My husband and I were victims of a timeshare resales scam. Premier Timeshare solutions called us out of the blue stating they had a buyer for our timeshare. We were wanting to sell our timeshare so we were open to the sale. We were told we had to put a $1388.54 deposit down to pay for a title and deed search. We were told the deposit was 100% refundable no matter what. After five months, the "deal" has fallen through. Now they tell me my deposit is non-refundable. After a lot of research I found that there never is a buyer. I also found that this company has had numerous complaints with the BBB, the FL Attorney General's office and the FL department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. They were also involved in an investigative report by local news station. In the contract I signed it said the marketing fee was only refundable upon closing. I told them my fee was not a marketing fee but was a title and deed search fee. They didn't have an answer and then told me they were not a real estate broker. I told them that according to the FL Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer services, if that is true, then they can not take any upfront closing fees such as for a title and deed search. Again, no answer. Anyway, I have filed complaints with the BBB, FL Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer services, the Attorney General's office, the Palm Beach Police Dept, the Palm Gardens Police dept. and the Palm Beach County Sherriff's dept. I also wrote a letter to my credit card company in hopes of getting a chargeback.
So, after the lengthy explanation, my question is, how can I press charges, or can I press charges against any of the people there who lied to me? I want to make these people pay.

First what proof of "what they told you" do you have, do you have it in writing ? Do you have a legal recording of it ?

You have as proof what you signed, did you not read the contract.

You can sue them for any and all violations of the written contract that you signed with them prior to paying the money.

Also you don't press charges, you report this to the police department and follow up with the DA office for them to see if there is enough evidence to go forward with

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Originally Posted by renomnca

I want to make these people pay.

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Hello r:

Then you need to sue them.

excon

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Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

First what proof of "what they told you" do you have, do you have it in writing ? do you have a legal recording of it ?

you have as proof what you signed, did you not read the contract. ?

You can sue them for any and all violations of the written contract that you signed with them prior to paying the money.

Also you don't press charges, you report this to the police department and follow up with the DA office for them to see if there is enough evidence to go forward with

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I'm working on getting a recording of it. Not one person there has told me it's a marketing fee. Everyone one of them has told me it was for a title and deed search. I would never have paid them that kind of money to market my timeshare. I know we have to let them know we are recording the conversation to make it legal.
I spoke with the FL Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer services and they said that if a company calls you out of the blue stating that they have a buyer and you need to upfront some of the closing fees... i.e. title and deed search, then that is illegal. Basically, they misrepresented the contract. We paid before getting the contract.. I know, we're stupid, but never again.
Maybe we don't have enough hard proof to sue them. But, I just can't handle the fact that these people may get away with misrepresenting the contract and changing the terms. But, they are smart, most of what I have is by what they have said and what I have documented them saying (not on tape but I've written down and dated many of our conversations).

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Originally Posted by renomnca

Maybe we don't have enough hard proof to sue them.

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Hello r:

I didn't say that. Small claims court is quick, cheap and easy. At worst, you'll lose. Big deal.

excon

You are in a double bind - your handwritten notes are pretty much meaningless; it is never wise to tape record conversations because it is often against the law.

If you want to make them pay (get your money back), Small Claims Court is the way to do that.

If you want them to stop doing business and not get your money back, you have done everything I can think to do. You have reported it to the Police - they are (obviously) the only people who can press criminal charges. It is out of your hands.

Out of curiosity - you sent the money without verifying the company's credentials?

Out of curiosity - you sent the money without verifying the company's credentials?[/QUOTE]

Well, I guess I didn't know how to check their credentials. I looked them up on the BBB and they had a C-. They now have an F. Where would I check their credentials? I just want to know to let others know what to do.

Update! My husband called them last night and said he was going to tape the conversation. They wouldn't talk to him. They said if he was going to tape it then he would have to talk to a manager and there were no managers there. There never is. He said he'd call back today expecting to talk to a manager. Well, I got a call from a manager (the first call ever from this company) stating that our refund was being sent fed ex and would be at our house tomorrow. He gave me a tracking number which I checked out. I won't believe it until I see it and have the money in my hands but I think they're nervous now. I'm still going to follow up on the reports I've already filed and file the ones I haven't. It makes me sick to know they are doing this to other people. Others often won't spend the time or energy I have on this. I wish there was a way to get the word out to more people.

You need to sue, small claims court will often feel sorry for you and look at the other problems with them, but they will also look at the written contract.

Even if they get you a refund, I would take them to small claims court anyway. Sue them for lost interest and an hourly rate of $100 for all the time you had to deal with getting your money back.

You probably won't get much if anything, but it will force them to represent or default... either way a record will be there for next time.

You did check them - they had a C- rating before you sent them the money?

Or am I misunderstanding this?

It looks like you're going to get your money back so the best you can do to protect other people is to report your experience to the BBB.

Keep us informed.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

You did check them - they had a C- rating before you sent them the money?

Or am I misunderstanding this?

It looks like you're going to get your money back so the best you can do to protect other people is to report your experience to the BBB.

Keep us informed.

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Yes, I did look them up on the BBB before sending our money. They had a C- with no customer reviews. I noticed that people started posting complaints in May (we paid them in April). Maybe at one time they were a legitimate company but greed got the best of them I guess.

We did get a check in the mail. But, we are going to make sure the bank knows this company tried to scam us and they need to let us know right away if anything goes wrong with the check. We'll see what happens. Thanks for everyone's advice!

Please let us know what happens next - !