Dave Ramsey Endorsed Timeshare Exit Team Closes Its Doors; Leaving Paying Customers High and Dry

[Demovictory9]

For years, Dave Ramsey touted, endorsed, and advertised Timeshare Exit Team's services as a trusted company that his followers could turn to when they no longer wanted their vacation ownership. "Timeshare Exit Team, it's the only people we endorse for getting you out of your timeshare because it works!" Ramsey said. They charged most people an upfront fee between $3,000 and $9,000 and offered a 100% money-back guarantee. It seemed too good to be true, and it was.

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Timeshare owners felt comfortable handing over thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars to Timeshare Exit Team because they trusted Dave Ramsey's recommendation. Unfortunately, the Washington State Attorney General's stack of consumer complaints tells a tragic story of Dave Ramsey's followers repeatedly regretting their decision to trust this company.

One owner of a Branson timeshare filed a complaint with Washington State after they gave $11,000 to Timeshare Exit Team and two years later still had their timeshare. They hired these services because they "…put {their} faith in Dave Ramsey's glowing recommendation of the company." But, because Timeshare Exit Team said they were still working on the case, they insisted the money couldn't be refunded.

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Despite what their advertisements said, Reed Hein had no expertise in ending timeshare contracts, and customers eventually figured this out. But, according to Washington State's lawsuit, since 2012, they have "unfairly and deceptively contracted with more than 32,000 consumers looking to be rid of their unwanted timeshares, and have collected millions of dollars in upfront fees from consumers in the process."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/dave-ramsey-endorsed-timeshare-exit-team-closes-its-doors-leaving-paying-customers-high-and-dry/ar-AAUqggE

[hlthe2b]

1. These long time financial pundits who have enriched themselves off of bad advice and celebrity...

deserve an extra hot seat in hell. I would no more watch any of those a'holes, nor take their advice, any more than I'd watch and donate to televangelists. They are mere grifting birds of a feather IMO.

[SouthernDem4ever]

2. When i first heard him, he was just hawking making yourself debt-free

Ok, not a bad thing. I stopped listening when he turned into a huge marketing company for his products. If I bought his stuff, I would be back in debt. He, of course would still be debt-free.

[Demovictory9]

3. he's super rightwing now..anti vax, requires his employees to live by his beliefs

[SouthernDem4ever]

4. In other words, a Q type cult

typical right-winger. They may get one thing right and then use their new found cred to ram all of their other crap down your throat.

[elias7]

5. Who has no soul, screwing over his fellow humans easy as you please

[3Hotdogs]

11. Anti gub'mint regulation, anti Social Security and Medicare.

[Demovictory9]

13. prayer is the way to combat covid

[SouthernDem4ever]

44. the only thing i would pray for was a quick vaccine

[Ziggysmom]

7. I agree, years ago he made a little sense. But when he kept saying that

Mutual funds beat out ETFs and promoting his sales, I knew he was not to be trusted. When saving long term for retirement, ETFs will have much lower fees than mutual funds. Those damn fees really add up big time.

[JoanofArgh]

6. Ramsey probably made millions off this timeshare grift. He's a total con artist.

[3Hotdogs]

12. Christian Healthcare Ministries is another one that has complaints against it.

"Christian Healthcare Ministries is not insurance...."

[dv421]

32. I hear them advertised

on progressive radio stations.

Don't know much about them, but I can imagine their treatment plan is to pray.

It's amazing to me how easy it is to separate "Christians" from their money.

[3Hotdogs]

47. You spelled "prey" wrong.

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. Ramsay is just another in a long line of Christian charlatan fuckstains

that make people of faith look like goddamn idiots, and who prey on the foolishly gullible.

[ashredux]

9. Maybe folks will finally realized Ramsey is full of shit...he is NOT a financial expert

[AverageOldGuy]

10. Let's see if I can do the math . . .

Customers paid between $3,000 and $9,000 -- call that an average of $6,000.

32,000 customers at $6,000 each equals $192,000,000.00. Not a bad payday.

[wolfie001]

14. Branson timeshare?

[Ligyron]

15. Sure, you get to live in a stable with your very own horse.

The horse costs you an extra 10 grand but you get tickets to see he haws and cracker barrels live and in person! Hank Williams Junior will autograph your wife’s breasts.

[wolfie001]

49. Oh my!!!

[Farmer-Rick]

16. He uses his Christianity as an extra con to steal from other Christians

His big con is that the bible only tells what to do with 10 percent of your money. (Tithings) So, he goes on and on about his so called Christianity and how Jesus is the right path.

Another con artist using religion to scam wealth out of true believers. He has some logical financial advice but no more than you can get in any good book on financial management.

His scam is all about how God will help you get out of debt. And now God is helping Christians make Dave rich.

I guess if you think there is a magical sky daddy looking out for you, it's easy to believe this con artist is too.

[hamsterjill]

21. He's a junior Trump in my opinion.

Total con artist. His advice is basic, common sense and only that.

[Farmer-Rick]

25. Exactly,

Some of my neighbors said he was a very savy financial advisor giving out help for free. All the while he's scamming those fellow Christians. He use to promote a debt consolidation program that supposedly helps his fellow Christians get out of debt. My spouse use to say, why should I pay someone else to pay my debts, cut out the middle man.

