Most people who have signed a timeshare contract will tell you that the experience is terrible. Ever-increasing annual maintenance fees, the inability to schedule a vacation, the cost of repairs, and changing corporate ownership make the experience feel like an inescapable money pit. It’s no surprise then that many timeshare owners turn to exit companies to escape their contracts.
When you’re looking for a timeshare exit company, though, you should be careful. Timeshare Exit Team, for example, allegedly advised its customers to stop paying fees and caused them to wind up in foreclosure. The similarly named Timeshare termination team shocked everyone when they suddenly closed their doors, leaving both customers and employees high and dry.
Another example of a timeshare exit company making life difficult for its customers is Timeshare Freedom Group (TFG) in Laguna Hills, California. Like many timeshare exit companies, TFG advertised timeshare exit services with a money-back guarantee.
As indicated by TFG’s complaints and poor response rate at the Better Business Bureau, the company has become known for taking upfront fees from customers and then ghosting them, not returning their phone calls, and leaving them in an even worse financial position.
Unfortunately, however, TFG’s legal troubles go far beyond their individual customer difficulties. There are lawsuits against them from timeshare developers about a variety of topics, in addition to serious criminal charges against one of the company’s executives. The company’s legal problems, which involve their legal partners, are serious enough that they can result in the kinds of problems that their customers complain of.
In this article, we’ll take a look at these problems and how they have affected the legal standing of the company and its executives. We’ll also examine a new company, Forza Consumer Group, that was started by the same attorney who represented a TFG executive in his attempted murder case.
Finally, we’ll show you the difference that you can experience with a timeshare exit company that doesn’t have all of these legal problems and drama: Centerstone Group.
Timeshare Freedom Group Lawsuits From Bluegreen Vacations and Diamond Resorts
As the customers and employees of Timeshare Termination Team learned the hard way, civil lawsuits from timeshare developers can quickly sink your business if you’re not doing everything right.
One of the lawsuits involving Timeshare Termination Team (Case No. 1:2020cv25318, pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida) also involves Timeshare Freedom Group; one of its executives, Jordan Salkin; and Salkin’s criminal case attorney, Michael A. Molfetta.
That particular lawsuit, which at the time of this writing is ongoing according to its docket on Justia.com, involved the alleged false advertising and diversion of payments from Bluegreen Vacations. While Timeshare Termination Team has since shut down its business, Michael A. Molfetta and one of his businesses, a law firm known as Molfetta Law, LLC, are actively litigating the matter.
A similar case was also filed in the U.S. District Court in Florida (Case No. 6:2020cv01668) by Diamond Resorts Hawaii Collection Development, LLC. That case also involves TFG, Jordan Salkin, Michael A. Molfetta, and Molfetta Law, LLC. It appears that the claims in that case were partially settled in mid-2022 and, shortly after, Molfetta and his law group were dismissed from that case.
A review of the documents in these cases shows extensive, complex litigation taking place over years. While the fact that a complaint was brought against someone does not necessarily mean that the defendant is legally liable, the fact remains that complicated and costly legal issues tend to follow both TFG and its associated legal counsel throughout the country.
As with Timeshare Termination Team, these legal proceedings can slow down or even stop any timeshare exit plan you may have with that company. They can even potentially cause you to lose your money and have to start the whole process over again. And that’s even before you start considering the legal problems that can result when a member of your timeshare exit company is charged with attempted murder.
One of the sad truths about the modern travel industry is that timeshares and vacation clubs continue to prey on travelers. Hundreds of thousands of timeshare products are purchased every year by travelers who were lured into slick sales presentations at timeshare resorts — only to find out that they purchased an ongoing financial burden of timeshare maintenance fees, exchange fees, repairs, and other costs.
To add insult to injury, these owners find that there is no real timeshare resale market, so they can’t make money back. Timeshare developers also prevent them from defraying their costs by blocking rentals or charging large upfront fees for allowing those rentals.
This ongoing problem has led to the formation of the timeshare exit industry. These companies were formed to help people get out of their timeshare contracts. The great need has led to the creation of many Timeshare Exit companies. If you are an unhappy timeshare owner, you have a lot of choices.
Beware, though. Not all timeshare companies are created equal. While some are better than others, there are a few that have created even more legal and financial problems for the people that they were supposed to be helping. With that in mind and the number of options when it comes to timeshare exit companies, you may not know where to start.
