Timeshares are one of those ideas that look great on paper. Rather than sinking tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars into a vacation home, a group of people collectively own a property and use it on a schedule. The idea is so attractive that timeshare sales were around $8.6 billion in 2015.
Despite that growth, the industry as a whole is shot through deceptive practices and outright timeshare fraud. The FTC took action against a timeshare reseller in December 2016 for allegedly scamming consumers out of $15 million dollars.
In February 2017, consumers were warned about a Georgia-based reseller that may have scammed customers out of $200,000 to as much as $1 million.
In the face of so much timeshare fraud, you may be wondering how to
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An organization sets up a supposed charity to which people can donate their unwanted timeshare. In this case, the organization does take possession of the timeshare, but at a price.
People who donate are charged excessive processing fees by a company owned by the same people who run the supposed charity.
Avoiding Timeshare Fraud
The people most likely to fall victim to timeshare fraud are those who find their timeshare a serious burden. Timeshare maintenance costs, for example, tend to go up every year and a change in your financial circumstance can make those fees problematic. Here are some things you can do avoid the scams.
Be Cynical
Almost every timeshare scam works by offering you the thing you want. It's a sad truth that life rarely provides you the thing you want without demanding a lot of effort in return. If you get an offer that looks a little too great, assume it is.
Due Diligence
Never take anyone's word for it that their offer, their service or their company is legitimate. Look into the company and the person to make sure they exist. Your state's consumer protection office is a good place to start the
“March of Dimes” charity was in news in November ’15, because of an alleged fraud committed by one of its employees named Ms. Karima Manji. Karima Manji has been working with MOD since 2005. She has been handling the portfolio of property manager and used to look after MOD’s non-profit residences. She is alleged to have used “various means” to siphon funds from the charity, including forging invoices and expense claims, and funnelling money into a false March of Dimes bank account. She has been charged with fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000, possession of property obtained by a crime over $5,000 and presenting a forged document. She also served as the executive director of Kingsmere retirement living in Alliston and has been placed on administrative leave after being charged by Toronto police of allegedly defrauding MOD of $0.8 Mn. Officials at MOD has confirmed of ongoing investigation into the incident and those of Kingsmere retirement living have stated that “Manji’s employment is not linked to her involvement with MOD’s”.
It might come as a surprise to learn that the government is subsidizing what Robert Reich has called a “plutocratic bias” in the charitable sector at a steep cost to the national treasury. This is in large part because the charitable tax deduction, which serves as the charitable sector’s primary financing mechanism, creates tax incentive structures for donors that are steeply regressive. In 2012, tax subsidies to the charitable sector cost the government more than $50 billion in lost tax revenue. Given the billions of dollars in government subsidies and donations, it seems only reasonable to ask if this sector actually supports “charity” by meeting the needs of the most disadvantaged in our society, which is what we have historically
If you do receive such a call, ask the caller to provide you with identification and contact information for the organization they are purporting to represent, do not make any commitments over the phone, and follow up with the identified organization directly by visiting their website and contacting them through the methods provided on the
Fraud is a problem that nonprofits must be prepared to prevent within their financial departments. Embezzlements and financial statement fraud can destroy the financial health of a nonprofit organization and undermine the organization’s mission. Skimming is particularly difficult to identify because the money is often taken off incoming funds before the donations are ever annotated or accounted for (Zack & De Armond, 2015). However, these financial woes can be easily avoided. Nonprofit Quarterly identifies the issue of financial fraud as a “people problem” (Zack et al, 2015). Financial departments within corporations are required to follow strict laws and regulations that are not required to be followed by nonprofit organizations. The Sarbanes-Oxley
Diana George wrote her article about non-profit organizations that try to convince the public about how there are people that really do need help. The purpose of her article is to convince people that they are hearing about people who the ones that are hearing about people who are the ones that are in need the most. Throughout the years in the media people in poverty are portrayed as either helpless victims or
They wonder why they should donate if they have never personally had any connection with the association. Donations to St. Jude Research Hospital are not only beneficial for the hospital and its patients, but also for the general feeling of doing something out of the heart. Despite the idea that when you donate to an organization there is always a catch or the place is asking for too much money, this happens to be untruthful. “It might seem that people would have to donate large amounts of money in order to pay for these extremely large expenses, but this is surprisingly not the case. St. Jude makes donating affordable because it employs a strategy where many people donate a small amount of money instead of fewer people donating a larger amount of money” (Donation Central). As this quote states, the amount of money isn’t enormous like people think so, it is very affordable and
As a nonprofit organization, the act of suing a donor conflicts with the fundamental principles of charitable acts. Court action would also make the
Self-interested and ambitiously rational actors within United Way who use money for their personal luxury, rather than fulfilling the promise of global community improvement.
The company stated that consumers could make over $300 a day working from home. The FTC came in and stopped this scam from hurting further consumers and prosecuted the online schemers (www.ftc.gov, 2014).
Numerous accusations on the mismanagements of volunteers and donated funds didn't end with 9/11, but escalated following Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita. When the overwhelming numbers of donations specifically received for the relief efforts of 9/11, the executives made the wrong choice by going against donator’s wishes of how to use those funds. Also, the ARC didn’t update their donation system and was once again bogged down by the overpowering donations that poured in for Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita. On top of all that the ARC failed to get a grip on the financial disasters at its local chapters - unscreened volunteers walked away with ATM cards loaded with donated funds and some manager’s padded their own bank accounts with fundraiser donations (Holguin). For an organization that is supposed to help the country in disaster relief, the ARC has added monetary complications as the icing on the cake.
It is understable for successful people who do not want to donate their hard earn money because it is them who
There are other agencies that are funded purely on donations alone. The Salvation Army is one of these agencies, and it offers assistance to the society in dire need in ways such as housing, health, providing support, clothing, food etc. (The Salvation Army 2009)
What a perfect way to deter someone from receiving public assistance; attach a negative stigma to it. This is a way of allowing the government to avoid assisting the people struggling in America. By allowing there to be an acceptance towards the utilization of private charities the government is dodging responsibility towards its
On a smaller scale than the large hotel but with many of the same costs including physical location (one) and entertainment and food.