Anyone know anything about Finn Law Group?

I agree julieb989

YOU ARE SPOT ON I BELIEVE. When she has been told that there are Legitimate ways to get out of your timeshare, OR even if you say you are happy with your ownership, she completely disregards you and tries to get you to go with her own companies that she works directly with. These two companies make money off timeshare owners too. There must be some type of profitability on someone’s part? Right?

julieb989 wrote:

This place is a real law firm but shady. If you look at their bbb all the reviews are in 2019 and roughly a week apart. Also a lady by the name of Irene Parker (diamond advocate fb forum) was referring all the people on her site to him. She claims her process is free knowing she's not getting anyone out so after they realize this, she sends them to Finn and he charges thousands of dollars. Well now it's claimed that he was giving her kickbacks, commissions , and a finders fee. See, lawyers are not allowed to call or use any form of phone solicitation. How perfect was this set up. He probably contacted her to make a deal. You send them my way and I will take care of you. Ie cash money. Problem is, lawyers can't split legal fees so I'm sure it's all under the table.

Diamond is suing him and it looks like she is in hot water too. Diamond is shady yes, but so is Finn law group and Irene Parker. She now Is forming a go fund me page to help pay her legal fees. Why not use the free lawyer she claims will help and she is so tight with. Her quote. Last story. I had a diamond timeshare and went through her form to fill out. It's a joke. I could tell it wasn't going to work and asked many people if they had results. No responses, but she also chimed in with how many people she helped. Well, I found a local law firm and was able to get out of mine. It took 9 months but I was out. So I go to her forum to share my experience and got blasted by her and was asked to delete my post. She told me that the law group I used wasn't approved by her. Well hell I.never mentioned who it was. She knew it wasn't Finn because she knows every client she refers. Anyway I left her fb group. I knew right then she didn't want any of her thousands of followers to maybe ask me who I used. It would have put a damper on her little side hustle. It's fine if you want to help people and refer them to a law firm, just be straight up and tell what your really doing. Truth always comes out and will eventually. Thanks

Chad, There is a list of 10 law firms available to anyone on our Facebook in files if a member does not have time to self-advocate or our network of volunteers are asked a legal question they are not qualified to answer. We promote self-advocacy which means not paying anyone. I was blasted this past Saturday from someone private messaging me about a great firm that only charges $2000 to get out of Diamond. I asked why pay $2000 when Transitions costs only $1000 and Wyndham doesn't charge if the member is in good standing? She kept insisting this was a company that people should use. Yesterday she posted the name of the company and admins removed her. It was one of those buysellyourmytimeshare.com outfits.

I'm not an admin. I can't remove or censor anyone. One of the admins is an economics professor. We were both removed from a Facebook for saying something negative about Diamond, even though I found the Facebook because their admin was trolling on TrustPilot looking for unhappy Diamond members.

Diamond offered me a refund. I filed with the AZ and FL AG to no avail. I filed with the NY AG and was offered the refund. I felt like a victim silenced and isolated. I refused to sign the NDA. That's how our process started.

Facebook pages remove people all the time. TUG removes people violating their guidelines. People are removed from our Facebook for two reasons: #1 Soliciting for an attorney or anyone. Soliciting means being compensated. Anyone can refer to an attorney. Even me. I have never earned a penny. #2 Demeaning others and being judgmental, like those who blame 100% on the buyer and place no blame on the timeshare sales agent. Usually these posts are from timeshare sales agents.

There are 4.600 on our Facebook, including 127 Platinum members who have reached out to me. I spent all day on the phone yesterday with a couple in their 80s and their daughter told they would not have to pay maintenance fees if they became Platinum. She was worried because she was scheduled for cancer surgery and her brother had just passed away from complications from surgery. Two years ago they paid an exit company $10,000. Members respond to my articles, which is how this family found me, I have responded to nearly 2,000 members and owners. Anyone can call me at 270-303-7572. I challenge anyone to find anyone who has compensated me one penny for any of my efforts.

