Manhattan Club Lawsuit

Did you ever have repercussions from not paying your fees? Like they threatened to foreclose and/or ding your credit rating?

John D.

They have never threatened to foreclose me and never had dinged my credit. But, I thought it was a good time to get out anyway, as you never know when they might try and do that. I've heard earlier that M/C tried to ding people's credit, but the consumer took it back to the credit agency stating the criminal wrongdoings of Manhattan Club and they got it reversed. It's tough for a criminal enterprise to successfully have a negative credit rating sustained against the consumer.

Thank you for all the suggestions and information. It seems that it is the right decision not to pay the exorbitant fees to the scammers and crooks who have victimized and conned all of us in the past. Hopefully no payment and will get my deed back sooner. During my younger days, I used to like the noisy dynamic and vibrant Times Square, Theater district, 5th Ave....I am more like my two physician daughters now who enjoy quieter areas such as Chelsea, Soho, Gramercy Park....etc. Time to move on.

Did anyone attend annual meeting yesterday?

I’ve own timeshare for years. Pay monthly dues. Gary

I have said this more than once in this forum: Beneficiaries by law may choose to not receive timeshares. They have one year to make this claim. I have put this on a sticky note in my revocable trust. Make sure they understand to not use it during the year!

Laura, is this true only for trusts? Or is it also true for any inheritance?

In regard to the inheritance of a TMC timeshare, I have read also of not being required to inherit timeshares, but wonder if the law is true in all states and for all timeshares? Ours are deeded and I have to wonder if that is any different than our deeded homes that our children also had nothing to do with the purchase but are responsible for the home, taxes etc when parents expire. Also remember Steven W's recommendation to have provision in our wills or trusts to deed TMC back to the club, and if TMC should refuse, then it would be deeded to someone we hate or the state of NY. Steven said he has been a NY attorney for 50 years. One problem is that a person can disclaim an inheritance but can not disclaim ONLY a part of the inheritance. would be grateful if anyone can clarify.

drusillam2 wrote:

In regard to the inheritance of a TMC timeshare, I have read also of not being required to inherit timeshares, but wonder if the law is true in all states and for all timeshares? Ours are deeded and I have to wonder if that is any different than our deeded homes that our children also had nothing to do with the purchase but are responsible for the home, taxes etc when parents expire. Also remember Steven W's recommendation to have provision in our wills or trusts to deed TMC back to the club, and if TMC should refuse, then it would be deeded to someone we hate or the state of NY. Steven said he has been a NY attorney for 50 years. One problem is that a person can disclaim an inheritance but can not disclaim ONLY a part of the inheritance. would be grateful if anyone can clarify.

Dru, I don't think I am going to clarify anything but I will share anyway. I lived in MA, my Mother was from VA and the time share is in NYC. I had lawyers from all 3 states tell me I had to inherit, that I could not disclaim only part of the inheritance, namely the TMC. We are currently working with our attorney to update our wills and trust and I printed out the statement from Steven the NY attorney and gave that to our attorney. We are asking that the timeshare be left to the State of NY. I don't want TMC to have it so they can sell it again. NY made me go through an ancillary probate and fleeced me for what they could, so let them deal with it, I say. Your statement wondering if the inheritance law is the same in all states is a valid one and one I would look into. I met owners at TMC from South Carolina, a couple of years ago, who stated they arranged it in their wills so that the TMC ends with their deaths and does not go into their estate.

Deborah S., thank you for that info. We are in NJ, contemplating a move to SC. Our trust was done here and will be revised in SC. The lawyers here who did our trust are licensed in NY but wouldn't touch getting TMC out of our trust, they said NY requires too much paper work. I am debating hunting up a NYC lawyer to have him get ours out of the trust, which it has been in since purchase in 2005. The suggested solution from a lawyer at the firm here was to get it out of the trust and just do not probate the will because everything else will be in the trust. I think some states require some sort of probate even with a trust, because my brother had to do that in Fla even though our parents had everything in trusts.

It should be true no matter how you take title to a timeshare.

The comment re inheriting times shares was intended to answer William's question.