This article will discuss many of the timeshare exit companies from the past few years. We’ll look at the costs of using their timeshare exit services as well as customer testimonials and the reputations the companies have established. Most importantly, we’ll look at the timeshare exit scams you should avoid at all costs.
Timeshare Compliance
Timeshare exit companies: old employee with stacks of documents on his desk
Timeshare Compliance has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 2016. They have established a good reputation for achieving timeshare exits in some cases, though they have had 21 complaints in the past three years. In others, though, their communication has fallen short and caused some trouble for their customers, which the company then had to fix after receiving negative reviews.
Many timeshare exit companies have a money-back guarantee. Timeshare Compliance offers an escrow option whereby a fee can be held by a third party until the company does its job. There are reports, though, that almost none of Timeshare Compliance’s customers qualify for this option, which is offered more as a marketing ploy than a genuine option.
The services offered by Timeshare Compliance, as currently described on their website, are vague. The site focuses on legal solutions and referring cases to lawyers. Though timeshare attorneys can help resolve a case, their services can be quite expensive and are not always necessary.
As a result, fees from Timeshare Compliance can add up quickly. Their fees begin at $4,500, though they can get up into the tens of thousands of dollars. There is at least one report that the final fees from this company went as high as $100,000.
There have also been complaints about communication and tactics advised by the company after fees were paid. This includes three lawsuits from timeshare companies who allege that Timeshare Compliance told clients to simply stop making payments to the companies. This is not an exit solution nor a service that anyone should pay for. Apart from not solving a client’s problem, this can also cause foreclosure, deficiency judgments, and ruin credit scores.
Wesley Financial Group
Building in Franklin, Tennessee
Wesley Financial Group, LLC, is a non-BBB-accredited timeshare cancellation company based in Franklin, Tennessee. The company’s website promises termination of timeshare agreements using their in-house team but is very light on details as to the company’s timeshare exit process. This appears to consist of a combination of legal representation and advocacy directly to the developer on an owner’s behalf.
Complaints (of which there have been 61 in the last three years) about Wesley Financial Group center on sporadic or infrequent communication (contrary to what was promised) and the number of fees paid. The amount of fees reported is between $4,000 and $10,000. Some owners, however, have reported fees that would be almost as much as what they would just pay their developer to get out of their contract.
At least one customer complained on Yelp that he had been paying Wesley Financial Group for nearly a year, then sought to cancel the engagement because he was unhappy with the services. When he sought to collect on the company’s money-back guarantee (which is used instead of an escrow option), they denied it was an issue covered by the guarantee and refused a refund.
Vacation Consulting Services
Whereas Timeshare Compliance and Wesley Financial Group have mixed reviews, Vacation Consulting Services has a dismal F rating on the BBB website. This company is notable for its promise that if it was unable to achieve a timeshare exit within one year, it would buy its clients’ interests from them.
If that promise sounds too good to be true, that’s because it was just another of the many scams that have arisen in this area. In 2020, the Missouri Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Vacation Consulting Services for its failure to provide this relief to its clients.
The company also allegedly advised some of its clients to default on their timeshare payments, leading to foreclosures and other legal problems for those clients. Reckless advice like this can also ruin a timeshare owner’s credit score.
For all these reasons, Vacation Consulting Services is among the timeshare exit companies that should not be recommended to anybody.
One of the sad truths about the modern travel industry is that timeshares and vacation clubs continue to prey on travelers. Hundreds of thousands of timeshare products are purchased every year by travelers who were lured into slick sales presentations at timeshare resorts — only to find out that they purchased an ongoing financial burden of timeshare maintenance fees, exchange fees, repairs, and other costs.
To add insult to injury, these owners find that there is no real timeshare resale market, so they can’t make money back. Timeshare developers also prevent them from defraying their costs by blocking rentals or charging large upfront fees for allowing those rentals.
This ongoing problem has led to the formation of the timeshare exit industry. These companies were formed to help people get out of their timeshare contracts. The great need has led to the creation of many timeshare exit companies. If you are an unhappy timeshare owner, you have a lot of choices.
Beware, though. Not all timeshare companies are created equal. While some are better than others, there are a few that have created even more legal and financial problems for the people that they were supposed to be helping. With that in mind and the number of options when it comes to timeshare exit companies, you may not know where to start.
This article will discuss many of the timeshare exit companies from the past few years. We’ll look at the costs of using their timeshare exit services as well as customer testimonials and the reputations the companies have established. Most importantly, we’ll look at the timeshare exit scams you should avoid at all costs.
