Manhattan Club Lawsuit

Hi Roseanne, there is NO class action lawsuit. Jean-Marc Zimmerman is representing numerous TMC clients. Chris V has outlined the contact information for Mr. Zimmerman in his response

matthew432 wrote:

Like Dennis R., we never had an issue regarding staying at the Manhattan Club at our desired time in the 22 years we have owned here - they went out of their way for us as New Year's is our anniversary & Valentine's Day my birthday. Yes, the Maintenance fees have climbed dramatically, but look at the location. We too have received paperwork from Timeshare Interval Administration, who is handling the change in Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure process. Having been taken advantage of more than once by firms taking our funds to change the title and then not delivering, the fact that this firm is not listed on Manhattan Clubs site, BBB or can be pulled up by Google made us quite nervous. Taking this offer will rid us of the past 2 years of maintenance fees which Vacation Consulting was supposed to pay after we paid them to change the deed. Unfortunately, we may never see the $6500 we paid for this service. Looking forward to joining the class action lawsuit and further information. Roseanne

Matthew, Timeshare Interval is owned and operated by a gal who formerly worked for The Manhattan Club. She showed up on LinkedIn.

Only those who have stopped paying the maintenance fees being offered the $100 buy back makes sense. However, I’m still paying on my studio split week. What do you think the chances are they would forgive the mortgage?? I’m sure slim to none...but has anyone been able to give back their timeshare if they still owed on it?? (Less than $5,000) Thanks!

I disagree that those leaving without paying do us who stay a disservice. There were too many timeshares sold. If Bluegreen can keep the number where it should be, all of us benefit from greater availability. Also, with fewer time shares out, ours will regain value. I agree that the fees are too high.

I would suggest that anyone who is interested in knowing BLUEGREEN’S full understanding of just how much interest they own at TMC please read the Offering Plan (the most current plan) Which outlines JUST EXACTLY HOW MUCH OF A HOLD THEY HSVE OVER TMC. ITS NOT THAT THEY SIMPLY HAVE UNITS THAT MUST BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THEM, THEY CAN DEMAND THAT THE UNITS ARE AVAILABLE TO YHEM AT THE LADT MINUTE IF NEEDED. Owners have to make their reservations 6 months in advance. It’s not clear if BLUEGREEN pays the same maintenance fees as regular owners. I would love for one of the REALLY SAAVY OWNERS to study this section and see if they agree with how I’m reading it.

dennisd273 wrote:

I disagree that those leaving without paying do us who stay a disservice. There were too many timeshares sold. If Bluegreen can keep the number where it should be, all of us benefit from greater availability. Also, with fewer time shares out, ours will regain value. I agree that the fees are too high.

where can you obtain a copy of the offering plan?

The Offering Plan was supposed to be given to you at the time of purchase. TMC VERY SELDOM complied with this law. I got mine in the mail 6 months after I purchased my unit. This is one of the many violations found by the NYAG during the Investigation. The Offering Plan MUST INCLUDE ALL OPERATIONAL PROCESSES AND ALL RIGHTS FOR OWNERS AND FOR TMC. THE NYAG found many, many issues with the Offering Plan which turned out to be a bunch of BS and was seldom, if ever, followed. The Offering Plan is a paperback book about 5 inches thick so you would remember if you received it.

pegc29 wrote:

where can you obtain a copy of the offering plan?

Let me get this right Donna. You want the Manhattan club to not only forgive your maintenance fees but your $5,000 mortgage as well?

donnak412 wrote:

Only those who have stopped paying the maintenance fees being offered the $100 buy back makes sense. However, I’m still paying on my studio split week. What do you think the chances are they would forgive the mortgage?? I’m sure slim to none...but has anyone been able to give back their timeshare if they still owed on it?? (Less than $5,000) Thanks!

Donnak412

I'm still paying the mortgage but not the MF, hope I get the buying back offer as soon as possible.

Everyone zeros in on the maintenance fees. While they are high, I see other problems. Is it really legal for a developer not to turn over the management to a board compiled of owners? Doesn't the law in New York address this? That was number 1 of my complaints. Others include the fact that TMC shouldn't be denying owners to exchange with whatever exchange company they want. They exclude an owner from Interval World because they have a contract with RCI. This is wrong and could it be "steering"? Is it not interfering with an ownership right? TMC owners should be excluded from paying any other fees to another property. This is being done. Therefore, outsiders who exchange into TMC should be charged for cleaning, wifi and the business center. What is going on is not equitable. Mangement should be offering more to their owners, such as cruises, tours, etc. Owners should always come first but instead, they are ignored. They have a long way to go to compete with the big boys.

As far as RCI goes, since they have a point conversion, they should change their exchange fee. To pay $239 for every exchange (and they are multiple) it is highway robbery. You get to the point where it doesn't make sense to make that paltry exchange. I have 40 points left over this year. I am actually better off forgetting about it if I have to pay $239 for an inferior property.

Hello. For those owners that are presently up-to-date on their maintenance fees I was wondering if any had received or was contacted about the second round of payments from the NYS settlement that was due in August. I did not receive any compensation last August nor have I ever received any correspondence concerning the settlement. Thank you.

