The sly tactics of the timeshare industry have been on center stage for quite some time now. From the initial sale all the way to desperate attempts to cancel the purchase, consumers are put through the ringer. These days, it’s pretty difficult to determine what is an actual solution and what’s simply a gimmick for profit. Even most timeshare exit reviews are questionable at best. Since this has had a disadvantageous effect on fractional owners, we felt obligated to help people understand what’s really going on behind the scenes of timeshare travel.
As of late, our company has been contacted on numerous occasions by marketers claiming to possess hot leads for timeshare cancellation. While we’re all for helping unhappy buyers escape the perpetuity of their agreements, we’re not exactly in the market for 3rd party solicitations.
Besides, we’re not even close to being interested in persuading people to get out of timeshare contracts. We prefer to speak to vacation owners that reach out to us directly because of our reputation and satisfaction ratings – not because we’re commissioning stand alone websites for potential clients. But believe it or not, many relief agencies are. Because they don’t have a credible reputation, manipulating consumer perception is their prerogative.
Who’s Behind the Misleading Timeshare Exit Reviews?
A few weeks ago, we discussed some of the ways major hospitality chains are attempting to discredit the cancellation industry as a whole. While we didn’t (and still don’t) agree with their approach to control the narrative, we do acknowledge that a majority of exit operations have bad intentions. Even though warnings of misconduct are justifiable, not all communication is true. The same can be said for timeshare exit reviews.
Similar to the devious mentality of resorts, exit companies are also vying for the attention of disgruntled timeshare buyers. It’s quite the dog eat dog world that we live in right now. Thousands of con artists are savagely waiting for a slice of the timeshare pie and they don’t care how they get it. It gives services like ours a bad wrap. But before we can detail the way some timeshare exit companies go about persuading unhappy owners, we first have to understand who’s behind these inbound efforts.
Experienced Marketers Are Leveraging Leads for Profit.
The internet era is in full swing in 2019. Anyone and everyone can create a website if they want to. At the same time, it doesn’t necessarily mean they know how to. Either way, there are plenty of entrepreneurial people out there that know how to rank online better than most corporations. It’s why freelancers and contractors are more successful now than ever before. Businesses no longer have to hire, train and pay employees to build an online presence for them. All they need is an experienced web developer that understands SEO to perform their vision for them.
While this has been advantageous for self employed marketers, some are beginning to realize they can make a lot more money leveraging the traffic they’re able to generate on their own. Instead of being compensated for task management, they want to be commissioned for hot leads. A majority of marketers don’t care about following an ethical code as long as they’re getting paid and their skillset gives them a level of authority in most industries. Since most exit companies aren’t able to persuade on their own, this becomes extremely valuable to them.
This is where phony websites that claim to be credible come into play. Over the past few years, a handful of domains have been built by SEO teams that have ties to relief agencies. Whether it be for resale or cancellation, they know how to rank for certain keywords and get in front of potential customers. They use terminology that seems credible and claim to know who’s the best at canceling timeshares. But in reality, they’re only interested in your information.
Once you contact them to learn more, they sell your personal data to the highest bidder or the company they have ties to. While you might think you’re getting in touch with someone that can help you get rid of your timeshare, you’re really just entering another sales cycle that adds to the regretful burden of the purchase. You may think we’re simply trying to discredit our competition too, but what happens when you pay to play but remain stuck in perpetuity?
Debunking the Information on Phony Timeshare Sites.
In order to prove to you that the timeshare exit reviews on stand-alone websites are simply a con, we decided to highlight a few web addresses that claim to know the timeshare cancellation realm better than you. Aside from their depiction of VOC being absurd, they also make a number of assertions that are downright ignorant. Fractional owners don’t deserve to be misled down a road that threatens their financial well-being.
First and foremost, you have to understand that web design or presentation can be misleading. Like most scams in the timeshare arena, they’re built to seem legitimate. No matter what answer you’re looking for, you can’t assume everything on page one of Google (search results) is valid. If you’re looking for advice online, you have to ask yourself what makes the source credible.
When it comes to websites with phony timeshare exit reviews, you have to understand their intent. When their main goal is to get your information, then don’t you think you should look into the legitimacy of their communication? For the most part, no timeshare owner is the same. There is no possible way they can make the same recommendation for every visitor.
Question the Legitimacy if You’re Unsure.
If it seems like they’re trying to push you towards one solution when they know nothing about your situation, don’t do it. The ploy should be pretty obvious if you’re unable to get specific questions answered about the timeshare exit company they’re recommending. Often times, they’ll simply tell you the company knows how to get rid of timeshares and leave it at that.
