Proposed Florida Exit Bill

[KEITH HURST]

There was a reading of the Florida bill on March 12th ,there is a lot of comment regarding it on www.tugbbs.com
anyone else have any feedback

[mavo]

The big mistake that the timeshare developers have made in recent years is telling consumers that they cannot abandon the product that they bought.
The more you tell people that they cannot do something the more intransigent they become and the more people join in to what quickly turns into a revolt.
It does not matter that in reality the product is good value and used correctly can be a real positive asset to taking holidays given the spiralling cost of package holidays and hotel stays.
People pick out the negatives and concentrate on those things rather than the positive impact timeshare can have on their lives. Being mis sold, being tied in to something via a contract, a part of which can be interpreted as not in their best interests. Signing a contract under duress and pressured by slick salesmen who have an answer to every question and concern that they pose. Being blatantly lied to at the initial purchase only to be told when they complain to the developer that "They signed the contract" and "the developers are not responsible for what their agents told them at purchase stage." These issues challenge consumers and we see a growing clamour for changes to be made by an ever growing consumer movement against developers and the practices that they condone and the seemingly unfair contracts that they devise.
So what do developers do to counter this revolt? They use their considerable lobby powers to try to strengthen and retain their grip on what they currently have.
I believe that change is inevitable, at some stage and that the developers are simply trying to buy a bit more time.
TUG. and others such as Irene Parkers extremely active Diamond Resorts Advocacy Group on Facebook which is admirably and professionally backed up here in Europe by Inside Timeshare with regular articles and publicity on a sometimes daily basis. These consumer fed blogs are unstoppable and very effective in "collecting" dissatisfied consumers.
Along with the get you out of your contract people who hover around the fringes we find ourselves with an ever increasing Consumer vs Developer situation and there can be only one eventual winner and in my opinion it will not be The Developer.

[KEITH HURST]

A well written and fair description as to the state of timeshare as it is today, things do seem to moving all be it ever so slowly .In time it may become a product that people will not link with greed ,and .I hope I will see in my lifetime people seeing Timeshare as it should be

[Ollie]

Very interesting topic and I have been watching events both here in Europe and over in America and I have come to the conclusion that given the large number of complaints being logged against the unethical sales tactics being used repeatedly, which the developers seem to do nothing or very little about as the results of the practices that benefit them financially. I think the time is fast approaching when the legislators have to do something to quell these practices which are all of a similar nature and have been reportedly questioned thousands of times. The same bad practices being reported over and over again cannot be ignored for much longer and I feel that an inquiry such as we have seen in South Africa is not far away.

[Timeshare Insider]

Another article on this bill will be published on Inside Timeshare tomorrow, once again from Irene Parker.

[Timeshare Insider]

Here is another article from Inside Timeshare on the Florida Bill 435, written by Irene Parker, who also thanks Mavo for his kind comments. http://insidetimeshare.com/http-insi...are-com-p5163/

[mavo]

The situation with ARDA in America is similar to the one we have here in Europe with RDO and so it is important to recognise their primary function which is the protection of their members. That said all their members and affiliated members are developers or those who have a vested interest in the welfare of developers. Consumers, clients or customers, call us what you will, are not allowed memberships of either organisation.
So it is an us versus them when it comes to expecting assistance in complaints against any of their members and in any complaint against any of the membership the first thing they will do is to favour their membership at it is the membership who fund the existence of these organisations.
We have also to take into account that the officers of such organisations are placed in position by the developers themselves and often the main source of income for such officers is derived from the developer who employs them and they are secconded out to such as ARDA and RDO on an ad hoc basis.
So in the absence of any enforcing agencies or any strong and worldwide consistent legislation it becomes a matter of trying to press the right buttons. Not just finding the buttons to press but finding the right time to do so. This is then the present conundrum for timeshare consumers.
At present the developers are as vulnerable as they have ever been, due to the absence of any real timeshare wide exit strategy. They have created a huge downturn in replacing old consumers with new ones. This has led to a desperation to "sell at all costs" which in turn has led to a vast amount of negativity towards timeshare products and a total loss of trust between developers and many existing owners and consumers. What we are now beginning to see here in Europe is what some will describe as a "fire sale" of apartments which are sold out of timeshare inventory as real estate, never to return.
The short term gain is now turning into a final sell off in some instances and it would probably have been far easier and better to have relied on natural consumer wastage and the retention of goodwill so that handed back timeshares within an exit strategy could be ethically recycled once more.
Is it too late? Has too much damage already taken place?
One thing is for sure. It cannot continue as it is and something has to give and the sooner the better for all involved.

