ComplaintsforBuyatimeshare.com

• Initial Complaint

  07/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  About a year ago, I paid BuyATimeshare.com $2500 because I thought they could help me sell a timeshare I own. I spoke to an agent who gave my some very convincing BS about how wonder their company was, and how high a rating they had, and how successful they were at selling timeshares. I did go to a few places on the web he suggested which gave them good ratings. He convinced me that in ******, he had to collect the fee up front (I should have known!). They would put the unit on their website and if I got and accepted an offer, they would take care of all paperwork to sell and transfer it. I decided to hope it was legit and paid them. The unit was indeed listed on their website for sale, and for the first few weeks, I got calls from very nice sounding people telling me that things were going well and they thought it would sell quickly. Supposedly there were offers on both weeks and I accepted both right away. I was waiting to hear more, but when I didn't, after about a month, I reached out and was told that the offers were taken back. I told them I was angry that I at least wasn't told. Since then, I have heard nothing from anyone in the company at all. I realize that they will just claim that there aren't any offers, which might be true, but I also realize that since they have been paid for work they haven't completed, they have no incentive to do so. I want to place a complaint with you, so that maybe others won't stupidly fall for this con. I'm 70 years old and $2500 is a lot to just loose. I would really love at least a partial refund, since they did list my unit and I believe that after a reasonable period of time, since they weren't able to complete the process promised, I should be entitled to it.

  Business response

  07/29/2024

  This client is advertising two ownerships with us.  She paid $1,050.00 per advertisement, so $2,100.00 in total onJanuary 16,2024.  Her properties have been posted for sale for slightly over six months, which is not very long at all.

  She had an offer on February 22, 2024 for $2,50.00.00 and then another offer from a different buyer on February 24, 2024 for $4,000.000. These offers were at full asking prices and were sent to her via email.

  We called this client to give her a 60 day update and to inform her of these important alerts that she needed to respond to but someone picked up the phone and hung up on us.  This was on March 19,2024

  The,n on March 20,2024, she left us a voicemail and then sent an email to us saying she was on hold for 20 minutes (we were closed when this message was left). **************** called her back the very next morning, where we walked her through accepting both offers in her online account.  On May 13, 2024 this client was notified that these buyers had elected not to move forward, but that we would continue to market these ownerships for sale. She then logged into her online account on July 17, 2024 at 7:21PM and that was the last activity made on her account.

  To day, one of her advertisements has received 142 views and the other 144 views. Our company is doing its job in advertising these ownerships for sale.  Furthermore, this client signed an agreement detailing our services and stating that she understood them, as well as having completed a quality assurance survey. (see attached).

   There is no refund due to this owner.  We will be happy to showcase her ownerships for sale one of our other platforms if she would like us to at no extra cost.

   

  Customer response

  07/31/2024

   
  Complaint: 22050474
  
  I am rejecting this response because: While, I believe they have done most of what they state, I disagree that they have been very good at communicating anything to me.  I don't believe they "walked me through" anything.  One other problem I have with them is that since I let them advertise my timeshares, I have been swamped with many calls reaching out from other places, everywhere in the ** offering to help me sell, or rent the property.  Since I have had various numbers from them also, I just don't answer the ones that say "Suspect Fraud" or numbers I don't know that don't leave messages.  I receive at least 3-6 such calls per day and frankly don't even know if they are the ones calling.  I think their communication is awful! If I ever hung up, it's because I didn't know it was them.  I'd just like to know if anything is happening occasionally and I hope that if the units ever sell, they will hope up their part of doing the paperwork to sell & transfer them, but I have a lot of doubts about that.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  08/02/2024

  Our company has nothing to do with the many solicitation calls that you are receiving.  Unfortunately, there are companies that purchase lists of timeshare owners and call them continually.  Any calls coming from us will come from our *************************** and you can easily add us to the contacts list in your phone so you can  identify us. While I am sorry that you are unhappy with the service so far, but we are doing the job for which you paid us, and you have had two offers come in that *** have gone through had they been responded to more promptly.

  We can cancel the advertisements if you would like, but we are not going to be able to issue you a refund.  

  We will be happy to ****** your ownerships for sale on our sister sites at no cost, pleae reach out to our *************************** to set this up.

  Customer response

  08/02/2024

   
  Complaint: 22050474
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I resent the claim that I don't answer promptly as I immediately accepted the offers on my units. Then, I had to call a month later to find out what had happened.  I have put two contacts in my phone so that I would be able to know when you call, but it's not showing up from them.  The numbers are either "Suspect Spam" or an 800 number I don't recognize and if someone would leave a message that it's from "BuyATimeshare" instead of some other name, I would promptly respond. I would like to know the number I should expect from **************** as I think many of your representatives work around the country & have various numbers.  You also can reach me by e-mail as you have when we first began our business. I don't expect miracles, and I understand that you can't control buyers, I'm just unhappy with the communication, or lack of.  Please continue to market my units, as I have paid for that already and I will continue to cross my fingers & hope that if they sell, the transactions will be completed by you also.    
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  04/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company is not reputable, I was contacted by a representative claiming to advertise my timeshare this was back in 04/2023. As of today, I have not received any updates nor have I been provided any status on the advertisement. I have called myself just for the rep to say reduce the price on the timeshare. That has been done twice within the past year. I fell as though, the initial rep give me just what I wanted to hear. I was vurnable to the situation of getting this timeshare advertised and sold. I sometimes go on the website to see if anything has changed, unfortunately not. I requesting that my money be refunded due to services not rendered as promised.