I am now volunteering my time with Seniors Vs Crime, a special project of the Florida Attorney General's office. I have recruited a team to replace me answering questions about timeshare regulatory filings. I am the manager of the Duval County (Jacksonville) Seniors Vs Crime office, so I also help people resolve disputes about lawn care scams, water treatment scams, IRS scams, coronavirus scams, census scams, construction and contractor fraud. Any complaint economic or civic. We are called Senior Sleuths. My office is located at the sheriff's substation north side JAX. This came about because of timeshare complaints I submitted to them.

irenep59 wrote:

I was blasted this past Saturday from someone private messaging me about a great firm that only charges $2000 to get out of Diamond. I asked why pay $2000 when Transitions costs only $1000 and Wyndham doesn't charge if the member is in good standing? She kept insisting this was a company that people should use.

Exactly! This is one major reason why it's not recommended to use these companies or law firms that claim they can get timeshare owners an exit or can "cancel" their contracts. At the very worst, an owner can just stop paying maintenance fees and let their unit go into foreclosure and then perhaps face collection calls and credit rating hits. An owner does not need to pay a law firm or other exit company $2000 to do this.

The $2000 to get you out of Diamond company: There was a red flag I forgot to mention. They kept insisting that they charge no upfront fee. They said they charge $2000 after they find a buyer. Diamond points have no secondary market value, the deeded week market is soft. Diamond has been great accepting everyone on our Facebook that applied for Transitions for $1,000, if in good standing. They don't pick and choose like Westgate. I had a volunteer sting the person that contacted me. Our volunteer was told his Platinum Diamond membership was worth $92,000 on the low end and I believe he said $120,000 on the high end. They could find a corporate buyer for $2,000 and then said SellMyTimeshareNow can handle it for $2,500. They also sell Brooklyn bridges.

If you are considering someone who solicits you, which you should not, there is an aptly named organization called the Licensed Timeshare Resale Brokers Association. They charge nothing upfront to list and listings are not exclusive. They are honest. Check with one of their members. I know all the Florida brokers. I do know that one of the Florida brokers refers to Finn Law Group if an attorney is requested. Several of the LTRBA members refer to our volunteer organization.

I agree . Never pay anyone money upfront that claims they can get you out of your contract .

hi, if you tell me why, then may i help you

I can explain why you should not pay anyone, unless you don't have the time or temperament to self-advocate. Diamond, Wyndham, Bluegreen and many other resorts are working directly with members to resolve disputes. In one ten day period, nine families contacted me to inform me they resolved their disputes working directly with their resort. One got a hearing through Profeco disputing a Vidanta loan. She negotiated a loan cancellation. Profeco was great. Those resolved resulted in $178,000 in loan cancellations and $34,000 in credit card refunds without paying anyone. The state I live in referred a member to me. They had been to BBB and to the state's timeshare division. They would not help. The state sent them to our volunteer organization. They were released in 48 hours for $250. They had a medical hardship. The BBB and the state timeshare division didn't ask.

I contacted some exit companies and told them they should not be charging for exit services without the member contacting their resort first. I convinced one company to send us their "drops" to speak with our volunteers. They sent 131 members and owners. Of the 131 participants, 80 resolved their dispute within one day to six months by contacting ARDA's Coalition of Responsible Exit. The problem is, out of approximately 2,000 members and owners who have reached out to us, not one could tell us what ARDA even stands form. ARDA doesn't spend money taking out nationwide ads that say, "Contact ARDA if you need help getting out of a timeshare!" In my opinion, it's mostly a smokescreen for lawmakers and Wall Street to convince them there is no problem with the secondary market.

ARDA is not a panacea and we don't win them all. No one does. Take Maury in Mississippi, diagnosed with cancer in '07, stem cell transplant, if Maury goes to the grocery store, he has to rest the remainder of the day. The resort said he has to be diagnosed terminal, reside in a nursing home, or be bedridden. Fortunately, Maury is a Mason and his Congressman is a Mason. He has taken up Maury's cause. The Congressman said that he had to retain an attorney to get out of his timeshare. Speaking of Congressmen, support retired Marine John Collick for Congress. He understands our self-advocacy process and has made timeshare part of his campaign platform in Virginia.

