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Silverleaf Resorts

Silverleaf Resorts review: scam 99

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Author of the review
11:43 am EDT

Silverleaf Resorts sends out mail incessantly saying
"You've won a free vacation!" They say all you need to do is come for a free 1.5 hour presentation on their resort. They also promise a $40 gas card from Spirit Incentives. These guys are a total scam. The presentation is a high pressure sales job preying on what appeared to be low-income families. Spirit Incentives has numerous rules you must follow in order for them to give you four $10 gas cards spread over the next several months. The vacations are also apparently worthless. For example, they are only available during off season times of the year. You have to submit 3 possible dates and it's up to them to decide when you will go. So unless you can go at any random off-season time it's not practical. In short, these guys obviously count on the redeeming of their rewards to be SO MUCH TROUBLE that few people will take them up on the offer. Furthermore, the gas card people -- Spirit Incentives -- do not even mail out the gas cards. When I called nearly 8 weeks later, they said their system was down and promised to mail out the card. The resort itself was appalling ugly. They have a large indoor swimming pool -- which costs $20 to enter. Everything there is designed to drain money out of people's wallets. The guests who were there were all low income families lured by the phony apparency of sharing some of the "good life." Silverleaf and Spirit Incentives are a nasty perversion of reality and a true example of two organizations selling s**t and calling it Shinola.

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99 comments
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DomesticDiva Baham
, US
Oct 27, 2015 3:53 pm EDT

Thank you so much for posting your experiences. We were scheduled to attend a presentation two hours away this week. Thanks to this online education of sorts, we cancelled our reservation. The poor girl seemed devastated. Poor thing. I appreciate the save! We'll vacation the old fashioned way! Many, many, many thanks!

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marriedinjamaica
LAke Katrine, US
Jul 16, 2015 12:48 pm EDT

It is obvious that the people like HAHA123123 and svlf4life that are calling others "Stupid" and uneducated are the employees selling these crap timeshares. Before you call people stupid learn how to spell and use correct grammar. I have yet to attend the 90 minute tour. However, based on these complaints I will not waste my family's time. Id rather pay full price for a trip to the Great Escape Lodge than put up with this nonsense any day! I will eat the 40 dollar deposit just to avoid the aggravation!

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silverleafh8ter
Ottawa, US
Aug 29, 2013 10:45 am EDT

Heres what silverleaf dosnt want you to see print these out and bring them in to your appointment you will be pushed right out the door i hope this information was helpful and please dont buy this its a scam plus the intrest rate is 17% go an tell me if im wrong.

/The documents have been removed/

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Trice loves 2
Flovilla, US
Dec 17, 2014 5:00 pm EST

I just recieved a letter also from SilverLeaf and it did seem to good to be true .so i called my aunt and she researched them and true enough they are big liars i even asked the guywho was on line if it was a scam bc i just didnt trust this. Thanks everyone for your hinesty so i wouldnt waste my time

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Slightly amused
Port Chester, US
Sep 05, 2014 10:10 am EDT

I just came on here to see if this was a scam before I took a tour and these comments have confirmed my suspicions that it is, so I will not be wasting my time and I sincerely thank you all for the information that you have provided. As for everyone posting about how great this place is, I don't know if you actually work for them or not but considering how many of the complaints I have read also say that they people who work there are rude and obnoxious you seem to be confirming that as well. If you are an actual timeshare owner that is happy with your purchase, great-good for you. Why come on here and spew insults at strangers who are unhappy with theirs? It is exactly those types of posts that confirm the negative ones. If you really feel the need to come on the Internet and get angry and perfect strangers and call them idiots because they don't agree with you or have had a different experience then, even if you are telling the truth, I would never want to vacation where you are anyway.

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stuprum
Tyler, US
Jan 30, 2014 11:20 am EST

Anyone who signs documents and after doing so claims its a scam is an idiot. You are the scam. You have scammed yourself. The rules, regulations, cost, bonus time availability, club dues and their increases, fees for extras and what room you will have access to are all in your paperwork at time of signing. Whether you agree with what the paperwork says is of no matter. That you chose to sign it is. So what's the lesson of the day here? Read, think, decide. Once your decision is made its yours. Stop blaiming others for purchasing things you can't afford.

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Juan wu
Houston, US
Nov 05, 2013 5:11 pm EST

I also got their scamming phone and email. I regret to provide my information to them. Very boring and ridiculous. I know their contact is a scamming and would not answer them.

Valerie
Valerie
, US
Apr 25, 2008 9:32 am EDT

We have been scammed by Silverleaf Resorts as well. We purchased one of the sampler vacations. We've requested a refund. All they have been telling us is that they will honor the week vacation that we have paid for.

I called their Corporate office today. At 5:03 I was told everyone was gone for the day. I told the representative that I was not an idiot and there's no way that she was the only person left in the building. A few minutes a later a supervisor came on the phone. I requested that she direct me to the portion of the contract that stated no refund of deposit or moneys applied. No where does it state that.

The legal department is supposed to be calling me tomorrow. Maybe I can get some resolution with them tomorrow. If not I guess I will take the week vacation and for a portion of each day I will sit in the waiting room and warn everyone I can of the scam that Silverleaf Resort really and truly is.

Maybe I won't get my $1, 000 deposit back but I will force them to spend much more than that to get customers that I have just scared away. I will be sure to direct them all to this website as well.

I will inform them exactly the type of organization that Silverleaf Resort is.

I happen to be in school online right now in a Marketing class and this happens to be the week that we write about a good customer service experience and a bad customer service experience. I will certainly be writing tonight that this is bad customer service. I will be touching some people that are right here in this area, Atlanta, GA, I have classmates from Iowa, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Tennessee, Texas, Ohio, Minnesota, California, and Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles.

Wow, I had no idea that there were students from so many different places. I may have to direct personal at Silverleaf to this website myself and let them know how many people I may be able to affect. Nothing like negative advertising.

Not only do I have access to the discussion board for the assignment we have a virtual commons area that I can post a warning to students. I don't know how many students attend this campus but I certainly have the ability to tell at least thousands and thousand of people in many different parts of the world. This can be seen by everyone. But school is a community and you are more apt to listen to someone who is part of your community like students at AIU.

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jaycrib
akron, US
Jul 09, 2009 7:27 pm EDT

I just submitted this complaint at http://www.complaintnow.com

Silverleaf told my husband that he could use the purchase as equity and could be used for an equity loan and it was real property. at the time he bought it he thought he was building equity (being young). We know that this is untrue because when we went to buy a condo after paying $10, 000 for the timeshare, the bank nearly laughed at us saying that there was absolutely no equity in the time share and it cannot be used for anything.

they stated they were in a deal with American airlines and avis so that he could get deals when he traveled. they lured him there telling him that he had a chance to win a car.

this happened in 1999. i know there is probably not much that can be done now but i just wanted this on the record. it's paid off now and we pay fees monthly that rise every year with no reason why.

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Tired in Houston
, US
Jan 12, 2013 5:20 pm EST

This company ropes you into purchasing a time share with a lot of empty promises. My husband and I supposedly received several free cruises and stays at resorts that we were never able to utilize. We sent in the required deposits and then the time expired and we were just out of money. In addition they had us to make several trips to their Galveston location, under the guise of a weekend away. Each time we were required to come to the office to speak with one of their representatives. These visits were no less than two hours each. Never were we able to stay in the type of suite we were promised. The first we stayed in, which was not even remotely close to what we had seen the first time, had construction going on until around 10pm and then it started up again at 7am. We were told they were sorry and wanted to make it up to us. Only to come out again and have to listen to another 2 hour presentation. We were told that if we upgraded we would definitely get to stay in the suite they initially showed us. However, the next time we were scheduled to go out, we ended up in a "5 star hotel" that was a bigger dump than the facility we had stayed in prior. Again we were required to come to the office for a presentation. (Mind you my husband is on disability and suffers from severe back and leg pain.) On this presentation, the power was out at the facility and my husband and I had to walk up two flights of stairs and were basically held hostage for two hours in a room that had no air conditioning and the temperature was probably 90 degrees, while they attempted to talk us into upgrading again with the promise that this time if we upgraded we would get to stay in the facility that we were initially shown, because we would have "priority". When we told them we were not interested, instead of letting us leave they kept sending in different people to talk with us, with a so called, "deal we couldn't' refuse and just for us they were giving us a deal of a life time not offered to anyone else." After finally leaving this meeting and after having to walk down two flights of stairs my husband was in a great deal of pain and sick because he had gotten overheated. (During this visit his condition was explained to the staff at Silverleaf and their response was to just open the door). Since that time they call all day, every day, first on the home and then on husband's cell trying to get us to give them the names of family members and friends that they can harass in an attempt to get them to buy into the scam. I have told them on numerous occasions that we have no desire to ever return to their facility in Galveston to which they just keep calling and saying they want us to come out again.

