VACATION VENTURES LLC review: MISREPRESENTATION AND SLANDER 32

My wife and I attended this company's presentation last Saturday and experienced the exact same scam. We stayed for the entire 2 hour presentation on the promise that we would be made an offer that day. We asked several times on the phone prior and at the presentation if they would make an offer. Each time the answer was yes. My wife even made very clear over the phone prior that we would not be giving them any money. The entire two hours of presentation was of how everyone in the room is hopelessly stuck with they're timeshares. There is no way out and when we die our heirs will be stuck paying the ever increasing maintenance fee for all eternity and by the way all time share properties are being turned into hotels so we won't even be able to use our timeshare ever again. Then to wrap up this wonder fantasy, he explained why his company is the only company that can save us from this horrible fate and for the great price of only $3559! These people need to be shut down now.

This company is unbelieveable. They also scammed me. I am an elderly gentleman who was given the presentation. I in turn signed a contract and paid 3400.00 to end my obligation with the time share. However for the past 5 months I have continued to receive maintenance fee statments from the time share requesting payment. I have attempted to reach the company to no avail. I have filed a complaint with the BBB and am following up with both my credit card company and the Economic Crimes Unit with the DA's office in Colorado Springs.

Vacation Ventures OFFERS usage of their many timeshares for their assistance in transferring the property from the Clients name into theirs. The benefits to the client are: not being locked into 1 specific property, no longer locked into a specific week, no longer paying monthly, quarterly, yearly or bi yearly maintenance fees, no longer paying property taxes, free of purchasing points, not having to worry about anyone in their family having to assume responsibility for the property after they pass and many more. The benefits of getting out from underneath a timeshare truly out weight the upfront cost. The fee you pay to Vacation Ventures realistically only pays for the transfer of the property from the client to Vacation Ventures. The majority of Vacation Ventures revenue is acquired through rentals not the initial sale of services. I really wish people would know and understand the facts prior to posting complaints. Vacation Ventures is not a scam, they have over 2000 transfers made from clients and well over that in the transfer process. When complaints are made to the BBB, AG, or The Dept of Agriculture, for no reason other than the transfer is taking longer than they expect it should slows the process down for everyone. That means someone has to stop working on the transfer they are currently working on and start working on a different one. Zamudio, in reference to your complaint above; it is clearly stated in your contract with Vacation Ventures that the client is responsible for making payments to the timeshare property themselves and after doing so should submit proof of payment to Vacation Ventures for reimbursement. Unless during the initial sale, special arrangements were made with the client to send Vacation Ventures their maintenance fee bill and Vacation Ventures would pay the property directly (this would be hand written in on your VVL contract) you must pay the timeshare and submit proof of payment for reimbursement. My advice is to get a grip, if you're not even a client of Vacation Ventures why are you filing not only one complaint, but three that I am aware of? As you stated in your complaint you didn't even stay for the presentation, not only are you wasting your own time, but you've wasted the AG of MO and the BBB's time as well and not to mention the time it took from Vacation Ventures actual clients so that someone may respond to your complaints. Not once does anyone at Vacation Ventures ever offer a check for your timeshare, not when you initially call into the answering service or when you receive a call from the Vacation Ventures office, nor does any other company for that matter. You are told they will make an offer. If you honestly think someone is going to offer you money for your timeshare, take a look at ebay and see how little PRIVATE sellers are getting for their timeshares, only pennies. You can most definitely deed your week and unit back to the property -A) Only if they offer it, most point based systems do not and a lot of the others do not either, and B it's not free, they will charge you at the highest rate for their lawyer fees, escrow fees, transfer fees and any other fees they may throw in, all typically amounting to more than Vacation Ventures offers their services for. The biggest misconception in this area is that people assume that a transfer is as easy as changing the name in a computer or file, this is so far from correct, original deeds have to be obtained from the county clerk, deeds have to be rewritten etc… The only other complaint I would like to touch on is from the original post "DURING THEIR PRESENTATION THE PRESENTER STATED THAT A TIMESHARE OWNER'S DEPENDENTS AND DECENDENTS WILL BE LIABLE IN PERPETUITY FOR THE MAINTENANCE FEES" This is Clearly stated in your Timeshare deed/title/contract. I cannot quote your documents as I don’t know which TS you have, but if you read through you will find a line showing that statement to be true.
The only scam you were sucked into was purchasing the timeshare in the first place. At a majority of properties you can rent the week you "own" at a lesser rate than your maintenance fees alone total for the year. As I know that you are aware you are responsible for your payment whether you decide to use it or not. Every year you pay have to pay for a vacation that you may or may not use. I’m assuming that since you looked into transferring these pieces of paper (let’s face it, that’s all you truly own) out of your name, you have realized how ridiculous timeshares purchases really are.

