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Timeshare Relief ?

G like golf

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I recently received this postcard from Timeshare Relief, Inc about them coming to my area here in Tampa, FL for a short time to buy timeshares. They claim they are not a reselling company and will make an offer for my timeshare providing that it's paid-off and my m/f are currently up to date.

Like I always do, I went to the internet to research this company. Not much to read and not even in the BBB. Finally, I saw a discussion here in TUG and after reading it, confirmed my hunch that this company is a SCAM. The first indications were the pressure they put for saying that they will only be here for a week so I better call to reserve my place. That alone, already has a foul smell.

Thanks to all who contributed to the original thread about this company, I will not be wasting my time calling and listening to these people.

Since I cannot find the thread that I just read, I am copying this thread and pasting it here. The title of the thread was "Want Timeshare Relief ? "and was submitted by t/s traveler - a TUG member.
(***
"Last night I spent an hour at the Milpitas Embassy Suites with a company called Timeshare Relief, LLC. They claimed that you must get rid of the timeshare you are unhappy with or your heirs will be stuck with the m/f and taxes after you pass on.
They showed some quick “proof” from Florida Supreme Court decisions and Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection web site.
“Timeshare Ownership… Not the slice of paradise you thought it would be?” Well this group had the answer for all your problems. Just pay them 7 times the Maintenance Fees & Taxes and they will try to put your worthless time share to use.
I said you could sell it with tug2.com or Timesharing Today. They said TST was bought out by Cendant and never sells anything. I said no way. When I became quite upset, the company sleepers that had been potential customers participating as such, these sleepers suddenly woke-up and invited me to leave. I refused and told all the “genuine customers” that they can sell their units on tug2.com or Timesharing Today magazine. After that I told the potential customers I would be in the lobby if they needed more information.
The sleepers and the company “officials” said they would call security, I said go ahead. After I left the room, all the potential customers met with me in the lobby and I began to impart tug truths. The sleepers and co. officials joined in vain attempt to deter me from my mission. I let them have the truth and called them to task, calling them the same names that they said the timeshare developers were. I told them that they were worse than them because they gave nothing but grief to the timeshare owners. Not relief, grief."
***)
 
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IGKG

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You have to be kidding me -- TimeShare Relief takes the scam out of timeshare

You have to be kidding me. TimeShare Relief helped my sister transfer her "property" about a month ago and she said they were great. In fact, she felt she was scammed the minute she went into the free "vacation" so a timeshare rep could pressure her into buying something she wasn't sure about. Four years after maintanence fees and no takers on a resell, she got fed up and went to TimeShare Relief with a bitter attitude and hatred for the entire industry. If anything TimeShare Relief took away the scam in timeshare.

I have a sneaking suspicion that "G for golf" is a timeshare seller/rep and he wants people to believe that legit organizations like Timeshare Relief, that try to help people caught up in the entire timeshare scam know the truth -- do not ever buy a timeshare in the first place.

IGKG
 

pranas

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Timshare Relief Employee?

IGKG sounds like you work for TSR or a similar organization.
 

Dave M

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I understand that your sister is happy to be out of her timeshare ownership. That's great.

However, she was definitely taken advantage of by those people. She likely paid them about $3,000-$4,000 to get rid of her timeshare. There is documentation (e.g., an article in the current print issue of Timesharing Today of a first-person account of a timeshare-knowledgeable person who met with these people) that the Timeshare Relief people tell significant lies to make their sale.

If she had found TUG before meeting with these people, she would have almost certainly gotten free advice here that would have allowed her to dispose of her timeshare at no cost or, at worst, for the $300-$350 that a good timeshare closing company would charge to transfer title to someone she could have found through the advice she would have gotten here.

So, yes, she is happy to be rid of her timeshare. She could have been rid of it and still have an extra $3,000 or so in her pocket.
 

IGKG

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Hey thanks, I just wanted to tell people about my sister's experience with TimeShare Relief. People can have opposite experiences, etc, and more than one side can be presented. I don't think she ever felt taken advantage of with them, and she did try to resell her timeshare for about 2 years. She just felt like she was getting scammed again. She was happy to rid herself of something that ended up being a huge burden on her financially and emotionally. :wall: :wall: And that is why I wanted to say that they helped her. Can't fault me for stating the truth.

IGKG
 

IGKG

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Everyone has their own opinion and I respect that. I would like to know if you are just reading information about them and believing what you read, or have you actually experienced doing business with them? I am not here to change your mind, but I read something that I believed to be unfair to a company that really helped someone who needed it -- you can say that the companies reselling, or reps that sell timeshares are crooks. heck, everyone is a crook in a sense if you look at it only one way. I am just saying that my sister had a great experience with TimeShare Relief. Not a debate :D

IGKG
 

Bill4728

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IGKG,

If every person who went to someone who said "we buy used cars" was told the same thing "your car is too old and not only will I not buy it from you but you'll have to pay me to take it off your hands" you'd call that person a crook. Because they would be. They don't honestly tell you that your TS has some value. And they don't even try to determine a fair value, they just say "Too old, Junk, No value to all" to all the TS owners and ask the same amount of money $3000, be paid to them. THAT IS A SCAM!!

Some may be worth very little but many (if not most) are worth a significant amount of money. Having to pay someone, to take an asset of yours which is worth a significant amount of money, IMHO, is a scam.


PS, I'd feel different if they didn't talk all about how very little the TS was worth and how their doing you such a service. Even if they just said "we'll take your TS and you're free to go". (you pay them nothing) they would still be scamming most people, but I'd feel better about them.
 
