In recent years, the successful litigation of major timeshare resorts has really opened the eyes of many consumers. But as fractional owners increasingly voice their displeasure with the way the purchase plays out, resorts continue to find new ways to retain their users and find new buyers. While one might assume timeshares have altered their strategy to better satisfy customers and keep up with travel trends, it couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, they’ve simply altered the product itself to better benefit themselves. One of the first cases to confirm this pivot was a Marriott Vacation Club class action lawsuit in 2016.
Despite the need to create a more appealing product, we have to go back to the real estate market crash to really understand the depth of Marriott’s alleged deceit in this case. This period of time left the hotel chain with an inventory full of foreclosed and unused condos throughout the country that they needed to get rid of. Since the market was scarce and many current owners wanted to get out of contracts, Marriott adopted a points program that promised beneficial interest and land trusts to potential buyers. The problem was, a Florida company named First American Trust was the actual trustee of the land that held all of the timeshare properties.
Why this Timeshare Lawsuit has a Strong Case.
Despite only being able to offer licensing to use the timeshare properties (because they were owned by affiliate businesses), Marriott told potential buyers they could purchase a title that included interest in a land trust. In reality, the new points program simply gave “owners” access to condos that were held in the land trust. Throughout all marketing efforts, Marriott placed value on owning more points to gain even more access. This led buyers to believe the opportunity was valuable. By positioning the product this way, Marriott was able to not only charge buyers for points programs, but also closing costs, title policy premiums, real estate tax and recording fees.
Over the course of the buyer’s ownership experience, it appears Marriott did a poor job of providing transparency regarding the purchase. Although the points program wasn’t “illegal” itself, Marriott should have never charged buyers for something they’d never be able to acquire. After the purchase, members of the lawsuit claim they never really understood what they paid for. Even the ownership percentage of their trust fluctuated on a daily basis.
While Marriott was able to manipulate the system for quite some time, buyers eventually grew tired of the lack of disclosure. They decided that filing the Marriott Vacation Club class action lawsuit was the only way they could escape the scheme. Amongst a plethora of complicated evidence against the hotel chain, allegations essentially stemmed from the initial point of sale.
More Details on the Marriott Vacation Club Lawsuit.
While it became apparent that the complainants, buyers, had definitely been misled by Marriott, additional parties involved also administered misconduct. After an investigation, it was found that the former Orange County Comptroller, Martha Haynie, accepted and filed deeds that didn’t exist. This is what led buyers to believe title costs were valid. Because of this, she was also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit. First American Title’s role started when they charged Marriott to write title insurance policies without any type of legal title documentation.
Selling this type of product and going extra lengths to attempt validation is usually considered criminal activity. It’s why the Marriott Vacation Club class action lawsuit didn’t have to focus on much outside of Florida law violations. While it may have seemed like a good idea at the time, Marriott and those involved in the transaction faced racketeering charges.
Over the years, it’s been proven that some timeshare companies will do nearly anything to recoup losses. Participating in questionable sales tactics is how many have been able to remain afloat for so long. Hundreds of thousands of vacation owners have been told one thing and sold another. It’s why we’ve made it a priority to help you understand the traps of the timeshare trade.
This Marriott Vacation Club class action lawsuit should tell you that even the most prominent resorts may have something up their sleeve. So be careful what you’re signing up for and always confirm the terms.
50 Responses
I got a phone call several weeks ago about a lawsuit against Sheraton/Marriott timeshares. I blew it off but wish I hadn’t. Was this you? If so, I’d like to talk to you. we are “owners” at Sheraton Desert Oasis and very unhappy with it. we’ve been lied to over and over.
Hi Sandra! We don’t solicit vacation owners, so we wouldn’t have given you a call. But if you’d like to learn more about your options, we’d be more than happy to schedule a consultation with you.
https://vacationownershipconsultants.com/contact-us/schedule-free-timeshare-consultation/
Is there a way you can have your own blog site instead of contributing to one already made.. I have no idea how a blog works? How do you pay for it? How do you start one? Please help! It would be much appreciated! Thank you!.
