Charity review: Timeshare Donation 17

Hi wiseindividualspell@gmail.com, my spell just worked last yesterday! I'm totally amazed by how fast it went since you have cast your spell. I should have contacted you before... I am sure you will be blessed to help people like you do. I will always remember your help and kindness. I know it may sound a bit too much, but you saved my life! Thank you so much.

Yea, we have been SCAMMED! I am the person submitting the original complaint. To date, NCA has not refunded my money nor completed the transfer and have TOTALLY stopped responding to at least the e-mail inquiries from time to time. As for the certified letter mentioned above, yep, done that too...postmaster returned as undeliverable. This is ridiculous that hard working citizens are being taken. The BBB has no power to do anything but contact NCA. I have a complaint with the Consumer Affairs, but they have not been successful in getting a response, but have referred the issue to the Federal Investigative Services. Only time will tell what will happen next...

Regarding the complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau & the fact that none seem to show up on the BBB site - I received this email on 9-8-10 from the BBB explaining -----

Thank you for your e-mail. When a complaint is pending against a company it cannot be reported on. At the time that you checked the file there was a few complaints that were closed as unresolved and unanswered. The company has contacted us and is working with us on resolving complaints. Since the company submitted replies to those complaints they were re-opened and are now pending so they are not reportable again until they close.

Regarding Life Oasis - when I was first in contact with National Children's Association, Rene Green told me that the same person who started Life Oasis also started National Children Assoc. At one time, the same owner was listed for both on the Better Business Site. In recent weeks, the Life Oasis site has been changed a bit & different people are listed with BBB. Perhaps they were started by the same person & then sold off to someone else. I am not sure.

Every avenue I have pursued indicates that National Children's Assoc is not everything it promises. There may only be a few employees of the organization. However, during my relationship with them, the name of the person I was to work with changed 3 times - another possible red flag.

Regarding my complain with the BBB - after the complaint was filed, I did receive at least 2 messages from the BBB indicating they had tried to make contact with National Children Assoc. but did not get any returns to their attempted communication. There was definitely a long delay with National Children's Assoc getting back to BBB. The BBB passed on the communication they received. I promptly responded with what I had found out from my resort. Also, the BBB now lists that there are at least 2 current complaints against national Children's Assoc. (Last time I checked)

My resort is in Hawaii. I have spoken with a broker who told me that just to close a timeshare in Hawaii can sometimes take 3 - 4 months to dot the i's and cross the t's because of the rules for Timeshares in Hawaii. This was confirmed by my resort. Therefore, for National Children's Assoc to say the process was complete can not be true. The finance office of my resort that handles deed transfers said that if a transfer was in process, there would be a notation on my account to indicate a transfer was pending. (That way the property can not be transferred to more than one person at a time during the transfer process. )

I might have luck with the dispute I filed with my credit card company - only time will tell. I have sent National Children's a letter requiring a signature, indicating that since the transfer did not take place within the 90 days as promised in my contract, I was severing any relationship with them. Of course, I have not heard from them (nor do I expect to).

I have now listed my timeshare with a reputable broker in Hawaii. He is reputable because his company does not require any money up front. If it does not sell, they make nothing. I got the name of this broker from my resort. I will just hope for the best!

I too am getting this same run around. Last week, when they told my my transfer should be complete, they said I should expect a certified letter shortly. Since that email I have no letter and no response from them. I keep checking the county recorders website and there is no record anything was even filed with them. I haven't contacted my resort again as I am sure they won't get anything until the county recorder would have changed the deed. I haven't filed any complaints yet with BBB or State Attorney, but will do so if I don't hear back this week. I am surprised the BBB accepted the response the transfer was complete if there is not indication from the resort that any paperwork has been processed.

I had also Google mapped the location back in July and will confirm your findings it is a residence. I wrote it off as a couple people working out of their home, but agree it is a red flag for me too.

I have not checked out the "Life Oasis" much...just pulled up the website. Do the same individuals run that charity too or is it just owned by the same outfit? I think it listed a different address. Did you get more information?

OK I did receive an email telling that my transfer was complete and they were waiting on paperwork from my resort. So I called my resort. To no surprise, my resort said they had no indication of any transfer in process. I have now filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the Florida State Attorney General, the Florida State Department of Consumer Affairs and with my credit card company. National Children's Association told the Better Business bureau that my transfer was complete, just waiting on paperwork from the resort. Again, the resort has no knowledge of this transaction. Who to believe - the Resort or this charity?