[Timeshare Insider]

Nicely put Mavo, I would invite you to post that on Inside Timeshare as a comment for today's article, it will certainly interest our US readers.

[mavo]

Nicely put Mavo, I would invite you to post that on Inside Timeshare as a comment for today's article, it will certainly interest our US readers.

As per your request my post above has been forwarded to Inside Timeshare for publication in the hope that it will add to the pressure for change and the ultimate much needed reform of the industry of timeshare.

[Timeshare Insider]

ARDA, American Resorts Development Association, lobby and introduce Nevada Bill 348 at the last minute, this is similar to the Florida House Bill 435. See link to Inside Timeshare Article by Irene Parker in Friday's letter from America.

http://insidetimeshare.com/http-insi...are-com-p5213/

[Sunseeker]

More Pressure

Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced today that the State of Arizona has entered into a settlement agreement with Diamond Resorts Corporation, a timeshare sales company with resorts located in the United States and internationally. The assurance of discontinuance requires Diamond to pay the State a total of $800,000, of which $650,000 will be used for consumer restitution and $150,000 for the State’s attorneys’ fees and costs. The assurance also includes a relinquishment program, which requires Diamond to allow qualifying consumers, who no longer want their timeshares, to return them to Diamond with no further obligations.

The State has received hundreds of consumer complaints against Diamond Resorts. Consumers complained that Diamond used deceptive sales practices and made numerous oral misrepresentations and false statements during timeshare sales presentations. Some of the alleged misrepresentations are related to:

• Annual increases in maintenance fees;
• Membership resale and buy-back programs;
• Timeshare membership resale market;
• Ability to rent timeshare vacations; and
• Discounts on other travel needs.

The Arizona Attorney General's Office alleged that Diamond employees’ actions and statements violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act.

Under the settlement, which is subject to court approval, Diamond agreed to make a number of changes to its business practices that will benefit consumers, including requirements to make specific disclosures during timeshare sales presentations.

The relinquishment program will be available to qualifying consumers who no longer want their Diamond Resorts timeshares. To be considered for the relinquishment program, consumers must: (1) no longer want their Diamond timeshare; (2) have purchased their timeshare after 2011 and prior to January 22, 2017, and (3) file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office within 120 days after the court signs the order (deadline expected to occur near the end of April / beginning of May) .

To file a complaint against Diamond, or if you believe you have been the victim of consumer fraud, you can file a consumer complaint by contacting the Attorney General’s Office in Phoenix at (602) 542-5763, in Tucson at (520) 628-6504, or outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas at 1(800) 352-8431. Bilingual consumer protection staff members are available to assist. Consumers can also file complaints online by visiting the Attorney General’s website.

This case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Alyse Meislik.

[KEITH HURST]

At last a ray of light in a dark sky

[KEITH HURST]

At least the Arizona government seems to have accepted that there is wide spread fraud and miss selling in the industry hopefully this view may become more widely accepted by the powers that be giving some hope to the victims,

[Ollie]

Well that occurred quicker than I thought.
You have no proof. Being destroyed by circumstantial evidence and the weight of numbers reporting the same things over and over again has had a result. Only in Arizona though, so there are States like Nevada and Florida where it is still to happen and where authorities are still being effectively persuaded by developer lobbyists to continue to turn a blind eye to bad sales practices.

[KEITH HURST]

FLORIDA will of course be the hardest nut to crack but I hope it will not be to far behind

[mavo]

The developers do seem to be on the run a little over in The States as they seek to find sympathetic legislators for The Bill that they hope will keep them in control for a little longer.
My own thought is that it is no longer if but when developers will be forced by legislation to mend their ways and take full responsibility for the situation that they have brought to the industry with their developer slanted contracts and their denial of responsibility for the activities of their get rich quick sales agents.

[Sunseeker]

Will the Florida Bill go "on tour" around numerous States in an effort by developers and ARDA to find some support from legislators?