Just before New Years Day 2012 I received a call from Mathew Holden of Trinity Financial Associates in Wilmington, DE, offering to broker a sale of my timeshare membership. Negotiations between Mathew and his clients, Debra K James H. Smith in Fayetteville, NC, led to an official-looking contract sent to me as an email, which I was instructed to sign and return within 24 hours. The Smiths supposedly accepted a suspiciously-high asking price, and Mathew told me that I was guaranteed to receive money even if they backed out. Only then (an afterthought?) was I told to wire-transfer $1601.21 for a required Document Stamp Tax to a clearing house in Orlando, FL.
Smelling a rat, I looked up the Document Stamp Tax requirement in Florida, where this transfer of title was to be accomplished. I found that the amount of this tax should be $134.40 and that this fee may be paid by either the buyer or the seller. I confronted Mathew Holden, who quickly promised to take this up with his legal department and hung up. I looked up Trinity Financial Associates on their website (removed as of Jan. 11) and called their number to confront them.
They do not ever answer their phone, but ask callers to leave a message. I found the phone number for the Smiths, who also never answer their phone. Mathew has never gotten back to me, and now he does not answer his phone. Luckily I did not send money to anyone, and I left messages with everyone, asking them to explain their positions. I am left with a beautiful, legal-looking contract to add to my collection of crooked timeshare offers.
0 comments