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Vacation Property Resales, Inc. Paid big bucks to sell my condo, never sold, no refund given Internet
Owned a timeshare condo with ex-husband. He did not take my name off the deed so to avoid future "maintenance fees" headaches and phone calls about non payment, I contacted a company to sell the condo for me cuz I did not want anything to do with it or my ex anymore.
In Oct 2007 I decided to go with Vacation Property Resales Inc. They charged me $539 to list my condo with their advertising company. I was promised my condo would sell in 3 months, but it could take up to 6-12 months to sell. They only needed one name (mine) to list the condo, even though there were 2 names listed on the condo deed (mine AND my ex-husband's). Once my condo sold, the check would be made out to both our names. That should have been my first clue right there.......
Well as of April 2008, nothing sold. No contacts by them, I always had to contact them. When I asked why the condo hasn't sold yet, I was always given the same dumb answer "Maybe you should lower your asking price." I kept lowering it to the point that it wasn't even worth it anymore.
I filed a complaint with the BBB in May 2008. The company gave me their lame rebuttal and refused a refund. How can they sell my condo without BOTH names on the contract (i.e. permission from BOTH parties listed on the deed)? It is a real estate deed, and I believe it is ILLEGAL to sell property without all names present! I'm currently waiting for arbitration from the BBB to settle my case. And then I was even told by the BBB that if I DO win my case, the BBB can't make the company pay me back!! GRRR
CondoHater
Madison, Wisconsin
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Mr. Hamilton
Tampa,Florida,
U.S.A.
Update on Complaint by "CondoHater"
#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Thu, September 04, 2008
This rebuttal is in response to the complaint filed by CondoHater. I have firsthand experience in this case as I have been personally dealing with this woman for some time now. While it's great that there is a forum where people can express their concerns, I find it extremely alarming that they can simply say things that aren't true with absolutely nothing to back up their claims. This woman will say anything to get her way no matter how far from the truth it is and no matter how outlandish. Here are the FACTS of this particular case.
This woman emailed us on Sept 21, 2007 and requested our help in marketing this timeshare. We didn't contact her. She emailed us info that very clearly stated this was a 2 bed 2 bath unit and that she wanted to sell. We explained that we are a for sale by owner company and would be able to get her the exposure necessary to sell. We then explained that we cannot guarantee a time of sale nor a price at which a property sells. The fact that she stated in her complaint that we guaranteed a sale in 3 months but it could take up to 6-12 months pretty much ruins any credibility she had. Which was it? Did we guarantee it would sell in 3 months or 6-12? If this woman is going to make up stories she should at least have some continuity! Is it even possible to guarantee a sale in 3 months and then say well maybe it will take 6-12? Not only was she told that this would take time in the sale presentation, but she was also told in verification when she listed and most importantly it is VERY CLEARLY written on the contract that she signed and agreed to! So this woman's credibility is gone.
Secondly, this woman claims we illegally listed this without her ex's permission. We are very similar to a classified section in a newspaper in which we advertise exactly what is given to us by our clients. It is not our responsibility to call her ex husband and see where he stands in this matter. In fact, how are we even supposed to know her personal situation? It's not our business. In this situation, ANYONE can run an advertisement through our company. Frankly it doesn't matter whether they own or not. Having said that, this is a deeded property and therefore anyone on this deed would need to sign over to relinquish this property in closing. Even though this is common sense, this was still very clearly explained to this woman when she listed. The contract she has with our company is for the marketing of her timeshare, and that is why her husband's signature is not required. It seems to me that this woman is more interested in blaming us for her inability to communicate with her ex than to look at the facts of this business dealing.
The fact that CondoHater stated that she has never received a contract from us is absurd. I have a signed contract in her file, SIGNED BY HER! How is it that she never received a contract from us and yet I have a signature from her confirming the terms and the agreement? What this customer doesn't know is that we track all conversations and updates internally for better customer service. On 5/13/2008 she called to make a couple ad changes, which was done immediately. She then called back a few hours later that same day asking if she gave this property away as a gift, if she would be eligible for the money back guarantee. Of course we explained she would not be. She never said anything in regards to her ex husband not agreeing to this nor anything about us giving false guarantees regarding a time of sale. So it seems pretty clear that because she wasn't eligible for a refund, she threw what is nothing short of a temper tantrum in which she will say anything to get her way. A BBB complaint soon followed.
We did receive a complaint through the BBB from this customer but refused to refund the fee because her claims were completely without merit. It's nothing short of extortion when someone demands money back, for a service that has been provided, by threatening to jeopardize our reputation. We could have easily refunded the fee to close the case but I refuse to be strong armed like that. Why should we provide a service for someone for them to just make things up to get the money back? As an update, this woman did ask for arbitration from the BBB but backed out the day of. My guess is that she finally came to the conclusion that her claims were completely without merit and knew full well she had no leg to stand on. This complaint has been closed by the BBB. I of course have all supporting documentation to show everything in the rebuttal is true. If there are any questions I can be reached at j.hamilton@buyatimeshare.com.