ComplaintsforSmart Choice Marketing

• Initial Complaint

  03/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My issue is with smart choice marketing who reached out to me to offer to sell my timeshare. The caller was Michelle C**** and she was very friendly but very pushy. I told her I had already signed a contract to sell with another company and she bashed them and don’t know what they are doing etc. She said the other company had my place listed for way too low. She guaranteed a higher sale price. I agreed to give her a chance and paid $799 on January 13, 2020. Soon after this the pandemic hit. I had asked for a refund due the pandemic and and she assured me to stick it out. She said once this is over everyone will want to travel. I again trusted her. Several months had gone by Every time I called I talked to someone new. After complaining a lot they put me in touch with Diane B**. Apparently she is the Greatest and guaranteed a quick sale. They had a very convincing argument that I would easily make $6-8k. On October 2, 2020 I paid $1999.00 for Diane to sell my property which she failed to do so. Months and now years have gone by. I called and got transferred and left messages etc. I talked to a few people who said they are trying to rent the properties out individually and they would get me in touch with an expert. They told me to do some research and pick out the best properties my plan has to offer. She assured me someone would follow up with me to make this happen so I could get my money back plus more. Well of course that didn’t happen. I have let this go on for far too long but I didn’t even think of contacting anyone outside the company to complain until a friend helped me. I have been scammed and I am not happy about it. I don’t want this to happen to others. My ad# ***** is still on their website and looks like zero effort has been put into it. My young daughter could put together better pictures and more information than they did. This whole thing has been a nightmare and I am ready to wake up from it with a clear conscience and get some peace of mind.

  Business response

  03/29/2023

  Complaint Case # ********

  On January 13,2020 Ms. ***** signed a 6-month Rental contract with Smart Choice Marketing Holdings. Ms. ***** also provided a selling list price to advertise the sale of her Timeshare at no additional cost to her. All contracts sent by Smart Choice Marketing Holdings outline the program features, fees, and terms and conditions in writing for our clients to review before being charged. Our clients are provided with a Ten day rescission period. After this period has passed the contract becomes legally binding. Ms. ***** was updated weekly by her listing agent throughout her contract that ended on July 13,2020. On October 02,2020 Ms. ***** signed and paid for a 30-day contract for additional Advertising services that resulted in rental offers. Ms. ***** advised her representative she was unable to get the availability with her resort. We apologize for any frustration caused to Ms* ****** Smart Choice Marketing is an Advertising company and cannot predict when our clients will receive offers on their AD. However it is our goal to bring offers to our clients that are acceptable to them. Although Ms. ***** contracts with Smart Choice Marketing has expired we have continued to advertise her Timeshare at no additional cost to her. If Ms. ***** would like to contact Smart Choice Marketing a representative will be happy to assist her with any concerns she may have.

  Sincerely,

  Liza S**********

  Smart Choice Marketing

  844 385-0274

• Initial Complaint

  05/25/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was contacted by this company and was told that I would get thousands of dollars back from my timeshare and would probably take over a year. I was charged $998. I was contacted a second time indicating that they needed to do more advertising to secure the sale of my timeshare. That additional cost was $1998. I later called requesting a refund of my money. I found out that these timeshares have no resale value and you can't give them them back to the resort. I want to get my money back from these people as I am 80 years old and on a fixed income.