Timeshare Compliance
Timeshare exit companies: old employee with stacks of documents on his desk
Timeshare Compliance has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 2016. They have established a good reputation for achieving timeshare exits in some cases, though they have had 21 complaints in the past three years. In others, though, their communication has fallen short and caused some trouble for their customers, which the company then had to fix after receiving negative reviews.
Many timeshare exit companies have a money-back guarantee. Timeshare Compliance offers an escrow option whereby a fee can be held by a third party until the company does its job. There are reports, though, that almost none of Timeshare Compliance’s customers qualify for this option, which is offered more as a marketing ploy than a genuine option.
The services offered by Timeshare Compliance, as currently described on their website, are vague. The site focuses on legal solutions and referring cases to lawyers. Though timeshare attorneys can help resolve a case, their services can be quite expensive and are not always necessary.
As a result, fees from Timeshare Compliance can add up quickly. Their fees begin at $4,500, though they can get up into the tens of thousands of dollars. There is at least one report that the final fees from this company went as high as $100,000.
There have also been complaints about communication and tactics advised by the company after fees were paid. This includes three lawsuits from timeshare companies who allege that Timeshare Compliance told clients to simply stop making payments to the companies. This is not an exit solution nor a service that anyone should pay for. Apart from not solving a client’s problem, this can also cause foreclosure, deficiency judgments, and ruin credit scores.
Wesley Financial Group
Building in Franklin, Tennessee
Wesley Financial Group, LLC, is a non-BBB-accredited timeshare cancellation company based in Franklin, Tennessee. The company’s website promises termination of timeshare agreements using their in-house team but is very light on details as to the company’s timeshare exit process. This appears to consist of a combination of legal representation and advocacy directly to the developer on an owner’s behalf.
Complaints (of which there have been 61 in the last three years) about Wesley Financial Group center on sporadic or infrequent communication (contrary to what was promised) and the number of fees paid. The amount of fees reported is between $4,000 and $10,000. Some owners, however, have reported fees that would be almost as much as what they would just pay their developer to get out of their contract.
At least one customer complained on Yelp that he had been paying Wesley Financial Group for nearly a year, then sought to cancel the engagement because he was unhappy with the services. When he sought to collect on the company’s money-back guarantee (which is used instead of an escrow option), they denied it was an issue covered by the guarantee and refused a refund.
Vacation Consulting Services
Whereas Timeshare Compliance and Wesley Financial Group have mixed reviews, Vacation Consulting Services has a dismal F rating on the BBB website. This company is notable for its promise that if it was unable to achieve a timeshare exit within one year, it would buy its clients’ interests from them.
If that promise sounds too good to be true, that’s because it was just another of the many scams that have arisen in this area. In 2020, the Missouri Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Vacation Consulting Services for its failure to provide this relief to its clients.
The company also allegedly advised some of its clients to default on their timeshare payments, leading to foreclosures and other legal problems for those clients. Reckless advice like this can also ruin a timeshare owner’s credit score.
For all these reasons, Vacation Consulting Services is among the timeshare exit companies that should not be recommended to anybody.
Nationwide Settlement Solutions/American Settlement Solutions
Room full of documents
These two non-BBB-accredited timeshare exit companies are owned by the same person (Michael Miles) and have similar reputations and complaints, filled with red flags.
Nationwide maintains a C+ BBB rating, with a dismal customer rating of 1.6-out-of-five stars and 15 complaints in the last three years. American has a similarly bad reputation, with a C BBB rating, a 3.08-out-of-five star rating, and 14 complaints in the last three years.
Complaints about these companies show fees well over $10,000 and a lack of results, putting clients in an even worse financial position than they were when they hired the company. The BBB itself has noted a “pattern of consumer complaints alleging failure to issue refunds, failure to cancel contracts, misleading sales presentation, harassing phone calls and overall poor customer service.”
For these reasons, engagement of either of these companies should be avoided at all costs.
Timeshare Exit Team
Timeshare Exit Team was also the subject of a state attorney general’s lawsuit, which they settled in exchange for paying a huge fine. This company also charges fees in the tens of thousands of dollars without getting good results for its clients. BBB complaints show that despite those outrageous fees and a “money-back guarantee,” clients have not been successful in getting their money back.
