Like any business, timeshare exit companies need to attract customers in order to make a profit. As the number of timeshare exit companies increases, many have become even more aggressive in their marketing and advertising.
While there are legitimate timeshare exit companies out there, some fraudulent exit companies have started a new scam by using a fake class action or court case to get timeshare owners to sign up for exit services.
Oftentimes, these timeshare exit companies attract you with a fraudulent ad and then take your money with no results.
Here are the versions of this latest timeshare exit scam to be on the lookout for:
Cold calls to timeshare owners regarding a class action lawsuit.
Sometimes, a timeshare owner will receive a call from someone who either claims to be a lawyer or says they are working with a law firm to file a class action lawsuit against your timeshare company. They promise that this class action will get you out of your timeshare, you may be already verified as eligible for compensation, or make other false claims.
Once they’ve explained the “lawsuit,” they ask you to pay them money for “legal fees” and other costs related to the case before they an help you. Once you pay, you never hear from them again.
Here are a few ways to detect this is a scam:
- They ‘guarantee’ legal victory and/or the cancellation of your timeshare. Often times, they will give you a timeframe for this to happen, and it is usually very short.
- They will not give you any documentation on the lawsuit or their law firm until after you pay.
- A real class action lawsuit will never charge people to join the case.
Ads claiming that a court case requires timeshare companies to cancel timeshare contracts.
This is very similar to the scam outlined above, but instead of the timeshare company contacting you, they run an ad that requires you to contact them.
Here are a few ways to detect this is a scam:
- The ad does not identify the timeshare company that supposedly has to cancel its timeshare contracts. Instead, it asks that you contact the exit company to see if your timeshare company, resort, or HOA is on the list.
- If you contact the exit company and ask to see the court case or legal information, they refuse to provide it until you give them information about your timeshare and/or pay them an upfront fee to ‘get started.’
- If you search online and cannot find any cases that match what they are telling you, that is another red flag.
You can verify if a law firm is real by visiting the American Bar Association at www.americanbar.org.
Our advice: By using the information above, you can spot and avoid these scams. Remember: a legitimate timeshare exit company will not use offers that require you to pay upfront before they give you information.