Lawsuit filed against fraudulent timeshare exit company

The attorney general for Arkansas has described how a timeshare exit company operating in the U.S has been acting in a fraudulent manner to dishonestly take fees from timeshare owners who are desperate to end their contracts. The company is being sued under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act for charging exorbitant fees to clients but failing to deliver the services they promised.

The company named as Real Travel is being sued and if found guilty will be ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution and $450,000 in suspended civil penalties. The company has been highlighted in the U.S press a number of times now and the lawsuit, which was filed last year, alleges that clients have been complaining about the company’s failure to deliver despite taking huge fees for services upfront.

Real Travel sold timeshare exit services in exchange for fees which varied from $5,000 to $18,000, customers complained that they were lured to sales presentations which lasted hours on end and were subjected to high pressure sales tactics. At these presentations potential clients were promised a 100% guarantee that the company would liquidate, cancel, or transfer their unwanted timeshares. However, after an investigation into the company by the Attorney General’s Office, they discovered 83 customers had signed up to Real Travel services and paid fees to the company. The company had failed to carry out any of the services they had contracted to undertake and simply pocketed the money, the victims were still burdened with their timeshares and thousands of dollars out of pocket.

The Attorney General’s Office is urging anyone else who has been affected by this company to get in touch with them and make a complaint. If the judgment is successful Real Travel will be banned from conducting any business related to timeshare and exit services in the State of Arkansas.

At some point, many owners will regret ever hearing the word timeshare. Like many of the other 20 million timeshare owners, who have been lured to a sales presentation with the promise of free meals or gifts, find themselves leaving with much more than they bargained for. Newly signed up timeshare owners often leave feeling regretful after making a choice they did not intend to make or were persuaded to decide on something they weren’t ready for, committed to, or were intimidated into going along with. In fact, it probably would not surprise you to learn that a recent study carried out by the University of Central Florida, learned that a whopping 85% of those who buy timeshare, regret their decision.

The vast majority of timeshare owners claim they never would have made the purchase if they knew exactly what it entailed. However, getting out of a timeshare contract is nearly impossible as resorts are desperate to hang on to their members and the annual maintenance fees, they charge them. The reluctance of timeshare resorts to provide viable exit strategies to their clients, has made it easy for fraudulent companies and individuals to operate and take advantage of desperate owners.

People who enter into Timeshare agreements often find it difficult to keep up with the mounting maintenance fees and simply cannot afford it any longer. They may also find that the Timeshare no longer suits their needs and simply want to end the contract. There are too many individuals who are willing to take advantage of Timeshare owners and offer fake products, along with Timeshare exit schemes. Before agreeing to any Timeshare termination or exit procedure with an individual or company, seek independent advice and fully research any company you are thinking of working with.