We purchased Vacation Club points prior to Marriott’s purchase of Sheraton, Wyndham, Interval, etc. They have added these hotel chain timeshare owners and interval subscribers to use Marriott Vacation Club Resorts. As a result everything is overbooked and there is not availability to use the points we purchased. We continue to pay maintenance fees every year to keep our points, but we are actually unable to use the points… when we go to use points, we cannot find anyplace to use them or vacation because every place is booked. They like to take our money, but not provide a service. As a result we have tons of points and no place to go… we keep getting emails that our points are going to expire …I’d love to use them, but where are we supposed to use them when everything is booked?? I think this should be it’s own class-action lawsuit …is there a case here???
I’m in the same predicament as Mary, I bought points that i can’t use but have to pay the increasing fees every year. How do I get out of this? I paid $30,000 up front…
Has anyone on this class action site ever been contacted by any law firm? I’m curious as how I would go about getting information re: these class action(s) suits. I don’t want to be contacted by an EXIT team as I’m not interested in leaving MVC but I would like to know about the fraud and misrepresentation by MVC.
We are at Sheraton Oasis right now in Scottsdale and went through their required upgrade meeting. We are told Sheraton will be no longer and we have to pay another $8000 to $10,000 to move into Marriott Flex or our $66,000 we paid for the resort properties is worthless. What a scheme. We are going to fight this it’s fraudulent.
I have the same issue. I sent an email to the CEO who referred it down the line. We only purchased 1,000 points to which the representative said “well there’s not much you can do with 1,000 points”. I responded, “then the sales person should have said so or not sold me the points”. I was never told that priority members who are booking 7 nights have priority (we usually don’t take 7 night vacations) and finding anywhere available, much less somewhere I want to go, within the 10 month window. I feel like a sucker for buying this and would love to get out.
I could have written this Mary!! I am going to explore a class action- this is just not right. An owner for 25 years including pints and can’t book anything!! my email lifeisgood2012@me.com
Before we purchased vacation club points, I asked if Marriott would “buy the points back if we did not want them any longer”. The sales person answered ” why yes, of course. Marriot will buy them back at 75% of the price per point at the time of repurchase”. Well, this sounded okay, because he was offering to sell at that time at $9.20 per point and stated that the point price was raising to $11.50, and was told the price will escalate as time goes by. So I purchased 4500 points for a little over $40,000.00. after 9 years of paying fees and not being able to book vacations because of lack of availability, I decided to call and sell my points. Well, to make a long story short. I called Marriot and they put me in contact with their “resale” department who informed me they are paying $2.00 per point or $9,000.00. What a racket!!!
And now MVC is offering $0 per point! The agent happily stated that they we could “release” our ownership to them. For nothing. I was floored. SO disappointing to try to book resorts like Marbella in Spain 13 months out with no availability and then go search online and find availability. What?!!!
I’m in the same boat. It is outrageous what Marriott is doing. This would be illegal in any other business
I’m in the same situation. I was told Marriott would buy back my points at any time after 2 years of having a loan because I’m tied to a monthly loan. Its been 3 years and because it’s a lot cheaper to pay cash than the maintenance fees on every place I stay it seems ridiculous to be paying an extra 5000k a year for nothing on top of maintenance. now they’re telling me they won’t buy back or put me in their resale program because I have a loan…. Like what??? They have only offered me to dispose of the loan by gifting it to them after I pay the 22k I still owe on the loan. That’s absolutely ridiculous. I’m honestly contemplating a lawsuit. They told me so many things at the sale pit and I can’t do anything with my points. I feel totally robbed, they shouldn’t be allowed to sell at these prices if they’re not worth the price at all. Total scam to be honest.
We were just recently robbed of $15,000. My husband owned his for 20 years through Sheraton. We were told in April if we didn’t buy into the points program, Sheraton Flex that the maintenance fees would double and we would not be able to stay in the resort we owned. Now we can’t find anywhere to stay and the contract is so hard to understand on how to build your points. What did we just pay $15,000 for??
Have y’all come up with a solution? I’m sitting here looking at my dues and becoming extremely angry at the fact that we were sold down the river, out $15,000 & haven’t been able to book a trip with our points because there’s nothing available in the locations that we’re trying to travel to. So, my maintenance fees are $5000 for what?? two weeks in Hilton head? It’s ridiculous! if you have any suggestions for me, I would love to hear what you guys have done.
