Manhattan Club Lawsuit

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pseda wrote:

Another question for someone out there. Why don't these timeshare companies have to come up with an opt out for owners after a period of time? You would think the natural attrition from one generation to the next would be incorporated into their programs. The fact that people are locked into these for life is wrong!!

The contract was written to sign you up for life and beyond...the timeshares become part of your total estate...I am well versed in this as I inherited my mother's 2 timeshares over 3 years ago. I was told I could not opt out of inheriting them unless I opted out of inheriting everything. Technically, if you have no heirs, they can come after your estate for the fees.

I have been part of this forum since June 2014, I have been interviewed by Jeff Weir, I have written all the letters that we have been asked to write to the Judge and the AG. I have survived treatment for a rare blood disorder, breast cancer, lost my entire family and have chosen to continue to pay my fees and enjoy the place until there is a resolution, rather than be continually outraged. And I trust there will be some sort of resolution...whatever that may be...There are bad people out there and bad things happen...that is life.

Have owned since 1997 and have grown tired of the timeshare as well as really tired of their out of sight maintenance fees; especially when there's no physical changes that we were promised would occur every 5 years (back then.) I still see the same room motive/colors they had when we first bought. I'm afraid the owners of TMC merely skimmed off what they could and did minimal in return for the actual owners. Shameful business practices. I understand that the timeshares are with you forever, but I truly don't want to pass these nightmares on to anyone I care for.

deborahs528 wrote:

pseda wrote:

Another question for someone out there. Why don't these timeshare companies have to come up with an opt out for owners after a period of time? You would think the natural attrition from one generation to the next would be incorporated into their programs. The fact that people are locked into these for life is wrong!!

The contract was written to sign you up for life and beyond...the timeshares become part of your total estate...I am well versed in this as I inherited my mother's 2 timeshares over 3 years ago. I was told I could not opt out of inheriting them unless I opted out of inheriting everything. Technically, if you have no heirs, they can come after your estate for the fees.

I have been part of this forum since June 2014, I have been interviewed by Jeff Weir, I have written all the letters that we have been asked to write to the Judge and the AG. I have survived treatment for a rare blood disorder, breast cancer, lost my entire family and have chosen to continue to pay my fees and enjoy the place until there is a resolution, rather than be continually outraged. And I trust there will be some sort of resolution...whatever that may be...There are bad people out there and bad things happen...that is life.

pseda, The judge's formal name, title, and address have been repeated frequently on this site. Look back a couple of pages. You'll also find complete name & address for the NYAG, to whom you should also send your complaints and TMC problems.

Charles 671, Actually this case hasn't been going on forever. It's been going on for 2 years. That is not at all unusual, particularly when the defendant is a millionaire who has teams of lawyers to drag out and delay findings and actions. It's a very complicated and convoluted case against well-established and very wealthy criminals. I think the AG's office is doing a great job in uncovering all the hidden criminal activities and money trails. It won't happen quickly, but action against the criminals appears bound to happen. I would also love to know if and how that action will benefit us owners, but I'm afraid we'll have to wait and see. It looks to me like the NYAG knows what he's doing.

maryb, I stopped both mortgage payments and annual maintenance fees this year, and it still feels like one of the best decisions I've made in a long time. Within about 2 months after stopping mortgage payments, my TransUnion credit score dropped 50 points & went from "Good" to "Poor." Through free CreditKarma, I was able to look at both my TransUnion and Equifax credit scores and reports and all the different elements in each report (for some reason, CreditKarma does not include Experian). I saw that Equifax did not carry any listing in my report from TMC or any of it's sub-companies. However, TransUnion carried Equiant Financial (for TMC) and reported me as "late" in making payments, which was the sole cause of my dropping 50 points. I wrote a 3-page letter to TransUnion, starting with my credit report number and my request that TransUnion delete the fraudulent charge from Equiant Financial. I then proceeded to explain that my deed, loan agreement, monthly payments and ALL TMC documentation is with T Park Central, and that I have no contractual or other agreement with Equiant Financial, who is fraudulently reporting me as making late payments. I then described the criminal case currently under way by the NYAG's office against TMC, the shell companies they have created to collect money from owners against the specific orders of the Court, and included links as well as printed pages of two of the NYAG's latest Court documents against TMC and Eichner. I also included a copy of one of my monthly payment requests from T Park Central advising that my payment is overdue (as proof that I'm not making payments to Equiant Financial). I concluded by stating that I can no longer make payments to this criminal organization and am awaiting the outcome of the NYAG's investigation. I stated that, in the meantime, TransUnion's inclusion of any reporting against me by Equiant Financial was not only fraudulent, but in direct opposition to the Court's order that TMC and Eichner may take no action against timeshare owners for non-payment while this Court case is active. Almost exactly 3 weeks after mailing my letter, my credit score when up 50 points, jumped from "poor" to "good" again and, through CreditKarma, I saw that Equiant Financial was completely deleted from my TransUnion report. Yesterday, I received a letter from TransUnion advising that their investigation is complete and the account has been deleted. I highly recommend stopping all payments of any kind to TMC and it's co-companies. If one or more of your credit reports takes a hit, write them a letter giving all the facts and get the action reversed. The evidence is all in our favor and very much against TMC/Eichner.

