June 24. 2021
The Federal Trade Commission’s 2020 Top Ten Scams report listed Timeshare Sales as #9 on their 10 costliest scams list Timeshare Resales #10.
Timeshare Talks Interview with Tiffany Renee
My parents were able to resolve their timeshare dispute without retaining a third party. I followed TARDA’s dispute resolution strategy. I even research through public records, criminal histories and learned that their “QA” agent had served four years in jail having burglarized seven homes, some while occupied. This was their quality assurance agent. There were also other charges.
The timeshare presentation my parents attended lasted for 11 hours. Their IDs were withheld. They were told the timeshare deeds they had owned for years were worthless – if they did not give up their deeded timeshare and buy points, maintenance fees would skyrocket! Scare tactics were used to threaten them into believing that I would be responsible for maintenance fees that could increase from $2,000 to $6,000, if they did not convert to timeshare points! After the transaction, fees did increase to $6,000. They lost $34,000 and two deeded timeshares that they had used and enjoyed since 1998. As a result of the scam, they were left with no choice but to default.
Federal Trade Commission 2020 Top Ten Scams List
Note that AARP reported on timeshare resale scams, but not timeshare sales scams Hopefully this breakout comparison will inspire AARP and other consumer protection reporters to shed more light on scare tactics that have hurt other families. We know we are not alone.
Here are the 10 costliest scams:
1. Romance Scams $139 million in losses
2. Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries: $69 million in losses
3. Business impostors, $65 million
4. Government impostors, $58 million
5. Investments, $47 million
6. Tech Support, $37 million
7. Online Shopping, $33 million
8. Impostor: Family/Friends, $21 million
9. Timeshare Sales, $17.4 million
10. Timeshare Resales, $13 million
https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2020/ftc-top-scams.html