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IGKG

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Oh boy, I don't want to start a debate, I was only telling my story. Sorry if I offended anyone out there :cool:

My sister tried to get rid of, sell, resell, etc. for two years and she was still racking up maintance fees. She placed ads, again spent money for promises that didn't ring true, I am just saying that she spent too much money and didn't get anything that was promised to her. In the end, she was very happy to pay the money to rid herself of the complete hassle and financial burden.

This will hopefully be my last post, cause I certainly do not want to have a debate. It seems like no one here can have a different opinion or experience.

Great to know ya. :wave:
 

Bill4728

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I'm sorry to scare you away. Many of us feel very strongly that these people, although they are doing a service, are very unethical about how they do their bussiness. To let someone say, "I think they're great guys" would be like us telling anyone who read this board that these were honest, good people. They are not.

I glad your sister is happy about her TS sale, but she was scammed by these people. And they did such a good job scamming her that they have her thanking them for the dishonest behavior.
 
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e.bram

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Why doen't TUG help people who get ripped off by these organizations and by offering a heading in their classified Timeshares for a dollar or less.
 
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Keitht

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Bill4728 said:
IGKG,

If every person who went to someone who said "we buy used cars" was told the same thing "your car is too old and not only will I not buy it from you but you'll have to pay me to take it off your hands" you'd call that person a crook. Because they would be. They don't honestly tell you that your TS has some value. And they don't even try to determine a fair value, they just say "Too old, Junk, No value to all" to all the TS owners and ask the same amount of money $3000, be paid to them. THAT IS A SCAM!!

Some may be worth very little but many (if not most) are worth a significant amount of money. Having to pay someone, to take an asset of yours which is worth a significant amount of money, IMHO, is a scam.


PS, I'd feel different if they didn't talk all about how very little the TS was worth and how their doing you such a service. Even if they just said we'll take your TS and you're free to go. (you pay them nothing) they would still be scamming most people but I'd feel better about them.

I don't know the company involved, but if they are saying to people "We believe your t/s has little or no value, but we will take it off your hands for $3k", they are simply making a business proposal. It's not one I would take up on, but if people have literally been unable to give it away, and the resort won't take it back, it may be viewed as a genuinely good deal by the vendor.
IKGK has explained the circumstances behind his sister's sale pretty clearly and I can see how cutting her losses was an acceptable option. She had been attempting to dispose of the 'asset' for 2 years. It was not sold so very evidently had no value, therefore cannot be considered an asset. Not only did it have no value, it was a drain on her resources as the maintenance fees still had to be paid.
I don't know the situation in the US, but an analogy that could be drawn in the UK is scrapping motor vehicles. A few years ago scrap yards would pay good money because of the value of the spares they could recover from the vehicle. Now, it is far more likely that a person will be charged by the scrap yard as it costs far more to recycle the components than their scrap value. A t/s that the owner can't dispose of by any other means surely can be considered to have no more than scrap value?
 
J

JoeMid

e.bram said:
Why doen't TUG help people who get ripped off by these organizations and by offering a heading in their classified Timeshares for a dollar or less.
You can sort on ascending price within each geographic heading if you are a buyer searching for cheap timeshares.
 

Bill4728

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The saddest thing about this thread is that there may be a need for a company like this company. Which will buy TS which people can't sell for whatever reason.

But when a company tells each and every seller that their TS is of no value at all, and that every time they will only take the TS if you pay them $3000. IMHO, these people are dishonest scammers.
 

Dave M

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IGKG said:
I would like to know if you are just reading information about them and believing what you read, or have you actually experienced doing business with them?
Here, from the TUG Advice section, is my first experience with a company that uses their methods. The name is different, but we believe it might be the same company. The tactics are definitely the same - right down to the incorrect tax advice!
 

taffy19

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Bill4728 said:
The saddest thing about this thread is that there may be a need for a company like this company. Which will buy TS which people can't sell for whatever reason.

But when a company tells each and every seller that their TS is of no value at all, and that every time they will only take the TS if you pay them $3000. IMHO, these people are dishonest scammers.
They also tell you that you never get rid of paying maintenance fees if you own an RTU timeshare even when the 25 years have expired. I know this isn't true because you have to renew your RTU timeshare. This is how it is in Mexico and they charge a fee for the renewal. Of course, then you are responsible for the maintenance fees again for the duration of the contract.

It were mainly older people when we went to this presentation but that may have been because it was during a week day. The fellow really put fear in your mind so you feel guilty leaving the timeshare in your estate when you die. I call this using scare tactics and it is a scam!

I don't know why Timesharing Today endorses this company as it was posted here.
 
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Bill4728

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Keitht said:
I don't know the company involved, but if they are saying to people "We believe your t/s has little or no value, but we will take it off your hands for $3k", they are simply making a business proposal. It's not one I would take up on, but if people have literally been unable to give it away, and the resort won't take it back, it may be viewed as a genuinely good deal by the vendor.


This may be a business proposal, but when you tell EVERYONE that their TS has little or no value and you KNOW this isn't true then the business proposal becomes a scam.
 

Keitht

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Bill4728 said:
This may be a business proposal, but when you tell EVERYONE that their TS has little or no value and you KNOW this isn't true then the business proposal becomes a scam.

I certainly agree with that statement. I would suggest however that anybody who has just started marketing their unit and accepts such a statement as fact hasn't done their homework. Being prepared to pay money to have a unit taken off your hands really should be an absolute last resort.

Unfortunately Bill4728 is also correct when he says "The saddest thing about this thread is that there may be a need for a company like this company. Which will buy TS which people can't sell for whatever reason." There will always be t/s resorts out there whose attitude is "You bought it, you pay the fees unless you sell it".

I must admit to have a degree of sympathy with that attitude. After all if my resort simply took back any unit people didn't want it is likely that my already high m/f would go through the roof. It would be great to use the place for 20 years (as I have) and then just wash my hands of it if it no longer suited my holiday plans.
 
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