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Gelik
, US
Feb 07, 2011 1:05 pm EST

So i received a ton of calls from a dumb girl that said I won a car, or $49k or a vacation, but could not give me any details so i just said i would call back.

A day later another girl called me and was straightforward with me. Sh gave me details about the 90 min presentation and more info on the prizes. I still thought it was a scam but said "sure sign me up for an appt". I just wanted to see the confirmation email that they send. I get the email and read the fine print and of course its a lot of bull crap.

I call back to cancel because I do not meet the requirements of min. age 25 and min. income of $40k. The lady said "those are old requirements that don't apply any more" so I asked her to email me the new and updated fine print, which she did not have. So i got off the phone with her and found this site which just confirmed my suspicions that its all a scam.

I was bored so I called them back just to say that I was not gonna show up for my appt. just to see how they reacted and the lady I talked to said "no you agreed to come, you have to come, we already paid the representative" thats all total crap and I just laughed and said "I'm not going" She tried to transfer me but the other person was at lunch, and she told me that the person would call me back. I responded no need, I am not going, to which the lady just hung up on me.

In the end I am not going to go waste my time with a whole bunch of rednecks running horrible scams. Ironically I just received an envelope from them claiming I had won a prize while I was typing this. Hopefully they do not keep calling me.

Valerie
Valerie
, US
Aug 29, 2008 6:04 am EDT

We have been Silverleaf owners since 1991 and I can honestly tell you they have gone to *** in a hand basket. We recently stayed out at the Villages for "complimentary" stay as long as we attended the meeting. Well fine sure we needed a short getaway. So we get there on a Friday around 9:30pm, as we had to work all day, and low and behold they put us up in one of the oldest condos they had and we were specific we told them we wanted a lodge unit, not a condo unit. So we check in and get to Unit 71 and OMFG it was a dump! First sign we got to high tail it out of there was an unlocked, ugly ***, sliding glass front door. Boy that was so inviting.

My husband called the front desk and told them they better find an open lodge unit or he was packing up and heading back to Dallas. They gave some song and dance about how they didn't have lodge units available at that time (we found out later it was a first come, first serve basis). So, we toughed it out for the night as the kids were tired and cranky from the 3 hour drive. While we had the chance we wrote a list of all the things we found wrong with that one condo (surly the same things wrong in all the other older ones):

1) Right away, unlocked front door

2) Musty, moldy smell

3) Footprints, handprints and pencil marks on the walls throughout

4) Water stains on walls and ceilings

5) Water damage to sheetrock, behind 30 layers of paint

6) Appliances dated back to 1978

7) Carpet was stained and dingy

8) Handles missing off nightstands

9) Ice maker did not work

10) Awful cable reception

11) Insignificant light switches that served no purpose

12) Shabby, torn bed linens

13) Vertical blinds missing slats and pull rods

14) Walkway up to Condo was dangerous

15) 2 washcloths for 4 people

16) Sagging mattress

17) Kitchen floor was rotting out

18) Broken kitchen cabinets

You get the idea right...

Next day, we get a phone call from one of the managers explaining that a lodge unit would be available by 11 am, go figure (they sucked up because they thought we were potential upgraders to their Diamond Club, fat chance). We get into the nicely decorated and much more up to date lodge unit and kids want to take advantage of the water park (which Silverleaf maintenance fees paid for because they obviously aren't being used for maintenance). Now this water park was a neat idea, but my problem with it is this, members have to pay $20.00 per person to use it...and it's open for the public to use as well ... the PUBLIC! Since when have Silverleaf amenities been open to the public?

Another thing that bothers me is the meeting we had to attend. First of all, as members were coming in they had to fill a survey. Most of that information was NONE of their business! They had no business knowing such personal information like which credit cards you used while at the resort, your occupation, where you worked, income and children's names and ages. Once the form was turned in they offered up tickets to the BBQ...we never got any and weren't even offered any. Was it because we chose to only write out names on the form and nothing else? Regardless, the service was rude!

Once they got us into their office to go over their 2 hour sales pitch and tour of what we CAN'T use currently, we proceeded to tell them what was WRONG with the current condos, built in 1978. They grabbed a maintenance sheet and pretended to act like they cared and when they thought we weren't looking they secretly slid the maintenance request form into the garbage. Of COURSE they don't care, they're there to sell, not listen to members.

Now that leads me the *** 'n bull story the salesmen have to tell as to why all the new Presidential, ambassador and wife else grandiose crap they're building is being built. They say "Silverleaf members have spoken", my *** they've spoken. Which ones did they speak to? The ones who have more money than brains? You can't say a handful of surveys represents ALL Silverleaf owners, because that's BS!

Ok, so as we start the tour of the beautiful Beach Resort at the Villages, btw did you know they trucked in white sands from Florida for the private beach? Yeah, we Endless Escape owners can't use that either, unless we spend another $8, 000 on top of what we already spent the first go round to buy into the Diamond Plus Club. We're escorted into this beautiful 1200 sqft condo and they think it's gonna wow us into buying ... WRONG. We were not falling for their horse 'n pony show. I tell the young salesman, with the smug attitude, to stop at the condo they put us up in the night before and he acted as though his hearing aid battery fell out...turned a deaf ear mind you. They're not interested in the old condos, NO, they want you to buy a new one. We're not stupid!

He then proceeds to tell my husband, who at one point said he got to stay at a presidential condo in Galveston, that it'll never happen again ... why do you say that you effin punk, gonna fix it so he can't ... smug bastage. Any who, after we get back to the member services building he takes us to a showroom of floor plans and photos of the new condos, the ones we can't use, and I ask "Why aren't there photos of the old condos on here, you know the one we got stuck in Friday night?" Again, no response. Why they wouldn't sell condos at the rate they are if they had photos of the old condos.

I then asked, "So how come you don't walk potential owners through one of the condos you put us up in Friday?" Again, dead air. When he couldn't seal the deal, they brought a closer in ... he made the upgrade seem so cheap and easy. He figured he'd give us a deal ... $5, 620 plus a $1200 down payment with payments as low as $88 a month for life... bet you're thinking man that's a sweet deal! NO EFFIN WAY! Here's the catch though, he wanted to make our home resort in Massachusetts with a white week. Why the *** would we want a white week in Massachusetts, when we already own a red week at Holly Lake, where the PGA golf course is? BTW, they're now building presidential condos at Holly Lake.

When the closer started talking all I heard was blah blah blah horse 'n pony show blah blah blah. This smug *** then says, "I own 3 weeks, " well la de da jack ***, who cares. He also goes on to say that he is taking his kids to places he grew up going to and wants them to learn what a good vacation is all about. Shoot, I must be doing it all wrong cause I'm trying to teach my kids how to earn a dollar. What a hole he was. He couldn't seal the deal either and walked out completely defeated and huffy.

We did learn a vital piece of information...RCI members have more clout at Silverleaf Resorts than Silverleaf owners... Yeah you saw it right here. The reason we couldn't get into a lodge condo the night we got there is because Silverleaf "HAS" to leave a section blocked out specifically for RCI members. Ain't that a kicker. We got screwed because RCI takes precedence. Sorry POS! No offense to RCI members, but uh HELLO Silverleaf owners made Silverleaf, not RCI.

Anyway, we went back to the condo, checked out a day early and went the *** home. We traded our red week for a week in Branson next summer. And we were grandfathered in where we get to use all the Silverleaf resorts ... like it matters. Silverleaf Executives are crooked ###.

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Spur fan
San Antonio, US
Dec 10, 2012 6:46 pm EST

I received the $40 card. That part is real, but the trips I won seem a lil sketchy. Free is free not the bs they telling me to do ... Has anyone been on one of these so call free vacations ? If so where and how good was the room and flight?

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jeffw08
Poughkeepsie, US
Jan 09, 2012 2:40 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Thank you dontnormallycomplain1

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dontnormallycomplain1
Denton, US
Jan 09, 2012 1:35 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

To the comment posted yesterday, jeffw08, the winning of the car or money is a scam. i erased one of the scratch off places and it wasn't a pot of gold. So i told the lady "oh my first one isn't even it so there is no way i would get all 5". she then told me to see if the numbers on the bottom matched any of the "prize" numbers and of course my numbers didn't match. So me, already being skeptical, started scratching off the whole scratch thing and the "prize" lady looked mortified and told me i couldn't do that and tried taking it from me. i kept the sheet until i was done scratching the whole thing and there was ONE i repeat ONE pot of gold on the whole scratch off. So there is no chance in hell i was going to be able scratch off 5 pots of gold!

the first sales person i talked to kept lying to me about simple things and then later on would try and say something different and when i asked him about the lies he would say "oh i think you misunderstood me". i ended up telling him no. so he said because of what i do for a living he could offer me a special discount that they don't offer everyone so i had to sit and wait for this complete @$$hole to try selling me the same thing for a fraction of the price. but i still told him no and he was like "well you go on vacations anyways; i don't see why you just don't buy your vacations from us". and got up and stormed off after i told him no once more. then the first salesman got up and just walked away without saying anything. I just sat there like what the crap "i want my free stuff i was promised for enduring this crap". so this lady FINALLY came over and sat down with all my paperwork saying she could give the whole thing to me for a 18 month trial period for an even lower rate and eventually my trial period would pay what i owed for a deed. at this point i was irritated cause i had been there for 3 hours and told her no i just wanted my prizes, gifts, whatever you want to call them and go get my boys from their "play center". so she told me to follow her and just ended up leaving me in another waiting room which brings me to my above complaint. after sitting there and waiting 30 mins someone came and got me...no one came out of this ladies office and there was no one else in the waiting room. so i have no idea why i waited so long again. what my prizes ended up being were an "exotic getaway" that i still have to pay for and register, a "greatwolf lodge package" that i still have to pay part of, and $40 (which is basically getting my money back) cause i had to pay $40 to reserve my spot at this sales pitch!

