If you want to get out of your timeshare contract, the best thing you can do is hire a professional timeshare exit company to help you. Of course, not all timeshare exit companies are effective. It is important that you do your research to figure out whether the company is legit and trustworthy before you give them any of your money.
One of the companies that have been getting some attention is Nationwide Settlement Solutions. Here is a review of whether or not they are worth your time and money.
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Who is Nationwide Settlement Solutions and What Does It Do?
Nationwide Settlement Solutions was founded by Michael Miles, who also owns American Settlement Solutions. There is also an alternate business name listed: Nationwide Transfer, LLC.
Nationwide Settlement Solutions specializes in “timeshare terminations.” This is where, instead of helping you re-sell your timeshare, the company gets you out of your contract altogether.
The company specializes in helping timeshare owners who are “considered to be Timeshare Resort Fraud Victims.” If you fit their criteria, the company promises that it can help you with the following:
- Eliminating fees and debt
- Stop your mortgage payments
- Figure out how the cooling off process works
- Get out of your timeshare contract without resorting to reselling
Nationwide Settlement Solutions promises that the process is “simple, easy and fast.”
Nationwide Settlement Solutions says that they offer “risk-free” consultations, which means that you aren’t required to continue working with them after the consultation is over.
American Settlement Solutions makes the same promises, using the same language. Nationwide Transfer doesn’t have much of a presence outside of a Blogspot blog and a now-defunct Google+ page.
Nationwide Settlement Solutions Timeshare Exit Costs
There is zero information on the company’s website about how much money they charge for their services. Even their initial consultation isn’t cost-free. It is “risk-free.” There is no information about whether you will have to pay the company money for that consultation.
There isn’t even any general information about how much terminating a timeshare usually costs, which seems strange.
Can You Trust Nationwide Settlement Solutions?
As of this writing, the first thing you’ll see when you look up Nationwide Settlement Solutions in the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a warning.
It reads:
“Better Business Bureau is advising consumers to use caution when considering doing business with Nationwide Settlement Solutions. BBB has received a pattern of consumer complaints alleging failure to honor a contract promising to sell consumers timeshare, failure to issue refunds, failure to cancel contracts, misleading sales presentation and poor customer service.”
That’s not great, as far as trustworthiness is concerned.
Warnings aside, Nationwide Settlement Solutions, has a C+ rating with the BBB. It has earned 2.14 stars (out of five possible). More than 20 complaints were filed with the BBB over the last three years, but only five of them have been closed in the last year.
Nationwide Settlement Solutions is not listed on TrustPilot. It has been rated in Google Reviews and on Yelp, though (see the Online Reputation section for more information).
What’s Good About Nationwide Settlement Solutions?
The company promises that it specializes in simply helping victims of timeshare fraud get out of their contracts. On a surface level, that seems like a noble cause.
What’s Bad About Nationwide Settlement Solutions?
There is no information about how much Nationwide Settlement Solutions will charge you for their help. They do not offer a cost-free consultation, only a “risk-free” consultation. The BBB recommends people steer clear of the company.
So far, it’s looking like the bad outweighs the good, and we haven’t yet gotten to the customer reviews.
Lawsuits Against Nationwide Settlement Solutions
In July 2020, Nationwide Settlement Solutions was named in a lawsuit against Neally Law, LLC. The lawsuit, filed by Diamond Resorts, alleges that Neally Law conspired with Nationwide Settlement Solutions and a couple of other “nefarious so-called timeshare exit companies.”
According to a press release issued by Diamond Resorts:
“Diamond’s lawsuit alleges that these companies falsely promise a “legal” method to cancel timeshare owners’ contracts, in exchange for upfront fees typically ranging from approximately $2,500 to more than $10,000. According to the Complaint, timeshare owners are not provided any legal service by the defendants and instead are misled into defaulting on their timeshare contracts. These companies are alleged to even tout loan defaults, foreclosure or bankruptcy as a “successful exit” from a timeshare.”
The lawsuit is ongoing.
Online Reputation
Nationwide Settlement Solutions’ online reputation is … not ideal. Here’s a quick rundown of what the popular review sites (remember, they are not on TrustPilot) think of this company.
Better Business Bureau
The aforementioned warning aside, there is very little love for Nationwide Settlement Solutions over at the BBB.
As of this writing, the most recent complaint was filed with the BBB on June 16, 2021. The writer is lodging a complaint on behalf of their elderly mother who, it looks like, has paid out nearly $10K to Nationwide Settlement Solutions and is still stuck with the timeshare.
It should be noted that National Settlement Solutions did respond to this complaint. Their response, however, is less than professional.
