I got a postcard from Awards Verification Center - 2400 W. Pioneer Pkwy, Suite 210 Arlington, TX 76013 and found a hilarious post by a guy who went there just to mess with them. The company seems to be Silverleaf Resorts who also doesnt seem to respect telemarketing laws, got busted by the FCC and has numerous complaints at the Dallas Better Business Bureau (BBB)
I really like how this guy dealt with them. It never astounds me at how stupid American society is to aid and abett a company as corrupt and greedy as this one grow to a Market cap of 88 million. This should be a penny stock, not a $2 stock. These guys have 23 million in net income. This crap drives me crazy.
Edited 2006-01-16 - Here are some more links for your reference:
My husband entered a car drawing last Saturday in Luling. We received at least six phone calls Wednesday and a letter today since I refused to speak to the callers. Since we were going to New Braunfels anyway, we figured we could sidetrack to Canyon Lake for a couple of hours for the tour and free cruise. (We already knew about the taxes and other costs.) The ninety minutes turned into 3 1/2 hours and a very cranky four year-old. They were not too pushy, but we knew that we wouldn’t buy–no temptation for me. We played along and got them down to $85 a month towards a down payment. That was way too desperate on their part even if I’d been interested. I give them credit for trying. I knew that the extra nights for $75 was only supposed to $49.95, etc. from a friend.
Anyway, it takes a long time–all afternoon–just to get the paper you send in for $10 at a time on the gas. We won’t take the trip to Hawaii/Aruba/Puerto Rico, but may just do the cruise as some of our friends have.
We’ve been offered free weekends on referrals before, plus received all kinds of mail notifications. The free weekend is probably the only thing to make the presentation worth enduring.
Also, the prize people were very dull and the front desk ladies borderline rude. One greedily tried to snatch my husband’s AmEx card when he offered a Visa. Our sales-lady was nice enough, but did complain/sympathize that the front desk people and initial waiting made their jobs tough because of put-off/cranky guests.
Now, I’m going to call my friend and use (free Sunday-Thursday) her timeshare!!! (Like I need one when we live in the Hill Country!)
i recieved the same blue post card as well. god i wish u could have seen what i pulled at the seminar,lets just say i had everyone lookin stupid no one in that whole place had anything to say!!!i called the attorney generals office right in the middle of the seminar.LMFAO!!!
I hear the same complaints everyday that you have on your site regarding Silverleaf Timeshares. The maintenance fees keep going up, the bonus times keeps changing for the worse and due to the oversaturation of the resale market you can’t even seem to give them away and people keep paying companies more and more to only end up disappointed again and again.
What I have to offer is definitely not for everyone but I wanted to let you know that I work on behalf of a Charity that is looking for Silverleaf Timeshares and unlike other charities we are approving all Silverleaf Timeshares, no matter where, season, size etc…. the only stipulation is that it is mortgage free and current on maintenance fees.
The donor will receive a tax deduction of up to 5000.00 and it cost nothing, we pay for everything including closing cost and the transfer fees.
Again, this is not for everyone but for those that just want out from underneath their ownership this might be a solution and it is definitely a win win for the owner and the charity.
If this is something you might consider advising the owners on your site, please have them go to http://www.trejesto.com for more information. On the website it states that your timeshare will have to go through a market analysis but I wanted to let you know that ANY Silverleaf Resort is automatically “APPROVED” right now.
Thanks for your time
Andria
P.S. Just for your information, Silverleaf’s Bonus time has changed AGAIN….. If you sale it, the new owner gets limited bonus time and if they sale or transfer it the Bonus Time DOES NOT transfer. This means that they will have 1 week a year period !!! This is going to make the sale of Silverleaf timeshares even harder to sale, and this is why the market is saturated with these timeshare now for resale.
