Manhattan Club Lawsuit

hello lisa & larry,, welcome! the main goals of the development of the COALITION are to reduce the highly exorbitant maintenance fees substantially and to reduce the results of the scam and fraud that we faced, thanks to ian bruce eichner. my personal opinion (probably shared by other TMC owners) is that the results of the litigation by the then-nys attorney general, eric schneiderman against eichner, amounted to a pittance in comparison to what owners lost financially.

the process of developing this COALITION is currently picking up speed, thanks to owners like you. pass on this information to other TMC owners you may know, if you wish to help fellow owners with the creation of this COALITIOIN, let me/us know. we need your EMAIL ADDRESS to keep you posted of our progress and to contact you personally as necessary. please send it to me.

thanks again for being part of this developing process.

chris volpe............cfox863@gmail.com

lisem22 wrote:

We've been owners since 2011. We too wish to support the petition to reduce high maintenance fees. We were sold a "triannual timeshare" program where you get 7 days that you can use up over 3 years. The representative had explained to us. at the time of the sale, that we could use these days as we saw fit!!! never mentioned that if you didn't go one year that you would loose the use of these points! What a scam. We paid our fees once and the next invoice should come in 2019 and have no intention of paying again. Thank you for the work that has been done so far on the law suit, as we have received a small refund cheque this summer. We await the results of future legal actions.

Lise and Larry Martens Ottawa, On

welcome to THE COALITION, henry and mary anne!

we owners are gaining momentum in the developing of this list of bona fide owners (COALITION). getting this list from TMC has been a useless challenge, so we decided to develop the list ourselves. it's taking much effort, but we predict that it will be worth it to combat the financial distress heaped upon us by ian bruce eichner of TMC "fame" (a wealthy and shrewd businessman who hasn't been aboveboard in many of his timeshare sales, maintenance fee and reservation time tactics. owners didn't get the deserved financial satisfaction from the results of the then-nys attorney general's litigation. since owners have tried unsuccessfully to obtain a complete list of TMC owners with their contact information, we decided to develope said list ourselves, taking this goal further, our end- intention is to get our maintenance fees substantially lowered and to make the reservation process satisfactory to all owners. to do this, itis essential that we can communicate with fellow owners personally rather than only through the redweek.com forum.

again welcome. if you can assist your fellow owners in this undertaking, let me/us know.

chris volpe............cfox863@gmail.com

henry372 wrote:

We are interested in lower maintenance fees also. Henry & Mary Anne Satt msatt@comcast.net

hello, and welcome to our COALITION process bob and maureen,

our list of bonafide owners is growing even faster than expected. the response has strengthened our efforts to get a COALITION list completed to help realize our cause: fairness in obtaining financial and other relief from the distress heaped upon us by the TMC principals, e.g.,a substantial reduction of the exorbitant maintenance fees, and the ability and ease for owners to make desirable reservations.

if you can assist us in this process with your participation and/or offering further constructive suggestions to complete our goals, please let me/us know.

again welcome. please stay in touch.

chris volpe.....cfox863@gmail.com

maureenk172 wrote:

We are interested in the coalition to reduce our outrageous maintenance fees! Bob and Maureen Kennedy msken616@gmail.com

Hello fellow TMC owners, the list of supporters is rapidly growing so in an effort to further organize the list of owners please send me the following information: YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME, YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS, AND THE CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE WHERE YOU LIVE and YOUR REDWEEK ID (i.e. beckyf76) If you’ve already submitted your name and email please resend a message with city, state, and zip code. This information is important for Chris and I to have in order to form regional lists for possible assistance from owners by region who would like to strengthen our efforts in developing a comprehensive list of owners. Thank you all for your support in our team effort!

Want to join efforts to reduce outrageous maintenance fees. Purchased timeshare in 2006 costing over $20,000 with promises never fulfilled. Even as of last year, never able to get a reservation to spend a single night at the club. Supporting ever increasing fees makes no sense. Would love to sell timeshare but has proven difficult.

