Releif Solutions International (RSI) is one of those numerous companies that contact you if you have a timeshare that you do not use, but you are obligated to pay the maintenance fees annually. Their pitch is that they will get you off the title so you never have to pay the maintenance fees again. A target-rich demographic is the elderly timeshare owner who is worried that they will be saddling their heirs with years of maintenance fees after they die. My 88 year old mother went to one of their presentations and decided, despite being on a fixed income, to pay $3,000 to pay for the service. She had to find out exactly what she owed the resort to provide that information to RSI and discovered that her resort would take back the title for 10% of the $3,000 free she paid (basically because the resort understood the economic hardship their elderly timeshare owners were dealing with).
After contacting RSI to ask for a refund (after leaving numerous messages and getting calls back stating the person in charge of refunds was on vacation), she was told that "Sorry, but you did not contact us in time and we already sent the info package to the attorneys." After I got involved, I told them that my mother had not submitted the Power of Attorney authorization for the attorneys to do ANYTHING. I asked them if they could refund just a portion of the $3,000--specifially $1,000, considering RSI would have NO expenses associated with my mother's account. After checking with management, I was told, basically, "Sorry, but our contract says you have to cancel within a certain amount of days. Yes, that is true, that we do not have to incur any additional costs for your mother because she is dealing directly with her resort, but legally we can keep her money."
I appealed to their sense of fairness--that, in essence, RSI is keeping a senior citizens' moeny despite not having to do anything. But there answer was --Sorry, but too bad.
The point of this report is to warn people about these companies that pitch that the way they get your off the title is the only way you can be sure it will be done. NOT TRUE!!.
First-- ALWAYS check with your resort's Board of Directors to see if they have a policy of taking titles back from very senior citizens. You may be surprised that they will for a nominal sum.
Second-- should you attend one of their slick and friendly presentation, DO NOT agree to their first fee amount. They will negotiate and you can save thousands of dollars and get the same result. Seriously. My mother was very hesistant (and should have declined), but the fee came down the longer she showed initial interest and asked question, but said no. Down the fee went.
Third-- they are pretty adamant that their competitors do not have the reputation they have for cancelling a timeshare title. That is not true--- there are other providers out there that do the same thing RSI does, and may for less than what RSI charges. Presenters get paid VERY WELL to close you (makes you wonder how much it really costs them to terminate a timeshare title considering their overhead. Maybe by keeping money even when they do not do anything for the fee paid).
Fourth-- Beware. You may sign up with RSI and discover that you have to pay more in maintenace fees to get out of your title than you initially thought. Even if my mother had decided to let RSI spend her $3,000 to cancel the title, it would have cost $1,200 more in additional fees that were NOT necessary by going directly to the resort Board of Directors. BIG DIFFERENCE!
Fifth-- RSI talks a good line about caring about individuals--but my mother's experience is is that is NOT the case. Even when the company acknowledged that they would have made $3,000 from my mother for doing nothing, they would not even refund $1,000. They are basically keeping the money and not having to do anything.
Summation: Make sure you do alot of research---starting by going to your resort's Board of Directors--and then, if you sign up for one of these presentation, I STRONGLY ADVISE you to NOT sign up right then and there. Take the information, check with your resort and, if you decide to move forward, call them back. They will tell you at the presentation that they will give you a lower price if you decide NOW (typical car salesman tactics), but they will not turn you down if you return. RSI will know you are actively seeking to terminate your timeshare and they are risking losing you to another competitor.
Relief Solutions International--Talks a Good Line. But does not Walk the Walk.
Relief Solutions International Reviews
Releif Solutions International (RSI) is one of those numerous companies that contact you if you have a timeshare that you do not use, but you are obligated to pay the maintenance fees annually. Their pitch is that they will get you off the title so you never have to pay the maintenance fees again. A target-rich demographic is the elderly timeshare owner who is worried that they will be saddling their heirs with years of maintenance fees after they die. My 88 year old mother went to one of their presentations and decided, despite being on a fixed income, to pay $3,000 to pay for the service. She had to find out exactly what she owed the resort to provide that information to RSI and discovered that her resort would take back the title for 10% of the $3,000 free she paid (basically because the resort understood the economic hardship their elderly timeshare owners were dealing with).
After contacting RSI to ask for a refund (after leaving numerous messages and getting calls back stating the person in charge of refunds was on vacation), she was told that "Sorry, but you did not contact us in time and we already sent the info package to the attorneys." After I got involved, I told them that my mother had not submitted the Power of Attorney authorization for the attorneys to do ANYTHING. I asked them if they could refund just a portion of the $3,000--specifially $1,000, considering RSI would have NO expenses associated with my mother's account. After checking with management, I was told, basically, "Sorry, but our contract says you have to cancel within a certain amount of days. Yes, that is true, that we do not have to incur any additional costs for your mother because she is dealing directly with her resort, but legally we can keep her money."
I appealed to their sense of fairness--that, in essence, RSI is keeping a senior citizens' moeny despite not having to do anything. But there answer was --Sorry, but too bad.
The point of this report is to warn people about these companies that pitch that the way they get your off the title is the only way you can be sure it will be done. NOT TRUE!!.
First-- ALWAYS check with your resort's Board of Directors to see if they have a policy of taking titles back from very senior citizens. You may be surprised that they will for a nominal sum.
Second-- should you attend one of their slick and friendly presentation, DO NOT agree to their first fee amount. They will negotiate and you can save thousands of dollars and get the same result. Seriously. My mother was very hesistant (and should have declined), but the fee came down the longer she showed initial interest and asked question, but said no. Down the fee went.
Third-- they are pretty adamant that their competitors do not have the reputation they have for cancelling a timeshare title. That is not true--- there are other providers out there that do the same thing RSI does, and may for less than what RSI charges. Presenters get paid VERY WELL to close you (makes you wonder how much it really costs them to terminate a timeshare title considering their overhead. Maybe by keeping money even when they do not do anything for the fee paid).
Fourth-- Beware. You may sign up with RSI and discover that you have to pay more in maintenace fees to get out of your title than you initially thought. Even if my mother had decided to let RSI spend her $3,000 to cancel the title, it would have cost $1,200 more in additional fees that were NOT necessary by going directly to the resort Board of Directors. BIG DIFFERENCE!
Fifth-- RSI talks a good line about caring about individuals--but my mother's experience is is that is NOT the case. Even when the company acknowledged that they would have made $3,000 from my mother for doing nothing, they would not even refund $1,000. They are basically keeping the money and not having to do anything.
Summation: Make sure you do alot of research---starting by going to your resort's Board of Directors--and then, if you sign up for one of these presentation, I STRONGLY ADVISE you to NOT sign up right then and there. Take the information, check with your resort and, if you decide to move forward, call them back. They will tell you at the presentation that they will give you a lower price if you decide NOW (typical car salesman tactics), but they will not turn you down if you return. RSI will know you are actively seeking to terminate your timeshare and they are risking losing you to another competitor.
Relief Solutions International--Talks a Good Line. But does not Walk the Walk.