Complaint Review: Lonestar Timeshare Transfer LLC - Rockwall Texas

I contacted Lonestar Timeshare Transfer with high hopes after hearing about it on respected national radio ads.  At first it seemed great albeit expensive.  Having looked around a bit for a timeshare exit company I had had a few brush ins with less than scrupulous companies who after some diligence turned out to be scams.  I wanted to trust Lonestar but the red flags started going up as I began to interview them. 

Initially I was on with a representative who really didn't know much beyond her script.  She transferred me to Tyler who was a more "senior" representative.  Frankly I found him condescending and insulting.  I asked some pretty simple questions and got a convoluted merry go round of an answer that really never addressed the question.  If he was trying to talk fast and over my head he failed completely and simply made himself look like a swindler who found it better to confuse the issue with jargon than to simply be straightforward.  I didn't like this and it made me "pause" before I paid up almost $4,000 to someone who couldn't be upfront and transparent. 

I decided to give it a few days and do some research.  I found that the best way to handle this both from reading about timeshare exit strategies and from my personal attorney was to simply have an escrow account that did not release funds to the company until they had performed per the terms of the contract.  Simple enough I thought.  Before I had a chance to call them back and request this I was called and told that if I didn't sign their contract by midnight then the $500 discount they had offered me would expire.  Interesting since the price apparently with the discount was the same price they had quoted me a few months earlier without the discount.  Now I felt they were hard selling and again with the dishonesty. 

When I asked Tyler about the escrow account I got the same condescending attitude and a thoroughly inaccurate and description of escrows.  Having been in real estate for many years and having taught a class on real estate contracts I am quite familiar with the concept of a 3rd party and his description of a bank account solely owned by Lonestar and to which they had full control of funds did not qualify as an escrow account that provided any protection for the other party to a contract and the assurance of satisfactory performance. 

He said they could do an escrow this way and that it would cost me 3% because that is what the credit card company would charge them to put in their account.  Another point of BS in my book as credit card companies charge one processing fee and it is not variable based on what account it is deposited to.  More convoluted misrepresentation.  I then asked Tyler to send me an updated escrow agreement with the escrow stipulations outlined so I could actually read what was in the contract as his explanations were inaccurate and ridiculous.  He readily agreed but repeated to me several times that I was probably not a good fit for his company as I had "trust" issues.  How funny is that as all I want is a company who does what they say they do without a bunch of run around and the assurance of them standing by their guarantee (which they misspell on their website) in case they don't perform.  This is not a "trust" issue it is simply smart business practice.  I fear for the unknowing and trusting folks out there that they manage to swindle through confusion and lies.

Despite Tyler's promise to send a new contract the only email I received was from his assistant which was a 'cancellation" of the previous DocuSign contract.  I guess they didn't like the idea of a client who wanted some assurances of their performance and an escrow to guarantee the money back part.

Also, on the business lookup for the state of Texas the only Lonestar Timeshare Transfer listed is not in good standing with Right To Conduct Business in Texas listed as "Franchise Tax Involuntary Ended" whatever that means. 

I asked him also why no reviews on Trust Pilot.  He said "Ron" from Trust Pilot calls him all the time to get reviews on the site but Tyler said he doesn't want them on too many sites...a bizarre thing to say as if too many good reviews would be a detriment?  I asked him if Trust Pilot charged him to be on the site thinking maybe that was why and he suddenly changed his tune about knowing them over at Trust Pilot because now he had no idea how they operated.  So which is it Tyler??

I would stay far away from this company and I am shocked that Sean Hannity would recommend so highly what appears to be a sham.  I never got the chance to find out how they might have been because the initial interactions were so negative and suspect.  Imagine what a transaction might have been like if I had this many issues just on the interview process before they even got my money!!  To be outright accused of having "trust issues" by asking a lot of questions and then to be promised an email with a new contract and no delivery of such promised document.  I emailed a request for this and a voicemail and no response whatsoever ever again.  

I hope a lot of people read this so folks who might not be as persistent as I am can be warned off. 

Do NOT do business with this company!!!!