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Unsolicited Offer to buy timeshare

Rekrespite

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I had an unsolicited offer from a company called Westwood Benson Brokers. Inc with a Chicago address to purchase my Krystal Vacation Club membership. The only fee that I was supposed to pay was a 5% commission upon closing and my receipt of all funds. After I sent a contract Mr. Miller called and said that they needed to collect "taxes" to the tune of $4000 before they could close the deal. The $4000 was supposed to be refunded, paid by the buyer at closing. I was suspicious from the get-go but decided to pursue the deal for a while. I cancelled the contract, claiming a 3-day cooling off period when they asked for the $4000 up front. Has anyone had a similar experience with this company or other timeshare resellers?
Thanks
 

DeniseM

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There is a simple rule of thumb for business offers: If you have to pay an upfront fee, that's a huge red flag.

Reputable brokers take their fees out of the proceed of the sale/rental, after the sale/rental.

The scammers all charge an upfront fee - and then steal it.

There are no taxes, so that was clearly a scam.
 

vacationhopeful

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YOUR spidery-sense was working just fine.

But since you filled out paperwork ... you will NOW get many more "deals" to either RENT your timeshare, trade in your timeshare, upgrade to a vacation club, plus variations on a BUYER wants your timeshare.

If you are not attached to THAT phone number ... get a new unlisted number. They sell and trade lists of people who are prone "to believe".
 

TUGBrian

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absolutely a scam...well done sniffing it out!
 

PamMo

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It's good to hear you caught on to them before you sent any money. These scammers are total scumbags. Please file a complaint with the FTC and your state attorney general's office. "Westwood Benson Brokers" is definitely working on stealing money from many other owners who want to sell their timeshares.
 

bogey21

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I often get unsolicited offers to buy one of my TimeShare Weeks. Problem is I only own one and it is in my Son's name.

Beware!!!

George
 

LannyPC

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Has anyone had a similar experience with this company or other timeshare resellers?

If you had been with TUG for a little longer, you would see that people come on here weekly with exact same stories. The name of the seller might be new or unheard of but, rest assured, the principals involved in these companies have been around for ages scamming TS owners out of countless thousands of dollars.

And BTW, they are not timeshare resellers because they don't sell timeshares. They just scam owners out of money.
 
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