03/15/2011
Susan Budowski, a Florida attorney and timeshare victim advocate, warned that timeshare scams are again on the rise with the resurgence of the timeshare industry.
This warning came in the light of the announcement of Howard Nusbaum, the President of the American Resort Development Association, a pro-timeshare industry association, that “The travel and timeshare industry is seeing a resurgence of travel in 2011, terrific news for the timeshare industry.”
Attorney Budowski warned that this also opens the consumers to deceptive sales practices by some unscrupulous sales representatives. “Unfortunately many timeshare owners are getting taken advantage of multiple times. I have seen those who have been misled or coerced into buying a timeshare and then later desperate to get out of their contract, attempt to sell their timeshare only to be taken advantage of by a resale company,” said Budowski.
Budowski’s claim was bolstered by a recent SWAT team raid of an illegal timeshare resale telemarketing operation. An Orlando Police Department spokesman said, “The company was taking two to four thousand dollars per customer without providing any services. The raid and arrests were a result of timeshare owners from Florida to Canada filing multiple complaints.”
Timeshare owners, who feel they have been victims of a resale scam, are advised by Budowski to get in touch with their local authorities. “The majority of legitimate real estate transactions do not require an upfront fee to try to sell or rent a property; if a company does, that should raise a huge red flag,” Budowski adds.
