A Sheffield Village woman, who said she was scammed thousands of dollars by someone offering to buy her timeshare, is warning other owners, so they don’t fall victim.
Lisa Kubalik said she lost about $35,000 to a company, claiming to be based in Colorado, that offered to buy her Cabo San Lucas timeshare in 2015.
Kubalik said she was looking to sell the property after her late husband was diagnosed with dementia and was no longer able to travel. She said the scammers took advantage of her during some of her most vulnerable moments.
“I think the part that upsets me the most is the fact that I explained to these people about my husband and what he was going through,” Kubalik told News 5.
Two years later, they’ve stopped answering the phone and she still owns the property.
Cleveland’s Better Business Bureau said Thursday they’ve received new reports of these types of timeshare resale scams.
“You really need to do your research,” Sue McConnell with the BBB said. “It is usually a red flag if a company solicits you and is using high pressure sales tactics, or making wonderful promises on how they are going to help you unload their time share.”
McConnell pointed to a number of examples of fake companies using real-looking websites. One called Prime Alliance Holdings even used a misspelled and fictional Cleveland address.
The companies will call, promising to sell your timeshare, but demand taxes and feed be paid upfront before they send a check.
The Federal Trade Commission called it “paying for a promise.”
They recommended never offering up front cash and especially not to bank accounts located outside the country.
Kubalik said she wired thousands to Costa Rica, likely never to be seen again.
The Better Business Bureau said they do forward these types of complaints to the FTC, which can force companies to shut down operations.
