"Consumer Reviews on Companies, Products and Services"

Bluegreen Resorts

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Category: Business & Finances

Contact Information
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Bluegreen Resorts Reviews

November 19, 2008
foreclosure
We re in a financial crisis, my husband has been laid off and our income is now 1/3 what it was. contacted Bluegreen for help hahaha what a joke. Sorry there is nothing they can do to help us. Does anyone know what Bluegreens foreclosure process involves? I am ready to let it go. We will lose over $18000 (yes we were that stupid!) by letting it go but right now I just want this monkey off my back. I would gladly participate in a class action suit against them, just give me the details. We have 3 companies involved in trying to sell or rent it (out 2000 there) no luck, infact we haven't heard from any of them in the 2 year since we signed up. World Timshare Marketing, Pinnacle Vacations, and Timeshare by Owner are also frauds and liars!!

Pear
November 13, 2008
Refuse to help
My husband just got laid off and I contacted the mortage department for some help. We asked if they could refinace at a lower rate (now 10.25%) so we could get a lower more manageable payment. They refused to help and would rather take you into forclosure than to help you keep things good with them. The man was very nice but said Bluegreen policy doesn't allow you to be refinaced with them you would have to go to an outside source which is impossible because no on will finance a timeshare!! So he said that if I would go with out paying for 5 months they would forclose and that would stay on our record for seven years, rather than help. My advice is to never buy a timeshare because it isn't actual property that is of value to you!!

Pearl
October 16, 2008
Poor customer service
When purchased, I selected the auto withdrawal from my account. Evidently, they didn't get all of the information at the time. They failed to withdraw the monthly fee, then increased the interest percentage (and the amount) and said there was nothing that they would do because they sent me two letters that I should have responded to. They said that they did what they were supposed to do and that I was at fault.

They don't know the first thing about customer service. I am very very sorry that I ever got involved with these scam artists.
October 15, 2008
Awful company
My husband and I bought the sampler program December 2007. We were told that we could not use through the summer months or holidays. We were good with that. We started in June to book our rooms for a two night stay only to find out that their are no rooms available. I am very upset after paying $1000.00 for something that I can't even use. Looks like we are giving this resort $1000.00 for nothing. I just wonder how many more people they sucker into this. It just looks to me that there should be some type of law against this.
October 15, 2008
Fraud and scam
I've been a Bluegreen owner for almost 5 years and my Mant. fees have gone up every year. Last year they went up from $700.00 a year to $1, 100.00 a year and this year to $1, 230.00 I'm so fed-up with this that I'm going to sell this mess but who would buy it. I haven't been able to get a real answer as to why they go up every year but I'm sure Bluegreen isn't going to change a thing. They just keep gouging us with lame excuses. Pissed off in MI. Dave C.
October 14, 2008
Good company
We have been owners with Bluegreen Resorts for 7 years. We could not be more satisfied with this company and it is everything that it claims to be. you do have to know the rules and book your trips in advance since availability during peak seasons is limited. We could never stay at the really nice resorts because they were just to expensive! The bluegreen places are beautiful and so clean! tons of activities for the kids and the staff members are top notch!

As far as the sales presentations, they are certainly pushy but they are just doing their job! you have to learn to be firm and say no when something is out of your reach! Just say no! works for me! I just go to get my free gifts! we have never stayed or been trapped by then for more than 80-90 minutes. I just use that time to catch up on all the changes and new properties! I have given travel gifts to my parents and my in-laws for christmas gifts, and traded using RCI with no trouble whatsoever!

Good luck and happy travels with Bluegreen!
October 6, 2008
Scam and lies
This past June, my husband and I went with our four young children to the "Fishing Store" (a.k.a. Bass Pro Shop) in Columbia, Missouri. While there, we were approached by a salesman named Brian, who enthusiastically invited us to enjoy a luxurious family vacation at the Bass Pro Shop's premier resort in Branson, MIssouri. For just $59 up-front, we could enjoy two nights' accommodations at Big Cedar resort. PLUS we would receive two $25 Bass Pro Shops gift cards! The only catch was, that we must agree to attend a 90-minute tour of Big Cedar resort during our stay so that we could "see how great it was" and "tell our friends all about it". We took the bait, coughed up the 59 bucks and scheduled our resort vacation. We picked the first weekend in October for the trip.

The time for our much-anticipated vacation finally arrived. We followed our G.P.S. to the address on our reservation confirmation letter, which took us through downtown Branson and led us straight to... the Radisson? What? This can't be right. Where's Big Cedar Lodge? This looks nothing like the website. Where's the horseback riding? Where's the lake with the canoes? Where's the mini-golf course? Where are the heated pools? No, this certainly was not a mountain resort lodge. This was a downtown Radisson hotel, with nothing but a few landscaping rocks and bushes for scenery. We were perplexed.

My husband pulled out his cell phone and dialed the phone number the salesman at Bass Pro gave us. The woman who answered the phone said that the particular salesman who sold us the vacation no longer works there. We spoke with a supervisor. The supervisor said that he was sorry about the "misunderstanding", but while the 90-minute time share presentation was indeed at the Big Cedar Resort, our accommodations were at the Radisson in downtown Branson. Woah. We certainly were not expecting that. Nothing had ever been mentioned about our accommodations being anywhere but at Big Cedar. What a disappointment! Now, don't get me wrong. The Radisson is a nice hotel. We probably would have been fine staying there if we hadn't already spent months perusing Big Cedar's website, making plans and telling our kids all about fishing at the lake, swimming in the heated pool and playing mini-golf for three days and two nights. What was there to do at the Radisson?

