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Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Eastern & Southwest Missouri and Southern Illinois advises consumers to use caution with Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC. This Springfield, Missouri-based law firm handles timeshare exits. Consumers reported to BBB that they believe the company failed to cancel timeshare contracts, failed to contact customers, failed to provide refunds, conducted misleading sales presentations, failed to contact customers, failed to provide refunds, conducted misleading sales presentations, and provided poor customer service.
Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC has an “F” rating, the lowest on BBB’s scale, due to numerous recent unanswered complaints. The business also has received many negative customer reviews.
“If you need to get out of a timeshare obligation, try to work directly with the company from which you purchased,” said Michelle L. Corey, BBB St. Louis president and CEO. “Consumers have told BBB that paying thousands up front to a third party to get out of a timeshare is not a good solution.”
The Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC, website states, “we assist consumers in legally terminating timeshare contracts.” According to complaints and negative reviews posted to BBB, assistance is lacking.
A man from Miami, Oklahoma, told BBB that Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC, has been working on helping him get out of a timeshare since 2018. He said he paid the company $5,000 for the work. Frustrated with the need for more communication by the business, the man said he twice made a four-hour round trip from his home to the Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC, office near downtown Springfield.
The man said he spoke to a secretary once about his case but has yet to receive any other updates.
“I would have hired another lawyer to go after them, but I don’t know that I can trust lawyers after this,” the man told BBB.
A woman from Simpsonville, South Carolina, told BBB that she paid Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC, just over $3,000 in November 2021, to help her exit from three timeshare holdings. The woman said Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC “hasn’t done anything” for her since paying them. She said she could not contact the company and has been blocked from the company’s customer portal.
“It’s been a horrible experience,” the woman told BBB.
A Shirley, New York woman told BBB she paid Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC, $600 in February 2022 to help her exit a timeshare. The woman said she had not had any communication with the business.
“They haven’t done anything for us,” the woman told BBB.
According to Missouri Secretary of State records, Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC, has been registered with the state since March 2018. M. Scott Montgomery is listed as the organizer of the business. Missouri Secretary of State records show that a business called The Montgomery Law Group, LLC uses the same address as Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC. It was registered in July 2022. Brittany Campbell is listed as the organizer of The Montgomery Law Group, LLC.
Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC, recently lost federal civil lawsuits against it by timeshare developers Wyndham and Bluegreen. As a result of each case, Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC, was permanently barred from advising timeshare owners of those companies.
Missouri secretary of state records shows a non-profit organization called the American Association of Timeshare Owners, Inc. was registered in August 2020, using the same address as Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC. Montgomery, Campbell, and Rebecca Patterson are listed as incorporators. According to the registration, the organization was formed “to provide a source for timeshare owners and to help legislators pass laws to improve the timeshare experience for consumers.”
The organization’s website sells memberships for $19 a year. The state no longer recognizes the American Association of Timeshare Owners, Inc., as of October 2022, as the organization failed to file a registration report.
BBB attempts to reach Montgomery and Newcomb, LLC for comment failed, and it has yet to respond to a BBB letter regarding how it plans to address its pattern of customer complaints.
BBB offers these tips when trying to exit a timeshare holding:
- Research any business and its owners carefully before paying any money. Check the company’s BBB Business Profile at BBB.org or by calling 888-996-3887.
- Contact the resort that originally sold you the timeshare to see if it has a deed-back program.
- Before paying anything, ensure you have a signed contract outlining what is to be done, a timetable, and an explanation of what happens if the business or the consumer doesn’t comply with the agreement.
- Be wary of anyone claiming they have a buyer for your timeshare or who promises to rent it, especially if they ask for an upfront fee.
- Pay with a credit card if you need to challenge the purchase later.
- If you feel misled, file complaints with BBB and the state’s attorney general’s office.
- For more information about the timeshare exit industry, refer to a 2019 BBB study.
