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laurah here's a letter i emailed to senator chuck schumer of new york. anxiously awaiting his response. the subject involves consumer fraud in the timeshare industry, i have owned shares in TMC for 7 years. the sales presentation was riddled with lies and fraudulent statements, e.g., maintenance fees would increase very slightly from year-to-year: from $600 at purchase to the current $3,500 (on average). owners have major difficulties getting desired reservations due to overselling of shares and management selling reservations on travel websites, e.g., hotels.com, booking.com, etc. purchasers were told of the extraordinary investment TMC is. currently, owners can't even give shares away, no less sell them: their market value is $0.00. the former nys attny general, eric schneiderman, after thousands of complaints from TMC shareowners, established litigation: nys ag vs TMC/ian bruce eichner (principal). he proved (and TMC admitted, probably as a plea bargain) TMC's sales fraud and lies by having his undercover agents sit and record at sales presentations all of the misleading and fraudulent pep talks by TMC's sales staff. FRAUD WAS PROVEN AND ADMITTED TO BY EICHNER. u s mail fraud, i assume, was also committed by eichner since he sent out brochures luring potential purchasers to sales presentations. schneider "won" the case which in itself was a very big joke. the penalty was (after fraudulently cheating over 14,000 TMC purchasers) a fine of $6.5 million and prohibition of eichner continuing in the timeshare business, a major blow to all shareowners. i present the above comments to you as an issue involving over 14,000 purchasers at TMC. all have been financially damaged by the results of the purchase from and association with TMC. i ask that you step in as a state senator to offer assistance to us owners. mr schneiderman won his TMC case as such, but left us owners at the mercy, or lack thereof, of TMC. we're still facing the dilemmas that we presented to eric schneiderman after his so-called victory. additionally, and on a broader level, there appears to be no state nor nationally enforced timeshare regulations. complaints of fraud and related illegal activity are a daily occurrence regarding hundreds of other timeshare companies. state and national legislation and regulations are essential regarding the timeshare industry to protect consumers' rights in new york and among all other states, since proven fraud is rampant in many timeshare companies. i am asking that you present my request to establish appropriate timeshare legislation to your colleagues and fellow senators. please respond positively to this request as we owners are depending on legislative relief concerning the purchase and ownership of timeshares in the fraudulent atmosphere many timeshare companies create for their financial benefit. SCHUMER'S EMAIL FORMAT STARTED WITH A SUBJECT LINE WHICH ISN'T COPIED HERE, AS I WROTE IT, THE SUBJECT LINE READS: THE NECESSITY FOR TIMESHARE FRAUD LEGISLATION, E.G., THE MANHATTAN CLUB (TMC) 200 W 56 ST, NYC, NY (FRAUD) [Q=laurah136] What is needed is legislation. All timeshares should have an exit program. What one does when younger becomes no longer feasible or wanted in later years because of age and because of all the costs that are added, whether it be by the timeshare companies or the exchange companies. We now have added to the brew companies that will get you out of your timeshare for a fee. The whole industry is fraught with scams. There are no regulations and the organization that gets your money purportedly to help you, helps the developer. Nip it in the bud.[/Q]