I have a list of 11 resorts with no responsible exit, despite the testimony of Kenneth McKelvey, Chairman of ARDA ROC, who testified at the Florida legislative workshop I attended, "I've been in this business 30 years. Not one resort didn't have a dissolution policy!" https://responsibleexit.com/

If an exit company signs someone up, or the member retains an attorney, they are rendered ineligible for their resort's voluntary surrender program. Diamond is charging members in good standing $1,000 per contract, Welk $500, Bluegreen, one or two years maintenance through their "Give to Charity" program. The charity doesn't have to pay maintenance fees. One of the charities is founded by the co-founder of RCI. I'm told it's known in the industry as a "clean and press." All Bluegreen applicants in our study were accepted. To my knowledge Diamond has refused no one eligible for Transitions. Overall, the resorts have been good to work with. It's a negotiation. It doesn't have to take a lawyer or an exit company to negotiate with Barclays, Comenity or with a timeshare company.

Hi Irene,

Your messages on this thread has been helpful. Do you know anything about the company Timeshare Resale Market (TRM). We were at Vidanta in March and was sold what we thought a Timeshare. There's also a part where we trade in 2 of our timeshares through TRM for I think roughly $1000K. They were deceiving. Long story short, just like most Timeshare Sale, it was dishonest and they take advantage of your vulnerable situation. I contacted Profeco via email and they said they will call us. I hope they can help us. :( I'm just trying to see all my options. There's also this company called Wesley Financial. Any thoughts on them?

irenep59 wrote:

I can explain why you should not pay anyone, unless you don't have the time or temperament to self-advocate. Diamond, Wyndham, Bluegreen and many other resorts are working directly with members to resolve disputes. In one ten day period, nine families contacted me to inform me they resolved their disputes working directly with their resort. One got a hearing through Profeco disputing a Vidanta loan. She negotiated a loan cancellation. Profeco was great. Those resolved resulted in $178,000 in loan cancellations and $34,000 in credit card refunds without paying anyone. The state I live in referred a member to me. They had been to BBB and to the state's timeshare division. They would not help. The state sent them to our volunteer organization. They were released in 48 hours for $250. They had a medical hardship. The BBB and the state timeshare division didn't ask.

I contacted some exit companies and told them they should not be charging for exit services without the member contacting their resort first. I convinced one company to send us their "drops" to speak with our volunteers. They sent 131 members and owners. Of the 131 participants, 80 resolved their dispute within one day to six months by contacting ARDA's Coalition of Responsible Exit. The problem is, out of approximately 2,000 members and owners who have reached out to us, not one could tell us what ARDA even stands form. ARDA doesn't spend money taking out nationwide ads that say, "Contact ARDA if you need help getting out of a timeshare!" In my opinion, it's mostly a smokescreen for lawmakers and Wall Street to convince them there is no problem with the secondary market.

ARDA is not a panacea and we don't win them all. No one does. Take Maury in Mississippi, diagnosed with cancer in '07, stem cell transplant, if Maury goes to the grocery store, he has to rest the remainder of the day. The resort said he has to be diagnosed terminal, reside in a nursing home, or be bedridden. Fortunately, Maury is a Mason and his Congressman is a Mason. He has taken up Maury's cause. The Congressman said that he had to retain an attorney to get out of his timeshare. Speaking of Congressmen, support retired Marine John Collick for Congress. He understands our self-advocacy process and has made timeshare part of his campaign platform in Virginia.

I have a list of 11 resorts with no responsible exit, despite the testimony of Kenneth McKelvey, Chairman of ARDA ROC, who testified at the Florida legislative workshop I attended, "I've been in this business 30 years. Not one resort didn't have a dissolution policy!" https://responsibleexit.com/

If an exit company signs someone up, or the member retains an attorney, they are rendered ineligible for their resort's voluntary surrender program.

Diamond is charging members in good standing $1,000 per contract, Welk $500, Bluegreen, one or two years maintenance through their "Give to Charity" program. The charity doesn't have to pay maintenance fees. One of the charities is founded by the co-founder of RCI. I'm told it's known in the industry as a "clean and press." All Bluegreen applicants in our study were accepted. To my knowledge Diamond has refused no one eligible for Transitions. Overall, the resorts have been good to work with. It's a negotiation. It doesn't have to take a lawyer or an exit company to negotiate with Barclays, Comenity or with a timeshare company.

