The State of Washington Department of Financial Institutions has issues a consumer scam alert warning about timeshare escrow scams involving two "companies" working in tandem called Ultimate Vacation Network and Premier Escrow Services.

Ultimate Vacation Network will contact timeshare owners with a very high offer to sell or rent their timeshare. The consumer is told that there is no upfront fee, but that a commission will be charged at closing. At this point, Premier Escrow Services is introduced as the escrow and closing company.

It's important for consumers to know that Washington State law requires that “any person [engaging] in business as an escrow agent by performing escrows or any functions of the escrow agent” must be licensed by the Department. RCW 18.44.02.

Consumers are then "required" to pay various fees to the closing agent, but the promised closing and seller funds never occur.  Consumers who question why the funds cannot be taken from the proceeds at closing are often told that it is "against the law" to do so. This is not true.. A timeshare closing process is very similar to a residential closing, in that any seller fees or charges would simply be deducted from the seller proceeds.

Read the Scam alert from the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions HERE.

The State of Washington Department of Financial Institutions has issues a consumer scam alert warning about timeshare escrow scams involving two "companies" working in tandem called Vacation Solutions Network and Diamond Escrow Services.

Vacation Solutions Network will contact timeshare owners with a very high offer to sell or rent their timeshare. The consumer is told that there is no upfront fee, but that a commission will be charged at closing. At this point, Diamond Escrow Services is introduced as the escrow and closing company.

It's important for consumers to know that Washington State law requires that “any person [engaging] in business as an escrow agent by performing escrows or any functions of the escrow agent” must be licensed by the Department. RCW 18.44.02.

Consumers are then "required" to pay various fees to the closing agent, but the promised closing and seller funds never occur.  Consumers who question why the funds cannot be taken from the proceeds at closing are often told that it is "against the law" to do so. This is not true.. A timeshare closing process is very similar to a residential closing, in that any seller fees or charges would simply be deducted from the seller proceeds.

Read the Scam alert from the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions HERE.

International Event Coordinators has been reported as a timeshare scam by the State of Washington Department of Financial Institutions. This "company" calls timeshare owners with offers to rent or sell their Mexican timeshare at a very high price. The consumers report that the representative has very detailed information about their timeshare, and that the representative claims to need condominiums to provide large corporations with venues for events and conventions. International Event Coordinators indicates that it will charge a commission of 5% on the transaction, but only once the consumer has been paid for the timeshare rental.

At this point, Resort Escrow Exchange is presented as the company that will provide the escrow services for the transaction. According to consumer reports, Resort Escrow Exchange representatives (commonly “Terry McFarland”) indicate that Resort Escrow Exchange doesn’t have to be licensed to perform escrow services because “it does business internationally.” This statement is incorrect: Washington State law requires that “any person [engaging] in business as an escrow agent by performing escrows or any functions of the escrow agent” must be licensed by the Department. RCW 18.44.021

At this point, the  timeshare owner is told that a “title search fee” of approximately $1,000 is due, which Resort Escrow Exchange claims is required by the Mexican government. Following the consumer’s payment of this “fee”, further problems blamed on the “Mexican government” occur, requiring payment of more fees. If the consumer resists, International Event Coordinators offers to pay a portion of the fee “owed” to the “Mexican government,” or indicates that it will be split between the “seller” (the consumer) and the “buying party”, which is usually presented as a large, multi-national corporation. In some instances, consumers report sending many thousands of dollars via international bank wire or credit card draft. One consumer was able to stop an attempted credit card withdrawal for over $30,000 by alerting his credit card company in a timely manner. The money from the consumers is typically sent to a bank in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Some consumers have reported that, once they express concern about the out-of-pocket fees which they are paying, they receive an assurance from Terry McFarland that “no further fees will be charged to this account.” Resort Escrow Exchange and International Event Coordinators also assure the consumer that their final payout is just days away, but may note that the Mexican authorities are waiting for some last administrative hurdle. One consumer received a letter from Resort Escrow Exchange that had been “notarized”; this letter confirmed that the payout would be within 10 days of the “final” wire transfer date. The final payout is not received by the consumer.

At some point, the consumer becomes unable to directly contact International Event Coordinators or Resort Escrow Exchange regarding the disbursement of funds due them under the contract. DFI has received no verified reports of consumers actually receiving a payout from International Event Coordinators or Resort Escrow Exchange.

