Diamond resorts have a history of trying to shut down any company that claims to be able to help people get out of their timeshares, and as they say offer fake services for upfront fees. However, this times it seems they may have uncovered a company scamming clients and taking their money.

Diamond have filed a lawsuit after newly released documents, which include statements from dozens of timeshare owners and highlights the fraudulent practices of Pandora Marketing. They say Diamond timeshare owners are being conned out of hundreds of thousands.

In statements from timeshare owners, victims claim they have been persuaded into paying large upfront fees for timeshare exit services, Diamond say people have been convinced to pay these fees and encouraged to stop paying their maintenance bills, but clients are not legally extradited from their timeshares. The company is simply pocketing the money and failing to provide any of the services it offers. Incredibly, the lawsuit claims that some victims have been tricked into paying hundreds of thousands for these services.

In a statement from one of the victims, claimed that the company convinced him they would litigate the cancellation of his timeshare contract and paid a staggering $70,000 for the fee. After some investigation, the victim learnt that the company had paid an attorney $700 to send a letter to the resort and the rest of the money was pocketed by this fraudulent company. Another victim claims she has lost more than $120,000 to the scam after paying the fees and then having to instruct another legal firm in an attempt to sue Pandora Marketing to get her money back.

Diamond resorts have been open about their attempts to shut down timeshare exit companies and to date have more than 15 lawsuits in court currently. In a statement Diamond CEO said: “We will continue to do everything in our power to protect our members from being misled by these companies and will aggressively pursue every avenue to hold these companies to account.”

On the other hand, Diamond should also address the reason why so many of these companies are able to exit and con long suffering timeshare owners out of money. The reality is that many people are unhappy with paying mounting maintenance fees and are desperate to get rid of them. They may become unwell, lose their jobs, or simply can no longer travel as much as they would like. These are real life concerns that happen to people every single day, yet resorts continue to obstruct people who want out of the contractual obligations for legitimate reasons. It is all good intentions going after fraudulent companies, but do not create a breeding ground for them to thrive in the first place. Offer people legitimate and viable exit strategies that work for their circumstances and desperate owners will no longer be taken advantage of.

People who enter into Timeshare agreements often find it difficult to keep up with the mounting maintenance fees and simply cannot afford it any longer. They may also find that the Timeshare no longer suits their needs and simply want to end the contract. There are too many individuals who are willing to take advantage of Timeshare owners and offer fake products, along with Timeshare exit schemes. Before agreeing to any Timeshare termination or exit procedure with an individual or company, seek independent advice and fully research any company you are thinking of working with.