The Manhattan Club

Manhattan Club Lawsuit

Dec 24, 2012

vanessa, as previously noted, not paying maint fees IS ILLEGAL, and legal action could be taken against those who don't pay...that's legally contractual (unless we signed a FRAUDULENT contract.) attorneys cost big bucks. if one or more owners is an attorney, PLEASE COME FORWARD AND OFFER US LEGAL ASSISTANCE. among mc's many owners, AT LEAST ONE OF US HAS LEGAL CREDENTIALS. with this help, and continued contact with the nys ag's office by ALL OF US, we might begin to see some relief.


Chris V.
Dec 26, 2012

I'll contact AG office to filr formal complaint. I started this process a few years ago. Thanks for the information.


Vanessa S.
Jan 22, 2013

Call the New York State Attorney General's Office Real Estate Division. Direct line is (212) 416-8122. Timeshares fall under their jurisdiction. I left a message with them today describing the circumstances at the Manhattan Club. The more calls they get, they more likely they are to act!


John A.

Last edited by johna916 on Jan 22, 2013 12:59 PM

Jan 23, 2013

I think all your ideas and comments are all fine. However, we need to organize and coordinate. Here is what I propose: 1. Somehow get a list of all current owners, complete with email addresses, phone numbers, etc. 2. Contact the owners with a short message asking for their cooperation. 3. Include in that letter the precise contact information of the agencies, persons, etc., who should be contacted to register our complaints. 4. Ask for feedback from owners who do make a complaint. 5. Hope that owners will take the time and effort to make a acomplaint and that some person or agency that can help will do so.


Robert M.
Jan 23, 2013

The above mention contains great ideas. There are 15,000 owners at The Manhattan Club, many of whom must be frustrated by the club overselling timeshares and then also renting them on the open market. However, only The Manhattan Club has a list of all the owners. I suspect it will require a lawyer's intervention to obtain that list.

I urge all owners to call the New York State Attorney General's Office at (212) 416-8122. Describe the circumstances to them in complete detail. I suspect they will investigate if they hear from enough people.


John A.
Jan 23, 2013

I agree with your comments we all have to call the AG office. With day after day of complaints and write letters. Mail the same letter once a week, until they look into the situation. What they are doing at the MC cannot not be legal. I called just last week to finf out about getting put on the list to give back. The young lady in the finance office sitting in for Lynn O'Donnell told me that they have many satisfied owners. However, the list is so long that it will take 4-5 years to give it back. You figure that one out? If so many owners are happy being owners at the MC. why is the list so long?


Vanessa S.
Jan 24, 2013

we've got to get SOME KIND OF ACTION IN MOTION NOW. all i see here are suggestions: contacting the nys ag for example. i have done so 3-4 times...got a somewhat positive response: that the mc was contacted, for mc to contact me (which they did 4 months later...shows the clout the ag's office seems NOT to have!)...and for the mc to "be more transparent" in their sales presentations...which i, nor anyone else can really monitor. come on owners....do your part. if contacting the nys ag is a strategy that we seem to agree on, then DO IT. it appears, especially to the mc "honchos," that we're not a really cohesive group.........as in ALL TALK AND NO ACTION. we've got to show the developers: eichner and company...who really owns the majority of shares in the mc...WE OWNERS DO. and where do we owners stand? in the nasty creek with no paddle or in the dumps with the rest of the garbage, which is where the mc wants us to be to maintain its control over us. this nonsense has to STOP NOW. OWNERS NEED TO BE PROACTIVE. WE HAVE NO ONE WHO'S ACTIVELY LOOKING OUT FOR OUR INTERESTS BUT US. COME ON GANG, GET A MOVE ON. DO SOMETHING!


