Bluegreen Vacations
Reviews and Complaints

I am a Bluegreen owner and was sold a bill of goods that never came to fruition. Dealing with them is very frustrating and most recently they made promises to set up a Traveler Plus account and never did it and i have to keep calling back.

Being a Bluegreen owner is one of the worst experinece of my life. Many of the properties are usb standard and i have been trying to sell my ownership for 3 years and no one will even consider it.

I was told i could use my points to find renters and that never happened either. Sooner or later businesses need to start operating with integrity.

In 2007 we went on the vacation to Myrtle Beach, on the street we were stopped and offered to go lo listen 90 minutes presentation about time share for 100.00. 100.00 dollars check for more fun sounded good and we agreed. Presentation was not even close to 90 minutes, try more like 5-6 hours. After we were told about the whole point system, we can go anywhere we want, of course within hotels they owe, even Europe - sales price was over 20, 000.00 It was way out of our price range, plus it was nothing we were interested in, we didn't want to get stuck with long term contract. We refused, sales person got the manager William, who made it sound like he was making us a very good deal - sales price about 16, 000.00 of course for less points, and they will buy it back when we don't want it anymore. The sales person (do not remember gentleman's name) was telling us about the resort in Key West, where he was taking his mom and dad in a couple of weeks, that he is very happy with his points, (apparently he can buy them for the discount as an employee). We told them we are not interested, it's still out of our price range, we were interfered in investments. The last thing we had to do to get that 100.00 check was to take a tour to check the hotel out, we were brought to one of the rooms, which was nice. We told to sales person and sales manager that we are not interested in taking our vacation that way. Once again sales manager William Barnes (we still have his card) came to us and was telling what a great investment it is, that they would actually rent our points. Besides, right cross the street from Harbour Lights, there was amusement park being built, so according sales people, after amusement park built our time share would double in value. He said that lots of people buy it as an investment, because Bluegreen would rent our points during important events for 30% commission and we would keep 70%. We got interested, investment, making money - renting our points, rent money would cover maintenance fees (they "forgot" to mention that they reserve the right to increase every year) and monthly loan payments, and within couple of years we would be able to make some profit. But it was way too expensive. They reduced the price couple more time, till we got offered 8, 000 points every other year for 9, 350.00 dollars, but we had to give them I believe it was 800.00 check the same day, unfortunately it was affordable and we gave in, when instead we should have ran away. We gave them 800.00 check, the closing process took about 10 minutes, we were rushed through everything, the lady asked us and gave something to sign that buying it doesn't put financial burden on us, at the time it didn't. Anyway we were told they will buy it back, when we don't want it anymore. We signed for automatic monthly payment debit, because sending payment by mail would cost us more. Couple of month later we decided to sell our time share. I emailed them asking to take time share back. Respond was that they don't offer resale program and we should contact Pinnacle Vacation, they will sell it for us. We did contact Pinnacle vacation and we have our time share for sale almost 2 years. Besides Pinnacle Vacation is the only company that Bluegreen authorize to sell through are able to transfer certain benefits are personal to each owner, namely membership in the Bluegreen VIP Program, including Basic membership (Bonus Time and Day Use at Club Component Sites). I paid over six hundred dollars to a company called Resalebyowner.com to sell our time share while we are arguing with Bluegreen. They don't even call us back. They took our money but we get nothing in return. I filed a report with the Better Business Bureau, but due to the contract where the promise of buying back our time share obviously is not included they refuse to do anything for us. I started doing some research. There are lots of complaints in www.[redacted].com about the way Bluegreen Corporation's sales people trick unknowing customers into buying their time shares. I read numerous complaints online about Bluegreen, turns out lots of people are going trough the same thing. One gentlemen mentioned that disappointed customers should file complain with the Federal Trade Commission, I called them and reported the unfair sales tactics and lies they say to customers. FTC told me I should file a complain with Consumer Protection Agency, I did do that too. I don't care we have sign the contract, but we signed it under duress. What we were told we are buying and what we got is not the same thing. We bought because sales people told us Bluegreen will buy it back. They used unfair tactics and misled us. I even emailed to the president of ARDA (American Real Estate Development Association) that Bluegreen belongs to. I even emailed to Mr. Maloney, CEO of Bluegreen. Next step is to get more attention from government, to go more public. Please look at the link below on youtube website, under name timesharenightmares.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMUhVGCfgBs
If you feel you got misled and uninformed about Bluegreen time share, when you were purchasing it, please join us in fight against Bluegreen and their deceptive sales practises. Please post your story on you tube, and if you need more information or have any questions, please email me at: [protected]@msn.com
We have couple of lawyers looking into having mass lawsuit against Bluegreen, if you want to join, please let me know. And there is a website for unfortunate time share owners on the way.
Thank you

We signed up for a few different raffle "getaways" at a children's expo in February. This particular one we paid a discounted price and were aware was a time share or something.

