We begin this week with a rather quiet Monday, so this is a good time to let you know of some changes being made to the site. A new theme is being prepared as the old one is now a bit dated and will no longer be supported by WordPress.
We are also in the planning stages of merging After Inside Timeshare with another website, more to come on this when it is finalised. But rest assured, our new partners are well known, and respected and hold the same values as AIT, ensuring timeshare owners know the truth.
You may experience some difficulties over the weeks when visiting us as we will be making the changes as we go along. If you do have any problems please try again later.
As for any on the timeshare front, there really isn’t much to report, many of the forums are buzzing with the increase in maintenance fees, but nothing like we have seen from MacDonald Resorts.
This has also triggered posts regarding “exiting”, which will, unfortunately, attract the “scammers” who stalk “users’ groups” in search of new victims. So, a warning to all you timeshare owners who do post, be very careful of the information you give in your posts and comments. Do not believe the “wonderful” stories of how this company or that company “got me out” and be very wary of those who then PM you, they may be after your money.
The tools are there for you to do your checks, and go to the person’s page and profile, it’s surprising how many people leave telltale signs of their “timeshare employment” on their Fb pages. I have even known employers use Fb when employees call in sick on a Monday morning, very funny seeing the pictures posted at 3 am of them totally wrecked!
Joking aside, the one question always asked is “where did they get my details?” For most, it will be direct from the developer’s records from when you purchased, downloaded by unscrupulous sales agents and staff to sell on the black market.
The other main form of gathering your “timeshare ownership” details is the websites that you visit and filling out contact forms for further information. If they don’t get your business then your details will sell, there are also dedicated websites known as “lead generators”. These are set up purely to gather your information.
Then as we have already mentioned, there are all the groups on social media, where you do tend to be a bit more liberal with your own information. This is especially true of the “closed groups”, where members tend to be vetted, but it is so easy to slip through this with fake profiles.
It is sad to say that to protect yourself from scammers, you have to treat all with the same suspicion, this may hurt genuine companies, but it is a fact there are more scammers than genuine ones. Do your due diligence, that is do your own checks, and don’t rely on “testimonials & recommendations” just because they appeared on your Fb feed.
That is all for today, this Wednesday we plan to publish another MacDonald Resorts article, in follow up to our previous ones on the company and its woes, this one looks at the “bricks & mortar” and poses the question of who actually owns it all.
The article also looks at previous attempts to “sell off” hotels to alleviate the financial problems which have dogged the MacDonald Empire for years.
We hope you had a good weekend, Baby Dog tried it on this weekend, bribery seemed to work, so I’d better deliver.
Benn Dover
Thank you for all the great information you provide! You do an excellent job!