I have had a two-part conversation with Timeshare Investors of America. There offer sounded quite good (too good to be true) and seemed like a wonderful solution to ending my timeshare ownership.
The final representative I spoke with was Leon Aved and he gave the title Director of Acquisitions. He made a big deal of letting me know he was recording the information we were discussing. I agreed to their offer, even giving them the info they requested including bank information so they could draft their "deposit" to begin the process.
Having encountered a similar situation a few years ago that was a definite scam, I decided to perform a little due diligence on the company via the web (including the BBB who gave them an F) and found a lot of inconsistencies, not to mention reports of the company being a scam and/or ripoff. I processed a stop payment with my bank based on this info and decided to call the company to see how they would take my decision to do so.
I called the main number (832-377-3311) and asked for Mr. Aved but he was unavailable and the receptionist asked if he could return my call. He did within 10 minutes. I explained my concern and my findings and his explanation was that what I found on the web was a result of unhappy customers. When I informed Mr. Aved of my decision to cancel payment he became agitated and told me there would be a $350 penalty for doing so. I ended the call with a polite thank you and goodbye.
I honestly can't say whether these guys are scam artists or not. I have been able to find no convincing third party to verify their legitimacy, but plenty that point to a scam. However, no crime has taken place at this point, at least not for me. Just the same, I will be closing my bank account tomorrow.
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