Dump Your Timeshare is a Salt Lake City based timeshare exit company that has been operational since 2014. Chris and Wendi Whittier claim to have over eleven years of combined experience in the travel and debt reduction industries. They claim to intimately understand the struggle of timeshare owners and that they know scams are far more common than anything legitimate. But even with this supposed wealth of experience and helpful claims, do they actually hold up to what they promise to do?
Dump Your Timeshare Website Review
Trying to look up Dump Your Timeshare on Google already sets us off to a bad start. If you’re looking specifically for Dump Your Timeshare’s Better Business Bureau profile you won’t find it. They are listed under an entirely different name with a broken website link included in their profile. The name you’ll find them under is Preferred Vacation Club, Inc. The only way you’ll be able to tell it’s them is with Wendi Whittier’s name on the profile.
Their landing page isn’t the worst we’ve seen but it definitely needs work. The whole bottom half of the website is a chunk of words and while they are informative they take up a lot of space that no one is going to spend the time reading. When supplying the information you want to break it up evenly enough that it is dispersed around the page, rather than the eye having to stay in one place.
The image you’re greeted with when you enter the site is poorly photoshopped and adds to the unprofessional air. These days it isn’t difficult to employ a website creation service like Squarespace or WordPress or to even hire a web developer to help craft a professional-looking company website that will add to your credibility rather than taking away from it. Their landing page isn’t doing them any favors.
The wordy arrangement at the bottom of the landing page is even pithy and filled with fluff when you look it over. They try to assert that they have over thirty years of experience and claim that they provide the best service, but all you really get is the description of the consultation itself. They do note you will receive an Account Coordinator who will help guide you through the process of exiting your timeshare, but they don’t tell you what to expect from the process.
The wall of text only seems to serve to let you know that you will get a free consultation and someone assigned to your case if it seems viable. Further than that you can apparently expect exceptional customer service and that you will feel liberated when you are finally free of your timeshare. They do offer a section on the services they provide, but these only provide the most basic of information on transferring your timeshare deed, repealing your contract, and assessing your timeshare.
Nowhere in these sections is it mentioned what you should expect as far as the payment process goes. We highly recommend services that offer escrow payments as it is the safest way to conduct payment with these companies to ensure you don’t get swindled out of unnecessary money. To learn more about why escrow payments are so important, check out our blog.
The only remaining links to click on are their Blog section which leads to an empty WordPress site, their testimonials which we will get into, and their contact page. All in all the website is lacking the substance and polish to help it stand out from competitors as the resources and information are severely lacking. If their website was all we had to go on, we are already not ranking Dump Your Timeshare very highly.
Dump Your Timeshare Reviews
The first stop to find reviews for Dump Your Timeshare is the testimonials section on their website. While these sections tend to be highly flattering to the company at hand, they can sometimes offer a deeper insight into their practices. For this company, one of the interesting aspects of their testimonials section is that all of the photos included seem to be legitimate rather than stock photography.
They have a recorded review from the Mayor of St. George Utah where one of their offices is located. This is a unique addition as you can actually hear a vocal review from Mayor McArthur about their timeshare services. He offers a glowing review of their services in a commercial fashion which is a big difference from most timeshare websites but not enough to fully set them apart.
The following reviews toss around phrases like 10-star rating, excellence, and responsiveness, but you’ll notice some discrepancies if you look a bit closer. Stephen V. and Stephanie V. seem to have the same exact review word for word, which really sullies the whole testimonials section. With this one being a clear copy and paste along with just a slight change in the name, it really calls into question how legitimate the other reviews are with how similar the wording can be.
Digging a bit deeper you’ll find a few reviews on the BBB for Preferred Vacation Club, Inc. Once again though, this is not a great look for a company who’s whole mission is to release you from scams only to operate under two different names. The reviews on the BBB page seem to also be highly complimentary, giving Chris and Wendi of Dump Your Timeshare 5 stars each time.
You’ll find that one possible highlight is how the individuals at Preferred Vacation Club Inc. take the time to respond to several reviews with positive interaction. Little details like that can help a company appear more credible, but it also seems to be only on the reviews from 2018. The more recent reviews haven’t received any interaction and their last one was dated as May 1st, 2020.
While the eight reviews available seem to be largely positive, they don’t mention anything about payment options or additional information about the exit process.
Dump Your Timeshare Cost
Outright the lack of information about costs is a huge red flag. While they do offer a free consultation, that is largely the standard among most exit companies. This gives them an initial point of contact so they can continue to call you even if you decline to work with them.
Not knowing what you’ll be paying the company up front is not a great way to get started trying to release yourself from debt. You should at least know the cost of their initial service and how much you’ll need to set aside in order to foot the bill. Further than that, it is irresponsible of the company to not outrightly state their payment process.
Many companies stay vague about the payment process and end up taking more money from you by extending the time they spend working on your case. A good few of them will even take upfront payments and not be able to help you further down the line. In your free consultation, it is important to get all questions of compensation completely answered and hammered out before you ever pay them a dime.
This ensures your money only goes to them if you can be sure they’ll help you out as they promise to. Asking about escrow payments can also save you a lot of time, money, and heartache. Escrow payments are the most secure way to pay your exit company as it ensures they only get your money if they’ve been able to help you effectively leave your timeshare.
Summary
While Dump Your Timeshare seems to have a collection of glowing hometown testimonials, they are lacking in substance. It is worrying to completely comb over the website of a company you’re entrusting to release you from financial burdens, and have no idea how much you’ll likely be paying them to do so. Not to mention the information about their process as a whole is severely lacking, so potential clients aren’t entirely sure what they’ll be getting into.
Most of these companies use this trick of being vague on their websites in an effort to draw customers into the free consultation. They want your contact information so they can try and bag you as a client before you’re even aware of what they can offer you as far as aid. They stuff their testimonial and about us section with plenty of small-town charm to try and lull potential clients into a false sense of security without offering anything real.
Furthermore, their website is outdated and unfinished so their credibility is already standing in the balance. Reviews telling clients that they met Chris and Wendi at a state fair and then were helped out of their timeshare might seem quaint and charming, but they don’t offer any solid evidence of how these people can help you. Don’t be drawn in by the sweet reviews, especially when their wording is so similar.
You’ll be much better off finding a company with solid reviews that offer plentiful information on their website about processes, payments, and more.