Often these materials include hard to meet or expensive conditions. Avoid vacations linked to time-share or real estate offers. You may be thrown out on the street in a foreign country if you fail to yield to high-pressure sales tactics. Never pay until you are totally satisfied with the conditions and disclosure of the offer. High pressure deadlines are almost always a ploy to persuade you to make an uninformed decision.
Credit cards provide consumers more protection than cash or check.
Never send money by messenger or an overnight service. This is often a technique used by promoters to bypass U.S. postal regulations. Again this year we will receive offers in the mail for free gifts to visit time-share developments throughout the country. The idea is that consumers who can't afford to buy a vacation home or condo can simply purchase one or two weeks in a unit every year. Often time-share sales also include membership in an exchange program which allows you to swap your vacation rights to visit another resort area.