The Florida Attorney General recently
shut down six travel companies that made deceptive claims about vacation club
memberships.
Showing posts with label attorney general. Show all posts
Showing posts with label attorney general. Show all posts
Marriott timeshare sales are racketeering scheme, new lawsuit says
Marriott Vacation Club's timeshare sales are actually an
illegal "racketeering" scheme, a new proposed class-action lawsuit says.
The lawsuit takes aim at Marriott's points program, which replaced traditional sales of timeshare weeks at specific resorts in 2010. According to the suit, Marriott timeshare customers pay fees associated with owning real estate — such as closing costs and recording fees — but don't actually own any real estate.
The lawsuit takes aim at Marriott's points program, which replaced traditional sales of timeshare weeks at specific resorts in 2010. According to the suit, Marriott timeshare customers pay fees associated with owning real estate — such as closing costs and recording fees — but don't actually own any real estate.
TIMESHARE BILL OF RIGHTS
“Moving
timeshare from exploiting its customers and members to servicing its customers
and members. Everybody wins”.
A Timeshare Tricks client is working on getting changes passed in the timeshare industry. He has a Petition at www.timesharerights.com, this petition is for the State Attorney Generals across the United States. Take time to sign this, it is going to take each and every one of us to make a change that will protect honest, hardworking people.
Timeshare Bill of Rights For
Members
Timeshare companies and their antecedents (i.e. maintenance
fee termination companies) have become increasing exploitive
of timeshare customers and members. I propose protection for
TS consumers now and in the future for these services.
Timeshare companies and their antecedents (i.e. maintenance
fee termination companies) have become increasing exploitive
of timeshare customers and members. I propose protection for
TS consumers now and in the future for these services.
1. Timeshare points should not be equated with real estate,
because they have little or no value in that area.
2. Maintenance or membership fees should be for use only
and limited to a 10-year span.
3. Timeshare companies should recognize that a customer
has free will and human rights and he/she can decide to be
member of a timeshare club or not.
4. Anything related to maintenance or membership fees must
be explained and understood.
5. Exit policy for members must be known and any fee
associated with it should be made known as well.
6. Complaints concerning timeshare should be handled by an
ombudsman of the state.
7. All of these issues would be retroactive from the date of
implementation.
State sues second Branson travel club
FORSYTH — Less than a week after filing suit against a
Branson-area travel club, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is
suing another one.
On Dec. 15, Koster filed court documents in Taney County Associate Circuit Court against JD&T Enterprises, Inc. of San Diego, California, and against Forever Grand Vacations, of Branson. Forever Grand Vacations sells travel club memberships in Branson for its partner, JD&T Enterprises, which is doing business as Travel to Go, according to the suit.
On Dec. 11, Koster filed a similar suit against VSA, LLC; VSA
Holdings; Vacation Services of America, LLC; and International Travel
Solutions, LLC; and the individuals Thomas Wood, of Orlando, Florida and
Denver Wood, of Branson.
In this most recent suit, Koster is seeking a permanent injunction that would prevent the defendants from doing business in Missouri and would prevent the defendants’ representatives and employees from selling vacation benefits. Koster is also asking the court to require the defendants to provide full restitution to customers, and to pay refunds to all Missouri customers who provided notice to have their memberships rescinded. He is also asking the court for the defendants to pay the state an unspecified civil penalty, to pay the state 10 percent of the total restitution paid, and to pay all court costs.
According to the suit, Forever Grand Vacations and and Travel to Go were selling travel club memberships to customers in Branson.
The companies told the customers that the membership would give them access to large discounts. However, according to the suit, customers found that they were not able to get the discounts advertised and customers had difficulty getting out of their memberships.
According to Koster, the defendants have accepted at least $100,000 from at least 37 consumers for goods or services that were not provided.
Examples
The suit gives two examples:
On Jan. 26, 2013, a customer from Waynesville attended a presentation and purchased a membership for $3,288. He was told he would have six months to cancel and receive a full refund. After making payments for four months, the man decided to cancel; however, he was told it would cost him an additional $500 to cancel and he still had to pay the $3,000 balance on his membership fee.
He was also offered, for $500, an opportunity to sell his membership. The customer paid the balance on his membership, as well as the $500 listing fee. His membership was listed on a site with hundreds of others and he never received a refund. He is also still being contacted by the defendants with other offers.
