The Better Business Bureau Warns Timeshare Owners

Transfer Smart reports on an article that warns timeshare owners not to be duped when selling their timeshares. The Better Business Bureau is advising families not to totally trust a company until you have done your research and determined their legitimacy. Many fraudulent firms have realized how desperate struggling families are in trying to lose their timeshares and use that to their advantage. 

The president and Chief Executive of the BBB, Steve Bernas, commented, "While timeshare owners are looking to lessen a financial burden, many holiday makers are not buying. Unfortunately, some sneaky timeshare resellers are taking advantage by deceiving actual owners in hopes of selling their timeshare quickly." 

Understanding the necessity for steering, the BBB offers the general public some pointers on the best way to notice companies who can't be trusted. First, always check to see if the business is a BBB Accredited Business or at least has a good rating and tiny purchaser beefs. Second, ensure the company is approved and always confirm the location of the company. Thirdly, understand all of the expenses associated with the service and always be suspicious of firms who charge an front-loaded charge for those are the companies that usually vanish after they receive their cash. Lastly, never fall for an offer that sounds too fantastic to be accurate. Spend a little bit of time to assume the offer over and fully understand the terms. 

With these tips, the BBB hopes that timeshare owners are better equipped to know how corporations are able to convince someone into buying a non-existent service.

Hotel Upgrade

Transfer Smart reports on hotel upgrades. Many hotels have started to upgrade their technology within each room. These high-tech gadgets, such as the Moodpads, let travelers control the entire room with one tablet. The Moodpads allow users to change the room settings, book an appointment or even schedule a spa reservation with the push of a button. This lets travelers feel more relaxed and high class.

Here are some examples of hotels that have gone through innovations:

Citizen M, Amsterdam: In this hotel, each room is equipped with a Moodpad, which allows users to control music, change the lights and control room temperature.

Eccleston Square, London: Each room in this hotel comes with a 3-D TV and an iPad to book spa treatments and order room service.

Peninsula, Tokyo: This stylish Japanese hotel provides its guest with internet radio, automated espresso machines and digital panels that show the weather.

Aria Resort & Casino City Center, Las Vegas: This high-class establishment has placed in each room touchscreens that allow guests to control lighting, temperature, shades and TV as well as an electronic do-no-disturb sign.

Montage Deer Valley, Park City, Utah: At this upgraded ski resort, each room has TVs with Control 4 technology which allows guests to control the fireplace, temperature, lighting, privacy settings and energy-efficiency. 

Death is Not the End of a Timeshare

Timeshares have become a huge liability in the lives of many. What a lot of people don’t understand is that a timeshare contract is a perpetual agreement which means that it’s an agreement that lasts forever. This means that even after the timeshare owner passes away, it’ll get passed down to their heirs because timeshares are a type of real-estate.

One unfortunate woman, Mary Gronlund, started receiving bills and collection letters from the resort that her dead son’s timeshare was. When she contacted the resort, KIRO 7, they informed her that death doesn’t mean the end of a timeshare. Gronlund followed the instructions given to her by WorldMark to end her son’s timeshare bills and membership but that was easier said than done. Gronlund’s son David had died unexpectedly at the age of 53, as instructed by WorldMark she sent her son’s death certificate in order to end his membership.

However, a couple of months after David’s death, Gronlund started receiving letters of past due payments. Within weeks there were even more letters and phone calls asking for payments on past due charges. What Gronlund realized was that once you purchase a timeshare you can never quit.

Doug Wheeler, a Seattle lawyer, commented “If you bought a perpetual timeshare, it’s like owning a piece of real estate. It is, in fact, a piece of real estate. It will pass down through your family until someone sells it or it’s repossessed or whatever. That is something I think a lot of people don’t appreciate when they buy it.”

A WorldMark spokesperson confirmed to KIRO 7 that “if a member dies, the membership goes to a spouse. If the owner is single, it transfers to heirs. If there's no surviving spouse or heirs, the executor will receive notice of the balance due. But if the balance is not paid, ‘the contract will be canceled when a death certificate is received’."

However, this was not the case with David Gronlund. The company did not stop sending bills and letters until they were contacted by KIRO 7. In response to the issue they stated that it was a ‘system error’ and offered an apology to Mary for the trouble as well as a free three night stay.

To those who are looking for a way out of their timeshare, contact Transfer Smart today.

Faulty Timeshare Resale Company Steals Identities in Minnesota

These aren't the only wolves in Minnesota.

A legitimate party planning company in Minnesota has had its good name and website taken over by timeshare resale con artists recently. Events Etc was a completely legitimated company started in 1992 and dissolved in 2011. Months after they went out of business, their name was bought by a group out of Europe who then used their (at the time) good standing with the BBB to get timeshare owners in Mexico to try to resale their timeshares through them. In classic scam fashion, there were no buyers for the timeshares and the money taken in was kept by this group.

The Better Business Bureau was alerted to this company’s shameful procedures soon after they bought the Events Etc name. As always, whenever you want to sell your timeshare, get something in writing like Transfer Smart provides. Never pay anything unless you can get something in writing. Checking the BBB page of a company is always a good idea. This case was an aberration, one where a legitimate company’s name and address were bought and then used for a fraudulent purpose, putting it in a rare category. Usually timeshare companies have no listing on the BBB.