“When we contracted the services of Timeshare Advocacy International, we were naturally wary. After all, we felt that we had just been taken advantage of when we committed to purchasing a timeshare in Hawaii.

It was embarrassing to admit that two reasonably bright, educated people could succumb to the slick marketing prepared by the beautiful resort we had visited. Signing another contract with TAI, a company we found through an internet search, was truly frightening, but we knew we wouldn’t be able to negotiate the cancellation of our timeshare without help.

Fred Baker was very knowledgeable and sincere, which convinced us that TAI was truly on our side. It took many months of correspondence with the timeshare company and the intervention of numerous agencies to finally bring about the cancellation of our contract.

The process was prolonged and difficult, requiring a real determination not to give up.

When it seemed we had hit a dead-end, Don O’Keefe took our case to TAI’s lawyer, who was able to negotiate the cancellation of our contract AND the refund of our deposit.

This is not a process for the faint of heart!

It was time-consuming and frustrating, but without TAI, it would have been almost impossible. Because TAI had had previous dealings with our timeshare company, they knew who to talk to. They were also acquainted with the consumer agencies and government offices that we would need on our side, making our case far more credible and worrisome to those we were ‘doing battle’ with.

Timeshare Advocacy International did everything they promised to do. The testimonials we read promoting their services were true, and we are grateful that we are one of their success stories.

Incidentally, there are negative reviews on the web as well. We also read those before signing a contract with TAI, and we wondered who we should believe.

We chose to believe TAI’s claims, and we’re very glad we did.” 

For more information on how we can help call 877.350.7899

Here are some clues that you might be dealing with scammers, and some of the scams they will try to pull to convince you to purchase a timeshare:

— Be wary if the incentive you have promised for attending (whether you purchase the timeshare or not) seems too good to be true.

If they are saying you will get a car or boat, use common sense. Will it really be cost effective for the company to do that for the hundreds in attendance? Scammers will require a delivery fee be paid upfront for the prize to be sent to the attendees’ home. These fees can range from between $50 – $100 which has the potential to add a lot of green to the scammer’s pockets several hundred are in attendance.

There have been reports of a sick twist to these incentive scams. A car or boat was promised, a large delivery was paid, and then two weeks later a cheap toy car or boat arrives on the victim’s doorstep. Legitimate companies will offer prizes and incentives for attendance, but these are normally more along the lines of a free or discounted hotel stays, phones, digital cameras and the like. Never give cash money or a check upfront for a prize delivery fee.

— Avoid the high pressure sales tactics.

Buying a timeshare is a major purchase, and any legitimate company is going to encourage a purchaser to have the contracts looked over by an attorney before signing. You should never sign on the day of the presentation. The company should be researched first. The property itself should also be researched first. If a salesperson is pushing you into signing before you walk out the door, chances are they know the more time you are give to think about or look into the offer the more likely you are to pass. The Better Business Bureau is a good starting point for researching the parent company offering the timeshare, the link is provided at the end of the article.

— Many of the shadier salespeople will tap dance around the maintenance fees. These can add up significantly. Many salespeople will tell potential buyers their maintenance fees can be offset by providing referrals to the company of other interested buyers or that if they pay with MasterCard they can earn dollar awards that can be applied to their maintenance fees.

— Also beware of salespeople who use tax incentives by saying a timeshare can be considered a second home and written off on next year’s taxes. This is simply not true and most likely the salesperson is fully aware of the fact.

— One reason to have an attorney examine your timeshare contract is that many scammers make their money off of selling the exact same timeshare to multiple buyers. The victim arrives at the property, possibly after a flight or long road trip, only to find another family already ensconced there. When the company is called, they claim there was a scheduling issue. In fact, there is the exact same scheduling issue every week. The contract should be very specific about the time allotted, if not agreed upon upfront than clear on the way it scheduled, and that the time sold to the purchaser is theirs alone.

— Salespeople who tell you that if you are unsatisfied then you can just easily sell it aren’t being honest. Timeshares are not a financial investment and are quite difficult to get rid of these days. A quick visit to the websites eBay or Craigslist will quickly confirm that there are plenty of interested sellers out there.

In the meantime, if you are dead-set on purchasing a timeshare remember to practice due diligence. Do the research, take your time before making a decision and never sign or pay if you feel like you’re being bullied. Follow these common sense rules and your summer will be much brighter.

Summer is right around the corner and many will be looking for vacation destinations with the family. Whether a beach house or more rural setting is on the agenda, buying a timeshare in a property can be a cost-effective option for those who require a lot of space when they get away.

Timeshares are properties, often condos, which are shared for pre-determined amounts of time by multiple owners. The rules and regulations can vary. Some have determined times on the calendar while others employ point systems. Some are strictly for use of the property without ownership rights or responsibilities.

The complexity of the different types of timeshares is often used to the advantage of those looking to scam potential buyers.

