HELP Need to rescind Bluegreen purchase Aruba

[Rent_Share]

No offense but what a way to screw up an expensive vacation . . . . . .

The take away . . . . . . . To Avoid the Stress in the future


JUST SAY NO TO THE UPDATE/MEETING/TOUR ....... INQUISITION

 

[smithiekid]

It would appear from your original post that all you are complaining about is the little extra freebies they have given you. remember these are just one off things and you should never have bought a timeshare just for these freebies
You have not told us how many points you have what they told you re mf and club dues.
Please list what they told you then we can tell you what is true or false
I can tell you you will not be in the "system" for 30 days.
But not meaning to be rude but you will have ticked those little boxes saying that you understood what you were signing, so please again I say list what they told you and then we can tell what is right and what is wrong
here is a list of the important things
Club dues $129 (pays for the reservation people and your RCI membership)
MF (you will be in trust fund E sales type A (aniversary mf ie you pay your MF on your aniversary ) they are a flat fee of $320 + ).045 per point
If your points are every other year then it is $320 + ).0225 per point each year.
It does not matter where your points are deeded points are points
You do have the right to your "deeded" unit at 13 months out but at 11 months it goes into the pool
But we do need this info to help you

 

[cfd6]

cont'd

You are correct, I have focused on the "incentives" as that is what influenced us most, it was all they really talked about in the inquisition
We are retired & I have terminal cancer. We told them we were not as interested in the long term and they used the immediate uses as a tool. We further told them we could not afford the 11,000 points and were walking out when they stopped us and said surely we could afford the 7,000 points they "just remembered".. They said this cut fees and would be enough for TWO Vacations a year. They went on to say we could book 4 days & pay $59 per day for however long we wanted to extend.. Looking at books, it seems most properties require 7 days or at least 7 days before the $59 kicks in.
we were there 6 hrs, had not eaten and by this time my blood sugar was screwed up. I several times told them I could no longer think clearly and was fading.. They kept it up til we signed..
I will have to look over the 200 lbs of material to find the info you request. I am so confused I can barely look at this anymore.. I do know they said they were waiving the first year fee, but I do not know which as it seems there are several

 

[cfd6]

I have looked thru as much of the paperwork as I can stand at the moment
All I can find is " Common Assessment Fees " of $ 320 plus .045% of pts, I have 7000 pts

I find no other mention of annual fees,, I do recall them saying they were waiving the ffirst year, but I cannot find any memtion of that

I am now hearing about taxes being charged to some, but have not found any mention of taxes except some taxes being inclusive under the above mentioned assessments

 

[cfd6]

Stop PAyment

I am now considering having the down payment charge reversed on my credit card.. I made this purchase 5 days ago in ARUBA, I live in Louisiana
It seems legal action would have to be done in Aruba, if so
I am concerned about whether any judgement obtained in Aruba would be enforceable in Louisiana ??

Has anyone had experience with such a situation I am at wits end

 

[smithiekid]

ther are very few resorts that need 7 days in any case, the cash for days they talk about is Bonus time which you can book 48 days out on line 45 days by phone. You will have bonus time at all resorts including Aruba (infact Aruba can be booked 90 days out)
You can use points for some days then bonus time this works best off season, a lot use bonus time at weekends since these take more points
the only fees are the club dues of $129 and the mf of $320 + 7000x 0.045
there are no houskeeping fees no inter resort transfer fees with in the 60+ bg resort family

please join the bluegreen group on Yahoo you will get tons of info of how to get the best out of your points.

it is one of the better points system

you only need to make a reservation for 2 days (1 day in Charleston) o lot of the original resorts will let you have a full week for 7000 pts as I said above avoid weekends and you can get a lot more days off season for those 7000 points

a couple of things I forgot bonus time is not available at all resorts but only those that are club resorts ie owned and managed by BG. Bonus time is the inventory that is not used by points.
The 7 day stay resorts are not owned or managed by BG they only have very limited inventory ,these are hard to get into. Bonus time is very hard to come by in peak periods but very easy in the off season

In additon to the club dues and MF you will have Travelers Plus, you do not have to renew this if you find it is of no use to you.

