deceptive advertising and prize
Complaint
Douglas Williams
Country: United States
I received an email inviting us to preview the Bluegreen Resort-The Fountains in Orlando, FL in May 2012. They promised a free 3 night/4 day cruise to the Bahamas for attending and completing the sales offer.
We went, listened to the program, actually became interested in buying from them. The sales guy wrote down the offer he was making us, then sent us upstairs to pay. The nice lady took our VISA and charged it and then asked us to sign the contract. Luckily I took time to read over it and saw that it did not list the specifics that the sales agent offered us. Of course the sales agent had kept the paper he had written our deal on. I asked for the specifics to be added to the contract, was told they could not do that. I felt took, they sent in a guy in a suit and he insisted that the sales agent did not have permission to offer us the deal. I asked for him to bring the sales agent up to the office we were in and he said no. We grew more angry and they gave us a refund for the amount just charged on the Visa 30 minutes earlier. So we decided that even though we felt lied to and cheated, we at least should go and claim our free cruise. Of course it was in a different building and they could not answer even the simplest question about the trip and told us to go the the website when we got home. We did so and found that you had to pay a refundable $100 deposit just to get access to the booking site. At that time we informed that the free trip did not include taxes, dock fees, etc and that we would have to pay for those fees when we booked the cruise. It was not a small amount. I believe it was $125 each. So now the trip was going to cost at least $250 for us. Still we were interested and continued on the site and we had to pick lousy dates in late August, Sept, Oct, Nov, etc. The summer weeks were not included in the free deal. So the computer made us select three different dates at least 45 days after we completed selecting our 1st, 2nd, 3rd choices of sailing dates. This also made me angry but I intended to see this bait and switch cruise through. Yesterday we received an email informing us that we needed to call within 7 days to formally book and pay for the cruise. We called today and the representative for the free cruise would not tell us which date we would be paying for. We told her that was rediculous and she saide that we had to book and pay now, that she could not re-enter the computer account for our cruise. We asked about what the accomodations for the free cruise included and we were flabbergasted when she said a room with bunk beds! We are middle aged and do not sleep in bunks. Who even knew there were rooms like that? We asked what it would take to get the free cruise WITH a regular twin bed room (on the lowest floor possible and interior) like the email had told us. She responded that it would be a $75 per person. Now the free trip on an uncertain date in the future in a cabin as low and interior as possible was going to cost us $350. We had looked on Vacations to Go and saw that similar rooms with even nice upper decks were only around $ 400 at times. We asked for a refund of the $100 deposit and cancelled our FREE cruise offer. I guess we will see in a few weeks if we get that refund.
SO- The experience at the Bluegreen property was terrible and now the "free" cruise was also a scam. Stay away! By the way, we did file a claim with the BBB, the FL state attorney and wrote Bluegreen headquarters about our experience. They responded that they were sorry we had "misunderstood" what they were offering us. CROOKS is what we used to call people like that.
We went, listened to the program, actually became interested in buying from them. The sales guy wrote down the offer he was making us, then sent us upstairs to pay. The nice lady took our VISA and charged it and then asked us to sign the contract. Luckily I took time to read over it and saw that it did not list the specifics that the sales agent offered us. Of course the sales agent had kept the paper he had written our deal on. I asked for the specifics to be added to the contract, was told they could not do that. I felt took, they sent in a guy in a suit and he insisted that the sales agent did not have permission to offer us the deal. I asked for him to bring the sales agent up to the office we were in and he said no. We grew more angry and they gave us a refund for the amount just charged on the Visa 30 minutes earlier. So we decided that even though we felt lied to and cheated, we at least should go and claim our free cruise. Of course it was in a different building and they could not answer even the simplest question about the trip and told us to go the the website when we got home. We did so and found that you had to pay a refundable $100 deposit just to get access to the booking site. At that time we informed that the free trip did not include taxes, dock fees, etc and that we would have to pay for those fees when we booked the cruise. It was not a small amount. I believe it was $125 each. So now the trip was going to cost at least $250 for us. Still we were interested and continued on the site and we had to pick lousy dates in late August, Sept, Oct, Nov, etc. The summer weeks were not included in the free deal. So the computer made us select three different dates at least 45 days after we completed selecting our 1st, 2nd, 3rd choices of sailing dates. This also made me angry but I intended to see this bait and switch cruise through. Yesterday we received an email informing us that we needed to call within 7 days to formally book and pay for the cruise. We called today and the representative for the free cruise would not tell us which date we would be paying for. We told her that was rediculous and she saide that we had to book and pay now, that she could not re-enter the computer account for our cruise. We asked about what the accomodations for the free cruise included and we were flabbergasted when she said a room with bunk beds! We are middle aged and do not sleep in bunks. Who even knew there were rooms like that? We asked what it would take to get the free cruise WITH a regular twin bed room (on the lowest floor possible and interior) like the email had told us. She responded that it would be a $75 per person. Now the free trip on an uncertain date in the future in a cabin as low and interior as possible was going to cost us $350. We had looked on Vacations to Go and saw that similar rooms with even nice upper decks were only around $ 400 at times. We asked for a refund of the $100 deposit and cancelled our FREE cruise offer. I guess we will see in a few weeks if we get that refund.