Chris V.
Feb 04, 2013

i/we have tried (i think in vein) to get most owners to contact the ny ag's office with full explanations of what owners have to put up with at the mc. many of us just won't take the time to do it. the mc realizes this, so they continue to do exactly what suits them (and what screws us) since they have not been censored by any legal entity, eg, the new york attorney general's office. what else can one expect? unless and until WE OWNERS ACT, we must accept the crap the mc dishes out.....OR BECOME PROACTIVE AND DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE: WRITE THE NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE NOW, IMMEDIATELY AFTER READING THIS AND OTHER ENTRIES IN THIS FORUM.

johna916 wrote:
The above mention contains great ideas. There are 15,000 owners at The Manhattan Club, many of whom must be frustrated by the club overselling timeshares and then also renting them on the open market. However, only The Manhattan Club has a list of all the owners. I suspect it will require a lawyer's intervention to obtain that list.

I urge all owners to call the New York State Attorney General's Office at (212) 416-8122. Describe the circumstances to them in complete detail. I suspect they will investigate if they hear from enough people.


Chris V.
Feb 20, 2013

Carol Fleres cfleres@pruzack.com I would like to join the lawsuit I was contact by a sales person to offer me a weekend at the Manhattan Club and they offered me Christmas week thinking I was a potential buyer YET they won't let me rent or stay in my timeshare during Christmas . How is that fair? Carol Fleres


Carol F.
Feb 20, 2013

please send me information about Lawsuit-- we own one flex week- but we book a year in advance and have been able to get in for our week... if appropriate would like information- thanks Greg Sheffer sunshinevalues@gmail.com

alexc100 wrote:
Hi, ex-owners can still participate in the law suite. You just need to fill out the survey and send it to the law firm. If you are interested we'll send you a survey. For this purpose please provide your email address . EVERY PERSON IS VALUABLE !


Jan S.
Feb 21, 2013

carol, the lawsuit is a thing of the past, and we lost it. that strategy didn't work. now we must flood the nys attorney general's office with our complaints of possible fraud and other possible deceptions presented by tmc. in addition WE HAVEN'T BEEN GETTING WHAT WE PAID FOR...A SO-CALLED "HOME AWAY FROM HOME" which could leave us homeless in reference to getting preferred reservations. in addition, maintenance fees are way out of line (upward) compared with timeshare industry standards for similar accommodation in equally desirable locations. that's what the nys attorney general needs to hear from ALL TMC OWNERS who are being duped dailyl


Chris V.
Feb 21, 2013

Get the name of person who called you from TMC sales office. Document the information day, time, person spoke to in regard to what the call was for? That is more information from owners that mgmt and CFO, CEO are scamming owners. That is the way to get attention of the AGO in NY. How can they be offering it to potential buyers, but telling owners it is not available. They will say they are offering their available units (ones they own)? I wish they would call me again, by mistake and invite me to come in for week and potential sale of timeshare. I'd make sure I was prepared for the scam they propose on "new" potential owners.


Vanessa S.
Feb 21, 2013

Chris,

I agree with what you are saying and we are all in the same boat. If someone is to be contacted by TMC for tour and potential sale they should go ahead and book and go through the process start to finish (hidden camera & taping). I wish I had done that when we were sold our TS almost nine years ago. We have a flex week as well and could not get in days, month, weeks, notice of reservation. Occassionally would accomodate for an overnight or two over many years time and have lost nights anytime we did not trade out. The maintenance fees are so incredibly high that we do not wish to own the TS any more and they don't want it back even if we sign it over. They continue to keep people on the hook and paying for it. It is not hurting them if we complain and get no where and continue to pay. I will call the AG office again at the number you listed to complain. Maybe, NYC Mayor Blumberg has a connection with Mr. Eichner. Something is clearly going one here. This should be a News worthy piece for fraud. What happened to News Media stations helping the common man/women? Know anyone at NBC, ABC, CBS, or a cable channel to get us some coverage?


Vanessa S.
Feb 21, 2013

Craines New York business has covered the issue in detail. When you call the attorney general's office, ask them for their fax number so you can send them a detailed written complaint. They need to receive a lot of these. When the pile reaches a certain level, they will pay attention. But, don't just leave a phone message. They need documentation.


John A.
Feb 22, 2013

I just spoke with the NY State Attorney General's office. Here is the website and instructions on how to register a complaint and how to get what ever infromation they have concerning the MHC.

