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Timeshare Relief.com??

anngem

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I haven't been on TUG for quite awhile so please excuse me if this is a repeat of another discussion. We keep getting mailers from a company called Timeshare Relief, Inc. We would love to divest ourselves of our timeshare and were wondering if anyone knows what's the gimmic here. Or is it a gimmic. It sounds too good to be true, always a warning sign.
Thanks.
 

Bill4728

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I haven't been on TUG for quite awhile so please excuse me if this is a repeat of another discussion. We keep getting mailers from a company called Timeshare Relief, Inc. We would love to divest ourselves of our timeshare and were wondering if anyone knows what's the gimmic here. Or is it a gimmic. It sounds too good to be true, always a warning sign.
Thanks.
It is way to good to be true!! Here on TUG we call these companies "postcard companies" or PCC

The gimmick is that they want you to pay them $3000- $4000 dollars, then they will sell your TS and keep all the money from the sale. Until they sell the TS, they may or may not keep the TS in your name. So if they can't sell the TS quickly, you may still own it and may still be responsible for all the fees associated with it.

PS There was a sale recently which the owner at Newport Coast Villas paid one of these companies $4000 to take the TS off their hands, Then sold the TS to a Tugger for >$14,000. The PCC got over $18,000 on this one transaction. They then took 8 months to transfer the TS into the new owners hands.

PS To be fair- The company which sold NCV to a TUGGER wasn't TS Relief
 
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AwayWeGo

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[triennial - points]
Forewarned = Forearmed.

We would love to divest ourselves of our timeshare and were wondering if anyone knows what's the gimmic here.
Click here for a clue (hypothetically speaking).

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 

paulin

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Heard of Timeshare Relief,Inc.?

I have been receiving literature from these folks. Any idea of what they do? Are they legit?
 

AwayWeGo

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[triennial - points]
For Genuine Relief, Take 2 Tablets & Call In The Morning.

Any idea of what they do?
Click here for a clue, hypothetically speaking.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 

Karen G

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Once owned these: FirstFairway@Walden X 2; Lawai Beach; ManhattanClub; PuebloBonitoRose; 4 South Africa--now timeshare-free
I think they may be one of those companies that have you pay them a hefty sum to take over your timeshare for you.
 

richardm

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I have been receiving literature from these folks. Any idea of what they do? Are they legit?

They are legitimate.. They will really ask for you to pay them $3,500. to take your timeshare, and if you pay attention to the process and follow up they will actually deed it out of your name. Whether they will still be in business in another two years, or will bankrupt and dissolve the company is the real question (leaving all those unsold units as basically noncollectable accounts which simply leech further into HOA budgets).

I would recommend, very strongly, that you look for other viable options as well. Selling, renting, or donating to a charity should all be investigated fully before you start down this road.

I'll be happy to give broker, marketing, and charity referrals to anyone who asks (again- look at all your options each time and do your own research! There is no magic timeshare answer!), but for so many owners- the best option is simply learning to better use your timeshare....

Good luck.

Good luck!
 

richardm

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I was asked by a respected associate in the resale industry to explain my "tongue in cheek" remarks in the last post to avoid confusion..

Timeshare Relief is not a company I personally recommend and I do not agree with their current business model, which is also used by many similar organizations- commonly referred to on this site as a PCC or PostCard Company.

The offer you will receive at one of their seminars is for YOU to pay them a large fee along with agreeing to transfer your timeshare ownership to them. They then liquidate the ownership (often on eBay), or in the case of one such organization called Timeshare Independence- simply closing the business via bankruptcy and abandoning the ownerships.

If you are considering paying a company with this type of business model, please don't mistake my earlier post as a validation of any PCC!

I apologize for any confusion!
 

Bill4728

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There have been many people here who have posted that these companies are legit companies. In general, they will take your TS off your hands if you pay them a huge amount of money.

This in no way means that the Tuggers here who say they are legit, are in any way endorsing these companies or their business model.
 

AwayWeGo

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[triennial - points]
In This Case, "Legitimate" May Only Mean "Not Illegal."

I don't think those companies are operating outside the law, but even so their unfair biz. plan depends heavily on a a knowledge imbalance between them on the 1 hand & the people who pay them big bux on the other hand.

In that way they are similar to the timeshare companies themselves, which are infamous for using high pressure, arm-twisting, guilt-tripping, psychologically manipulative sales methods to take advantage of people's low level of timeshare understanding.

By me, both kinds of businesses are shady even though they are "legitimate" in the narrow sense of not being against the law.

In the case of the timeshare companies that put on those high pressure, arm-twisting, guilt-tripping, psychologically manipulative sales pitches, at least there's a cooling off period of a few days to 1 week during which the person who bought at full freight can get out of it by rescinding in a timely fashion.

I don't know if there's any rescission period for getting out of it after being hornswoggled by 1 of those Pay Us Big Bux To Take Your Timeshare Off Your Hands companies.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 

e.bram

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If the PCC do what they agree(rid you of the TS)and you know what it cost, they are legitamate(sp?).End of story.
A lot of HOAs are governed by self dealing directors and they deserve what they get.
 

timeos2

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Never one simple answer

If the PCC do what they agree(rid you of the TS)and you know what it cost, they are legitamate(sp?).End of story.
A lot of HOAs are governed by self dealing directors and they deserve what they get.

And many are run by OWNERS trying to make a resort the best it can be for a reasonable annual fee, with no personal income just the desire to improve the resort for no pay. Before you start "teaching them a lesson" it would be best to find out what yours really is....
 
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Fredm

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I don't think those companies are operating outside the law, but even so their unfair biz. plan depends heavily on a a knowledge imbalance between them on the 1 hand & the people who pay them big bux on the other hand.

In that way they are similar to the timeshare companies themselves, which are infamous for using high pressure, arm-twisting, guilt-tripping, psychologically manipulative sales methods to take advantage of people's low level of timeshare understanding.

By me, both kinds of businesses are shady even though they are "legitimate" in the narrow sense of not being against the law.

In the case of the timeshare companies that put on those high pressure, arm-twisting, guilt-tripping, psychologically manipulative sales pitches, at least there's a cooling off period of a few days to 1 week during which the person who bought at full freight can get out of it by rescinding in a timely fashion.

I don't know if there's any rescission period for getting out of it after being hornswoggled by 1 of those Pay Us Big Bux To Take Your Timeshare Off Your Hands companies.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

There is not a one size fits all answer to the legality of a PCC operation.

To the extent that they follow the usual procedure, and have the owner sign a power of attorney (to sell the timeshare), they are operating outside the law if they do not have a brokers license. POA was never meant to be used wholesale to transact real estate. That's why they license brokers.

If the PCC is aligned with a broker, and a POA is used to sell the timeshare, the POA can be declared void if it was signed under duress. Lying, dramatizing, etc employed to coerce a signature is duress. As is simple misrepresentation of the process.

Most owners who pay a PCC truly believe that they are transferring title to the PCC. Of course, they are not.

So, the list goes on regarding the legality of a PCC operation. I am not saying categorically that all PCC's are illegal. Just those that engage in the above.
 

rickandcindy23

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Just signed up with Timeshare Relief Inc.

I just signed up with Timeshare Relief Inc. last weekend. Before attending the presentation, I looked them up on the BBB website and they had a A- rating which seems good for a company in this business. Has anyone had recent first hand experience dealing with them? Please help! Thanks!
 
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