November 5, 2025
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The worst timeshare exit companies have defrauded Americans out of over $90 million according to a November 2022 Federal Trade Commission lawsuit. These operations target desperate timeshare owners, mostly older adults, with false promises while charging thousands in upfront fees. Consumer Law Protection and related Missouri-based companies collected fees ranging from $5,000 to $80,000 without delivering exits.
In January 2025, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced settlements with three companies that violated debt settlement laws, resulting in $269,378 in refunds. With 9.1 million U.S. households owning timeshares in 2025, fraudulent exit firms continue proliferating. Understanding their tactics protects your financial security and prevents compounding an already difficult situation.
The St. Louis Better Business Bureau received over 350 consumer complaints between 2017 and 2019 regarding Springfield, Missouri-based timeshare exit businesses. These companies collected more than $2.2 million from consumers in at least 46 states but never secured timeshare exits. The American Resort Development Association confirms resort developers do not partner with exit firms.
Immediate warning signs include unsolicited contact through direct mail or dinner seminars, demands for large upfront payments before services, fake affiliations with legitimate companies, and promises guaranteeing exits within specific timeframes. Any company claiming partnerships with resorts or BBB accreditation should be verified independently.
Consumer Law Protection operated under multiple names including Square One, Premier Reservations Group, Resort Transfer Group, and Timeshare Help Source since 2018. They used glossy mailers inviting timeshare owners to hotel information sessions promising to recover 100% of purchase prices. The FTC complaint alleges they falsely employed logos of legitimate timeshare companies.
These operations create sham nonprofits like the “Consumer Rights Council” solely to appear credible. They claim accreditation from organizations that don’t exist or misrepresent affiliations with the Better Business Bureau. The defendants in the FTC case charged fees but “simply were doing very little, if anything, to get consumers out of their timeshare contracts.”
Critical Red Flags to Identify Worst Timeshare Exit Companies:
Washington state sued Reed Hein & Associates (operating as Timeshare Exit Team) for unfair business practices. The company contracted with 32,000 people to provide 38,000 timeshare exits, but 17,000 remained pending. More than 8,000 customers waited over two years, and 4,600 waited over three years with no resolution.
Aggressive sales tactics include creating urgency that consumers must act immediately or lose opportunities forever, stoking baseless fears about heirs inheriting maintenance fees, and misrepresenting consumer options by falsely claiming owners cannot exit without paying thousands. These pressure tactics violate consumer protection laws.
The FTC complaint details how defendants tell consumers at hotel seminars they must decide immediately or never escape their timeshares. They falsely warn that heirs will inherit ever-increasing maintenance fees. In reality, states have procedures allowing heirs to disclaim timeshare inheritance without accepting obligations.
Real-World Case: Ed Roach, a 74-year-old retired medical lab technologist from Missouri, received a 2017 call from a timeshare exit firm falsely claiming association with Wyndham resorts. The company invited him to a seminar offering free dinner and an iPad. At the presentation, high-pressure salespeople warned his children would inherit maintenance fee debt burdens.
Companies promise exits generally within one or two years while guaranteeing full refunds if they fail. When consumers request updates, call center employees deflect with excuses about matters being “with legal” or COVID causing delays. The FTC found defendants weren’t actually working on exits regardless of pandemic conditions.
Reed Hein charged $3,000 to $9,000 typically, or up to 30% of mortgages exceeding $30,000. Despite advertising 100% money-back guarantees, they regularly denied refunds. They considered foreclosure a successful exit, meaning customers facing credit damage received no refunds under their twisted interpretation.
Expert Tip: Document all communications with exit companies. Save contracts, emails, recorded calls if legal in your state, and payment receipts. This evidence becomes critical when filing complaints with state attorneys general or pursuing refunds through legal channels.
The FTC’s Square One Development Group case highlights guarantee manipulation. Sales documents state “Consumer Law guarantees our Service we will get You out of Your timeshare or we will give You a complete and full refund.” However, when consumers requested refunds after years without results, defendants cited non-existent litigation or pandemic delays.
Money-back guarantees from worst timeshare exit companies contain hidden conditions making refunds virtually impossible. They define any termination including foreclosure as successful exits, interpret ongoing work as excluding refund eligibility, or require three-year waiting periods before considering refund requests.
Reed Hein’s guarantee stated customers only became eligible for refunds after three years. Their position held that anything terminating timeshare ownership satisfied guarantees, even if customers found exits themselves or resorts foreclosed. For years, they claimed no refunds were owed while they supposedly worked on cases.
Minnesota’s settlements with Encore Law Inc., Last Resort Consulting, and Tradebloc in January 2025 resulted from violations including charging large upfront fees without proper licensing. These companies made misrepresentations about services and expected results while failing to deliver actual exits.
Fine print buries exclusions and conditions voiding guarantees. Companies include clauses allowing them to declare success if customers stop making payments and face foreclosure. Others require customers to demonstrate they followed specific instructions perfectly or lose refund eligibility.
The November 2022 FTC lawsuit alleges defendants denied nearly every refund request despite promises. They blamed customers, timeshare companies, or external factors for lack of progress. This pattern appears consistently across the worst timeshare exit companies nationwide.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit against Reed Hein details how 2,500 or more Washingtonians contracted for services. Of 38,000 total promised exits, 17,000 remained pending with thousands waiting years. Customers struggled obtaining updates or reaching representatives after paying thousands.
Customer service failures include unresponsive phone lines after payment, vague status updates claiming matters are “in process,” inability to speak with specific case handlers, delayed or non-existent progress reports, and representatives providing conflicting information about timeframes and next steps.
