Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation Ratings and Reviews: Check It Before You Exit Your Timeshare

Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation claims that they can get you out of a timeshare contract. That’s something a lot of people want. Close to 10 million Americans own timeshares, and a University of Central Florida study concluded that 85% regret the purchase. Many of them are willing to pay to escape.

Unfortunately, many people who were duped into buying a timeshare are duped again by people who promise an escape. Some companies will make a legitimate effort to help customers. Some have a solid success rate. Others are just another form of timeshare scam.

Will Sapphire Timeshare Cancellations do the job they promise, or will they take the money and run? Let’s find out.

Who is Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation and What Do They Do?

Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation is a timeshare exit company based in Orlando, Florida. They describe themselves as a family-owned company. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) lists Chelsea Wiles and Jeremiah Smith as co-owners and Anthony Labrada as company contact.

The BBB also states that the company has been in business for three years. The company’s registration documents with the Florida Secretary of State’s office were filed in 2018, with Chelsea Wiles listed as registered agent.

Sapphire states that their attorney is Raymond J. Lucas, an independent Florida real estate lawyer. They also state that they work with a credit and risk management firm that handles credit protection and negotiations with the credit bureaus.

Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation describes their strategy in these terms:

“Our program has developed extensively over the years and is not like any other cancellation program. We build strategic plans for each customer ensuring a swift cancellation. We use consumer laws, such as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and existing state mandates to obtain a written, notarized release.”

Source: Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation

They also describe a four-part sequence of actions.

• The setup phase involves contract completion, payment, a welcome call, and completion of documents.
• The disputes and demands phase involves demands to the resort developers and potentially to credit bureaus. Sapphire may build a case against the decveloper for federal law violations in some circumstances.
• The response phase involves dealing with responses from the developer and/or the credit bureaus. Sapphire states that cancellation may take 6-9 months.
• Final cancellation is achived when the client has received a notarized release or the client has entered a credit and risk management plan with the credit law firm.

This appears to be a legally focused program. Many timeshare exit companies using similar methods will only work with timeshare owners who feel that their timeshare purchase was pressured or based on incomplete or inaccurate information, which opens an opportunity for cancellation and potential legal action against the developer.

The Sapphire website does not describe any vetting process that determines whether they can help a client or not.

What the Program Includes

Sapphire gives this list of inclusions:

• Protection from harassment
• Complete contract cancellation
• Immediate cancellation of payments
• Cancellation of maintenance fees
• Mortgage balance cancellation
• Credit protection/correction

While that list is attractive, it also raises some issues. Immediate cancellation of payments, cancellation of maintenance fees, and mortgage balance cancellation indicate that clients will be instructed to stop payments. It’s not likely that the resort owner is going to approve or accept a cessation of payments.

Stopping payments is a gamble. It can encourage a resort to cancel a contract. It can also lead to collection accounts and foreclosure. Foreclosure can involve release from a contract but it can also beat up your credit.

About Credit Protection

Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation states that they use a credit and risk protection law form to avoid credit damage, and promises that they “will send documentation to all 3 credit agencies to protect the integrity of your credit, if applicable.” Their terms and conditions also say this:

Stop Payment Disclosure: Potential consequences of ceasing payments could result in an unlawful breach of the purchase contracts due to non-payment, leading to a non-judicial foreclosure of your timeshare interests that may adversely affect their credit.

Source: Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation

The truth is — and anyone seeking timeshare cancellation should know this — that nobody can guarantee that your credit will not be affected if you stop paying contractual obligations while the contract is in effect.

The Guarantee

Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation offers one of the more comprehensive guarantees that we’ve seen.

WARRANTY: Client agrees that they will maintain an open dialog with Sapphire during the cancellation process. If Client does not get their Mortgage, Vacation Membership, Deed, or Contract cancelled within the term of this agreement, client will be refunded of 100% fees paid for the cancellation process. In addition, Sapphire does not guarantee the recoupment of any funds already paid out by the Client to their Mortgage, Vacation Membership, Deed, or Contract.

Source: Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation

Note that the warranty does not promise that you will get back any money you have already paid (which is reasonable) and does not promise that your credit will not be affected. It is not clear whether foreclosure is considered a cancellation.

The Contract

The Sapphire website describes their contract in these terms:

TERM OF CONTRACT: Sapphire will continue to assist client in attaining permanent cancellation of the client’s Mortgage, Vacation Membership, Deed, or Contract for a period of 12 Months. Upon expiration of the 12-month term, Sapphire has the right to extend the agreement for an additional 12 months without notice. If Client objects to the 12 Month extension, Client must send objection in writing by certified mail at least 30 days prior to the expiration of 12-month period.

Source: Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation

Reviews indicate that some clients don’t understand that their contract can be extended by 12 months without notice. This has created several misunderstandings with clients.

Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation Timeshare Exit Costs

Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation does not quote costs on its website. This is not unusual: most timeshare exit companies quote costs based on the specific requirements of a case. Those costs can vary widely, especially if legal work is required.

In response to a Facebook inquiry on pricing, a Sapphire representative stated that the cost is $2,200 to $4,000, which is on the low side of the typical timeshare cancellation range.

Only a few Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation reviews specify what the client paid. One refers to a payment of “over $2,000”, which is on the low side for timeshare cancellation services and is in line with the quote above. A complaint on the BBB page refers to a payment of $8,000, which is definitely high.