We own weeks and points with Marriott. When we bought the points we were told we would have 1200.00 for weeks and 600.00 for points in HOA fees. The second time we bought points we were told we would have a total of 2400.00 in HOA fees for both . I clarified it several times as I was concerned about the amount. Now I’m billed 2400.00 for my weeks and 2400.00 for my points . I’m told that some cap was removed and they can bill as much as they want. We are on a fixed income and can’t afford both. We would like to get rid of the points but keep the weeks . Is that possible?
Unfortunately, I got into the trap buying Marriott Vacation Club membership in June 2018 and I deeply regret and trying to explore options for the same. I appreciate any guidance.
Thanks in advance!
Anantha
We have a similar story to the others. Have been long time users but it’s getting harder and harder to do anything with Marriott any more. Scheduling is a nightmare, promises are false. It’s become a total sham! I understand about the earlier law suite regarding the sale of property transactions which were in essence illegal. That law suit was thrown out because Marriott “fixers” paid a lot of money to Political interests in Florida who rewrote laws. However, the judge ruled the plaintiffs could resubmit. Does anyone know of any other suits against Marriott Vacation Club? If so we’d like to partake.
Instead of purchasing a time share I opted for the “encore” package and agreed to put $200 down. They forged my signature on 4 other documents and started charging me 160/mo. When I attempt to talk to anybody they act SO shady.
Who can I contact. I want out of this nightmare! So many lies and unkept promises.
1-800-614-5288
https://vacationownershipconsultants.com/contact-us/
Hello there,
I have used every number I can find to speak to someone about my ownership and cancellations during COVID. Nobody answers the phone and there are all these penalties for canceling. However, we can’t travel if we’re going to have to just get to Hawai’i and sit in a room due to restrictions on the Islands. How can I get some help?
I have emailed VOC and hope they’ll get in touch with me too to join in any class action suit against Marriott. They were deceptive in their MVT program by throwing in contracts we weren’t aware of at the time of signing. Doing this forced us to pay addl maintenance fees that we weren’t aware of in the beginning of the signing.
Own a “week” in a Marriott property and have enjoyed it. Recently purchased “points” in the trust. The entire sales presentation was based on lies and the marketing agent departed shortly thereafter. Attempts to address our issues were met with a token offering of a few rounds of golf. Marriott must fess up to this fraudulent behavior.
Would be interested in any additional information about the suit.
We are in the same predicament as some of the others who have posted including the shock of finding out what little the buy back offered. My husband has some health issues which I won’t go into here but, long story – short, it let to us buying points in May of 2019. What really surprised us was Marriott also said we had purchased points in 2017. We have no paperwork/contracts regarding that purchase. We have a letter from an attorney saying the sale was completed. We can’t use any of the points and this has created quite a financial burden. If anyone has had success with any actions they have taken please let me know. We are considering defaulting but are concerned about what Marriott can then go after.
Class action suit against MVC.
How do we get in contact the firm hosting the class action suit?
Dan P
We bought a week at 2 different resorts 20 years ago and the first couple years it went great , then it got harder to book places we desired, then nearly impossible and we had to settle for what we could get in our desired time frame. The maintenance fees have doubled and more while the resorts are being booked during remodeling and less appealing. I tried to sell a couple of times after my husband became permanently disabled and had to plead with family members to pay the fees and use because Marriott would not sell for us to get out …now I have had it…sick of the hoops you gave to go thru for Interval and Marriott and lack of helpfulness…they make it all so confusing and frustrating you just give up…which I think is their intention. I was told no one is buying..what a crock..so,yes, you win Marriott, I’m giving up…you can have my weeks back and I get $0…remember when I bought and your rep said you will buy them back no problem…you lied..we are told now we get half if they sell… but that’s not true either..I have Cypress Harbour a popular destination only you say there are no buyers…beware if you are thinking of buying a Marriott Timeshare…it can become a nightmare
How do I get in touch with the firm handling the class action lawsuit?
This year we lost all our points could not book any resort and the pandemic stopped all travel Marriott Vacation club did not care.
I’m done how do contact to get out.
WE’ve been members for over 20 years and we’ve watched a good program turn against it’s legacy owners. We went to a meeting to air our grievances about how the shift to the Destinations program changed the promises made to former owners. We were talked into “upgrading” so we could rent houses instead of small condos. SHAM. Our upgrade doesn’t get us near enough points to dream of any of those properties. It was a lie, a shell trick, and we’ve never been able to reach that sales agent again. We want to join a class-action lawsuit and get out of this nightmare. My husband is 70, and this has become a nightmare.
