MercuryNews.com is reporting another possible timeshare scam being operated by a company called Vacation Timeshare Sales which operated out of Stone Mountain, Georgia and claimed to be located at an address of 925 Main St., Suite 300-05, Stone Mountain, GA. The local Better Business Bureau received complaints and determined that no such business existed at that location. Also, the Georgia Secretary of State has no record of an active corporation under that name, but does show a dissolved business that was registered previously.
If you believe that you have been the victim of consumer fraud perpetrated by Vacation Timeshare Sales, please take the time to report the crime to the Georgia Attorney General by clicking HERE. KAJ18 out of Kalispell, Montana has issued a consumer alert regarding reports of a timeshare scam being operated by a company calling itself City Resorts claiming to be located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company calls timeshare owners claiming to have located a buyer. The company then asks for money for closing costs.An elderly couple in Billings who was anxious to sell to pay some hospital bills fell victim to the scam.
And so he did a couple interviews with what he assumed was the FTC and then they said that they needed a check for $3249. as a processing fee and so he sent that money to them and now he's not heard back from the company," the BBB's Colleen Smith said. If you believe that you have been the victim of consumer fraud perpetrated by this company, please take the time to report the crime to the Attorneys General of both Nevada and Montana, as well as the Attorney Generals of the state where you reside and the state where your timeshare is located. You can report timeshare scams to the Attorney General of Nevada by clicking HERE. You can report timeshare scams to the Attorney General of Montana by clicking HERE. You can access contact information for all the United States Attorneys General by clicking HERE. The Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is alerting consumers to Southwest Airlines-branded mailers being sent out across Tucson, claiming the recipient has been “selected” to receive two round trip airfares on Southwest Airlines. Consumers who call the number on the back of the card are told that in order to claim the airline vouchers they must own a timeshare, and they must attend a seminar this Saturday, Sunday or Monday at the Hilton Tucson East, located at 7600 E Broadway Blvd, in Tucson. I contacted a representative of the Hilton Tucson East who stated that they have no meeting rooms reserved this weekend for any type of timeshare or travel company.
The BBB article states that the offer of airlines tickets in the mailer is not in any way affiliated with Southwest Airlines, despite the company’s logo appearing on the front of the card. The BBB has published the following advice to timeshare owners who are looking for help in selling their timeshare: Confirm Licensing Requirements – Some timeshare resellers will use fake addresses or PO boxes in order to mislead timeshare owners. Confirm where the company is located and in what states it does business. Ask if the company's salespeople are licensed to sell real estate where your timeshare is located. If so, verify this with the state licensing board. Be Wary of Upfront Fees – Many complainants to BBB were burned by companies charging an advance "appraisal" fee for services or were told that they just had to pay closing costs and the timeshare would be taken off their hands. Consider opting for a company that offers to sell for a fee only after the timeshare is sold. Don’t Fall for the Hard Sell or an Offer that Sounds Too Good to Be True –Take the time to think it over and don’t be pressured. Unscrupulous timeshare resellers may claim that your property is in demand and they can sell it immediately; unfortunately, these promises are often empty. If you have received one of these postcards in the mail or believe that you have received a mailing targeting you for a timeshare or other consumer scam, please take the time to report the crime to the United States Postal Inspection Service. Another Con Artist Convicted in the Universal Marketing Solutions / Creative Vacation Solutions Scam9/10/2011
Stephen R. Wigginton announced that Ralph Johnson, 34, of Delray Beach, Fla., has pled guilty to a one-count criminal charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud perpetrated under the company names of Universal Marketing Solutions and Creative Vacation Solutions.