This response raises a couple of questions:
1. The company says they reached out on June 10 “regarding this concern.” This could be true since the complaint was filed by the client’s daughter, and they probably were not calling the daughter’s phone. But phone calls are missed or go to voicemail all the time, and sometimes landlines are canceled and phone numbers are outdated. In a case like this, it’s better to offer as much information as possible in any client response. This includes clearly spelling out that the date of the attempted client contact was before the BBB complaint was actually posted. The current response only raises questions with readers.
2. They say that they are “100% upfront about additional fees incurred during the process.” Timeshare Cures specializes in deed transfers, so it’s completely possible the client’s case was legitimately transferred, but it does seem like it could be very alarming to suddenly get a bill from a company you didn’t hire, and it could have been helpful for the company’s response to specify the reason behind the bill. Instead, readers are just left with more unanswered questions, and no one wants questions when they’re thinking about handing over thousands of dollars to a company.
Also, the jab about the size 48 font is a little snarky. “Elderly abuse” is a serious claim, and this letter was clearly written by someone who didn’t sign the forms. It’s possible the writer may not have even seen the forms, or her mother may have left out some details.
It’s possible that the company has perfectly good explanations for everything mentioned in this complaint, but because the response is aimed directly at the client, there is no way for anyone who isn’t specifically involved in the case to know whether the complaints are valid. The company missed a lot of opportunities to gain favor with potential clients. Instead, the response sounds sarcastic and defensive, which could lead people to believe they’re insincere, or, even worse, scammers.
Google reviews give National Settlement Solutions a 4.1 out of 5 star rating. That’s not too shabby! However, when you look at the actual reviews themselves, something seems off.
Most of the 5-star reviews seem to be written by employees who insist that National Settlement Solutions is a fantastic place to work. They say nothing about whether the company successfully helps people get out of their timeshare contracts.
The positive reviews of National Settlement Solutions’ services all have the same basic approach. The reviewer (or someone close to them) loved their timeshare at first but then it got to be too expensive. The reviewer tried to get rid of their timeshare with a few different companies but none of them worked. The reviewer was about to give up hope. Then National Settlement Solutions called and saved the day! Everything is great for the reviewer now!
Here is one of those positive reviews:
Yelp
There are only 11 reviews for National Settlement Solutions on Yelp. Collectively, they score 1.5 stars (out of 5) for the company. A couple of the reviews are from employees of the company. Most of the reviews talk about getting a lot of unwanted phone calls. When someone does pick up, it sounds like the representative is extremely pushy, bordering on abusive.
Here is the most recent (as of this writing) non-employee-based review:
Nationwide Settlement Solutions’ Website
The Nationwide Settlement Solutions Website is well laid out. And if you don’t pay too close attention to the content, you likely won’t notice that it doesn’t give you any of the information you need to know. There’s nothing there about costs involved, whether your initial consultation is free, etc.
The site lists a phone number, which actually works. When answered, callers are greeted with “Thank you for calling Nationwide. Please hold for a moment while I connect you with our next available operator.”
There is also a physical address listed on the site. It also has a contact form you can use if you’d like to send them a written message.
Social Media Presence
Nationwide Settlement Solutions’ website links out to Facebook. There is also an icon for a Google+ page, but that just takes you right back to the site’s “Contact Us” page. This makes sense, seeing as Google pulled Google+ down a few years ago. The company does not have a Twitter account. They are not on LinkedIn or Instagram.
The Nationwide Settlement Solutions Facebook page was last updated in January 2019. The most recent post does not talk about timeshares but instead is simply a quote from Deuteronomy with some timeshare hashtags tacked on to the end.
The reviews on their Facebook page are all over the place. Some are positive. Some are negative. There are a few people who will respond to positive reviews with their own negative experiences. That said, overall, Nationwide Settlement Solutions has a 4 out of 5 stars rating on Facebook.
The Bottom Line
So: should you trust Nationwide Settlement Solutions to get you out of your timeshare contract? That is going to be up to you. Despite a lack of activity on social media and a static website, it does look like the company is still in business. Even so, the Better Business Bureau is warning consumers against hiring them, and that’s got to carry some weight, right?
If you’re still searching for a reliable exit company, check out our top picks.
FAQs
Michael Miles. He also owns American Settlement Solutions.
Springfield, Missouri
According to Facebook, their hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday
Not that we could find.
Their phone number is (417) 812-6593.
Their physical address is: 1420 S Enterprise Ave, Ste E Springfield, MO 65804
Facebook shows clients@nationwidesettlement.solutions as the company’s email address, but that address is not listed on the website.
Facebook shows clients@nationwidesettlement.solutions as the company’s email address, but that address is not listed on the website.
The website also has a contact form.