Is there anyone experienced SMTN's Maintenance fee protection program?

[Jason Lee]

Hello

I am a Hilton Grand Islander timeshare owner and a Korean living in Korea.

2weeks ago, I made an inquiry of how much my timeshare values to SMTN.com.
Very quickly, I got a call and the guy from the phone was very kind and looked very hard working and trustworthy.

He asked me the documents of my timeshare and I sent photo copy of it.
And he said the value would be around 69000USD (2BR Premium, Grand Islander, Platinum, 23030 points, annual etc.)

I was so happy to hear that and I made a huge mistake to sign the contract of so called 'Maintenance fee reimbursement program'
and paid 66000USD by credit card.

The program gives me almost 85000USD of travel cash which can only be used in their online booking system.
In return, they withdraw my point of 2024 and 2025.

They uploaded the travel cash into my account, however I really don't feel like to spend it and also I really don't like to
open my account to them.

Here are some questions and thank you so much in advance~!

To sell my timeshare asap, will it be better to keep the points and not renting ?

And regarding the maintenance fee protection program, is there anyone who experienced this?
I want to know that if getting refund is a hard task, should I just rent my timeshare to them until the end of 2025 and spending the travel cash?

Lee from Korea

 

[cheech]

Your timeshare isn't worth that much, nowhere near. You will pay them to list it, and it will sit there for years.

 

[dioxide45]

You paid them $66,000? Is that a typo and should be $6,600? Perhaps you are referring to your local currency?

 

[Guitarmom]

I think you are being scammed. Please work with your credit card company to get your money back. 66,000USD is an extraordinary amount of money.

 

[TUGBrian]

"2BR Premium, Grand Islander, Platinum, 23030 points, annual etc."

while this ownership is not worthless, its only worth a small fraction of what you paid for it, and nowhere near 69,000 dollars.

however telling you that would never have resulted in you paying money to a company for their "assistance".

 

[rickandcindy23]

You need to open a dispute with your credit card company. Naivete is dangerous in the timeshare world. People will steal from you and take great advantage of your lack of knowledge.

 

[WorldT]

Hello

I am a Hilton Grand Islander timeshare owner and a Korean living in Korea.

2weeks ago, I made an inquiry of how much my timeshare values to SMTN.com.
Very quickly, I got a call and the guy from the phone was very kind and looked very hard working and trustworthy.

He asked me the documents of my timeshare and I sent photo copy of it.
And he said the value would be around 69000USD (2BR Premium, Grand Islander, Platinum, 23030 points, annual etc.)

I was so happy to hear that and I made a huge mistake to sign the contract of so called 'Maintenance fee reimbursement program'
and paid 66000USD by credit card.

The program gives me almost 85000USD of travel cash which can only be used in their online booking system.
In return, they withdraw my point of 2024 and 2025.

They uploaded the travel cash into my account, however I really don't feel like to spend it and also I really don't like to
open my account to them.

Here are some questions and thank you so much in advance~!

To sell my timeshare asap, will it be better to keep the points and not renting ?

And regarding the maintenance fee protection program, is there anyone who experienced this?
I want to know that if getting refund is a hard task, should I just rent my timeshare to them until the end of 2025 and spending the travel cash?

Lee from Korea

Okay, this is puzzling. I hope you can come back and clarify your post.

 

[Jason Lee]

You paid them $66,000? Is that a typo and should be $6,600? Perhaps you are referring to your local currency?

Sorry my mistake, 6600USD not 66000USD.

 

[Jason Lee]

I think you are being scammed. Please work with your credit card company to get your money back. 66,000USD is an extraordinary amount of money.

Sorry my mistake 6600USD and get 8500USD travel cash to my account

 

[Jason Lee]

You paid them $66,000? Is that a typo and should be $6,600? Perhaps you are referring to your local currency?

Yes 6600USD is right sorry. And they uploaded a travel cash which is worth 8500USD

 

[Jason Lee]

You need to open a dispute with your credit card company. Naivete is dangerous in the timeshare world. People will steal from you and take great advantage of your lack of knowledge.

thank you

 

[Jason Lee]

"2BR Premium, Grand Islander, Platinum, 23030 points, annual etc."

while this ownership is not worthless, its only worth a small fraction of what you paid for it, and nowhere near 69,000 dollars.

however telling you that would never have resulted in you paying money to a company for their "assistance".

Yes now I clearly know that it is nowhere around to 69000USD.

 

[Jason Lee]

Okay, this is puzzling. I hope you can come back and clarify your post.

There was mistyping for sure. They got 6600USD and gave me 8500USD as travel cash and asks me to open my account info to sell my points. And they showed me the ad of my ownership 69000USD on their list.