AO I had not heard of Timeshare Resort Marketing until last night. There is another Redweek forum about Vidanta. Someone read my post and found my phone number and contacted me. Her complaint about TRM is identical to comments I found on the internet. I don't think RedWeek would mind my including this TUG thread to warn others. https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/has-anyone-traded-in-a-unit-to-vidanta-through-trm.285691/

We promote self-advocacy. Not everyone has the time or temperament. I don't comment on exit companies. There is no reason to retain anyone for a fee if you are capable of writing a clear. concise complaint. For three years I wrote court reports and edited volunteer court reports for Family Court to help judges and interested parties make the best determination for a child in state care. Now instead of asking, "Do you want to go back home to mom and dad?" I ask, "Do you want to go back home to your home resort?"

https://qroo.us/2019/01/07/mexico-how-to-report-a-consumer-violation-to-profeco/

This from an article to be published Wed about a Vidanta buyer who had her complaint translated into Spanish and negotiated a loan cancellation through Profeco:

If Profeco accepts your case, you will be assigned a case number and a mediator. The person filing the complaint will not be speaking on their behalf in conference calls. The mediator is the go-between. The mediator does not decide who is right or wrong. There will be three attempts to mediate. If mediation fails, the only option is to pursue your dispute with Méxican law. Good luck with that!

In the case of our timeshare buyer who was able to resolve her dispute, resolution came in the form of her counter offer to the timeshare company’s initial offer. Most resolutions come about through compromise.

Throughout the dispute process, keep in contact with the timeshare company and keep copies of all correspondence, including emails and financial records. It’s best to send documents by certified mail, return receipt requested. Dispute any bills received and respond to all requests for collection. Monitor your credit report and dispute any downgrade. If collection calls become harassing, an individual can send a “cease and desist” letter to stop harassing calls.

ao40 wrote:

There's also this company called Wesley Financial. Any thoughts on them?

Yes, a very shady company. There have been many complaints about this company. I scoured their website and saw nothing in there positive.

Yes, you probably got taken in by Timeshare Resale Market , but Wesley financial can not help you. I don't know when you signed the papers with TRM but, if it was within the last five days, you have the opportunity to rescind the transaction.

I have learned Timeshare Resale Market is more than Shady. They are working in cooperation with Vidanta promising to take in moldy timeshares. The timeshares had loans outstanding. TRM wanted $1000 each to list them for sale. Timeshares are hard enough to sell. No one will buy one with an outstanding loan.

I had one of our our volunteers call Timeshare Freedom as they are taking out national TV ads and had contacted me. They would not talk to me. Our volunteer said that it seems they direct callers to SellMyTimeshareNow.

Have you heard anything about Timeshare Freedom?

irenep59 wrote:

Timeshare Freedom...had contacted me. They would not talk to me.

Huh? They contacted [you] but they would not talk to [you]? I don't get it.

As for Timeshare Freedom, if it's one of those companies that claims it can "cancel" or exit someone from his timeshare, then it is either a scam or will accomplish something for the owner that the owner can do himself for a lot less (if any) money.

Lance I gave Timeshare Freedom my name when they called me. They seemed to recognize me during the conversation from articles I've written. They did not like the questions I asked them and said they wanted to put me on a do not call list. I said I wanted to talk to them, but they hung up. That's why I had one of our volunteers call.

What I am concerned about is Timeshare Freedom is taking out television ads as Timeshare Freedom, but it sounds like they are a front for SellMyTimeshareNow. SMTN took my keywords and added "Sales and Rentals" behind the name of the publication I used to write for. When you went to our publication it took you to the link to SellMyTimeshareNow. I wondered if anyone else has been contacted by Timeshare Freedom, and if they were directed to SMTN, or are they working with other parties. It's not worth starting a forum, but if you ever hear anything about them, I would appreciate the information. Thank you.

By the way the Diamond Resort v Finn Law Group trial has been postponed to Sept 29. I'm not being sued. I'm not a party to the case, but since is a thread about FLG others might want to know. A lawsuit was filed in 2015. I did not know the firm then.

I bought an 8900 plan may 2017. went right back to quit but dumb me bit on a lesser program for 3,000. then in july 2018 they got me back. They knew I didn't want it anymore. No one to go with, less money, health issues etc.

Put me with a fast talking salesperson who just sat there and lied lied lied. Oh you never should have left the original one. You can't sell it, you can only use it etc., etc..... He referred me to redweek. even said he made 20,000 selling his points.

