Trident timeshare exit reviews: what Nevada owners should know

Last updated 2026-07-25

What is Trident and how does its timeshare exit process work?

Trident is a name that shows up in searches alongside other Las Vegas and Nevada-area timeshare exit companies. Like most firms in this space, the general pitch is the same: pay an upfront fee, and the company will contact your resort or developer, negotiate a release from your contract, and get your deed or points cancelled. Nevada has become a hub for these businesses partly because of loose licensing rules for general business activity and partly because so many timeshare resorts and their corporate offices sit in or near Las Vegas. The actual mechanics vary by company. Some claim to negotiate directly with the resort. Others funnel your file to a law firm that sends demand letters. Some use a "do not pay" strategy where they tell you to stop paying maintenance fees while they "work" your case, which can wreck your credit and trigger foreclosure before anything gets resolved. We are not a law firm and we don't contact resorts or developers on anyone's behalf. If you're evaluating any exit company, including Trident, the burden is on you to verify licensing, get a written contract with a clear refund policy, and confirm nothing in their process asks you to stop paying money you contractually owe. The FTC's own enforcement history in this exact industry is blunt on this point: companies that take payment before delivering results are the recurring pattern behind its lawsuits, including the 2021 case discussed below ^[1].

Is Trident (or any Nevada exit company) a scam?

We can't tell you that a specific company is or isn't a scam without a live legal case naming them, and we don't have one to cite here. What we can tell you is how to check for yourself, and what red flags the FTC and state attorneys general have repeatedly flagged in this exact industry. The Nevada Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection accepts complaints against businesses operating in the state and publishes guidance on how to file one ^[2]. Before paying any exit company a dollar, search the company name plus "attorney general" and the state name, and check the Better Business Bureau profile for pattern complaints, more than star ratings. The FTC has brought real enforcement actions in this exact space. In July 2021, the FTC and the Missouri Attorney General sued a group of timeshare exit companies operating as "Timeshare Exit Team" and related entities (including Resort Advisory Group and Preferred Law), alleging they took upfront fees from consumers, often thousands of dollars, and failed to deliver the cancellations they promised. The FTC's complaint states the defendants "falsely told consumers they would cancel their timeshares, typically within months, in exchange for an up-front fee ranging from $2,300 to more than $10,000" ^[1]. That case is a useful template for what regulators consider illegal: taking money up front for a service you can't reliably deliver, with vague or false promises about timelines. Red flags worth memorizing: guarantees of a full exit, pressure to sign the same day, requests to route payment through a third-party escrow you can't verify, and any instruction to stop paying your maintenance fees or loan. None of these are proof of fraud on their own, but together they're the exact pattern regulators have sued over before.

How much does a timeshare exit company like Trident charge?

Upfront fees across the industry typically run from $2,000 to $10,000, matching the range the FTC cited in its 2021 complaint against Timeshare Exit Team and related defendants, with many firms clustering around $4,000 to $6,000 depending on how many deeds or contracts you're trying to exit and whether the timeshare is paid off or still has a loan balance ^[1]. Some companies charge more for point-based ownership with multiple resort affiliations, since those contracts can be harder to unwind. A few firms offer payment plans instead of a lump sum, which sounds friendlier but can mean you keep paying an exit company monthly while still owing maintenance fees to the resort, doubling your monthly outflow during the process. Here's the honest math problem: if your annual maintenance fee is $1,200 and rising 5% a year, walking away without paying an exit firm at all (through a legitimate deed-back program, if your resort offers one) costs you nothing beyond the paperwork and possibly a small transfer fee. Paying $5,000 to a company with no guarantee of success means you need that company to save you more than four years of maintenance fees just to break even, and that's before counting the years you might spend waiting for the exit to actually close. Some companies structure fees around a percentage of what they say your timeshare is "worth," which is a soft number they control. Always ask for the total dollar fee in writing before signing anything, not a percentage tied to an appraisal you can't verify.

Should I try a rescission window before hiring an exit company?