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure about the position I'm in, although I am writing letters to the appropriate parties.While we haven't used at TMC for quite some time, we've been exchanging to use the week to other RCI properties, somewhat mitigating the financial loss in making the maintenance payments. The selection is limited as we did not want to spend the thousands required to convert to points. Of course, exchanging costs money and we're not using where we bought or for the purpose we bought the TMC, i.e., nights in NYC.

Instead of going through the Credit Bureaus, I happened to answer a call from Equiant. They had no idea about the AG action vs T Park Central and I was asked about a late payment for my Timeshare in Florida! Then he said the Timeshare must be in PA because that's the address T Park Central uses on the payment account!

I explained the fact that this involves The Manhattan Club in NYC, the AG action and sent documentation about the investigation. My co-owner and me had the late payments removed and the loan removed. In my emails, I cc'd the AG's office, Greg Crist at NTOA and Redweek's Reporter Equiant to ask how to handle the remaining owner's "late" or non-payments. No response. I wanted a response in writing; hence, sending an email.

I sent this email to Jeff Weir today to explain the additional Fraud by TMC:

TMC owners have been hit HARD by negative credit for not paying mortgages. (btw: Equiant is not legally a mortgage payment processor and post "Personal Loan" on credit reports.)

Legally, because the "no foreclosure" injunction by the AG was recently upheld, there is no reason for people to Have To pay mortgages. It doesn't appear that the AG is looking at this income for T Park Central. Interestingly, Equiant goes from payment processor to Credit and Collections in a single bound.

Equiant is the payment processor for Timeshare Loans only, not Real Property Mortgages that we hold. NYS requires that a payment processor for Mortgages be Licensed Real Estate Brokers or Licensed Mortgage Brokers! (TMC breaking another law.)

Right before the AG filed the Investigation in July 2014, they CHANGED OUR OFFICIAL DEEDS TO TIMESHARES on the NYC records. Regardless, our hard copy paperwork is for Real Property Mortgages with T Park Central and Single Family Unit Deeds.

Many many owners want out of their monthly payments but like us, got negative credit hits for late payments. Our loan is now removed and no late payments shown. Equiant could get in a great deal of trouble. T Park Central ONLY uses its East Stroudsberg, PA address for ALL TMC payments.

I was directly asked by Equiant about my Timeshare in Florida! This company needs Federal Investigation. Many of us complained to the FTC and CFPB to no avail. Hmmm....

They knew NOTHING about The Manhattan Club Timeshare in Manhattan! More Fraud by T Park Central! Much to look into here.

