Power of Vacation - Issue 2, 2020 - 40

At Bluegreen Vacations, we care about our Owners
and go to great lengths to provide outstanding service.
We are always here to provide information, guidance
and answer any questions you may have about your
ownership. Part of the support we offer is to ensure you're
aware of all aspects of vacation ownership, including
awareness of the actions of so-called timeshare
" relief " or " exit " companies.

COMPANIES
WHAT YOU
NEED
TO KNOW

ask for a fee upfront but may never deliver on

exit company American Resource Management

the service in hopes that an owner will release

Group LLC (doing business as Resort Release)

their vacation ownership to them or that the

and law firm Totten Franqui Davis & Burk LLC.

ownership will be terminated or foreclosed on

A Florida court permanently prohibited the

due to the non-payment of maintenance fees

owners of Resort Release from advertising,

or mortgage obligations. They also typically

marketing, or selling a service or ability to cancel

instruct the vacation ownership company to

a timeshare contract or the timeshare owner's

stop communicating directly with the owner. In

financial obligations. In the federal court's order,

companies have amped up their advertising to

this way, the relief company tries to take " credit "

it was found that customers of Resort Release

an unprecedented degree in hopes of preying

for the cancellation of the ownership, when in

were encouraged to stop making payments

on owners who may be experiencing financial

fact the cancellation was solely a consequence

associated with their timeshares, and also that

distress with promises of releasing them from

of the failure to fulfill financial obligations

these exit companies would claim that they

their contractual obligations.

associated with the vacation ownership. Often,

had successfully cancelled the timeshare when

the exit company fails to inform the owner of

they had only brought about foreclosure or

the negative financial consequences of the

termination of the timeshare ownership. And

termination or foreclosure, including possible

while these entities made a 100% money back

negative credit reporting.

guarantee in their advertisements, none of them

During the COVID-19 outbreak, these

These relief or exit companies are often set up to
generate money without providing a legitimate
service. These third-party companies will contact
vacation owners directly-often unsolicited-

created or funded reserve accounts to assure

and offer to eliminate their maintenance fees

These companies have been the focus of

or other financial obligations, eliminate their

lawsuits around the country. Here are some

timeshare commitment entirely or transfer their

recent examples:

On February 6, 2020, the Washington State

paid-in-full ownership. To do so, they will often

Bluegreen Vacations successfully sued timeshare

Attorney General's office announced it filed

40

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funds were available to pay those guarantees.
Power of Vacation - Issue 2, 2020

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