For those looking to resell or cancel their timeshare ownership, you may have come across Donate for a Cause and Timeshare Specialists. Both companies claim to provide helpful services for customers, but there is a complicated history attached to them. Read on to see if either company can be considered trustworthy, how much their services cost, and what real customers have to say about their experience with the firms.
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Who is Donate for a Cause and What Do They Do?
Donate for a Cause is a company based out of Bozeman, Mont., that formerly offered timeshare owners the option to donate their timeshares to “charity” in order to gain tax savings. They now operate as a timeshare brokerage that assists timeshare owners with reselling their timeshares. The company will list the ownership for you, negotiate a sale price and transfer the property to the new owner. They claim there are no upfront fees for their services and that they only get a commission if they are successful in selling your timeshare.
Donate for a Cause only works with timeshare owners whose property has a high value, which they say is about 15% of timeshares.
Legal challenges
The company has gotten into legal trouble before, with the Department of Justice ruling their operation a scam back in 2016. At the time, consumers who worked with the company were promised “generous” tax savings based on the allegedly inflated appraisals of the timeshares. Customers used these overvalued appraisals to claim a large charitable donation deduction on their income tax returns, even when the true market value of the timeshare right is a small fraction of the appraised value. James Tarpey is the Montana lawyer named in the case, and he appears to still be a part of the company today.
The federal lawsuit alleged that Donate for a Cause simply used itself as a conduit to briefly hold title to timeshares before they were sold for a fraction of the appraised amount. In one example, a customer transferred a timeshare to Donate for a Cause that had originally been purchased for over $10,000. The company then used eBay’s charity platform to sell that timeshare for $81, while Tarpey appraised that timeshare at $8,740.
Three associates, Ron Broyles of California, Curt Thor of Washington and Suzanne Crowson of Montana, were also cited as Tarpey’s accomplices.
A federal court shut down this operation in 2016, permanently barring Tarpey, Donate for a Cause and Timeshare Closings from promoting or marketing any arrangement that involves charitable contribution deductions claimed on federal tax returns. The order also bars Tarpey, Donate for a Cause and Timeshare Closings from preparing, or assisting others in preparing, any property appraisal that will be used in connection with federal taxes. The orders require Tarpey, Donate for a Cause and Timeshare Closings to post a copy of the injunction on websites that they use to advertise timeshare donations, including but not limited to the Donate for a Cause website.
The orders also require that Donate for a Cause notifies all of its customers of the injunction and that Tarpey and Timeshare Closings notify their employees involved with timeshare donations of the injunction.
After this ruling, Donate for a Cause transitioned to commissioned-based timeshare resale services. For those who don’t qualify as a high-value timeshare, timeshare cancellation services are offered by Timeshare Specialists, a sister company of Donate for a Cause.
For those looking to utilize Timeshare Specialist’s services, they are open to most customers who don’t hold a mortgage on their timeshare.
Donate for a Cause and Timeshare Specialists Exit Costs
Donate for a Cause doesn’t charge upfront fees and is a commission-based program available for timeshares that have retained value on the resale market. This applies to about 15% of timeshares, according to Donate for a Cause’s website. The amount you’ll have to pay will vary, but you only have to pay the company if and when your timeshare is sold.
Timeshare Specialists offers a similar, no-upfront-cost model. The company states that customers only pay after the successful cancellation of their timeshare. This cost is not displayed anywhere and likely varies based on your specific timeshare scenario.
Can You Trust Donate for a Cause and Timeshare Specialists?
Donate for a Cause’s history makes them tough to trust, however, there are no records of an ongoing investigation into their current practices. Of the two companies, only Timeshare Specialists has Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot pages. The company has an A+ rating on BBB and holds a 4.9 rating out of 5 on Trustpilot from 411 reviews with 98% of them being a 4 star or better. Based on these ratings alone, a cautious trust of these two companies makes sense.
What’s Good About Donate for a Cause and Timeshare Specialists?
