Ripped off

[rfcmazon]

Caribbean Beach Club, Ft. Myers Beach, is renovating, so our room was not available. First we were told we would get maintenance fee refunded, which I would have accepted. Now they say it can not be done because of a law that all owners get it back if some do. When I asked how we were going to be compensated for this year's fee, the response was - NO compensation. This does not seem right. Can any thing be done?

 

[DeniseM]

Is the resort being renovated because of a storm, or some other unusual situation in which it was damaged?

 

[vacationhopeful]

DeniseM is asking, I believe, if an "Act of God" was the reason YOUR unit is not usable. If not, did you have to confirm in advance, that you would be using your unit? (some resorts have this written into the usage rules).

 

[Ty1on]

Caribbean Beach Club, Ft. Myers Beach, is renovating, so our room was not available. First we were told we would get maintenance fee refunded, which I would have accepted. Now they say it can not be done because of a law that all owners get it back if some do. When I asked how we were going to be compensated for this year's fee, the response was - NO compensation. This does not seem right. Can any thing be done?

That there is a law like that sounds legitimate to me. Resort management should have no right to compensate you at the expense of other owners. Removing your maintenance fee payments would do that, as all owners would have to be billed more the next year to balance the association. Of course, this wouldn't happen if they compensated you out of developer budget.

Have you thought about asking them for a compensatory additional week after the refurb is complete? Associations and developers hold guest satisfaction intervals for stuff like this.

 

[silentg]

Are you able to exchange your Week? This happened to us one year, the resort was in disrepair and dropped by RCI. I had paid all my fees and had an exchange already booked. Was told that RCI would not honor my exchange. I asked to speak to a supervisor at RCI and explained that I was a member in good standing , had my own membership not thru the resort and told them they needed to let me have the exchange. We got the exchange and I have always kept my membership unaffiliated with any resort. Hopefully you can work with your resort or RCI to use the week. Let us know the outcome?
Silentg

 

[theo]

Is the resort being renovated because of a storm, or some other unusual situation in which it was damaged?

I know this resort well, having recently owned a prime unit / week there for several years (but no longer). I would be willing to bet that any "renovation" there is strictly confined to the original two story building (the property section in which the office is located). That original building was once a 1950's - 1960's two level motel, before the property was converted to interval ownership --- and much of that original section is frankly not even "up to code". "Renovation" of that section had been discussed for quite some time --- and was likely finally mandated by either local code enforcement authorities and / or the resort's insurance company.

The middle section is newer, added later. A third (north wing) portion is by far the newest construction, built after a fire in or around 2003.
The associated insurance claim was unresolved and in the courts for the next 10+ years (with the courts always finding in the resorts' favor at each appeal level). That mess was hopefully conclusively resolved in very recent years, although I'm not certain. I'd bet heavily that the "renovation" at CBC involves only the original section described previously above --- and specifically to get it into code compliance.

To the OP's specific situation and question, I would recommend starting with contacting Defender Resorts, the new management company that took over from VRI at CBC several years ago (a change which was a significant factor in our decision to part company with the place). On site staff may have neither the knowledge nor the authority to substantively help the OP, perhaps reciting a canned response, by others' direction. Not good enough --- at least not for me. YMMV.

I had personally lost faith in the CBC Board, another reason for our bailing out of one of the best units and weeks on the entire property. Between the on-site staff and the CBC Board, I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope for a satisfactory resolution. I would instead be inclined to focus on obtaining some form of assistance or alternative use / access directly from Defender Resorts.

Secondly, I would ask whoever claimed some "legal impediment" to maintenance fee refund to provide a clear and specific statutory reference or case law cite on which they offer that particular "input". It might very well be true, but as an owner the OP certainly has a right to a more specific and detailed explanation than appears to have been offered. The CBC BoD, after all, has at least two attorneys, iirc.

The above being said (please don't shoot the messenger) I know that when the north section burned down at CBC (a dryer fire was blamed), owners of weeks in that wing were still required to pay maintenance fees during the (several years) before reconstruction was completed. I actually bought our CBC unit / week from one of those folks, who had used it just once after that north wing reconstruction before selling.

I suspect that mf refund is a non-starter, but perhaps Defender can / will assist in identifying / providing alternative use instead. Good luck, OP.