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jeffw08
Poughkeepsie, US
Jan 07, 2012 4:33 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Can anyone verify if the car or the money has ever been won, in the history of this company?

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hate oakn spruce
Manchester, US
Nov 15, 2011 4:31 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

They told us the same thing! They admitted it was wrong a few months later when we noticed nothing on our credit, class action? why not? they should be stopped, look at this board!

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Craigtlumsden
Killeen, US
Jul 24, 2011 4:48 am EDT

I am at hill country right now. I have experienced a lot of their bs today and chose not to spend an extra $17k on upgrading from wht to red. I am looking at this place I am staying in an I am very disappointed at how Damaged things are in the unit. I expect that my maintenance cost along with the other 50 owners or how ever many, should be enough to make these immaculate. Mistake doesn't describe silverleaf. Stuck does though. And so I will faithfully pay for it and attempt to make up for it by using rci. By the way this is today's tactic, "the company is being sold and the prices are going to go up because they won't be using foreclosures anymore and all properties will be full price". Load of crap! Who will they sell to then? Wake up call ###- holes nobody can afford the mythical 30k or higher figures you keep pulling out of your hat. Economy sucks! The idea of this is great if you can afford it (I can). But I really don't care too much for the facilities and upgrading is a waste of money. If you don't have the money and buy in, you are a sucker, and an idiot. But if you do have the money, take it elsewhere, I would rather wash my mouth out with buckshot than do this again.

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tttoonf
, US
Mar 30, 2011 8:40 pm EDT

I'm not the type of person to complain and that's why this has gone on for so long. They call me 2 - 5 times a week trying to get me to come to a so called owners meeting. Well now I know what owners meeting really stand for. It's just to get you to buy something else. My first owners meeting was just 2 months after I purchased the time share. When they sat me down they told me that my purchase was no longer valid so I had to buy another one. Being female and going alone made things even worse because 2 male sales reps hasseled me in a room with just the three of us for over 3 three hours. I felt like I was being interrogated for a murder or something. I finally got up and called my brother because I was so upset. He, being totally opposite of me went and had a conversation with one of the ring leaders and told him he was out of line and not to call me again so now their so called corparte office keeps calling. i went to stay at the villages where my unit is and it was a complete dump and I told them they didn't ever have to worry about me coming back because I wouldn't let my dog stay there. I have been more than nice but now I've have had enough. 2 weeks ago i told a guy to stop calling because i don't want anything they have to offer even if it was free and he said well that's our job we are going to continue to call you. I have been more than nice but i've had enough. I will be filing a complaint with the better business buerua today. silver leaf needs to be investigated so maybe i'll contact dateline or 20/20 while i'm at it.

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issy18
, US
Feb 09, 2011 12:52 am EST

LexisNexis Academic
Advertising Age

November 7, 1988

Texas officials probe resort mailings

BYLINE: By DENISE GETSON, Christy Fisher in Dallas contributed to this story

SECTION: NEWS; Direct Marketing; Pg. 30

LENGTH: 566 words

A U.S. attorney in Texas has obtained what he believes is one of the largest-ever mail fraud judgments against a time-share resort company. Now, he wants to nab the company's direct-mailing agency.
The lawsuit, brought by U.S. Attorney Bob Wortham in Beaumont, Texas, last month, resulted in a $1.5 million fine against Freedom Financial Corp., which advertised time-shares by offering prizes to consumers for visiting the resorts.

Among the prizes: an "all-terrain vehicle" that was actually a lawn chair with large plastic wheels.
As part of plea-bargain agreement with the court, the Dallas company pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit mail fraud and two counts of mail fraud relating to the distribution of misleading direct-mail ads for its time-share resort properties from September 1987 to June 1988. Freedom Financial operates five time-share developments in Texas and two in Missouri.
"I plan to change the way these time-share operations do business, and the direct-mail companies are at the top of the pyramid." Mr. Wortham said.
"Freedom Financial was sold a package by a direct mailer who claimed that their tactics were legitimate and had been proven with other resort operations in the county, " Mr. Wortham said. "Of course, Freedom Financial had to be pretty greedy to shut their eyes and be taken in by the claims."
His office is still investigating the direct-mail company's role in the scheme.
An official statement by Freedom Financial implicated a third-party professional mailing organization, which it had contracted with for the creation and distribution of its ads.
However, Freedom Financial's plea-bargaining agreement with the court has been sealed.
Penny Wilson, VP-marketing for Freedom Financial, refused to release the company's name.
Separately, Freedom Financial is paying $219, 000 in fees and restitution to Texas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma and residents of those states who complained to government agencies that prizes offered for visiting the resorts were misrepresented.
Time-share resorts often entice visitors by claiming that a major prize is being reserved for them.
The investigation by the Texas attorney general found consumers who visited Freedom Financial time-share properties often were subjected to high-pressure sales tactics. In some instances, consumers got virtually worthless gifts rather than the high-price prizes they expected.
In addition to the "all-terrain vehicle" was a ladie's imported black mink coat, which was composed of dyed waste fur parts, including snouts, paws and ears. The value of the coat to winners, after they paid a "redemption fee, " was 5¢.
A Freedom Financial solicitation resembled an official telegram and carried a false endorsement from the Texas attorney general's office.
The attorney general won an injunction requiring Freedom Financial to declare its contracts with mailing organizations to his office. Further, the office will regulate future ads for proper disclosure of prize information and terms of redemption.
Lorna Christie, director of ethics and consumer affairs for the Digest Marketing Association, said vigorous prosecution is appropriate when direct mailers employ fraudulent practices.
"Fraud hurts our business, " Ms. Christie said. "It's in the best interest of this organization that companies engaging in fraud are put out of business."

PERSON: BOB WORTHAM (63%);

COUNTRY: UNITED STATES (97%);

STATE: TEXAS, USA (97%); MISSOURI, USA (92%);

CITY: DALLAS, TX, USA (79%);

COMPANY: FREEDOM FINANCIAL LIFE INSURANCE CO (90%);

SUBJECT: RESORTS (90%); DIRECT MAIL MARKETING (90%); LAWYERS (90%); PLEA AGREEMENTS (89%); JUSTICE DEPARTMENTS (89%); FRAUD & FINANCIAL CRIME (89%); ATTORNEYS GENERAL (89%); INVESTIGATIONS (89%); CONSPIRACY (78%); FINES & PENALTIES (76%); GUILTY PLEAS (75%); SUITS & CLAIMS (73%); SALES PLAN (71%); MOTOR VEHICLES (70%); FUR & LEATHER CLOTHING (62%);

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Copyright 1988 Crain Communications, Inc.;
The San Diego Union-Tribune

