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Wesley Financial

LadyBee43

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Does anyone know if Wesley Financial is a legitimate company for trying to get you out of your timeshare. They appear to be to me as they have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and a Rating of 93 with Dunn & Bradstreet. I came across their ad on Facebook and have contacted them about getting out of our timeshare. Nothing has transpired yet as all we have done is give them the facts behind the purchase - dates, location, price, etc. When I came across your name through a posting by Nerd Wallet, I thought it might be a good idea to see if any of you had experience with them - good or bad.
 

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TUG advice is to avoid any company that charges a large upfront fee for its services.

What efforts have you made to offer your timeshare for free or deed it back to the resort?
 

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In addition to Denise's suggestion, have you tried asking the resort if it will take your TS back?:

https://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/give_back_timeshare.html

If it is with Wyndham, Westgate, or Diamond, those companies have programs where they take a limited number of timeshares back provided the owner is up to date with the MFs and there is no outstanding loan.
 

LadyBee43

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I have asked the resort if they would would buy or just take the timeshare back but was told that "they don't do that" and referred to RCI who we bought it from originally. RCI informed us that they were NOT the seller and therefore were also not interested in buying the property back. I have not posted it for sale anywhere because after reading articles on several websites I came to believe that virtually no one is interested in purchasing a timeshare, let alone one in Massachusetts. There is no outstanding loan, it is paid for but the MF are ridiculous and get higher every year plus the fact that we will most likely never use it. We have also cancelled our membership with RCI so will no longer be able to trade for stays at other locations (had bad experience at last resort we traded for and were unable to locate any resorts in area we were going the year prior). We really don't care if we sell it or just get rid of it, so long as we don't have to pay any more MF.
 

tschwa2

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I have asked the resort if they would would buy or just take the timeshare back but was told that "they don't do that" and referred to RCI who we bought it from originally. RCI informed us that they were NOT the seller and therefore were also not interested in buying the property back. I have not posted it for sale anywhere because after reading articles on several websites I came to believe that virtually no one is interested in purchasing a timeshare, let alone one in Massachusetts. There is no outstanding loan, it is paid for but the MF are ridiculous and get higher every year plus the fact that we will most likely never use it. We have also cancelled our membership with RCI so will no longer be able to trade for stays at other locations (had bad experience at last resort we traded for and were unable to locate any resorts in area we were going the year prior). We really don't care if we sell it or just get rid of it, so long as we don't have to pay any more MF.
No resort is going to buy it back. Find out how much Wesley is going to charge you. My guess is they would charge you around $3000 plus probably pay 2019 MF too. You probably could get the resort to take it back or to find someone willing to take it from you for half (or less) than what they were going to charge.
 

RX8

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You have been given good advice above.

Some people may be uneasy with the whole transfer process which could be a reason why they are willing to pay some entity thousands of dollars. No reason to make that a concern as there are transfer companies that will handle everything for you for a nominal fee. One such company is LT Transfers which has been recommended on TUG (disclaimer - I have never used them but they have gotten good reviews from those that have used them).

I looked at eBay for sold Berkshire timeshares. There are a handful. Sold prices ranged from one cent to $25. A common theme for them were free closing and transfer. Most had an included gift card ranging from $250 to $400. My recommendation? Offer it for free on TUG and elsewhere with closing and transfer fees paid. Include an incentive to also pay 2019 maintenance fees, and maybe even 2020 fees. Another option, offer it free with closing and transfer fees included and a $1,000 gift card. I would bet that it would sell and you would have probably still saved at least $1,000, maybe even more, than what Wesley is going to charge you.

If you post an ad please do more than "I want to get rid of this timeshare". Include things that make the resort great - close to shopping, pool, resort activities, local attractions, WIFI, fitness center, laundry facilities, family oriented, free DVDs to rent, day use, etc... Include personal stories of any great vacations that you had with your family. Include photos of the resort. In short, sell what you are offering and make it stand out from all of the other similar ads! Doing these things won't guarantee a sale but it will certainly help your chances.

One last thing, please do not pay a timeshare listing company a dime for them to "advertise" your timeshare. They will purposely mislead you as to the value of your timeshare. They want you to think that it will sell on their website for thousands of dollars. All lies. They want you to believe this because they will charge you upfront $750 or more just to have the ad on their site. If they told you the truth as to the value then they know you wouldn't pay them anything. Once they have your money they could care less if it sells, after all they already got paid. You will be out $750+ and still have your timeshare to sell.

Good luck!
 
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LadyBee43

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We have an appointment to just talk to Wesley V.P. on Tues. We are going to listen to what they have to say and see how much they want for their service. They have represented thousands of owners and in fact were sued by Wyndham for doing so (the owner worked for Wyndham at one time) and Wesley won the lawsuit, giving them leverage against Wyndham and other timeshare sellers. I think we need to at least listen before jumping to the conclusion that they are scammers. They do not promise to get your money back or anything else like that just to get you out of the timeshare.
 

