Keeping customers happy is our best hedge against Timeshare Exit companies.* We see so many developers and industry groups litigating and lobbying against blind trusts, predatory law firms and other scams. But the simplest way to fight them is to mitigate consumers' vulnerability to their pitches. Happy customers aren't susceptible to internet, television and radio charlatans blathering about how awful timesharing is. Because they LIKE their resort, their exchange, their vacation memories. After all, they just took a vacation, upgraded, rented some bonus time, banked points, brought friends up for a weekend, or planned next year's getaway.

to read Harry's suggestions. How many of these tips are you already employing? What other ideas do you have? Send a note to [email protected] with your thoughts and comments. (Don't forget to write whether or not we'll have permission to use your name and the name of your company, in the event we are able to print them in a future edition of Resort Trades or Resort Trades Weekly.)

A judge for the United States District Court Middle District of Florida Orlando Division ruled against Mitchell Reed Sussman & Associates, a timeshare exit firm, in the case brought on by Westgate Resorts, a resort developer headquartered in Orlando, FL. In the ruling, the judge stated "Mr. Sussman's letters informing timeshare owners they successfully exited... are objectively deceptive". The court also stated that "contrary to what owners were told, stopping payments does not effectuate a timeshare exit" which is a tactic most in the timeshare exit industry use. "This is another case where timeshare owners were deceived into paying large upfront fees for services that the exit company knew it could not deliver," said VP of Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel of ARDA Robert Clements. "The scheme didn't stop there. Owners were told to stop all communication with the TS company while the exit company kept them in the dark about the status of their matter.  The final insult came when the exit company told the owners they were out of their TS, only to find out later that was false, leaving many of the owners in a worse situation with damaged credit, facing foreclosure and no refund of the fees they paid to the exit company," continued Clements.

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