Many timeshare are sold through presentations given to large groups. These sales pitches are often day-long affairs. Many companies, both legitimate and shady will offer incentives and prizes to encourage attendance. They might take place at the actual property, which makes it more valid, but normally these are destination vacation homes so they pitch at a country club or hotel meeting room near the attendees home town.

With the economy tanking, many are looking to sell their timeshares and finding it’s hard to get anything close to what was originally paid if they can even find a buyer. Scammers are looking to take advantage of those desperate to sell their timeshares and there are currently a number of scams being utilized. Check back with us next week for more information on avoiding these timeshare scams and what to look for.

In the meantime, if you are dead-set on purchasing a timeshare remember to practice due diligence. Do the research, take your time before making a decision and never sign or pay if you feel like you’re being bullied. Follow these common sense rules and your summer will be much brighter.

Pioneers in the Timeshare Cancellation Industry

Recently, Sean Austin owner of TAI was spotlighted on Selling Timeshare’s website as a leader in the timeshare industry for helping consumers with timeshare resale, timeshare cancellation and timeshare educational resources.

The following video was featured on Sean Austin.

Timeshare Advocacy International, LLC specializes in helping consumers who have been misrepresented in their timeshare purchase. It is not an easy task to cancel your timeshare contract. Now your timeshare cancellation (termination) fight is not something that you have to go through alone. Timeshare Advocacy International, LLC (615) 553-2672 1535 N. Mount Juliet Rd, Mount Juliet, TN 37122 www.timeshareaide.com

Jenny Newby of TAI is a Timeshare Advocate here to help with your Timeshare Cancellation

Timeshare cancellation can be difficult. Legally cancelling your timeshare is not always easy.

Discussing the information necessary to timeshare owners relevant to scandalous timeshare trading becomes difficult considering many of these owners simply don’t understand much about the very timeshares they’ve purchased. Once these people have purchased their timeshares, feelings of regret instantly set in simply because they don’t realize where their money has gone, if they even own a timeshare, or – even worse…

…they quite possibly just got scammed.

Humans are error prone in many different facets of life which does include financially. However, being confused and getting the wool pulled over your eyes in a timeshare deal gone awry are separated by one principle: Honesty.

Mainly, companies prey on the weak minded individuals or those with little experience with timeshares which, imminently, causes folks to lose money and faith in the timeshare systems altogether.

Now that bad news has been delivered in an honest manner, we enlighten you with the great news regarding a light at the end of tunnel of timeshare troubles to assist you in severing the ties with your disreputable timeshare ownership once and for all.

Timeshare Advocacy International (TAI) has arrived with opportune advice. Take it and consider yourself informed.

“Wait, do you mean to tell me that I can receive excellent tips, advice, and understand the ups and downs of timeshare ownership while learning how I can end my current timeshare relationship?”

Absolutely, my friends and fellow timeshare owners. TAI gives hope to those who’ve been scammed out of thousands of dollars in an awful timeshare deal while educating the masses on how to end the relationship all together. Here is a common example of what we deal with frequently:

You and the family have planned a much needed vacation; however, upon arriving to check into your rooms, you find yourself at the butt end of a timeshare demonstration offer that promises prizes and discounts to attendees of a 90-minute presentation.

In fact, the resort you chose to stay at seems to be willing to offer nearly anything to attend this seminar – a telltale sign that something is about to be pushed onto your credit card.

If you’re not privy to timeshares, this is right about the point during your vacation where you become bait. A hapless individual at the mercy of a man or woman that will promise you the world during their segment.

NOTE: Should you attend this seminar about timeshare ownership, stay the 90 minutes or even a few minutes shy of that just to receive your goodies; those who actually stay longer are prone to being scammed more than anyone else.

Timeshare Advocacy International specializes in helping timeshare clients that have been mislead and/or have been victims of timeshare fraud. TAI is considered to be gurus of the timeshare industry and we are here to help. The best way to ensure that you do not become a victim of timeshare fraud is to know your rights and understand the industry.

While we are here to help you post-timeshare purchase, sometimes the best way to help is to offer prevention of timeshare fraud by offering information, tips, and general knowledge about the timeshare industry.

To do this we want to share with you information that will guide you on your path throughout the timeshare industry. We will be adding to this guide over time keeping you updated on the latest news and trends in the timeshare industry.

First you need to understand that timeshare programs are not all the same. While all timeshare programs provide the owner a right to occupy a facility for a given period, there are many difference in how this is done.

In a fixed week system, your time is for the same week and usually the same unit every year. For example, if your timeshare agreement were for week 22 in Unit 223, you would have a guaranteed spot in Unit 223 for the 22nd week of the year. You should be aware that some weeks are more popular than others; this is usually reflected in the purchase price difference from unit to unit.

