I received a call today from a man who claimed I advised him a few days ago send $800 to a timeshare resale company called Timeshare Concepts.
I told the man that I didn’t remember having spoken to him. He claimed that I had answered the phone and identified myself as Counselor Harry Styron when he called a number that Timeshare Concepts gave to him. Turns out the number he called was not my number. Today, he found my actual office number on the internet, dialed it, and got the real me.
My partner called the imposter’s number and a recording answered with “Counselor Harry Styron,” and promised to return the call. She didn’t leave a message, but has received several callback attempts.
I checked with the Missouri Attorney General’s consumer division and learned that scammers, some of them outside the US, are using names of individuals and businesses to gain credibility. I’m not flattered.
I wish I knew a legitimate timeshare resale company or some other option for disposal of timeshares by people who are unhappy with timeshare ownership.
Ozarks Law & Economy 
At least a few times per month we have Time Share victims come into our Real Estate office on Main Street and 65 asking if we can list their condo. I always have to inform them that we do not do time share resale, and when they ask for a recommendation of time share resale businesses, I kindly inform them that I will not recommend such a business, because they are sure to lose money on the deal. The best way to resell a time share is to put it on Ebay, take what you get for it and write it off as a loss. I’ve been told that people will sometimes donate their time share to a charity, that can sell it off for whatever they get out of it, and the owner can sometimes write off the donation on taxes.
Sorry to hear of your predicament. Seems like I am always being bombarded by internet viruses or scams. You have a great site, hope all remains good with it.
OMG! This is one time your fame is a bad thing. I am so sorry this is happening to you. Let me know if I can do anything to help
Timeshare industry has a terrible reputation. It’s not a secret that timeshare resorts make a huge percent of their profits out of the timeshare sales, and in most cases the salespeople on the resort use deceptive sales tactics in order to get a sale done. That leaves a big number of people who fell into this scam disappointed and dealing with the problem of how to get out of timeshare.
Thanks for your comment. I am not agreeing or disagreeing with it. I know people who are happy with timeshare ownership.
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These companies are also known as “Resale Service Providers”. They contact people especially through phone calls. The telemarketers claim to the person on the other side of the phone that the resales market is “hot”, and that selling their timeshare will be an easy job. All they ask for is an upfront fee of about $300 to $700, which varies depending on the location and size of the unit.
This fraudulent sales practice is commonly used by sales managers as well as timeshare developers; however, they are very clever and very well protected. A common way to offer the resale of existing timeshares is to hire other companies to take charge of the sale or resale (paid by customers).