 

[HudsHut]

Welcome, @Jason Lee

Immediately contact your credit card company and dispute the charge. Get your $6,600.00 USD back. That is not an amount that you want to lose. The 8500 travel cash will probably be extremely difficult to use, making it nearly worthless.

To get a more realistic idea of what your Grand Islander is worth, go to Redweek.com
See listings here: (it's free to look)

The Grand Islander by Hilton Grand Vacations Timeshares For Sale | RedWeek

Buy a timeshare directly from The Grand Islander by Hilton Grand Vacations owners, starting at just $500. Resales are almost always 30 - 50% cheaper than buying the same unit from the resort!

www.redweek.com

 

[davidvel]

There was mistyping for sure. They got 6600USD and gave me 8500USD as travel cash and asks me to open my account info to sell my points. And they showed me the ad of my ownership 69000USD on their list.

Sorry to say you have been scammed. They will not sell your timeshare and the "travel cash" will likely lead to you needing to give them more $$$, if it is worth anything at all.

 

[WorldT]

There was mistyping for sure. They got 6600USD and gave me 8500USD as travel cash and asks me to open my account info to sell my points. And they showed me the ad of my ownership 69000USD on their list.

Ok. As others have already said, dispute the charge with your card and get your money back. It is a scam.
Always be weary of someone who wants you to pay them in cold cash and then they will give you credits and a check in return. It is scam 101.

 

[dioxide45]

Ok. As others have already said, dispute the charge with your card and get your money back.

That isn't a guaranty. The OP also lives in South Korea, and thus may not have the same protections like we have in the USA.

 

[RX8]

@Jason Lee I have previously shared my thoughts about timeshare marketing companies before, so I am repeating myself to others. These marketing companies provide unrealistic resale valuations because they know the higher it is, the more likely the timeshare owner will pay the large upfront fee. It doesn't matter to them that the timeshare valuation is grossly overstated or that it will not sell or that the timeshare owner just threw thousands of dollars out the window.

There are two kinds of timeshare marketing companies. The first is the true scammer. Those companies will lie on the phone, usually about claims that they want to rent your RCI or II getaway weeks. They will also lie about the true value of your timeshare and possibly lie that they market to corporations or attend events. This type of marketing company will just lie and do nothing else to market your timeshare with the only exception being a cheap ad on their hard-to-find website. These companies come and go daily looking to cash in on easy money with very little investment, or legal consequences. My guess is that this is 95% of the market. The other type is like Sell My Timeshare Now (SMTN). They have been around a long time, and they do have individualized ads. However, they are still a waste of money. Charging you $6,600 to create a simple timeshare ad that probably takes 10 minutes of their time should be criminal (but it is not). This is just an ad that is lost in the hundreds of other similar ads, an ad that people skip over because the true value is only a fraction of $69,000. It absolutely will not sell.

I am starting to think that all marketing companies, including SMTN, may be on the scam side. I say that because Florida has statutes that marketing companies must comply with. That statute is 721-205. SMTN is an Orlando, Florida based company. What I do not know, and it isn't clear from the statutes, is who exactly must comply with these statutes. It could be all Florida based marketing companies. It could be only those companies soliciting Florida timeshare owners. I do understand that the state of Florida has no authority over out of state companies but I would think that they have power over Florida companies and those that do business with Florida residents. The fact is though that I simply do not know who must comply. This is important because the Florida statute is clear that these marketing companies cannot provide resale valuations. Statute 721-205 section (d) states that the resale marketing company cannot "(d) State or imply to a consumer timeshare reseller that the timeshare interest has a specific resale value." That is exactly what Florida based SMTN has done with you. I have just sent an email to the state of Florida asking for clarification on who must comply with this statute. I will update this thread with the answer. If SMTN is in violation of the Florida statute that would also, in my mind at least, move SMTN directly to the scam category.

Chapter 721 - 2023 Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate

www.flsenate.gov

In the meantime, I would recommend contacting Judy Kozlowski, a respected and longtime HGVC timeshare reseller/broker. She can provide you with a REAL market valuation and discuss your options.

Home | Timeshare Professionals Resale United States

Timeshare Professionals, Inc. has been helping clients purchase timeshare resales for almost 30 years. Licensed real estate professionals helping you with the resale of your timeshare, buying timeshare or renting timeshare. Specializing in Hilton Grand Vacation Club - HGVC.

www.timeshareprofessionals.com

 

[RX8]

I had to look up the "maintenance fee protection program". In return for the use of your annual points, SMTN will pay your annual fees. This sounds great but in reality, SMTN will simply take all of the 23,000 points of your very desirable timeshare (but not worth $69,000) and use those points to likely double their money by renting those points. This is a win-win for them because they have your $6600 upfront fee, and they have your 23,000 points to rent out for profit while just paying what an owner pays. They would love to do this year after year, and they will because the timeshare will not sell for $69,000.