I thought Maybe I had a warrant FOR MY ARREST & When yhou call they set you up and ARREST YOU!!!! LOL GoLeee
I just received a letter from these crooks saying that I won all these fabulous prizes. The funny thing is that I actually believed I won because I remember filling out the entry form. However I had a nagging suspicion that this was a scam so I googled the address on the award letter and low and behold I found out it was a scam. I am so disappointed that it was a scam because I actually could have used the money to pay off some debt and save for the future. I am glad I found out the truth before calling them and I am absolutely disgusted with these people. I want to file a lawsuit against them for fraud. These people should be put out of business and made to pay everyone compensation for their deceit. With the economy being so bad and talks about recession, I guess there are some very unscrupulous individuals who invent new and clever ways of making money. For anyone reading my message, do not fall for this scam. If something sounds too good to be true it usually is and do your research about any thing that seems suspicious. Thank you— Isis Atlanta, Ga.
My husband received the letter and then a few post cards. I figured it was a scam, but decided to call. I first talked to a guy, he said I needed to hear a 90 minute presentation and would walk away with one of the big prizes AND another smaller prize. I called back and Daylin answered. She asked for my phone number to pull up my file. I asked how they got our address. She didn’t really give me a straight answer. I avoided giving her my number and kept asking questions about the presentation and the prizes. She said we would walk away with at least $500 cash. So, I made our appointment for next Saturday July 26. She put me on the phone with some dude to make sure we were 21, made $40,000, and had two forms of ID. When I got off the phone, I googled Piney Shores Lake Conroe and found this site, thank goodness. When I called back, I asked for Daylin and the lady said she wasn’t there. I said I wanted to cancel my appointment. When she asked why, I told her I saw that this was a scam online. She started arguing with me and then put her manager on the phone. He proceeded to argue and say how respectful they are, and said he COULD NOT CANCEL MY APPOINTMENT!! That would cost the company because he already has the travel agent booking our trips!! WHAT A LIER!! I told him to take our info. from their database. And had to hang up on him because he would not quit talking and saying, “Come on, nothing is free.” When I brought up Better Business Bureau, he said they have been in business for 25 years and have a great relationship with them. I can’t believe how stupid I was. I almost wasted a Saturday morning.
I too just got the free boarding passes, and I just have to call…. I went to the internet, saw these posts from far back as 2006 up to today and wonder why they are still in business. I remember hearing about this scheme on a documentary and so I know it’s not true. PLEASE THROW THE JUNK IN THE MAIL. DON’T RESPOND OR CALL, BECAUSE THEN THEY KNOW THEY HAVE A GOOD ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER SO THEY CAN SEND OR CALL FOR FUTURE SCAMS. THEY CAN ALSO SELL THE NAME/ADDRESS TO OTHER SCAMMERS.
BUYER BEWARE!
OOPS, THROW THE JUNK MAIL IN THE GARBAGE..!!
My grandma recieved one of these blue letters, along with two other pieces of paper said to be travel vouchers and boarding passes… WHAT A SCAM!! haha
I was at first tempted and then thought why not google it … and to my surprise it turned out to be completely bogus after I read here … thanks all of you guys for posting your experiences … helped a ton …
Drop Dead Letter Sponsored by:
(Date)
To Whom It May Concern:
I have been contacted by your company about a prizes allegely won. I am instructing you not to contact me further in connection with this letter. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a federal law, you may not contact me further once I have notified you not to do so.
Sincerely, Revenda Bannerman
Glad I googled this. I was already pretty sure it was a timeshare opportunity.
My in-laws spent years visiting different timeshares to get the free “prizes”; they liked day trips and enjoyed taking the timeshare opportunists for a ride as well. Really most of the prizes they “won” weren’t worth the cost of the trip and/or their time and they knew it–they just enjoyed the experience and laughed about it a lot.
I recently started getting a flood of junk mail and this is merely one of the things that has floated in. I can time all of this recent flood since joining AARP. I did not know this was a benefit of AARP and not having found any other benefits I have refused to continue my association with AARP.
lmao, three days in a roll, different people in my family “won” the prize from the same company. “Awards Verification Center”, signed by Susan Murray.
lol, they shoulda at least change their freaking names to make the scam more believable, hahaha.