Legitimate service providers maintain regular communication schedules, assign dedicated representatives, provide detailed action plans with milestones, and explain exactly what steps they’re taking. Worst companies disappear after collecting upfront fees or provide only generic updates without substantive progress details.
The FTC found Consumer Law Protection employees put customers off with claims of legal delays or pandemic impacts. In reality, little to no actual work occurred on cases. This communication breakdown leaves victims without recourse while maintenance fees and penalties accumulate.
The Better Business Bureau’s ScamTracker flagged timeshare scams as among 2024’s most troubling fraud types. Complaints reveal patterns of non-responsiveness, excuse-making, and refund denials. Many victims paid thousands but received no meaningful assistance toward timeshare exits after months or years.
Capital Vacations sued Financial Recovery Advocates and associates in 2024 for deceptive practices. The lawsuit accused FRA of breaking South Carolina’s Unfair Trade Practices Act by practicing law without authorization while sending useless complaint letters that never resulted in cancellations.
Better Business Bureau complaints provide critical insights into worst timeshare exit companies. While some fraudulent operations create fake BBB profiles or misrepresent ratings, legitimate BBB records document consumer experiences. The St. Louis’ office alone handled 350+ complaints against Missouri-based operations collecting $2.2 million fraudulently.
Check BBB ratings at BBB.org directly, read actual customer review content not just star ratings, note complaint resolution patterns, verify company addresses and contact information match BBB listings, and search company names plus “complaint” or “lawsuit” in multiple search engines.
Consumer Law Protection falsely claimed BBB affiliations in sales presentations. The FTC complaint details how defendants created fake credentials including the sham Consumer Rights Council nonprofit. They displayed BBB logos without authorization and misrepresented partnerships with legitimate organizations.
Verify every accreditation claim independently. Call the BBB office directly using numbers from BBB.org, not numbers provided by exit companies. Ask specifically about complaint history, resolution rates, and any alerts or warnings issued about the business.
When evaluating exit companies, examine complaint patterns not just volume. Multiple complaints about identical issues such as refund denials, communication failures, or no progress after years indicate systemic problems. Resolution rates matter more than raw complaint numbers.
The August 2024 Wyndham Vacation Ownership judgment against Rich Folk, William Wilson, and related entities totaled $16 million. This represents the largest known monetary award against timeshare exit companies, demonstrating legal consequences for false advertising and deceptive practices.
Worst timeshare exit companies advise owners to stop paying maintenance fees immediately, claiming this forces resorts to negotiate. This strategy often leads to foreclosure, credit damage, collections lawsuits, and liens. The American Resort Development Association warns this advice violates consumer protection principles.
Stopping maintenance payments without properly exiting contracts triggers late fees, penalty interest, collection agency involvement, credit score damage, potential foreclosure proceedings, and loss of any equity in the timeshare. This advice from exit companies serves their interests, not yours.
Companies exploit owners’ frustration with rising maintenance fees, which affect 76% of owners according to 2025 surveys. They position themselves as saviors while actually providing minimal legal services. Many send generic complaint letters to developers without legitimate grounds for cancellation.
Legitimate exits require either negotiated surrender programs with developers, proper legal grounds for rescission, successful resale to new owners, or deed transfer to relief companies. Simply stopping payments creates legal liabilities without resolving ownership obligations.
Average maintenance fees reached $1,260 annually in 2024, with luxury properties exceeding $2,500. Worst companies use these increasing costs to justify large upfront fees while knowing they likely cannot secure exits. They prey on desperation rather than providing actual solutions.
Strategic Exit Framework: Legitimate exit paths include (1) contacting your resort about deed-back programs, (2) working with licensed real estate agents on resale, (3) consulting attorneys about legal rescission grounds, or (4) engaging properly licensed exit services with transparent processes and attorney oversight.
What makes a timeshare exit company one of the worst?
Worst companies charge large upfront fees without proper licensing, make false promises about guaranteed exits or timeframes, advise stopping maintenance payments causing credit damage, provide little actual legal work, deny refunds despite guarantees, and use high-pressure sales tactics at hotel seminars.
How much do worst timeshare exit companies typically charge?
Fraudulent operations charge $3,000 to $9,000 typically, with some demanding up to 30% of mortgage balances exceeding $30,000. The FTC case documented fees ranging from $5,000 to over $80,000. These companies collect payment upfront before providing any meaningful services toward exits.
What should I do if I already paid a fraudulent exit company?
File complaints with the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, your state attorney general, and local BBB. Contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov with transaction details. Consider consulting a consumer protection attorney about recovery options and document all communications.
Are there legitimate timeshare exit companies?
Yes, but they’re rare and properly licensed. Legitimate services employ attorneys, maintain transparent processes, provide regular progress updates, never guarantee specific timeframes, protect your credit, and charge reasonable fees often tied to successful outcomes rather than large upfront payments before any work begins.
The worst timeshare exit companies have defrauded Americans out of hundreds of millions through false promises and deceptive practices. The November 2022 FTC lawsuit against Consumer Law Protection for $90 million in losses, Minnesota’s January 2025 settlements requiring $269,378 in refunds, and Washington’s action against Reed Hein with 17,000 pending cases demonstrate systemic industry problems.
Red flags include unsolicited contact, pressure tactics, upfront fee demands, fake credentials, advice to stop payments, and money-back guarantees with impossible conditions. Verify all claims independently through state licensing boards and BBB.org. Document communications and report fraud immediately to authorities.
Get a Free Consultation with Timeshare Exit Today to Review Safe Exit Options with licensed professionals who protect your credit, maintain transparency, and deliver results backed by a legitimate money-back guarantee and A+ BBB rating serving clients since 2017.
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