As we’ve seen with other companies, Timeshare Exit Team also has advised its clients to stop paying on their timeshares, causing them to go into foreclosure and suffer other serious legal consequences. Timeshare Exit Team has therefore proven that it is an untrustworthy company, as its customers almost always ended up regretting the experience.
Thankfully, Timeshare Exit Team has closed all operations and is no longer an option for owners.
Centerstone Group Has the Best Resources to Get You Out of Your Timeshare
Happy woman reading some files
Centerstone Group is proud to have been featured elsewhere on the internet as the best among the timeshare exit companies. Its specialists have collective decades of experience in the timeshare industry, and their expertise has been recognized with an A rating from the BBB, as well as numerous positive customer reviews.
Not only do we have an excellent reputation as one of the best timeshare exit companies, we also offer more options, and execute them better, than any of our competitors. For example, we offer a real escrow option for our clients to ensure that they get their money’s worth.
In terms of our actual services, we don’t just refer cases out to lawyers or ask our clients to default on their timeshare mortgages. Instead, we look at your case and pick one or more out of several options that suit your situation. For some owners, our proprietary pressure campaign against a developer (with administrative complaints) may be the way to go.
In other cases, more legal help may be needed. Then, and only then, would we work with one of our attorney or law firm partners to get you the result you need. And we would always ensure that only work an attorney is needed for should be done by the legal team, so we can keep your costs down.
We are also available to help you with timeshares outside the United States. For example, we have an excellent track record for getting timeshare exits for units in Mexico.
Timeshares eat your money, your vacations, and your peace of mind. Don’t pay tens of thousands in upfront fees or default on your timeshare obligations. We would be honored if you allow us to help you with an exit strategy. Contact Centerstone Group today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
Maybe your timeshare was fun for a while, and it’s time to move on. Maybe you’re just sick of the ever-increasing annual maintenance fees. Or maybe you just want to have real freedom in deciding what to do with your limited vacation time. Whatever the reason, vacation ownership is no longer offering you value, and you’ve decided that your timeshare needs to go.
If you’re a homeowner, you may have already experienced the real estate process with regard to your residence. As you are no doubt aware, though, a timeshare is a very different kind of real estate. When you sell your home, you are typically selling property fee simple — that is, you’re selling the right to use and exclude others from a certain piece of property forever.
Timeshares, on the other hand, are a much narrower (some would say lesser) form of property ownership. The traditional system of timeshare ownership splits properties into “weeks,” with different owners taking possession on specific weeks. More modern systems, like Marriott Vacation Club, use a point-based system to reserve time for different timeshare properties.
However your timeshare works, selling it can be a hassle. In this article, we’ll talk about different tools you can use to sell your timeshare. First, we’ll look at the decision many people make to try selling their units themselves, which often leads to frustration. Then, we’ll talk about a better option: finding a qualified realtor with experience in the timeshare resale process.
Of course, all of this discussion assumes that there is not another way to legally and ethically exit your timeshare based on your specific situation. If you cannot sell your timeshare, you should consider other methods of exit. Whatever route you choose, Centerstone Group is here to offer advice and guidance to make the experience as easy as possible.
Selling Timeshares by Yourself
selling timeshares: eBay signage on a post
Anyone who wonders about where to buy a used timeshare — or how desperate people can be to sell timeshares — should take a look at eBay or Craigslist. You can find timeshare units there for a couple thousand dollars, or in extreme cases even $1. Someone who doesn’t understand how timeshares work may think this sounds like the deal of a lifetime.
The truth is, though, that many owners consider these timeshares a disease that they can’t get rid of. The rock-bottom sale prices are all that owners can get on these websites. Without any targeted marketing or professional listing, a few thousand dollars is probably the best that a timeshare owner on eBay or Craigslist can hope for.
And if you do decide to go this route, don’t expect to sell your unit right away. These deeply discounted units can sit on auction websites for years before they sell — if they ever do. During all that time, who do you think is going to pay the annual maintenance fees and other charges associated with the unit? That’s right, you.
To put a finer point on it, listing through eBay, Craigslist, or some other website is likely going to involve waiting a long time for a very low offer if one ever comes. And the timeshare will be draining you of money the whole time. Not even the wealthiest person wants to throw good money after bad. There are better options that are far more likely to actually work.
Selling Timeshares With a Real Estate Agent
Timeshares are tricky beasts, and it’s not a sign of weakness to admit that you need help with selling one. After all, most of us wouldn’t try listing our homes on eBay. Get a professional real estate agent to help you with your timeshare resale. You still probably aren’t going to make a ton on the deal, but the transaction can be more efficient and save you money in the long run.