So if I don’t buy the timeshare do I still get the cruise?
the tickets they send in the mail makes for a good camp fire starter, really , i wouldn’t trust them, when i lit the campfire it smoldered, they even have cheep paper, so the punch line is not worth the paper it’s writter on, lol lol
Okay here’s my 2 cents. As a working, productive adult in society I have some smarts and lucky for me, lots of common sense. We ALL know, or should know that when you go, yes you will get a prize…but be sensible to not expect the BIG prize. The odds are NOT in your favor, but it is possible. Secondly, hello…this is a resort not an amusement park tram ride. They’re here to show you their property and of course…duh…ask you to buy a piece of it. So take it like a man (or woman) and deal with it. I hate whiny asses that sit here bitching about this place. You got EXACTLY what you were dealt. YOU wasted YOUR time. YOU wasted YOUR gas. YOU expected YOUR prize to be biggest and best. Jeez…come on.
Go and deal with it or don’t go and shut up about it. I personally got the card, laughed and considered it and ONLY did not go because I did not really want to take a vacation with so many limitations. I could’ve gone for a FREE, I repeat FREE vacation but chose not to because my schedule does not permit such a luxury at this time. And so what if there are strings attached. Even if 50% of the vacation is covered, that’s awesome!!
So here’s my logic…if you go and get the vacation package that requires you to stay in a high dollar hotel or to pay some fees AND you can’t afford to do that…then why the hell are you visiting the resort like you have some middle bracket income and then pretend to consider buying a time share if you can’t offord to pay $100 a night for a hotel???
If you can’t afford the time, the gas, the time-share…stay home. Only a person who is honestly considering a time share would consider the gifts a bonus. The people who are doing this for a free meal ticket for a gift really don’t deserve to be there as YOU ARE THE SCAMMER, not them.
STOP BEING THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK FOLKS!!
I got the letter today and was all excited. I called the # and the lady who answered said all I had to do was go for a 90 minute tour of some timeshares and at the end I would get my prize.
A few things were wrong; the lady was very short with me and seemed frustrated when I asked questions; I would have to drive 90 minutes to get to the timeshare tour/prizes, and that’s if traffic was good; I had already made plans to go out of town and didn’t want to cancel them, but when I mentioned this to the lady on the phone, she snapped that I should call back if I found someone to “claim the prizes” and then hung up on me.
I read through the letter again looking for traps, then looked on Google. Thank God I found this site and others telling me the truth.
Let me tell you something, the guys who made Google are going to heaven, and these people have a lot of praying and apologizing to do if they want to go to heaven too.
This is a horrible scam and I feel sorry for the people who fell for it.
God Bless Google!!!!!!!! I was considering on calling because I have recently entered into a ligit sweeps, but it didnt’ sound like the same one. The postcard is now white and still just as ridiculous that “you have won $40,000 cash or one of 3 cars”. I find it amazing that these people can get away with stuff like this. But I guess it just shows you that something that seems too good to be true - usually is.
I don’t know what you guys are so upset about, I called up the 1-800 number, set up a meeting where they handed me a check for my 49,000 dollars. And drove one of my new cars right to my fully payed-for condominium in the Hamptons. The next day I called up my boss, told that jerk that I didn’t need him or his stupid job cleaning up after these dumb @55H0L3S that 5H1T ALL OVER GOOD PEOPLE. I won’t use any names…but, you made a big mistake giving me you signature, thats more than enough for me to track you down and give you a 90 minute presentation of why you should rent to own the back of my hand.
-Love
John P. Anyrecipientofyourlittlebluecard
Has anyone tried to bring a class action suit against this bunch?
Thanks God! for checking on this. I received one and the keep calling us to make an appointment. I was almost about to make the travel which would be a waste of time, money and energy. Thanks to you all for the comments that saved my trip.
Thanks again.
Got a white post card promising his and hers care, $49,000…la la la… and the free vacation to come and listen to there spill…NOT…after the many back and forth letters trying to find a date to take there free vacation DURING the middle of the week of course and not picking a black-out date and after YOU are a responsible for the TAX…not worth it… dont bother!