The Better Business Bureau of Eastern Washington, North Idaho and Montana issued a BBB Alert regarding International Event Coordinators and Resort Escrow Exchange. This alert documents the BBB’s efforts to determine the veracity of any information presented by International Event Coordinators and Resort Escrow Exchange. The BBB reports that neither business is, or ever has been, located at the address is gives as its business address. The BBB alert also discusses the mechanics of this apparent scam in great detail.

The full warning from DFI can be read HERE.
The BBB alert can be read HERE.

The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) regulates and examines a variety of state chartered financial services. The Department also provides education and outreach services to protect consumers from financial fraud.If you have been the victim of fraud involving an escrowed transaction that involves the state of Washington, report the crime HERE.

The next five posts will be scam warnings that have been issues by DFI involving fake escrow companies that work in tandem with a tim

I was contacted by a respected closing company with a warning about another version of the Mexican tax scheme allegedly being conducted by a company calling itself Dallas Resale Group. Whether this is the same scammers reported earlier using the Austin Resale Brokers name, or just a copycat attempt at a timeshare scam is not clear at this time.

The scammers reportedly cold call timeshare owners who own timeshare resorts in Mexico, and present the seller with a purchase offer that is supposed to not require any type of upfront fee. Contracts are sent to the seller that appear to be very legitimate, other than the drastically inflated sale price being promised. However, when the "closing agent" gets involved- the hidden upfront fee is demanded!

The seller is called and told that a new "tax" is now required for all Mexican timeshare sales that must be paid prior to closing. The seller is told that this "tax" cannot be taken from their sale proceeds, but instead they must wire the payment immediately or their sale will be canceled. If the seller sends in the fee- they never hear from the "closing agent" again and of course, never see a dime of the supposed sales price they were promised!

If you own a timeshare property in Mexico and receive an offer to sell your timeshare, always take the time to properly research the closing costs and closing process so that you are protected from scams such as this. You can simply call your resort's owner services department and ask them to provide you with instructions and the cost required to transfer the ownership. Mexican timeshares are not deeded, so the transfer is actually done by the resort itself!

As always- never pay any type of upfront fee to sell an unwanted timeshare! Regardless of what it is called- marketing fees, advance commission, or even Mexican transfer tax- simply say no and hang up the phone. In a true closing process, any seller fees that would be due would simply be taken from your proceeds at closing and would not require you to advance or wire money to the closing company or the reseller!

Local media is reporting that a potential timeshare scam was raided and shut down by a combined task force led by the members of the local Swat Team. Police officers raided the offices of M&L Marketing Concepts (also known as Maximum Properties) and issued warrants for Lisa Canada and Max Chilson. Other businesses near 7 South Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL stood by in shock as a battering ram was used to knock down the door and swat team members rushed inside to secure the facility. The "company" web site has been shut down and reports state that bank accounts totaling $169,000 were seized.

This is the third such recent raid as a joint effort by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Orlando Police Department, as well as the Florida Attorney General's office target timeshare resale scam operators across the state.

Police said M&L Marketing Concepts and Maximum Properties were operated by the same group of individuals and have cheated hundreds of people all over the country out of at least $1 million over the last few months

"It's a huge rip off!" said Barbara Jones of the Orlando Police Department. Investigators stated that the  "businesses" obtained illegal owner's lists for timeshares at places like Disney, Wyndham and Westgate resorts, and called the owners with an offer to sell the properties for them. Police said they convinced the customers to send between $1,800 and $2,200 for non-existent closing costs, but instead the scammers simply pocketed the money and timeshares were never sold.

I've gotten several emails warning about another version of the Mexican tax scheme allegedly being perpetrated by a company calling itself Austin Resale Brokers. They reportedly cold call timeshare owners who own timeshare resorts in Mexico, and present the seller with a purchase offer that is supposed to not require any type of upfront fee. Contracts are sent to the seller that appear to be very legitimate, other than the drastically inflated sale price being promised. However, when the "closing agent" gets involved- the other shoe drops and the hidden upfront fee is unveiled!

The seller is called and told that a new "tax" is now required for all Mexican timeshare sales that must be paid prior to closing. The seller is told that this "tax" cannot be taken from their sale proceeds, but instead they must wire the payment immediately or their sale will be canceled. If the seller sends in the fee- they never hear from the "closing agent" again and of course, never see a dime of the supposed sales price they were promised!

If you own a timeshare property in Mexico and receive an offer to sell your timeshare, always take the time to properly research the closing costs and closing process so that you are protected from scams such as this. You can simply call your resort's owner services department and ask them to provide you with instructions and the cost required to transfer the ownership. Mexican timeshares are not deeded, so the transfer is actually done by the resort itself!

