In June after posting my Timeshare for sale on Craigs list, I received an email from someone named Steve, telling me that I should contact Prestige Timeshare Marketing because they had help the author sell their time share.
I looked the company up and found the website. I then looked up the company on the Florida Better Business Bureau website and found it had a good report so I called the company and spoke with a David Harris who claimed to have worked for Prestige for over a year. He explained that the company ran a Timeshare marketing business that catered to tour ship customers who were visiting Florida and that they had a successful track record of marketing US Time Shares to foreigners. He explained that they provided financing and that the company needed quality Timeshare inventory to meet their high demand. David Harris stated clearly that they did not "sell" the timeshares but that they only marketed them. He promised a money back guarantee if they did not "market my time share" in ninety days.
After giving him details about two time shares I had for sale, David quoted me a selling price of $18,000 for one and $19,500 for the other. He then told me the cost of the program was only $1,598 to market them both and that it was a money back guarantee if I sold the timeshare myself before he could market it as long as I got within 25% of his asking price.
David explained how they used a law office to handle all the sales and escrows and that there was such a backlog of business that it would take at least 90 days to close a sale once it was initiated.
I agreed to participate in the program and he faxed me a contract which I signed and then paid the fee via credit card. He mailed me the company's original contracts on June 24.
David called me back in July to tell me that a the Doctor in Venezuela had purchased both my time shares for the asking price of $37,500 and that I was 127th in line on the closing list and that my deal should close in December. I asked him if he was going to send me any written confirmation of the offer. He said no they didn't do that until they had signed contracts after the closings. I asked him if I should send him any title docs on the timeshares. He said no that all that had been taken care of by the lawyers who had contacted the Timeshare companies themselves and that I should not release any paperwork until I received my official bank checks in the mail.
I called David back in October and November to check on my deal status and each time he told me I was moving down the list closer to number one.
On December 14th I received a message from a Samantha Pierson from Prestige requesting that I call the company immediately. I did so and she told me that the Dr. From Venezuela had cancelled his contract to purchase both my time shares but I shouldn't worry because they had plenty of buyers and this time I would not be sent back to the bottom of the closing list.
In fact she thought I might get my deals closed before year end.
On January 18th I called Prestige Timeshare Marketing and asked for David Harris and was told that he was in a meeting and he would call me back.
He never did.
On January 21st I called the company again and spoke with Molly the receptionist. I asked for David Harris and was told that he no longer worked there. I asked when he had left and she said she did not know since she had just started working there. I asked for David's boss and she said that would be Samantha Pierson but because it was Martin Luther King's birthday Samantha was out on holiday. I then asked for who the owner of the company is and she said that Robert Sipkin is the owner and his address is 1104 south Powerline Rd, Pompano Beach, Florida, 33069. Molly became quite rude when I asked her to spell Sipkin's name.
I iimediately looked up the company again on Google and found the consumer complaints about the Prestige Timeshare Marketing. Sadly, I read the same details about a Dr. From Venezuela canceling his sales order after months of waiting.
My $1,600 may be lost but in the hope that I can help others avoid being victimized by Robert Sipkin and his Prestige Timeshare Marketing scam I decided to add my report to this website for the benefit of others. Buyer beware.
I think Robert Sipkin should be in jail for fraud and his company, Prestige Timeshare Marketing should be shut down by the State of Florida. Asap
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