To begin with, it is pretty much worthless naming and shaming the scam artists that are continuing these pervasive scams, simply because as soon as they get any damaging press they are shutting down and reopening with a new identity, even operating from different offices. For that purpose, I have simply given a general overview of the way each scam works: 1) A company will contact you (by telephone) asking if you wish to sell your timeshare. They often typically state that they have somebody who wants to pay thousands for your timeshare. The fact is that after a lot of smooth talking you have to pay them in general anything from £300-£1,000 (US$500 or more) up-front. They may even persist that you are covered against fraud by paying with your credit card, so this is a very popular scam, which numerous timeshare owners fall for. In actuality you will not pick up payment for your timeshare as there is no waiting buyer and your credit card payment will be paying for a vague thing such as 'promotion services' which is non-refundable. At some stage your waiting 'buyer' will strangely pull out of the contract but not before your payment has been taken. 2) This is a telephone call intended to generate a friendship with you. They often notify you that RCI have a court case in the USA that may entitle you to compensation of up to £15,000 (US$25,000) as an RCI member. They may possibly refer you to a website that provides you with an overview. The plan is to get you to go to a face to face meeting. They will invite you to meet with them to complete a evaluation on the subject of your transactions with RCI and then to establish what you coud be entitled too. The bottom line is that you will be asked to part with cash to join a new superb "Holiday Club" where they maintain you will be able to get into timeshare accommodation from £99 with no problems with availability. They also say that you will be able to take as many as you like with the cheapest flights around and perhaps reduced price cruises. They will tell you whatever you need to hear in order to get your payment. 3) Another telephone call with another tact to put you at ease. This time they hurriedly point out they don't want any money up front. However they have a genuine purchaser who wishes to purchase your timeshare for x amount. They will receive their commission from this. They will point out that they are in your locale and only request that you bring down with you your deed and a utility bill as evidence of ownership. You turn up to a room with further timeshare owners discover that it's a talk on a holiday club. They will trade in your week worth x amount against theirs which is clearly worth more. 4) This telephone call is to tell you that your resort will not permit you to just hand back your week if you no longer wish to use your timeshare and that they will send out the debt collectors to make certain maintenance payments are made. They may also convince you that even following your death your timeshare will pass on to your next of kin as part of your estate, so they will go in pursuit of them for maintenance payments too. They very helpfully will take over your timeshare usually if you pay up the next 10 years worth of maintenances to them. Holiday Clubs. These are best avoided. Their presentations revolve around the premise that you don't have to own timeshare but can access them for as little as £99. They are dressed up from time to time with two for one cruises and or heavily discounted flights. Again, whatever that needs to be promised to get the sale will be incorporated into their presentation. Most of these holidays clubs don't even exist apart from on paper (they do not own accommodation or have resources or systems in place to protect your investment). You will only ever see polished sales and marketing materials. Most of these holiday clubs have only very poor availability and only access a limited range of destinations. Their supply is purely 'fly-buy' accommodation, where resorts pay them to get individuals to attend timeshare presentations whilst staying at a particular resort. So the perpetrators of these scams get paid by you when you join AND by the resorts that you visit. The 'Cash Back' Scam goes on: this is where a company will dress up their offer with an opportunity to get your funds back following a certain period of time. Typically you are told that you will get your capital back after around four years with a generous interest payment too. They explain in order to receive this you have to present your cash-back certificate on a particular day. As most members 'forget' to do this or the documentation gets misplaced, this (they state) is how they can afford to offer a 'cash back'. They will tell you that they will not prompt you and it's up to you to remember and be there on the day. They will display various testimonials and legal bodies demonstrating that this is a authentic offer. They can be very believable but yet again, it's a total scam. TIPS IF you have been contacted once, you are more than likely to be on a register somewhere that will be accessed by other conmen , so expect lots of calls. Just inform them that your timeshare has been sold. That information will steadily filter down and you will get fewer calls. The conman will be constantly be looking at new ways to obtain your cash and convince you that they have something that will be of benefit to you. You will have heard the saying that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Check out offers by using a Google search and don't fail to remember to ask your regional trading standards agency for guidance, as they are regularly the first to hear about the latest scams.
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First of all, it is pretty much useless naming and shaming the companies that are continuing these pervasive scams, simply for the reason that as soon as they gather any damaging exposure they are closing down and reopening with a fresh name, even operating from fresh offices. For that reason, I have just given a general overview of the way in which each scam operates:
Article submitted by Bryan Farrow of sell my timeshare and timeshare advice free resources for timeshare owners
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