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I have asked the resort if they would would buy or just take the timeshare back but was told that "they don't do that" and referred to RCI who we bought it from originally. RCI informed us that they were NOT the seller and therefore were also not interested in buying the property back.
RCI does not sell timeshare and never had. RCI is a timeshare exchange company.
It is a mistake for you to even consider Wesley's services. There won't be a good ending with that route.

The best option is to write to the resort indicating that you won't be making anymore MF payment and for them to do a deedback. Persistent pays.
 

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We have an appointment to just talk to Wesley V.P. on Tues. We are going to listen to what they have to say and see how much they want for their service. They have represented thousands of owners and in fact were sued by Wyndham for doing so (the owner worked for Wyndham at one time) and Wesley won the lawsuit, giving them leverage against Wyndham and other timeshare sellers. I think we need to at least listen before jumping to the conclusion that they are scammers. They do not promise to get your money back or anything else like that just to get you out of the timeshare.

I agree that it doesn't hurt to find out what they will charge. The advice here is going to be to try to give it away yourself for less money than you will be charged. Of course, if you decide to use their services, and the upfront fee, that is up to you as well but hopefully you understand that there is no guarantee that you will be free of the timeshare (you will find people on Google who are unhappy with the services).

The name was familiar to me. I found an old thread on TUG - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...nancial-re-my-complaint-about-wyndham.166858/

You can read the thread but some quick details is that Chuck McDowell, owner of Wesley, was also a VP at VO Group, a similar business as Wesley. Chuck praised both VO Group and Adam Lacerda saying that they were "good people". He even referred to VO Group as “us”. Shortly thereafter, Adam was arrested for VO Group scams and sentenced up to 27 years in prison (Chuck had left VO sometime prior to the arrests).
 
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LadyBee43

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McDowell says on the website that he was formerly with the VO Group so he does acknowledge that fact but he has been in his own business now for six years and I checked the BBB in Nashville, TN myself and their are 51 very positive reviews from former clients on the site and only three negative and those are with regard to phone calls not being returned. I also checked to see how the BBB arrives at their rating (Wesley's is A+) and it is explained in detail - how many complaints, how many of those were resolved, and about 10 other points are checked before the company is given a rating based on accumulated points. I'm giving him the benefit of doubt for now but doesn't seem like a scam at this point to me.
 

RX8

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McDowell says on the website that he was formerly with the VO Group so he does acknowledge that fact but he has been in his own business now for six years and I checked the BBB in Nashville, TN myself and their are 51 very positive reviews from former clients on the site and only three negative and those are with regard to phone calls not being returned. I also checked to see how the BBB arrives at their rating (Wesley's is A+) and it is explained in detail - how many complaints, how many of those were resolved, and about 10 other points are checked before the company is given a rating based on accumulated points. I'm giving him the benefit of doubt for now but doesn't seem like a scam at this point to me.

I wouldn't go so far as to call them a scam but they will charge exorbitant fees upfront with no guarantee that they will do what they say. Doing it yourself has zero risk with the reward of doing it cheaper than their thousands of dollars that they will ask you for upfront. You also control the process (with LT Transfers handling the transfer process).

The timeshare exit business world is full of promises and a lot of empty wallets. Here is just one example - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...sumer-llc-timeshare-exit.279594/#post-2193563
 

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great advice given sofar....to make it even simpler the reported "MO" of the majority of these transfer/cancellation type companies is either:

1. your resort can be given away using a variety of methods that you yourself can do for far cheaper (links provided above), yet they will be happy to employ those methods for you for a staggeringly high fee. (thousand$, not hundred$) (I believe your resort falls into this category, we get a number of VV owners that list their timeshares for sale for free here, so yes any transfer company would be happy to help you out and likely be successful, while charging you a significantly larger amount of money than you would spend doing it yourself and no risk of them leaving you high and dry)

2. you own at a resort that actually has an official deedback /surrender program. these owners are a perfect target as they know full well they can "help" those owners. Charging a hefty upfront fee to simply contact the resort to initiate the deedback/surrender.

3. your resort doesnt fall into category 1 or 2 and you will either encounter

a. they will inform you that they cant actually help you (unlikely)

or

b. you will enter into their "program" where they will amazingly string you along for months (till you are well outside the period allowing you to dispute any credit card charges) with their "cancellation process" responding to all requests by you informing you that they are "still trying" or "still working on your behalf" meanwhile you have no recourse to get a refund etc.

or

c. Weve had reports of many of these firms suggest to owners to flat out default on their payments in efforts to force the hand of the resorts that DONT have official deedback programs to willingly take back their ownership vs having to foreclose.


these instances above cover just about every reported instance of a cancellation company/transfer company/legal assistance firm/etc etc and explains why some folks feel they are actually successful in doing what they claim!

hopefully you will make an informed decision after you collect all the facts.
 