Yes, always check this first. Every state has a rescission period, a short window after signing when you can cancel a timeshare purchase for any reason, no explanation needed, and get your money back. This window is your cheapest and fastest exit if you're still inside it. Rescission periods vary significantly by state, from as short as three days in some states to as long as 15 or more days in others, and the clock usually starts the day you sign or the day you receive your final disclosure documents, depending on the state. Nevada's timeshare statutes, codified at NRS Chapter 119A, set specific disclosure and cancellation requirements for developers operating in the state, including a rescission period spelled out under NRS 119A.410 ^[3]. Confirm your state's actual rescission window and its start date before assuming you've missed it. Don't rely on a sales rep's verbal summary of the deadline; read your contract's cancellation clause directly, since it's required to state the deadline in writing. If you're still inside your window, send a written cancellation notice by certified mail (keep the receipt), reference the specific contract or timeshare interest number, and don't rely on a phone call alone. If you're past the window, rescission isn't available, and you're into a different set of options: deed-back programs, resale, or a paid exit company. For a fuller walkthrough of how these windows work state by state, see how to get out of a timeshare.

How do you get out of a timeshare without paying a company?

The cheapest paths out don't involve an exit company at all. Start with your resort's own deed-back or surrender program, sometimes called a deedback, deed-in-lieu, or exit program. Some major operators (Marriott Vacation Club's Exit program and Wyndham's Cancellation Program among them) have offered ways to hand back a deed directly, sometimes for a modest processing fee, sometimes for free, if your account is current and the unit is paid off. Call your resort's owner services line and ask directly: "Do you have a deed-back or surrender program, and what are the requirements?" Requirements usually include being current on maintenance fees, having no outstanding loan balance, and sometimes a minimum number of years of ownership. If your resort doesn't offer that, look at these paths in order of cost: - Resale: List it yourself on a timeshare resale marketplace or through a licensed timeshare resale broker. Expect to get very little, often nothing, since the resale market is flooded; you may need to pay closing costs just to transfer it.

• Donation: Some owners give the timeshare away, sometimes to a charity, sometimes just to another party willing to take over the deed and fees. You'll typically still cover transfer and closing costs.
• Deed-back or surrender, as above.
• Paid exit company, only after you've ruled out the above and verified the company's track record and contract terms. For owners who inherited a timeshare and don't want it, the deed-back or resort surrender program is usually the first call to make, since many resorts will work with an estate to take a paid-off unit back rather than see it go into default.

How do I sell a timeshare if I don't want to pay an exit company?

Selling is legal and sometimes works, but go in with realistic expectations: the resale market for timeshares is weak, and most owners recover a small fraction of what they paid, if anything. Timeshares are not an investment vehicle and were never designed to appreciate; the original purchase price includes heavy marketing and sales commission costs that don't transfer to a resale value. To sell, you generally have three channels: list it yourself on a timeshare resale site, use a licensed timeshare resale broker (confirm real estate licensing in the state where the property sits), or sell through a timeshare resale auction. Avoid any resale company that asks for an upfront listing fee promising a guaranteed buyer; that's a separate, well-documented scam pattern regulators have pursued directly, where scammers claim to have a buyer lined up and ask for fees to "close the deal" that never happens. If you do get a real offer, make sure the transfer goes through a title company or closing agent so the deed change is recorded and you're not left owing maintenance fees on a unit you thought you sold. A resale that isn't properly recorded with the resort's HOA can leave your name on the account for years. For a broader comparison of exit paths, see timeshare cancellation and how to get out of timeshare.

How much does a timeshare cost, really, beyond the purchase price?

The purchase price is the smallest number in the whole equation. Recent American Resort Development Association survey data has put average annual timeshare maintenance fees in the range of roughly $1,000 to $1,400 depending on the survey year, and average purchase prices have historically run in the low-to-mid five figures per interval ^[4]. Those maintenance fees are not fixed; they typically rise a few percentage points a year and can jump sharply after a special assessment for a major renovation or storm damage. Add it up over a typical ownership span and the real cost is far above the sticker price. A $20,000 purchase with a starting $1,000 annual fee rising 5% a year costs roughly $33,000 in fees alone over 20 years, on top of the purchase price and any financing interest if the timeshare was bought on a loan. That's the actual reason so many owners look for an exit in the first place: it's rarely about hating the vacations, it's about a fee structure that never stops climbing while the resale value drops toward zero the moment the contract is signed.

Are timeshares scams, or is it the exit industry that's the problem?