Another customer, from Virginia Beach, Virginia, attended a travel club presentation in Branson in March and was told by his presenter that the presenter had gone to Hawaii on a 50-70 percent discount and that airfare can generally be purchased for 50 percent less than the normal rate.
The customer paid the membership fee of $5,544 up front. The customer then tried to book a cruise but found this his membership could not get him a lower price. He eventually got a $2,500 refund after attempting to cancel his membership, but he is still owed $2,044.
Counts
The suit accuses Forever Grand Vacations and Travel to Go of three counts of misrepresentation and one count of deception. It also accuses Travel to Go, specifically, of operating as a travel club in Missouri without being registered as a travel club in the state.
On Dec. 15, Koster filed court documents in Taney County Associate Circuit Court against JD&T Enterprises, Inc. of San Diego, California, and against Forever Grand Vacations, of Branson. Forever Grand Vacations sells travel club memberships in Branson for its partner, JD&T Enterprises, which is doing business as Travel to Go, according to the suit.
In this most recent suit, Koster is seeking a permanent injunction that would prevent the defendants from doing business in Missouri and would prevent the defendants’ representatives and employees from selling vacation benefits. Koster is also asking the court to require the defendants to provide full restitution to customers, and to pay refunds to all Missouri customers who provided notice to have their memberships rescinded. He is also asking the court for the defendants to pay the state an unspecified civil penalty, to pay the state 10 percent of the total restitution paid, and to pay all court costs.
According to the suit, Forever Grand Vacations and and Travel to Go were selling travel club memberships to customers in Branson.
The companies told the customers that the membership would give them access to large discounts. However, according to the suit, customers found that they were not able to get the discounts advertised and customers had difficulty getting out of their memberships.
According to Koster, the defendants have accepted at least $100,000 from at least 37 consumers for goods or services that were not provided.
Examples
The suit gives two examples:
On Jan. 26, 2013, a customer from Waynesville attended a presentation and purchased a membership for $3,288. He was told he would have six months to cancel and receive a full refund. After making payments for four months, the man decided to cancel; however, he was told it would cost him an additional $500 to cancel and he still had to pay the $3,000 balance on his membership fee.
He was also offered, for $500, an opportunity to sell his membership. The customer paid the balance on his membership, as well as the $500 listing fee. His membership was listed on a site with hundreds of others and he never received a refund. He is also still being contacted by the defendants with other offers.
Another customer, from Virginia Beach, Virginia, attended a travel club presentation in Branson in March and was told by his presenter that the presenter had gone to Hawaii on a 50-70 percent discount and that airfare can generally be purchased for 50 percent less than the normal rate.
The customer paid the membership fee of $5,544 up front. The customer then tried to book a cruise but found this his membership could not get him a lower price. He eventually got a $2,500 refund after attempting to cancel his membership, but he is still owed $2,044.
Counts
The suit accuses Forever Grand Vacations and Travel to Go of three counts of misrepresentation and one count of deception. It also accuses Travel to Go, specifically, of operating as a travel club in Missouri without being registered as a travel club in the state.
Couple sued for scamming 30,000 timeshare owners
SEATTLE (AP) - An Olympia couple is being sued by the state of Washington for scamming 30,000 timeshare owners.
The civil lawsuit announced by Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Thursday is part of a national crackdown coordinated by the Federal Trade Commission.
The attorney general's office says Jonathan and Christine Gibbs fooled elderly consumers into paying them thousands of dollars to transfer ownership of their vacation timeshares to shell corporations.
Ferguson describes the scam as a large, complicated scheme that harmed about 30,000 consumers nationwide, including 1,500 people in Washington state. He says the couple collected more than $70 million while operating as 25 different companies.
It took Washington investigators 18 months to investigate and shut down the scam.
The Federal Trade Commission is announcing more than 80 civil lawsuits in 27 states.
The civil lawsuit announced by Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Thursday is part of a national crackdown coordinated by the Federal Trade Commission.
The attorney general's office says Jonathan and Christine Gibbs fooled elderly consumers into paying them thousands of dollars to transfer ownership of their vacation timeshares to shell corporations.
Ferguson describes the scam as a large, complicated scheme that harmed about 30,000 consumers nationwide, including 1,500 people in Washington state. He says the couple collected more than $70 million while operating as 25 different companies.