Donate for a Cause doesn’t have any known lawsuits or criminal investigations; the same goes for Timeshare Specialists. Timeshare Specialists specifically are mostly highly rated among customers.
What’s Bad About Donate for a Cause and Timeshare Specialists?
Donate for a Cause was found guilty of conducting a timeshare charity scam. That can make it hard to trust the company’s operators. James Tarpey, the man named in the initial lawsuit, appears to still be associated with the business and its practices. Timeshare Specialists seems to have some confusing terms. It offers a “guaranteed exit,” but apparently not everyone qualifies and not every customer seems to understand that, according to this comment left by a company representative on a Better Business Bureau review.
Lawsuits Against Donate for a Cause
There don’t appear to be any current lawsuits against the company, though the Department of Justice case mentioned above barred the organization from continuing the donation practice they were conducting due to it being against the law.
Lawsuits against Timeshare Specialists
Timeshare Specialists also does not have any ongoing lawsuits.
Online Reputation
Donate for a Cause has little online presence but its sister company, Timeshare Specialists, does. The company holds a 4.43 out of 5 rating on BBB from 7 customer reviews. One of these ratings was a 1-star while the others were all 5 stars.
On Trustpilot, Timeshare Specialists have a 4.9 out of 5 rating from 411 reviews. They also have a 4.6 out of 5 rating on Google Reviews based on 10 reviews. Overall, Timeshare Specialists is highly rated, with a few complaints here and there. One complaint in particular on BBB shows that Timeshare Specialists responded in a timely manner, though they claimed they were unable to help that individual get out of their timeshare as they didn’t qualify for the company’s services. Read a few customer reviews for yourself:
Donate for a Cause Website
The current website is very simple. The front page features the injunction they are legally required to have posted about their prior lawsuit. Mostly the site is utilized as a hub for contacting the company. They do feature a variety of timeshare tips as well, such as steps to prepare oneself for canceling or attempting to sell a timeshare. There are no outlandish claims or reviews on the site, functioning more as a contact location than anything.
Timeshare Specialists Website
The website is traditional and professional, touting several recent awards, including a Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Ethics.
It offers the standard free consultation and three different service options, including a “Guaranteed Transfer Program,” promising “We’ll find someone willing to take over your ownership, guaranteed.” They do not specify who is eligible for the guarantee.
Donate for a Cause Social Media Presence
Donate for a Cause lacks a social media presence entirely.
Timeshare Specialists Social Media Presence
Timeshare Specialists maintains a Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn page. Their Twitter and Facebook accounts are both outdated, with the last post on each coming in 2020. The LinkedIn page features no activity, and all three sites have minimal if any engagement with their followers. On the content that is present, there aren’t any negative comments from angry customers complaining about the service.
The Bottom Line
Donate for a Cause has some problematic history. That said, they haven’t faced new lawsuits from the Department of Justice since they switched gears to operating as a timeshare reseller. Their sister company Timeshare Specialists has avoided all legal trouble with their timeshare cancellation services and is highly rated online. Overall, with no upfront costs and a commission-based payment method that only kicks in if the company does its job, there is reduced risk when working with these companies. Customers should still use caution when working with Donate for a Cause or Timeshare Specialists, but the companies are offering legitimate services to customers.
FAQs
James Tarpey still appears to be the man behind the company. Timeshare Specialists list three individuals as the senior leadership of the company, being Kelly Monson, Co-Owner, Brent Maggio, President, and John Kushman, Vice President.
The company is located in Bozeman, Montana.
Donate for a Cause has few direct ratings themselves. However, their sister company Timeshare Specialists has generally favorable reviews online.
They are open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
No, Donate for a Cause lacks any significant endorsements from big groups like AARP. Timeshare Specialists, however, does tout several awards.
You can contact either company through its website or by calling Donate for a Cause at 1-877-822-2873 or Timeshare Specialists at 1-888-613-8599.