FTC Refunds Vacation Property Marketing Timeshare Scam Victims

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The Federal Trade Commission says refund checks are on the way to persons who lost money to Vacation Property Marketing Inc.

According to the FTC’s press release, the refunds are being directed to persons who lost money as a result of a timeshare scam run by defendants Information Management Forum Inc. and its owner Edward Lee Windsor. Information Management Forum did business under the name Vacation Property Marketing.

The defendants allegedly cold-called owners of timeshare properties and offered to connect them with potential renters or buyers, in exchange for a supposedly refundable “registration fee.” These fees were allegedly not refunded as promised, the FTC says.

The FTC initiated an enforcement action against Windsor and Vacation Property Marketing in July 2012, with cooperation from Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

In the complaint, the FTC claimed the defendants told timeshare owners that they had renters or buyers already lined up for their timeshare properties who were supposedly ready to make the owners a specific offer.

The defendants offered to arrange the deal in exchange for a “registration fee” of between $500 and $2,000. This fee was supposedly refundable in the event the proposed deal fell through, or if the owner asked for a refund within a certain time period.

Vacation Property Marketing told its targets that its allegedly eager buyers and renters included big corporations who had immediate need for the properties and were willing to pay top dollar.

Companies like Pepsi and Home Depot wanted to use these properties for various business-related purposes like conventions, training programs, or simply as perks for employees and executives, the defendants reportedly promised. The companies were supposedly willing to pay top-dollar for short-term use of these properties on short notice.

Owners were told they could be connected with these potential renters and buyers if they would allow Vacation Property Marketing to charge a registration fee to their credit card. The defendants promised that the rent or purchase money would come through before the credit card charges came due.

These representations turned out to be false, the FTC says. Timeshare owners who sought refunds from Vacation Property Marketing were allegedly strung along with false promises, often until it was too late for them to dispute the charges to their credit cards.

Many timeshare owners who went along with the defendants’ promises were left with no renters, no buyers, and no refund of their fees, the FTC says.

Soon after filing this Vacation Property Marketing lawsuit, the FTC and Attorney General Bondi secured a court injunction shutting down the defendants’ operation and freezing their assets. The court entered a judgment against Vacation Property Marketing and the other defendants in April 2013.

To distribute the current refund payments, the FTC says refund administrator Analytics will mail 338 checks with an average amount of $945. The total amount of payments will exceed $319,000.

The FTC encourages check recipients to deposit their checks within 60 days. Questions about the refund can be directed to the refund administrator at 855-907-3187.

The Vacation Property Marketing FTC Enforcement Lawsuit is Federal Trade Commission, et al. v. Information Management Forum Inc., et al., Case No. 6:12-cv-00986, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.