In the wake of COVID-19, a flood of timeshare owners have tried to cancel their reservations or even their contracts, citing travel bans and health fears that make them untenable.
Unfortunately the virus alone is not a strong enough reason to timeshare developers to let you off the hook. One would think the inability to travel, airlines having no fly zones, and most resort destinations ceasing any new bookings would cause not only a suspension in timeshare fees but possibly a breath of contract. The short answer is no.
Timeshare purchases are funded in two ways cash or credit. Cash being literally a debit from your checking account, and obtaining a personal loan through Equaint, Comenity, Barclays, your personal.credit card, or some third party lender. Credit being the in house mortgage which is not with a credit card company or the like. Remember even though you purchased the timeshare with your American Express it was still paid for in cash.
Purchasing a timeshare using any of the cash options typically leaves the timeshare owner responsible for maintenance fees and assessments. For any of the credit buyers a monthly mortgage paid directly to the timeshare company will be enforced for the next 120 months and yearly maintenance fees.
In the world of timeshare cancellation most if not all timeshare cancellation firms and law firms will only cancel the mortgage and the maintenance agreement. This leaves the cash buyer in a difficult position for the average timeshare cost around $21,000 according to ARDA (American Resort Development Association).
Its sad to say using a timeshare cancellation firm as a cash buyer you are about to loose a lot of money.
However, everything in this world is based on time, and timing is everything. Many timeshare owners believe they were taken advantage of or even scammed by all the lies they were fed before, during, and after the timeshare sale. Some of these lies are; the timeshare hold a value, it’s a tax incentive, they can be sold/rented for profit, and even the fees will decrease over time.
Some timeshare owners even received a deed and was told they have property ownership. What a gas!
All of these statements above and more are incorrect and are the entry level reasons to cancel a timeshare. The more in depth are truth in lending, data brwaxhes, improper credit reporting, elder law violation, and consumer rights violations.
As I said before timing is everything. Banks and credit card companies have to honor fraud disputes and charge back requests especially if fraud has been committed. Most timeshare transactions involving cash have a laundry list of fraud or consumer violations.
Over the years I have assisted thousands of timeshare owners in processing disputes to recover the money stolen from them under these false statements by the timeshare companies.
Unfortunately not every case is won under banking disputes and evidence is a huge player. So document everything. Send your demands and requests by mail, fax, and email to any and all the institutions involved with the timeshare purchase. This will increase your success rate by double.
My timeshare cancellation and exit management career I found most companies could care less about a timeshare owners credit and typically would state they do not offer credit services. Well I have been in credit and risk management my whole life starting as a young child in my family’s insurance consulting firm in Massachusetts.
Over the years I went from consulting, to sales, to risk assessments, private wealth management, and onto credit management. Yet I never was lead into the timeshare world.
I eventually moved to Florida and strolled into the Bahgdad of timeshares, Orlando. While engulfed in timeshare experience and directly seeing the advanced timeshare scams I found my calling.
This birthed my obsession to defend the hopeless and use my skills to maybe not save everyone but definitely help as many as I could.
I was started assisting in cancellations and law firms attempting to cancel. I became a director of a large cancellation firm with an attached law firm, and then eventually formed a credit and risk management firm with a specialty in timeshare accounts.
Trade Guardian was put on the map and as of today more than 1400 cleints have come to know our service.
Timing is everything. For now we are able to help cleints clear their credit reports of fraudulent transactions and assist them in recovery of cash purchases through means of disputing. We hold these companies accountable on Fair Credit Reporting (FCRA) and Fair Debt Collection Practices (FDCPA). We have a national network consumer protection and credit attorneys who assist us on any viable case with the clients best interest at heart.
We have now started to even the playing field for some timeshare owners call their resorts professional criminals and most legal groups would scuff as the the idea of going after a timeshare company.
I have proven results and I can deliver change in my clients situation for the better. We have not opened our doors to the public directly for some of services and a majority of our clients are referral based.
This virus may not be a good enough reason to cancel your timeshare but if you felt taken advantage of or even scammed we can uncover the real reason and assist in the strategy for exit success.