I just got my Penthouse assessment. Outrageous to say the least.

WEBSITE: http://www.ag.ny.gov/

1. Go to the very bottom of the page. Under ECONOMIC JUSTIC, click on… - Real Estate Finance Bureau 2. On the Real Estate Finance Bureau page, click on… 3. Forms, which is on the right side of the page 4. On the Forms page, under General, fill out… a. Co-op, Condominium, Homeowners Association Complaints (to register a complaint) b. REF Foil requests (if you wish to see what other complaints, etc. have been filled against the MHC)


Robert M.
Mar 04, 2013

Please give me some information on reverse buy back. I just bought the timeshare in Aug 2012. I have problem with it already and wanting to get out soon. Any tips would be appreciated.


Lee C.
Mar 04, 2013

Please send me infomraiton on how to get to NY attorney office to file the complaints.


Lee C.
Mar 05, 2013

1. Reading a previous comment, someone said there are 15,000 owners at the MHC. If the average maintenance fee is say, $2,500 per annum, then it apparently costs $3,750,000.00 a year to maintain the place? Does that make sense? 2. On another issue...did all of you get a glossy and apparently very costly Owners Referral Program brochure? This is clear evidence that they are still selling shares. I thought they were, or were about to be sold out several years ago. Where are these new shares coming from? We all know they have "first right of refusal". Why? My hunch is that from day one, they realized that since they totally control the maintenance fees, they could over time run up the cost to the owners (as they have) to a point were the owners will literally give back their share. You may also recall that there are very large closing fees collected by MHC when you sell. Furthermore, when they resell these shares, are they offering low maintenance fees to the new owners as incentive? If so, then we are subsidizing the sell, since our maintenance costs are disproportional. It also makes is almost impossible for us to sell privately, since anyone who buys our share would presumably pay the higher maintenance fees which have been assessed to our share. I think if we have a leg to stand on, we will need to prove this was their intent all along. I think that will be very difficult to do, but certainly not impossible. 3. The trick is to get a lawyer who is better than theirs.


Robert M.
Mar 06, 2013

if u wnt further news coverage, contact amanda fung, real estate columnist for CRAINES NEW YORK BUSINESS newspaper. she wrote 2 articles (7/2011 & 6/2012) describing eichner's alleged real estate fraud. LOOK IT UP NOW AND CONTACT MS. FUNG; SHE RESPONDS ACCORDING TO HER ASSIGNED SCHEDULES.

vanessa175 wrote:
Chris,

I agree with what you are saying and we are all in the same boat. If someone is to be contacted by TMC for tour and potential sale they should go ahead and book and go through the process start to finish (hidden camera & taping). I wish I had done that when we were sold our TS almost nine years ago. We have a flex week as well and could not get in days, month, weeks, notice of reservation. Occassionally would accomodate for an overnight or two over many years time and have lost nights anytime we did not trade out. The maintenance fees are so incredibly high that we do not wish to own the TS any more and they don't want it back even if we sign it over. They continue to keep people on the hook and paying for it. It is not hurting them if we complain and get no where and continue to pay. I will call the AG office again at the number you listed to complain. Maybe, NYC Mayor Blumberg has a connection with Mr. Eichner. Something is clearly going one here. This should be a News worthy piece for fraud. What happened to News Media stations helping the common man/women? Know anyone at NBC, ABC, CBS, or a cable channel to get us some coverage?


Chris V.
Mar 06, 2013

consider urslf an "mc prisoner." few, if any, buy backs......so keep paying exorbitant maint fees or ACT NOW: contact the nys attny gen's office with full explanations of all mc complaints; contact ny media......newspapers, radio commentary, tv, bbb. u should also include info on the "ease" of getting your "nyc home away from home" reservations. if this makes any sense, the mc is fantastic, but it also sucks..........management-wise!

leec136 wrote:
Please give me some information on reverse buy back. I just bought the timeshare in Aug 2012. I have problem with it already and wanting to get out soon. Any tips would be appreciated.


Chris V.

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