June 11, 1989 Sunday

Fraud charges a threat to lavish lifestyle

BYLINE: Jim Okerblom, Staff Writer

SECTION: LOCAL; Pg. B-1

LENGTH: 1854 words

DATELINE: RANCHO SANTA FE

RANCHO SANTA FE -- David and Annette Hagen would seem to be the picture of success, what with the brand new, $670, 000 five-bedroom house they are renting here, the Cadillac and Range Rover in the drive and the direct-mail business they own in the the pink-stucco Polo Plaza complex nearby. That's what lots of people -- first in Seattle and then in Virginia -- thought about the Hagens.
Many don't think that anymore. "If you deal with that man, do so at your own risk -- he will take your money and run, " is how Desmond Call, manager of the Ad Pro print shop in a Seattle suburb, put it. Over the past 10 years, the 34-year-old Hagen has left in his wake scores of angry creditors, thousands of complaints from consumers, lawsuits, criminal investigations and an eight-count indictment for mail fraud and conspiracy, filed March 31 against him and his wife in Jefferson County, Texas. The Hagens recently opened the Brown Development Institute on Via de la Valle here. Approached at his office last week, Hagen answered to the name David Brown, but later denied that he was using that name.
A promotional brochure for his new company on his desk had his name printed as David Haggin.
He said that was a misprint. Hagen declined to be interviewed for this story, saying past interviews have resulted in "absolute lies" about him appearing in print.
In an interview with the Washington Post last month, he dismissed the indictment, saying, "Someone once said a U.S. attorney can indict a sandwich." Hagen's Houston attorney, Kent Schaeffer, said Hagen and his wife are innocent of the mail-fraud charges.
Schaeffer attributed Hagen's financial difficulties to business setbacks beyond his control. Despite his financial problems, Hagen has managed to live the good life by operating a series of direct-mail businesses that promote time-share campgrounds, resorts and condominiums.
Companies he has controlled in other states have sent out millions of letters -- by one account as many as 250 million -- promising prizes for people who attend time-share sales promotions.
Authorities allege the prizes often were never awarded. But much of Hagen's success, those who have dealt with him say, stems from his uncanny skill at running up hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, and then walking away from it -- over and over again. "He deserves an academy award -- he's that good, " said Paul Wham, co-owner of LaserPrint, a Seattle-area company that says it lost more than $30, 000 to Hagen. Before moving to San Diego about three months ago, Hagen lived with Annette, his second wife, in Great Falls, Va. There, the two were known as David and Annette DeFusco.
DeFuusco is her maiden name.
Their life in Northern Virginia including driving a $95, 000 Rolls Royce and a Mercedes Benz and living on a 150-acre farm. The mail-fraud indictment stemmed from the Manassas Park, Va., direct mail firm that the couple operated with Annette as president. The Northern Virginia operation used several names, including DeFusco Advertising and Design, Lead Marketing, Leadco, Bureau of Adjustment and U.S. Graphics & Mail Ltd. According to Texas authorities, the operation sent out as many as 26 million letters to people in six Southwestern states offering BMWs, large-screen television sets, up to $10, 000 in cash and other prizes for attending time-share promotions for resorts owned by Dallas-based Freedom Financial Corp. Bob Worthman, the assistant U.S. Attorney in Beumont, Texas, who sought the indictment, alleges that the mailings were a blatant scam.
Unlike many mailings of this sort, Wortham says, the Hagens letters listed no cheap gifts, only expensive prizes such as cars, television sets and cash. "A lot of them said you were absolutely guaranteed to get both of the prizes, " he said.
"And you'd get there and win a book on the 1984 Olympics." Wortham said the mailings, in mid-1987 to mid-1988, prompted more than 2, 000 complaints in Texas alone. "We've handled a lot of major cases in the United States -- drugs, major bank-fraud cases, " Wortham said.
"But no other case I've handled has received the interest of the public as this case." Bill Van Hook, the assistant attorney general in Springfield, Mo., said his office also received close to 1, 000 complaints about the letters. Schaeffer, the Hagens' Houston attorney, argued the mailings were not illegal because they contained a "qualifying number" that had to match a winning number before the prizes were actually awarded.
He also noted that Freedom Financial, which hired the Hagens and approved their mailings, paid a $1.5 million fine but did not face any criminal charges. (The company was named an unindicted co-conspirator.) The couple's trial is scheduled for August. In 1987, the Hagens declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy for their Manassas Park operation. The company listed debts of $875, 000 to 20 of the largest unsecured creditors, with the Hagens personally responsible for none of it, said Gerald O'Donnell, the U.S. trustee overseeing the bankruptcy in Alexandria. There are no substantial assets, O'Donnell said, because much of the property was leased. The company's debts, in a 13-volume bankruptcy file, reportedly exceed $1.3 million to nearly 100 creditors.
One creditor is the doctor who delivered the Hagens' baby three years ago. Another creditor is Tri-State Envelope in Beltsville, Md. David Zukerberg, Tri-State's sales manager, said Hagen came in and paid cash for several small orders, and then asked for credit. "We said, `OK, we'll give you 20 days, ' " Zukerberg recalled. Soon much larger orders came in, and checks began bouncing. "In the space of 45 days, he had us for about $40, 000 or $50, 000, " Zukerberg said. The company eventually recovered close to half the amount, after some heavy-handed collection tactics, Zukerberg said.
Many other companies, banks and the U.S. Postal Service were not so lucky.
They got nothing. Schaeffer blamed the debts on the "amount of heat" put on by government investigators, which he said quickly drove away the Hagens' customers and sank the business. But the stories about Hagen are similar in Seattle. In 1979, Hagen and his first wife, Amanda, filed for personal bankruptcy for a company they owned called Sunbeam Electronics.
They listed debts totaling $296, 955 to 23 unsecured creditors.
All were legally discharged, according to bankruptcy records. After working in the marketing department for a time-share campground company in Bellevue, Hagen formed his own direct-mail marketing company, World Wide Marketing, around 1981 with several partners, said a former business associate who asked not to be identified. Under contract, the company was paid $50 to $85 for each "lead" it could entice to come to a sales promotion for a time-share resort or campground. Hagen liked to brag about his $1, 000 suits and his silk shirts and ties; he drove a Cadillac and stockpiled diamonds and other jewels, said John English, a World Wide salesman who eventually became vice president for sales. World Wide's offices were equally lavish, with $80, 000 worth of custom furniture, including a $6, 000 conference table, $1, 700 leather chairs, a $3, 000 desk in Hagen's office and a $4, 000 reception center, said Edward Webb, owner of Crawford's Office Furniture in Seattle. All of the furniture, Webb said, was leased through a company Hagen provided.
His store, Webb said, received an initial $1, 700 down payment, and then the deal collapsed.
The store finally recovered the furniture after nearly a year by paying a lien to a storage company, said Webb's daughter, Lynn. The last of it has been sold only recently. "It was just one nightmare after another, " she said. When English became vice president for sales, he assumed World Wide was awash in black ink, he said.
Then, when his wife gave birth to a baby prematurely, he discovered money that had been deducted from his paycheck for health insurance had never paid to the insurance company.
Hagen, he said, dismissed it as a clerical error -- but it happened again with another insurance company. Calls from disgruntled creditors began surfacing, English said, "and it became obvious what was going on."
English resigned, still owing $6, 000 in hospital bills. In 1984, after Hagen had remarried, World Wide Marketing was forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy, leaving debts close to $1 million to dozens of Seattle-area companies. The former business associate said Hagen went on to form two more direct-mail companies -- one called United Prudential Inc. and one called Matrix.
He lived an increasingly lavish lifestyle, the man said, while both those companies racked up more debts. Gary Jones, owner of Westgate Travel in Seattle, said United Prudential paid cash for small amounts of airline travel and then charged $6, 600 worth.
"I never saw a penny of it, " Jones said. While trying to collect the debt one day, Jones said, United Prudential's controller sat "face-to-face across the desk" from him and announced, "We never intend to pay you or any of the others.
It has worked very successfully for us." Call, the office manager for Ad-Pro Litho in Lynnwood, Wash., said United Prudential charged $14, 000 to his company within the first 30 days, paying nothing.
Call said a company official laughed and told him: "If I decide to pay you, I will.
If I decide not to, I won't. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it." Schaeffer, the attorney, emphasized that most of the more than $1 million in debts Hagen left behind in Seattle were legally discharged.
The remaining creditors, he said, had legal avenues they could have pursued. "If all these people were really defrauded out of their money, why wasn't something done years ago?" he asked. Postal inspectors in Seattle spent four years investigating World Wide Marketing, United Prudential, Matrix and two other companies connected to Hagen there, said Stan Pilkey, the inspector who headed the probe.
Postal officials have said thousands of people were promised free trips, most never receiving them, and about 1, 000 lost $200 each in "refundable deposits." Harry McCarthy, an assistant U.S. Attorney in Seattle, said his office received the results of the investigations in January, and is still reviewing it to determine whether a criminal indicment will be sought. "It's fairly extensive, in terms of the number of people involved, " McCarthy said. The Hagens' lavish lifestyle may finally be threatened. In addition to the criminal charges they face in Texas, their company's bankruptcy in Virginia may also be in trouble.
O'Donnell, the trustee, said he has filed a challenge to the company's request to discharge its debts, contending it is in "absolute violation" of the bankruptcy code. It is unclear what business the Hagens' new company, Brown Development Institute, is doing here.
Hagen told a reporter last month that the company would do desk-top publishing and design small ads, and was "staying away" from any time-share promotions. But the promotional sheet for the Brown Institute on Hagen's desk last week -- the one with a name spelled "Haggin" -- was a list of valuable prizes that someone may have won.

The Washington Post

May 14, 1989, Sunday, Final Edition

DeFuscos Are Called Bad Example;
Time-Share Firms Changing Tactics

BYLINE: Mary Jordan, Washington Post Staff Writer

SECTION: FIRST SECTION; PAGE A18

LENGTH: 416 words

David and Annette DeFusco "are to our industry what pornographers are to the publishing industry, " said Gary A. Terry, president of American Resort and Residential Development Association, which represents a majority of the 1, 100 owners of time-share developments in the United States.
The millions of DeFusco mailings -- which promise, but do not deliver, expensive prizes to lure people to resorts or presentations of time shares -- have tarnished the image of time shares, Terry says.
But David DeFusco says that he is being blamed for the sins of an entire industry, and that vacation promoters have always relied on gimmicks and free gift offers to attract people.

