The FTC and state consumer protection agencies have shut down dishonest timeshare resellers for bilking timeshare owners out of millions of dollars. If you’re selling a timeshare, listen carefully for the promise of lots of money quickly and a request for an upfront fee. Those are two key signs of timeshare resale scam — and someone you don’t want to do business with.
In one recent case, Vacation Property Services claimed to represent big-name companies eager to buy timeshares for business travel and events. The company guaranteed timeshare owners hefty returns if they moved quickly on the offer. But first, the company said the owner had to pay from $500 to $2,000, via credit card, in “registration” and other fees to seal the deal.
The company’s promises of ready buyers, fast sales, big profits and money-back guarantees turned out to be lies. What’s more, the timeshare owners were stuck with debt on their credit cards from paying the “fee” after the company told them that the sale would be complete — and that they’d have their money — by the time the credit card bill came.
If you own a timeshare, question any offers to help you resell it. Be skeptical of companies that:
- claim the market in your area is “hot” and that they’re “overwhelmed” with buyer requests
- say they have buyers ready to purchase your timeshare — or promise to sell your timeshare within a specific time
- guarantee you’ll get big returns on your resale
- require you to pay fees upfront — even if there’s the promise of a “money-back guarantee”
- don’t provide a contract — or provide a contract that doesn’t accurately reflect conversations you had
Read about buying and selling a timeshare, or check out our infographic to see how timeshare resale scams typically work.
It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices. For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy.
The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.
We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.
In reply to Has ANYONE successfully sold by dleeb
In reply to has anyone received a call by SueD
In reply to Has anyone had any experience by Wondering???
In reply to I was contacted from Vayama by David M.
In reply to I was also recently contacted by Nick B.
In reply to Vayama also gave me an offer by David M.
In reply to Also got a offer from Vayama by BrianS
In reply to Also got a offer from Vayama by BrianS
In reply to Also got a offer from Vayama by BrianS
In reply to Has anyone been told that by bessie
In reply to Has anyone been told that by bessie
In reply to I was contacted from Vayama by David M.
In reply to i also was contacted by them, by jay514
In reply to Has anyone heard of All by srb2018
In reply to Has anyone heard of All by srb2018
In reply to Has anyone heard of All by srb2018
In reply to Asset Real Estate Investment by almost suckered
In reply to Scammed for $45,000. Got in by Bear
You can also report to your state Attorney General, and the Attorneys General in the states where the other businesses were located, as well as the state agencies that regulate and/or license real estate sellers in those states.
In reply to What do you know of a company by humbug!!!
In reply to look out for delta title by mando rodrigue…
In reply to Has anyone heard about First by Jarri M
In reply to Yes, First Property of New by W.M
In reply to Hudson Holdings approached me by some guy
In reply to I have been contacted by by abc
In reply to Anybody used master by Bg
In reply to We were contacted by them. by tiget
Pagination