The whole thing was just another con.

[Johnny2X2X]

17. He's a con artist, but his debt free system was great for a lot of people

I used to listen to his show until I realized his who system was about a half of a page of the same advice he gives out over and over.

1. Make a budget.
2. Put $1000 in an emergency fund
3. Watch every dollar you spend.
4. Debt snowball, follow it (This is actually a great piece of advice)
5. Pay off everything and then build an emergency fund of 3-6 months expenses
6. Save enough so you don't need life insurance.

There's a few more details in there, but that's basically his entire system. Buy used cars, a few other common sense items.

He is a true con man, he'll believe in whatever pays him the most.

[melm00se]

24. These are basically the

same things I used to say (over and over again) as a credit counselor back in the late 80s/early 90s. The only one that wasn't part of our guidance was #6.

[Johnny2X2X]

27. Just making a budget is 75% of the issue

Most households in the US don't keep a written budget. A budget is where everything else starts from. You can't set goals without a budget, you can't even begin to get things in order without knowing what's coming and going each month. And without a budget, you can go broke on almost any salary. There are couples out there making $200K a year living paycheck to paycheck.

[hamsterjill]

28. Yeppers.

Ramsey’s approach was/is nothing new. It’s simple common sense. Pay off the small debt to have more to pay toward the bigger debt, and feel a sense of satisfaction as you get each one paid.

Not rocket science - but if you have radio air time, you can sell anything.

[Farmer-Rick]

26. I read about 3 good financial management books

Back in my 30s. I took all their advice and made a chart to follow. It included most of what Ramsey said..... except back then used cars were junk and new cars were cheaper.

His advice is common sense.

But to be honest, when I retired to run a farm at 45, it was just plain luck that helped the most with my finances.

[hamsterjill]

29. A new car with a warranty is a lot less expensive

Than a clunker that you have to fix all the time.

[Johnny2X2X]

31. I buy used with a warranty

I buy my cars 1 or 2 years old and still with that bumper to bumper factory warrants for at least the first couple years.

And right now, brand new might be the way to go with the price of used cars being so high. I bought my current car 5 years ago last month with only 22,000 miles on it, I also bought an extended warranty for like $1200. Only has 55,000 miles on it now because I have been WFH since Covid hit in March of 2020. The most I've spent on it in 5 years was for tires this past year at like $600.

Just taking the 1st year or two of depreciation out of it is enough to make me buy used. But at this point in my life, new might be doable.

[Piasladic]

41. What do you do when your spouse gets horrifically sick

even with insurance, the cost piles up, and everything you save can be lost in a few years.


I've lived frugally and my husband is the cheapest guy you'll ever meet, but I wonder.... why save money when just dying takes it all anyway.

[Johnny2X2X]

43. The world isn't that bleak

There's still a decent life for people who work hard and save, sure, we have an awful health care system that can take it all away, but that's not a reason not to put yourself in the best position possible.

[niyad]

18. Years ago, a friend fell for a similar operation in Florida., although the fee was

only several hundred dollars. Fortunately, she asked me to handle it. Hit the search engines, and made a call to the FL secretary of state. Hundreds of complaints, no surprise there. As I explained to my friend, one generally does not pay a real estate agent up front.

Thanks for this OP. I have another friend who is a huge fan of this conman. I hate having to burst her bubble.

[jaxexpat]

19. I had a co-worker who quoted Ramsey like a biblical scholar.

He was preaching in the breakroom, one day, that he or anyone else would never see the money they've contributed into SS. I pulled out my calculator and after factoring in the numbers he gave me, showed him he'd run out of his contributions at around age 79-83. I explained that if he died before that he'd be right, he wouldn't get his contributions back. I asked if his family had a history of longevity. He replied that his parents were into their 90's and in good health. I told him Dave Ramsey was poison, breaktime was over and walked out of the breakroom. At one time this guy was an even-keeled and pretty happy guy, always joking and positive. I'd noticed that since he'd started listening to the talk radio, he'd become a depressed, opinionated and argumentative boor who people didn't like to be around.

Small-minded people are always the first victims of these fraudsters.

[yellowcanine]

20. Ramsey himself is a bit of a control freak, imo.

Some of his advice is sound - such as avoiding credit card debt, for example. But his advice to have only a debit card and not a credit card which is paid off every month is not sound, imo. A debit card does not offer nearly the protection of a credit card against scams and in resolving disputes with merchants. Once the money is out of your bank account via the debit card it is very difficult to get it back. Not impossible, but a lot harder than simply notifying your credit card company that you are disputing a charge. Almost any expert on ID theft will tell you not to use a debit card for retail purchases.

Also the way Ramsey sometimes reveals personal details about his cohosts on the air creeps me out.

[Lucid Dreamer]

22. Apparently you have been eavesdropping on my impromptu lectures for the last 12 years.

People with weak self-control use debit cards because "If I don't have it I can't spend it."
They have no idea the pain of trying to unwind debit card fraud compared to credit card protections.
Planning, awareness, self-control -- those will take you a long way.

