Living in Daytona, Florida in the 1990’s being surrounded by so many Timeshare resorts it was no surprise that Dana Micallef easily landed himself a job within the industry as a salesman however it did not take him very long to realize things was not quite right.
Being a man of good morals Mr Micallef quickly found himself with the urge to dig deeper and find out exactly how things worked behind the scenes and just how far this scam was going but instead he found himself turning to drink to block out any thoughts. With drink rapidly becoming an issue in his life, it soon began to take its toll on his wellbeing and in 2011 Mr Micallef found himself waking up in a jail cell with no memory of what has happened and why he was in there!
This was just the wakeup call that was needed and Dana knew that this was no way to live and checked himself into rebab for a 90-day stint. When sober and back to reality he needed a way to earn a living and went back to the one thing he knew he could do, Timeshare resales, but after just a few short weeks with a clear frame of mind he knew that this was not something he could partake in any longer and decided to not only walk away from the industry but also wanted some way of giving something back and helping those that has been affected.
With no job in the pipe line Mr Micallef quit his job and came up with the idea of helping people not fall victim to Timeshare resale fraud by teaching the public about exactly what happens and speaking the truth out loud. Using this as focus to stay sober he said this was so much better than a normal job and had made him into a much better person.
Fully aware that although people was being “ripped off” all over the country from companies claiming that they could sell your Timeshare, Florida was one of the most popular areas for these scam companies. With owners desperate to get out of their ownership due to the increasing maintenance fees and taxes they were led to believe that these companies would quickly and easily resolve this issue for them, completely unaware that in fact these Timeshares was of no value so was unable to sell.
To make matters worse the Timeshare contracts are a real estate deed and therefore owners were not able to just walk away from their ownership and was left worried that this could even be passed down to their children or other family members when they pass.
Mr Micallef realized that so many people were falling for these “Timeshare Resale” companies purely due to lack of knowledge and now provides owners with all this information and in addition also assists people in negotiating an exit route out of their ownerships. He states “I am proud of the road I have taken and now am giving back by being an advocate for the people”
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk