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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.

Timeshare Resale Scams Infographic

Timeshare Resale Scams
Infographic

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.

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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.

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Nancy
January 15, 2020

In reply to by J Pueblo Bonit…

I also own in Pueblo Bonito and have been approached by Travel + Leisure, although he called it "Travel Plus Leisure" and All in 1 Realtors, LLC. I called Travel + Leisure and they said it was a scam. All in 1 I haven't even bothered vetting. Anyone know about them?
refdad
October 07, 2019
Are you familiar with asset purchasing of Oklahoma? They wanna buy my Puerta Villarta condo.
Indiandave001
March 13, 2020

In reply to by refdad

not sure I would do it, just from the articles listed here. We have been duped once, where everything was good, set to go, and then our monies were caught in customs. With Let's Play, they asked us to only pay the $1500 fee for the attorney to convert the property to a commercial use so they can use it, as it is a personal use listed property right now. it just doesn't seem right. if they want the property, they can send me the $1500 and I will pay that to the lawyer and they can short my monies by $1500. :)
Chihuahua!
October 08, 2019
Contacted by ACE Properties LLC in Philadelphia about a Krystal Cancun timeshare they said they have a buyer for. Was also told that a huge amount of money in escrow was placed into an account under my name with Citibanamex. Now I'm told I have to hire an attorney to cover all legal paperwork as I am not a Mexican citizen, which seems plausible. I wish there was a magic wand that would remove the cloak of legitimacy from scammers.
Lost in Missouri
October 10, 2019
Anyone heard of Colorado Title Closing & Investment in Denver ? They have a buyer for my timeshare.
Susie Q
October 11, 2019
Let’s Play Travel has been calling and emailing offering to buy our MX vacation club for over $100,000. Not falling for it. I am sure the will need money for fees to close. Any real estate deal will keep fees out of the proceeds. Don’t ever send anyone money with a promise of money in return!
mattrsullivan
March 13, 2020
I was cold called by INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE CONNECTIONS LLC, was asked for proof of ownership, then "just" contract number, then "just" member number. Caller identified himself as Adrian Lopez, and gave me a verifiable Oklahoma broker's license number, but couldn't supply a direct phone number and couldn't supply a direct email address. Only info@i reconnectionsllc. . LinkedIn profile has no verifiable info, website is full of vanilla language without solid links out or in, and with no real internet presence. At this point, they're either a scam, or just really bad at forward facing content. I'm not sticking around to find out.
ngneer
October 16, 2019
I was contacted by a George Brown of Executive Resorts in FL offering to buy back my unused 6 weeks of RCI stays (that do not exist per HGV), claiming corporate customers wanted to purchase my weeks for $1800/wk and pay me $1000/week but first I had to pay Executive Resorts $3294 to list my fake RCI weeks. I will have to say this guy was persistent, he called me 6-8 times a day while on my 2 week Hawaiian vacation with Hilton Grand Vacations. I indicated to him I was in Hawaii and on vacation, 6 hours behind ET zone, that didn't stop him, I got calls at 4AM, 5AM, 6AM, etc. I should file a nescience lawsuit against him for disrupting my vacation.
Aijado1
October 16, 2019
I was reached by Global Business Consultants saying that they had a buyer for my resort package. They were asking for me to wire $5,150.00 to Banorte. In the process of doing this in the bank they told me not to do it because it was a scam. I ended up not wireing the Money. But now they want me to pay $4,000.00 cancellation fee. Does anyone know if this company is legit? Should I ignore this cancelation fee? Everything is thru email only.
Pat11298
October 16, 2019
As anyone heard about opodo and ryan Sanders law group. They are offering me 23000. No money up front. Everything seem To be a scam.. I heard some thing about the tax in foreign country that need To be pay.. it seems too good To be true
Helpme
October 17, 2019
Rakuten Travel is buying my UVC membership. Has anyone gone through this? I paid a fee to get out of UVC and now I'm being told I have to pay taxes to Mexico before my funds are released. Is this a scam?????
EHH
November 04, 2019