The Grant Deed giving legal ownership of our timeshare property in SoCal to Vacation Ventures was recorded on Sept 23, 2008. In January 2009 they quit paying the maintenance fees and have not paid for the transfer fees to the financial company handling the ownership dues and fees. As a result, I have been inundated with calls and letters demanding payment of overdue maintenance fees and threatening to turn matters over to a collection agency, because according to the financial company for the resort itself, I still own the property!
The ownership transfer cannopt be completed until the overdue fees are paid. Vacation Ventures has refused to pay the fees they are required to by contract. Vacation Ventures legally owns the property, but they are sticking me with the overdue maintenance fees! They refuse to return my calls or answer/respond to letters asking when this matter will be resolved. In fact, they don't even answer their phone anymore, just an answering machine.
So, 'afriendtoafriend', why do you defend them if you think timeshare ownership is "ridiculous" in the first place? Can you explain why they quit paying the maintenance fees one they got the initial title transfer into their name? Can you explain why they haven't responded to the resorts' financial company or to me?
Sure, I understand what you are saying about getting suckered into a timeshare in the first place. But, does that justify Vacation Ventures actions, or should I say, lack of action?

I agree with Zamudio and others. Maybe a class action suit is needed.

Frankly, I think they have packed up their tents, taken whatever money they still have and left town. The deed we signed and returned to them in June is still not recorded. I have only received reimbursement for 1 maintenance fee I paid...4 months later after numerous phone calls and sending the documentation many times. Now their website is gone. No one answers the phone and there's no way to leave a message. Press 0 as instructed to leave a message and the answering message just starts over again. Wait until the message is through and do nothing and it disconnects your call. Call the non-toll free number and it rings and rings and then eventually rolls into the same "we're on the phone with other customers" message.

oh, and by the way, "afriendofafriend" is clearly either one of the owners or an employee.

My husband and I signed over our timeshare to Vacation Ventures in September of 2008. We are still without paperwork stating that they are, in fact, the new owners. As Yummy7942 states, phone calls go unanswered; e-mails receive no response. We are at our wits end with this group. I suppose this is a good lesson learned in how not to be stupid, but I feel like we were completely mislead and lied to. We are definitely considering contacting the Attorney General in Colorado Springs rgarding this matter as well as the BBB and the Michigan State Attorney's Office.

I agree with all these comments . . .I entered into the aggreement to transfer the deed in May 2009. Received ONLY TWO reimbursements for maintenance fees I paid...4 months later after numerous phone calls and sending the documentation many times.

HOW DO WE collectively begin get the word out about SCAMS like these AND try to get our sanity back? Of those of you have contacted the BBB, State AGs, etc . . .what are you being instructed to do?

Would anyone be interested in filing a class action lawsuit? I am seeking more information on how to do this. I filed with the attorney generals office in Minnesota. I contacted the attorney general in Colorado Springs and they told me this was a civil matter.

YES, we would be interested in filing a suit. At the very least we would like to shut companies like this down. We have received a card from another company, different wording, but same scam. They are praying on those that have been sucked into the original scam with the promise to get them out of their time share problems within 24 hours.

Is there anyone who has actually had a timeshare transferred to Vacation Ventures? It so, I would be interested in hearing from them.