I am convinced more than ever, that this organization is a scam. (Of course that is my opinion)

Another possible red flag - if you use Google Maps and type in the address listed on the website under "Contact Us" -- it is a residential neighborhood. I know people can do business from their homes. This is just something else that makes me wonder!

I would not recommend this business be used for timeshare transfers!

Well August 23rd has come and now has gone. I have not heard from anyone at National Children's Association. I have called and emailed. Maybe I will hear tomorrow?

Check out the company "Life Oasis for Children" -- it is owned by the same person who is listed as an owner of national Children's Association.

Website for both have virtually identical paperwork.

Well surprise - I did get an email response from the organization -----

We had trouble with our system today and during my response to you my computer system cut out on the entire building. The timeshare is near complete and I need to request a report on the status at this time I do know that this timeshare should complete August 23, 2010 due to the start date of process here. Once I have a full report i will send you an email or give you a phone call.

I guess I shall wait until Aug 23.

The saga continues --------

I have been calling and emailing once each day for the past week. However, there has been no response from anyone at this organization. I then asked a friend to email them to inquire about a potential timeshare donation. Strange thing happened - my friend got an email response within 20 minutes from Rene Green who would love to talk to her.

I then made a call to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Consumer Services. I asked about this "charity". According to the Consumer Services dept., they have never heard of this "charity". Their concern is that this organization is not legitimate. Their suggestion was to file complaints with the Florida Attorney General, with the Consumer Services division and with the BBB.

I checked out the BBB again. As per previous post, they do now have a record with an "F" rating. Basis for dropping from "B-" to "F" is they were falsely using the BBB emblem to claim they were accredited, which they are not. Constitutes false advertising. I no longer see the emblem being displayed. The 3 people listed in the BBB report are the same and only people I have been able to obtain names for. Again I think there are only 3 people in this charity. Also, I have attempted to contact them last Friday, yesterday and today. I am still waiting for a response.

HelpMeGetOut: You mentioned a CC company that is investigating. What is a CC company?

After countless calls, voicemails and emails, I was finally able to get a response from National Childrens Association via email on 7/14. It didn't offer much information, timeshare transfer is to be complete 8/23 and apologies for not keeping me informed. They did mention they "...have been on hold here from moving forward due to complying with major departments...". Per the original post, I am guessing they were barred from being able to complete any of these transfers until they were able to reinstate their license. However, they did not say that and I have not checked any further to see whether they do have their license back. I had contacted the CC company who are investigating. I still have been unable to make phone contact with them, but did send an email last week to nationalchildren@yahoo.com for which I received a response in 1/2 a day. I am under the impression there may only be 3-4 people working this charity...at least there are only 3 people listed in their voicemail directory. For now, I intend on allowing the CC company handle this and will wait until 8/23 to see if this does work out. I will keep sending emails and will continue to post to this site when I learn more.

Ditto - I am having the same problem. I signed up in May 2010. I have heard nothing. I did notice that the BBB in Florida has now changed their rating from B- (what it was back in May) to F (as of 7-30-10). Who are you contacting to recover losses? It seems I will be following suit

Continued calling today to no avail. Most calls go to voice mail for which no call is returned. Occasionally get a different voice prompt indicating someone is on the phone and will call back later when they get a chance...obviously never happens. Our next steps will most likely be to contact Attorney General, BBB, and credit card company to recover losses as we have lost all contact with this charity (phone, email, etc.)

I too am having some problems getting through the transfer process and getting any meaningful status. I researched this charity best I could before I signed into a contract with them end of March 2010. There were no complaints on file at that time. I had been receiving status about every 2 weeks in response to emails and phone messages. However, within the past month it has been very difficult to get direct answers from them. Most emails go unanswered and phone calls end up going to voice mail. I received status end of June all was going well and that I would receive an update in 3-4 days. That was 2 weeks ago and several unanswered emails. I will check back on this post for more information and will provide an update once the transfer is complete (or when I know this charity will not follow through on their promises.)

The URL for the company referenced in this complaint is incorrect. The actual URL that should be listed for The National Children's Association is http://nationalchildrens.webs.com.

The URL listed above (Webs.com) is in no way affiliated with The National Children's Association or the individual submitting the complaint.