- Shirley England paid $9,000 to a timeshare exit firm, Legal Consulting Inc.
- Despite promises, England remains stuck with her timeshare and received no refund.
- Legal Consulting Inc falsely claims BBB accreditation; Utah's Consumer Protection investigates.
DRAPER — Shirley England owns a timeshare in Honolulu that she doesn't want anymore. But getting rid of it has proven to be easier said than done.
"I've been attempting to sell it, or give it back or whatever," England told the KSL Investigators.
England received an invitation to dine at the Sugar House Red Lobster restaurant to listen to a presentation by a timeshare exit company on how it helps people shed their stubborn timeshare contracts.
While the meal was free, the company's services were not.
England said she paid more than $9,000 to that timeshare exit company to unload her fraction of a Hawaiian condo for her.
"I know that seems like an excessive amount, but we are really kind of desperate," England said of the amount.
She said she trusted the company because it touted its A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Plus, it has a "100% money back guarantee." Nearly two years later, England still owns one-52nd piece of that condo. She asked the timeshare exit company for her money back.
"They've just totally ignored me," she said. "100%."
Unable to verify
That's despite her emails, calls and letters sent via certified mail.
"It says 'no such number. Unable to verify,'" England said of the returned letters.
Frustrated, she asked KSL's Matt Gephardt to investigate.
We called and emailed the company, Legal Consulting Inc, but never got a response.
We also noted that on its website, Legal Consulting Inc still identifies itself as a BBB accredited business with an A+ rating. However, the BBB's own website indicates a different picture. It shows the company is not accredited and has an F rating. The complaints filed with the BBB about the timeshare exit company outline very similar situations to Shirley England's timeshare trouble.
The BBB even issued a warning saying it has requested Legal Consulting Inc to remove the BBB logo from its website. The BBB said so far, it's not received a response.
Lifetime obligation and beyond
Shirley England is not alone in her frustration of owning a timeshare she seemingly can't unload.
According to the National Association of Attorneys General, timeshare contracts create a "noncancellable lifetime obligation" including escalating fees that tend to go up "around 5% per year."
Just trying to sell or transfer a timeshare contract is extremely hard as the secondary resale market is already severely oversaturated. Translation: There are a lot more people trying to sell their timeshares than buyers looking into getting into one.
And desperate sellers often wind up in the crosshairs of fraudulent timeshare exit companies that charge thousands up front without delivering on their promise. The National Association of Attorneys General said they "prey on consumers' desperation to exit their contracts."
But losing money to a timeshare exit company is just one of the two sinister heads of this beast.
Timeshare contracts often include a "perpetuity clause" that says if an owner dies, the timeshare's ownership — along with its financial obligations — gets passed down to his or her heirs.
England inherited her condo from her mother. Her kids will inherit it from her.
"I don't want to do that to my kids," she said.
The KSL investigators took her case to Britten Hepworth, an attorney with expertise in estate law.
"Contracts are going to follow you after you pass away," Hepworth said.
He said when a timeshare owner dies, timeshare resorts are notorious for collecting money owed for past fees and then keeping the meter running long after their death.
"They're going to have the ability to come in, get into your trust, get into your estate, whatever money you might have — they usually have a way to get to it," said Hepworth.
That being said, once an estate is bled dry, the law does not require a surviving kid to take on a timeshare, he said.
"That is a situation where, 'Hey, if I'm a child and I just don't want to touch it, I'm under no obligation to take it,'" Hepworth said.
Still, as I've reported before, sometimes it can be tough to convince a timeshare company of that. And each heir must file a disclaimer of interest with the probate court saying he or she rejects the timeshare.
Give it away
So, the cleanest thing is to, indeed, unload it before death.
"One thing we often advise our clients is to just give it away," said Hepworth.
Shirley England would love to give hers away. But with more people becoming reticent to take on the financial obligations that often make a timeshare a bigger burden than it's worth, she can't even pay to give it away.
"I wouldn't invest in a timeshare again," she said.
Taking money and not providing a service is a breach of contract and against Utah law. I talked to the director of Utah's Division of Consumer Protection about England's experience. She said England should file a complaint and it will investigate. But she also notes that if a company has vanished, it can be very hard to get people their owed refunds.