"I did what everybody else did, " he said in a recent interview at his offices in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. "Only I ran into a prosecutor who wanted to clean up the industry."
Time sharing -- buying into a resort for a week or more each year -- has become increasingly popular both in the United States and abroad, according to industry figures.
In 1988, 1.3 million Americans owned a time share, according to Terry's group.
Faced with increasingly bad publicity recently, some resort owners say they are rethinking their advertising tactics and hiring lawyers to read their promotional mail.
Outdoor World Inc., which owns 14 vacation spots around the country and once hired the DeFuscos, reviews all its mailings for potential legal problems, according to Bruce Morgan, the company's attorney.
"What David DeFusco has been indicted for is not part of the mainstream, " Morgan said.
"We've never had anybody as nasty as this."
The resort owners who hired the DeFuscos have run into trouble, too. The Dallas-based Freedom Financial Corp. pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy and mail fraud charges and paid a $ 1.5 million fine.
According to federal prosecutors, Freedom Financial paid for millions of the DeFuscos' mailings and had endorsed their use.
In Alexandria, The Hensley Group Inc., a time-share company that also used the DeFuscos' mailings, has been the target of complaints and lawsuits in Virginia, Maryland and Florida. Federal prosecutors said other resorts linked to the DeFuscos also may find themselves indicted or fined for fraud.
"Most members would love not to send direct mail, " Terry said, "but direct mail plus a gift offer is the single most successful [advertising strategy for time shares]. Unfortunately, it lends itself to . . . unethical and misrepresentative material."

ENHANCEMENT: SIDEBAR

COUNTRY: UNITED STATES (95%);

STATE: VIRGINIA, USA (92%); TEXAS, USA (79%); CALIFORNIA, USA (79%); MARYLAND, USA (79%);

CITY: DALLAS, TX, USA (79%);

COMPANY: FREEDOM FINANCIAL LIFE INSURANCE CO (53%); AMERICAN RESORT DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (84%);

ORGANIZATION: OUTDOOR WORLD INC. ; HENSLEY GROUP INC.

SUBJECT: FRAUD; REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY; MARKETING; ADVERTISING REAL ESTATE (90%); RESIDENTIAL CO-OWNERSHIP (90%); REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT (90%); TRAVEL HOSPITALITY & TOURISM (90%); RESORTS (90%); DIRECT MAIL MARKETING (89%); JUSTICE DEPARTMENTS (89%); INDICTMENTS (88%); FRAUD & FINANCIAL CRIME (88%); INTERVIEWS (78%); LEISURE TRAVEL (78%); PUBLISHING (73%); LAWYERS (73%); GUILTY PLEAS (73%); MARKETING & ADVERTISING (72%); MARKETING STRATEGY (70%); CONSPIRACY (69%); FINES & PENALTIES (67%);

PERSON: DAVID DEFUSCO; ANNETTE DEFUSCO; GARY A. TERRY GARY A TERRY (90%); DAVID DEFUSCO (82%); BRUCE MORGAN (66%); ANNETTE DEFUSCO (66%);

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

TYPE: VIRGINIA NEWS, NATIONAL NEWS

Copyright 1989 The Washington Post
Austin American-Statesman (Texas)

September 13, 1997

Timeshare purchasers seldom satisfied

BYLINE: David Evans

SECTION: Business; Pg. D1

LENGTH: 1004 words

DALLAS -- To Connye and Melvin Eichelberger of Dallas, the proposition from Silverleaf Resorts Inc. was outrageous.
In June, Silverleaf offered $200 to buy back the same timeshare vacation unit in Flint that it sold her for $5, 850 in October 1994. The development is on a lake about 100 miles east of Dallas.
Though the Eichelbergers wanted to sell, they declined the offer.

It was ridiculous, '' Connye Eichelberger said. I thought they were joking.''
It's no joke, however. Many owners of Silverleaf timeshares who want to sell their vacation investments accept the company's $200 buyback offer. That's because the resale market for timeshares -- which grant owners the right to use a condominium for a specified week each year -- is almost nonexistent.
Such transactions contributed to the 94 percent gross profit margin that Silverleaf posted last year, which was higher than that of almost any public company. Silverleaf's stock has gained 44 percent since its June initial public offering of 3.6 million shares at $16 by Credit Suisse First Boston. The stock closed at $22.75 a share Friday.
Silverleaf is one of the largest timeshare vacation developers in the $2 billion-a-year U.S. timeshare industry. It is an industry that is still dogged by customer complaints that, in the 1970s and '80s, led to some timeshare promoters going to jail for defrauding consumers.
For some timeshare owners who want out of their vacation investments, the difficulty in reselling their units is a source of grief. Silverleaf bought back 1, 500 timeshares for $200 a unit at its seven resorts in Texas and Missouri last year. Meanwhile, the company was able to sell units to new customers for an average price of $6, 645.
Silverleaf's average cost for each one-week unit sold to new customers last year was about $387, including buybacks, foreclosures, new construction and units from inventory.
Almost half the 1.8 million U.S. owners of timeshares are interested in selling, according to an industry study released in July. The number of units that Silverleaf bought back last year was equal to a quarter of the 6, 054 units it sold to new customers. Now, Silverleaf plans to buy back only about 500 units a year, according to the prospectus for its IPO.
Sharon Brayfield, president of Dallas-based Silverleaf, said the company buys back timeshares as a favor to its customers. It's kind of a customer service-type thing, '' she said. This is not something we forced anyone to do.''
The market for resale of timeshare intervals is very limited, '' said Silverleaf in its prospectus. Resale prices are substantially below their original purchase price.''
It isn't easy to sell timeshares the first time, either. Silverleaf spent 45 percent of its 1996 revenue on sales and marketing, which is in line with the industry, about $3, 000 for each timeshare sold. Timeshare buyers get title to 1/50 of a resort condominium unit and the right to use it for one week a year. They must also pay maintenance fees or dues.
Regrets purchase
Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, I want to buy a timeshare, ''' said industry consultant John Simon of KPMG Consulting.
Ask Ruthie Seward, an inventory clerk from Frankston who now regrets her $8, 500 purchase of a Silverleaf timeshare last year. She paid $850 down, and committed to monthly payments of $142 for seven years.
It's a lot of money for something we don't even use, '' Sewardsaid.
She said she was lured to the sales presentation by a letter from Silverleaf informing her that she'd won a prize.
Three months ago, Seward paid $200 to list her timeshare with a broker, asking $7, 000, but hasn't attracted any inquiries.
Foreclosures are another source of low-cost timeshare inventory for Silverleaf. In 1996, the company charged off bad debts representing 25 percent, or $12.1 million of its $48.1 million of sales. That's more than five times the industry average.
No Buyer Found
The Eichelbergers weren't able to find a buyer for their timeshare by July 1. That's when Silverleaf foreclosed on it. Even though Connye Eichelberger and her husband owned it free and clear, they were $350 behind in paying the $600 annual dues Silverleaf charges all its timeshare owners.
We kissed $6, 000 goodbye, '' said Eichelberger. Yet she said she doesn't regret turning down Silverleaf's $200 buy offer. I considered that an insult.''
According to the industry's study, the most common reasons timeshare owners want to sell are lifestyle changes, insufficient usage, the continuing expense and wanting more vacation flexibility.
The industry was notorious in the 1970s and 1980s for using high-pressure sales tactics and phony contests to persuade unsophisticated consumers that timeshares were a good investment.
In 1988, Silverleaf, then called Freedom Financial, was convicted on federal mail fraud and conspiracy charges, and paid a $1.5 million fine. The company admitted defrauding consumers by promising them nonexistent prizes in exchange for attending a timeshare presentation.
Robert Mead, who owned Freedom Financial, is now chairman and chief executive of Silverleaf. He holds about 7.7 million shares, worth $175 million. Although his company was convicted of fraud, he wasn't personally charged with any crime. David DeFusco, who provided sales leads for Freedom Financial, pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges and received a prison sentence.
Yes, we had problems back in 1988, '' said Brayfield. That was a really painful period for Bob.''
Besides the criminal conviction when it was called Freedom Financial, Silverleaf has been the subject of several enforcement actions by Texas and Missouri regulators.
In March, it donated $30, 000 to Texas to settle allegations by the Texas Real Estate Commission that it used illegal sales practices. Silverleaf admitted no wrongdoing.
The commission is now investigating 16 new complaints against Silverleaf, said Beverly Rabenberg, an attorney for the commission.

