As I was deceived by TSRSonline, so I now deceive others. Sorry, friends.
I continue to talk with Customer Service at TSRSonline in order to get through to my sales agents, Andy Kline and Chris Johnson., I have become extremely dissatisfied with TSRS's business practices now that my written contract is back in their hands (a period of time from 04/09/12, initial cold call, to 04/20/12, receipt of signed contract). Further, I believe TSRSonline has made me an unwitting accomplice to their scheme to “inflate” the value of timeshare sales on the resale market by counseling me to list my Summerbay timeshare for $23,000.
During sales pitches on April 9th and 10th, Chris & Andy both promised they would give me updates on presentations they said they would be making to prospective buyers of my Summerbay timeshare during the last two weekends of April, and going forward for the 10 months before I am offered the Broker Buy Back Guarantee.
I was very skeptical that my timeshare was worth $19,000 - $23,000, which they both said was the range in today's market. They used this range when I asked the hypothetical question, "What would the Broker's buy back offer be in February, 2013?" They said the mid-point between the high and the low of the above range, which is $21,000 (in today's market).
This still seemed too high, so I asked how the "market price" is determined. They directed me to "the Internet". The Internet that they directed me to, however, was their own TSRSonline site, not the worldwide web of resale Internet websites (like eBay). Andy verbally invited me to search the listings he sent me to “on the Internet”, where I did find the range used in the hypothetical ($19,000 - $23,000). This was an impressive inducement for me to enter into TSRS's written contract because the Buy Back provision would be my fallback position if the sales agents fail to find a buyer in 10 months. Andy, in fact, reassured me by saying, “Consider your timeshare sold [for $21,000] in 10 months if it doesn’t sell before then.”
After joining this User's Group earlier this week and becoming a little better educated about how to double-check representations made by timeshare sales people, I checked Summerbay timeshare sales and offers on eBay. I was aghast at all the $1.00 - $2.50 sales and zero offers!
So Friday I spoke with Customer Services representative "April" (no last names are given by this business now that they have my signed contract in their possession) and told her about my eBay discovery. I asked her, "Why would any prospective buyer offer to pay me $23,000 when they can go on eBay and purchase it for a dollar?" Also, if my timeshare doesn't sell by February, then I'm looking at a Broker's offer of $1.75!!!
Of course, April was trained to say, "No one knows what the timeshare market will be in the future."
When I asked April where I should research market values other than TSRS or eBay, she said, "Check the Internet or Summerbay directly for the market value of your timeshare." After sleeping on this last night, I now realize how I was deceived by the sales agents back on April 9th and 10th. Andy & Chris directed me to look at TSRS’s inflated listings – which are in the resale market -- while April mistakenly directed me to the timeshare direct market (Summerbay’s listings). Both are high market universes in which current and prospective clients are cleverly directed to search. I have now been on both ends of this deception.
For clarification,
Paragraph 3 D. of my TSRSonline contract states, in part, ". . . For the purpose of this buyback provision, market price/value means what a similar Timeshare most recently sold for or is currently selling for on the current RESALE market." (emphasis added)
Andy & Chris knew exactly the slip they were giving me back on April 9-10 because they knew the fine wording of the contract that I did not receive until 10 days later -- April 17th. This, too, is why now that I have signed the contract they do not want to talk to me when I call. April and the other “Customer Service” agents keep blocking my access.
I not only have been deceived about the value of my timeshare but now that my listing is on TSRSonline at such a high price, prospective clients like I was back on April 9-10 will see my listing and be induced into signing TSRS’s listing agreement like I did.