Watch Out for Timeshare Resale Scams
When you list your timeshare with a real estate agent, you still need to be careful about who you trust. The fact that a company advertises itself as a timeshare resale company does not mean they are qualified to help you.
Many of these companies run timeshare scams, taking advantage of desperate owners by promising they have buyers at the ready. Then they take thousands of dollars in upfront fees and vanish, leaving the owner high and dry. The problem has become so bad that the Attorneys general of Florida and other states are fighting back and pursuing these companies.
Get a Qualified Realtor
While all licensed realtors have the same basic competencies and adhere to the same code of ethics, not all of them are the best choice for timeshare sales. As you may have gathered from the discussion above (particularly the fact that so many owners are desperate to sell their units at online auctions), the timeshare resale market and pricing are a very niche specialization.
Your realtor may be the best there is at selling beach homes, but if they don’t have experience with marketing and selling fractional ownership properties, they may not be a great fit for this particular project.
While selling a timeshare should happen as quickly as possible to save you money, you do need to take the time to interview potential realtors and make sure they have the experience and track record you need to get the job done.
Getting Rid of Timeshares Without a Sale
Person ripping a contract
If you can sell a timeshare without too much sunk time or cost, that’s great. But selling timeshares is neither easy nor profitable. Because of this, it is worth your time to consider whether you have any other legal and ethical options for exiting your timeshare.
Unlike some other timeshare exit companies, Centerstone Group is a BBB-accredited business with an outstanding reputation. We’re dedicated to helping timeshare owners find solutions to their problems. Sometimes the best solution might in fact be a resale. Other times, however, there are more desirable options.
Maybe a resort will take timeshare units back but won’t implement the policy unless it is forced to do so by knowledgeable people. Or maybe there is a timeshare cancellation provision in your contract. Or perhaps there is a more complicated legal exit strategy that a lawyer can help with.
Centerstone Group offers free consultations so they can get to the bottom of your specific problem. We can help you weigh all of these possible solutions and more. We can also refer you to qualified, trusted professionals who will help you take care of your timeshare problem with as little expense and trouble as possible.
Once you have made up your mind that you need to get rid of your unit, be careful not to become fixated on one particular option. Keep your mind open and allow us to help you find the least stressful exit plan for your timeshare problem.
Freedom Feels Wonderful
When you are shackled to an unpleasant, expensive timeshare contract, it can seem like your troubles will never end. The good news is that they do end. The better news is that, just by being here, you have already started taking steps to free yourself from the headaches and expense of your timeshare mistake.
Let us take a look at your case and see what we can do for you — whether that’s helping you understand the process for selling timeshares or finding you another option. Contact Centerstone Group today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
When you truly feel the have to give away the property of yours, there are a couple of things you really need to think about to be able to correctly donate timeshare contracts. Foremost and first, the donated timeshare must be paid off or perhaps have a happy mortgage (clear and free). From here, you would have to deal with the donation as being a transfer. Like we pointed out before, finding a business that will help you with this’s very risky.
So before you decide to go through with the choice, ask yourself a couple of issues. Does the recipient know something about timesharing? Do you think you’re prepared to disclose that this resale industry is actually nonexistent in case they intend to market it or perhaps lease the condo? Will the timeshare be beneficial for the recipient or perhaps will they have the ability to put it to use in ways you couldn’t? Have you been truly okay with giving off the burden from selfish ambition?
Listen, we understand exactly how large of a deal it’s to have the ability to legally stop timeshares. We also realize exactly how the deceit behind nearly all timeshare remedies are able to help make you feel as you’ve no option but to look out on your own. In case you donate the timeshare it’d all go away. Though you are not alone and you do not have to feel caught in your agreement any longer. We would like you to find out there are actually quality timeshare cancellation services offered. You do not have to contend with the guilt which will come with off loading a terrible order to an innocent bash.
Since 2014, we have taken pride in our hundred % satisfaction ratings. We have helped lots of users the same as you terminate timeshare contracts. There’s no reason fractional users must feel as they’ve to Donating timeshares any longer. Our awareness of the business enables us to assist various buyers dealing with a wide range of scenarios find practical solutions. Whether we enable you to work items out with the resort or even qualify you for the services of ours, it is all of the same.
For more info on our attorney based procedure, you are able to always include a free consultation or perhaps just proceed with our eligibility type beneath.