"While I urge consumers to always be wary of internet or telephone solicitations which sound too good to be true, I will never cease in my determination to prosecute scammers who prey upon the citizens of southern Illinois," said Wigginton. This is the fourth case against the Florida-based telemarketing scam operating under the names Universal Marketing Solutions and Creative Vacation Solutions. The con artists targeted timeshare owners throughout the United States. Ralph Johnson was a telemarketer for Creative Vacation Solutions and is believed to have cheated more than one hundred victims or more than a quarter of a million dollars in scam fees. In previous cases related to the Universal Marketing Solutions/Creative Vacation Solutions scam, authorities have stated that the overall scam bilked over 22,000 victims of $30 million before being raided by police. A reader has submitted a possible new timeshare scam alert targeting prior victims of the possible Sierra Resort Services fraud. He reports that a gentleman calls claiming to be affiliated with the law firm of Sirkin and Associates out of San Francisco, a well respected agency. The caller claims to have the timeshare owner's sale proceeds in "escrow", but requires that a large upfront fee be paid to a Mexican bank before the money can be released. The reader states that the alleged con artist is using the phone number 415-670-9320.
Several agencies have reported an increase in secondary scams, which simply target lists of victims who were previously taken by a timeshare scam. Often, these cons will promise to make good or refund the original upfront fees. However, these "advocacy groups" only turn out to be another consumer scam. If you believe that you have been the victim of consumer fraud perpetrated by this individual, please take the time to report the crime to the California Attorney General's office. I contacted the true office of Sirkin and Associates and the receptionist did confirm that they are aware of this potential scam using their name and are taking steps to investigate the matter as well. The Sun Sentinel has published an article detailing the emergence of a new form of potential timeshare fraud, the "timeshare recovery scheme". In this con, a company promises to recover upfront fees that consumers have previously paid to fraudulent upfront fee timeshare marketers.
The article names Audit Recovery Systems out of Boca Raton as one of the "recovery" companies currently under investigation by the Florida Attorney General. This company was previously named in a potential timeshare scam alert from Vacation-Times.org back in October of 2010. The "recovery" con basically promises to obtain refunds for consumers who have previously paid upfront fees to timeshare marketing firms. The recovery company will either charge an upfront fee, or will charge a percentage of the potential recovered amount. The recovery company will often just file a chargeback request with the client's credit card vendor and then send a refund request letter addressed to the prior upfront fee scam. The credit card company will issue a "temporary" refund to the client's credit card, at which point the recovery company will take their "payment" for services rendered. If the credit card company later rejects the chargeback request (which is common), the consumer is then often unable to obtain a refund for the charges made by the recovery company- essentially scamming the same victim twice. The article quotes a representative from the Florida Attorney Generals office with stating that they have received more than 600 complaints about these "recovery schemes", and that they believe that many of the same individuals who operated the original upfront fee scams are now calling the same victims as a "recovery" operation and soliciting these fraudulent recovery fees. The Sun Sentinel has published an article providing details of the Federal Trade Commissions lawsuit against the owners and operators of Timeshare Mega Media and Marketing for consumer fraud.
Follows is an except from the article, but please take the time to read the full article as it sheds light on some of the inner workings and individuals responsible for this type of timeshare scam. "....From an unmarked Fort Lauderdale storefront sandwiched between a men's bath house and a dry cleaner, a timeshare resale company raked in money — an estimated $5 million in less than a year. Founded by two convicted felons who went by "Posh" and "Joey," Timeshare Mega Media and Marketing Group capitalized on cash-strapped people in Florida and beyond, playing on their hopes of unloading their costly vacation rentals, according to federal authorities. A regular chorus of "Congratulations! We have a buyer for your timeshare!" came out of the one-room operation as salesmen pressed clients to put down as much as $10,000 to "lock in a deal," a former employee said in a sworn statement. "Needless to say, there are no buyers," wrote Federal Trade Commission attorneys in court filings against Timeshare Mega Media. "Consumers receive absolutely nothing for their money. This is naked fraud." Legal proceedings involving the now-defunct business offer a rare look into the inner workings of a Florida timeshare resale company— a fraud-riddled industry that has become big business in the current economic downturn. The amount of timeshare resale complaints in Florida jumped from 800 in 2007 to 11,509 in 2010, according to the Florida Attorney General's Office. Since 2009, the Attorney General's Office has reached consumer protection settlements with 16 timeshare resale companies totaling $7.3 million. Another 30 companies are currently under state investigation. Authorities say many of the unscrupulous resale companies operate the same way: They claim to have a buyer for a prospective client's timeshare or the advertising capabilities to attract one. They demand an upfront fee, sometimes charging people's credit cards before they have even signed off on paperwork. Once the money comes in, nothing ever happens to the timeshares and clients' messages are often unreturned...." A reader has reported a possible timeshare scam involving a company believed to be operating out of both Michigan and Wyoming. The reader received an unsolicited cold call from an individual claiming to have located a buyer for their Wyndham points ownership. The seller signed a contract, which called for an upfront fee to be paid to cover a title search and other "legal expenses".
