Timeshare Defense Attorneys review: Timeshare exit

We contacted Timeshare Attorneys on Jan. 11th, 2022 after trying to cancel our timeshare with Vida Vacations which we purchased on Dec. 26, 2021.

This timeshare has no Maintenance fees, but we were trying to get the money back that we charged on our credit cards to make the down payment and first installment.

When talking to Mr. Dion (Client Onboarding Specialist) and Mr. Rossi (Exit Consultant) on the phone before we signing the contract we made it clear to them that we desired to cancel our contract so that we could get our money back. We told both of them that we had placed fraud disputes with our credit cards. Both Mr. Dion and Mr. Rossi commented that we were very wise to do that, and that they would surely work with us to get as much money back as possible. Mr. Rossi whom we worked with before signing the contract told us that we would probably lose the $8,000 that Patrick placed on his card, because Patrick had already paid the card off. But said they could work on the other charges that we were disputing with the resort and contact the credit card company to tell them we had been defrauded.

If either of them had told us that we would most likely lose the money we had already paid to Vida Vacations, we never would have signed the contract with Timeshare Defense Attorneys. Our timeshare has no maintenance fees, we only pay usage fees when we use it. Why would we pay another $5600 to gain nothing in return. The contract with TSD stated, (The Client understands and agrees that the Firm was not retained nor does

the Firm represent the Client for purposes of obtaining refunds of any amounts, including but not limited to any mortgage payments and/or maintenance fees that the Client may have paid the Resort. However, the Firm will make every effort to obtain a refund from the developer and, in

the rare occurrence that the Firm is able to do so the Client agrees to pay the Firm 20% of the amount recovered within thirty (30) days of the Client’s receipt of said refund. This amount will be in addition to any amount already agreed upon.

We requested a copy of all communication between TDS and the resort but they could only sent us the one in which they requested them to quit communicating with me as they were now legally representing us.

:From: Client Services

Sent: Monday, January 31, 2022 12:37 PM

To: Robert Allan Schaffer

Subject: Fwd: Fw: Vidanta Contract INTN5746 Erger

[EXTERNO]

Hi Robert,

We respectfully request that all correspondence be directed to our office instead of directly with our client, Ms. Erger. Please see the attached letter of representation and authorization.

Thanks

Casey

Client ServicesMon, Feb 7, 2022 12:33 pm

Robert Allan Schaffer ([protected]@vidavacations.com)

The response from Mr. Schaffer was :

Robert Allan Schaffer ([protected]@vidavacations.com)

To:you + 1 more Details

Hello Casey and Mrs. Erger,

This contract is governed by Mexican law and jurisdiction. As such, unless you can provide a Mexican power of attorney or representation letter, I will continue to work with the Member directly. This policy is outlined in the contract documents. Mrs. Erger is copied on this email and should understand that she gains nothing by paying for a US attorney. We are more than happy to help her directly with this process, and have been attempting to help.

Best regards,

Robert Schaffer

Servicio al Cliente / Member Services

Mr. Walker (the Lawyer) assigned to our case never even contacted Mr. Schaeffer of Vida Vacations. We were told by TDS that they had attorneys in Mexico, yet no attempt has been made to work with one of them to talk to Mr. Schaeffer since he said he would not work with an American attorney.

Mr. Schaffer continued to try to correspond with me, and each time I forwarded the emails to TDS. When our credit card dispute was denied by Citi-bank and the money was released and sent to Vida vacations, we then received this email.

On Thursday, February 24, 2022, 2:28 PM, Robert Allan Schaffer wrote:

Hello Mrs. Erger,

In looking into your contract further, you requested cancellation on January 11, 2022. In our discussion and via email on January 13, 2022, you were informed that you were not eligible for any refund as your request for cancellation was outside the 5 days allowed for in the contract and by Mexican law. As such, all monies paid would be retained by the company if a cancellation was processed. You then then became unresponsive to me. However, you made a $15,000 payment on January 23, 2022, leaving $15,103 in principal and a late fee left to be paid on the balance. As you made that progress payment after you found out that you are not eligible for a refund, the action suggests that you are now proceeding with the contract. If I do not hear from you otherwise by February 28, 2022, I will assume you are proceeding with the contract close this task.

Best regards,

Robert Schaffer

Servicio al Cliente / Member Services

So I decided to respond and sent the following email to Mr. Schaffer.

[protected]@aol.com ([protected]@aol.com)

To:Robert Allan Schaffer + 1 more Details

No that is not correct. You need to contact our lawyer, Doug Walker directly, as he is working with you on our behalf. We would ask you to please stop calling us and work with him to cancel our contract.