Equiant Contacts: Michael Roberts, Account Manager 480-636-3327

Stan, Michael's Supervisor 480-636-4869

sallyw109 wrote:

maryb, I stopped both mortgage payments and annual maintenance fees this year, and it still feels like one of the best decisions I've made in a long time. Within about 2 months after stopping mortgage payments, my TransUnion credit score dropped 50 points & went from "Good" to "Poor." Through free CreditKarma, I was able to look at both my TransUnion and Equifax credit scores and reports and all the different elements in each report (for some reason, CreditKarma does not include Experian). I saw that Equifax did not carry any listing in my report from TMC or any of it's sub-companies. However, TransUnion carried Equiant Financial (for TMC) and reported me as "late" in making payments, which was the sole cause of my dropping 50 points. I wrote a 3-page letter to TransUnion, starting with my credit report number and my request that TransUnion delete the fraudulent charge from Equiant Financial. I then proceeded to explain that my deed, loan agreement, monthly payments and ALL TMC documentation is with T Park Central, and that I have no contractual or other agreement with Equiant Financial, who is fraudulently reporting me as making late payments. I then described the criminal case currently under way by the NYAG's office against TMC, the shell companies they have created to collect money from owners against the specific orders of the Court, and included links as well as printed pages of two of the NYAG's latest Court documents against TMC and Eichner. I also included a copy of one of my monthly payment requests from T Park Central advising that my payment is overdue (as proof that I'm not making payments to Equiant Financial). I concluded by stating that I can no longer make payments to this criminal organization and am awaiting the outcome of the NYAG's investigation. I stated that, in the meantime, TransUnion's inclusion of any reporting against me by Equiant Financial was not only fraudulent, but in direct opposition to the Court's order that TMC and Eichner may take no action against timeshare owners for non-payment while this Court case is active. Almost exactly 3 weeks after mailing my letter, my credit score when up 50 points, jumped from "poor" to "good" again and, through CreditKarma, I saw that Equiant Financial was completely deleted from my TransUnion report. Yesterday, I received a letter from TransUnion advising that their investigation is complete and the account has been deleted. I highly recommend stopping all payments of any kind to TMC and it's co-companies. If one or more of your credit reports takes a hit, write them a letter giving all the facts and get the action reversed. The evidence is all in our favor and very much against TMC/Eichner.

Thanks for this information. We intend to stop our payments in Jan. We have not used the club, and are fed up with the fraud the MC has done to us all. I only hope and pray they get their just due.

This is why Equiant Financial is located in Scottsdale,Az. and T. Park Central financial services (The Manhattan Club) is located in E. Stroudsburg,Pa.. Probably to evade NYS regulations. The Marquee on 7th Ave reads Park Central Hotel around the corner W56th St (same building) Marquee reads The Manhattan Club .

chis:::::::

i am a MC member as well. i am not a resident of NY state and was lead to believe in the beginning of this suit that it pertains only to NY state residents. is this still the case?

e.j. rossi

Thank you sallyw109 and others for sharing your stories. We've been paying and are tired of not seeing any returns: We haven't been able to use the property for 2 years, nor have we been able to use the converted RCI points. The whole reason we joined MC is because we live 25 miles from NYC and we wanted to take mini-vacations to the city, because all of our big chunks of vacation time are used visiting family far away. We've gone one time since we bought in 2011. Very disappointing, to say the least, but we're very thankful that there is action being taken.

No, The lawsuit is the NYS Attorney General versus the Manhattan Club and its business practices.It doesn't involve any of the multitude of the unhappy timeshare owners from any particular state or country but all owners are anxiously awaiting the results to make a decision for themselves as how to deal with their issues .Until this lawsuit is over all transactions have been frozen (sales,foreclosures,accounts,etc).It seems to me that anyone who purchased a defined week ( One of the 52 specific weeks in a year) is in fairly good shape. However all of the bitterness and confusion comes into play if you were sold an undefined "FLEXTIME" version (BIENNIAL,TRIENNIAL,ETC), where the days you can book are hazy ,subject to restricted times of year, and competing with other "flextime" owners mixed in with regular year round hotel guests.These "flextime" contracts were oversold resulting in the frustration and anger you read about on these pages.The mortgage papers on two documents include this clever statement on the bottom "This contract is irrevocable" making it difficult to sell,give back or give away for free. Included in the mortgage payment is a monthly deduction from the principal of a $10. service fee for Equiant Financial in Scottsdale ,Az. aside from the interest. This needs to be fixed, "flextime" needs to be looked at because it is a very vague,gray area in timeshare.In May of 2008 when I sat down with the salesman he sold me a 7 day per year Manhattan Club "Metropolitan Suite" timeshare, after sleeping on it overnight I decided that it was too costly and approached him the next day to cancel as I was within the 7 day" right to cancel" period. The salesman not wanting to lose the sale then went to his back up plan and introduced me to the more "ECONOMICAL" "FLEXTIME" version(TRIENNIAL) 7 days over 3 years with the maintenance due every 3 years, he redrew up all the papers which I foolishly signed off on(How bad could this be?).. I should have walked out. In their high pressure quest for sales this scenario was probably repeated with a lot of others besides myself resulting in the current situation today.