In a floating week system, you have the right to use the unit during a specific time, but you must contact the resort to reserve a specific week during the “floating” season. Floating is useful if you don’t wat you usage restricted to a specific week every year. With flexibility comes timeliness. Since all other owners share the same float period, they can reserve any time during that period. If you delay making a reservation you might find that all of the units have been filled in the times that you want to reserve. Then you may have to accept a week you may not want, or you may not get to use your time that year.

Timeshares set their own policies as to how far in advance their owners can reserve their floating use. This lead-time can be as little as eight months or as much as two years prior to the check-in-date. Many even require advance payment for maintenance fees to reserve the week.

A few timeshares use the rotating week system. In this program, your week of use changes from year to year on a fixed schedule. For example, with a four year rotating schedule, in Year 1 your use might be for week 6, in Year 2 your use would be week 12, Year 3 would be 24 weeks, Year 4 would be 48 weeks. In Year 5, the cycle would start over again with week 6. Rotating weeks allow all owners the opportunity to use the resort during the most popular periods.

Although the property is usually a residential project such as a condominium, developers have applied the timesharing concept to other types of properties, such as houseboats, campgrounds, and recreational vehicle parks. Virtually all timeshares are resort or vacation properties.

To set up the timeshare, the developer “divides” occupancy of each of the units into time-based intervals. The developer then sells these intervals to buyers, so each owner of an interval receives the right to use a specific unit for a specific time period corresponding to the interval they purchased. Each timeshare owner thus “shares” the usage of the property along with all of the other owners. Through this shared usage, the owners have guaranteed accommodations in the property, without carrying the financial and property management burdens associated with a conventional ownership of such a property.

Timeshare intervals are normally one week long; a few timeshare projects, however, use other ownership fractions, such as one-tenth or one-quarter ownerships. Since almost all timeshare projects are based on one-week intervals, the words “week” or “timeshare week” are generally used in the timesharing community to mean a one-week timeshare interval. In keeping with this convention, through the rest of this course I usually refer to timeshare intervals as “timeshare weeks” or “weeks”.

In addition to the purchase price, timeshare owners also pay an annual fee for property upkeep and management. Most timeshare projects also reserve one or two one weeks usage of each unit for maintenance and repairs.

Historically, many timeshare developers have used high-pressure and deceptive sales tactics, with misleading and inaccurate portrayals of what buyers could expect from their timeshare ownership. The timeshare industry has also had its share of unethical and dishonest resort developers and operators. Consequently, timesharing has a bad reputation with many people. Although the timeshare industry has improved its sales presentations, consumer awareness and education is still essential for owners to avoid being misled and to obtain the most value from their timeshare purchases. This article is one effort in that process.

The following is another awesome testimony for Stacey.
Stacey Allen has been professional and very instrumental in assisting me and my family in being released from a Time Share that was sold under false promises and misinformation. She assisted me in getting my trust and faith back in the honesty of business. Stacey was able to provide advice when posed with questions regarding the communications from the Time Share company and the timely processing of paperwork to meet legal requirements.

Time Share Advocacy International is privileged to have such a great person in their employment, and as a customer I had the pleasure of working with a knowledgeable and understanding representative.

Sincerely,
Tina L.

We like to share our letters from clients so that people can see that there are companies out there that know your timeshare rights and are ready to make sure you are treated right.

If you think that you have been a victim of timeshare fraud contact us today at 877.350.7899. We can help!

When we have called these companies they claim to be using TAI’s processes and services.

The facts are that these are no more than rip off artists who have no process to help timeshare owners at all. They are only wanting one thing, your money. If that wasn’t the case, these companies would not claim to be able to help you and give you a cost in a five minute phone call. For legit companies that is impossible.

TAI will never state the cost without understanding your circumstances fully. How can you go to a doctor’s office and get a diagnosis without first telling the doctor all of your symptoms.

Here are the companies that TAI believes fit into this category:

1. Timeshare Advocate – this company has stolen TAI’s business model and their cancellation process has been proven not to work. Additionally, they have been caught lying to timeshare owners.

2. Timeshare-Answers.com – Another company that met with me and my partner personally and used proprietary information because their resale company was being squeezed by some Florida agencies. They are believed to be doing business with one David Humphrey who was the owner and operator of The Owner’s Advocate who have since gone bankrupt and did not fulfill cancellations for their clients and did not refund their clients. Search “The Owners Advocate” on the BBB’s website.

3. Consumer Coalition – All they do is sell for other cancellation companies. I stopped taking their clients for failing to follow TAI’s guidelines.

4. Apex Professionals LLC, Direct Transfers, Safe Hands Transfers – This company is believed to be providing cancellation service and simply having their owners go into foreclosure, ruining their client’s credit.

5. My Timeshare Attorney – This attorney was retained to review TAI’s process and all proprietary information and once the engagement was not renewed their website and service started two weeks later. Is that ethical?

More companies will be added shortly.