No doubt they told you you do not pay property tax if you buy in Aruba , this is wrong since your points are held in trust in the US but do not worry about this it is in the MF fig. so you will not have to pay any more that I have quoted, The AGM is in Sept so we have to see what 2013 mf will be they did not go up in 2012.

In the 8 yrs I have been an owner there has only been 1 SA that was for the improvements in Aruba but again this is not a problem , part of our points are Deeded in Aruba (works out to 2 full weeks) if we had been fixed weeks owners there then our SA would have been around $2000 in addition to this they have also had 2 or 3 more smaller SA ......... the amount I paid to these improvments worked out to be $30 because the SA is spread over the whole of the Trust Fund, so you have no worries there.

if you need to know anymore then please ask

 

[lbjen]

I'm new around here and don't want to rock the boat, but it seems like you kind of ignored all the advice people gave you already. I really feel for you, and I truly hope things get worked out for you.

 

[cfd6]

???

Ibsen,

I am not sure what you mean-- I appreciate ALL info I received
I have read all of them and I synthesize the input..

I retained an Arubian atty, I filed a recission notice to Bluegreen and am considering all options --Don't give up on me, I am not through
Bluegreen has not responded

I leave Aruba today, but wil continue this fight I will not have much contact until I reach Charlotte & then Dallas

Thanks to everyone on this board

Jerry

 

[smithiekid]

Jerry,

stand back take a deep breath and look at what you have got before you start spending money on lawyers etc , dont get carried away you may end up spending more on them than you did on your points. Remember you did sign a contract so be 120% certain that these laywers can do what they say they can once they get into it the only winners are them.

 

[Passepartout]

Jerry,

stand back take a deep breath and look at what you have got before you start spending money on lawyers etc , dont get carried away you may end up spending more on them than you did on your points. Remember you did sign a contract so be 120% certain that these laywers can do what they say they can once they get into it the only winners are them.

The Original Poster says he was held 6 hours, was into a diabetic crisis, and not let go until he signed. Then after the fact, he was told that there is no rescission period in Aruba, which it appears that as of the first of this month, there is. The resort seems to be making a concerted effort to force them into this unwanted purchase.

Why do your posts seem aimed at either getting him to use BlueGreen points, or to delay him from making the case that he be allowed to rescind in accordance to the law and out of decency?

I won't dispute that for some people, a mini system, like BlueGreen is a good vacation choice, but here, in TUG, the mantra is Buy Resale, Save Thousands.

Even if Jerry has to pay an Aruban Lawyer to shepherd through a rescission, it is worth it to him and his family rather than force them to go through collection and foreclosure to free them from this vacation 'nightmare'. Nobody deserves to be treated like they were- and on vacation too!

 

[smithiekid]

If you reread the original post the main concerns were that they were not getting the one off "freebies".
If he can recind then thats all well and good but if he cant then would you want to be responsible for telling him to fight hit and cost him $$$$ cos I sure would not want to be in your shoes.
What is done is done, what I have tried to do is to give him an insight into what after all he signed up for.
You make it sound as if he should "go after the bad guys " no matter what.
What I am telling him is .... this is what you have bought .... this is what it will cost you .... this is how it works.
By the way if he does follow your advice and go down the resale route DO YOU know what he will get, he is (was ) looking to top up his points with Bonus time, infact use bonus time more than points.
This he will only be able to do at his home resort not the whole of the system, not much use if his home resort is not with in easy travelling distance is it .
So please think twice before you tell people to go "resale" unless you know what resale for Bluegreen means and what benefits they will get. To use it how he intended to use it he needs a mixture of both but unless YOU know the system YOU could be leading him up the garden path.