Timeshares themselves are legal, regulated products, not inherently scams, but the sales process has a well-documented history of high-pressure tactics, and the exit industry that sprang up around unhappy owners has its own scam problem layered on top. On the sales side, state attorneys general have pursued cases over deceptive timeshare sales practices for years; misrepresenting a timeshare as an "investment," pressuring buyers with limited-time-only deals, and understating true annual costs are common complaint patterns filed with state consumer protection offices. On the exit side, the FTC's 2021 action against Timeshare Exit Team and related defendants (including Resort Advisory Group and Preferred Law) is the clearest federal example of the exit-scam pattern: take an upfront fee, promise a cancellation, and fail to deliver ^[1]. The Missouri Attorney General ran the case jointly with the FTC, and the settlement included a permanent injunction barring the named defendants from timeshare exit telemarketing. So the honest answer is two-layered: the underlying product is legal but structurally expensive and hard to exit, and a subset of companies (on both the sales and exit sides) have crossed into deceptive or illegal territory. Neither fact should be news to anyone who has spent an afternoon in a timeshare sales presentation, but it's worth stating plainly because so much of the marketing on both sides tries to blur it.

What should I check before paying any Nevada exit company upfront?

Attorney general complaint history	Nevada's Bureau of Consumer Protection and your home state AG both take complaints; a pattern of unresolved complaints is a real signal [2]
Written refund policy	Get the exact conditions for a refund in the contract, not a verbal promise
No "stop paying" advice	Any company telling you to stop paying maintenance fees or your loan is pushing you toward default and credit damage
Fee structure in writing	Flat fee, not a vague percentage of "timeshare value"
Third-party escrow verification	Confirm any escrow account independently; don't wire funds based on the company's own instructions alone
Business license and years operating	Search the Nevada Secretary of State business search for registration status
BBB complaint pattern	Look past the star rating at the actual complaint narratives
Realistic timeline	Legitimate negotiated exits often take many months to over a year; anyone promising 30 days should raise a flag	None of these checks guarantee a company is legitimate, and none of them are a substitute for reading your own contract closely. But together they filter out most of the worst actors, and they cost you nothing but time. For a rundown of how different exit companies compare on these exact points, see timeshare exit companies.

Run this checklist before you sign anything or send a deposit, whether the company is Trident or any competitor: | Check | Why it matters |

What if I already paid an exit company and nothing happened?

First, gather every document: the contract you signed, proof of payment, and any written promises about timelines or refunds. Then file a complaint with your state attorney general's consumer protection division and with the FTC directly through its complaint portal, since federal enforcement patterns (like the 2021 case against Timeshare Exit Team and related entities) often start from a wave of individual complaints ^[1]. If you paid by credit card, look into a chargeback with your card issuer, especially if the company made specific promises in writing that it failed to deliver within a reasonable time. Card networks have dispute windows too, often 60 to 120 days depending on the card issuer's policy, so don't wait if you already suspect the company failed you. If you paid by wire transfer or cashier's check, recovery options are much weaker; this is exactly why scam operators often insist on those payment methods over credit cards. Meanwhile, keep paying your actual maintenance fees and any loan payments unless and until you have a legally binding release from the resort or HOA in hand. Stopping payment while you fight with an exit company just adds foreclosure and credit damage on top of the money you already lost.

What's a lower-risk way to start the exit process myself?

Start with the free and low-cost steps before paying anyone. Call your resort's owner services line and ask about deed-back or surrender programs directly; write down who you spoke with and the date. Check your state's rescission rules even if you think your window has passed, since some states measure the deadline from disclosure delivery, not the signing date, and errors in the original paperwork can sometimes reopen options. If you decide a paid exit path or professional help makes sense for your situation, treat it as a research project, not a decision to make on a single phone call. A structured approach, comparing your resort's own programs, resale, and any paid options side by side with total costs written down, beats reacting to a single sales pitch from any one company. We built a $149 one-time Timeshare Exit Kit at ExitHonest for exactly this stage: it walks you through checking your rescission status, drafting a deed-back request to your resort, and building a documented paper trail before you consider paying anyone thousands of dollars. It's not a law firm service and it doesn't contact the resort for you; it's a structured way to do the free steps right, in order, so you don't skip the ones that could save you the most money. Whatever you choose, keep records of every call, every letter, and every payment. That paper trail is what protects you if you end up filing a complaint later.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get out of a timeshare?

