Employees of VO Group Indicated

A man was arrested for being involved in a mortgage fraud scheme last week. This scheme had more than 225 victims and robbed them of $2.6 million dollars. The man, Adam Lacerda, pleaded not guilty in his hearing at the federal court last Monday. Lacerda graduated from Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School and was CEO of VO Group. The VO Group was a timeshare firm located in Nashville, TN that was based in New Jersey. Lacerda currently faces charges of “mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering”. He, along with his wife and six others were indicated.

Allegedly, the workers of VO Group contacted timeshare owners and convinced them to sell their timeshare for a cut-rate price. They also had these sellers send them money to sell or cancel their timeshare. The money was mailed to a P.O. Box in New Jersey where Lacerda withdrew the money and used it for personal expenses.

The investigation revealed that these schemers tried to cover their tracks by purchasing another timeshare in the clients name in the ‘bait and switch’ tactic. In addition, Lacerda and his wife were also receiving unemployment while working for the company. The jury trial is scheduled for July 9^th in New Jersey.  

Transfer Smart warns all timeshare owners to be careful when hiring a company in regards to timeshares. There are a lot of timeshare fraud companies who have taken thousands of dollars from timeshare owners. 

Southwest's Customer of Size Policy

Transfer Smart reports on a woman who was allegedly told that she was ‘too fat to fly’. Kenlie Tiggeman, was told by a Southwest Airlines gate agent that she was too fat to fly last year. After receiving an apology Tiggeman continued to fly with the said company. However, the incident happened again this year and Tiggeman has taken matters into her own hands and proceeds to sue the airline company.

Tiggeman is a woman from New Orleans and once weighed over four-hundred pounds. Unhappy with her weight she decided to go on a quest to lose some unwanted pounds. However, her biggest gripe with airlines is their inconsistent ‘Customer of Size’ policy.

Tiggeman commented, “The problem I have with Southwest is not that they may want me to purchase two seats. It’s that sometimes they want that, and other times they don’t.”

Last year, a gate agent humiliated her in front of other passengers by stating that she was too fat to fly and would have to purchase an additional seat. After filing a complaint, the agent apologized to Tiggeman and Tiggeman agreed to fly with Southwest again.  After flying with the airline on two separate occasions without having to purchase a second seat, she was surprised to be told that she was again too fat to fly.

“Paying double because a gate agent may or may not have something against overweight people is not realistic…nor should it be necessary.”

Frustrated Tiggeman decided to take action against Southwest. She stated that the legal action isn’t about money but to have the airline clarify its Customer of Size policy.

Tiggeman commented, “As a consumer, I may not have been born with the innate right to fly, but as a consumer who is willing to pay, I do have a right to understand the rules clearly at the point of purchase. [Right now], it’s left to interpretation. So if they can take the guess work out of it then everyone will be better off moving forward and that’s what I’m trying to accomplish."

When asked to comment, Southwest stated that their policy and rules are clearly stated online. The airline advises consumers that if they encroach upon the neighboring seats they need to purchase an additional seat. Tiggeman understood this policy and stated that she is able to sit in any seat with the armrest down but when she wanted to demonstrate this to the gate agent, they turned her down and firmly stated that she needed to purchase an additional seat.

A blogger commented, “Nobody deserves to be embarrassed at the gates. However, I also understand the airline’s perspective. Making clear-cut guidelines is absolutely not as simple as you think it is. The policy could not be based on weight, because people carry [it] so differently.”

Transfer Smart News: Starwood Report Losses for 3rd Quarter

Just like any industry, the timeshare industry is hit hard by the unstable economy. As a result, timeshare properties became an unattractive purchase for potential buyers while some current owners try to get out of their timeshare contracts. The current economy also contributed to the significant losses of the timeshare companies. One of these companies is the Starwood Timeshares who reported EPS at $.22 for the third quarter of this year. This is contrast to $.62 in the same quarter in 2008.

The operating income from Starwood vacation ownership and residential declined $47 million compared to 2008. According to Frits van Paasschen, CEO of Starwood, over the past twelve months they have focused on cost containment and debt reduction. He added that their increasingly fee-based, capital-efficient business model will grow as REVPAR recovers and as their pipeline translates into unit additions. Their owned hotels are skewed towards the high end and have been particularly hard-hit over the past twelve months. This implies that they are poised for a strong rebound as the world economy recovers.

Moreover, the Starwood timeshare reported a revenue decrease of 31.7 percent to $125 million as compared to 2008. They implemented significant cost reductions through timeshare sales staff layoffs, not in decreased services to timeshare owners. The average sales price of Starwood timeshare dropped by nearly 22 percent which according to them is primarily due to increased sales of lower value timeshares.

With the current economy, it’s no wonder why several timeshare companies report losses as the consumers avoid purchasing such property. On the other hand, the current owners are also trying to get rid of their timeshares. Some even hire a timeshare transfer company such as the Transfer Smart just to get rid of such property.