In reply to by Helpme

Hi I also received a call from Raketen Travel to buy my timeshare... just wondering how you made out??? Is it a scam?? I'm waiting to receive the "attorney" papers they said they will send to me.
Helpme2
November 18, 2019

In reply to by Helpme

Rakuten Travel contacted me today to sell my UVC membership. Can you please confirm is it legitimate. Can I believe them. Did you sell yours?
Kim
January 09, 2020

In reply to by Star

Thanks for the response Star. They emailed me yesterday with a fake looking contract from their attorney "Wayne and Associates" supposedly located in Colorado. Their is no additional information on the internet for Wayne and Associates other than the generic website they created.
Peter
December 03, 2019

In reply to by Helpme

Let me guess. Wayne and Associates is the Lawyers the buyer is using.
Jbert
October 22, 2019
B&B International LLC, very well done scam. We were duped, as they are good at giving you "documents" that back up their claims. I was one who has never fallen prey to and of the hundreds of scams, but this one knows A LOT of information on you and your timeshare.
Kvnk
February 19, 2020

In reply to by Jbert

What does B&B stand for? My friend was just duped for $12,000 from Bull & Bear Properties (Chicago, IL). Paper work was well crafted to look legit. ~Kevin
FTC Staff
February 19, 2020

In reply to by Kvnk

You can report that to the FTC at www.FTC.gov/Complaint. The information you give goes into a secure database that law enforcement uses for investigations. 

You can also report to your state Attorney General.  This page has a list of all state Attorneys General. 