 

[dioxide45]

Did SMTN really provide a valuation of the OPs timeshare by just agreeing to list it at the price the OP stated?

 

[RX8]

Did SMTN really provide a valuation of the OPs timeshare by just agreeing to list it at the price the OP stated?

The way I read it is that he inquired about the valuation through their website (there is a “what is my timeshare worth” link on their home page) and that they responded and advised him the value is $69,000.

 

[WorldT]

The way I read it is that he inquired about the valuation through their website (there is a “what is my timeshare worth” link on their home page) and that they responded and advised him the value is $69,000.

It is a scheme designed to make money off the OP without any guarantee that the time share will sell. To rope people in, they give an over optimistic value of the timeshare. Of course this is easier to pull it off on people who are not familiar with the system.

 

[davidvel]

@Jason Lee I have previously shared my thoughts about timeshare marketing companies before, so I am repeating myself to others. These marketing companies provide unrealistic resale valuations because they know the higher it is, the more likely the timeshare owner will pay the large upfront fee. It doesn't matter to them that the timeshare valuation is grossly overstated or that it will not sell or that the timeshare owner just threw thousands of dollars out the window.

There are two kinds of timeshare marketing companies. The first is the true scammer. Those companies will lie on the phone, usually about claims that they want to rent your RCI or II getaway weeks. They will also lie about the true value of your timeshare and possibly lie that they market to corporations or attend events. This type of marketing company will just lie and do nothing else to market your timeshare with the only exception being a cheap ad on their hard-to-find website. These companies come and go daily looking to cash in on easy money with very little investment, or legal consequences. My guess is that this is 95% of the market. The other type is like Sell My Timeshare Now (SMTN). They have been around a long time, and they do have individualized ads. However, they are still a waste of money. Charging you $6,600 to create a simple timeshare ad that probably takes 10 minutes of their time should be criminal (but it is not). This is just an ad that is lost in the hundreds of other similar ads, an ad that people skip over because the true value is only a fraction of $69,000. It absolutely will not sell.

I am starting to think that all marketing companies, including SMTN, may be on the scam side. I say that because Florida has statutes that marketing companies must comply with. That statute is 721-205. SMTN is an Orlando, Florida based company. What I do not know, and it isn't clear from the statutes, is who exactly must comply with these statutes. It could be all Florida based marketing companies. It could be only those companies soliciting Florida timeshare owners. I do understand that the state of Florida has no authority over out of state companies but I would think that they have power over Florida companies and those that do business with Florida residents. The fact is though that I simply do not know who must comply. This is important because the Florida statute is clear that these marketing companies cannot provide resale valuations. Statute 721-205 section (d) states that the resale marketing company cannot "(d) State or imply to a consumer timeshare reseller that the timeshare interest has a specific resale value." That is exactly what Florida based SMTN has done with you. I have just sent an email to the state of Florida asking for clarification on who must comply with this statute. I will update this thread with the answer. If SMTN is in violation of the Florida statute that would also, in my mind at least, move SMTN directly to the scam category.

Chapter 721 - 2023 Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate

www.flsenate.gov

In the meantime, I would recommend contacting Judy Kozlowski, a respected and longtime HGVC timeshare reseller/broker. She can provide you with a REAL market valuation and discuss your options.

Home | Timeshare Professionals Resale United States

Timeshare Professionals, Inc. has been helping clients purchase timeshare resales for almost 30 years. Licensed real estate professionals helping you with the resale of your timeshare, buying timeshare or renting timeshare. Specializing in Hilton Grand Vacation Club - HGVC.

www.timeshareprofessionals.com

If they are claiming to be experts and told the OP that the TS was worth about $70K, which is patently false, this could amount to criminal fraud, regardless of any contract they signed. It could also amount to financial elder abuse in many states.

 

[Jason Lee]

The way I read it is that he inquired about the valuation through their website (there is a “what is my timeshare worth” link on their home page) and that they responded and advised him the value is $69,000.

Yes that is exactly what I experienced.

 

[Jason Lee]

If they are claiming to be experts and told the OP that the TS was worth about $70K, which is patently false, this could amount to criminal fraud, regardless of any contract they signed. It could also amount to financial elder abuse in many states.

Ah... For me but the problem is I can't expect any protection from US organizations or governmental programs as I am not a citizen of US..