TICKER: SVLF (NASDAQ) (91%);

COUNTRY: UNITED STATES (94%);

STATE: TEXAS, USA (94%);

CITY: DALLAS, TX, USA (94%); AUSTIN, TX, USA (91%);

COMPANY: SILVERLEAF RESORTS INC (91%); CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON (69%); SILVERLEAF RESORTS INC (91%); CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON (69%);

SUBJECT: RESORTS (91%); RESIDENTIAL CO-OWNERSHIP (90%); TRAVEL HOSPITALITY & TOURISM (90%); INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS (89%); STOCK REPURCHASE PLANS (78%); EXISTING HOME SALES (74%); CONSTRUCTION (74%); COMPANY PROFITS (73%); STOCK OFFERINGS (72%); FORECLOSURE (69%); CUSTOMER SERVICE (65%); RESEARCH REPORTS (50%); RESORTS (91%); RESIDENTIAL CO-OWNERSHIP (90%); TRAVEL HOSPITALITY & TOURISM (90%); INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS (89%); STOCK REPURCHASE PLANS (78%); EXISTING HOME SALES (74%); CONSTRUCTION (74%); COMPANY PROFITS (73%); STOCK OFFERINGS (72%); FORECLOSURE (69%); CUSTOMER SERVICE (65%); RESEARCH REPORTS (50%);

LOAD-DATE: September 13, 1997

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Copyright 1997 The Austin American-Statesman
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)

September 21, 1997, Sunday, FIVE STAR LIFT EDITION

SILVERLEAF PROFITS BIG IN TIGHT TIMESHARE BUSINESS;
COMPANY HAS BEEN A TARGET OF COMPLAINTS

BYLINE: David Evans; 1997, Bloomberg News

SECTION: BUSINESS, Pg. 08E

LENGTH: 1144 words

DATELINE: DALLAS

To Connye and Melvin Eichelberger of Dallas, the proposition from Silverleaf Resorts Inc. was outrageous.
In June, Silverleaf offered $ 200 to buy back the same timeshare vacation unit in Flint, Texas, that it sold her for $ 5, 850 in October 1994.

Though the Eichelbergers wanted to sell, they declined the offer.
"It was ridiculous, " Connye Eichelberger said. "I thought they were joking."

It's no joke, however. Many owners of Silverleaf timeshares who want to sell their vacation investments accept the company's $ 200 buyback offer. That's because the resale market for timeshares is almost nonexistent.
Timeshares grant owners the right to use a condominium or other piece of property, such as a campsite, for a specified week each year.
Silverleaf is one of the largest timeshare vacation developers in the $ 2 billion-a-year U.S. timeshare industry. The Dallas company has two timeshare resorts in the Branson area. It is building a third one south of Festus, Mo. It also has five in Texas and is building one near Chicago.
Silverleaf posted a 94 percent gross profit margin last year, higher than that of almost any public company. Its stock has gained 44 percent since its June initial public offering of 3.6 million shares at 16 by Credit Suisse First Boston. The stock was trading at about $ 23 Monday .
The timeshare industry is still dogged by customer complaints that, in the 1970s and 1980s, led to some timeshare promoters going to jail for defrauding consumers.
In 1988, Silverleaf - then known as Freedom Financial - agreed to pay the state of Missouri $ 45, 000 after the state accused the company of breaking consumer fraud laws related to its direct mail practices.
Tom Franks, a key officer of Silverleaf, said last week (Sept. 11) that those practices occurred when the company used outside marketers to drum up customers. The company has since brought all its marketing in-house, he said.
A spokesman for the Missouri state attorney general, whose office oversees timeshare resorts, said that it had received no complaints in the past couple of years about the company.
For some timeshare owners who want out of their vacation investments, the difficulty in reselling their units is a source of grief. Silverleaf bought back 1, 500 timeshares for $ 200 a unit at its seven resorts in Texas and Missouri last year. Meanwhile, the company was able to sell units to new customers for an average price of $ 6, 645 a week.
Silverleaf's average cost for each one-week unit sold to new customers last year was about $ 387, including buybacks, foreclosures, new construction and units from inventory.
Almost half the 1.8 million U.S. owners of timeshares are "interested" in selling, according to an industry study released in July. The number of units that Silverleaf bought back last year was equal to a quarter of the 6, 054 units that it sold to new customers. Now, Silverleaf plans to buy back only about 500 units a year, according to the prospectus for its IPO.
Sharon Brayfield, president of Dallas-based Silverleaf, said the company buys back timeshares as a favor to its customers.
Franks said customers are told before closing a deal that Silverleaf makes no promises about buying back weeks or re-selling them for customers.
"The market for resale of timeshare intervals is very limited, " said Silverleaf in its prospectus. "Resale prices are substantially below their original purchase price."
Franks said salesmen are told to tell customers that in order to get value out of the purchase, they must use it.
Silverleaf spent 45 percent of its 1996 revenue on sales and marketing, which is in line with the industry. That amounts to about $ 3, 000 for each timeshare sold.
"Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, 'I want to buy a timeshare, ' " said industry consultant John Simon of KPMG Consulting.
Ask Ruthie Seward, an inventory clerk from Frankston, Texas, who now regrets her $ 8, 500 purchase of a Silverleaf timeshare last year. She paid $ 850 down and committed to monthly payments of $ 142 for seven years.

"It's a lot of money for something we don't even use, " said Seward.
She said she was attracted to the sales presentation by a letter from Silverleaf informing her that she had won a prize.
Three months ago, Seward paid $ 200 to list her timeshare with a broker, asking $ 7, 000. She hasn't attracted any inquiries.
Foreclosures are another source of low-cost timeshare inventory for Silverleaf. In 1996, the company charged off bad debts representing 25 percent, or $ 12.1 million of its $ 48.1 million of sales.
The Eichelbergers weren't able to find a buyer for their timeshare by July 1. That's when Silverleaf foreclosed on it. Even though Connye Eichelberger and her husband owned it free and clear, they were $ 350 behind in paying the $ 600 annual dues Silverleaf charges all its timeshare owners.
"We kissed $ 6, 000 goodbye, " said Eichelberger. Yet she said she doesn't regret turning down Silverleaf's $ 200 buy offer. "I considered that an insult."
According to the industry's study, the most common reasons timeshare owners want to sell are lifestyle changes, insufficient usage, the continuing expense and wanting more vacation flexibility.
The industry was notorious in the 1970s and 1980s for using high-pressure sales tactics and phony contests to persuade unsophisticated consumers that timeshares were a good investment.
In 1988, Silverleaf, then called Freedom Financial, was convicted on federal mail fraud and conspiracy charges and paid a $ 1.5 million fine. The company admitted defrauding consumers by promising them nonexistent prizes in exchange for attending a timeshare presentation.
Robert Mead, who owned Freedom Financial, is now chairman and chief executive of Silverleaf. He holds about 7.7 million shares, worth $ 175 million. Although his company was convicted of fraud, he wasn't personally charged with any crime. David DeFusco, who provided sales leads for Freedom Financial, pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges and received a prison sentence.
The Texas Real Estate Commission is investigating 16 complaints against Silverleaf, said Beverly Rabenberg, an attorney for the commission. These are in addition to the allegations of illegal sales practices that were settled in March when the company donated $ 30, 000 to Texas. Silverleaf admitted no wrongdoing at the time.
Silverleaf acknowledges using "intensive" tactics with sales prospects, who aren't wealthy. "The company targets audiences which generally are less financially sophisticated and more susceptible to intensive sales practices than more affluent customers, " according to its prospectus.
"Intensive sales practices do not mean high-pressure sales, " Brayfield said. "Intensive merely means giving a special effort or certain emphasis."

TICKER: SVLF (NASDAQ) (91%);

INDUSTRY: NAICS721110 HOTELS (EXCEPT CASINO HOTELS) & MOTELS (91%); SIC6081 BRANCHES & AGENCIES OF FOREIGN BANKS (67%);

PERSON: MELVIN EICHELBERGER (59%); TOM FRANKS (58%);

COUNTRY: UNITED STATES (94%);

STATE: TEXAS, USA (94%); MISSOURI, USA (94%);

CITY: DALLAS, TX, USA (91%);

COMPANY: SILVERLEAF RESORTS INC (91%); CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON (67%);

SUBJECT: RESORTS (93%); TRAVEL HOSPITALITY & TOURISM (92%); RESIDENTIAL CO-OWNERSHIP (90%); US STATE GOVERNMENT (77%); DIRECT MAIL MARKETING (77%); CORPORATE WRONGDOING (75%); CONSTRUCTION (74%); COMPANY PROFITS (71%); INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS (70%); EXISTING HOME SALES (70%); CONSUMER LAW (69%); FORECLOSURE (69%); JUSTICE DEPARTMENTS (63%); ATTORNEYS GENERAL (50%); RESEARCH REPORTS (50%);

LOAD-DATE: September 22, 1997

LANGUAGE: English

Copyright 1997 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.
Daily News (New York)

July 20, 2000, Thursday

PRIZE SEEKERS BEWARE OF TIME-SHARE OFFERINGS

BYLINE: BY ASA AARONS

SECTION: NEW YORK NOW; Pg. 62 ASK ASA

LENGTH: 380 words

Maureen Arscott wonders whether there's a car at the end of the drive to Massachusetts - or just a waste of fuel.
The New York woman has been trying to decide ever since she received a call from someone at Silverleaf Resorts, a Dallas-based vacation time-share company.
A vacation time-share gives the owner the right to use vacation property for a limited period over a specified number of years.