 

[cfd6]

Again I say I focus on the Bonus, because that is whet THEY focused on. When it was determined I could not afford the higher amount of points and were at the door walking out, more offers were "remembered" and poured forth. However the entire presesentation focused on using OTHER facilities. I was told that unlike the "OLD" days were not tied to a single property, but were free to use all of BG and RCI facilities. Bonus nights were presented almost to be like a hotel stay, stay here & there almost at will and especially to supplement points, use points for 4 days & bonus for 3 more days etc.
Looking at the material we see that is for the most part BS, seems were are locked to La Cabana in Aruba. Aruba was very nice, but it holds little interest for us in repeated visits.
All our reservations are limited to extreme off season because of low nbr of points just the opposite of what we were told and even then we can only request a reservation 45 days out, of course this is to allow the properties to fill all vacancies, leaving only a possibility of a left over
I do not mind a last minute offering, in fact that can be a good opportunity, but when I want to make plans, especially involving family or friends I do not need my system working against me.
Like I stated before, I cannot find anything in this mess that is as presented to us. Everything is a misrepresentation, an ommision or out right lie.. After the recission letter was delivered I was called to the office and was given a "Developer's Week" certificate to make up for the
mis-representations for the "Free Cruise" Funny thing, it was not signed & validated
The only reason these contracts are written the way they are is to lock up all loopholes and to cover the lies and horrible tactics these scum bag sales people use. The companies KNOW and promote this behavior..They say they do not condone what the sales people say & do, but that is BS, these people are agents and they are responsible for their agents, but hide behind denials in contracts
Whenever I spoke with locals in shops & restaurants in Aruba- & I was asked how we enjoyed our visit I told them we enjoyed everything but the Time Share people - Everyone of them either laughed and apologized or went quiet and became sympathetic.. One SCUBA shop guy belly laughed and said he was sorry, but would be glad to see me again..
Again I focus on the now things, because that is all I have, Now. I was sold & promised things NOW as well in the years to come.. I told them my time was limited, they said no problem enjoy all this now & sell it when the time comes or pass it to family.. Now I read of people who cannot give away theirs for FREE...

 

[smithiekid]

lets focus on the true facts

You are not just locked into Aruba , you are "deeded" at Lacabana but that does not say you have to go there Points are Points and can be used at ALL resorts in the Bluegreen system ...... YOUR 7000 POINTS ARE GOOD FOR ALL RESORTS.

You can make your reservation at 11 months the same as all other owners and stand as much chance of getting you reservation as anyone with 14999 points ( at 15000 premier levels and wait list come into play)

You do not have to make a 7day reservation at all resorts ... only those resorts that are not owned or managed by Bluegreen ie they are the old system of fixed weeks and Bluegreen only have a very few odd weeks that have been picked up on the way.

You are correct in that 7000 points is not a lot but that 7000 poits will give you a full summer week in Aruba. at least 2 resorts on the gulf (via Roma, Resort 66 ) and cas del Mar in Ormond beach and a high summer week at Harbour Lights in Myrtle Beach and that is just of the top of my head.

Bonus time is exactly what it says on the tin, anyone would be silly if they thought they could get BT for 4th July for instance .... it is the unused points inventory and it does not have to used in conjunction with points at all

I would estimate that you would get Bounus time at The Fountains in Orlando at least 90% of the year and since you are not tied to peak periods then its a gift .

RCI you can use your points direct with RCI ,you log onto BG website and then just clik through to RCI the system tells you how many points you need for the resort you pick.

You can save this yrs points and add to next yrs (cost you $35) BUT although you have double points they cannot be used in high red season , the way round this is to borrow your next yrs points (you have to pre pay mf ) and then you would have 14000 anytime points.

Travelers + lets you use RCI hotweeks (at very short notice) but you can get anything upto a 3 bed unit for just 3000 points.

See my note above about only having resale points ..... this is not the best way for you and it does have some very big pitfalls if you do not know the bluegreen system bigger MF large SA spring to mind if you are in the wrong trust fund.

If you wanted more points then yes I would tell you to go resale but you do need to ask certain questions before you say yeh or nah.

these are true facts and since you seem to be very flexable when you can travel you could make a real killing on some of the deals that are available

So no matter what some say on here it is not all doom and gloom and if you cant recind then you do have a very flexable system.

