GREENE COUNTY — It was a “money-back guarantee.” But instead, it ended up costing a Greene County couple thousands of dollars.
“You know, you guys (have) run these programs before about people that have been taken in falling for these schemes,” Ron Music, of Beavercreek, told the News Center 7 I-Team. “And you’re thinking, ‘that would never happen to us.’ But – here we are.”
As he sat next to his wife, Laura, during an interview with the I-Team in their living room, Ron said that more than a year after hiring a company to get out of their timeshare contracts, the couple is out nearly $9,000.
Ron and Laura Music told the I-Team they’ve enjoyed their timeshares as a breakaway from their home in Beavercreek for decades.
“The one I love – it’s in Cocoa Beach,” Laura said. “And the other one – you can go anywhere from January to December.”
“We love the beach, love to vacation,” Ron said. “Just love that one (in Cocoa Beach). It’s just fantastic. We go there every year, and we decided to get another one. We can go to the beach. Been down to Tennessee a few times and a couple of other states. (We’ve) really enjoyed the timeshare.”
But after years of enjoying the sand and sun, a problem started when someone cold-called.
“I hadn’t heard of TS Compliance (Group),” Ron said. “The phone calls (were) the first time I’d ever heard of them.”
Ron said he researched the company online after the phone calls, and in April 2024, he hired TS Compliance Group to cancel the couple’s timeshare contracts.
“All told, it was $8,693,” Ron said about the amount they paid the company. “About a three-month time period we thought it would be over. But, uh, not the case.”
Documents Ron and Laura signed in April 2024 and gave to the I-Team show TS Compliance Group promised them it would get their timeshare contracts cancelled within 12 months, “or the Client will get 100% of all fees paid to TS Compliance Group … refunded.”
But this past April is when Ron said he stopped hearing back from the company.
“I just gave up after that,” Ron said. “I was resigned to the fact that we had lost about $9,000.”
The Musics are not alone. Our I-Team investigation took us to Georgia, where our sister station in Atlanta talked to a woman who dealt with TS Compliance Group.
“I said, ‘It has been over 12 months now, I just want my money back,’” Gale Wade, of Dahlonega, Georgia, said of one of the follow-up calls she made to the company. “I don’t think I’ll ever see that money.”
Wade said she paid the company of the $12,356 roughly 18 months ago for a service it did not provide. “That’s the killer,” Wade said. “On top of it all, I still have this timeshare.”
And the I-Team did some digging. It turns out, the “Certificate of Guarantee” Ron and Laura gave to News Center 7 is nearly identical to the one from a Florida couple the I-Team spoke with.
The only differences are the company names indicated on the forms. Ron and Laura’s lists “TS Compliance Group.”
When the Florida couple signed up in 2022, their “Certificate of Guarantee” document showed the company names “TS Holdings” and “TS Relief Group.” Those are the same two companies Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is now suing.
Yost’s office said seven consumers have reported losing a combined $68,239.
“It’s very embarrassing,” Ron said about the nearly $9,000 he and his wife lost. “There’s a lot of things we can do with the family and grandkids for that money.”
Ron and Laura filed a consumer complaint against TS Compliance Group with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office earlier this month.
“The downside to the exit companies, many of them are fly-by-night and all it takes is a cell phone and client list, which can be purchased,” Brian Rogers, with Timeshare Users Group (TUG), told the I-Team.
Rogers started TUG in 1993 as a consumer advocacy group related to timeshares and timeshare exit companies.
“You can run this scam for 6-8 months and collect hundreds of thousands of dollars before anyone catches on,” Rogers said.
So, what can you do if you want to get out of your timeshare?
“You do not need to pay a third-party company to get out of your timeshare contract,” Jason Gamel, the President of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), said.
ARDA is a trade association that represents more than 1,000 timeshare resorts.
“We always recommend that people first and foremost go to their timeshare company – their Timeshare developer – first because many of them have free or low-cost programs,” Gamel said. “And I think that’s the first thing that consumers need to know. This is something; if they’re looking to exit their timeshare, they could do themselves. They could do so without having to pay all those upfront fees and do so going directly through their timeshared company.”
Ron and Laura say they still have and enjoy their timeshares. They plan on using one of them for vacation later this year. But for the Musics these days, talking about timeshares isn’t as sweet as it used to be.
“Paying the maintenance fees is not that big a loss,” Ron said. “But the $9,000 to TS Compliance (Group) is a bitter pill to swallow.”
The News Center 7 I-Team called 11 phone numbers associated with TS Compliance Group and sent several emails. But so far, we have not been able to reach TS Compliance Group for comment.
Additionally, at the time of publication, online Montgomery County court records show no attorney on file for TS Holdings Unlimited or TS Relief Group in connection with the Ohio AG’s Office lawsuit filed against the companies.
Those same online court records also show that, at the time of publication, neither company has filed a response in the civil case.
If you feel you may have been scammed by a timeshare exit company, you should file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and your state Attorney General’s Office. You can file a consumer complaint through the Ohio Attorney General’s Office here.
Additionally, the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) recommends starting with its site here.
ARDA also suggests looking at Brian Rogers’ Timeshare Users Group website here. Rogers’ consumer advocacy site has a lot of information that comes straight from timeshare owners.
See the original story: I-TEAM: Timeshare exit nightmare. Money-back promise ends in $8,600 loss for local couple – WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio