he deadline for Diamond Resorts time-share holders to file a
complaint with the Arizona Attorney General's Office in order to be
released from their agreement as part of a consumer-fraud settlement is
coming up next week.
The $800,000 settlement between the Diamond
Resorts Corp. and the Arizona Attorney General's Office was reached
earlier this year after hundreds of customers accused the corporation of
using "deceptive sales practices" during time-share sales
presentations, according to Mia Garcia, Attorney General's Office
spokeswoman.
Some of the alleged deceptions are related to the
amount maintenance fees could increase annually, consumers' ability to
resell time-shares to the public, the existence of Diamond buy-back
programs, consumers' ability to rent our their time-shares for a profit,
and discounts on other travel needs, Garcia said in a statement.
Consumers
must file complaints with the office by May 23 in order to be
considered for the Relinquishment Remedy Program, which permits
qualifying consumers to return their time-shares to Diamond Resorts
without any further obligation.
In order to qualify for the program:
- Consumers must have purchased Diamond memberships between Jan. 1, 2011, and Jan. 23, 2017.
- Consumers must have either made their purchase in Arizona or have been living in Arizona at the time of the purchase.
- Complaints
must include a detailed description of any misrepresentations, false or
deceptive statements, and/or false promises that Diamond's employees
made during the sales presentation.
Along
with taking back time-shares, the settlement requires Diamond to change
its business practices and requires the corporation to make specific
disclosures during sales presentations.
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Garcia
said this is the first time Diamond Resorts has been investigated for
consumer fraud and that the office has received more than 500 complaints
so far regarding the matter.
In a statement, Attorney General Mark Brnovich gave the following tips for consumers attending a time-share presentation:
- If
offered a free gift or tickets, know that most time-share offers
require a person to attend a lengthy sales presentation to receive them.
- Remember
that time-share companies can't require you to attend a presentation
lasting longer than two hours in order for you to receive your free
gift.
- Leave if the presentation is too high pressure.
- Read
any contract before you sign it and have an attorney review it, making
sure to include any promises made to you by the salesperson in the
contract.
- Find out your ability to cancel the contract or the right to cancel.
Those
who qualify for the relinquishment program can file a complaint online
or by calling the Attorney General's Office at 602-542-5763 in Phoenix,
520-628-6504 in Tucson or 1-800-352-8431 outside the Phoenix and Tucson
metro areas.
