Dontaing Your Timeshare To Politics
The Miami Herald reported on November 25, 2008 that timeshare owners are being misled into donating to a political fundraising arm of the timeshare industry.
Here is the scoop.
- The Federal Election Commission performed an audit of the fundraising activities of the American Resort Developers Association (“ARDA”), the timeshare industry’s trade organization.
- The audit found that management fees charged by the resort management companies included about $3 to $5 for these contributions.
- These $3 to $5 contributions were not separately itemized or disclosed to the owners.
- The funds went to a Political Action Committee for ARDA, which lobbied for the following:
- Spending $540,000 for lobbying AGAINST mortgage reform legislation on Capitol Hill. This is legislation included truth in lending requirements to timeshare buyers and this legislation was opposed by ARDA.
- Spending $814,000 to support federal candidates and causes from both major parties.
- Spending over $500,000 in the State of Florida alone on various causes and candidates.
- This billing scheme went on at least through 2006, and at least one major resort continues to bill timeshare owners for ARDA lobbying efforts.
So what can you do to prevent from making contributions for lobbying?
- Call your management company and resort to see if this has been added to your maintenance bill. If so, request that it be removed.
- If they refuse to remove it, report the resort to the Federal Election Commission in Washington D.C.
Give me your feedback. How do you feel about paying additional fess for timeshare industry lobbying?
Bookmark To:
Tags: donating timeshare, politics, timeshare article, Timeshare News