We would also like to join this class action suit.
We would also like to join this class action suit
Where can one join this class action? I know there are some companies that can get you out of owning the timeshare but also charge as much as the timeshare is worth, if they are so confident in their work, get my $ back and take a share. What these timeshare companies do are predatory tactics.
We had MVC send us their buyback contract (which of course is for $0.00) which will put an end ti the annual and monthly payments into this black hole. But, in reviewing the documentation, we found that this includes signing our life away on any current and future lawsuits and sworn to confidentiality here on out. It’s a balancing act as to whether we continue to pay mindlessly with hopes of lawsuit proceeds or to bail out and forfeit claims, Any info on whether on the impending lawsuit and/or the legality of their buyback contract would be greatly appreciated.
Marriot scams just keep coming.
What big law firm out there would be willing to take them on? It would be YEARS before a settlement and we would get zip. Right now even IntervalWorld can’t get me my deeded 1 week. It was all a big scam from the start.
We also bought points and overpaid! All the weeks are gone all the time. We can never use our points so we lose them. They just racketeered into their selling scam. Please help us be part of the suit!
I am having problems with Marriott. In Aug. 2021 we closed escrow with Marriott taking back my timeshare, and suppose to refund my paid maintance fees for 2021. This was stated on the closing escrow papers, which they also never let me use that year. I have not gotten that check, and also it’s like they know nothing about it, and give me the run around.
I would like to join the class action suit
We are in the same predicament as many others, having purchased 7,000 Marriott Vacation Points and being told that there was most certainly a resale facility. As an Australian who has worked in financial services and in property, I find it astonishing that the US authorities have ever allowed this ‘Ponzi Scheme’.
I would like to join the Class Action against the Marriott Vacation Club as what has been perpetrated here is an indictable offence.
I would also like to join the Class Action Suit. They are currently having computer issues during the past few months, so it’s very difficult to use the website, so they suggested that I call everyday, but the other concern is they are not able to waitlist your requests at this point either. Points are subject to expiring & there’s no way to book a vacation with them.
I can’t believe that Sheraton/Marriott can get away with these scams. My husband and I just, literally got robbed of $15,000. My husband has owned his timeshare through Sheraton for over 20 years. This April, the salesman told us if we didn’t buy into this Sheraton Flex benefits program that our maintenance fees would double and there would be no available weeks at the Sheraton Broadway Plantation Resort in Myrtle Beach, that we have owned for 20 years. I don’t know how he did it but he promised us we could stay in the Marriott at Myrtle Beach this September, he even got us a tour. I recently tried to make reservations and was told that property would not be available until 2024!! Matt the salesman promised us. I explained my mother wasn’t getting around really well and we wanted beachfront property. We are now $15,000 in debt for what, a points system that is confusing. We are just heartbroken!!
We would like to join this action against Marriott! They have scammed us $70,000.
Can’t get reservations, a lot of promises and you get nothing! We had same things happen as everyone else has mentioned.
Dear Sharon,
We are in the same situation as you, having paid aprox EUR 54,000 , not to mention the additionnal yearly increasing maintenance fees of another EUR 2,700 paid even when, because of the Covid, we did not use the resort facilities….
Not getting a reservation!!!! , you are so very right, I am in the same situation; actually even worse, since we got a reservation for next year which was confirmed but 1 week later I had to find out that they made a real mess and cancelled it in their system. I am wondering what worse can still happen.
Despite endless phone calls with them my case is still not solved, eg I still did not get back my week .
Instead of admitting and correcting their mistake, they were not even capable of apologising.
We are sharing here our sad experiences with Marriott, but it looks like it does not bring any results.
Is there a more visible platform on the web where our voices can be heard and issues solved? Or at least to prevent other people to be fooled just as we are?