So dumb old lady i fell for it. Now every month they take $128.00 a month toward about 5,000 balance.

I've almost been scammed 3 times. the last time i went thru Paypay, they got my money back. I don't know what to do?

HELP!

dorothym, We have a Facebook page of 4,600 Diamond members going through what you are going through, if you would like to join. We don't allow solicitation or posts asking about a law firm or an exit company, because we promote self-advocacy, working directly with the resort. Members share dispute resolution experiences. https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/ We have volunteers across the country to answer questions about filing regulatory complaints, if you experienced unfair and deceptive practices. Diamond has worked with hundreds of members who resolved dispute, but they can't post because they signed an NDA. I was offered a refund, but refused to sign the NDA. Rarely does anyone need an attorney. Only if our volunteers are asked a legal question they can't answer, or they don't have the time or temperament to self-advocate. It's like having a part-time job.

Furthermore.....you are not dumb. Among those who have reached out to our volunteers: a Tampa detective who worked economic crimes under cover, two counter-terrorism experts, two private detectives, a PhD in criminology, an ICE agent with a MS in criminology and contract specialist with Consolidated Edison. Seeing the look on my face, the contract specialist said, "I know, I know, but how many times have you bought cars and houses and relied on the ethics of the person sitting across the table. You don't expect them to bald-face lie." That is his exact quote. The question I am most frequently asked, "How do they sleep at night?"

Hi, IreneP! Have you dealt with Soleil Management in Las Vegas of Tahiti Village Resort? My wife and I was pressured at the resort with their sales pitch to purchase their timeshare in 2018 and I called them to take the deed back which they refused and I asked if they have an exit program, they said no. Is there any way I could get rid of this timeshare? Their maintenance fees are getting more expensive and they forced me to renew RCI membership which I cannot use and I'm still paying their mortgage. I've read about Finn Law Group, but very skeptical. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I'm not Irene but here is some practical advice. First, try calling the resort's Homeowners' Association (HOA) again. This time, tell them in no uncertain terms that you do not intend to pay another nickle in maintenance fees so it would be in their best interests for them to take the unit back amicably. They might ask you to pay closing costs but that would probably be worth it in your case. And by the way, to whom are you still paying mortgage? Is it on the unit you purchased or to RCI? If it still on the unit, the HOA probably will not take your unit back so you might have to default on everything.

Also, they cannot force you to renew your RCI membership. RCI and TVR are two different parties.

As for Finn Law Group, they might be a legitimate law firm but they are going to charge you thousands of dollars to do something you can do yourself. They don't have mystical powers that can magically make your debts or timeshare disappear.

Soleil Management I am familiar with Soleil. Rarely does anyone need an attorney. When asked about retaining an attorney, the first thing I say is that if everyone just retains an attorney, the only thing that is going to change is attorney bank accounts. We have a network of volunteers to answer questions about our self-advocacy process. If you would like to reach out you can find me on our Diamond Facebook. Not everyone has the time or temperament to self-advocate. We have a list of eight law firms that specialize in timeshares if all else fails or our volunteers are asked a legal question they can't answer. If you prefer to retain an attorney, I would suggest two Nevada law firms since you purchased a Nevada timeshare. https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/ The problem with Nevada is that when you file a complaint with the NV Real Estate Division, they respond with a knee-jerk, You Have No Proof Letter. Once I provided a recording of a real sleaze of an agent defrauding a 90% disabled Iraq veteran with TBI. The agent got promoted. That was in 2017 and I recently heard from an 8th victim just a month ago, a widow whose husband was murdered in a workplace violence incident, protecting others. Some AGs are pro-consumer, a few pro-industry. The founder of Diamond Resorts ran for Governor of Nevada. Irene

Irene - Long story short. We had a timeshare with Silver Leaf, paid it off, and then got suckered into another timeshare with Holiday Inn (They bought Silverleaf). So now we have had this Platinum points timeshare with Holiday Inn since April 2019 that we owe over $46K on. We can never get the resort we want, were lied to during the presentation, and just want this to go away. I have spoken with mike Finn and he said he could take our case for about $6500. Recommendations? Even if Mike wins our case ({have not hired him yet) what happens to our mortgage? I don't want this going to my kids.