Much like Europe the USA has its fair share of scam companies operating in the timeshare exit arena, however like Europe there are some good guys. The American developers are swooping in on all sorts of companies that purport to assist owners who wish to exit their ownership. Diamond Resorts are particularly active in filing law suits which if aimed at the out and out scam companies is a good thing, however to quote ex President Donald Trump and one of his favourite statements, many see this as a “witch hunt”.
It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that the more owners that exit their ownership; the less the developer takes in annual maintenance payments. For most developers the cost of sales and marketing absorb much of the money paid for ownership purchase so the maintenance fee plays a significant part of the corporate bottom line.
Timeshare Exit Team
Many European readers will be unfamiliar with this company Timeshare Exit Team (TET) is a trading name of Reed Hein & Associates, LLC. The business was formed in 2012 with, as the name suggests, the sole purpose was assisting owners exit their timeshare, for a fee. With this mission it put them firmly in the gun sights of some of the largest developers in the States.
The Dave Ramsey Show
Again, many readers will never have heard of Dave Ramsey let alone his show but in the States he is massive. According to our research The Dave Ramsey Show is now syndicated on 600 radio stations, has a combined listenership of 16 million people. To put that in perspective that’s the equivalent of twice the population of London tuning in. BBC Radio 4 commands a total UK listenership of around 11 million. From this it may be seen that Dave Ramsey is not an insignificant influencer and broadcaster.
TET signed an advertising contract with the Ramsey show and was endorsed as the only timeshare exit company that could be trusted. All enquiries generated by the show were passed to TET as “hot leads”. Apparently TET was inundated.
Dave Ramsey has made no secret of the fact that he despises the timeshare industry and has launched several attacks aimed at Diamond Resorts and in particular to CEO Mike Flaskey. Naturally Diamond hasn’t taken too kindly to this and has leapt into action.
The one thing with Dave Ramsey is he speaks his mind and shoots from the hip. Below is an extract from his show where he is tearing into the timeshare industry, especially Mike Flaskey and Diamond Resorts.
Diamond Resorts v Timeshare Exit Team
Diamond has issued court proceedings against TET in several states. In one particular case in Las Vegas it appears that the judge sided with TET by stating:
“The Court disagreed, finding first that Nevada’s Anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (anti-SLAPP) statute does not apply to Diamond’s Lanham Act claim. Then the Court found that SGB did not show that Diamond’s state law claims attacked “good faith” communication in furtherance of a protected right. Indeed, the Court noted that SGB “did not state that each (or even any) of the representation letters were sent in anticipation of litigation…” Finally, the Court concluded that Diamond has a probability of prevailing on SGB’s litigation privilege defence because “Diamond presented prima facie evidence that no litigation was anticipated or under serious contemplation by the owners or SGB on the owners’ behalf…”
However Diamond is not about to roll over and play dead:
Court Order Says Diamond Resorts Suit Alleging Massive Timeshare Exit Scam Will Proceed Against Timeshare Exit Team’s Law Firm, Schroeter, Goldmark, & Bender
It appears the case against TET was dismissed so Diamond is regrouping and counter attacking TET lawyers.
Westgate Resorts v Timeshare Exit Team
Westgate Resorts who are the largest privately owned timeshare developer on the planet are also poised to have their day in court filing a suit in Florida, the case revolves around 86 owners who have defaulted on loan and maintenance payments supposedly on the advice of TET. The case put forward by Westgate is that of Tortious interference, put simply, Tortious Interference occurs when one person intentionally damages someone else’s contractual or business relationships with a third party, causing economic harm.
The case comes to court in the week commencing 10th July 2021 and is expected to last about 10 days. TCA have read the court submission document and it must be said both plaintiff and defence have put forward solid arguments and it would be difficult to say who will be first past the winning post.
BREAKING NEWS 13th July 2021: The jury trial of Westgate Resorts v Timeshare Exit Team (TET), filed July 9, 2018, was scheduled to begin Tuesday, July 13, 2021 will not now take place as the parties settled. Settlement terms are confidential and neither side will comment on the outcome. As soon as we are in possession of further information we will of course share.
Our thoughts
We have only touched on the tip of the USA litigation iceberg, there are many other cases rumbling on. As we stated earlier, taking out the true scammers is to be applauded but leaving law suits and mudslinging aside to cure the problem timeshare reform is essential. If an owner simply wants’ to exit then why on earth cant they?
Diamond Resorts website has been reporting on the various cases but still seem to by sidestepping the issue. Below is a statement from a press release issued by Mike Flaskey CEO in March this year:
“Diamond Resorts encourages timeshare owners who may be interested in adjusting their contracts to contact their developer for options. To learn more about red flags and report possible fraudulent third-party exit activity.”
Sorry Mike, owners who want out don’t want to “adjust” their contracts, they simply want out, what is it you don’t understand or accept about this?
If the industry created a workable unilateral exit strategy that was both simple and cost effective, companies like TET and the myriad of scam companies would disappear overnight. Until this happens the genuine exit companies will have a place in the timeshare industry. It could be strongly argued that Tortious Interference is a self inflicted wound fuelled by the inflexibility and greed of developers, as the saying goes: Physician heal thyself.
If you are having problems with your ownership of an American timeshare we would love to hear from you.
For the legal eagles amongst you the Westgate v TET court submission document may be downloaded here:
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk