My Experience with a Timeshare and a Timeshare Exit Company
Another Veteran Foreclosed
September 11, 2018
Inside Timeshare has heard from 73 US veterans and active duty service members and law enforcement alleging unfair and deceptive timeshare business practices. Today is September 11, a day we remember the Twin Towers, a day that shook the world. Like George Yamada, our newest veteran contributor, first responders have suffered health effects as a result of their service for freedom.
Mr. Yamada explains today how he had invested over $100,000 in a timeshare, losing about $50,000, forced to default on the balance. As he illustrates, the amount of money lost to timeshare exit companies often pales in comparison to the amount lost buying a timeshare for the wrong reasons.
Inside Timeshare has received many complaints from members in the U.S. and the E. U. who feel they were scammed by an exit company promising their money back if they are not released from their timeshare, only to learn the promise fell short. Not all exit companies are a scam, but we consider any company not living up to their money back guarantee, to be in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission code, “Unfair and Deceptive Trade practices.”
Read the guarantee you sign off on carefully, three words like “or in process” can made a big difference. The guarantee from the timeshare exit company’s website:
All Paid in Full Timeshare Cancellations are Guaranteed to be Transferred or In Process within ONE YEAR or Your Money Back!*
* All Paid in Full timeshares are guaranteed to be transferred or in process within the one year after you, the client, give us your file documents, or you will receive your money back.
Although George’s timeshare was not paid in full, he is adamant the company provided him this guarantee, even with his outstanding loan. Furthermore, the timeshare company issued George a notice of default. A default is not a transfer.
By George Yamada
September 11, 2018
My wife Dawn and I are engaged in a battle we never expected. I am 71 years old, a Vietnam Army veteran, 70% disabled from Agent Orange. Veterans exposed to Agent Orange experience diabetes, kidney disease and other health risks. https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/conditions/index.asp
I administer pension plans. I can’t imagine any company in our portfolio treating their clients the way my wife and I have been treated.
We purchased 41,500 Diamond US Collection points for over $100,000 as an investment. After learning the points are virtually worthless, I contacted a timeshare exit company December 2017 and paid them $6,000 to get out of the contract. The estimated turnaround time was expected to be four to six months. In April of 2018 I was told Diamond is overloaded with members wanting to get out of contracts, so it could take a year.
Summary of my purchases
In 2015 at Ka’anapali we bought a trial package for $1.93 per point.
In 2016 in Florida we purchased 6,500 points for $19,055 or $2.93 per points.
The third purchase was August 2017 by phone from Washington State. A lady called and said they could offer me a great deal. She said Diamond points are an investment for the future. They sold us on the discounted value compared to the current price. She said they could not offer the price we paid before because the price per point had gone up. Having bought at $1.93, this sounded like an excellent investment. We purchased 8,500 points for $28,560 or $3.36 per point.
The fourth purchase was October 10, 2017. We met Juaquin B in Florida. Juaquin wrote $3.49 on a sheet of paper and then showed us the current price at $9 per point. He would not give us the paper. He said that the points we had purchased had gone up so we could not purchase at the previous price. Juaquin told us this is the best investment we could buy because of Apollo. Apollo Global Management had acquired Diamond Resorts. As a pension administrator, I knew Apollo was a venture capital company. Juaquin said the more points we bought, the better our value. The sales presentation lasted six hours, and I am diabetic.
We purchased 20,000 points totaling 41,500 points for $58,000 or $2.90 per point.
Juaquin said our two prior loans would be consolidated so the new monthly payment would be $774. This didn’t happen. We ended up with payments of $500 a month plus $700 a month so over $1200 a month which is impossible for us.
The maintenance fees for the points purchased Juaquin wrote down as $3,300, but since the loan was not consolidated, the maintenance fees were about $8,700. This was a sizeable percentage of our net income. After our expenses we were left with only $1400 per month for food and all other living expenses.
When I tried to contact Juaquin, he said he was extremely busy but would contact us. I called and texted him about 12 to 15 times with no response. When he finally contacted me, he told me to send my hotel and rental car bills to him and he would reimburse us. I have the email from when I sent him the bills. Juaquin had previously explained that I could use points just like money. He said my points are worth $3 per point. Juaquin said, “You could buy a gallon of milk with your points.” I never heard from him after forwarding him our bills.
Joaquin told us repeatedly we could sell Diamond points back to Diamond. When I called Joaquin to ask how to redeem points, he said he would walk me through the process, but would have to get back to me. I did not hear back, so I called Diamond financial services November 2017. I said I would sell points back to them for what I had paid. They said Diamond does not buy back points. At my age, I would have never purchased $58,000 worth of additional vacation points if I knew there were so few buyers. We had only used the timeshare a couple of times. I disputed this transaction with my credit card companies. I had not qualified for their Barclaycard. Both cards gave us our money back.
The company said in a press release that they promise transparency and accountability. They boast of a PROMISE that memorializes a series of operational procedures and enhancements in a single document. From their press release:
Transparency
- We will provide clear, concise and consistent information at our presentations so that you can easily decide whether committing to vacation is the right decision for you and your family.
- We seek to articulate the benefits of membership so you understand:
- How to use your points for other travel arrangements, such as airfare, or (for our Platinum members only) how to apply them to maintenance fees.
It has now been well over a year since I signed with the timeshare exit company. I reached out to Inside Timeshare May of 2018. After explaining that I bought the points as an investment, I was advised to file a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission, because timeshare points are not a security and should not be sold as an investment. Considering my background as a pension administrator, I should know if what had been described to me sounded like an investment.
I filed a complaint with the SEC June 3, 2018. Shortly after, I received a response from a SEC attorney. I contacted the timeshare exit company on July 18, 2018. The attorney I spoke with told me that they had received a Notice of Default-Revocation of Note dated June 13, 2018. It had been addressed to me but sent to the timeshare exit company. I asked the attorney why I had not been notified or sent a copy of the letter! He had no explanation. I asked for a refund or partial refund and of course the answer was no. I asked him why. He told me it was because Diamond could come back to them for any reason. Their guarantee was for a transfer, not a default!
You don’t have to pay anyone to get defaulted!
EVENTUALLY, SOME LAWMAKER OR REGULATOR HAS TO WAKE UP TO THE HARM TIMESHARE IS DOING TO FAMLIES, SENIORS, and VETERANS.
Thank you to George Yamada for his service to America, for freedom and for sharing his experience. Contact Inside Timeshare if you have a timeshare experience to share. We publish all experiences, good or bad. The views expressed in member submitted articles are their description of their timeshare experience. The one true fact we know, is that the families contacting us often say that they are financially devastated by their decision to purchase a timeshare. Sold and bought for the right reasons, a timeshare can be of great benefit to a family.
Follow the link below for the article published in OpEdNews:
https://www.opednews.com/articles/Let-s-Honor-our-Veterans–by-Irene-Parker-Fraud-180908-59.html
The post The Tuesday Slot appeared first on Inside Timeshare.