Start by checking whether you're still inside your state's rescission window, since that lets you cancel for any reason within a short deadline after signing. If that window has passed, ask your resort about a deed-back or surrender program, try resale, or research paid exit companies carefully, checking attorney general complaint records first.

How do you get out of a timeshare if you already missed the rescission period?

Once rescission has passed, your main options are your resort's deed-back or surrender program (if it offers one), reselling through a licensed broker or resale marketplace, donating the timeshare to someone willing to take the deed, or hiring a vetted exit company. Keep paying maintenance fees during this process to avoid default and credit damage.

How to sell a timeshare?

List it yourself on a timeshare resale marketplace, use a licensed timeshare resale broker, or try a resale auction site. Expect a low sale price, often far below what you paid, and use a title company or closing agent to make sure the deed transfer is properly recorded with the resort.

How to sell timeshare fast without losing more money to fees?

Avoid any resale company charging upfront listing fees with a promised buyer; that's a common scam pattern regulators have warned about repeatedly. Price realistically, since most timeshares resell for a small fraction of the original cost, and use a licensed closing agent so the transfer records properly and you stop owing fees.

How to get rid of a timeshare you inherited but don't want?

Contact the resort directly and ask about a deed-back or surrender program for the estate; many resorts will accept a paid-off unit back rather than pursue an unwilling heir. You're not automatically obligated to keep an inherited timeshare, but you may need to formally decline it through the estate's probate process; check with the estate's attorney.

Are timeshares scams?

The underlying product is legal and regulated, not inherently a scam, but sales practices have a long history of high-pressure tactics, and a separate layer of exit companies has been sued by the FTC and state attorneys general for taking upfront fees without delivering promised cancellations. Both the product's true cost and some exit companies deserve scrutiny.

How much is a timeshare, on average?

Recent American Resort Development Association survey data has placed average annual maintenance fees generally in the $1,000 to $1,400 range depending on the survey year, with purchase prices for a timeshare interval historically running in the low-to-mid five figures. Actual prices range widely by resort brand, location, and unit size.

How much do timeshares cost over the long run?

Beyond the purchase price, expect an annual maintenance fee that typically rises a few percent a year, plus occasional special assessments for major repairs. A $20,000 purchase with a $1,000 starting fee rising 5% annually adds roughly $33,000 in fees alone over 20 years.

How much are timeshares to maintain each year?

Average annual maintenance fees have generally run $1,000 to $1,400 across recent American Resort Development Association industry survey data, though fees vary a lot by resort size, location, and amenities, and can rise well beyond that average after a special assessment.

Is Trident timeshare exit legitimate?

We don't have a specific enforcement record to cite naming this company either way. Before paying any exit company, check your state attorney general's complaint records and the Nevada Bureau of Consumer Protection, get the fee and refund terms in writing, and never agree to stop paying maintenance fees during the process.

What is a timeshare rescission period and how do I use it?

It's a short legal window after signing a timeshare contract when you can cancel for any reason and get your money back, no justification required. The exact number of days varies by state and sometimes starts from disclosure delivery rather than the signing date, so confirm your specific state's rule and send written cancellation by certified mail.

Can an exit company guarantee it will cancel my timeshare?

No legitimate company can guarantee an outcome, since the resort or HOA ultimately controls whether it accepts a deed-back or release. Treat any guarantee of success as a red flag; the FTC has sued companies making exactly this kind of promise, including the 2021 case against Timeshare Exit Team and related defendants, and won an injunction against them.

Sources

1. Federal Trade Commission v. Consumer Law Group of Missouri, LLC d/b/a Timeshare Exit Team, et al., FTC complaint and press release: FTC and Missouri enforcement action against timeshare exit companies for taking upfront fees of $2,300 to over $10,000 without delivering promised cancellations
2. Nevada Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection: How Nevada consumers can file a complaint against a business operating in the state
3. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 119A, Time Shares, Section 119A.410: Nevada's statutory rescission period and cancellation requirements for timeshare purchases
4. American Resort Development Association, Annual Report 2023 (ARDA): Average U.S. timeshare purchase price and average annual maintenance fee figures reported in ARDA industry surveys
5. Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2023: Scale of consumer fraud complaints reported to the FTC, including patterns relevant to resale and exit-fee scams