Kevin,

I had forgotten about the second round of payments re the settlement. I received a small payment a couple of years ago but have heard nothing since. Thanks for the reminder.

First, I've always paid my fees, and used my weeks. I had the luxury of having a job where I could ask for time off way in advance and it was honored. Some peoples' jobs are such that they couldn't ask much in advance, also if they had jobs that made them change the time off they requested, then they could lose out. But I was lucky.

As to nonpayers hurting others: I rather doubt it and I'll explain why. If you didn't pay your fees, you didn't get a week, and that left the Manhattan Club free to rent your week out to individuals, or a wholesaler. Since NYC is a pretty high demand place, I suspect they were able to recoup most of the loss.

They may not have gotten the same exact amount as the maintenance fee, but I would guess they got 60-80%. If the resort wasn't in NY, then I could see them having a hard time replacing the lost income or filling the rooms.

To be fair, we'd have to account for what they made in rental against what was lost in maintenance fees. However, I don't trust that the Manhattan Club put most of that money toward the lost maintenance fees and fear they may have pocketed it, but that is their bad.

Maybe someone with more knowledge on this whole process would know, but with the rentals available on Booking.com, Expedia.com, etc., I doubt they let a unit sit empty if they could help it.

reilly850,

your comments and analysis regarding maintenance fees make a great deal of sense.

reilly850 wrote:

First, I've always paid my fees, and used my weeks. I had the luxury of having a job where I could ask for time off way in advance and it was honored. Some peoples' jobs are such that they couldn't ask much in advance, also if they had jobs that made them change the time off they requested, then they could lose out. But I was lucky.

As to nonpayers hurting others: I rather doubt it and I'll explain why. If you didn't pay your fees, you didn't get a week, and that left the Manhattan Club free to rent your week out to individuals, or a wholesaler. Since NYC is a pretty high demand place, I suspect they were able to recoup most of the loss.

They may not have gotten the same exact amount as the maintenance fee, but I would guess they got 60-80%. If the resort wasn't in NY, then I could see them having a hard time replacing the lost income or filling the rooms.

To be fair, we'd have to account for what they made in rental against what was lost in maintenance fees. However, I don't trust that the Manhattan Club put most of that money toward the lost maintenance fees and fear they may have pocketed it, but that is their bad.

Maybe someone with more knowledge on this whole process would know, but with the rentals available on Booking.com, Expedia.com, etc., I doubt they let a unit sit empty if they could help it.

I believe regardless of weather an owner is eligible for a payment or not some type of correspondence should have been be sent to all owners concerning this settlement/issue.Had it not been for this Redweek site along with the Yahoo Manhattan Club page and the various news releases two years ago I would not have been aware of the Manhattan Club matter.Thank you to those who responded to my inquiry.

Hello. For those owners that are presently up-to-date on their maintenance fees I was wondering if any had received or was contacted about the second round of payments from the NYS settlement that was due in August. I did not receive any compensation last August nor have I ever received any correspondence concerning the settlement. Thank you.

I did speak many months ago with the AG assigned and he stated that checks would be mailed to those of us current on our fees etc according to the settlement for the second round of payments. I have not heard or seen anything either.

kevin631 wrote:

I believe regardless of weather an owner is eligible for a payment or not some type of correspondence should have been be sent to all owners concerning this settlement/issue.Had it not been for this Redweek site along with the Yahoo Manhattan Club page and the various news releases two years ago I would not have been aware of the Manhattan Club matter.Thank you to those who responded to my inquiry.

Hello. For those owners that are presently up-to-date on their maintenance fees I was wondering if any had received or was contacted about the second round of payments from the NYS settlement that was due in August. I did not receive any compensation last August nor have I ever received any correspondence concerning the settlement. Thank you.

kevin631 wrote:

I believe regardless of weather an owner is eligible for a payment or not some type of correspondence should have been be sent to all owners concerning this settlement/issue.Had it not been for this Redweek site along with the Yahoo Manhattan Club page and the various news releases two years ago I would not have been aware of the Manhattan Club matter.Thank you to those who responded to my inquiry.

Hello. For those owners that are presently up-to-date on their maintenance fees I was wondering if any had received or was contacted about the second round of payments from the NYS settlement that was due in August. I did not receive any compensation last August nor have I ever received any correspondence concerning the settlement. Thank you.

I keep current with my fees. I got $52 last year have seen nothing this year.

I seriously doubt that the M. Club was depositing rental revenue into the Manhattan Club HOA account. Remember, Eichner would take the position that he owned many of those units and that money was for the rental of his timeshares so the money belonged to him. I think we should make an inquiry of this to our non sponsored board members?? We need to know just where the rental monies go - who collects that income,- and who handles the rentals? Does one call up the Manhattan Club and try to rent a week there or a few days? In other words, does our staff there rent out the time?

Hi Paul, I saw your post and wondering how you went about getting the paperwork to get out. I am getting to old to go in and the maintenance is way to high. Anything you can tell me would be appreciated. Thanks Augie

Did you have to call to get the buy back? You said you were not current in your m/f. Someone said that you had to be current. Is this true, to your knowledge?