[yellowcanine]

34. Yes that is Ramsey's argument for debit vs credit card.

It is probably true that it is easier to overspend a credit card than a debit card. But anyone using debit cards routinely for retail purchases is asking for trouble.

[SouthernDem4ever]

45. Totally agree.

Debit cards are a scam way for banks to make money while not giving you the same protections as a consumer. I always use a CC and just pay it off every month.

[lindysalsagal]

23. The entire idea of a time-share, itself, is too good to be true.

I'm assuming most are out of state, making them harder to prosecute. I've never seen a time share contract, but the fine print must say that the only way out is to find a buyer to replace you, right?

This is why I don't even buy fund bonds. I don't want to get stuck with it.

[Farmer-Rick]

30. Yeah, I never understood the appeal of timeshares

First they cost way more than what I wanted to spend for a hotel room. Then you were stuck going to the same place year after year, unless you could find somone to swap in the area you want and they want to go to the area you have.

I actually was lured to a timeshare meeting with the promise of a new Subaru...we thought it was a car and they said we were guaranteed winners. Spouse and I went.

And the torture began......They actually locked us into this small house with about 20 couples. They gave a boring hot and musty lecture, served us lunch, tuna sandwiches, chips and soda, and then lectured us on costs. We realized we were never going to be buying.

So, we said give us the Subaru and we would leave ...The sales guy actually yelled at us, like children. We yelled back. He threw a Subaru Sleeping Bag at us, unlocked the door and yelled at us as we left. A few of other couples managed to escape right behind us but then he locked the doors again. The majority suffered through the whole 6 hour spiel.....amazing.

[Johnny2X2X]

33. Had the same experience with pots and pans

Wife found an offer of a free cruise to attend a presentation. We figured why not. This was the 90s, we were newly weds who just bought our first home. They tried to sell us a $7800 set of pots an pans and tried pressuring everyone into financing it. Financing a set of pots and pans, LOL! Eventually the presenter got tired of my poking and asked me why I was there while yelling at me, I told him flat, "The free cruise." He got angry and handed me a coupon and said I should leave, so we did. The free cruise was a joke, it was basically a $500 off coupon.

I've also gotten kicked out of Multi level marketing presentations. Eat your steak dinner, and after the first question you should ask is, "So, how do you make money doing this? By selling these products you're trying to get us to sell, or by giving presentations like this to sign people up to sell for you? So then why aren't you instead telling us about renting a room at a restaurant and giving this presentation to make money?"

[Demovictory9]

38. Thats why i avoid those free cruise things..i know it

Inbolves high pressure sale

[SouthernDem4ever]

46. LOL

My favorite presentation was when a guy in a suit stood up and said you could make millions just working one day a week out of your garage. I didn't even bother talking to him. Yes, it was Amway/Quixtar, or whatever other incarnation they call it. It's all the same scam pyramid scheme.

[Demovictory9]

39. Did you really expect a subaru car?

[Farmer-Rick]

48. Nope but my spouse did

So, I went just so I called say I told you so.

But I never said it because I never expected to get locked in and get yelled at. A very creepy experience.

[rictofen]

40. Same thing happened to my family when I was a teen

One of those car giveaways at the mall. We drove all the way out to western MA for the drawing.

Each time a group of people said they weren't interested in the timeshare, they swapped that salesperson out for another. That happened twice but then we just left.

At least it was a scenic drive? Lol.

[Demsrule86]

35. They are all grifters and crooks...Suze Ormon as well

She developed a debit card...and it is a piece of shit.

The card comes with a lot of free perks, including: unlimited access to your credit report and credit scores from TransUnion (one of the three big credit reporting agencies), credit monitoring and identity theft protection.

You also get unlimited free use of Allpoint ATMs across the country each month, if you make a direct deposit or bank transfer to the card of $20 or more. Allpoint ATMs are in major retailers, like Costco, Target, Walgreens, Kroger and 7-Eleven.

But there are various fees that can run up the bill, including:

• $1 for pay by check

• $2 per paper statement

• $2 per over-the counter cash withdrawal

• $2 per call to talk to a live customer service agent (after one free call per month)

• $3 card replacement fee

[MineralMan]

36. No Need to Exit a Timeshare if You Never Had One

Timeshare's are a racket. Nobody wants to vacation in the same place year after year, no matter how nice it is.

Timeshares suck! They always have. Bad idea.

[inthewind21]

37. Times shares

themselves are a grift. Ironic, turning to a grift to get you out of your original grift.

[jmowreader]

42. I never really liked Ramsey

Dave Ramsey started out life as a house flipper, and his money source was S&Ls. Then Reagan killed the passive loss deduction…which killed the S&L industry…which killed Ramsey’s company.

After he got his shit together he went back to flipping houses and went all-in on the GOP.

I have three problems with his “baby steps.” First, if you are in serious shit financially those aren’t baby steps, they’re gigantic leaps. Second, the whole purpose of his program is to change you from giving all your money to the banks to giving it all to churches. And third, he never once points out the obvious: if you’ve got serious money problems, getting a second job or having your spouse get one has to be one of the things you do to solve them.