Club Exploria and other Irresponsible Timeshare Exits

December 5, 2019

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There are too many resorts with no Responsible Exits. Club Exploria is one of them. Others include Great Eastern and Soleil Management. Others offer a precious few release, typically requiring a battle. These include Vacation Village and Westgate Resorts. Others charge exorbitant fees to take back points. Bluegreen is requiring 1 1/2 years of maintenance fees. This can be thousands of dollars for higher loyalty members.

Timeshare owners or members in good standing seeking timeshare release, are encouraged to reach out to their resort through the timeshare industry’s lobby American Resort Development Association’s (ARDA), Coalition for Responsible Exit. The website displays 16 boxes comprising 12 developers. Club Exploria and Vacation Village are not one of them.

https://responsibleexit.com/

While ARDA’s website is helpful for some, it gives the false impression that the lack of a secondary market is not a problem. One couple, both diagnosed with cancer, contacted their resort through the Responsible Exit seeking release from Westgate Resorts. The response they received from a supervisor was, “We don’t take them back and that’s not our website.” According to this Resort Trades article, Westgate was one of the 12 founding members! The couple was ultimately released after becoming a witness in a lawsuit Westgate had filed against an exit company.

https://resorttrades.com/developers-launch-responsible-exit-programs-and-resources-for-owners/

The lack of a secondary market has been a bonanza for scam artists! Some partner with law firms, lending an air of legitimacy. In dinner road shows across America, it’s common for scams to offer a travel club for in exchange for release. The result is typically being stuck with a travel club and timeshare you don’t want.

Many seniors contact us because they suffer debilitating health issues. One such owner we got to know was Dorothy, age 90. How Dorothy’s resort responded to her request for release was unethical and irresponsible. She sought release from Club Exploria. Dorothy had accumulated medical expenses due to a fall. Medicare didn’t cover the cost to wire her jaw, so she was forced to pay her maintenance fees or her medical bills.

Dorothy resided in an Independent Living facility. She has no car. She broke her jaw in three places as a result of her fall. We contact Club Exploria for Dorothy, explaining the situation. We want to make sure the owner knows the right person or department to speak to about a release. Even navigating telephone menu options can be a challenge for those struggling with age-related or medical challenges.

We feel holding seniors hostage constitutes Elder Abuse. Financial exploitation is one of the characteristics. We reached on Dorothy’s behalf to Seniors vs Crime, a Special Project of the Office of the Florida Attorney General. They were heartbroken over Dorothy, but after a battle, Club Exploria agreed to take Dorothy’s timeshare back before Seniors vs Crime became involved.

Older, “Legacy” resorts can be aging and undesirable. There are few, if any buyers. Despite our list of 60 resorts with little or no responsible exit, Kenneth McKelvey, Chairman of the Political Action Committee ARDA ROC, testified at a March 12, 2019 Florida legislative workshop:

“Most of the developers I know and certainly most of the timeshare managers I know, and I managed timeshare properties for thirty years… every single resort had a dissolution policy, every single (one). There was a way to get out. You had to come to your management company, and based on what the board of directors instructed us (the management company) to do in the terms if they had to pay a fee or if they had to be current, whatever those situations were, we did not have a one that did not have a dissolution policy and a hardship policy….”

Dorothy’s timeshare company is one of 14 companies, comprising 60 resorts we looked at that either have no responsible exit, or are too selective in what they agree to take back. Denying release because the developer doesn’t like the member’s week is unfair.

When we contacted Club Exploria, they first said they do not take timeshares back. Another Club Exploria owner provided us with the name of someone who works in their title department who she said would take back the timeshare. When we called the title department agent, she acted as if she understood. We told her we would have Dorothy call. When we contacted Dorothy a few days later, she reported the company would not take the timeshare back because she had talked to Irene Parker, a volunteer. Irene called the resort spitting mad. They hung up on her. Five minutes later Dorothy called and said, “Exploria just called and said they would take it back!” Her relief was immense.

The Florida Attorney General’s office reported that approximately 4,000 timeshare complaints were filed with their office over a three year period. The spokesperson testified that their office acted on only 42 complaints, mostly about resales.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, Section 5, an unfair act or practices is where it

• causes or is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers;
• cannot be reasonably avoided by consumers;
• is not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or to competition.

Until the timeshare developer acknowledges obvious problems concerning the front end of the sale, timeshare wars and exit scams will continue unabated. By supporting TARDA you are supporting a proactive bridge between the member/owner and the developer.

TARDA volunteers are members helping members striving to make the timeshare marketplace a more honest environment. Dorothy is just one of several tragic timeshare hostage situations.