Liniree12

My mom purchased years ago and had the typical problems, but also developed Parkinsons and Alzheimers 4-5 years ago and needed to sell the property as she was both unable to use it and could not really afford the maintenance fees. We were told that we could not even give it back, we would have to pay over $10,000 plus owed maintenance fees and maintenance fees for 1-3 years forward just to have them take it back. We just simply stopped paying. So now she owes multiple years of maintenance fees and will probably go to collections when the new company tries to clear its bad debts. Is there any hope of just deeding these back? Every other timeshare she had was absolutely great about it. The most we paid was like $150 for some deed paperwork at the court on one property.

greetings lindah1209 thanks for your interest in the COALITION OF FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED TMC OWNERS we're working very diligently to get this COALITION list quickly developed. with so many unknown owners, it's taking some time. we must be able to quickly contact owners preferably via email. we also need your full name address and zip code, plus phone if you feel ok about that. please get back to me with this information. our goals are in line with your wishes about ownership in TMC: reduce maintenance fees substantially and create an easy and foolproof way to get the desired reservation time.

chris volpe.............cfox863@gmail.com

lindah1209 wrote:

Want to join efforts to reduce outrageous maintenance fees. Purchased timeshare in 2006 costing over $20,000 with promises never fulfilled. Even as of last year, never able to get a reservation to spend a single night at the club. Supporting ever increasing fees makes no sense. Would love to sell timeshare but has proven difficult.

Liniree12

hello patriciay55, we understand the undesirable issues you face. however, we cannot offer legal advice, or even influence TMC to ease the pressure of your predicament. TMC has never been an entity to show mercy; often the opposite seems to be true, apparently unlike other timeshare companies you've dealt with. at the moment, all our COALITION OF FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED TMC OWNERS (still in the process of becoming a real entity) can possibly do is to pressure TMC into substantially reducing our maintenance fees and create a fair method of owners' getting desired reservation time. if this accommodation fits your needs, please send us you name, address (with zip) and email contact (phone # if that's ok with you.) keep in mind that we cannot currently offer you any assistance in GIVING BACK your TMC intrest. that possibility rests only between you and the TMC corporation itself. please contact me if the above information is suitable. in any event we empathize and sympathize with you and your issues. we hope they become solved satisfactorily. our strong suggestion is to consult with an honest and reliable attorney with much experience in dealing with the fraud-ridden timeshare industry. in particular with TMC.

chris volpe.....cfox863@gmail.com

patriciay55 wrote:

My mom purchased years ago and had the typical problems, but also developed Parkinsons and Alzheimers 4-5 years ago and needed to sell the property as she was both unable to use it and could not really afford the maintenance fees. We were told that we could not even give it back, we would have to pay over $10,000 plus owed maintenance fees and maintenance fees for 1-3 years forward just to have them take it back. We just simply stopped paying. So now she owes multiple years of maintenance fees and will probably go to collections when the new company tries to clear its bad debts. Is there any hope of just deeding these back? Every other timeshare she had was absolutely great about it. The most we paid was like $150 for some deed paperwork at the court on one property.

Please add me to your list Jacupuncture@comcast.net

Please send your full name, address, and phone number to me if you feel comfortable sharing at beckyfitzmaurice@yahoo.com

Thank you

Yes Chris, Bruce and I don’t want to just give our unit back without recouping our investment, which we have owned for about 17 years. We agree why should we as we do enjoy going to NY and now seem to have better luck getting times, what a surprise. The fees are outrageous and we want them reduced to the reasonable rate they should be. We think it’s outrageous that people are just giving back their units but guess if you haven’t paid any fees for years they are already ahead but those who have had to carry them. We agreed to pay fees but with the understanding that they would not go up the exhorbitant amount that they have since we bought and always meet our financial obligations. Sorry, If they want our unit they need to pay us for it. We are definitely interested in joining the coilition to either give our unit back at fair market value or substantially reduce our fees to where they should be. Cookie & Bruce Lipin

chrisv126 wrote:

greetings and welcome, cookie! we're so glad you decided to join us in the formation of our COALITION. i speak for myself but i assume all other owners will agree with me wholeheartedly: our main goals are a substantial reduction of maintenance fees and an easier way to get desired reservation time. these issues seem to be the reasons some owners are willing to actually GIVE UP their ownership....GIVE is the key word, not SELL.....to TMC. this will assist their (TMC'S) greedy motives in lining their pockets AGAIN by selling the owners' GIVEBACKS. hmmm, nice work if you can get it, and TMC seems to have the job. we're developing this COALITION plan to meet them at the pass and get reasonable financial satisfaction while maintaining our ownership/investment.

if you wish to assist in this endeavor, please let us know. keep in touch.

chris volpe

cookiel7 wrote:

Chris,

Add me Cookie Lipin email cookie.lipin@gmail.com

Patricia, Call Lynnn O'Donnell at The Manhattan Club because they are now working on the list of people wanting out. It appears that owed mtce fees are being waived.

Okay, I have one simple question for the coalition. Lets say you just added the 10,000 th email address for a timeshare owner. What is your next step???

Please add my name to the coalition list-we should have always had a complete list of owners. Laurie Wellborn, dustywellborn@gmail.com. Best thing I have seen related to this situation.