Lety Trujillo
October 26, 2019
YES! We were approached by a Micheal from Ace Properties, LLC and 1913 Capital Group LLC saying that KRYSTAL Group was interested in acquiring our timeshare because they needed to have a majority in votes in the Villa Group and they offered us double what we paid for it! It sounded great! So they provided an escrow company as well. That upon my google search came up as PERMANENTLY CLOSED! Further more I spoke to a real timeshare broker and found that my time share was worth no more than $3,500 US dollars! The address to Ace Properties came up as a parking lot. So I patiently waited for my everyday call for instructions and today's call was with THE MAIN BROKER of the company supposedly and she went over a contract that contained many mistakes and proceeded to tell me that I needed a license to be able to sell my timeshare. I told her that I never needed a license to buy in the first place. She said that I needed to 1) go to Mexico City and get it myself or pay the attorney who was handling the sale get it for me. But I need to send him over $3K US dollars to proceed. I said you can take it right out of my proceeds but I'm not sending you a penny! They proceeded to try to convince me to sell but I laughed and told them their show was over and they hung up!
cgeurtj
October 30, 2019
Most recently I have had Goibibio.com.mx. DetectaHotel and MB Reality calling and emailing me that they can sell my timeshare for anywhere from $39500 to $94815 USD and all need me to pay either the Mexican taxes up front or the best on was I had to pay over $4000 for the Foreign Investor permit. They are all scamming people. If they are asking you to pay up front it is a scam. If you buy/sell real estate do you pay up front? No it is all done at the completion of the sale. These people need to be stopped!!
PWineCountry
October 31, 2019
Was contacted a couple weeks ago be Marketing Avenues LLC out of New Orleans, LA. Went too far down the rabbit hole, but didn't wire any money, before figuring out it was a total scam. Eventually figured out that their website was recently created in Mexico City, and their New Orleans 'land line' phone number was VOIP (so could be anywhere physically ). This was a highly organized and sophisticated scam. I talked to multiple people in this company, checked the LLC with the LA AG's office website, etc. They were asking for $3260 up front to allow an 'International CPA' to register me with the Mexico SAT office and open a Citibanamex account for the proceeds. All the paperwork was correct and I cross checked the fee with the Mexican gov. I ended up calling the building management company for the office building in New Orleans that the company address listed, and found there was no tenant with the name Marketing Avenues LLC. I also did Google image searches on a couple of the pics from their website and found they were taken from various other websites. I had one final phone call from their 'senior broker' (who said his name was Don Daigle), and challenged him to send me a picture of himself in front of the company offices in New Orleans with a current newspaper, and then we could proceed, but only if they paid the SAT registration fee and deducted it from the sale proceeds. That was the last I heard from them.
Behzad Edalat
November 01, 2019
My wife and I were scammed more than 60,000 $ by "Capital Management Business Consultant" and "United Escrow and Financial Services" . They asked us for different type of fees and Capital gain taxes at the end which added up to 65,000 $. Every time they guarantied the reimbursement with a contract addendum and the money never arrived to me. I owe money to credit cards and people and I don't know what to do. They are professional liars and they know how to convince you. Any suggestion to save my life is appreciated .
Investigator
November 02, 2019
I have seen deal documents from more than a few companies. Lately it has been Bull and Bear Properties with Title One for escrow; Rick Rivera, TravelGuru and Ms. Sara Agnes Yee; BNB LLC with escrow accounts at Citibanamex and Ana Luisa Paredes Lara, laywer in Mexico; Creative Excellence Inc. though calls were from Becon USA Inc, which is no longer exists; Industrial Fund... None of these passed the due diligence work.
Laura
February 19, 2020
Anyone been contacted by either of these companies? they want to buy my timeshare, but have me wire over $3100 to an attorney for mexico taxes. Advise? Jonathan J. Holmes Executive Coordinator Realty Alliance LLC 65 Federal St, Boston, MA 02110, USA. Nicholas Estrada Head Escrow Officer New York Escrow Services 866-978-7166 | Fax: 1-914-359-4908 nestrada @ www. nyescrowservices. com
VJM
February 19, 2020
Does Any One have any new input on Morgan Equity Partners? Have received a Letter of Intent, but figure it is a scam.
ripped off
November 08, 2019
i got ripped off by a timeshare resale group
fishywater
November 09, 2019
I was recently contacted by The Brokerage Group LLC, a Calvin Johnson, to be specific. After. Googling the company, I was brought to this thread. I am almost positive this is a scam, but curious if anyone else has worked with them. I didn’t agree to anything and said that I would look into their company. His response was to send me an “official letter” to prove their legitimacy. Now here comes the letter that’s poorly written, and riddled with unforgivable grammatical errors. “If you are looking for a well know and friendly company to work with, don't hesitate to do it with us...” My one question for this group is - how in the world did they get my information? And why are there so many of them doing this? Calvin sounded partially believable, I just can’t fathom this being a persons job - scamming timeshare owners. I’m annoyed I spent time looking into them, but glad I did.
Ramsis
November 09, 2019
I was contacted by Colorado event planners Inc To give me this Kind of offers To sell my 10 weeks for an event at 4200$ each ... and Trificta title insurance cie was sending me the contrat and wire trs info in mexico ... its scam for sure I lost my money that I sent, they kept sending other bills and fees , like taxes, bank fees ..etc Never ends fees .... dont go there guys
Don’t do it!!
November 12, 2019
Hello fellow timeshares owners! We were recently contacted by Reality Growth Investors to sell our timeshare for a very lofty price. I was told there would be no upfront payments and that any fees would be taken out of the final monies at closing. Being excited about this proposition, we signed the contract. They even established an escrow account with Escrow Account Services showing our money minus the sales commission. They requested our bank routing number so they could wire our money at the time of closing. Very tantalizing! However, soon after we, were told that we had to wire them over $3,000.00 to register as foreign investor in Mexico. We refused to pay and are now being threaten with breach of contract! Can’t wait for them to take us to court!! If it’s too good to be true it probably is!!
Donsuess't use…
February 19, 2020
We have been contacted by Alliance Real Estate Advisors, 200 Liberty St, New York, NY 10006. They are offering a "too good to be true" amount of money for our time share. Theres is a web site for a company of that name but the address, though still in New York, is different. We suspect a scam but would appreciate any corroborating information. Sadly, same deal with America's First Choice Property Management. Thoughts or info anyone?
Adam
February 07, 2020

