The Manhattan Club Lawsuit - RedWeek's Report & Most Recent Info

Some coverage of the Manhattan Club by CNBC yesterday: http://youtu.be/tQiyeJhecDU

Can you please add us to your list of owner contacts? We have the same issues. They want your "dues" paid in full and then you can't get the dates you want. Cannot go out more than 8 months and then try to remember to call back and then can't get what you want. Have to settle on what they have. In the beginning we thought it was such a great deal. $500/year in common dues. Now over $2200/year. For 1 week that you can't get when you want. They have right of first refusal-even if you get a buyer. They only offer pennies on the dollar to sell it back to them. So we have to decide if we want to keep it or take the tax loss eventually. We are now paying more for a week than a decent hotel per night in Manhattan. Retirement is around the corner so we'll see. What a scam. Hopefully the attorney general can get a case against the owners done for all of us. Thanks for keeping us informed.

I would like to reply to the recent investigative story on the MC by Jeff Weir. My wife and I bought into the MC in 1997 preconstruction. As we lived on LI we thought it was a great deal a timeshare in NYC that we could use nightly rather then usual weekly use. We bought two weeks(a year apart) and enjoyed it very much definitely 5 star. Around 2002 we noticed that it was getting harder and harder to get the dates we wanted. Even calling in for a reservation exactly 9 months out we were told there was no availability and when questioned on this all the reservation dept said was sorry. As we were moving from NY in the fall of 2003 we decided that with the increasing maint. cost and the increasing unavailability of the days we wished to book even months out we would sell. And yes I did make an $11,000. profit (unheard of in TS sales). We sold at the MC asking price at that time. I sold one to a lady I met on the elevator and one through redweek. I am so glad I saw the light then because I would never have been able to sell now. The operators of the MC should be dealt with accordingly for the hardships that they have cause the owners to endure with the high purchase price, high maint. fee and the unavailability of units that they paid for.

So sorry for the delay -- Jeff has been staying on top of the situation at The Manhattan Club, yet delayed by major unforeseen personal events.

There was a new court filing you may be interested in. Jeff's take on it to come, just as soon as he is able...

We need your help to make sure ALL Manhattan Club owners are well-informed about what's happening with the resort. IF YOU OWN, or are interested in this case, please visit our new page here:

http://www.redweek.com/outreach/manhattan-club

The Manhattan Club has never disclosed the full list of owners, and there is speculation there are more than 14,000, possibly more than 20,000. It is unclear how many of these owners are aware of the current legal situation, and ways they can assist in the efforts, should they feel similarly.

We are trying to build this page as a centralized resource page for these matters. We have been in regular contact with the New York Attorney General's office, the prosecuting attorney from the last round of litigation in New York, and the resort itself. We are also working with the AG's office to get their direct participation.

If you have more resources or contact info to add to the page, please post here and I will update the page frequently.

PLEASE HELP US build this resource by sharing this link with all other Manhattan Club owners you have contact with. With your help, we can develop a centralized owners list, and make sure all relevant information is shared with as many owners as possible. We have no commercial interest in this case, and no one will ever be required to make any purchase to participate.

http://www.redweek.com/outreach/manhattan-club

In 1999 we purchased a week at TMC and later purchased another week. We were thrilled to own a little piece of The Big Apple, since we were raised there and like feeling as if there is a place we can go once or twice a year and feel the old feelings of NYC. What we realized very soon was that we would have to book our week 18-24 months in advance in order to get to use it. That was never communicated to us and we started to feel ripped off. After all, 16 years ago, we were younger, but the pressure to book that far in advance was not possible. So, year-after-year, we would be forced to pay $2500 per unit in maintenance fees, and every attempt we made to secure our week was rejected, "Sorry that week is fully booked!" Even when I would try 6 months in advance I got the same answer. It made us mad that what we were led to believe was really a lie! We have a really bad taste in our mouths from the entire experience and when this comes to court, we will testify about the scam. I am delighted that something is being done about this! Outraged!

I have been fighting TMC since 2007. I bought a triannual(1 week spread over 3 years) in January of 2007. By December 2007, I was having problems getting reservations. Two nights were stolen from me since I didn't use them by the end of 2007, even though I was told I had a year from pruchase date to use them, and the maintainence fee triple in 3 years. I filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau in February 2009 and the State Attorney General's office in August 2009. Neither one solved the basic problem of increased fees, lack of availability and the promise by TMC to buy back the property. So I am stuck with an unusable timeshare that I can't sell and mounting fees. If anyone would like proof of my efforts, I have many emails and letters available.