Many owners do not aware and do not realize the real amount of the MC Ownership interest types being offered for sale, because MC sent owners TRUNCATED Annual Budgets, where Schedule A was cut off and was not supplemented with it's FootNotes.

Below is the example of a missed part of Schedule A where you can see a 'menu' of interests per each type of unit. Then, each type of Ownership interest in each Timeshare Unit is equal to a fraction, the numerator of which is one (1) and the denominator of which is fifty-two (52) in the case of an "Annual" Ownership Interest, one hundred four (104) in the case of a "Biennial" Ownership Interest, one hundred fifty-six (156) in the case of a "Triennial" Ownership Interest and Two Hundred Eight (208) in the case of a "Quadrennial" Ownership Interest.

The below Budget excerpt was projected for the year 2012 and presented at the Court Doc 401 "EXCERPT OF 8TH RESTATED PLAN (SCHEDULES A-B)".

Budgets sent to owners are also lack of number of Owners at Schedule B which supposed to be a basis to figure out the income from collecting maintenance fees. Thus the posted at the Court Docs Budget 2012 discloses the number of Owners" as of March 15,2011 and projected new Owners through 2012 in Phases I, II, III, IV & V. "

Now imagine the real picture of the reservation schedules chaos...plus renting to the public...and resulted lack of reservations for owners. ********************************** SCHEDULE A - PURCHASE PRICES AND RELATED INFORMATION

EXECUTIVE SUITE TIMESHARE UNITS / SALES PRICE/ MORTGAGE / MORTGAGE MONTHLY (15 Interest types)

Platinum Flex $42,800 $38,520 $694 New Year Flex $42,800 $38,520 $694 Gold Flex $37,800 $34,020 $613 Biennial Platinum Flex $24,600 $22,140 $399 Biennial New Year Flex $24,600 $22,140 $399 Biennial Gold Flex $19,800 $17,820 $321 Triennial Gold Flex $13,200 $11,880 $214 Biennial Split Platinum Flex $24,600 $22,140 $399 Biennial Split New Year Flex $24,600 $22,140 $399 Biennial Split Gold Flex $19,800 $17,820 $321 Triennial Split Gold Flex $15,500 $13,950 $251 Quadrennial Gold Flex $12,500 $11,250 $203 Quadrennial Split Gold Flex $12,500 $11,250 $203 Quadrennial Split Alternative Gold Flex $12,500 $11,250 $203

FULL ONE-BEDROOM TIMESHARE UNITS (15 interest types)

Platinum Flex $48,000 $43,200 $778 New Year Flex $48,000 $43,200 $778 Gold Flex $45,000 $40,500 $730 Biennial Platinum Flex $26,000 $23,400 $422 Biennial New Year Flex $26,000 $23,400 $422 Biennial Gold Flex $23,000 $20,700 $373 Triennial Gold Flex $18,000 $16,200 $292 Biennial Split Platinum Flex $26,000 $23,400 $422 Biennial Split New Year Flex $26,000 $23,400 $422 Biennial Split Gold Flex $23,000 $20,700 $373 Triennial Split Gold Flex $18,000 $16,200 $292 Quadrennial Gold Flex $15,500 $13,950 $251 Quadrennial Split Gold Flex $15,500 $13,950 $251 Quadrennial Split Alternative Gold Flex $15,500 $13,950 $251

METROPOLITAN SUITE TIMESHARE UNITS (15 interest types)

New Year Flex $32,560 $29,304 $528 Gold Flex $30,750 $27,675 $499 Biennial New Year Flex $23,000 $20,700 $373 Biennial Gold Flex $15,500 $13,950 $251 Triennial Gold Flex $11,270 $10,143 $183 Biennial Split New Year Flex $23,000 $20,700 $373 Biennial Split Gold Flex $15,500 $13,950 $251 Triennial Split Gold Flex $11,270 $10,143 $183 Quadrennial Gold Flex $10,500 $ 9,450 $170 Quadrennial Split Gold Flex $10,500 $ 9,450 $170 Quadrennial Split Alternative Gold Flex $10,500 $ 9,450 $170