In reply to by Donsuess't use…

I went to their offices and I was confirmed that they are there, I scheduled a meeting with them for Tuesday, wish me luck!
mamabarker Don…
November 25, 2019
We were contacted by King Davidson LLC. with an offer on our timeshare, a very good offer all is going good they will receive 5% of the purchase price. Then they tell us we need a 90 day tax ID to sell in Mexico because we are not citizens in Mexico that they have lawyers who will represent us, and we will have to send money to the IRS in Mexico for a 90 day tax Id. My question is this true or a scam ?
DVBob
November 26, 2019
Since it appears to be impossible to sell a timeshare once you own it, has anyone tried simply not paying maintenance fees? Will they come after you?
AntCruz
February 19, 2020
Has anyone heard of this Company that is trying to buy a Few weeks off my timeshare? TRAVELSCAPE LLC? They want me to send them money to then pay me back.
majortom
March 25, 2020

In reply to by AntCruz

Travelscape it trying to buy my timeshare in mexico has anybody sold them anything?
Chorale50
November 29, 2019
I've been contacted by Tuniu Travel (a Chinese Tour company...apparently a big company) looking to purchase our Vida group timeshare. I've tried to find reviews online but don't see any for this company. However, after reading other comments from people who apparently have been offered money for their timeshares (mostly in Mexico), I'm thinking its likely a scam. Their offer is more than the total we have paid for our Mayan Palace/Grand Mayan/Grand Bliss weeks over the years as we have upgraded. Has anyone else been contacted by Tuniu Tours about buying Mexican Time shares? Has anyone pursued it? How did it go?
April702
March 18, 2020

In reply to by Chorale50

I was just recently contacted by the same company Tuniu. How did this turn Out for you, are they legit?
grums
March 30, 2020

In reply to by Chorale50

I also received a phone call today from Tuniu offering a $33,170. for a timeshare we paid $16,000. We have a Mexico timeshare which they made an offer. When first called they inquired about a different timeshare we own in Mexico. I went on line and tried to google the company and it came back it could not be reached. I believe this is a scam.
asullivan32
April 01, 2020

In reply to by Chorale50

I've recently been contacted by Tuniu for our Grand Mayan timeshare also. I'm hesitant to give them too much information in case this is a scam. We're not necessarily looking to sell as we use our weeks each year, but was curious how much they were wanting to buy for. Did you pursue anything with selling your timeshare to them? If yes, what was the outcome; legit or scam?
contactedtoo
April 20, 2020

In reply to by Chorale50

i'm curious to know how it worked out for you. was it a scam?
Stoughton ma
April 22, 2020

In reply to by Chorale50

I am in the middle of a transaction with Tuniu. I am not sure how legal it is. I did have an attorney review the contract. They are not looking for money up front. Still not sure how legit Tuniu is. Looking for more comments.
Mel
December 09, 2019
Is travellink.com scam artists for timeshares owners. They r looking to buy my timeshare for double what it's worth. Pay nothing but after they send u a check u pay them 5%of total. Anyone no anything about this company
Pamt
March 17, 2020

In reply to by Mel

I was also contacted by them. Did you sell to them? Sounds fishy.
GRITS44
March 24, 2020

In reply to by Pamt

TravelLink has also contacted me and hooked me up with Anderson Law Group. The legal guy gets angry and won't answer questions. I am afraid to move forward. Has anyone had success here?
FinFarm
March 31, 2020

In reply to by GRITS44

We were contacted by TravelLink. They keep saying they emailed something. I have not received it. Said they would work through attorney in US. I think it’s fake. Anyone know?
hoffmd
April 07, 2020

In reply to by GRITS44

has anyone gone any further than this step (connected to the lawyer)> I have had a guy calling me every other day wanting to 'buy my timeshare', which , by itself sounds hoaky. They have been persistent to the point of being pests. I'd be only too happy to get rid it but not get taken.
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