My issue is that I have been a member of Interval International for 30 years. I was a happy customer and found very good trades. Everything changed after Marriott bought Interval International (II). I haven’t been able to trade to the same resorts as before. I have a 2 bedrooms resort, now in 95% of the trades I can only exchange for a 1 bedroom or a studio of disheveled resorts. They blocked my capacity to exchange to the same resorts. Marriott buying Interval International have been a disaster for me and for thousands, and it is now a scheme. Everybody is in the same situation. How in the world I lost my capacity to trade to the same resorts? How in the world can you deceive thousands and get away with it? I don’t know what Marriot is doing with the resorts availability, but it is something fishy, they are using Interval International (II) inventory to sell it to other people that don’t belong to Interval or to use it for marketing purposes hunting the members interest. There are many Marriott, Sheraton, Hyatt, etc resorts units that are been taken from Interval International and now populate in sites like Expedia, Booking.com etc. hurting the people who pay for the II fees. Interval International is acting like they are a monopoly. Someone should find out what is going on. I am happy to know about this class action and I would encourage a law firm to start a class action for customers in the same situation as mine. There are a thousands of us who would join. It will open a can or worms. Please contact me for more details.
We are so glad to find someone who might try to help us recoup our losses. We bought three Marriott time share weeks several years ago. Nothing the sales force told us was true. We were told that all we had to do was make a phone call and we could go anywhere they had resorts. Over several years, we were never once able to get a week we wanted at a place we wanted. When we complained, we were told that if we would join a new program they were offering, this would be rectified. This went on and on, good money after bad. Lies such as we could sell our timeshare at a profit at any time. We found out they do not sell for you. They had a buy back program but were never buying back at that time. They said they would rent our weeks for us but never were renting when we needed it. So, we finally sold out three weeks at a great loss. What we paid approximately $65,000 for the three, we received about $2000.00 for the three. Marriott is one of the biggest scams ever. Please add us to you class action suit and help.
I failed to mention that there is one day a year ahead of your desired time that you must call at 8:30 am to request it. Two of us would call at exactly 8:30 and they would say that they were already taken. Then we would see the weeks we had requested for rent by Marriott for less than our annual maintenance fees which increased every year.
We bought a week at the North Villas in Maui through SPG back in 2008 and then an odd week in 2009 at Princeville and an even at Princeville in 2010. We loved the program until it was bought out by Marriott in 2016. As of this year (April 2022) I tried to book Maui for April 2023 within my 12-month timeframe to be told I can’t book due to merging issues. I still keep trying and as of today, the only thing that came available is Princeville at the end of September (Maui, my other home resort shows booked when I put in my dates) Trying to book anything is almost impossible and definitely not what I was told or experienced before the merger. Have others had this issue? I’m so frustrated after paying $120K for my weeks and then my maintenance fees went from $2300 a year to $6100 and now I have limited access.
We were sold a Marriott timeshare in Hilton Head. When we went to an up-sale presentation the Marriott rep told us our week was worthless! Yes, his words. They have raised the yearly maintenance fee so much each year that its obvious that they are pressuring owners to give it back for free. Yes but then they insist that I need to pay one more yearly mtnce fee even though I am paid up for the year. (2023 fee is $2525 which is $300 more than 2022). Its all Marriott greed and dishonesty. They have also eliminated packages that you could use the old points for to get airline miles plus a week at a JW Marriott. Now the only use is hotel stays and air miles. So the 3 nights I booked in Barcelona for next year, well, the points cost me $1044 per night or I could just book online for under $200. How is this honest?
Owner number 260934
Of course, the whole situation has not been passed on to your office, and perhaps this is not the case at all. We visited Orlando in 2019 and became members of the program unfortunately. The debits on our credit card always occurred, although I already signaled to the Sheraton/Vistana, numerous times, that we did not have access to our login to verify basic information or even enjoy the benefits of the program. Such attempts are made by telephone, email and messages.
Due to this, I already signaled that we no longer wanted to continue in the program and, due to lack of access, after months, we would like to receive our money back. We still get no response.
Finally, in 2022, over the phone, I finally managed to talk to a person named Carlos and got access to our login. To my surprise, all of our points had been reset to zero despite our up-to-date payments. When I asked why, Mr Carlos said that this would happen annually, unused points would be reset. When I stated that the points had not been used because we never had access to our login and because of the lockdown that the whole world suffered due to the pandemic, he simply said that it didn’t matter. With the help of Mr Carlos, I managed to disable the automatic debit on my card and payments were suspended. He himself guided me to this, tsaid hat this happened routinely, and informed me that after a few months, my policy would be canceled.
I continue to believe that, due to our lack of access, we should receive our amount paid back. And I reiterate again that we have no interest in continuing in the program. Neither could we financially because in 2020 we discovered advanced cancer in my dear and late mother and we both lost our jobs.
Flavio Lima Magalhães
What is the current status of the Class Action Lawsuit ?