State of Georiga Shuts down two Post Card Companies: Safe Hands Transfers

[TUGBrian]

http://www.theweekly.com/news/2012/March/27/time_share.html

kudos to the Georgia Governors office...I dont even think this has been accomplished in Florida!

 

[ampaholic]

Hitting scammers where it counts - their pocketbook - good job Georgia OCP

 

[DeniseM]

Some discussion on TUG about these companies:

https://www.google.com/search?client=gmail&rls=gm&q="safe hands transfer"site:tugbbs.com&safe=active

https://www.google.com/search?clien....,cf.osb&fp=adce1c6ae9f9b924&biw=1680&bih=933

 

[Carolinian]

Some other state Attorneys General have fined PCC's and made them pay restitution to their victims. This is the first time I have seen state suthorities actually shut them down. Hooray for Georgia. More states need to step up to the plate and shut these sleazebags down.

 

[richardm]

You are reading too much into this article..

Some other state Attorneys General have fined PCC's and made them pay restitution to their victims. This is the first time I have seen state suthorities actually shut them down. Hooray for Georgia. More states need to step up to the plate and shut these sleazebags down.

There isn't any indication these companies have been shut down or are barred from doing business in the state. It appears that they have signed a settlement statement and consent decree agreeing to a fine for deceptive marketing, and have agreed to no longer offer their "lien release" services in the state.

I have no doubt they will still offer to take timeshares for a fee..

Still- anytime these companies get spanked- it is a step in the right direction!

:deadhorse:

 

[Carolinian]

There isn't any indication these companies have been shut down or are barred from doing business in the state. It appears that they have signed a settlement statement and consent decree agreeing to a fine for deceptive marketing, and have agreed to no longer offer their "lien release" services in the state.

I have no doubt they will still offer to take timeshares for a fee..

Still- anytime these companies get spanked- it is a step in the right direction!

:deadhorse:

I guess I should not have relied on the caption of the thread. What we really need is some felony prosecutions of these scammers for fraud or false pretenses and sending them off to prison.

 

[TUGBrian]

said int he article they were banned from doing business in the state....not sure what else that would mean.

 

[Larry M]

Blast from the past?

said int he article they were banned from doing business in the state....not sure what else that would mean.

And I thought it said they were only barred from offering lien releases in the state. One of us isn't reading carefully.

More to the point, why is TUG sending out a 2012 newsletter pointing to this six-year old thread from 2006? Is there nothing newer to report?

 

[TUGBrian]

this thread was posted by me a few days ago...the news article is from that day.

not quite sure whos got the reading problem at the moment now =)

 

[DeniseM]

And I thought it said they were only barred from offering lien releases in the state. One of us isn't reading carefully.

More to the point, why is TUG sending out a 2012 newsletter pointing to this six-year old thread from 2006? Is there nothing newer to report?

This thread was started on Mar. 28, 2012 - last Wed.

The article is dated Mar. 27, 2012 - last Tuesday.

 

[richardm]

Here is an excerpt..

And I thought it said they were only barred from offering lien releases in the state. One of us isn't reading carefully.

"...To resolve these allegations Direct Transfers, LLC has agreed to refund consumers approximately $59,000 and to pay $37,500 in penalties and administrative costs. Safe Hands Transfers, LLC is required to pay approximately $29,000 in restitution to consumers and to pay $37,500 in penalties and administrative costs. The companies are also required to cease and desist from offering and performing lien release services in Georgia...."

Every little bit helps.. Hopefully this action is just a first step..

 

[TimeshareFriend]

If only Tennessee had better regulations regarding the sale of timeshares. It is disappointing that you do not have to be licensed to receive a commission for the sale of a timeshare.... All in all it is great to see another company out of business!

 

[Brerrabbit]

What exactly is a "lien release"?

, and have agreed to no longer offer their "lien release" services in the state.


:deadhorse:

I have never heard of this and would just be curious to know.

 

[Brerrabbit]

My thoughts.....

I guess I should not have relied on the caption of the thread. What we really need is some felony prosecutions of these scammers for fraud or false pretenses and sending them off to prison.

Sooner or later some of the timeshare resale scammers are going to scam the wrong person and wind up in the bottom of some nice deep lake somewhere carrying more concrete blocks than they can swim with. Or something like that.

 

[timeos2]

Note that the "relief" these scammers offer may lead to negative impact on the SELLERS (the one who PAID these crooks) credit score. So if that is what you think you can avoid by using a PCC or Viking ship operation - and paying to get the "services" - think again. You just wasted your money and aren't guaranteed a thing. Stay away from all ofthese groups remains the best advice.

 

[richardm]

Lien release scams

I have never heard of this and would just be curious to know.

This is just another version of the "advocacy" scam that is probably a by-product of similar mortgage and debt relief cons that target home owners facing foreclosure..

The company states that they can "represent" timeshare owners who still have a mortgage and "negotiate" either a release from the ownership and mortgage obligation or a reduction in the payoff amount.

A few have an attorney on retainer who sends a form letter to the timeshare developer claiming misrepresentation. Most just do it themselves and pretend to be an attorney.

I had a client who paid more than $30,000 to one of these groups who were supposed to get him out of a $100,000+ Wyndham mortgage. He sent me a copy of the email that the company had sent to Wyndham. I called that Wyndham employee and asked her if they ever bothered to perform even simple discovery to verify the license of the self-proclaimed attorneys and she admitted that they did not.. Said they get far too many of these complaint letters, so all they do is open an investigation and request that they attorney provide them with any proof they have of wrongdoing.

The companies will often "justify" the payment they collect by writing a contract that "sells" the timeshare owner something else, normally a non-deeded travel club membership. The consumer thinks he is paying for legal representation, only to find out later that he actually bought a worthless "interest" in a travel club that normally goes belly up in a year or two.

The NJ lawsuit against the VO Group is an example of what some of these "businesses" are being accused of...............

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nj/Press/files/Lacerda, Adam et al Arrests News Release.html

 

[Carolinian]

If only Tennessee had better regulations regarding the sale of timeshares. It is disappointing that you do not have to be licensed to receive a commission for the sale of a timeshare.... All in all it is great to see another company out of business!

North Carolina goes extremely far the other way. Their definiteion of ''timehsare developer'' includes anyone who sells or resells a timeshare weeks unless it was a week that they had owned themselves for personal use, if the timeshare resort is located in North Carolina. The NC Real Estate Commission has cracked down on meshare resellers operating from other states who resell NC timeshare. Anyone who qualifies as a developer must register as a developer in North Carolina to sell a timeshare week at a North Carolina timeshare.

This is something to keep in mind if anyone has any conflicts with an eBay reseller they need to resolve, like insisting on using your own closer. Threaten to take a complaint against them to the NC Real Estate Commission and you could cause the eBay reseller massive problems. The will probably cry uncle over whatever issue you have with them.