I think that Chris will agree with this response, and if not she’ll chime in with her point of view. We are only 2days into this endeavor so we are still a small group. Our goal is to bring all unhappy owners together to come up with some creative ideas to attempt to combat what We see as an unacceptable crime perpetrated against all of us who have put our trust and our hard earned money into something we all thought would make our lives happier. So in a nutshell, we don’t know what our next step will be. Chris and I are not going to dictate what we should do. We want anyone who would like to be a part of taking back our control to offer suggestions and be creative in brainstorming ideas to accomplish our goal. We may not succeed in changing the situation but we certainly want to try rather than roll over and let “THEM” profit even further because we are helpless and powerless in determining our own destiny. Once we have a substantial list of owners who want to partner with us, we can come together to work out our strategy.

My wife and I have been Manhattan Club members for about 7 years. We share the unfortunate experiences of many other members. Although we have not yet joined the Zimmerman lawsuit, we do find the idea of owners coalescing to be an excellent first step toward formulating a common strategy. Count us in: Karl Hess (khess4@aol.com) and Camille Kurtz (ckurtz@erols.com).

While I share your frustration, I think after your group gets together, you will quickly find that you have no leverage in any negotiation, and the focus will turn to legal alternatives.

Legal strategies will require a lawyer, and that will require money.

THAT is why I joined the Zimmerman lawsuit. He seems to be a straight shooter, and I cannot see any legal alternative that would be more effective, or more efficient.

welcome to our COALITION, karl and camille. the formation of our TMC owners' COALITION, we're expecting, will benefit us all financially and otherwise. we'll eventually be seeking a substantial reduction in the currently exorbitant maintenance fees, and a reservation policy that will ensure owners desirable accommodations. becky and i have been working diligently, almost daily on our computers, to formulate a very full (if not complete) list of all TMC OWNERS. this list still remains unavailable to us even after several requests to TMC to provide one. even the former nys attorney general,, eric schneiderman, who brought the TMC case to court for litigation could not obtain the owners's list. (the final "settlement" of this case, was, in my opinion, not worth the trouble of achieving it.) in any case, we're glad to have you join us. in addition to EMAIL ADDRESSES, we need your ADDRESS withZIP CODE AND PHONE NUMBER simply for the of ease of communicating with you. please send this vital information to..................beckyfitzmaurice@yahoo.com......................, my co-worker on this COALITION PROJECT'

WELCOME ABOARD OUR VICTORY SHIP, THE COALITION OF FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED TMC OWNERS!

chris volpe................cfox863@gmail.com

karlh63 wrote:

My wife and I have been Manhattan Club members for about 7 years. We share the unfortunate experiences of many other members. Although we have not yet joined the Zimmerman lawsuit, we do find the idea of owners coalescing to be an excellent first step toward formulating a common strategy. Count us in: Karl Hess (khess4@aol.com) and Camille Kurtz (ckurtz@erols.com).

hi, craigr32, your strategy for retribution re: TMC is well-chosen. we have decided to try a different one with similar possible satisfactory outcomes (THE COALITION) for owners who decide to join us. we both need luck in whichever position and method we choose to subscribe to. if you have a change of mind, the invitation to join us is always open. thanks for your constructive comments.

chris volpe....................cfox863@gmail.com

craigr32 wrote:

While I share your frustration, I think after your group gets together, you will quickly find that you have no leverage in any negotiation, and the focus will turn to legal alternatives.

Legal strategies will require a lawyer, and that will require money.

THAT is why I joined the Zimmerman lawsuit. He seems to be a straight shooter, and I cannot see any legal alternative that would be more effective, or more efficient.

Craig, I agree. Chris, you have an enormous amount of energy. We owe you and others tremendous thanks for the kind of pressure you brought to get AG Schneiderman's attention, which led to the negotiations and settlement. As unsatisfactory as it may be, a settlement was reached and is in the process of being implemented. The MC developer is selling his remaining interest in the property and management contract to BlueGreeen.

However, this is 2018, not 2010 or even 2015. Out of 15,000 owners, there will always be a number every month that become dissatisfied or no longer wish to carry the cost. I'd be surprised if your numbers didn't rise. You haven't asked anyone to do anything or pay anything, so why wouldn't they? Unfortunately, public relations will not take the place of a legal argument in the courts where this must ultimately be decided. If you feel you were defrauded, you need to retain an attorney. I don't speak for the Attorney General, but it seems that office has already invested as much time as they ever will. They have other cases. And while you may focus on TMC admissions in the negotiations, the AG said that none of that would be admissible in a criminal proceeding. TMC management basically holds a get-out-of-jail-free card.

So organize all you want, but without a plan or a means to execute, I believe you are offering people faith healing instead of real medicine!