Patrick and Lynne Erger

This was Mr. Schaffers response:

Robert Allan Schaffer ([protected]@vidavacations.com)

To:you + 1 more Details

Hello Ms. Erger,

I did contact you and your attorney. I never heard back. As I explained, your "attorney¨ is not a Mexican attorney licensed to practice law in Mexico... the jurisdiction that covers your contract. As such, I will not be working with the attorney and will need to work with you directly as the owner of the contract. You can either work with me and receive something for the monies you have paid, cancel the contract now with no refund, or your contract will go into default at some point in the future and it will be cancelled for default with the company retaining all monies paid. Please let me know how you would like to proceed.

Best regards,

Robert Schaffer

Servicio al Cliente / Member Services

Vida Vacations

+[protected] Ext. 60801 & 60802

Customer Care Center Toll Free: [protected]

My Office Days: Tuesday to Saturday

Appointment Hours 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Central Time

Boulevard Riviera Nayarit No. 254 Municipio Bahia de Banderas C.P. 63735, Nayarit, México.

I then sent the following email to TDS — On Wed, 02 Mar 2022 08:05:50 -0800 wrote — As you can see from this email. Vidanta has already agreed to cancel the contract, so there is nothing for you to do in that regard. The reason we hired your firm was because we were told that they would work with Vidanta, us and our credit card to get the charges reversed so we would at least get some if not most of our money back. If you cannot do this, then we need to talk about your charges.

Please call me asap.

They responded with the email

Wed, Mar 2, 2022 9:32 am

Client Services ([protected]@timesharedefenseattorneys.com)

To:you + 1 more Details

Hi Lynne,

Our firm does not have the ability to recover funds from the resort without pursuing litigation, which is not covered under your existing contract with Timeshare Defense Attorneys. Your current agreement is for the cancellation of the timeshare and as a courtesy, we provide credit protection/repair services to reverse any damage the resort may have done to your credit reports.

Litigation for most clients is not a viable option, as it opens the door for the resort to go after much more than the timeshare property itself, and exposes other risks to things such as your estate. Furthermore, your signed agreement from January 14, 2022 states:

The Client understands and agrees that the Firm was not retained nor does the Firm represent the Client for purposes of obtaining refunds of any amounts, including but not limited to any mortgage payments and/or maintenance fees that the Client may have paid the Resort.

If you have any questions, feel free to respond to this email and I can address them for you.

Thanks

Casey

Client Services

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

They made no mention of the contract phrase that states... However, the Firm will make every effort to obtain a refund from the developer and, in

the rare occurrence that the Firm is able to do so the Client agrees to pay the Firm 20% of the amount recovered within thirty (30) days of the Client’s receipt of said refund. This amount will be in addition to any amount already agreed upon.

I asked TDS for documentation for any other correspondence between their office and Vida Vacations, and there was NONE that they would send me.

I offered to pay them for the time they had spent and asked for fees to be returned the remainder of my funds as they could not produce any evidence of negotiation or communication. I asked for a documented copy of a dissolution of our contract and I asked for an in person meeting with Mr. Dion Mr. Rossi and or Mr. Walker but was refused.

They responded with the following email.

Wed, Mar 2, 2022 11:44 am

Client Services ([protected]@timesharedefenseattorneys.com)

To:you + 3 more Details

Lynne,

The settlement that has been proposed from the resort is a direct result of our representation but if you wish for us to no longer work for you, we will close the account. I will forward this request to the necessary people to facilitate this request.

Thanks

Casey

Client Services

Without signing a formal document dissolving my involvement with TDS they sent the following email to Mr. Schaffer (Vida Vacations)

Thu, Mar 3, 2022 3:20 pm

Client Services ([protected]@timesharedefenseattorneys.com)

To:you + 1 more Details

Mr. Schaffer,

Please see the attached correspondence that has been postmarked to your company to inform you that we are no longer representing the Ergers. Please remove our information from their account and contact them directly to discuss these matters further.

Thanks

Casey

Client Services

On 3/3 I sent the following email to TDS

On Thu, 03 Mar 2022 15:34:11 -0800 wrote — In an effort to resolve the issue between us and Time Share Defense Attorneys, we have requested that you contact us by phone, and have asked for in person meetings with you and the men that onboarded our case. However, you have refused to acknowledge our requests. If in 24 hours we have not heard from you, we will be contacting the attorney generals of Arizona and Nevada and the the Better Business to expose you and your business and its questionable business practices. All of our communications will be forwarded to them.

Patrick and Lynne Erger

TDS has not responded since.

This firm offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee, yet did really nothing to negotiate a settlement with our timeshare. The only progress was made when I contacted the resort myself after getting no response from TSD.

I want others to know that this is just another way to be defrauded of even more money.