In the fall of 2008 my husband and I signed an agreement and paid this company to transfer our timeshare to them. They paid our 2008 maintenance fees although the payment was late and had fees and penalties added. Our 2009 maintenance fees have not been paid. We have sent the original statements to them and have also faxed copies. When we have called their office, an answering machine comes on. Occasionally, they answer the phone and give us one excuse after another as to why our fees have not been paid.

What response have those of you had when you contacted your state attorney general and/or the BBB?

How would we go about filing a class action lawsuit?

I too have been scammed by this company with two timeshares. They only paid maintainance fees on one and I had to pay the other with no reimbursement. They had the signed and notarized transfer information since February 2008 and claimed over and over for the past year to have submitted it to the County Registrars and nothing has happened. We need to file a class action lawsuit!

We fell for the same spiel. Ours was in Spring of 2008. They did pay our 2008 maintenance fees. We have faxed them the 2009 maintenance fee plus we had an assessment fee this year. So far we have not heard anything and don't expect to after reading this. We also do not get an answer when we call.

We filed a complaint with the BBB. This is what we heard back:

"The Better Business Bureau has made several attempts to contact the business regarding the above referenced complaint. We regret to inform you that we have not received a response from the company.

The Better Business Bureau develops and maintains Reliability Reports on companies in our service area. This information is available to the public and is frequently used by potential customers. In the case of your complaint, the company's failure to promptly give attention to the matter will be reflected in the report we give to consumers about them.

Thank you for contacting the BBB of SC, this concludes our processing of your complaint."

I have e-mailed them back asking them to look into the company's business practice. I will hopefully hear something back.

I found another complaint/review that posted the phone numbers from the Vacation Ventures postcard. He called the number, left a message and they called him back. Lucky for him he was able to some research before he was supposed to go and found the complaints. Unfortunately I didn't write the numbers down and will need to do another search to find them.

Looking for advice on what we should do.

We bought into Vacation Ventures sales pitch. Having the same problems everyone else is having with the company. They paid our maintenance fees for 2009 (late) but they haven't paid 2010. Which are racking up late fees. We were going to pay them but advice from our attorney said not to.
We have filed a report with the Better Business Bureau in Colorado Springs Co. They also tried to contact them with no success. At this point we don't know what to do, to get some results.
We also tried to get them to send back the Quit Claim deed and we haven't succeeded with that either. Until its filed with the state our time share is in, it is still in our name.
Yes we would be interested in filing a class action suit against Vacation Ventures llc. Don't know how to go about doing that.

Very upset over this Dick

I agree with everyone of the complaints. Every thing ends up at a dead end. Here are some names, phone numbers, and other items:
1. BBB Complaint Department; Trade Practice Consultant Pam Richardson
Phone # 719.636.1155; Web site address
http://southerncolorado.bbb.org/complaint/view/37012910/c/xk8wi9
My Case # with the BBB is [protected]
2. MN Department of Commerce phone # 651.296.2467
Enforcement Division % Cheri Libby, Sr. Investigator
Market Assurance Division
3. Colorado General Attorney phone # 303.866.4500 John Suthers
% Kathy in Consumer Protection (also there was Jay who talked more)
www.ago.state.co.us for the complaint form under consumer protection tab, click on
black link 'filing a complaint"
Our property was in Cancun, MX regarding the Avalon Grand. The meeting we attended was back in July of 2008 in St. Cloud, MN. They said it would take anywheres from 12 to 18 months for the paper work to be complete. The collection agency is on our tails now for unpaid fees, plus interest. We are beside ourselves wondering what do we do?
These folks need to know that not everything is fine in the timeshare world!
My e-mail address is sebabcock@mywdo.com. Cell phone # 320.282.4082. My name is Ed.
I have not contacted an attorney yet. Is there anyone who has? Please let me know what you know. Thank you. There is a lot more I could say and possibly share but it would take up to much space.

We have the very same thing happening with us and Vacation Ventures.
We spoke to our lawyer about this and he said that we need to file a complaint with our State Attorney generals office and the more complaints filed the better chance that a class action lawsuit would be filed.
So any one that has had this happen please file with your State Attorney generals office.

