Friday, January 11, 2013

Just When You Thought It Couldn't Get Any Worse For Timeshare Owners

I've written over 300 blog posts.  Some happy, some troubling.  NONE has made me sadder than this one.

We've all known that the so-called "bad guys" in timeshare are very clever.  Whether they claim things that aren't true, the various names and LLCs they operate under or their particularly emotional pitches.

It's just taken a drastic turn for the worse.

It seems that in Florida, there is a little known act in Florida known as the Sunshine Act.  Here's a snippet of what I found online: 

Florida began its tradition of openness back in 1909 with the passage of Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes or the “Public Records Law.” This law provides that any records made or received by any public agency in the course of its official business are available for inspection, unless specifically exempted by the Florida Legislature. Over the years, the definition of what constitutes “public records” has come to include not just traditional written documents such as papers, maps and books, but also tapes, photographs, film, sound recordings and records stored in computers.

It seems that several companies have gotten hold of timeshare related complaints filed in Florida and are now calling the consumers who have filed complaints.

You know what's coming next, don't you?  Yes.  The company has all the details of the complaint, right down to the complaint number and then asks for money so that the case can be investigated.

I'll have more on this matter in the next few weeks, but wanted to get the word out to consumers everywhere.

Couldn't get much worse.  Or sadder.

2 comments:

Gareth said...

This is bonkers....It is sad to see every day the different and diverce ways individuals dream up new ways to rip off people. but when they use legislation to do it, it reaches right to the bottom of the ethics barrel, shame on them.

Anonymous said...

That is very troubling to hear. I think in any industry there are bad eggs. I just hope this egg doesn't spoil the basket of other good honest timeshares.