Universal Marketing Solutions, A Delray beach based resale/marketing comany, Is it a rip off?

Has anyone dealt with This company? Universal Marketing Solutions, A Delray beach based resale/marketing company. wisdom tells me from reading all the rip off material posted here that no marketing company that charges upfront is good. I would like to know how many of you out there succumbed to any scam from this company and if they returned any ones money yet.

Hi Lening,

Inherently all Advance Fee Timeshare Resale companies are scams without exception. The fact that you've read quite a bit of information about them being a scam is for a reason, they are.

I've not dealt with Universal Marketing Solutions myself but I feel certain they are a scam since they are asking for money upfront from you.

The only thing they are in business for is to receive Marketing Fees from their victims.

Since you posted your question you have concerns about them now so be safe and not sorry...stay away from them.

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

ATTORNEY GENERAL: INJUNCTION SOUGHT AGAINST TWO TIMESHARE RESALE COMPANIES

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that his office has filed a lawsuit

and has requested an emergency injunction against two related South Florida timeshare resale marketing

companies. Universal Marketing Solutions, Creative Vacation Solutions, and owner/manager Jennifer Kirk

allegedly collected over $4 million in marketing fees on a monthly basis, but rarely if ever marketed, advertised,

or facilitated sales for the timeshare owners who had contracts with the companies. The injunction requests the

companies’ cease doing any timeshare business while the lawsuit is pending.

An investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Division indicated that Kirk and her

companies were charging marketing fees as high as $2,500 for timeshare resale advertising services.

The companies were soliciting hundreds of consumers nationwide via the internet and though aggressive

telemarketing calls, allegedly making empty promises and false misrepresentations that they would actively

match timeshare sellers with prospective buyers. According to the lawsuit, when prospective buyers contact the

companies to purchase a timeshare, no attempt would be made by the companies to match those prospective

buyers with sellers who had contracted with the companies, thus making the advertising and marketing claims a

complete sham.

To solicit more customers, the companies allegedly boasted of their “superior marketing tools,” including

marketing events, presentations and seminars. Kirk and her companies allegedly claimed they could

“definitely” sell timeshares within a certain period of time and that they had buyers waiting with approved

financing to buy the consumers’ timeshare. Consumers were also verbally assured contract terms during

telemarketing calls, but were furnished contracts with entirely different terms regarding the resale services.

Additionally, the companies would allegedly charge consumers’ credit cards or cash consumers’ checks without

and/or before obtaining a signed written contract from the consumer delineating all the terms and conditions of

the services to be provided.

Consumers who complained to the Attorney General’s Office reported that the companies have not performed

the promised services and that they were unable to contact the companies or get refunds. The Attorney

General's Office believes that there could a total of more than 400 victims affected by the two companies'

deceptive practices, and has been receiving approximately 10 complaints per day against these companies. The

lawsuit seeks an injunction prohibiting the defendants from engaging in any timeshare resale business while the

litigation is pending. The lawsuit also requests full restitution on behalf of all victimized consumers, civil

penalties, and reimbursement for fees and costs related to the investigation.

Consumers may file a complaint about Universal Marketing Solutions or Creative Vacation Solutions by

visiting the Attorney General’s website at http://www.myfloridalegal.com or by calling the fraud hotline at 1-

866-966-7226.

A copy of a consumer affidavit form and instructions is available online at:

http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/KGRG-7XBT2F/$file/TimeshareAffidavit.pdf

A copy of the lawsuit is available online at:

http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MRAY-7XENWJ/$file/ComplaintForInjunctiveRelief.pdf

good tells me from representation all the rip off relevant posted here that no marketing companion that charges upfront is just. I would suchlike to copulate how more of you out there succumbed to any cheat from this accompany and if they returned any ones money yet. =========================== jennifer <a href="http://www.legalx.net/advertise" rel="dofollow">Lawyer Marketing</a>

jenniferc493 wrote:

good tells me from representation all the rip off relevant posted here that no marketing companion that charges upfront is just. I would suchlike to copulate how more of you out there succumbed to any cheat from this accompany and if they returned any ones money yet. jennifer

I have no idea what you are trying to say or do in this incoherent jumble of words, but you might want to double check your English dictionary for the actual meaning of the word "copulate"...

Look folks, it takes money to sell timeshare, sorry, but it does. It all depends on who you spend your money with and what you are spending it on. I help owners sell and rent timeshare for a living and I can tell you that not everyone is out to scam you.