  Business response

  04/12/2024

  Hello, ***************** paid us $249.00 On April 4, 2023 to advertise her timeshare ownership for sale.  We called her again after two weeks, again after one month and again after two months to provide updates to the advertising.  On June 6, 2023, we received an email from this client about receiving calls from other timeshare companies trying to solicit her business. She then said in her email that she was at the point of wanting to just cancel her ownership and cut her losses. We responded to her email first by leaving her a voicemail two minutes after she sent in her email to us, and then we followed up with an email reply warning of exit companies and timeshare resale scams.

  The last time **************** logged into her online account was on July 25, 2023.  We spoke with her again on February 20, 2024 and she lowered her asking price.

  ***************** is not due any refund from us.  Our terms were clearly explained to her both verbally and in writing, and she even completed a survey confirming that she understood that there was no way to guarantee when her ownership may sell or what offers may, or may not, come in.

  Timeshares do sell every single day on the resale market, however, they do not always sell as fast as an owner may like.  This is why our guarantee is that we will continue to advertise the ownership for sale until it does sell, or the owner tells us to discontinue.

  Although we cannot issue this client a refund, we will be happy to feature *****************' advertisement on Home page of our website for added exposure, and can even place it for rent thru one of our affiliated companies at no additional cost if she reaches back out to us.  

• Initial Complaint

  02/23/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I contacted this organisation 12 months ago by email and received a telephone from a ************************* who was extremely friendly and told me I would have to pay some money into an account .He advised me that it wouldnt take long to sell the timeshare.A few weeks later I was contacted to ask if I would consider reducing the sales price.I agreed and havent heard anything since.I have tried to call the number but get no response.As my timeshare hasnt been sold I would like a refund.

  Business response

  02/28/2024

  **************** signed up with us on May 19, 2023, and paid us a one time cost to advertise her vacation ownership for sale on our website, "www.buyatimeshare.com".  Her property is still being advertised as we speak - it has been posted for sale on our website for only nine months. Our services were fully explained to ****************, and she was told explicityly that our company could not guarantee that her vacation ownership would sell in a specific time frame or even sell at all.  This is also true of a newspaper's classified advertisement - they cannot guarantee if an appliance that they are advertising for sale will sell.  Their job is strictly to get it in front of possible buyers, just the same as ours.   A timeshare is not like a house, there is no multiple listing service just for them, and so often they need to be advertised through a company that specializes in them so that prospective buys can see them available.  At no time was this client given a false expection.

  It is not true that she has had no contact from us. We provided this client with multiple update calls and email correspondence. She  made one price adjustment which was on 7/18/23 when we called her for her sixty day update. Then **************** called in to us on 8/10/23 where we provided her with an update and told her wed be reaching back out in a week or 2 for another update call. We then left her a message on 8/21/23 and sent her an update email. She then called back in on the same day, we gave an update and extended her a featured property upgrade at no cost to her. She then sent us an email on 9/18/2023 after hours, so we emailed her back on 9/19/2023 answering her specific questions. She then sent us an email on 2/24/23 after our hours, asking how she can log into her online account. We replied via email with specific instructions on how she can navigate her online account first thing that Monday morning.. That was our last correspondence with her.

  Because our services were explained correctly, and the client read through our terms and conditions, as well as our refund policy, and acknowledged that she understood by signing and submitting the acknowledgement back to us, no refund is due to her.

• Initial Complaint

  10/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  As you may be aware, there is an active network of timeshare scammers who represent themselves as
  successful sellers of timeshares, extracting considerable amounts of money from people desperate to
  get out from under onerous fees for timeshares theyre no longer able to use. Weve been fleeced by
  two of them and besieged by calls from others, making us wonder if they share their chump list. All led
  us through the process of looking up their license online as proof of their legitimacy. The two to whom
  we gave money told us they would run an ad but didnt say that was ALL they were going to do nor that
  the visibility of the ad would depend on the frequency with which we updated it. They were told we are
  in our 80s.

  Buy A Timeshare ***********************, Senior Advertising Executivel-********************** 5406<********************************************************** ***************************************

  
  o What they said: SMTN is a fraud, Buy a Timeshare has a timeshare selling business
  where they actually meet with customers. Theyre the only resale provider in the
  country to be accepted by all three North American timeshare associations.

  
  o What they did: Collected a $500 fee for services on 2/27/23 followed by occasional
  emails about adjusting our price to move our ad to the top of the list, which we did. No
  response to our email in June to adjust the price to $1.