After paying more than $2,000., the reader stated that the promised sale and transfer have never occurred. He has been unable to obtain any type of refund, and his credit card company has declined the charge back request since the transaction occurred more than 90 days ago. He stated that he is filing a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General, as well as the Wyoming Attorney General. Additional reports of this scam have been posted on Redweek and also on the Timeshares Users Group. If you believe that you have also been a victim of consumer fraud perpetrated by Tele Teton Corporation, please take the time to report the crime to authorities. You can file a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General by clicking HERE. You can file a complaint with the Wyoming Attorney General by calling (307) 777-7841. A reader has submitted a possible timeshare scam alert concerning an individual using the name Jeff Pape of 1 Vision Inc. The reader states that the caller identified himself as a third party rental company that specialized in providing temporary housing for a number of businesses. He stated that he had a contract to provide housing to a construction crew from VI Engineering out of Houston, Texas. He promised a rental payment of $75,000 for twelve weeks of lodging using Wyndham Vacation Club points.
On August 31, 2011- the con artist was using the phone number (760) 330-3344. A google search attributes this number to a company out of San Diego called Mary & Janes that sells medicinal marijuana. However, when I called the number today, it went directly to a voice mail using the name Michael Stafford. The reader also contacted VI Engineering, and a company representative told him that they have no relationship nor have ever heard of a company called 1 Vision! If you believe that you have been a victim of consumer fraud by 1 Vision, Jeff Pape, or Micheal Stafford- please take the time to report the crime to your state's Attorney General! As always, the best way to avoid the vast majority of timeshare scams is simply to NEVER pay any type of upfront fee to sell or rent an unwanted timeshare! A reader has submitted a possible timeshare scam alert for a company out of Orlando, Florida called Dead Equity Solutions. The reader stated that the company promised him that they could get prior upfront fees he had paid to other timeshare companies refunded to him, as well as get his timeshare ownership cancelled.
He states that he paid another upfront fee to Dead Equity Solutions to transfer the timeshare out of his name and also to get his other upfront fees refunded. However, he states that all they did was use his own credit card information to file a charge back request for the fees he had paid. When his credit card company gave him a temporary credit pending the investigation, his rep, Leandro, claimed that the temporary credit was sufficient for the company to earn its "fee". The reader believes that the chargebacks will be reversed since the original charges were from more than a year ago. The reader states that he has filed a complaint with the Florida Attorney General for timeshare related fraud and identity theft (since they used his personal information to file the chargeback requests). As always, please take all reader submitted scam alerts with a grain of salt and understand that the allegation of fraud does not mean that any fraud actually occurred. Upfront fee scams are one of the most commonly reported consumer frauds reported to the Florida Attorney General year after year. Never pay any type of upfront fee for any timeshare liquidation process. If you believe that you have also been a victim of consumer fraud perpetrated by Dead Equity Solutions, please take the time to report the crime to the Florida Attorney General at http://myfloridalegal.com/timeshares |
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