Just bewear of paying good money after bad to these laywers ,they are the ones who are sat there rubbing their hands in glee

 

[smithiekid]

Jerry,

plese do me a favour go to www.bluegreenonline.com (you will not be able to log in yet in any case) but click on the righthand side and look at the list of BG resorts they should tell you if they are club resorts then tell me a couple of dates in the next 45 days and I will see if there is any bonus time.
It is true that some do just buy for the unlimited Bonus Time.

A 5 bed house at The cliffs at Long Creak (nr Branson) is $219 per night on Bonus time all the family could use that , then check how much 5 hotel rooms in the same area would cost per night

 

[cfd6]

I will get back to you on this, I have to travel to M D Anderson in Houston for treatments and follow ups a couple of times in the next two weeks.. Will get back to you during the next few days

Thanks

 

[cfd6]

Possibly Resolved

It seems this issue may be resolved.. I had communication from Aruba that I believe will resolve this
Thanks to everyone for the replies, advice and support

J

 

[Passepartout]

Please keep us advised of the details. Others may be helped by it.

Good luck with your treatments and the timeshare debacle. We wish you well.

Jim

 

[lbjen]

Glad to hear you finally have good news, and hoping for better things to come for you.

 

[cfd6]

Things continue to look good from what I hear, but until all is final I cannot close the book on this issue, I will advise ASAP

Again thanks to all

 

[cfd6]

Relief At Last

We received notice from the bank that our deposit has been refunded and deposited to our bank account.
For us this horror story is over. Our contract is cancelled and we are free from BlueGreen..
We did not receive any comments from BlueGreen Aruba, just a request for the CC acc't to make deposit to, deposit was credited back to my CC aout 5 days later

Thanks so much to Attorney Lincoln Gomez in Aruba and to all the members who offered advice and support during this ordeal

God Bless all of you

Jerry

 

[Passepartout]

Thanks so much to Attorney Lincoln Gomez in Aruba and to all the members who offered advice and support during this ordeal

God Bless all of you

And to you as well. Concentrate on getting your health back so you can find your own peaceful beach. We're glad this finally worked out for you.

 

[cfd6]

My Happy & Peaceful place is Cozumel, Mexico.. I have been visiting and SCUBA diving there for about 25 years. I have many friends there and it feels like home. I feel so much better while there, it is amazing how a short time there affects me- I literally feel years younger. Unfortunately I return home and have to start over next trip LOL.. I even leave my dive gear there with friends rather than lug it back and forth. I did bring it home in June to try diving in Aruba. Unfortunately we were so upset and busy with he mess there that I never felt like pursuing dive arrangements. I never unpacked the gear which I regret.
I would like to return to Aruba under different circumstances and try the diving and other things we missed.
Again, thanks to all you were a blessing to me

Jerry

 

[Patri]

We love happy endings.

 

[glypnirsgirl]

I am so glad this turned out well for you.

We love Cozumel, too. I have been diving for 25 years now and it is still, by far, my favorite.

We always use the same dive operator, Del Mar Aquatics nka Dive Palancar. Ian counted his logged dives one year and he had made more than 100 dives from the same BOAT!

We have almost always stayed in the same place, Casa Del Mar. It is not a fancy place, just comfortable. We tried Parc Royal once and the floors were too slippery.

I see timeshares available on Cozumel regularly and Ian doesn't want to book them, he wants to stay at Casa Del Mar.

One of my friends recently returned from the Caymans where he had been diving. I asked him how the diving was and he said, "twice as expensive and half as good as Cozumel."

One of the attorneys that works for me went to Aruba last year and absolutely loved it. He said that he and his fiancee enjoyed it so much that is where they want to spend their honeymoon.

SO glad for the good outcome.

elaine

 

[lbjen]

I'm so glad this worked out for you, the best of luck with your health, and please never buy at a timeshare presentation again!:whoopie: