Editor's note: Denver7 seeks out audience tips and feedback to help people in need, resolve problems and hold the powerful accountable. If you know of a community need our call center could address, or have a story idea for our investigative team to pursue, please email us at contact7@thedenverchannel.com or call (720) 462-7777. Find more Contact Denver7 stories here.
DENVER — A Colorado company that promised to help clients get out of their timeshare and offered a money-back guarantee has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
The Timeshare Termination Team filed for bankruptcy at the end of September, stating the business has about $10,000 in assets, including desks and office chairs. Bankruptcy documents filed with the court say the company has an estimated $25 million in liabilities, it also shows the company pulled in $2.2 million in gross revenue from Jan. 1 until the filing date.
A letter sent to former clients states, "No property appears to be available to pay creditors. Therefore, please do not file proof of claim now."
The owners of the company, Brian and Holly Wilbur, have also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
"Any hope of getting any funds from them, no matter how little they would be, was basically gone," said Rob Dines, a former client.
Dinges said he hired Timeshare Termination Team in January of this year in hopes of terminating his timeshare in Mexico's Playa del Carmen. He said the company even sweetened the deal by offering him a discount. He signed a contract and ended up paying $2,995, then he waited.
"I think it was in August, I decided, well, maybe I better check again, see what’s going on," Dinges said. "All the phone numbers I had, when I called — they were all disconnected, no longer in service. So then I went online and Googled them."
During his online search, he found stories from Contact Denver7 showing the business had closed its doors. He realized he wasn't the only one left wondering what happened to his money.
Contact Denver7 has received messages from about 30 viewers who say they also signed contracts with Timeshare Termination Team and paid the company thousands of dollars. The combined amount of money lost from all the people who reached out is more than $130,000.
"In this case, unfortunately, it doesn’t look very good. It’s doubtful there will be any significant return. If you’re talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars for claims and maybe $10,000 worth of assets, if you’re lucky, people will see 10 cents on the dollar. In this case, probably even less than that," said Jamie Buechler, a bankruptcy attorney who is not affiliated with this case.
Dinges said he is trying to dispute the charge with his credit card company but he's not expecting much. He is also still left wondering if Timeshare Termination Team was ever a legitimate business or if it was a scam from the beginning.
"It makes me frustrated knowing that a company like this whether they’re legit or not can just declare bankruptcy and walk away and leave everybody in the lurch," Dinges said.
There will be a meeting for creditors on Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. They can call in by dialing 888-395-7928 and entering the passcode 4268596.
