In an ongoing dispute between Diamond Resorts and a timeshare exit company, a judge in the United States has ruled in favour of Diamond. The exit company, named as Reed Hein, asked the court to dismiss Diamond’s lawsuit, which claimed the firm were falsely advertising services, tortious interference, and unfair trading practices. Diamond says the company were also misleading customers into believing they could stop paying their maintenance fees, stop paying their timeshare loans and charging customers thousands of dollars for so-called legal advice.
In their complaint Diamond say the company misled customers into thinking they were dealing with actual qualified lawyers and claimed to be a licensed attorney. They claimed to provide a ‘legal solution’ to cancelling timeshare contracts which was a deception as all they did was take fees from customers, sometimes in the tens of thousands, and instructed timeshare owners to cease making any payments to Diamond Resorts. In some of the cases owners were forced into foreclosure on their timeshares and defaulted on loans which resulted in poor credit rating. After hearing from both parties, the judge has ruled that Diamond can continue with its legal action against Reed Hein and the case will continue in the courts.
Following the announcement CEO of Diamond Resorts, Mike Flaskey said: “We’re unfortunately seeing a significant rise in the number of exit company scams that are preying on timeshare owners. Our top priority is protecting our members from unscrupulous companies who try to take advantage of them.” They also issued a statement stating that the attorney’s general office is also warning of scam companies and if any of their owners had been affected or lost money to a timeshare scam then to contact them immediately to report it to officials who can then pursue these fraudulent scammers for prosecution.
Timeshare industry has created a breeding ground for scams.
Unfortunately, despite what timeshare resorts will tell you, there are far too many unhappy timeshare owners who regret ever having attended a sales presentation and persuaded into purchasing one. That is not to say that there are zero happy timeshare owners, of course there are many. However, the timeshare industry relies on hard selling tactics because they are not easy to sell, they are not good value for money, owners are forced to pay rising maintenance fees and they are constantly subjected to upselling every time they visit their timeshare.
The majority of timeshare owners claim they never would have made the purchase if they knew exactly what it entailed. However, getting out of a timeshare contract is nearly impossible as resorts are desperate to hang on to their members and the annual maintenance fees, they charge them. The reluctance of timeshare resorts to provide viable exit strategies to their clients, has made it easy for fraudulent companies and individuals to operate and take advantage of desperate owners.
People who enter into Timeshare agreements often find it difficult to keep up with the mounting maintenance fees and simply cannot afford it any longer. They may also find that the Timeshare no longer suits their needs and simply want to end the contract. There are too many individuals who are willing to take advantage of Timeshare owners and offer fake products, along with Timeshare exit schemes. Before agreeing to any Timeshare termination or exit procedure with an individual or company, seek independent advice and fully research any company you are thinking of working with.
