ORLANDO, Fla. – Lisa Eller, a timeshare resort customer for 18 years, is convinced American Consumer LLC never intended to negotiate an exit from her resort contract despite promises from then Chief Operations Officer Cory “Hubb” Hubbell, that he could get it done.
“He’s a smooth salesman; he seemed like he knew what he was doing,” Eller said. “He said, 'It takes us about 12 months to work the program.'”
Eller and her husband agreed to pay $2,350 for the program but just this week discovered no one from the company, aka A Consumer LLC, ever contacted her resort.
“They present themselves as people who have contacts at these resorts,” Eller said. “Our contract was paid in full; we were just paying maintenance.”
The last time Hubbell spoke to Eller was in March, according to Hubbell’s Facebook account, he left the company in May.
Eller’s attorney, Jennifer Beaman Clark, told News 6 that when she advised the resort representative that her clients had been trying to resolve this for a year she was told, “It was the first time they had been contacted about the account.”
According to records obtained by News 6, American filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 9.
The registered agent, Brevard County attorney Michael Sarocco, said he would try to help consumers who wanted to get their money back but that he had no official ties to the company.
In an email to News 6, Sarocco wrote, "I no longer represent the company and do not have authorization to make any statements on their behalf.”
A review of state records shows Saracco was the registered agent for American Consumer Credit LLC along with another 12 companies all linked to the same manager: Dana Micallef.
Micallef started the company in 2011 and, according to state records, lives in Daytona Beach.
Still, it appears he has been calling customers from a New York area code.
Rebekah Nelson hired the company last September and agreed to pay $2,800 to get a release from a timeshare in Vista, California.
Nelson told News 6 a man she believes to be Micallef, asked her to wire $700 to continue the contract.
“They block the consumer from talking to the timeshare so you don’t know (American) is not doing their job,” she said.
Nelson is convinced there are dozens of victims who fell for the same scheme.
News 6 found a website that explained how the company claimed to complete the exit:
“When you enter into the contract termination process with Aconsumercredit™, we start to permanently remove your timeshare contract burden. No more fees. No more payments.”
Nelson said she was told to stop paying her timeshare fees and that is when her credit was ruined.
If you believe you are a victim of this company, contact Mike Holfeld at mholfeld@wkmg.com
For more information, contact attorney Saracco: msaracco@saraccolaw.com.