Since the manager at Bass Pro couldn't help us, we decided to try the Bluegreen employees at the Radisson. We explained to the nice ladies at the desk all about the dishonest salesman at Bass Pro, and how we had a very clear understanding that we were supposed to be actually staying at the Big Cedar Resort, not just touring it. The sympathetic desk-workers were determined to make things right, and managed to find us a room at the Roaring River Lodge at the Big Cedar Resort! What a relief! Now we were ready to begin our vacation!

Our 90-minute tour was scheduled to begin at 12:30 the next day. There was a supervised play area provided for our oldest three children to stay in while we attended the presentation with our 1-year-old daughter. We started out in a little room full of people where a sales rep named Keith told us all about the points program, and how we could use our points to stay at any Bluegreen resort, or exchange them to use at countless other worldwide resorts and cruise lines. Everything sounded great, and my husband and I were both getting excited about the idea of "vacation ownership". We were then handed over to our own personal tour guide named Michael Scott (no, seriously, that was his name) who showed us a couple of lodge rooms and told us what everything would cost. The 90-minutes we were planning to spend on the "tour" came and went and we were still hearing the pitch. TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER... we were finally done, only after saying "no" to as many different "final offers" as one might expect to hear from a used car salesman. It was really rather infuriating. Even though my husband and I both kind of liked the "point" system that allowed members to stay at different resorts all over the world at any time of the year, what we didn't like, was that the "charter" that would allow us to use the "points" the way we wanted to, was only effective if we agreed to buy into the program THAT DAY. If we waited until we were actually able to go home and think things over, or until a little later down road when we had paid off some of our student loans, we would lose the ability to stay at any of the other resorts and we would only be able to vacation at Big Cedar. So, even if we might have been tempted to invest in Bluegreen's system of "vacation ownership", the mere fact that they were pressuring us to buy in now or never was enough to turn us off entirely. It didn't help either that the offer kept getting better and better each time we said "no". Points that started out costing over $3 a piece dropped in price to $2, then $1, and finally we were offered to enter into a "trial period" where we could purchase 9, 000 single-use "trial" points for $900 with the option to buy into the ownership program at any time during the next 12 months and still get the charter to use points at other resorts... oh wait... but earlier he said that if we didn't buy TODAY there was NO WAY we could ever get the Charter. The entire sales pitch was completely misleading. From the first representative at Bass Pro who told us we were going on a promotional tour and staying at Big Cedar, all the way down to the last offer that Michael Scott put on the table, we felt that we were intentionally being deceived. Michael kept saying that he didn't want to pressure us to buy, but then he would get up and talk to his "supervisor" and come back with a bigger and better offer, pretending like he was surprised at how great the offer was. How stupid does he think we are, really? It was offensive. I honestly believe that we would have been much more likely to buy into the program if we had actually gotten a 90-minute tour of the grounds and amenities, not just a cheesy sales presentation, and if we had been allowed time to consider our finances, and talk to other people who had invested with Bluegreen. The product sounds really good, and the system of "points" is appealing. Why must they go and ruin it all by trying to milk people for all that they can get and flat out lie to them about what they can or can't get in a package? It's infuriating.

My recommendation: Say what you mean and mean what you say. Put everything on the table up front. Give people their options, including the year "trial" period, if they want, and then allow them time to think about it. If it's really a good product, they will want it as much tomorrow as they do today. Then, maybe you won't have to crank 100 people a day through cheesy, insincere presentations in order to get a sale.
September 22, 2008
Awful company
My husband and I attended a bluegreen tour and presentation as a favor to friends who are already members (new members). We were horrified after this experience, sick in our stomachs, and entirely ticked off. We felt that the representatives in Hershey PA were dripping with sweetness and the tendency to fish from you all of the private information you can give them, in order to form a bond, dazzle you, make you believe you can afford things you can't and then, when you tell them no, they become totally different people and use any information you were not careful enough to guard against you in the final moments of the pitch. They did not tell us about maintenance fees, taxes, etc, until the very end of a 3 HOUR PRESENTATION!. I believe the reason our presentation lasted so long is because we gave them so much trouble, asked so many careful questions, basically gave them a run for their money. But we looked interested enough for them to continue. They kept asking the question... "if this were affordable, would you be interested." Our answer was yes... based on what they were telling us, we would have been. But we sensed it was all too good to be true. When it came down to it, we refused to agree to pay a down-payment, taxes or fees, and to see the necessity of such payments. They were so ticked at us and kept repeating that this was our mistake, not theirs. We were promised a 50 dollar visa gift card, and they were so reluctant to give it to us. Our friends who we visited with were trying to get us out of the room because our presentation had lasted too long and these two "bouncer" type guys attempted to separate us in the hallway. Our joke was that Gene Hackman would probably be awaiting us in the room (those of you who have seen The Firm will understand). It was freaky, weird, strange. I am so thankful that my husband and I got away!
September 10, 2008
Beware
Beware of the Visitors Center in TN- the salesmen are waiting for you...they entice you with free tickets to see a show etc...We were totally naive! I really don't know how these salesmen sleep at night because it is really a farce.

Too many rules apply and of course you come to realize this after your purchase. The salesman left out huge details on how the point system really works. Just keep in mind the maintenance fees come around fast- $500/year for a TS that hardly has availability- you may as well spend this money on somewhere you really would like to go!
August 21, 2008
Awful, awful, awful
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.

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