25 Timeshare Frauds Arrested in Spain
by Transfer America on December 21st, 2010
filed under Transfer America
In Madrid, Spain Friday, the Spanish authorities were responsible for the arrest of 25 people who are suspected of participating in a 13 million dollar fraudulent scheme that targeted German owners of different timeshare properties located in the Canary Islands.
The suspects in the case are being accused of contacting different timeshare owners and offering them lucrative terms in buying their timeshare, promising to pay them much more than the owners thought they would be able to get for the timeshare. Then the scam artists would tell the timeshare owners that there was a small transfer fee and several small taxes, all of which do not actually exist. After they would pay these fees, the scammers would split and were never heard from again.
The area in Spain where most timeshares that were involved in the scam were located
The timeshare properties of course never actually changed hands once and the men were not heard from until they would all regroup to begin another scam in another area. Authorities eventually arrested 23 German men, one Polish suspect, and one Swiss suspect last week.
With the assistance of the German Embassy in Madrid, detectives were able to find the suspects, who were mostly located on the Tenerife Island. The men are currently facing up to six years in prison if they are in fact convicted of the fraud.
Many owners have tried to sell their property, usually finding depressed prices, not the lucrative terms that the suspects allegedly offered to the German timeshare owners which is the biggest reason why timeshare owners are so often scammed in this way.
The Newest Timeshare Scam Tactic
by Transfer America on December 15th, 2010
filed under Transfer America
One couple, Ms. Diana Lim and her husband Mr. Andrew Cheang, were unfortunate enough to be on the discovering end of the newest of timeshare scam tactics when they received a call from a company called D.R.I. & Chia Partners & Associates who offered them to recover their investment on a timeshare they had just purchased last year.
The couple paid $9,100 for their timeshare in the year 2008 for a timeshare with Concepts Vacation Club with Garraway Enterprises and has recently been interested in getting out of the timeshare for financial reasons. But, when the couple received their call from D.R.I., they were told that the timeshare property was now worth $28,000 and that they would help them resell the timeshare.
A woman who identified herself as a legal counsel for D.R.I, Katrina Moss, said that they were in fact a legal firm and very legitimate. The company did eventually prove to be yet another “bogus law firm” making cold calls to investors and telling them that their timeshare had accrued value and that if they sold with them, they would become very rich. Of course most timeshare owners today now that the timeshare industry has been struggling for several years now and it is highly unlikely for any timeshare to be going up in value in today’s downturned economy.
Nevertheless, D.R.I. was successful in claiming themselves to be a highly respected law firm and getting the Cheangs to place a $500 deposit with them as well as another $7,000 to be paid later. This is apparently one of the newest trends in the old timeshare resale scam market and timeshare owners should be very weary. According to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, D.R.I. used to also be known as Gina’s Peranakan Restaurant & Pub, an interesting piece of trivia.
Case executives are saying that while there have only been a few cases of parties claiming to be lawyers or from a law firm in order to gain reputability and then tell timeshare owners they need a deposit in order for them to sell their timeshare for a huge profit. The timeshare industry has topped CASE’s complaints list for the past six years running. From just January to November, they have seen 1,844 timeshare cases.
While it has been no secret that many timeshare resale companies advertising that they will sell your timeshare for you or any other timeshare related scams have been around for quite some time, the couple’s experience is a perfect example of how these approaches are varying.
List of companies in Singapore that European trade body for timeshare, the Resort Development Organisation, has received complaints against.
- Services Pte Ltd.
- Vision Solutions
- I- Generic Pte. Ltd.
- Worldex Asia
- Worldex Pte. Ltd.
- Asian Travel Group
- Holiday Plus
- Hayward Ventures Ltd.
- Garraway Enterprises
- Colonial Strategies
- River Marketing Ltd.
- Beaufort Park
- St. George Group
- Global Securities
- Colonial Securities
- Mgi Luxury Pte
- United Wealth Management
Timeshare Complaints Reach All–Time High in 2010
by Transfer America on December 9th, 2010
filed under Transfer America
TATOC - A non-profit timeshare association started in 1989 to safeguard timeshare ownership.
The Timeshare Association, also known as TATOC, said today that the consumer helpline run out of their headquarters in Manchester saw their largest number of complaints in regards to timeshares this year.
January of 2009 was their previous highest recorded number of phone call complaints with an impressive 691 calls in just that month alone. Since then, TATOC has reportedly received more and more calls each month and in January of 2010, they received a total of 797 phone calls from people who were upset about the timeshare industry.
CEO of the Timeshare Association, Mr. Harry Taylor, went on record to say that, “The helpline has been really busy and the service we provide is proving invaluable to confused owners and consumers.” Indeed, these services are necessary as the timeshare industry has seen a substantial downturn since the year 2007 when sales began to rapidly decline. Since then, the timeshare industry has shrunk by more than 50%.
The company also reported that their average phone call length was an extensive 24 minutes meaning that most likely, people were not calling in with simple inquiries that could be easily explained. The association is a much needed help to the different Attorney Generals around the country who, up to now, have been hearing the blunt of the continuing and troubling complaints that even report some people are saying that they are calling from the Attorney General’s Office themselves!
The Timeshare Association, a non-profit limited company, was formed in 1989 and is the only consumer association that is elected and represents the interests of timeshare owners. TATOC’s mission is to safeguard the timeshare experience for existing and potential users.