Timeshare scams have been an
ongoing problem and
have reached the point that they are the largest consumer complaint made in many
regions of the country. To help combat this growing problem, Florida Governor
Rick Scott has signed a
new
timeshare law (the Timeshare Resale Accountability Act) giving consumers
better protection against these scams which goes into effective on July 1, 2012.
The problem is that due to the current economic conditions, timeshare owners
are finding it
extremely
difficult to sell their timeshare. Many of them find themselves in a
situation where they
can't
get out of their timeshare even though they no longer want it. This has made
them
easy
prey from scam artists who mislead them into thinking that they have someone
who wants to buy their timeshare.
Once the timeshare owner bites, the scam artist then requests thousands of
dollars in upfront fees for such things as title or closing costs. Once paid,
the supposed buyer never materializes and the scam artists claim that they were
merely offering advertising services for the upfront money paid.
While the new law provides a number of new consumer protections, the four
main points are as follows:
1. Timeshare resale advertisers can't claim there's someone interested in the
owner's timeshare without providing the purchaser's name and address.
2. Timeshare resale advertisers must provide a written contract for agreement
of services that must be signed by the timeshare owner before it can collect any
fees or engage in any resale advertising activities.
3. Timeshare owners have seven days to cancel any signed contract with a
timeshare resale advertiser. If a timeshare owner cancels a contract, the
timeshare resale advertiser has 20 to provide a full refund to the timeshare
owner.
4. Any timeshare resale advertiser which violates the law's provisions can be
hit with a penalty which may not exceed $15,000 per violation under the Unfair
and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