We just came home from a BlueGreen presentation. We did not purchase and as someone else posted, I have to wonder if they dragged out our tour because after the Presentation we said it wasn't something we are interested in at this time. I specifically told the representative that we had to be out by 2pm (which would cover the 2hrs. maximum we were told the presentation would take) because our children had an appointment. We did not get out until 3pm. and the kids missed their lessons that we had paid for. This alone demonstrates a lack of respect for us and our time.

The sales representative was new, so we don't fault her for inexperience. Her superior however was a bit rude and I was turned off immediately. She also went online and pulled up customer complaints about the "vacation club" that we just purchased (from the same expo). Much like the ones I see about BlueGreen on this site. Did she really think that trying to make me feel bad about my past choices was going to sell me on Buying with BlueGreen?

Also, the discounted trip was not at a BlueGreen resort but at a Hotel. Why was that? We did not experience BlueGreen in anyway except the sales presentation. Maybe that was a good thing.

We had a good time at our 2 day getaway, too bad it ended on a sour note.

We went for a 90 min tour in williamsburg, va hat turned out t be 2, 5 h. all that sucked I was happy that at least we got 100.00 reward for that. the guy was really nice and scared as it was his 2nd time or something so i think he was not experienced thats why he wasnt rude and sticky. but his manager oh my god he was a real b...rude, lier, unprofessional. when he heard that we wouldnt buy it he was so pissed off and that actually m made me smile because a second before he was leaking our as... but actually thats fun to remember.

We went to a presentation at Christmas Mountain Village, in Wisconsin Dells, WI. While there we sat for a 1 hour presentation and half hour tour of the resort. During that presentation the speaker, Blake K., said several things that made buying their timeshare sound very appealing. He said what a great investment it would be because it was something that would increase in value as the years passed, because as the years went by it would cost more for new people to buy their timeshare, increasing our points value. That it was something we could proudly pass on to our children.

He also said we would only be allowed to buy the timeshare that day because it cost Bluegreen around $500.00 every time they had people come for their presentation. He gave an example saying “Imagine you were selling a car, and you paid potential buyers $50 dollars to test drive it. You wouldn’t want someone coming back again and again just test driving your car and you having to pay $50.00 over and over again.”

At the time we did not know that these were lies. It had made sense to us at the time. We did not know it was illegal to claim a timeshare as an investment, nor did we know that they couldn’t force a limited time offer on their timeshare as they had led us to believe.

After the presentation and tour we had a sit down with the speaker Blake K. and his sales manager Mark Halfpenny. During this sit down, even more lies were told to us.

We had told them we would want enough points to be able to take 2-3 long weekends a year. (Thursday night though Sunday morning or a Friday night to Monday morning). Mainly during Spring and Fall. We understood that summer would cost more points and we had no desire to travel during winter. They told us that 7, 000 points every other year would be plenty, since we didn’t want to travel during the “red” season.

Also we had recently purchased a house, and were concerned about having another payment. We were told that owning a timeshare is a tax write off, because we were buying actual property, and paying taxes on the property. We were given 6 months of no interest and after the APR kicked in the payments would be no higher that $150.00.

We were asked what kind of dream vacation we had wanted. And we replied “A week long cruise in the Caribbean”. These vacations started at 18, 000 points. We knew 7, 000 points every other year wouldn’t be enough to take our dream vacation. Mark Halfpenny said, “You can just save your points till you have enough to go.” I then specifically asked, “Do the points ever expire?” He replied; “No. You can save them for 6 years without a worry.”

Never once were Club Dues mentioned. Not during the presentation, tour or sit down. We were told about maintenance fees, but never about Club Dues. Blake K. said that Maintenance fees covered the taxes on our property and the upkeep of the resorts. And that they were based on how many points we have, so that they would never raise. His example was “If we paid $400.00 in fees, than our children would only pay $400.00 when we passed it on to them.”

We decided at the time that $150.00 a month for a few years, and than lifelong vacations for a small maintenance fee was great. We could stay at wonderful hotels that would normally cost closer to $250.00 a night for a fraction of the cost, eventually. A lot upfront, but in the long term a great asset to our family.

We agreed and went to sign contracts. At this point we had been there for over 4 hours. Our then 2½ year old son was with us, and he did not want to be with their staff any longer. We were tired and hungry. Our son was tired, hungry, and very irritable. We had to wait around another half hour while they prepared the paper work. By the time we actually sat down with the lady who prepared our paper work we were just ready to go. The only reason we were still there was because we believed what we were told. We honestly felt we were doing something good for our future and our son’s future.

The contract was so big. The lady said she would summarize everything for us. We were under the impression it had to be done that day. We weren’t given the option to sign them later. It was so hard to concentrate on the paperwork by this point. It’s hard enough to understand most legal documents at the best of times. We were tired, hungry, and trying to keep a toddler happy.