Got a white post card promising his and hers cars, $49,000…la la la… and the free vacation to come and listen to there spill…NOT…after the many back and forth letters trying to find a date to take there free vacation DURING the middle of the week of course and not picking a black-out date and after YOU are a responsible for the TAX…not worth it… dont bother!
Just got my blue card in the mail today. I’ve received a couple of them in the last year or so. I know it’s a scam, but it’s always good to come back and read the comments here.
Thank God for Google! I got a “blue invitation” as well and i was stupid enough to call and talk to them… the prizes sounded too good to be true and they were always mentioning “we’ll even reimburse your gas!” NOW THATS A LIE! lol but anyways, I told them I’ll return their call because I wanted to see if this is actually a legit company. The thousands of upset entries were more than enough to prove this company’s legitimacy.
I got the little blue card in the mail last week, called them they swore up and down they were for real and not a bunch os b/s. They are too nice and agree with everything you say, So I made an appt. to go there 424 miles away to get all my free prizes(more b/s) a map on how yo get there from Ga?- hell I live in Texas. Then I decided to Google them glad I did , thank you for all your input. I had a funny feeling about them in the first place!! Today I called and canceled my appt. The girl asked me why, I told her I dont make $40,000 a year, then she asked if there was a better date for me to come in to get my free prizes, told her I wasnt interested and I wont be there this Thursday and not to call me again!! Then she wouldnt shut up so I hung up on her!! I also put my phone numbers on the DO NOT CALL.GOV I hope that works. SO PEOPLE RUN DONT WALK !! iTS COMPLETE B/S!!!!!!!!!!!!
Awards Verification Center
2400 W. Pioneer Pkwy Suite 210
Arlington, TX 76013
Got the blue card.
Not interested in calling within 72 hours or I might forfeight my chances of winning all of these fabulous prizes.
Thanks for the blog that was started 2 years ago.
Just recieved my fourth final notice from AVC, (yellow), and its about to go in the shredder. Anything that sounds too good to be true, isnt.
Helllloooo??? Doesn’t anyone watch TV or read magazines. Do you think your hair’s actually gonna look like hers if you use x brand shampoo. Can a shoe really make running more fun? Does x brand soda really make you feel like singing in the streets? OK, sorry, I could go on but hopefully you get my drift. You can’t fall for advertising and sales pitches hook line and sinker. Get real! If they told you the truth would you be interestedin any product at all? Sit back and consider your job. Would you still have one if advertisers were not allowed to be a little bit alluring? Even factory workers should be thankful because otherwise they would have no product to assemble. And, you all act like junk mail is something new. Anyone heard of Publishers Clearing House? I remember seeing the envelopes on my grandma’s kitchen counter “You may already be a winner!” Give me a break-this is nothing new and if you weren’t all a bunch of people looking for a free lunch you wouldn’t have anything to cry about. I still can’t believe how “shocked” everyone is that they received the “same” blue postcard. Junk mail-trash it-move!
I just received the green check for $1295 with the promise of winning atleast that amount or his and hers Smart Cars, Toyota Hibred, Lexus SUV PLUS $5000 in free gas or $9000 in cash, or a $1500 shopping spree at places like Saks Fifth Ave to Walmart…..
I searched Yahoo and found this blog, so I guess this company has adopted to the times and is covering the spectrum of pain points everyone is feeling just to rip you off…
Thanks for the infor!
Dan from Georgia.
I’m so glad I googled this. I was about to call after I received the SECOND little blue postcard. It stated that my guaranteed prize was his & hers smart cars, a hybrid toyota or lexus suvPLU $5,000 in free gas OR $49,000 cash; a $1,500 shopping spree; exotic island adventure - $806 value or $500 cash. Thank God for GOOGLE
Thank you all for the advice. Though my letter was not in post card format but it was in a letter instead. I will just shred this piece of work and toss it. I too did not recall putting my name in this contest. So how the h#$$ they got my name is beyond me. I’m so glad I went online to verify if this company is real or fraud!!