I also fell prey to VV. It has now been over 14 months and still no transfer. I paid my maintenance fees as instructed to do on the paperwork and sent them the bill but they have not reimbursed me yet. I sent a letter to the CO AG office and got a response back from their BBB that there was no response from VV. I sent a letter to news papers in the area but no response. I have filed a complaint with my Indiana States AG. I have sent VV registered letters, I have called left messages, I have sent e mails and no response from anyone. I have tried to call both representatives who were present at the presentation and their phones say they havent set up their voice mail boxes yet. I have checked with an attorney who said I cannot file suit against them in federsl court because the damages are not over $75, 000 so I will have to go there (Colorago Springs) to file suit. Usually the only winner in a class action suit is the lawyers.

I went to a seminar on Nov 21, 2009 where I was told the same story regarding my timeshare and how we'd be locked into the timeshare contract starting Jan 1, 2010. We also were told that the fee's would steadly increase and be attached to our childrens credit if anyone happened to me. I and my sister signed over our timeshares on Nov 21, 2009 with promise that it would be taken care of and done by January 1st, 2010 as per contract states. Contract also states they'd assume all maintnance, real estate tax & morgage by Jan 1, 2010. I continued to try to contact them acter January first because my money was automatically deducted in January ... then Febuary.. On Febuary 10 I called Colorado Springs Police department and they went to their address to make sure they were legit. The police officer said they were there and informed them to contact me. Finally received a call 2 weeks later where they tried to tell me my numbers weren't working although they called the same phone number I had forever. I spoke with Kenneth earlier that day and then had Deb call me back to have me send copies of my maintnance and morgage fee's that were charged to me, and informed me that they'd reimburse me for them once they received the documents. I sent them the beginning of March and still have not heard a word from them. I also have tried to contact Jim at his "personal line" a long with the assortment of numbers I was given to contact them. I contacted the police department today and was refered to the Attorney Generals office.

I am very much interested in persueing a class action law suit so please keep me in the loop if anyone does it. There must be a lawyer out there that will take on the case. I will be filing with the New Hampshire AG's office Today. Thanks

Vacation Ventures need to be eliminated and pay us something for the fraud.

File with the Colorado Attorney General! This is our best bet! I believe they are long gone with our money! Phone numbers are always busy, website is gone...

I am having the same proablem with Vacation Ventures. I have been unable to contact them or receive any response from them I have tried e-mail, phone, and letter. I have sent them my paperwork where I paid my maintenace fees and dues by certified mail and it was refused 3 times when the Post office tried to deliver it. I paid them over $4700 to take this time share off my hands. This was in February 2009 and I have not received any correspondence of any kind from them since I signed the paperwork. I am going to contact the Better Business Bureau and the Colorado and Indiana Attorney General's offices about this. I either want my money back or they need to get everything completed. They told us at the seminar that it would take about 14 months to complete the ownership transfer and it is now 16 months later and I have not heard any thing about it. I hope someone somewhere can do something about it.

If any of you want a # to call Aaron Akener - owner of Vacation Ventures- the only # I have...cell# [protected]-Aaron.

These people have to be stopped

My husband and I were also scammed by VV on March 1, 2008. We gave Jim Ritchey and bandits $3700 after we paid our 2008 maintenance fees. We have been billed for maintenance fees for 2009 and 2010. I wrote to our ex timeshare group and they didn't respond. Of course, we have heard nothing from VV. I would love to be in on a class action case. I haven't talked to any Attorney General or an attorney but we can't afford to lose that money and still pay our timeshare. Please help us with this, if possible. Thanks.

I tried the number that progers gave above, and that number has been disconnected. I am so frustrated right now. Surely there's something we can do to get our money back and stop these scam artists!

Tried to respond to cherylkl. got it back! I'm in on any thing that will get these people.