SO- The experience at the Bluegreen property was terrible and now the "free" cruise was also a scam. Stay away! By the way, we did file a claim with the BBB, the FL state attorney and wrote Bluegreen headquarters about our experience. They responded that they were sorry we had "misunderstood" what they were offering us. CROOKS is what we used to call people like that.
Comments
People, they trick people into buying time shares for thousands of dollars with life time commitment of $1000+ per year for the same rates you can get yourself by doing some online search, STAY AWAY, do not assist any of their presentations, they say it takes two hours but the reality is that they hook you for almost five hours of your precious time to listen to some [***].
(Four Steps to be FREE of Bluegreen)
So many hundreds of people have commented on this blog that they wish to get out and quit Bluegreen. They also have commented that they are angry that they got scammed and wish that everyone complaining about Bluegreen can combine forces TOGETHER to quit Bluegreen and get out. Here is the way to STICK-IT to Corrupt Bluegreen and bankrupt them in FOUR STEPS!
1) Find at least 30 PEOPLE who feel the same disgust for “Bluegreen” as you do and who wants OUT! This should not be that difficult. Just look at this website (https://complaintwire.org/search/?q=Bluegreen or http://www.consumeraffairs.com/travel/bluegreen.html) and also Google other websites to find them. Then post your email and contact information on this and other blogs. Just cut and paste all of this instruction into your post. Post these steps EVERYWHERE on the Internet (freeing people from the pain of Bluegreen).
2) Find ONE person who has “BAD CREDIT” anyway. Make sure you tell them the TRUTH on how “Bluegreen” Scam you and others (tell that person everything). Make sure that person has nothing to lose (as a home or car or property). Make sure he would not mind legally declaring bankrupt to legally FREE all his financial debt. In exchange he would MAKE $30,000 free money for doing nothing. This person can be YOUR NEPHEW or NIECE or NEIGHBOR or YOUNGER BROTHER or COUSIN or some RELATIVE or even a COWORKER or a FRIEND or a HOMELESS GUY who has a valid SSN. As long as the person is legally 21 years old or over and don’t mind declaring bankrupt.
3) The 30 PEOPLE you found who feels the same disgust for “Bluegreen” as you do will ALL sell their “Bluegreen Contract” over to this ONE SAME PERSON in #2 above. Sell it to him for “One Cent”. That means that the “One Same Person” in #2 above will spend a total of “Thirty Cents” to legally buy 30 PEOPLE “Bluegreen Contracts”, thus LEGALLY FREEING ALL 30 PEOPLE from the financial burden of “Bluegreen”. You are now LEGALLY totally FREE and OUT of “Bluegreen”. There are currently a number of people already selling “Bluegreen Contracts” on ebay.com (check and see). However, nobody is buying them because there is no incentive to buy the junk contracts!
4) Your question now is why on earth would the “One Person” in #2 above (perhaps a nephew) buy a worthless “Bluegreen Contract” and take on the financial BURDEN of 30 STRANGERS? The answer is for two reasons:
Reason 1: He will never pay “Bluegreen” a dime but will legally declare bankrupt anyway which will legally release all the financial burden from him and back to “Bluegreen”.
Reason 2: Each of the “30 People” above will have to pay this “One Person” some kind of incentive for RESCUING and FREEING them out of “Bluegreen”. I say each of the 30 Strangers should pay him $1,000 each (the price of Bluegreen’s yearly maintenance fee). That adds up to $30,000 free cash for this “One Person” who has bad credit anyway.
The Result – A Win-Win-Win Situation:
A) You are now FREE of “Bluegreen”
B) The person who freed you is $30,000 richer ($1,000 from each of the 30 Strangers)
C) After that “One Person” declares bankrupt, all the Bluegreen Contracts and properties will legally go back to Bluegreen. If 30 different strangers keeps on repeating this same cycle over-and-over again many times, hundreds of properties will be returned to Bluegreen after bankrupt. Bluegreen will have to pay for the property taxes (maintenance fee) on ALL those properties by themselves, thus sooner or later bankrupting Bluegreen (a corrupt company gone).
Notes:
A) Make sure when this “One Person” (perhaps a Nephew that’s 21 years old or older) declares bankrupt, make sure that the $30,000 is not in his name. Make sure he puts it in Mommy & Daddy’s name or anyone else so that the government won’t take it away in the bankruptcy procedures.
B) If the “30 Strangers” legally sell their property to this “One Person” using ebay.com or some other way, make sure you don’t get SCAM again and that “One Person” don’t take off with your $1,000 without signing the contract and buying your “Bluegreen Contract”. Look at ebay.com and make sure your contract states that this “One Person” is buying your “Bluegreen Contract Time Share” for “One Cent” (don’t get rip off). Make sure this “One Person” pays you the “One Cent” to make the contract binding legally. Feel free to improve, revise or work out any bugs in this system.
Have fun STICKING IT TO BLUEGREEN (a corrupt company)! – Sincerely SRDEDC