As always- never pay any type of upfront fee to sell an unwanted timeshare! Regardless of what it is called- marketing fees, advance commission, or even Mexican transfer tax- simply say no and hang up the phone. In a true closing process, any seller fees that would be due would simply be taken from your proceeds at closing and would not require you to advance or wire money to the closing company or the reseller!


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eff (*******@aol.com)Tue, 01 Feb 2011

......I was also contacted by this company and went through the identical situation of this original post. They did demand aprox $1500 to have my money released because of a Mexican tax. I won't bother to retype what was already stated here. THIS IS A SCAM! I believe this crew is now working under the name of AUSTIN RESALE BROKERS.......

   Margaret (******************@mahoganysolutions.com)Mon, 07 Feb 2011

I was also contacted out of the blue by Greg Evans of AUSTIN RESALE BROKERS. Although I only have three more years on my timeshare, they said they had a buyer for $12,900 and I needed to send a tax of $2,800. They didn't want the title transfer information, they didn't want the exact timeshare information - it had scam written all over it. Don't fall for it - no matter how enticing it sounds. They are not legitimate and need to be reported to the FBI.......

Because of huge increases in annual fees and taxes, many timeshare owners are trying to find ways to reduce their interval holdings or even liquidate all their timeshares as a way to save money and eliminate maintenance fee obligations. As a result, the amount of consumer fraud related to timeshare has increased dramatically- making it incredibly difficult for consumers to tell if an offer from a reseller is legitimate or just a smooth talking scam. These five simple strategies can help protect you from the majority of timeshare scams!

•Find Out Who They Really Are: Check the company with the Better Business Bureau (http://bbb.org), and confirm that they hold an active real estate license (http://arello.com). It's also a very good idea to google the name of the reseller with the word scam to find out if others have been taken in the past. Understand that not every accusation is legitimate, but often where there is smoke- there if fire!

Also, discover who the closing company will be and verify that they are a legitimate licensed business with a good track record of handling transfers at your resort. You should also be able to call the bank where the company's escrow account is maintained, to confirm that the company truly has an escrow account. Often, a simple call to your resort management company can provide you with firsthand information about a company. Chances are that if they have never heard of the closing company, it either has no experience with your specific property or is a scam. Demand that you be allowed to choose or approve the closing agent. If the reseller insists on using a closing agent with no track record, this is a good indication that you should be very concerned about a possible scam. Many of the newer timeshare scams involve fake closing companies that charge inflated closing costs and then never actually perform the transfer.

If the reseller and the closing agent are legitimate, they will be happy to help you by providing proof of licensure and will appreciate your caution.

•Hang up the phone on cold calls and high-pressure tactics: If you get an unsolicited call from a stranger with an offer for your timeshare, or if a reseller tries to force you to make an impulse decision, your answer should always be "NO!".  Unsolicited calls are perhaps the most telling indicator that it is a timeshare scam! Also, a consumer should never make an impulse decision to buy a timeshare, or to sell an unwanted timeshare. If you don't have time to do the research and consider the validity of the offer- always just say no or just hang up the phone.

•Know the expected resale value of your property: As a general rule, timeshare properties never appreciate in value. Much like an automobile, the resale value will decline by about 50% of the developer's pricing just as soon as the ink dries. In this economy, it is not unusual for even sharper declines- with some pricing being as little as 10% or in the worst cases having no monetary value at all. You should contact a respected timeshare brokerage that offers a free comparative market analysis (http://progressiveresales.com/timeshare_worth.htm) before you make any decisions about selling your timeshare. At the same time, ask for estimates of the transfer cost as well as learn the general transfer procedures for your specific ownership. Arming yourself with knowledge is one of the best ways to sniff out and avoid scams!

•Never pay any type of upfront fee: With timeshare scams there is almost always an upfront fee! Whether it is called a marketing fee, advance commission, appraisal fee, or even prepaid closing costs- you should never send in any type of upfront fee to sell a timeshare property. Just like in residential, seller fees are normally deducted from your proceeds at closing. In the event that you are upside down at closing and have to come to the closing table with cash, that money should always be paid to an escrow account that you have confirmed.

•Never make a payment over the phone: A timeshare closing and transfer takes at least several weeks to complete. There is never a reason for a seller to make any payment via a credit card over the phone. Always ask where you can send payment to a physical address, and then google the address to discover if it is an actual place of business or just a mailbox. The risk of scam is always far greater if the company does not have a brick and mortar location!