Complaint Rating:

Company information:
Bluegreen Resorts
United States
bluegreenonline.com

My husband and I fell victims to Bluegreen in June 2005. We were lied to at the presentation. We were told that purchasing Bluegreen is just like purchasing any other real estate; the property will appreciate and we would be given a deed. We were told that if we didn't like it we could sell it for more than we bought it for and they would sell it for us if we wanted. We were told that we could vacation anywhere we wanted and at any time we wanted. We were also told that the maintenance fees were about $600 and if we like, we could rent our points out to pay those fees and they would take care of the rental details for us as well. All lies.

We arrived for the presentation at 11 a.m. on a Saturday. We hadn't eaten but planned on getting lunch after the 90 minute presentation. After 4 and a half hours, we signed and were released. During the signing, we were exhausted and hungry. They refused my request to take the documents home to look over before signing. This is the same tactic cults use to recruit members. No food and no rest.

The 'property' we purchased is not worth what we paid. We cannot sell it. We do not have a deed but instead, a copy of a deed. We can't go where and when we want. In fact we can never go to Florida at Christmastime because our points arrive on June 18th which is only 6 months before December and Christmas reservations must be made eleven months in advance and our points are only 'high red' for twelve months. Our maintenance fees are now over $900 per year. Bluegreen can't sell the 'property' for us but put us in touch with Pinnacle, a resale company who charged us $39 and has not produced an offer to purchase our 'property'. We also listed with another company for $699 and have had no offers. Bluegreen's rental program is discontinued due to 'Lack of interest'.

This deception is in direct violation of the Michigan Consumer Protection Act but how do you prove that they lied to us? Are there any former timeshare salespeople out there who would testify to the deception practiced in the field? Immunity promised of course. Are there enough people out there who feel the way we do about Bluegreen so we can band together and make our voice louder than theirs?

Someone referred to timeshare ownership as a black hole. I'm there, with no light in sight. Help. I can't think of anyone I dislike enough to even give this 'property' to.