worthless at this point, as it likely has been from day one. They have over 700 complaints on the BBB.