It took Washington investigators 18 months to investigate and shut down the scam.
The Federal Trade Commission is announcing more than 80 civil lawsuits in 27 states.
PA Attorney General Reaches Agreement with Bluegreen
Florida-based timeshare company will pay refunds, cancel improper contracts and change business practices
HARRISBURG, PA (June 3, 2010) — The Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection has reached a settlement with Florida-based BlueGreen Corporation that addresses complaints about the company’s alleged use of deceptive “contests,” misleading sales presentations and improper contracts in the marketing and sale of timeshare vacation packages in Pennsylvania.
Attorney General Tom Corbett says the agreement, known as a Consent Decree, resolves a consumer protection lawsuit filed in October 2008 against BlueGreen Corporation, BlueGreen Resorts, BlueGreen Vacations Unlimited, Inc. and Great Vacations Destinations, Inc., all of Boca Raton, Florida. BlueGreen contacted consumers by phone and through kiosks at shopping malls, fairs, and festivals throughout Pennsylvania, along with the use of sales facilities in Hershey and King of Prussia.
“As a major part of this settlement, BlueGreen has agreed to cancel contracts and pay refunds to consumers who have filed valid complaints about their timeshare purchases,” Corbett said. “Those complaints include consumers who were unable to use their timeshare, false promises about when or where consumers could travel and situations where timeshare purchasers did not receive extra services or discounts that were promised during the sales presentation.”
Corbett noted that the settlement applies to complaints by Pennsylvania timeshare purchasers that have already been filed with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, along with any new complaints filed within the next 30 days. Also, BlueGreen has agreed to turn over all complaints involving Pennsylvania residents that were filed directly with the company.
Additionally, Corbett said the Attorney General’s Office is reviewing complaints filed with other state agencies, such as the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission, along with other consumer protection agencies, including the Florida Attorney General’s Office, where BlueGreen is headquartered, as well as the Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau offices in Pennsylvania and Florida.
“Many of the complaints filed with the Attorney General’s Office involve consumers who spent between $20,000 and $40,000 on vacation packages they were unable to use,” Corbett said. “This part of the settlement could result in more than $1 million in refunds to consumers, depending on the total number of additional complaints we receive over the next 30 days.”
Corbett said the settlement also includes payments for consumers who were promised various “free gifts,” including airline tickets, hotel accommodations, gas cards and other valuable prizes.
“For most consumers, the promise of a ‘free gift’ or ‘valuable prize’ turned out to be nothing more than vouchers or coupons which required other expensive purchases before they could be used, or were limited by massive “fine print” restrictions,” Corbett said. “As part of this agreement, BlueGreen is paying $125,000, which will be used to compensate people who were deceived about “free” prizes – so consumers who filed valid complaints will get a check for the value of the item they were promised.”
Finally, Corbett said the settlement includes a special reward for each consumer who filed a complaint about BlueGreen’s use of telemarketing sales calls that violated Pennsylvania’s “Do Not Call” law.
Corbett explained that under the provisions of the state’s Do Not Call law, consumers can receive up to $100 when they file a complaint that results in a lawsuit or fines against a company charged with telemarketing violations. A total of 29 people filed Do Not Call complaints about improper BlueGreen calls and each of those consumers will be receiving a check for $100.
“This is a substantial settlement for Pennsylvania, in terms of the money it returns to consumers who were victims of deceptive sales, along with the protection it offers future timeshare buyers,” Corbett said. “BlueGreen has agreed to change its businesses practices to eliminate future confusion about consumer rights involving timeshare purchases, to stop using misleading advertisements about free gifts or prizes and to make certain that any future telemarketing calls fully comply with our Do Not Call law.”
Corbett said consumers who have not yet filed complaints about being unable to use their BlueGreen timeshare or customers who were deceived about “free gifts” and prizes have until June 24, 2010 to contact the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Consumers who have already filed complaints with the Attorney General’s Office, either before or after the initial lawsuit was filed in October 2008, do not need to take any further action to have their claims considered as part of this settlement.
Consumers with complaints can call the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline, at 1-800-441-2555, or submit an online complaint using the Attorney General’s website, at www.attorneygeneral.gov (Click on the “Complaints” button on the front page of the website and select the “Consumer Complaint Form”).