To answer your question, I believe those who have stopped paying their maintenance fees are more likely to get the offer to “give back” (which is really what this amounts to) than those who continue to pay. I haven’t paid my MF for 3 years and I just received the paperwork from TMC to deed back my penthouse unit. If you’re still feeding the coffers of the TMC why would they want your unit back? They recognize that the MF are TOTALLY RIDICULOUS AND OVERPRICED FOR ANY TIMESHARE OUT THERE IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY, so they won’t have a lot of luck getting another sucker like you to pay those fees if they are successful in re-selling it. Stop paying and save your money. For what you’re paying in MF you can stay at a very nice upscale hotel for a week knowing you don’t have to go back year after year just to get your “money’s worth”. I’ve found that I no longer want to go to New York every single year but it DOESN’T COST ME EVERY YEAR REGARDLESS IF I GO OR NOT.

jamesd788 wrote:

Iv''e been on the list for close to two years. But my question really is, are those that are successful in deeding back those who have stopped paying annual maintenance. We have been paying ours and have heard nothing. Maybe the next time somebody responds on this blog that they have been called and got the paperwork, they could indicate whether or not they had discontinued paying annual fees, and the number of years no payment has been made.

Just for your information: I recently received the paperwork from TMC regarding a deed back for my one week annual Jr flex. Among the many documents was a tax form that states the size of the property as "365 sq ft" and "assessed value of property is $117,186.00". As far as the TMC "deed-back" offer, it is being made to those who have not paid the maintenance fees. I stopped some time ago and notified TMC management in writing my intent and at the same time requested that I be placed on the list for the opportunity to deed back the timeshare when available. The current offer is three-fold.....a.) bring your account current regarding maintenance fees. b.) deed back the property for $100. c.) do nothing - which I believe eventually will become a legal collection matter with the new owners. In regard to The Manhattan Club, I have been an "owner" since 2001 and never had an issue other than cost. I have always been able to get the days or week that I wanted. In addition, TMC has provided me "many extra perks whenever there were issues". (tickets, dinners, extra days) Many of the issues discussed here are industry wide and similar in other businesses. In fact, air lines are, in some ways, even more devious regarding extra costs and over-bookings and that industry is supposedly regulated! Over the past few years, I have read many of the complaints here at redweek pertaining to TMC. High maintenance fees are certainly a valid issue. Many of the other issues are the result of poor communication and owners not understanding the timeshare process and/or unable to meet the requirements necessary to book a suite when desired. Yes, many of the sales people exaggerated and led individuals to believe there was more to the timeshare purchase than what actually was available. (how many other industry sales reps have done that) However, that lesson should have been learned in year one of ownership and adjustments made accordingly. Finally regarding the NY AG and the settlement.....was it fair? I don't think so. Unfortunately the structure of the timeshare industry prevents any meaningful settlement under the law and the NY AG settlement was very limited in scope from the start. Also, the settlement was further weakened by the fact that there are more satisfied owners and/or neutral owners than there are here on the past 286 pages. I do hope that everyone here does find a way to come to terms with the issues / concerns expressed whether it be deed-back, legal action or something else. Regardless of the type of settlement, I do sincerely hope it brings you peace. As for me....I have learned my lesson(s) and am now able to move on.

I completely agree with Dennis R. TMC's sales practices were horrible and probably illegal. Many timeshares follow the same horrible practices. As far as the Maintenance Fees are concerned, I don't doubt that some of the cash went into the wrong pockets.

Where does that leave us? TMC is functioning. I love going there. I will arrive on 9/24. (Chris V, I owe you a drink.) Sadly I am only staying two nights. Not paying the fees you agreed to pay may seem like a good idea to you. If you truly can't afford them I guess you have no choice. This is sad, but it happens with car payments, mortgage payments, etc. It is a fact that if many people follow the path of non payment, all maintenance fees will increase. I would be shocked if the owner, old or new, will write off the non payment as bad debt. If they do, the existing paying owners may have cause for legal action. I would not be involved. It's just a thought.

For those of you who are taking the $100 buy back, and that is what you want, that's good. If your unpaid maintenance fees are forgiven, that's good for you but unfair to the rest of us.

TMC is in a wonderful location and for the most part is well run. With some tweaking and honest ownership, it has to thrive. It will never be inexpensive because of Manhattan real estate values and Manhattan union contacts.

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

How do we join the lawsuit? the email addresses are from years ago. Which address do we use? Roseanne E

hello matthew432

contact jean-marc zimmerman, esq. at the following email or phone:

JEAN-MARC ZIMMERMAN

JMZ@ZIMLLP.COM

TEL: (908) 768-6408

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matthew432 wrote:

How do we join the lawsuit? the email addresses are from years ago. Which address do we use? Roseanne E

👍

Hear Hear! Everything Dennis said rings true in my book. I sent the paperwork in today and will be rid of this mess, free and clear. We enjoyed our stays, never really had any booking issues, and like many others had hoped to have a nice investment for the future. The maintenance fees became too much of a burden, and so we feel we can use that money to stay elsewhere. We still love NYC and all it's craziness, and would still stay at TMC if it makes sense to do so. Our loss in this process was minimal compared to some of you.

I wish you all the best of luck with whatever path you chose with regard to TMC.