"I was told I won a car, but that I would have to travel to Massachusetts to collect the prize, " Arscott explained.
Why Massachusetts?
It's the home of Oak in Spruce, one of Silverleaf's 22 resorts nationwide.
The one thing Arscott is assured of finding there is a sales staff eager to tell her about the merits of the vacation property.
According to the Better Business Bureau in Fort Worth, Tex., Silverleaf sends letters offering one of several free awards to consumers who agree to attend a sales presentation.
Not all the consumers have been satisfied.
The BBB reports the company has been the subject of complaints alleging misleading or high-pressure sales tactics.
Other consumers have complained about the award they received at sales presentations.
The BBB added that most complaints have been answered, but not always to the customer's satisfaction.
If you receive an award letter or a call, it doesn't mean you've won a contest.
Though you will receive a gift if you attend the sales presentation, the chances that you will receive a major prize, such as a car or cash, are very slim, the bureau warned.
It found that most consumers receive a package for 10 one-day holidays, which allows use of resort facilities during the day only.
Overnight accommodations and transportation are not included.
Ed Lahart, a vice president at Silverleaf, could not confirm that Arscott won a car.
The company described the call as a solicitation to tour the property and not a guarantee of a specific prize.
Tomorrow: Are time-shares good investments?
Asa Aarons is a consumer reporter who appears on WNBC-TV, Channel 4, News. His Daily News column appears Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Send your questions to: Ask Asa, P.O. Box 3310, New York, N.Y. 10116, or E-mail him (DNconsumer@aol.com). Questions can be answered only through this column.

TICKER: SVLF (NASDAQ) (58%);

INDUSTRY: NAICS334111 ELECTRONIC COMPUTER MANUFACTURING (63%); SIC3571 ELECTRONIC COMPUTERS (63%); NAICS721110 HOTELS (EXCEPT CASINO HOTELS) & MOTELS (58%);

COUNTRY: UNITED STATES (94%);

STATE: NEW YORK, USA (94%); TEXAS, USA (88%);

CITY: DALLAS, TX, USA (88%); NEW YORK, NY, USA (79%);

COMPANY: ASK ASA (63%); SILVERLEAF RESORTS INC (58%);

SUBJECT: SALES & SELLING (90%); RESIDENTIAL CO-OWNERSHIP (90%); RESORTS (90%); TRAVEL HOSPITALITY & TOURISM (89%); NEW ISSUES (89%); BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS (77%); SALES FORCE (74%); CUSTOMER SATISFACTION (72%); TELEVISION INDUSTRY (50%);

LOAD-DATE: July 20, 2000

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Copyright 2000 Daily News, L.P.

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mommy26
Houston, US
Jan 29, 2011 7:05 pm EST
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I puchased a package from Silverleaf Resort for $59.00 to get a three day two night stay in Texas to tour their resort on 1/15/11. A few days later I was supposed to receive confirmation email with the lodging information...its now 1/29/11 and I haven't received anything! We are taking our trip 2/25 and I'm getting concerned! When visiting the resort on 2/25 I am told I will receive a $40 AMEX giftcard to spend during my weekend. Has anyone else been involved with this same deal? I look forward to this week end get away for my husband and I and just hope to get what was promised! Any comments are appreciated. Thanks

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nester11
dallas, US
Dec 22, 2010 4:51 pm EST

They called telling me that I won a luxury car, a trip to las vegas or a cruise somewhere, $400 gift and $40 american express card... I said yes to their setting appointment people( very persistent) The day before of the appointment to pick up my so called prizes, they called me again to confirm my assistance...I told them no, that I dont trust so much generosity from them and it was far away from where I live... they keep on calling and trying to lure me in... they I knew they werent honesty on their business...

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m.adkins
Palacios, US
Dec 21, 2010 6:40 pm EST

My husband and I have been owners for a few years now and I agree with the comment that they is good and bad. We have been mostly pleased with our purchase, but certain sales people have lied to us. The biggest suggestion I would give and try to live by after my experiences in life is to "Get it in writing". We were told many falsehoods by salesman, but they are salesman. Overall, we have been to Branson for a week, Hill Country for a long weekend, Galveston for a week, and a few bonus time trips to Piney Shores. Bonus time is way too difficult to get in, much more so than when we first purchased and that shows me that they have over sold the product. We are dabbling in RCI to see what we can get as an exchange, but the whole process is a little intimidating. Our first purchase was with the Villages and after going for a bonus weekend, we quickly upgraded to hilll country. The units were not well maintained and we were disgusted that the water park was open to the pubic. The day we went and paid a ton to get in to the park, there were 3 church groups there and you could hardly move. We left after an hour and wasted all that money. When we complained they told us it was a limited time thing to try to get locals to buy at the resort once they close if off to the public. Nice thought, but I will believe it when I see it. I think that was the PR way of getting rid of an upset customer. Again, I cannot say we are completely dissattisfied. We have had some terrific family vacations at many different resorts, but you have to educate yourself before buying and again "Get it ALL in writing!"
BTW, my husband and I are both teachers in Texas. We do not work for Silverleaf. I apologize in advance for any misspellings, as unfortunately spelling has never been my strong suit...I am more of a math person!

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Opinion8ed
Houston, US
Nov 07, 2010 2:48 pm EST

We just bought and now these complaints are worrying me. I knew it was all high pressure stuff but I saw through it an we said if it's half as good as the hype we should be okay. We have plenty of one and money to use the hell out of it so we'll see.

But, to those who have paid off the note and feel scammed, look into donating it to a charity. Instead of giving it back to sl for nothing you might get a substantial tax deduction. Just a thought.

As with the restaurant comment, I've been places where the food and service just suck but then someone else will tell me how much they love it. To each their own. But we're going on getaway time sun and mon. If they try to get me to listen to some presentation, I plan on telling them, "take me golfing (at their expense) and if you win, I'll listen to your deal." I shoot in the 70s so they'd have to have a ringer just to get me to listen. Even if they win, I don't have to buy...and I still get some free golf. Do the reverse hard sell.

It does sound like many of the complaints are from people who can't seem to get the most out of it or can only take 1 week off per year. I was hoping to read more on peoples experience with rci (and rci plus) and what kind of trading power they REALLY have.

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AngelBabyGirl
Big Sandy, US
Oct 20, 2010 2:57 pm EDT

Oh and there are alot of idiots who drive 3 hours for an "update meeting" only for the gift... the money... and member services is especially busy in the holiday season. It's open on the 4th July and there are idiots that would drive that far on a day ur meant to be spending with friends and family... just for money. Seriously...

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AngelBabyGirl
Big Sandy, US
Oct 20, 2010 2:49 pm EDT

look, don't be stupid and buy a timeshare if all you're going to do about it is complain! It seems the people who feel scammed are the idiots that fell for the sales pitches anyway! If you're offered a free stay at a resort, the prerequisite is to sit through a 90 minute presentation. If you're given a cash incentive, you have to sit through the 90 minute presentation. If you're not looking to buy, but do anyway, and regret it, you have 6 days to cancel it. If not, good luck! I know all this inside information because for one my husband is a sales rep in member services and for two we have owned with silverleaf for years. Also the "owner update" meetings are to help you out in using your timeshare and bonus time, and they can also improve it for you. Remember, YOU have the choice as to whether you buy or not! Don't lay the blame on people for doing their jobs! They need to earn a living, too! Stop criticizing and maybe you should read the fine print if you feel uneasy about what's happening. If you're looking for definite quality vacation with your family or special someone, and also want to be able to get away for a few days here and there, Silverleaf is a wonderful option. They are very good in terms of providing everything in the units, the maintenance and housekeeping are very nice and friendly, the surroundings are natural and beautiful and if you sit back and relax, maybe you ewill find what you looked for in the first place, a nice vacation!

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Jeannie H
, US
Sep 14, 2010 8:18 am EDT

Siliverleaf upgrade has been a cheat, liar and theif. I would never go to them again to buy anything. They told me that I would get 3 days each week and now I find out that is not true. I only get days on certain weeks. For those who have not already bought into this, I would advise you not to.

Jeannie H.

