Aspen Management and Mergers???

[CaptainA320]

Help!! I have just received a totally unsolicited offer to buy my Grand Bliss weeks for a sum greater than $100K. If the offer was legit I would accept it in a heartbeat. However, I do not see how it could possibly be for real. They have emailed me a formal proposal to sign and return. The company is Aspen Management and Mergers and they are located in Salt Lake City. Website is www.aspenmanagementandmergers.com. They have not asked for anything yet, but I figure that is their next step. Is there any danger in signing the proposal and returning it to see what the next step is? Also, any idea how they got my ownership information from Grupo Mayan? I would greatly appreciate any suggestions.

 

[hatetimeshare]

We just got a similar unsolicited offer from the same company. Scam. Too good to be true. I have talked with some actual reputable companies that deal with time share resale, etc (one of which actually told me they don't deal with my time share because they are too hard to work with) - he suggested not to deal with ANYONE who is not BBB accredited. Also, if you have any doubts, you can ask them to provide you with their business or real estate license. Usually they will give you some BS answer about how it's against their policy without having a signed agreement. Don't waste your time.

 

[TUGBrian]

bbb "acreditation" means little to nothing in todays world.

anyway, if you follow the simple rule of no matter how good the story is, never pay anyone anything upfront...you will protect yourself from 100% of the scams in the resale industry.

 

[Tropical lady]

forewarned.....

I would make a guess that these companies (?) troll forums. From your posts and name "screwedbybliss" you might be a willing candidate to try......
Vidanta has put out frequent notices about fraudulant companies trying to buy weeks back. I'd be forewarned!
You already have 2 of the warning signs, unsolicited and high $ amount. I would not sign anything and end communication.

 

[Bostonian]

I also have received an offer from Aspen Management.
How do I know if it is legitimate?

 

[LannyPC]

I also have received an offer from Aspen Management.
How do I know if it is legitimate?

Judging from your profile (you say that you own at the Grand Mayan), I'm thinking this is a scam. Very few, if any, people are calling up owners of timeshares in Mexico to make a bona fide, legitimate, lucrative offer.

One scam that's prevalent right now (we hear of it all the time on these boards) is that these scammers call up owners of Mexican TSs saying that they either want to buy or that they have buyers lined up who are ready to pay a princely sum.

If they're offering to buy it for far more than market value (most Mexican timeshares are worth less than $1000), then that's a sure-fire sign of a scam.

 

[CaptainA320]

I sent a copy of the solicitation to VidaVacations and CC'ed the Salt Lake BBB. I have copied the reply from Vida below. I then sent a copy of the Vida response to Aspen Management. They still call every day, but I just ignore the call.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Fairley,
Thank you for providing us the details of the fraudulent offer you
received from Aspen Management and Mergers. Unfortunately we have
been inundated with similar calls from members with similar offers,
none of which have turned out to be legitimate. If you ever have any
doubts about a company contacting you out of the blue with a
suspicious offer, please continue to let us know so we can keep track
of it. If you have any questions or additional information, please do
not hesitate to contact member services at the numbers below.

Best Regards,

--
Christopher Lee
Members Services
Vida Vacation Club
USA 1 800 292 9446
Canada 1 800 421 4161
United Kingdom 0 800 096 9367
Mexico 01 800 54 370 44
Office Hours – Central Time
Monday – Friday 7 am – 8 pm
Saturday 9 am – 3 pm

 

[canada]

You've asked now take the advise. NEVER answer another one of their calls. It is all a scam no matter what name they use. Please trust that so many of us have lost big money. Once they have you hooked they say the Mexican govt needs the taxes plus the closing cost but you'll get reimbursed! No problem - yeah until they have tens of thousands of your money and then they're gone and you are left with nothing. One lady actually lost her time share - they took the documents and actually transferred the title. She paid them $15,000 - they gave her nothing but heartache. A senior citizen too.

BEWARE: ASPEN MANAGEMENT & MERGERS
INTERNATIONAL CLOSING COMPANY
PROPERTY MARKETING GROUP
THEY CHANGE THEIR NAME REGULARLY SO IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT NAME THEY USE. DO NOT BE TAKEN.

 

[Mountain2Beach]

Beware of Aspen Management and Mergers

I was also contacted by Aspen Management and Mergers (AMM). I was skeptical but went ahead and requested the additional information. After talking with them I decided to do some online researching. AMM has a very impressive website, www.aspenmanagementandmergers.com. They are supposedly located in Salt Lake City, UT or at least that is where the phone call comes from. Their company address is in a local office building. Trouble is the company is not listed as a tenant. In checking with the Utah Secretary of state website, AMM is not registered as a company in their state. The local Better Business Bureau has an alert on the company. Seems the BBB sent some paperwork to their business address but the post office returned it as undeliverable.

In addition to AMM, they use a title and closing company called Emerald Asset Closing in Albuquerque, NM. They also have an impressive website, www.emeraldassetclosingcompany.com. Same story, the website does not give an exact street address and the company is not registered with the state of New Mexico.

On my last phone call with AMM, I played along with them. Wouldn't you know it, I suddenly had to put up a $3100 binder fee, whatever that is in order to complete my contract. I finally told them that they were running an elaborate scam. They did not deny it!! Beware!

 

[PamsHouses]

Thank you, Mountain2 Beach, for taking your time in uncovering this scam. I have also been contacted by Aspen Management & Mergers with a purchase proposal at an extremely inflated price. When something is too good to be true - it is! After doing some research through a publication article on scams - I figured they would come up with an huge upfront fee. I have yet to return their call as I know now their intent to collect money not sell my timeshare. Thanks, again!

 

[followill]

Oak Management Group

Aspen Management is now Oak Management Group, at least for the time being. Same format for their website as Aspen. There is nothing about Oak Management Group on the web other than their site so I hope people who try to look them up are directed here.

They called me yesterday with an unrealistic offer to buy my fractional. They are also connected with Emerald Closing Company out of New Mexico. I haven't had any dealings with them other than the phone calls, but there is no doubt in my mind thatthey are a den of thieves.

 

[CaptainA320]

Received a phone call today from an outfit in Houston wanting to buy. I now tell them there there are so many people who want to buy my timeshare that I will sell to whomever first sends me a bank check for $5,000. They hang up pretty quickly!

 

[AndyTraveler]

How do they get their money?

I got an offer from Oak Management and Aspen Management (same phone number and address). Looked them up on teh BBB web site and it says
This business's address is in a large building, however no suite number is provided on the business's website. The BBB contacted the business two times to obtain the suite number and each time the suite number was asked the phone call was either terminated or the call was placed on hold for an extended period of time. The third time the BBB called the BBB reached voice mail and left a message asking for the information. The call has not been returned.

The BBB urges caution and reminds consumers that not having correct information about a business's location could impede resolution of a complaint, should one arise.

The BBB also reminds consumers to not give money upfront to sell an item, such as a timeshare.

But, the contract doesn't say I have to pay upfront. Anyone talke dto them?

 

[LannyPC]

But, the contract doesn't say I have to pay upfront. Anyone talke dto them?

But the contract will likely say that you have to pay some sort of fee, tax, or commission. They won't call it "upfront fee". They will just call it some sort of fee that you have to pay upfront.