Fathom Group Reports & Reviews

Fathom Group LLC Reports & Reviews (1)

Victim Location 28120
Type of a scam Travel/Vacations

Person contacted my elderly parents stating that they wanted to talk to them about an upgrade to their timeshare. When the meeting occurred, they were lured into signing an agreement to let the company, listed as Orlando Ventures Inc DBA Helping Timeshare Owners, help them get out of their timeshare. They were also lured into signing a vague agreement with a company called Fathom Group LLC which promised them the same thing as well as a new membership into a vacation club at reduced prices. They were told to fill out a credit card application for credit of $15,000 to pay an amount of $14,700 for the services, which they did. Once this was done, the bank issued a check but the person working with my parents stated that he could not deposit the check because the amount was too large and he had not been with the company long enough to handle that amount of money. He stated that he had been with the company for 3 years. So, he sent the bank check to my mother as a "refund" and had her give him a personal check that he could cash once the bank check was deposited. She was not comfortable with this so she did not cash the bank check. Instead, we contacted the bank and asked for advise on what to do with it. We were advised that we could void the check and they would credit the account for the amount. Once we verified the account had a $0 balance, we closed the credit card account. I spoke with the person representing the Fathom Group, LLC, Mr James Galihugh, to advise him that my parents would not be requiring his services. He became very defensive and tried to state that the rescission period had passed and that they were now obligated to pay him for services that he had already started for processing. When I countered him that no monies had been paid to him so they were not obligated to anything, he became hostile and stated that he would see what ramifications there would be for breaching the contract. The contract does not state anywhere that there is a time frame to back out of a decision, nor does it state the amount of money required to fulfil their promises. Additionally, when I asked him about working with Orlando Ventures, he denied that this was the company he was working with and stated that he was working with Resort Closings "or something like that". The "contract" initialed by my parents clearly states that it is for Orlando Ventures, Inc DBA Helping Timeshare Owners. Another set of papers that were initialed has a logo for Fathom Group LLC, which he claims to be his company and does not state anything about monies to be paid with the exception of a sales brochure for a vacation club that quotes a price of $49,000 but has some "discounts" which brings the cost down to just under $15,000 which is the amount of credit he urged my parents to apply for with the bank. On February 9, my father was sent an email with an invoice by Fathom Group LLC to pay $14,700 immediate or face being turned over to a collection agency. Moreover, Mr Galihugh has made several calls to my mother, which she will not answer, but does not leave any messages. He continues to harass my parents and has now resorted to scare tactics to try and get the money from them, which they do not have.

After doing extensive research on this company as well as Orlando Ventures DBA Helping Timeshare Owners, I found several complaints for Orlando Ventures and HTO stating that people had paid money only to find that their solution was a foreclosure of their timeshare property and a detrimental hit on their credit. I contacted the timeshare resort that my parents own and they state that they do not conduct any business with this company or Fathom Group LLC, and advised of 2 other businesses they work with that are legitimate businesses for timeshare resell. I asked them how a company like that could do something that the owner themselves could not do. I was advised that the company will send a legal notice to the timeshare company stating that they have been retained by the owner and that all communication between the resort and the owner will have to cease. They stated that once they receive this legal notice, they cannot contact the owner at all. I have also read complaints and was advised that the owners are told to stop all payments on their timeshare because they have no more obligation to pay as they have been released from the responsibility when, in fact, what has happened is that the resort/bank has foreclosed on the property for non-payment which leaves the owner's credit ruined. I have tried calling HTO but only get a voice mail to leave a message. I have conducted research on Fathom Group LLC and have found that they have no business license listing within the cities of Myrtle Beach, N Myrtle Beach and within Horry County to operate. I have also found that the address listed on the invoice/email is nothing more than a shopping center with no business listing of Fathom Group LLC. The only business listing at the address is the UPS store. The business license department did advise that there was a listing for Fathom Realty but the license was terminated in 2015.

Since Mr Galihugh stated he was not working with HTO, but was working with Resort Closings, I tried calling this company to verify that they did indeed work with the Fathom Group LLC. I could not get a call to go through to this company listed in Bozeman, Mt, as if the numbers had been disconnected, and found a notice of federal injunction against them listed on the ScamPulse.com for fraud. The injunction states that they must state this on their website and any website affiliated with their company. They have not done this as their website does not have any information about it. I have also tried to contact the Fathom Group LLC with the telephone number listed on the email and only get a voice mail.

I believe that this is a scam using several company names to try and get money from unsuspecting elderly people.

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Fathom Group LLC Reports & Reviews (1)

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