Manhattan Club Lawsuit

It is interesting that the MC claims buyers are made aware that reservations are on a first come first served basis and rooms are rented to the general public. Who, in their right mind would buy if they were given this information upfront, prior to buying? We bought in 2001 and were never told we would be competing with the general public for room reservations! We were given the impression as an owner we would be able to get rooms by the night or by the week- total, 7 nights per year, 1 weekend. We have NOT been able to get a room in a five years. When I spoke with a supervisor last week I was told if I paid my maintenance fees 9 months in advance of 2015 I would then "possibly" be able to get a room for starting in January. I paid a maintenance fee of $2500 in January and cannot get a reservation this year. I was told the maintenance is so high (probably the highest in the country!) because they have refurbished the rooms and elevators. I responded, so I have paid $2500.00 so that the general public has the advantage of flat screen TVs in their rooms and elevators that work but I cannot get a room! It is absolute incredible that this scam can continue! The perpetrators of this scam on the owners should go to jail.

TMC distributed the 2015 Budget Plan. For those who did not receive it here is the link:

http://www.tmcny.com/budget-2015/index.htm

Interestingly TMC pointed out that the Percent Increase Year-Over-Year is 3.5% for One-Bedroom Suites, Executive Suites, Metropolitan Suites and 2.0% for Penthouse Suites. That does not seem to be right. Would be helpful if every owner figure out their Percent Increase thru the years.

The Attorney General of New York will not take action against the Manhattan Club. I have been writing to them for years. Last year I got a letter from an Attorney in the Attorney General's office saying clearly they will not take any action against TMC. We need to contact the Governor of New York not the Attorney General. I got a letter from Governor Cuomo's office saying they would look into it. Here is the Governor's contact info:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo NYS State Capitol Building Albany, New York 12224

Hello, I have been trying to give back my unit for over a year. of course they waited for the new maintenance fee to be upon me. I now have to pay this in order for them to take it back. i have been an over for over 10 years and discusted with the outright lies and the mishandling of this timeshare. Of course they do not make any money on us just their way of paying their own maintenance fees. Renting rooms is their way of making money. i will write to the governor as well.

Hi all - Kylie with RedWeek.com here - our reporter, Jeff Weir, did some more digging into this case, and has written an excellent report for us here:

http://www.redweek.com/resources/ask-redweek/manhattan-club-lawsuit-info

Please take a look and let us know what you think... Kylie

The Manhattan Club is oversold. They are still recruiting scam victims…

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I Smalls

Excellent article by Jeff Weir of Redweek.com

I Smalls

Irenes93: "The Attorney General of New York will not take action against the Manhattan Club. I have been writing to them for years. Last year I got a letter from an Attorney in the Attorney General's office saying clearly they will not take any action against TMC. We need to contact the Governor of New York not the Attorney General. I got a letter from Governor Cuomo's office saying they would look into it. "

Do you have a copy of the Attorney General letter you could email me? My email is: forcefulcjs@yahoo.com

I would really appreciate it. I'm preparing a long complaint to their office, but if they aren't going to do anything I'd like to save some time and postage.

Hi ceee2,

This week I will scan and email the letter I received from the Attorney General's office saying they will not take action against the Manhattan Club. I will post it on the Manhattan Club is a scam Facebook page and send a copy to you.

Governor Cuomo of New York is the person we should be writing to to complain about the Manhattan Club. Bruce Ian Eichner, one of the Manhattan Club principals, is a former Assistant District Attorney in New York as noted in the excellent Redweek.com article on the Manhattan Club.

Regards, I Smalls

A few years ago, by mistake, I showed up one day early for my reservation at the Manhattan Club. It was late in the afternoon. Four months earlier I paid TMC $2,100 in yearly maintenance fees. TMC had rooms available. I asked for a room with them taking one day off my reservation. Even though they had a room available TMC refused to give me a room unless I paid them $200 for that one night. Standing in the front lobby I argued for three hours with various management people at TMC. They refused to give a room. Disgusted, I left at 8pm.

Ceee2, Can you also email me a copy of the letter you received from the Atty. General's office about not taking action again TMC to: vnschfr@aol.com. I will write the Governor and include a copy of your letter with it. Yes, Eichner was a former DA for NYC they NYS and NYC that may be why he seems to be protected from prosecution. But, that is going to become a problem for them, if hundreds of timeshare owners from all over the metro area write the Governor and cc: the Attorney General. With the Governor receiving letters day after day, month after month, and this issue being put it in his face he may be forced to take action. Always send letters certified receipt! If all the "unhappy" owners write letters and have proof that the letter was received at the Governor's and AG's office. They may be forced to finally take action. Gov. is aware of complaints about TMC, he was the former AG so I'm sure he has heard/read plenty of complaints from "unhappy" owners. Even if you send the same letter, week after week, month after month, with new date and proof it has been received. How long can they continue to ignore it? What if media were to pick up the story about the City of NY covering for a former DA pulling this scam? I don't think he (Eichner) can hide behind NYC government forever? I could be wrong, but it's worth the effort.

I will be sure to pass along any useful information when I get it, though it should get posted here as well:

https://www.facebook.com/manhattanclubtimeshare

Thanks for your help Irenes93!

highly suggest you post all documents from and to attorney general on redweek.com for all to see. the ag's office has been very tightlipped about this whole matter, so please share your documents and responses from ag.

All: I have a one-on-one meeting set up next week with a Manhattan Club rep who's supposed to listen to my complaints and also discuss buy-back options. Anyone else already have such a meeting? TMC is taking this approach with all individual owners to help avoid lawsuit ramifications.

Also, since I live in MD, would it be helpful to submit a complant to the NY AG even though the lawsuit is only for NY'rs?

Davidm1795, I just sent in papers to MHC to sell back my penthouse. This was after talking with Lin O'Donnell several times over the past few years. During those prior discussions, she always told me the MHC has no buy-back program. However, if I was interested in selling back the property, she could facilitate it. She would then ask how much I was willing to take for it. This bartering would continue until she would give me a ridiculously low figure and ask me if I would accept it. The first time we had this discussion, the figure was the highest, but still very low. In subsequent calls, the figure got even lower. When I made this last call to her, she initially told me they were not interested in "other" units, but since I owned the penthouse, they would give me $100 it I sold back. I would be very interested in seeing what this MHC rep tells you. I hope you will take notes, names, etc. and share it with the rest of us. Fraud is probably one of the most difficult things to prove. Proving intent I think is the real sticking point. However, I sincerely believe that MHC has done a very masterful job of getting away with fraud...so far. I hope the ongoing lawsuit will prove fruitful. However, I also wonder what remuneration can be expected, even if the lawsuit is won?

It is always helpful to submit a complaint so you have a record of your effort to resolve the issue. Any letters submitted to the New York Attorney General are pro forma. I have written to the Attorney General many times over the last five years. I finally got a letter from the Attorney General's Office saying that will not take action against the Manhattan Club. Governor Cuomo's office has been the only one responsive to my complaints. I suggest you write to the Governor as well. The Governor's office can make something happen. The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224

I have sent a letter to the Attorney General and the Governor. The more people send these letters the better.

It is really sad to me that the companies are so greedy and do not consider the needs of their members. It has happened with so many companies! When will the industry be regulated to prevent all this?

flood cuomo , schinderman and di blasio's offices with letters of complaint against THE MANHATTAN CLUB. refer to the class action (both past and current) suits, and indicate the fact that may letters have already been sent to the NYSAG'S OFFICE TO NO AVAIL.

Waste of time. He will tell you to convert your week to points. He will tell you you can get into the manhattan club using points easier than as an owner. They all should be in jail.