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david kramer
San Antonio, US
Jul 28, 2010 9:37 pm EDT

i have been an owner of silverleaf for 8 years. I own a red presidential in Branson Missouri. I just want to say to all the whiney complainers on here that i am sick of listening to you guys. Bonus time is not guaranteed and as stated by others it is a hell of a lot more than most timeshares where you get one week a year and that's it. Also everyone who complains about high pressure sales is just a damn excuse for you being a [censor]. you dont have to say yes to anything. I did say yes and i am truly satisfied with the product. the free stays are nice. even if you can only get them once a month for the three nights. Its still a great program. A bunch of weakminded people on here whining because they are too easily persuaded. Take some responsibility for your own choices. For those of you thinking on owning with silverleaf. don't be discouraged by all this negative talk. This program has changed me and my families lives. And for the people whining about losing their job and silverleaf not working with them. If you stop making your house payments or car payments it will be the same thing. why should this be any different. they tell you its a warranty deed when you get involved. all i have to say is product is good. me and my family enjoy it very much

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Donna I
San Antonio, US
Jul 01, 2010 1:41 am EDT

OMG. Silver leaf called my home and harassed my critically ill husband for phone numbers. He was trying to get off the phone and this [censor] who name I will get argued with my husband about $ 50 gift card for people they can rip off. These people got on my last nerve. I want my money back and they leave me the hell alone. It is bad enough that them that they called me two times, when my husband told that [censor] that I was not there she with her stupid [censor] could have said thanks and call the next day. I want my damm money back and the leave me the hell alone.

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jay33
phoenix, US
Jun 16, 2010 3:35 pm EDT
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cece88 the prizes are only real if you buy into it and u will be there for well over 4 hours, not 90 minutes.

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cece88
, US
Jun 02, 2010 12:27 pm EDT

Ive gotten the same letter saying i won a prize twice... the 1st time i did not attend, now 6 or so months later, i get another 1.. not interested in buying a timeshare. but Are the prizes real?!

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sexydiva
Chicago, US
Jun 01, 2010 4:07 pm EDT

I have been a Silverleaf owner for over 10 years; recently i attended one of their 90 min. spiels designed to get owners to upgrade & spend more $$. I declined & accepted their gift of a free cruise through Spirit Travel. Well I follow the Spirit Travel's instructions and selected 3 different weeks where I could cruise. Spirit Travel notified me I have a certain time to make a one-time call to finalize cruise plans with them. I called as requested; and then spirit Travel told me I could only cruise during a certain week--not one of the weeks I have previously submitted to them. My work schedule would not allow me to travel during the only week they said was available.
So I was scammed out of a cruise. They did return my $150 deposit however. Silverleaf's use of Spirit Travel reflects poorly on their company integrity.

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Igotsickatsilverleaf
ty, US
May 29, 2010 11:49 pm EDT

Nasty place The Villages. We toured it hoping to find something close in Tyler. Wow! The food court before entrance to the water park smelled like urine. I thought they were having an off day, but the smell of body fluids continued as we left the park and went to a bathroom. I immediately got sick with diarrhea after being there for an hour and had to sick in a urine infested bathroom, trying to leave. Then a large man yelled at my child who as kids will be kids pushed his son. He yelled at my kid and I told him very nicely that I had handled it, I apologized for her behavior and he screamed at me in my face and used very loud abusive language. I went to complain to management about his screaming and threatening me and the sales person laughed and said, "Oh you got to meet the father who was on daytime television talk show whatever' thinking he was making a joke. It was not funny. I was scared and got sick. Anyone can come on the site and now I'm reading about substandard materials used to build these resorts. I know there was a fire at one a few years ago and I'm wondering why some journalist hasn't blown the lid off silverleaf. Nasty, disgusting, unsecure place to get sick and possibly beat up, but most decidedly verbally abused by someone timeshare touring and then laughed at by the sales people. VERY NICE!

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LAISSELA
Bridgeport, US
May 02, 2010 6:07 pm EDT
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MY HUSBAND AND I JUST PAYED THE $59.00 YESTERDAY, 5-01-10, AND NOW I AM READING ALL THESE HORRORS AND I AM LEFT WONDERING IF WE ARE ABOUT TO BE SCAMMED, TOO. WE HAVEN'T GONE ANYWHERE YET, ALL WE DID WAS PAY THE INITIAL $59.00, WHAT SHOULD WE DO? SHOULD WE TAKE IT AND GO WITH IT ( WE AREN'T GOING TO BUY ANYTHING ANYWAY!) SHOULD WE CALL AND CANCEL BEFORE WE (AND THEY) LOOSE TIME ON THIS? OR SHOULD WE JUST KISS OUR $59.00 GOOD-BYE?

GRIS

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slf79
, US
Mar 17, 2010 5:07 pm EDT

This is for lookatthebrightside. I purchased a red week back in 1985. There were 7 timeshares then, 5 in Texas and 2 in Missouri. The first 10 years were great. I used my week every year and my endless escape as often as possible. RCI was great also. I always got my first request the first day I called it in. I was very happy with Silverleaf. But then, all of a sudden, I couldn't get in when I tried to use endless escape. NO AVAILABILITY. The only thing I could use was my scheduled week. I bought red so that this would not happen. I was also told I would be able to use any future resorts built. However, that is not true. The resorts were split into 2 groups and unless you owned the destination group, you could not go to all of them. WHY DID I BUY A RED WEEK? HMMMMMM...I thought it was so I could go whenever, wherever a resort was! Silverleaf screwed that up by splitting the resorts into 2 groups. Were the silverleaf owners given a choice in this matter? I certainly was not. If so, I would have voted NO. So the only way to go to all the resorts is to buy another timeshare. That is ridiculous. I bought one already and for top dollar. I don't want another one, and should not be forced to buy another one just to use all of them. I have complained to Silverleaf about this year after year to no avail. I think it may be time to join one of the many lawsuits against Silverleaf. As for the salesmen doing their jobs, they are to pushy. After the first 5 NO's, they should stop brow beating this customer, just let it go and move on to the next customer.

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lookatthebrightside
hawkins, US
Mar 03, 2010 9:24 pm EST

im with this guy below me. ur talking about a kid working at the reck center who was cleaning the area 20 mins before it closes? which happens everywhere you go. whether it be a restaraunt or putt putt golf. they close the doors and are done at 10. if that kid is expected by his boss to clock out by 10 o clock? and he didnt vacume or whatever horribly disrespectful thing he did to you that made you go on an internet site and comment on it. and i happen to own with silverleaf and my family has loved it ever since we got it because we did the homework on what we bought and know how to use it and we've never been happier. you can't buy a 1995 toyota corolla and expect it to work like a 2009 mercedes and cry when it doesnt. YOU accepted a complimentary stay. not the person who called you. and if you've owned since 1995 should understand that everything is based off availability. and what do you want the front desk girl who cant do anything about your coffee pot to do? go to the maker and ask them why it broke and demand a maintnence man to come out and fix the coffee pot in unit 90? or pull the extras she has under her desk out? and im sure that silverleaf will look past all of the happy owners like my family to see you crying about us only having one horse. some people need to realize that the deed you bought for probably about 5 grand is how much one vacation is to hawaii these days and you can pass it on to your children. ps. if you are too busy ### and complaining people wont hear you. or want to listen. and those "meetings" you go to to listen to someones "song" is how those people feed their families. i personally just dont go to meetings because im not interested in furthering my investment. maybe you should do the same. THEY"RE SALESMAN. that's their job. and how they put food on the table. respect your patrons. especially the ones you havent met. smart guy

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Penny Webb
Montgomery, US
Feb 24, 2010 8:36 am EST

Its not about not being able to afford it, it's about being scamed into something and being promised services and a product that is never available. I will say this again...why would a satisfied customer be browsing complaint boards. You are an employee trying to deflect the bad publicity. Hey idiot, it will not work.

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stuprum
Tyler, US
Feb 08, 2010 9:43 am EST

This is in response to 2442linde...you are saying the positive remarks could only be employees telling lies? I think you sound more like somebody who has buyer remorse or who couldnt afford it in the first place. If you cant afford fun things then thats your problem. If you bought this and then couldnt afford it, well then that shows exactly what kind of a person you are...someone who buys things they cant afford. Nobody is holding a gun to these peoples heads and making them buy. Here is a good piece of advice. If you cant afford it...DONT BUY IT!

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2442linde
Oklahoma City, US
Jan 11, 2010 11:18 am EST

What a JOKE...any and all of the complements about silverleaf are definitely written by the STUPID IDIOTS that work for silverleaf...really, do you actually think the readers of your complements don't get that you are A Worker of silverleaf and NOT a Consumer...because we all know if you were TRULY a comsumer you wouldn't have ANYTHING good to say about silverleaf. PLEASE...you STUPID silverleaf workers...stop getting on this website and writing more LIES, isn't it enough that you lie all day long right in peoples faces, no you have to get on this website and lie some more.

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asdfasdfasdfasdf
, US
Jan 06, 2010 8:53 pm EST

I went to the tour and got my 2 $40 American Express gift cards and the trip to Vegas...but you can only use the trip if you go on Sun/Mon/Tues (no weekends).