The Truth About Timeshare Exit Companies

As you probably know, there’s been a lot of talk lately about so-called timeshare exit companies. Major timeshare developers are filing lawsuits left and right against these companies as well as licensed law firms. Heck, I’ve even been interviewed by the CBS affiliate in Charlotte about these companies. https://www.wbtv.com/video/2019/05/13/timeshare-problems/

Timeshare developers, ARDA and ARDA-ROC have been putting out press releases about how their goal is to protect consumers from the ‘evils’ of any person, company, organization or firm that claims to assist beleaguered owners. I’ll leave the discussion about what their actual goal is for another post.  

At a recent legislative workshop in Florida at least two individuals from the industry, Ken McKelvey of ARDA-ROC and Jason Gamel (who was with Wyndham at the time) of ARDA made impassioned speeches about how timeshare developers have programs to take back timeshares from owners who want out. 

But that really isn’t the case, is it?  If you’re a timeshare owner who wants out for whatever reason, your first course of action is not going to Google ‘timeshare exit’, is it?  No. It goes something like this:

Step 1-Contact the resort where you purchased your timeshare. Chances are pretty darn good that you’ll be shuffled from department to department because there’s not really any dedicated staff at the resort to deal with these situations. You’ll either be told that you signed a contract that can’t be broken, given a number to someone at corporate or worse, invited to an “information session” where you can learn new ways to use your timeshare. 

Step 2-Contact the developer where you’ll play yet another round of telephone transfer to no avail. 

Step 3-Try to sell your timeshare. This is where you’ll find out one of two things. First, if it’s paid in full it’s only worth a tiny fraction of what you originally paid and the secondary market is awash with listings, many of them for under $100. More often than not, it’s not paid in full and then you discover that you can’t sell it because no one is going to buy it when there’s a balance owed. 

At this point, weeks or months have gone by and you are in the same situation; you want out and out quickly before another maintenance bill hits. 

Only after exhausting these options to no avail will you go online in hopes of finding an exit company. 

Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that some developers have instituted some programs where they will take back their own timeshare. For a fee. If it’s paid in full. At their own discretion. If they decide to. 

It’s pretty easy to see why there’s been such an increase in the number of organizations that promise to get an owner “out” of their obligation.

Are people within the industry truly that blind to what is going on?  They don’t really believe their own spin, do they?  The ONLY reason for the increasing number of organizations that are advertising their methods to get someone out of a timeshare is because the industry won’t let owners out.