–jh
oh god.. thank you so much Google! A couple of weeks ago my husband and I went to the mall in Houston and saw a showcase with a very nice red Saturn car. So we thought we’d have a chance to win the car. We filled out the form with our names, address, and phone number and dropped it in the box. Today we received a letter from them with the form we filled out before at the mall, saying that we are the “lucky” winner they had pick out and have won $40,000 or a new BMW, Porsche, or a trip to Hawaii/Jamaica. My husband and I were so happy. We didn’t even think this could be a scam because we thought we were the “lucky” ones out of thousands people. So we called the resort, made an appt to see them tomorrow. But then in the back of my head, there was a voice telling me to Google to find out more information about this company. It’s sound a bit fishy. The moment I found this website, read a couple of posts here, the guy from the resort called me at 7:30 PM (what the heck, managers work that late these days?) and wanted to confirm our appt tomorrow. I then said I would like to cancel the meeting and then the guy started saying so many “great” things about their resort, and blah blah blah. So I just hung up. He kept on calling and calling so I then turned off my cell phone. ~_~ I’m such an idiot for believing these stupid scam!
Right now it is 9/26/08 and by judging that the posts was from 2006-01-16 I can’t believe it is still on going. Just recieve this blue postcard scam. This is my first postcard. I hope they do not mail or call me again. If they do what do i do?
You all have to be the dumbest bunch of people! IT’S JUNK MAIL!
thank goodness for google and all its wonders. i have never been interested in “free trips.” this one caught my eye. it was so flashy. my husband is currently in iraq and we are planning on taking a trip when he comes home. i thought this would be a good opportunity. glad i found this page. it saved me alot of trouble. i read through a few of these comments. it looks like people are trying to scam on a “beware of the scammers” page. just be carefull
i got the same crap today to i told my self na this cant be true nothings free in this world . I searched it and good thing i saw your people’s comments.
If it sounds to good to be true it usually is
Want to get out of your contract fast….
Better get out of it in three days…..
CONTACT……
http://www.TheOwnersAdvocate.Com
((((They helped us, let them help you.))))
Hey All,
I have received the blue post cards in the past but today I got an entire letter! Stating that I could win either the BMW, Mercedes, blah blah blah. The crazy thing is someone who used to live at this address got the same exact letter! It’s sad that scheme scam companies are around and prey on the uninformed and elderly.
I applaud the people who worked there and then quit.
Thank everyone for posting your comments. During the week I went to a local grocery store to do some shopping. My husband recently lost his job. Just as we approached the store there was a table set up with pens and forms to fill out to win a brand new car. Two men one dressed nice the other dressed down were standing announcing to fill out forms for a chance to win the car. So I decided to fill out a form as I was doing so the dress down man saw that I filled out household income over $50,000 after I filled out form and put in dropped box he immediately said if we knew the area out in Canyon Lake “Silverleaf Resort” well my husband has worked around that area before and knows about the resort but not much. The man said we qualified for a one day pass to visit and see if we would like to become members of the resort. That it would be great for our kids to spend the day there etc. etc. and that we need to give a deposit of $20 and stay for a 90 minute presentation and when we get there that they would guarantee to give us $40 on a Visa credit debit card, a guaranteed winner for a trip of our choice to a crusie/Las Vegas/Orlando plus scratch off ticket to win a car,shopping spree, Romantic Island getaway or $500 cash the other man was just standing there kind of rude didn’t even make conversation with us but the dressed down man said the man was part owner of the Resort. My husband and I thought to ourselves this was maybe a sign from God because we were in need of money at this time since he recently lost his job. I was too happy and excited that I gave the man a check with the last $30 to our name. I wrote a check for $20. My husband and I just now realized we don’t have money to drive from San Antonio to Canyon Lake Tx so I decided to check out for scams thank you all for posting your comments. Now I will forget about my $20 not even stop pymt with my bank it’ll cost me more to do that and it’ll save me the money in gas to go all the way out there! We really fell for the scam. I can’t believe I gave them money to reserve my seating!
i just quit working for silverleaf resorts and it is one big scam, they GET YOUR NAMES FROM THE LITTLE THING YOU FILL OUT IN MALLS OR YOUR FRIENDS PUT YOU IN A REFERRAL PROGRAM…THEY CALL ABOUT 5 TIMES A WEEK AND TRY TO GET YOU TO COME OUT TO ONE OF THE RESORTS AND FEED YOU A BUNCH OF CRAP AND THERE IS A TWIST IN EVERY LITTLE THING WITH THEM!!