Disgusted in NY, Peggy Costello

Here's a link to the latest Order: https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=dL3GoIPyZqK8pNf6awsbSg==&system=prod

The Case Number is: 451536/2014

kyliec wrote:

If you're having trouble sifting through the sea of Manhattan Club complaints spanning several years, you're not alone. Three lawsuits have been brought and dropped, and now there is a new case being brought by New York's attorney general himself.

Our reporter, Jeff Weir, dug into the details and has written this report on the current situation as of August 12, 2014

And here is his original report from June, 2014:

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

Since August 12, it appears things are moving along... slowly. The last court filing was September 4, when both sides stipulated to keep existing court orders in place while allowing Manhattan Club to pay ongoing bills and salaries. Jeff reports in our other Manhattan Club forum that you shouldn't be surprised if the main stream media doesn't cover this unless there is a major development such as an indictment. If it's dropped, especially, that probably won't be deemed newsworthy on other channels. We will be staying on the topic... with updates as soon as there's any movement to report.

Some more updates below...

Let us know your thoughts...

How can we replace the rigged Board of Directors with one that serves the needs of the owners?

Where is Jeff Wier's 2015 report

Hey Everybody, Originally made an error commenting here in the first place and now there are email reminders. My beef is with Marriott. Not your problem. ----------------------------------------------------------------

priscillad28 - Jeff's report has been delayed & has not been published yet. Hope to post info shortly. In the meantime, this is the document he is reviewing:

New Court Filing from December, 2014

The link does not work. Would appreciated the correct link.

kyliec wrote:

Some coverage of the Manhattan Club by CNBC yesterday: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000331987&play=1

Here's the updated link to the video: http://youtu.be/tQiyeJhecDU

margaret820 wrote:

I have been fighting TMC since 2007. I bought a triannual(1 week spread over 3 years) in January of 2007. By December 2007, I was having problems getting reservations. Two nights were stolen from me since I didn't use them by the end of 2007, even though I was told I had a year from pruchase date to use them, and the maintainence fee triple in 3 years. I filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau in February 2009 and the State Attorney General's office in August 2009. Neither one solved the basic problem of increased fees, lack of availability and the promise by TMC to buy back the property. So I am stuck with an unusable timeshare that I can't sell and mounting fees. If anyone would like proof of my efforts, I have many emails and letters available.

Disgusted in NY, Peggy Costello

peggy, consider sending all of your incriminating (of TMC) correspendence to our investigator of the TMC scam and fraud, THE NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, ERIC SCHNEIDERMAN.

keep in touch,

chris

kyliec,

the link in your forum comments lead to PAGE NOT FOUND. please correct and republish this link in the next redweek forum.

kyliec wrote:

Here's the updated link to the video: http://youtube/tQiyeJhecDU

kyliec wrote:

Here's the updated link to the video: http://youtu.be/tQiyeJhecDU

Hello! I am a split-week owner at Manhattan club. I am now retired, and cannot keep making payments on this timeshare, which I can NEVER use when I would like to use it. I want to get rid of it, and I am interested in the legal situation with TMC and any/all updates. Anything more recent happening? Please keep us informed as I, for one, am eager to be free of this financial burden that is never available for me to use.

Thank you!

Susan L

margaret820 wrote:

I have been fighting TMC since 2007. I bought a triannual(1 week spread over 3 years) in January of 2007. By December 2007, I was having problems getting reservations. Two nights were stolen from me since I didn't use them by the end of 2007, even though I was told I had a year from pruchase date to use them, and the maintainence fee triple in 3 years. I filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau in February 2009 and the State Attorney General's office in August 2009. Neither one solved the basic problem of increased fees, lack of availability and the promise by TMC to buy back the property. So I am stuck with an unusable timeshare that I can't sell and mounting fees. If anyone would like proof of my efforts, I have many emails and letters available.

Disgusted in NY, Peggy Costello

I have the exact same situation and remain 'disgusted in Boston'!!!!!

The link does not work, but I want to be included - please advise........

mortgprof wrote:

The link does not work. Would appreciated the correct link.

kyliec wrote:

Some coverage of the Manhattan Club by CNBC yesterday: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000331987&play=1

"page not found" resend cnbc TMC coverage site address.