  
  They denied my request for a refund on 10/4/23, saying the contract only provided for a refund
  if we sold the timeshare ourselves (true). Offered to present our ad as a Featured Property to
  put it at the top of the list for 15 days. Oh boy

  Business response

  10/23/2023

  My understanding is that we spoke with X** in February of this year and she paid our company to advertise her vacation ownership for sale, which we have been doing so diligently ever since.  During that time she has made numerous revisions to the advertisement, as recently as last week, and we have continued to accomodate her, as is our guarantee.

  Please keep in mind that selling a vacation ownership does not always work like selling a home.  The main difference is that there is no ************************ set up for timeshares to go into, and many general realtors do not work with them.  Because of this, it is common to pay an advertising cost so that potential buyers can see that the ownership is for sale.  Even if someone were to advertise their property on **** or in the newspaper, they would have to pay an upfront cost, and the advertisement would expire once the time limit had passed.  At Buyatimeshare.com, we will continue to market the ownership until sold. We realize that marketing a timeshare for sale can be frustrating. We cannot guarantee that any given ownership will sell or how long that process might take.

   That being said, Timeshares do sell every single day on the resale market, and we do have partnerships in place with multiple real estate offices who can sell from our inventory as well.  I will be happy to post this property for sale on additional forums at no added cost to the consumer and will reach out to X** this afternoon to see if that is something we can help with.  Additionally, we have a very successful rental program, and many owners are able to make back their maintenance fees by renting their available weeks out while they are waiting for the property to sell.  In this instance, our rental department handles everything and the owner receives a check in the mail as soon as the renter checks out. 

  Again, I will reach out to X** today to see how else we might be of assistance and to assure her that we are doing as much as possible to be of assistance.

   

• Initial Complaint

  02/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The of transaction was 1-5-22. The amount of Money was $598.00 They promised to advertise my property on the website. I looked on the website and never saw my property. When I did talk to them they told me to reduce the property. I priced the property and they were not high at all and they said to reduce the price every time I called them. They did nothing for the money. I tried to get the money back and they said they don't give refunds and they will list the property until it is sold. I have been tiring to get the money back for months. They want even talk to me, I feel liked the scammed me out of the money. I work hard for my money and i want was for them to work with me on selling the property. Once I signed the contract, nothing else was done after a few weeks. Why should the company keep my money if they did nothing for it. The salesman was very nice when we signed the contract and now he want even call me to discuss a refund. no one wants to work with me.

  Business response

  02/20/2023

  Dear ********************:

  This is a formal response to a complaint filed with your office. Our customer, *****************************, contracted our office to advertise her Hilton Grand Vacations Club at ******** ********** and Hilton Grand Vacations Club at ******* Village ownerships for sale on our website. Her ads was posted on our website and are still available for viewing at ********************************************************************************************************************************** and *************************************************************************************************************************.

  BuyaTimeshare.com is an advertising service which allows timeshare owners to negotiate the sale or rental of their own property themselves,without the assistance of a real estate broker or involving any commissions. We do not guarantee the length of time it will take for a timeshare to sell or rent, nor the price at which a property will sell or rent. **************** understands that we do not guarantee a time of sale, per the terms of her contract as well as the survey she completed at the time she agreed to her advertising - copies of which are included in this response for your review.

  In her complaint, **************** referenced a refund request for her advertising fee because she claimed we have not provided support to her in her efforts to sell her timeshare. However, our marketing efforts have generated 518 unique viewers to her advertisements, showing that our efforts have worked. As with any type of advertisement, details such as asking price and season of ownership can have a significant effect on whether buyers decide to make an offer.

  BuyaTimeshare.com is a for-sale-by-owner internet advertising and marketing company for timeshare owners. As such, we always encourage our advertisers to be as engaged and proactive as possible in the management of their advertisement through their online account. Our staff have been in contact with her on multiple occasions to advise her and provide her with the information she needs to give her the best chance to sell her ownership.

  There is no question as to whether BuyaTimeshare.com has performed the advertising services promised to ****************. We have fulfilled an arrangement made to provide our services, and **************** has agreed to pay for those services that are in fact being provided.

  Our staff is dedicated to working with **************** until she is completely satisfied with our services; however, there is no current information that would reasonably contradict our review. Our refund policy is clearly presented in the agreement and her account does not fall within the parameters of our refund policy. Therefore, we do not believe there is a basis for complying with her demand for a refund. If you would like to discuss this situation further, our **************** Manager, ***********************************, would be happy to discuss this account. Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

• Initial Complaint

  07/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I entered a contract with this comppany to sell my extra vacations from my timeshare on Dec 20, 2020. They have not had a successful offer to rent my property since then. I have contacted them by phone and e-mail at least 5 times since then and have gotten the run around. I want my money back or an immediate rental of my property for at least the $1499 i have laid out.

  Business response

  07/25/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/07/08) */ Dear ****** - we are very puzzled by your comments as we have no record of you in our system. Your name, phone number and email address do not appear in our database, so we presume that you have mistaken us for another resale company. Feel free to call us on ************ if you need to speak with us directly and perhaps we can help you identify the company with whom you have engaged.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