SO BOTTOM LINE BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY… IF THEY CALL YOU THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THEM IS TO ACTUALLY TELL THEM TO TAKE YOUR NAME OFF THE LIST AND DONT EVER CALL AGAIN BECAUSE THEN BY LAW THEY HAVE TO!!!!!OR ELSE THEY WILL KEEP CALLING!!
I just received the blue postcard and received the letter the other day. I’m also on the do no call list and on a list to not receive junk mail. Unfortunately, I still get it. I wish there was some way of going after these people and making them stop for good. It sickens me to know that there are people out there who prey on the unsuspecting. As many of us as there are on here complaining, I’m sure there are many, many others who fall for it. I’ve actually falled for a scam similar to this once before. I received a check for $3400.00 and was told to call such and such comapny for the remainder of the prize of $80,000.00. I called, was told to deposit the check and send a portion of it as “tax fees” to another address. Well, I deposited the check to see waht would happen. It was paid to me and then I decided not to send the “tax fee”figuring that it was a scam and I’d scam them back. Almost 2 months later they put a stop payment on that check. I took the information to the bank and explained to them what happened, I called the company and surprise, the number was no longeer valid. I then took the information to the police and filed a police report. The bank eventually returned the money to me along with the overdraft fees that were incurred from the stop payment. The bank said that they would go after the company since they put the stop payment on the check so late. I haven’t a clue what happened after that, all I know is I got them back and was able to keep their money.
My husband told me to call the number anyway so we can mess with them at the “reservation to view the resort”. So, I did, and the reservation is in two weeks. I’ll report then what happens…and like the guy who had fun with his reservation, we’re planning to do the same. It’ll be a fun day!
It’s full fo crap. They wanted to see my credit card, which left a bad taste in my mouth. My wife an I were not going to buy. We had a Sunday morning to kill, and it was a nice 50 minute drive from where we live. The pressure was to sing on the spot. What people sign these things on the spot. Especially without a lawyer to check it out. Anyway. I was getting tired of listening to this sales rap, and when the sales rep decided it was time for us to go see the property, I stated “before we go I want to discuss this with my wife. In total disrespet to my wife, he statd “why dod you have to discuss it with her”. I can answer any question. I told him that I want to discuss it with my wife, and he should excuse himself from the table so my wife and I could talk. The sales rep escused himself, and my wife and I spoke and we agreed that we had enough and we never cared about free prizes (I went into this smelling a scam, and looking for cheating). Once the sales rep came back over to our table I told him that we wouldn’t waste anymore of his time and we were leaving and he got huffy and stated in a sarcastic voice “Well you don’t want your free gifts” I stated no and we left. Don’t fall for this nonsense. I have a saying. Your primary job in life is to hold onto your money. Everyone else’s job is to separate you from it. Don’t let it happen.
I received the blue card today. Not only is it too good to be true but the card was addressed to my Dad at my address. My Dad has been deceased for 15 years. Interesting scam trying to award cars and cash to dead people….what a bunch of jackasses!
THANKS FOR GOOGLE…..THE WAY THEY SPEAK TO U MAN IT FEELS LIKE YOU REALLY WON IT………THANKS A LOT FOR ALL THE POSTS HERE……..I WAS ACTUALLY THINKING HAVE THEY GONE MAD TO GIVE SUCH CARS NAD HOLIDAYS………ANYWAYS THANK YOU VERY MUCH ….
BTW I RECEIVED THIS MAIL TODAY AND IT LOOKED SO REAL AND PROMISING BUT IT IS SCAM ……..
THANKS,
HONEY FROM TEXAS
Got the same blue postcard in the mail. Went to the presentation. Did not want to buy. One question ???? Does anyone know anybody who has EVER won the prizes or at least taken the vacations decribed in the package??