Inside Timeshare has been publishing many articles from our friends across the “Great Lake”, only a couple of weeks ago we published the story of Irene and her husband Don being interviewed on the Property Man Show with Bob Massi. Since then the following has occurred, this does seem to be stirring up some controversy among owners on that side of the Atlantic.
FOX NEWS Bi Polar Timeshare Reporting
A treatise on propaganda and media spin
By Irene Parker
May 3, 2017
Okay FOX News – Which is it?
First we have Fox Celebrity Dave Ramsey telling us timeshare has a 98% dissatisfaction rate and that people should run as far away from the timeshare product as they can get.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stGj6hB2rTo
As Inside Timeshare previously reported, FOX celebrities Dave Ramsey and Laura Ingraham are paid to endorse timeshare transfer agents Property Man host Las Vegas Attorney Bob Massi warns timeshare owners to stay away from.
http://thetimesharecrusader.blogspot.com/2016/11/an-open-letter-to-dave-ramsey-and-laura.html
Next, we have FOX Property Man and our interview with Las Vegas attorney Bob Massi about Diamond Resorts that was pulled from replay immediately after it was aired. Worse, what was intended to be a warning to consumers that Diamond Resorts is the only major timeshare that cannot be listed with a member of the Licensed Timeshare Resale Broker Association, was turned into an advertisement for the timeshare developer’s lobby, ARDA.
In our interview and on Bob Massi’s prior interview with members of the Licensed Timeshare Resale Broker Association, Mr. Massi recommended timeshare members or owners contact a LTRBA member if they need to sell a timeshare. You can do that with any timeshare except Diamond Resorts due to restrictions Diamond has placed on the use of points purchased on the secondary market more onerous than any of Diamond’s competitors. The LTRBA members feel Diamond points are worthless on resale.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHCdcS2Ds-U
Our interview will no longer be aired but what will be broadcasted in perpetuity is Diamond CEO Michael Flaskey’s interview with Maria Bartiromo, aired one week later on FOX after our interview, explaining that Diamond Resorts will be taken to a new level.
https://twitter.com/thevacationdr?lang=en
Our timeshare Advocates are there for timeshare members or owners who feel they were sold by deceit, concealment or “bait and switch” as defined by the FBI as White Collar Crime. Lawmakers and regulatory agencies have, for the most part, turned their back on an industry virtually unregulated, as expressed by Diamond member Nancy Callahan, one of six Diamond platinum members complaining about the same Las Vegas sales center.
http://insidetimeshare.com/another-nightmare-timeshare-street/
Inside Timeshare has a number of upcoming articles submitted by new contributors, angry due to being held hostage by their vacation plan. Diamond’s contract states, “You can sell your shares, we just won’t assist you.” Anyone who has had any experience with real estate would take that to mean you can pick up the phone and talk to a licensed real estate agent. You can do that with any major timeshare but Diamond Resorts. As a former licensed stockbroker, I would have never signed a contract for a product that could not be sold through a licensed broker.
If you or anyone you know has a timeshare experience, good or bad, you would like to share, contract Inside Timeshare or one of our Advocacy Groups.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/
We seek to provide Diamond Resort members a way to proactively address membership concerns; to advocate for timeshare reform; to obtain greater disclosure from the company; to advocate for a viable secondary market; and to educate prospective buyers.
https://www.facebook.com/timeshareadvocategroup/
How sad that something that is supposed to be a means to rest and relaxation has turned into a battlefield between timeshare members and developers. My husband and I used and enjoyed or Maui Hill, Port Elsewhere and ILX timeshares for over 25 years without a question, comment or post until we learned we can’t sell our timeshare.
Mr. Massi tried. He really did. But he, like me, is on the losing end of a massive amount of power that will do anything to silence the voices of those who feel they have been victimized by unscrupulous timeshare sales agents.
After retiring from the stock brokerage business, I became a CASA Supervisor, Court Appointed Special Advocate on behalf of children in foster care. CASA is known as a voice for the voiceless. I would be voiceless too if I had accepted Diamond’s offer to refund our money. I would have been just another timeshare member silenced by a CNDA or Confidential Non-Disclosure Agreement.
We were offered our money back after signing a contract based on the availability of New York properties as our daughter lives in New York City, only to learn NYC properties are affiliated so never discounted. It would take approximately $10,000 in Diamond maintenance fee dollars to stay one week in the same hotel if booked online for approximately $2600. The same holds true for Great Wolf lodge, San Francisco and other big city destinations. Ours is one of four complaints forewarned to our Advocacy group about oversold availability. Having signed a perpetual contract, consumers fall victim to the oral representation clause, often described by timeshare attorney Mike Finn as a “License to Lie”. It must stop.
It would appear that Diamond are on the offensive, or are they just running a “damage limitation exercise”?
We leave it to you the readers to decide, your comment on either Inside Timeshare or the advocacy facebook pages are always welcome.
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