MASTERPIECE PENTHOUSE SUITES (7 interest types)

HalfMoon Flex $39,700 $35,730 $644 Full Moon Flex $46,400 $41,760 $752 Biennial Full Moon Flex $27,840 $25,056 $451 Biennial Split Full Moon Flex $27,840 $25,056 $451 New Year Flex $49,300 $44,370 $799 Biennial New Year Flex $29,580 $26,622 $480 Biennial Split New Year Flex $29,580 $26,622 $480

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=UWVTFzfFlhycSuSu3s7t2g==&system=prod

Thanks, fibon, for all this info, tho I have to admit it's very confusing to me. All I can say is, if what Eichner's side reports looks bad, just imagine how much worse it really is, because I'm sure they are not being truthful about anything.

Serwat Farooq is no longer representing the NY AG's office on the TMC case. She has withdrawn from the case.

hi irene,

"Serwat Farooq is no longer representing the NY AG's office on the TMC case. She has withdrawn from the case."..............................that being noted, who is the replacement? any reason given for the withdrawal?..............................the plot thickens, and so it goes....on and on,

keep in touch.

chrisv

irenes93 wrote:

Serwat Farooq is no longer representing the NY AG's office on the TMC case. She has withdrawn from the case.

Here is the excerpt from the Serwat Farooq's Notice of Withdrawal of Attorney: "The remaining attorneys of record from the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York shall continue to represent Petitioner in this matter".

Court Doc 414 https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=Qb63F/q3d90DIIuRoeyuTQ==&system=prod

Sample letter to the Judge

Honorable Justice Eileen Rakower Supreme Court of the State of New York  71 Thomas St. Part 15 New York, New York 10013 Regarding case number 451536/2014: Schneiderman vs Eichner:

Dear Judge Rakower,

Thank you for all you have done in recognizing the plight of Manhattan Club Timeshare owners. Your opinions mentioning Timeshare owners have given us hope justice will prevail.

18,000 plus people have been defrauded by the Manhattan Club Timeshare Scam. We were told the Manhattan Club was exclusive to timeshare owners, the maintenance fees would increase no more than 5% a year and the Manhattan Club timeshare would appreciate in value. As the evidence the New York Attorney General’s office has shown all these statements by Manhattan Club representatives were outright misrepresentations. Manhattan Club timeshares are worth less than one dollar. Many Manhattan Club Timeshare owners paid from $25,000 to $90,000 for Manhattan Club one dollar value timeshares. The Manhattan with its 286 rooms also sold sections of those rooms outright to BlueGreen and other entities. The 18, 000 plus timeshare owners were never notified of these transactions. Additionally, the Manhattan Club rented rooms to the general public on sites like hotel.com in complete violation of their exclusive timeshare only agreement with timeshare purchasers. Maintenance fees for the Manhattan Club skyrocketed from an initial $586 dollars per year to over $3,000 per year. These exorbitant fee increases were accompanied by the almost complete lack of room availability for timeshare owners while rooms were available for the general public. The Manhattan Club was aggressive about the payment of yearly maintenance fees, filing adverse credit reports, harassing via email, phone and mail.

I ask you include in your final decision in the Manhattan Club Timeshare Scam case a provision for full financial compensation for owners for our initial timeshare investment and for the years fees were paid when no reservations were available. We understand 7 million dollars has been suggested as compensation for BlueGreen Manhattan Club Timeshare owners. No figure has been even offered yet for compensation for the largest group of Manhattan Club owners. We ask that we be recognized and compensated in full for our losses.

Thank you for your time and consideration with this matter.

Sincerely,

XXXXXX A Manhattan Club Timeshare Owner

Since Serwat Farooq always used Esquire with the name, I assumed Serwat was a he. Whichever, I'm sorry for this loss. Maybe he/she was moved on to a bigger case, or got promoted to another job. I hope the replacement is as good or better.