The Consent Decree was filed in Commonwealth Court by Senior Deputy Attorney General David Sumner.
SOURCE: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
HARRISBURG, PA (June 3, 2010) — The Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection has reached a settlement with Florida-based BlueGreen Corporation that addresses complaints about the company’s alleged use of deceptive “contests,” misleading sales presentations and improper contracts in the marketing and sale of timeshare vacation packages in Pennsylvania.
Attorney General Tom Corbett says the agreement, known as a Consent Decree, resolves a consumer protection lawsuit filed in October 2008 against BlueGreen Corporation, BlueGreen Resorts, BlueGreen Vacations Unlimited, Inc. and Great Vacations Destinations, Inc., all of Boca Raton, Florida. BlueGreen contacted consumers by phone and through kiosks at shopping malls, fairs, and festivals throughout Pennsylvania, along with the use of sales facilities in Hershey and King of Prussia.
“As a major part of this settlement, BlueGreen has agreed to cancel contracts and pay refunds to consumers who have filed valid complaints about their timeshare purchases,” Corbett said. “Those complaints include consumers who were unable to use their timeshare, false promises about when or where consumers could travel and situations where timeshare purchasers did not receive extra services or discounts that were promised during the sales presentation.”
Corbett noted that the settlement applies to complaints by Pennsylvania timeshare purchasers that have already been filed with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, along with any new complaints filed within the next 30 days. Also, BlueGreen has agreed to turn over all complaints involving Pennsylvania residents that were filed directly with the company.
Additionally, Corbett said the Attorney General’s Office is reviewing complaints filed with other state agencies, such as the Pennsylvania Real Estate Commission, along with other consumer protection agencies, including the Florida Attorney General’s Office, where BlueGreen is headquartered, as well as the Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau offices in Pennsylvania and Florida.
“Many of the complaints filed with the Attorney General’s Office involve consumers who spent between $20,000 and $40,000 on vacation packages they were unable to use,” Corbett said. “This part of the settlement could result in more than $1 million in refunds to consumers, depending on the total number of additional complaints we receive over the next 30 days.”
Corbett said the settlement also includes payments for consumers who were promised various “free gifts,” including airline tickets, hotel accommodations, gas cards and other valuable prizes.
“For most consumers, the promise of a ‘free gift’ or ‘valuable prize’ turned out to be nothing more than vouchers or coupons which required other expensive purchases before they could be used, or were limited by massive “fine print” restrictions,” Corbett said. “As part of this agreement, BlueGreen is paying $125,000, which will be used to compensate people who were deceived about “free” prizes – so consumers who filed valid complaints will get a check for the value of the item they were promised.”
Finally, Corbett said the settlement includes a special reward for each consumer who filed a complaint about BlueGreen’s use of telemarketing sales calls that violated Pennsylvania’s “Do Not Call” law.
Corbett explained that under the provisions of the state’s Do Not Call law, consumers can receive up to $100 when they file a complaint that results in a lawsuit or fines against a company charged with telemarketing violations. A total of 29 people filed Do Not Call complaints about improper BlueGreen calls and each of those consumers will be receiving a check for $100.
“This is a substantial settlement for Pennsylvania, in terms of the money it returns to consumers who were victims of deceptive sales, along with the protection it offers future timeshare buyers,” Corbett said. “BlueGreen has agreed to change its businesses practices to eliminate future confusion about consumer rights involving timeshare purchases, to stop using misleading advertisements about free gifts or prizes and to make certain that any future telemarketing calls fully comply with our Do Not Call law.”
Corbett said consumers who have not yet filed complaints about being unable to use their BlueGreen timeshare or customers who were deceived about “free gifts” and prizes have until June 24, 2010 to contact the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Consumers who have already filed complaints with the Attorney General’s Office, either before or after the initial lawsuit was filed in October 2008, do not need to take any further action to have their claims considered as part of this settlement.
Consumers with complaints can call the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline, at 1-800-441-2555, or submit an online complaint using the Attorney General’s website, at www.attorneygeneral.gov (Click on the “Complaints” button on the front page of the website and select the “Consumer Complaint Form”).
The Consent Decree was filed in Commonwealth Court by Senior Deputy Attorney General David Sumner.
SOURCE: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
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