Florida Veterans Assistance Association, Inc timeshare, donation, rip-off, upfront fees, insulting, sarcastic, rude, Tampa Florida

Ms. Rich,

Owning a timeshare is like owning a boat. The two happiest days in your life are the day you buy it, and the day you get rid of it. Keep trying and God bless!

Joel

I find it hard to believe after reading the correspondence between Todd and I that you wouldn't see WHY I wouldn't be insulted or offended.  Case in point:

I told him I was able to donate a timeshare in the past for FREE.  I did not have to pay any upfront fees, closing costs, transfer or recording fees.. NOTHING.  His response to me was... "You must have drove them all out of business then."

Here is another example of our correspondence when I declined the $1925 upfront fee "offer".  This is what and how I said it when I declined. 

"Thank you but no, thank you.  I don’t believe in paying anything to “donate” our timeshare. 

TODD's RESPONSE

Dear Ms. Rich,

I am founder and Chairman of Florida Veterans. I have reviewed the email messages and posts between you and Todd. We are sorry that you had a bad experience.

I’ve known and worked with Todd for years and he is one of the most professional people you will ever meet. We are proud to be associated with him and for his contribution to our charity over the years. Yours is our first and only complaint about Todd, and you seem to be waging a bitter campaign to damage his good reputation and place him in a false light.

You say that Todd was rude to you because you declined our offer. That is not what I read. He pointed out to you in two brief email notes on May 22, 2017 that you have been searching for a no-cost-to-you disposal option for this timeshare for the better part of a decade, and that such an arrangement would be infeasible for most organizations. He was trying to help you, knowing how long you had been looking, not because you declined. You have declined since 2011 and there has been no issue. If you were offended or felt slighted by either of those notes he has apologized to you.

You have also published false, malicious, and derogatory information about our charity to discourage people from dealing with us. We are not a rip-off. We are an established charity that assists veterans. In addition to cash donations we accept timeshares, automobiles, and other non-cash donations to raise money for our program.

Non-cash donation costs (if any) vary by property as does the timing of any payments which are generally refundable if in the unlikely event the property cannot be transferred. We do not intentionally lose money on any non-cash donation. Most of our donors are quite pleased with their experience with us.

Joel

Latricia,

Thank you for your additional comments. I’m sorry that you had a bad experience with us (and me). However, I am glad to hear that you are not a real donor. We are a state-regulated 501(c)(3) charity that has been in business for 21 years. We serve thousands of veterans and donors each year, and strive to create the best possible experience for them. Most timeshare owners have enjoyed their timeshares but find timeshare disposal to be surprisingly difficult. Every year that goes by waiting for that ideal arrangement means incurring more maintenance fees. That's why thousands of timeshare owners have donated their timeshares to us over the years to stop the maintenance fees, end the frustration, and of course help our veterans.  

Todd

Looks like someone was trying to scam YOU out of money since, like you said, I never paid you anything. You (and others) should know, you shouldn't have to pay any upfront fees to "donate" a timeshare. Your company wants the timeshare AND money..  Where is the sense in that? 

Perhaps you (Todd) should learn some customer service eitquette because you handled our conversation very rudely once I've declined your so-called "offer".  But no, you didn't leave it be and instead threw insults my way because I wasn't naive enough to accept your offer.  

And yes, I did post warnings about your company on several websites because I wanted to get the word out there.  

Hi Latricia Rich, Thank you for this review which I see you have posted on multiple websites. I received a death threat on Jun 1 from a caller claiming to be your son. He demanded reimbursement for the $1,925 that you mentioned in your review. However, according to our records, you have never done business with Florida Veterans. You first contacted us in 2011. We were unable to accept your timeshare donation on your terms then, and still could not when you contacted us again this year in May. Although email has its limitations, we have only communicated with you by email at your request. If even one email message from me came across as sarcastic or insulting, it was my mistake, and I apologize. We try to be professional with everyone including thousands of satisfied donors and non-donors. Your review serves as a good reminder that one can’t be too careful in the Internet Age. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. Todd