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RX8

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McDowell says on the website that he was formerly with the VO Group so he does acknowledge that fact

What? What I see at the website does not acknowledge he worked for VO Group.

“Just before forming the Wesley Financial Group, LLC, Chuck was the Vice President of operations at the second timeshare advocacy firm for which he worked.”
 

tschwa2

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McDowell says on the website that he was formerly with the VO Group so he does acknowledge that fact but he has been in his own business now for six years and I checked the BBB in Nashville, TN myself and their are 51 very positive reviews from former clients on the site and only three negative and those are with regard to phone calls not being returned. I also checked to see how the BBB arrives at their rating (Wesley's is A+) and it is explained in detail - how many complaints, how many of those were resolved, and about 10 other points are checked before the company is given a rating based on accumulated points. I'm giving him the benefit of doubt for now but doesn't seem like a scam at this point to me.
So its been 4 months. How much did they charge and are you off the deed and in the clear with your resort?
 

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So its been 4 months. How much did they charge and are you off the deed and in the clear with your resort?

I think it was a shill post. The OP had an excuse for every concern raised.
 

tschwa2

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You know what. I have an acquaintance and just like you can't talk some people down from buying from the developer even though you know it is a terrible decision for them, I think there are just people that you can't talk down from engaging these companies and even if they pay $4000-$6000 and you tell them that they could get out for much less they do it anyway. I even sent my friend a link to the resorts exit info. She countered that she brought that up at the presentation last month and the salesperson told her that she had to purchase $10,000 more to be eligible for that program. I tried to tell her that she has to contact the specific office not ask someone in sales and she said she didn't have time to hold for an hour when she knew there was no way to get out of it through the resort. Yet she was able to call and set up an in person "consultation" with Wesley. I would think this person is a shill if I didn't know her. She will not listen to logic and is so caught up in their 100% guarantee.
 

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I think your acquaintance is a good example as to why both developers and scammers have many, many people willing to pay thousands of dollars for something that has little true value.
 

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We did not sign up with Wesley. As you had predicted, they wanted about $3500 up front to begin the process. That's the equivalent of about 4 years of MF! Still have the time share. Gonna list it ourselves as recommended.
 

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They have many commercials on satellite radio which I imagine has more clientele that is richer and travels by car. One of their commercials refers to their company as a “Timeshare Ministry.” Are they a 501c3 organization that performs a ministry now?
 

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@LadyBee43 You made a good decision. You owe it to yourself to try to list and sell it yourself as a first step. There is a Florida state senate proceeding that included a panel with a rep from Wesley. IMO...the Wesley rep sounded sleezy. (ps you have to fast forward to 1 hour 44 min into the video to get to the beginning of the timeshare bill discussion,) (HT to TugBrian for this link)

https://thefloridachannel.org/videos/3-12-19-house-business-and-professions-subcommittee/

I would pay a real estate agent a commission upon sale before I would consider Wesley. An agent would charge about $1500 which is less than half the $3500 and only upon the sale of the unit.
 
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CalGalTraveler

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Also check out this link from ARDA who claims they can help:

https://responsibleexit.com/

ARDA in the Florida State proceeding claims that there is a "Dissolution Policy" in the HOA docs of every major developer and some have "Hardship Policies." so those who wish to exit can pursue this avenue. You can ask your timeshare HOA for this policy. He (and the Wyndham rep) acted mystified that an exit industry would even need to exist because they said that developers would gladly take back a fully paid off unit!

Please report back about your experience with ARDA if you contact them. (Let's see if ARDA is moving their lips like a sales rep or whether there is beef here.)
 
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RX8

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@LadyBee43 You made a good decision. You owe it to yourself to try to list and sell it yourself as a first step. There is a Florida state senate proceeding that included a panel with a rep from Wesley. The Wesley rep sounded very sleezy.

I would pay a real estate agent a commission upon sale before I would consider Wesley. An agent would charge about $1500 which is less than half the $3500 and only upon the sale of the unit.

Agree that she made a good choice. However, she hasn’t been back to TUG since she posted she wasn’t going to use Wesley’s services. Maybe getting out of the timeshare wasn’t urgently needed because she never posted the timeshare for sale in the bargain forum.
 

LadyBee43

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Also check out this link from ARDA who claims they can help:

https://responsibleexit.com/

ARDA in the Florida State proceeding claims that there is a "Dissolution Policy" in the HOA docs of every major developer and some have "Hardship Policies." so those who wish to exit can pursue this avenue. You can ask your timeshare HOA for this policy. He (and the Wyndham rep) acted mystified that an exit industry would even need to exist because they said that developers would gladly take back a fully paid off unit!

Please report back about your experience with ARDA if you contact them. (Let's see if ARDA is moving their lips like a sales rep or whether there is beef here.)
Sorry to appear ignorant but what is the ARDA? I will follw the link, maybe that's all I need.
 
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