If you did business with Universal Marketing Solutions go to MyFloridaLegal.com and look at press releases under November 2nd to see how to proceed. Also, contact your credit card company.

- Jim Casey

garym172 wrote:

Hi Lening,

Inherently all Advance Fee Timeshare Resale companies are scams without exception. The fact that you've read quite a bit of information about them being a scam is for a reason, they are.

I've not dealt with Universal Marketing Solutions myself but I feel certain they are a scam since they are asking for money upfront from you.

The only thing they are in business for is to receive Marketing Fees from their victims.

Since you posted your question you have concerns about them now so be safe and not sorry...stay away from them.

Not every operation is a scam or out to get you. Many are just ineffective except for a small percentage of owners whose timeshares they represent. Do your really expect a company to sell EVERY timeshare they take on? We do our best to provide adequate promotional services but not every timeshare will sell. Every timeshare client I take on WILL get their timeshare worked thoroughly but I cannot guarantee a sale every time. Besides, it is a for-sale-by-owner process - it is up to YOU to get help marketing and promoting your timeshare. Some companies are better than others but NONE of them will sell 100% of the timeshares they take on. So, someone will always be unhappy. Keep trying, you will spend money, just be careful where and on what.

Jim Casey

Mr. Casey, if you insist on an upfront fee then your business is a scam .... actually upfront fee companies are merely selling advertisement, not timeshares .... get your fee at closing and you'll gain respect in the resale industry.

I've never seen even one verified proven sale that an upfront free company has completed and I've been reading and posting on timeshare forums for almost 10 years .... all they want is that upfront fee, period.

jayjay wrote:

Mr. Casey, if you insist on an upfront fee then your business is a scam .... actually upfront fee companies are merely selling advertisement, not timeshares .... get your fee at closing and you'll gain respect in the resale industry.

I've never seen even one verified proven sale that an upfront free company has completed and I've been reading and posting on timeshare forums for almost 10 years .... all they want is that upfront fee, period.

If someone wants to buy advertising from me and I sell it to them, how is that a scam? How are you going to sell something without advertising it? I get where you are coming from. I talk to owners every day, I have for six years. I know all the stories. But, you can't just sit there and tell me I am scamming people with no knowledge of how I operate my business or who I am. I am not going to sit here and play forum tennis with you. If anyone wants to take advantage of my knowledge and expertise, you do not have to do business with me but you can feel free to call me. I promise I wont sell you anything LOL. I will shoot you straight, I will tell you that not every timeshare sells, and I will tell you what to avoid and what works best.

Jim Casey

jayjay wrote:

.... actually upfront fee companies are merely selling advertisement, not timeshares ....

I've never seen even one verified proven sale that an upfront free company has completed and I've been reading and posting on timeshare forums for almost 10 years .... all they want is that upfront fee, period.

I disagree with jayjay's input to these forums as often as not, but the above is the irrefutable truth, accurately and succinctly stated.

After my own 27 years of timeshare ownership and industry observation, it is clear to me that upfront fee companies only sell ADVERTISING --- but they NEVER actually sell any timeshares. In nearly three decades now, I have encountered NO exceptions --- NONE!

ANY seller can buy his / her OWN advertising space at a tiny fraction of the cost of paying ANY upfront fee parasite. In the age of the Internet, ANY seller can easily reach, entirely on their own, any and every potential buyer that the upfront fee parasites can possibly reach. In short, NEVER pay ANY upfront fee entity a single penny!

Shill alert above .... Bottom line, never, ever pay a timeshare resale company an upfront fee in the hundreds/thousands of dollars to list your timeshare in a database that no one will ever see .... you're throwing your money away AND you'll never hear from them again.

Meridian Media Group (Complaint) Posted: 2010-01-16 by John Alaimo timeshare sales and rent I was called several times a day by Jim Casey who promises to sell and rent your timeshare with a month. You have to pay $500. 00 and everything is included. He stated I would receive lots of calls and he had lots of buyers and renters. Well its 6 months and no calls. I keep calling and they say the same thing...

judik7 wrote:

Meridian Media Group (Complaint) Posted: 2010-01-16 by John Alaimo

timeshare sales and rent I was called several times a day by Jim Casey who promises to sell and rent your timeshare with a month. You have to pay $500. 00 and everything is included. He stated I would receive lots of calls and he had lots of buyers and renters. Well its 6 months and no calls. I keep calling and they say the same thing...

This is typical of how upfront fee scam companies operate.