  Business response

  06/29/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/06/07) */ Smart Choice Marketing is an Advertising company and cannot predict the length of time it will take for our clients to receive an offer. However, it is our goal that clients receive offers that are acceptable to them in a timely manner. Ms. ******** received rental offers on her timeshare advertised with Smart Choice, however, Ms. ******** stated she was never able to get the availability from her resort. Ms. ******** was contacted by Smart Choice Marketing to address her BBB complaint. Ms. ******** stated she made the complaint in hopes of having her advertising fee refunded. The contract Ms. ******** signed February 20th, 2019, expired August 20th, 2019. Ms. ******** also stated she was told by her representative that it could take a year or more to sell her timeshare and that is why she waited more than a year to send the complaint to the BBB. When Ms. ******** was asked why she would sign a six (6) month advertising contract if she were under the impression, it could take a year or more as she states, in her complaint her response was (I do not want to talk about it) and hung up. Smart Choice Marketing believes that the BBB complaint was made to get a refund for services that were rendered. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2021/06/11) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) They keep talking about a six-month contract. They fail to mention that I was contacted again and told that with more targeted ads I would have a better chance of success. Foolishly I believed thrm and on 5-15-2019 I sent an additional $1998. I didn't ASK if I could send more money...they REQUESTED it. That contract would have ended Nov.15, 2019. It seems they weren't accurate/honest when they said they don't ask for additional money. I have credit card receipts to verify these payments. Clearly they had time and a lot of my money to complete their agreement with me....they didn't. Please return my money! Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2021/06/24) */ Ms. ******** signed a contract and paid a marketing fee to Smart Choice Marketing on February 20, 2019. The duration of the contract was 90 days from the date of the contract. Per the contract, if the timeshare did not receive offers within the 90 days, Smart Choice Marketing will extend the contract for an additional 90 days at no cost. (A total of 6 months.) On May 15th, Ms. ******** paid an additional fee and signed a 30-day contract for Extra Marketing services. (May 15, 2019 - June 15, 2019) The additional marketing program produced rental offers that Ms. ******** received. Ms. ******** contacted her resort to check on the availability and contacted Smart Choice Marketing to let us know she was not able to get the availability for the time requested. As previously stated to the BBB, Ms. ******** was contacted by Smart Choice Marketing to address her BBB complaint. Ms. ******** stated she sent in the complaint in hopes of having her advertisement fee refunded. The contracts Ms. ******** signed, state she may cancel this agreement for any reason upon 10 days of signature. Smart Choice Marketing would have offered Ms. ******** additional advertising at no cost to her however, she stated she did not want to talk about the timeshare and hung up. Ms. ******** has been out of her contract since August 20, 2019 and is not eligible to receive a refund for services that were rendered two years ago. If Ms. ******** would like a copy of her contracts that she signed in 2019, that states the duration of each contract as well as an explanation of the terms and conditions, including No Disparagement, she may contact Smart Choice Marketing to process her request. Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2021/06/27) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Smart Choice continues to state that they don't ask for additional funds after their original 6-month contract. That is NOT an accurate statement since they requested more money in May of 2019. I sent an additional $1998 at that time as they requested. My credit card statement will verify this payment. They can say anything they wish, but they are not being honest. How long shall we go back and forth with Smart Choice lying about what really happened? Returning my money, or even a portion of it, won't put them out of business...they will get money from other old people. Is this really worth the time being spent by everyone? This a question of honesty and principal. I'm not willing to walk away....the company is not being honest. They are taking advantage of me because I am an older woman.

• Initial Complaint

  05/05/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In Oct. of 2019, I was contacted by this company to sell my timeshare. I was happy to hear it could be sold in two months as they had buyer looking so I went ahead and purchased. Within the 10 day period, I contacted them to cancel and was connected to a customer rep. who explain that it should be selling soon and there was a big event that weekend with lots of buyers. She said she would call me back later that day to explain. Never happened. Every attempt to get in touch with them over the last year has yielded hold times and nobody is available. I paid $1,999 for service I never received and I did not hear for anyone at the company since Dec. 2019. I was just recently referred to post this on the BBB to get answers and get a refund for services not provided.

  Business response

  06/09/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/05/14) */ On October 4, 2019, Ms.********************** signed a 6 month rental contract with Smart Choice Marketing and Holdings. Ms. ************* also signed to authorize payment for the advertising fee on the credit card she provided. Ms. ************* sent a copy of her photo ID to prove her identity. Ms. ************* provided a list price for advertising the sale, at no additional cost to her. Since listing her timeshare, Ms. *************, was contacted by her listing representative on a weekly basis with updates regarding her Ad. On April 4, 2020, Ms. ************* Ad expired. She had the option to renew her contract for $9.99. Smart Choice Marketing hasn't had contact with her since her Ad expired. It has been over a year since her AD expired. Smart Choice Marketing and Holdings feel the BBB complaint was made as an attempt to get a refund for services rendered for the term of her contract. i.e. as she states in her complaint that she was referred to the BBB to get a refund. Consumer Response /* (2000, 7, 2021/05/20) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.) I do realize it has been a year which is why I am accepting it as the I realize the matter in very much so dead at this point. I again I would like to point out that I only heard from the company four times in those 6 months and was told not to worry about. I attempted to cancel the service within the amount of time given to me however I was put on hold and then I not able to get through to the company again for over a month. It has nothing to do with signing a contract. It has much to do with the lack of lack ability to get any answers and the inability to cancel the contract during the allotted time frame. Again, I didn't know about filling a complainant with the BBB until recently.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