May 23, 2022
By Derrick Higgins
I am a retired investigator, but I did not do an in-depth job of researching Consumer Law Protection. They did not protect us. They are not a law firm. We paid Consumer Law Protection $6,026 in July of 2020 to be released from our timeshare. We attended a dinner after receiving a flier in the mail stating they were experts in getting people out of timeshares. Two years later, we learned nothing had been done to end our timeshare. We paid only $5,000 for the timeshare many years ago. When a TARDA volunteer contacted our resort’s General Manager, she said they received no correspondence from Consumer Law Protection – none!
Consumer Law Protection’s website (no longer in existence) stated:
Regardless of the individual client’s circumstances, CLP approaches each case with the same goal in mind – build a solid, factually-evidenced case that will either facilitate a favorable settlement for the client, or that will prevail at trial. CLP will zealously advocate on your behalf, and more importantly, will earn your trust for future matters.
My TARDA volunteer said the first thing to do is to read the firm’s Better Business Profile and the complaints because that will tell you if the company even responds to complaints and if they do respond, how do they respond. The BBB only rates how effectively and efficiently a business responds to complaints, not the quality of services or products. They will attempt to mediate a dispute. You can log in to follow-up throughout the dispute process.
Consumer Law Protection, according to the BBB, is out of business:
Consumer Law Protection had a Better Business Bureau Rating of F.
Consumer Alert/Pattern of Complaint:
Better Business Bureau is advising consumers to use caution when considering doing business with Consumer Law Protection. BBB has received a pattern of consumer complaints alleging failure to honor a contract or agreement, failure to cancel contracts, failure to contact consumers, misleading sales presentation and poor customer service.
On September 25, 2020, BBB sent a letter to Consumer Law Protection with its concerns. The company responded on October 6, 2020 stating, “We are unaware of a “pattern of complaints” as you stated. Should a complaint be forwarded to you we will respond appropriately and process those concerns with the customer and work to find common ground with them and resolve the issue.”
After many fruitless attempts to contact Consumer Law Protection, I reached out to a TARDA volunteer to ask if they had heard of Consumer Law Protection. They informed me that Consumer Law Protection is affiliated with the exit company Square One. The volunteer was familiar with Square One because of lawsuits filed against them and also news reports of one of the principals jailed for child pornography. In addition, a grand jury in St. Louis indicted two of the principals on three counts of bank fraud and six counts of money laundering.
Square One also had a BBB rating of F
I’ve learned that exit scams abound because of little to no resale value for timeshares. When resorts refuse to take back a timeshare, or make it too expensive or too restrictive to do so, it drives owners to the internet, a hotbed of scams. Think what would happen if you couldn’t sell your primary residence.
My TARDA volunteer wrote a letter to my resort’s General Manager. I won’t name the resort, because they acted appropriately and professionally. The reason we wanted to exit our timeshare is because we are getting older. I am 78 and my wife is 76. Many original timeshare buyers are getting older, seeking release due to age-related concerns.
I write today to remind you what steps to take when considering doing business with any company, and to offer the following Do’s and Don’ts:
Don’t take an A+ rating at face value because good reports can be fabricated. The BBB only rates how quickly and efficiently the company responds to complaints. There have been more than a few instances of bad guys impersonating a good guy’s BBB profile.
Do read the complaints. If I had read the Consumer Law Protection complaints, I would have learned that my resort said that I could have surrendered my timeshare for $1,900. It wasn’t necessary to pay a third party.
Don’t send letters to “To Whom it May Concern.” The BBB lists the owners and principals of the company. Even a department name is better than nothing to make your letter more personal.
Do call your resort before seeking third party help.
Don’t forget to keep a log of all calls and correspondence, noting the date, who you spoke to, and the nature of the call. Keep a file of all emails, letters, or collection attempts.
Most important: Do file complaints with the Attorney General of the state where the business is domiciled, the BBB, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Federal Trade Commission. (TARDA has volunteers that can answer questions about filing requirements, because state requirements vary.)
Most disturbing
Consumer Law Protections and their partner, Resort Transfer Group, tried to take credit for our release! It was ludicrous for them to take credit for the release after two years. It was only when the TARDA volunteer took the initiative to reach out to the GM, that our positive outcome occurred. Resort Transfer Group sent our GM a letter, telling the GM to send them the required documents for transfer. There was no reason for documents to be sent to them. Our GM handled everything after speaking with the TARDA volunteer and me. Consumer Law Protection should refund us $6,026.
Resort Transfer Group also has a BBB rating of F.
Sequence of Events beginning February of 2022
The TARDA volunteer discovered the following post from our resort in answer to an owner’s inquiry:
First, a timeshare owner can sell the unit on their own. Second, our resort does allow for the association to take back the timeshare if the owner can prove they are having extreme financial or medical hardships. Third, if the former does not apply, we do allow owners to deed back their weeks. There is a charge for this of $1,900. This charge covers the fees to transfer the deeds and to compensate the association for marketing and resale costs.
The TARDA volunteer wrote to our GM explaining our situation. The GM contacted our volunteer, alarmed that we had been charged $6,026.
The volunteer contacted Consumer Law Protection explaining why a refund was in order. Despite a BBB rating of F, Consumer Law Protection indicated they would refund us, sounding like they meant it.
Consumer Law Protection advised us to send a letter to their Corporate Office to arrange for a refund. We sent the following letter:
Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2022 5:08 PM to Legal at Consumer Law Protection:
To: <
Subject: Demand for Immediate Refund
We are demanding a refund of our $6,026. You claim that the result of our exit was because of actions taken by your firm. Nothing could be further from the truth. According to the GM of our resort, there was no activity on your part, since we paid your firm $6,026 in July of 2020. It wasn’t until a volunteer noticed on a BBB post that we could voluntarily surrender our timeshare for $1,900, and spoke with the GM, that we heard from any of your representatives, AFTER the GM agreed to allow our release.
The volunteer simply picked up the phone and called the GM. The GM stated that their resort had no knowledge of a request for a deed-back from Consumer Law Protection, since 2020, when we had retained your firm. You advised us not to speak with the resort. The GM had been at the resort for several years and would have been aware of any correspondence. The GM agreed to take the timeshare back and to waive the $1,900 fee, alarmed that your firm charged us $6,026.
Your affiliate, Resort Transfer Group, in a letter dated March 10, asked that the GM send them the documents to be processed. They even sent the GM a check for the $1,900 transfer fee that the GM had waived. There will be no documents sent. The GM returned the $1,900 fee to Resort Transfer Group.
No refund has been received, prompting this article.
The Burden of Proof
In most timeshare disputes, there is little to no proof or evidence. In our case, our GM confirmed they received no correspondence from Consumer Law Protection, in the form of emails, letters or phone calls.
Do not pay an exit company upfront money to be released from a timeshare.