Vacation services

[Jbrown1976]

Coral reef resort referred me to vacation services to sell my timeshare . They promised big $$ return. $599 fee for advertising. Anyone use this service

 

[DeniseM]

Rule of thumb - NEVER pay an upfront fee to sell or rent your timeshare - these upfront fee companies have no motivation to actually do anything, because they ALREADY HAVE YOUR MONEY!

-Unfortunately, most timeshares have no resale value. (I don't know about yours.)

-There are reputable timeshare brokers out there, but they usually charge a minimum of $1,000 commission (after the sale) but most timeshares are not worth $1,000.

-Check eBay to see what your timeshare is selling for (not asking prices - selling prices.)

-One option is to give it away - here's how: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/how-can-i-give-away-my-timeshare-on-tug.132509/

 

[LannyPC]

Coral reef resort referred me to vacation services to sell my timeshare.

This is getting weird when resorts are referring owners to upfront fee companies. Can you give more details as to how this conversation came about? Was it actually the resort or was it someone cold-calling you saying it was the resort. Sometimes these scam companies take on names similar to legitimate companies.

 

[tschwa2]

I wouldn't be surprised. Coral Reef is in active sales. They aren't going to help you and they don't want to admit that their product is worth $0. They would rather you think that your resort is worth $ but then have another company to blame if it doesn't sell.

 

[RX8]

LannyPC is right, need context behind the discussion to fully understand what is going on.

Is this Coral Reef Resort in Florida? I tried researching "Vacation Services" but did not have much luck because it is such a generic name. Non-legit companies love to do that.

Most of these "referrals" seem to come from timeshares in Mexico but they could happen anywhere. For liability purposes I would think US resorts would avoid referring owners to an upfront, high priced advertising website. These advertising companies don't sell anything but a basic timeshare listing ad on a poor to navigate website that gets very little traffic. You will have an equal chance of selling your timeshare than if you dropped the $599 in the trash can.

One possibility is a rogue employee is doing this without the resorts knowledge and getting kickbacks for the referrals. You might consider calling the resort manager directly and asking him/her about Vacation Services.

 

[TUGBrian]

sickening that a resort would direct an owner to an upfront fee company.

 

[tschwa2]

I was thinking Coral Reef in Hilton Head. Another thing they have in common with Mexican timeshares is they will take in a "trade in" from another timeshare you own and have you contract to get it liquidated with a 3rd party

 

[pedro47]

I also was thinking Coral Reef in Hilton Head because they are known for their high sales pressures and their deceptive practices.

 

[LannyPC]

I also was thinking Coral Reef in Hilton Head because they are known for their high sales pressures and their deceptive practices.

That could describe almost any resort.

It's been about 48 hours and the OP hasn't responded yet. Hopefully (s)he has taken our advice and not fallen for this age-old scam.

 

[theo]

There is also a Coral Reef resort in St. Pete Beach, FL. It is unclear from the (one and only) post from the newly registered OP which Coral Reef s/he is actually referring to.

OP could possibly be a shill generating some free Internet search engine exposure for Vacation Services, or it could instead be a completely innocent and legitimate question. I dunno, but it doesn't matter anyhow, as VS is just another useless upfront fee "listing service", guaranteeing (and providing) absolutely nothing of any use or value --- for $599 out of pocket, gone forever once paid.

It seems very odd to me that any resort anywhere would ever actually refer an owner out to a specific upfront fee "listing service".
Something smells here; color me dubious.

 

[icydog]

I went to a Coral Reef in Hilton Head owners "update". This is the one where the salesman threatened us. He was about 6' 4" and was about 380 pounds. When we said we had to leave after 90 minutes (it was a 30 minute update) he stood up and yelled, YOU'LL LEAVE WHEN I SAY YOU CAN LEAVE" The worst timeshare presentation experience in my life, and the managers in the salesroom backed him up. They are nothing but crooks, liars and thieves. We sold our summer week as soon as we got home.

 

[Jbrown1976]

I was calling coral reef (Hilton head ) on buying or taking the time share back. It is already paid in full. After 9 phone calls in three days and numerous phone messages . I got through. They stated they don't buy timeshares. Then referred me to vacation services. Unable to find them on the internet . Very sceptical about the timeshare experience and associated companies

 

[tschwa2]

Your ts is likely worth $0. Even if you own a platinum week, you will likely have to pay part of the $1500 transfer fee ($1000 goes toward prepaying the following MF) and possibly the closing costs too. if you paythe $598, that will be gone and you will still have to give it away. if you owb a liwer season, you will likely have to pay all of the transfer fee plus pay for the closing costs.

 

[icydog]

It's so sad when we have to tell an owner that his timeshare is less than valueless. In many cases he, or she, will need to put up funds to give it away. I have had to do this several times myself. But never pay an upfront fee. That's a true waste of money!

 

[Jbrown1976]

How is this industry not better regulated? People like myself get scammed and lose lots of money!
They scam you coming in and then they try to scam you when you sell it . I will be posting my timeshare here for sale

 

[LannyPC]

I will be posting my timeshare here for sale

Well I'm glad you're doing the smart thing here rather than using this company that the resort ill-advised you to use. Just be reasonable in your expectations about how much your TS is worth. As a couple of others have pointed out, your TS is probably worth about zero dollars so you might just have to give it away (see post #2).

 

[theo]

How is this industry not better regulated? People like myself get scammed and lose lots of money!
They scam you coming in and then they try to scam you when you sell it . I will be posting my timeshare here for sale

Glad you dodged a bullet and did not pay $600 to some utterly worthless and useless third party "listing service". Good for you.

Don't shoot the messenger, but now you must brace yourself and be prepared to accept and deal with the fact that your timeshare may have little (or no) resale market value at all and that you may very well even have to give it away for free and pay all associated closing costs and transfer fees yourself in order to find a willing new, valid recipient. In short, you will likely end up spending (not receiving) some money in order to attract and close with a legitimate new "grantee".

To your question about "industry regulation", bear in mind that the (far too many) parasitic "listing services" are essentially just third party opportunists, not directly connected to the timeshare industry at all. They are essentially just (...ahem) "entrepreneurs" of sorts, putting themselves out there to take advantage of people desperate to exit their timeshare ownership. Their contracts actually usually state, very clearly and in writing, that they are nothing more than an advertising venue, with absolutely no guaranty of success. Worse, their "listing site" might very well be obscure, virtually unknown and seldom even viewed.

These "listing service" parasites thrive by appealing to owners who desperately want "out", with minimal effort if possible, but who just don't know how to "exit" lawfully and without actual foreclosure. Being little more than an advertising service, there is frankly not a lot to "regulate" --- the "listing service" parasites generally make sure that their butts are well covered in their carefully crafted contracts. Just placing a useless "listing" usually fulfills their contractual obligation. I am certainly not in any way defending the practices of these thieving parasites; I am merely explaining how they operate and how they manage to get away with (and continue to thrive in) their "operations", conducted at the expense of desperate others who "pay to play".