Once you’ve become privy to their bias, do yourself a favor and inspect the timeshare exit reviews themselves. Cross-referencing the content on their site will prove to you that much of it is plagiarized or made up.
Website Content isn’t Always Authoritative or Accurate.
For the most part, the companies promoting timeshare exit reviews piece together what they read online. MyTimeshareExitReviews.com basically copied and pasted statements from our website and vaguely assessed our services without much accuracy. While they didn’t actually make any damaging statements, it’s obvious they have no idea what they’re talking about. It can be assumed that the purpose of the site is to generate leads for a profit. One of these exit company review sites even added a disclaimer stating: “We receive compensation if you choose to speak to one of the recommended timeshare exit companies mentioned here.”
TimeshareExitCompanies.com is another website with suspect timeshare exit reviews. On multiple occasions, we reached out to them for more information without prevail. No matter who (from our company) spoke to them, they always recommended the same cancellation provider. After challenging the inaccurate statements made about our company and exiting in general, they ceased correspondence.
Further Research on these “Timeshare Exit Reviews.”
If you take the time to actually research these websites, you’ll be able to clearly see the illegitimacy of the information published. Doing so will also help you understand how they’re attempting to persuade unhappy owners in order to amass and sell their private information.
For example, one of these sites claim they were founded in 2016. However, the credentials on the domain registrar clearly state it was created just last year. If you cross reference the details of the timeshare exit reviews themselves, you’ll see the “years in business” for the exit options are inaccurate as well. Even if they stripped this information from somewhere, they should have confirmed their sources were authoritative before publishing it as “factual” insight.
Many faulty exit companies will portray they have been in business longer than they actually have to simply create false credibility. One simply needs to search the entity on the Secretary of State or Corporation Commission websites (for the state where the company claims to do business in) to confirm accuracy. It should be a huge red flag if you’re unable to locate businesses in the state they claim to operate in.
What we found especially troubling is that each platform makes statements regarding escrow amounts with no upfront fees. Just know that there will always be an upfront fee which is normally paid to an unknown “escrow” company (that may or may not be in bed with the same exit company or scam). Do not let the power of the word “escrow” create a sense of immediate comfort in handing over thousands of dollars.
The fact of the matter is, there is no “timeshare exit escrow” company that is currently regulated. So why would websites like these encourage timeshare owners to use a company that offers “escrow” when it’s not advantageous?
The Disservice of Phony Timeshare Websites.
We went ahead and requested the business name of the escrow company for the timeshare exit company these websites are “referring” consumers to (or selling timeshare owner’s data to). We also asked how they base these recommendations. They informed us that they do not have this information. When you think about it, they’re confidently speaking highly of “credible” options but they don’t even know the name of these “safe” solutions. That should most definitely raise an eyebrow or two.
This is why it’s so important that you understand cancellation before getting involved in it. Many buyers view exit solutions negatively because they’re misinformed. Just because a website has “timeshare exit reviews,” it doesn’t mean they’re a reliable source. Even if there was an “escrow” company involved, these websites should be able to explain how they know when the recommended exit company has successfully completed their job. Otherwise, they can’t guarantee your hard earned money will be well spent.
Ask yourself a few questions before buying in. Do they consider a foreclosure (that leaves buyers contending with damaged credit) a successful timeshare cancellation? What rules and regulations are they required to follow? Have you verified this information? Reading and believing may seem logical, but it can be inevitably detrimental. These platforms that present themselves as unbiased “review” websites don’t actually help the thousands of owners in need of relief. They’re simply misleading them further with forged content.
Knowing what some of these claims actually entail can save you an awful lot of heartache. Nearly everything can be debunked on makeshift timeshare sites. One of the timeshare exit reviews we read actually concluded with a 4/5 star rating; even though the CEO was a former VP for an operation that was federally busted for fraud. Another listed relief program that was rated well has both a BBB and consumer report warning. Aside from a sense of liberation, taking the time to look for yourself can save you a lot of time and money.
Be Careful What You Believe in Online.
Listen, there are plenty of people sitting at home in front of their computers looking for easy ways to make money. As regulations continue to evolve online, you need to look into what you’re reading before believing. Doing your own research empowers you to make confident decisions that actually help you escape vacation ownership.
If you’re looking for legitimate timeshare exit reviews, visit the BBB, consumer reports, the FTC, ripoff report and other consumer protection agencies for help. Turning to an opinionated website that was built off a whim is a bad idea. If you’d like to learn more about our ability to cancel timeshare contracts, we’d love to have a non-haggle conversation with you. You can always schedule a free consultation with one of our experts or proceed with a qualification form below.
