Additional Information for Timeshare Exit Team

The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below.

On September 28, 2021, in the State of Washington King County Superior Court, the State of Washington (the “State”) and Reed Hein & Associates LLC, d/b/a Timeshare Exit Team; Brandon Reed; Trevor Hein; Makaymax, Inc.; and Hein & Sons Industries, Inc. (the “Defendants”) entered into a consent decree to settle Case No. 20-2-03141-1 SEA that commenced on February 4, 2020 against the Defendants pursuant to the Consumer Protection Act, RCW 19.86, the Debt Adjusting Act, RCW 18.28, and the Credit Services Organization Act, RCW 19.134.

The lawsuit alleged that Reed Hein deceptively advertised a 100 percent money-back guarantee. In reality, many consumers have struggled to obtain refunds, and are still denied refunds even after Reed Hein & Associates LLC has failed to deliver for years. Under the terms of Reed Hein’s guarantee, customers who are facing foreclosure or were already foreclosed on are not entitled to their money back, because Reed Hein considers foreclosure a successful outcome despite the potential negative impacts. The lawsuit also asserted that Reed Hein did not possess its claimed expertise in exiting timeshares, exposing its customers to unanticipated negative consequences. Instead, Reed Hein’s business model was to outsource nearly everything. Experiences vary from customer to customer — sometimes Reed Hein hires an attorney or sometimes a transfer company (a company that may find someone to take over the timeshare). Because Reed Hein lacked expertise in timeshares, and sometimes has no contract with their vendors governing the vendors’ conduct, Reed Hein & Associates LLC often did not know whether the vendor is pursuing an effective or legal course of conduct to get the customer out of their timeshare. Reed Hein had contracted to provide more than 41,000 timeshare exits across North America. Of those, more than 16,000 are still pending — thousands of which have been pending for three years or longer.

The consent decree orders the Defendants to pay $2.61 million to the State of Washington. If Reed Hein & Associates LLC violates the terms of the consent decree, it will be required to pay an additional $19 million — a total judgment of $22 million. Reed Hein also retracted and apologized for statements made in response to the Attorney General’s lawsuit.

The Attorney General’s Office will use Reed Hein’s $2.61 million payment to provide restitution to Washingtonians harmed by Reed Hein’s timeshare exit scheme and for partial reimbursement of his office’s litigation costs. The amount of restitution each individual receives will depend on the number of claims and the severity of harms suffered due to Reed Hein’s conduct.

In addition, Reed Hein is required to:

• Discontinue certain advertising and sales representations, including that Reed Hein “forces” or “compels” resorts to take back timeshares and that Reed Hein does not sell its customers’ timeshares, both of which are not the case.
• Discontinue certain damaging “exit methods” including transfers that are done without the knowledge or consent of the timeshare resort.
• Disclose to customers that some “exit methods” may lead to foreclosure and provide opt-out and refund options.
• Disclose some of its business practices to consumers, including that customer “files” may be outsourced to third-party vendors.
• Make sure at least 20 percent of each customer’s payments is set aside for refunds.
• More readily provide refunds to customers, including a partial refund if the customer is not out of their timeshare three years from the date of contract.
• Retract and apologize for certain public statements made since the filing of the lawsuit.
• Post an announcement providing a link to the consent decree, which must remain on Reed Hein & Associates LLC’s website for the duration of its operation.

This consent decree or the fact of its entry does not constitute evidence or an admission by any party regarding the existence or non-existence of any issue, fact, or violation of any law alleged by the state. 
The Attorney General’s Office will implement a claims process to determine how to distribute restitution to consumers. The amount of restitution each individual receives will vary, depending on the number of claims and the severity of harms suffered due to Reed Hein’s conduct. Factors the Attorney General’s Office will use to determine the amount of restitution will include: whether the customer received any money back, whether their “file” is still pending with no hope of an exit and whether the customer was subject to particular damaging “exit” practices.
 
The Attorney General’s Office will proactively reach out to Reed Hein customers when the claims process is finalized using the contact information it received from Reed Hein.
 
Washingtonians wishing to be notified when the claims process begins can email [email protected].

For more information on this action, please visit this link on the Washington Attorney General’s website: https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-ferguson-reed-hein-pay-261-million-resolve-timeshare-exit-scheme-lawsuit 

On November 28, 2018, BBB recognized a pattern of complaints from consumers regarding contract, customer service, and guarantee or warranty issues.  Consumers allege the business does not provide adequate updates regarding their cases and does not provide the “100% guarantee” refund.

On December 7, 2018, TimeShare Exit Team responded to BBB and is working with BBB to address these concerns.