I am shocked to read that there are others still being taken by this scam. We paid them $3000 in September of 08 and have been fighting it ever since. Don't wait--cancel the contract as soon as you can. Call the credit card company and dispute the charge. We were dumb enough to think that they really would take care of things in 14 months. By then, it was too late to dispute with the credit card company and of course VV could not be reached. I even located Deb's home number in Colorado and called her at home. I got the same answer, I will call you back. We filed a complaint in Kansas and they referred us to the Colorado AG. The Colorado AG referred it to the Colorado BB. The BB just sent us a letter today saying their mail is being returned and therefore the case is closed. I thought the AG offices were in place to protect consumers. It is obvious that Colorado BB and AG have received numerous complaints about this company and are doing nothing about it. The thing I find shocking is that these people are still running this scam! Obviously, the Colorado AG and BB are totally inadequate. These people are running this out of somewhere--do your job and find them! The state of Colorado should be ashamed for allowing this. We have chosen to not pay any more fees and let the timeshare go into foreclosure. Our credit will be bad--but we don't plan on buying anything on credit anymore anyway. On a side note, it is obvious our government from the top down could care less about law abiding citizens of this country. And to you Kenneth James, Jim Ritchey, and Deb--I watched as several senior citizens were coerced by scare tactics to write out checks and use credit cards to pay your salaries (or fund your next production or whatever you do with our hard earned money). I don't know how you can sleep at night or even look at yourself in the mirror. I do know that there is a day of reckoning and you will get what you deserve.

So this is what I found out. I finally talked to a lawyer this morning. He advised my husband and I to take the offer of a buy back for our Branson Time share and pay the year of maintenance fees. As far as getting anything out of V. Ventures, this was his advise...They ripped us off in our own states so that is where we need to start, (Not in Colorado)
1. Whatever state you were in when you went to the meeting and payed money to V.V. is the state where you need to file the complaint. I will go to WI Department of agriculture and consumer protection and file a complaint right on line.
2. I will contact WI Attorney Generals office and get them involved
3. I will get in contact with my state senator and congressmen and get them involved..
I know this is work but if we all do our share perhaps we can help each other out when someone gets results that work. I am going to do as he suggests. Unfortunately, that seems like the only route at the moment because the business is closed. I was told no lawyer will do a class action suit with the business closed.We need to personally go after Kenneth James and his wife, and Jim Ritchey. Please keep me posted with any news as I will do the same. Email is ckl513@sbcglobal.net. Thanks, Cheryl

That is exactly what we did. We filed a complaint with the KS AG's office. After several weeks of waiting (they were trying to contact VV) we finally received a letter from the KS AG's office saying they had sent our complaint to the CO AG's office and closed the case. We then received a letter from the CO AG's office saying their mail to VV had been returned and they assumed the business had closed. Therefore, they closed the case. Basically both were telling us they could care less about helping us get resolution. We are now back to square one. I don't think we want to spend a lot of money on an attorney who would tell us the same thing. Like I said, we are going to let our timeshare go into foreclosure. We still get calls from solicitors for timeshares and junk mail from RCI. We hang up and throw it away. It's a slap in the face! We just have to accept that we threw away a lot of money. It won't happen again. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Maybe your state will be more assertive. It doesn't cost anything to try. Good luck.

I am embarass to say that my husband and I are also victims.
Jim Ritchey and a clean cut young man was in Columbus Ohio,
last year and trick us into giving them $3, 000.00 to take our timeshare off our hands. I just found out today that we are victims
of Vacation Ventures and of our own desperation to get rid of this
stupid timeshare. I filed a complaint with the AG's office in Co, and
also filed a police report in Colorado. I will not give up !

jacksondarchar@aol.com

There must be a way to bring a class action suit against these scammers. Just this week 36 year old John Thomas Egan of Palm Beach Gardens, FL was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for this same exact scam. He is the 13th individual to be found guilty and sent to prison in connection with this FL based scam operating under the name Creative Vacation Solutions. He conspired with owner, Jennifer Kirk, as they targeted owners of timeshares throughout the US, bilking 22, 000 victims out of 30 million dollars. They solicited advanced fees of up to several thousand dollars from each victim in purported closing costs--- and never sold a single timeshare. The same conspiracy to commit fraud suit should be brought against Vacation Ventures LLC of Colorado Springs, Co. for their fraudulent practices.