There’s not enough information available to speak with confidence on what Sapphire charges customers, but we’d advise potential customers to do some research into typical costs and get several quotes before committing to one company.

Can You Trust Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation?

Based on claims on the website, do have one significant trust issue with Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation. The website quite overtly promises “immediate cancellation of payments,” but the disclaimer about the possible impact on credit is buried in the terms and conditions. That’s not encouraging.

As with many other timeshare cancellation companies, it is not clear whether Sapphire considers foreclosure to be a successful outcome.

Despite these issues, there are indications that Sapphire has a reasonably good record. The Company is not accredited by the BBB, but it carries an A rating. BBB ratings are based on responsiveness to complaints on the BBB site, not on customer reviews. We see no record of any lawsuits or regulatory action against the Company.

Online Reputation

Online reviews are useful, but cannot be considered a final word. Some negative reviews are posted by customers who fail to understand the service and its terms or have unrealistic expectations. Some positive reviews may be seeded by companies themselves. In general, more detailed reviews are more likely to be valid.

Within those limits, we can say that Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation has generally very positive reviews from multiple online sources, though the number of reviews is quite small compared to larger, better-known firms. That’s expected, as the Company has been in business for only three years.

On the BBB site, Sapphire has an average of 4.76 of 5 stars from 54 customer reviews. There’s only one complaint. That’s significant because reviewers tend to choose to post complaints with the BBB instead of on sites focused primarily on reviews.

The positive reviews follow a similar pattern, but there’s no specific reason to doubt their authenticity. Many are reasonably detailed.

We take particular note of the reviewer that states that the company advised him to try an exchange before moving to a timeshare exit company. Many companies will not make this recommendation and try to sell the client their services immediately. This is a positive indicator.

The one negative review appears to relate to issues between Sapphire and its credit and risk lawyer. The company does take responsibility and it provides a reasonably thorough explanation.

We note that this client describes a fee of $8,000, very high for timeshare cancellation services, but the communication references three timeshares, which could explain the higher cost.

On Google Reviews Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation has a 4.8 average rating from 43 reviews. There are two one-star reviews describing a failure to achieve results and credit issues, but overall the reviews are extremely positive and appear to be authentic.

On Facebook, there are 12 reviews with a 4.7 average rating. One review claims that after 2 years there’s been no progress, but the others are very positive, and many include substantial details.

As noted above, several negative reviews stem from clients not understanding the clause enabling Sapphire to extend contract terms without notice. Several also appear to stem from problems with Trade Guardian, a credit and risk company that Sapphire no longer works with. Sapphire acknowledges the problem with Trade Guardian and has offered to pay another company to correct the issues.

Overall we’d give Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation a solidly positive score on customer reviews. We would note that you should read all contract documents carefully, including the fine print, and be sure you understand all conditions to avoid disputes and misunderstandings. This is true for all timeshare exit companies.

What’s Good About Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation

• Free initial consultation.
• Legal approach with connections to known, reputable law firms.
• Solid money-back guarantee.
• Positive customer reviews.
• Proactive approach to credit protection.

What’s Bad About Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation

• Some reviews describe non-performance and credit damage.
• Inadequate disclosure of risks and terms on website.
• Limited operating history.

Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation Website

Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation has a simple but straightforward, effective, and professional website. It’s easy to read and most of the key information is provided upfront. You get a number of customer testimonials, a short profile of the company’s attorney, general information about timeshares and cancellations, a description of Sapphire’s process, and an FAQ section.

Internal links provide more information about the company, a number of images of canceled timeshare contracts, and a contact form.

There are four things we’d like to see.

• The disclaimer about stopping payments and the potential impact on credit should be more prominent.
• The company’s right to extend a contract for a second year without consultation should be given more prominence. Reviews indicate that this is a cause of customer confusion and service issues.
• We’d like to see an open disclosure of whether the company regards a foreclosure as an acceptable resolution.
• We’d like to know more about the criteria for accepting customers. Is there a vetting process, or will they accept anyone who wants to get out of a timeshare contract?

Other than those issues, it’s one of the better timeshare cancellation company websites that we’ve seen.

Social Media Presence

Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation maintains a Facebook Page, which is like by 480 people and followed by 500. It was last updated in July 2021. Most of the posts are about timeshares or personal finance. The posts have no comments and little engagement.

The company’s Twitter feed has 20 followers. It was last updated in 2020. Most posts contain general information about timeshares or timeshare cancellation and have little engagement.

There is no Instagram page. Several company employees and officers maintain a presence on LinkedIn, but the company itself does not. Sapphire Timeshare Cancellation does not appear to maintain an active marketing presence on social media.

The Bottom Line

Sapphire Timeshare Cancellations is a relatively new company with a limited operating history. That may be an issue for some potential clients. Aside from that, reviews are generally positive, the cancellation approach described on the website is viable and realistic, and there’s a relatively strong guarantee.

All indications are that this is a company that will make a real effort to get you out of your timeshare contract. There are some issues with the claims and disclosures, as we’ve described above, but we are not seeing the scare tactics and unrealistic promises that are so commonly associated with less reputable timeshare exit companies.

There are some potential disadvantages to working with a company that has a limited track record, but also some advantages: a new company that’s just getting established as an incentive to go the extra mile to chalk up successful results.

We think anyone shopping for a timeshare exit company should compare and consult with several options before making a choice, but Sapphire Timeshare Cancellations looks like it would deserve a place on the shortlist.

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