In January we scheduled a vacation with Bluegreen, to Christmas Mountain Village for the following June. During that scheduling is when we discovered that the points couldn’t be saved indefinitely. We tried booking online, and though it said we had plenty of points, we were not able to schedule our vacation. We were confused and called Bluegreen, and that’s when they told us we had to use them by a certain point or else they expired. And not only did they expire, points saved for a year, lose value. (Meaning, we could only use saved points for a “low” or “blue/white” season.) So we made the appointment, using as many points as we could so that they would not be wasted.

That February while doing our taxes our tax consultant had no idea what we were talking about, in regards to getting a ‘tax write off’. We have since learned that timeshares and expenses relating to them cannot be used on our taxes.

About a week before our trip we than received a bill for “Club Dues, ” and were bewildered as to what they were. We looked on-line at the Bluegreen website, and found out there was another fee on top of the maintenance fees. We decided to bring the bill with us, to talk with the employees at Christmas Mountain Village.

We have discovered that Bluegreen is a member of the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and that they agree to abide by ARDA’s code of ethics. The following are codes that Bluegreens employees have broken with us.

Code of Ethics III.C.1-2 - 1. Must not convey false, untrue, deceptive, or misleading information
through statements, testimonials, photographs, graphics, or other means; and
2. Must not omit material information without which the solicitations or sales
information would be deceptive or misleading, or which would affect consumer decision making.
Code of Ethics V.B.4 - 4. Limited Time Offers. Representations must not be made that the current terms of an offer will not be available at a future time unless those representations are factual.
Code of Ethics V.B.5.b-c. - b. Must be consistent with information and disclosures provided in
the Sales Information; and c. The consumer must be provided with a reasonable opportunity to
review the contract documents in writing at time of sale before signing.
Code of Ethics V.B.9.- 9. Sales Presentation. Verbal representations must be consistent with
information contained in sales documents, contracts and written disclosures.

The only good thing I can say about this company is the town home we stayed in was fabulous. The bed was comfortable and clean, the room big and comfy. Doesn't negate the swarm of lies they used. Stay away from them.

If you really want a Bluegreen timeshare, just buy it from one of the hundreds of people trying to get rid of theirs. You can get 11, 000 points for less than 8k.

I was told the same thing! That the Timeshare was a Real Estate Deed and that it was increase in value! 5 years later, I am still paying for the thing, never used it because I am not allowed to until the HOA's are caught up, and (which btw if you don't pay you can't sell your propert to pay for the HOA's) - now I find out that becuase I own real estate (shocker to me! I thought time shares were a vacation club) if I had written off the interest from the mortage on my taxes, I would NOT be eligible for the first time home buyers's Tax Credit of $8, 000!

PEOPLE DON"T BUY A TIME SHARE!

After spending 5 hours with the sales lady and her boss, we bought. They just would not take no for an anwer. I was promised everything you can think of, even to call 48 hrs in advance and could get in The Fountains at anytime with no blackout dates. This even meant July 4th, New Years, etc. I am self-employed and only take long weekend vacations. Never do I take a week or two. Usually Thursday thru Sunday. I have tried on 5 occasions to book something and was actually laughed at. The lady said I would have to call at least 11 months in advance just to get into The Fountains. I got an invitation to go to Branson for a free weekend. They actually just wanted to sell me more points. While with the sales lady, I mentioned that I had forgotten my Kahlua for my coffee. She immediately said she could not do anything else with me. What I found out is "No BlueGreen employee is to accept a signature on a binding contract if they have knowledge of client drinking alcohol". They broke the law in Florida, as they knew I was drinking Kahlua the day I purchased as well. I have filed complaints everywhere. Now at the Attorney General in Oklahoma. Have not gotten anything done. All the Government Agencies are a big joke. Looking for an attorney that can help me if this doesn't work. If anyone has any information that can help, please contact me at wildwild.[protected]@cox.net
Thanks

My Husband and I traveled with our family to Orlando and were "sold" on a free vacation to Disney World. Boy, were we fooled.

We were promised that the sales meeting would be only 2 hours long. It was 3 and we were treated with disrespect. We told the sales people that we do not make haste decisions and would not be making one today. He said that he needed a yes or a no answer; he did not like maybe's. He said that he would give us a minute and would come back. We told him no...well, my husband got up to go to the men's room and I waited for him. The salesperson said "I may not have made myself clear enough to you, but you need to leave and leave now." I told him that I will leave when my husband got back. He tried to reach out and grab me, but I moved from him. He said "I am only kidding"...I wish he would have touched me and I would have filed charges against him for battery. Just because we wanted to go home and think about it for a week, he got bent out of shape and almost violent.

My husband found out about this later and now we will not be buying a timeshare from Blue Green. Also, my daughter and her husband were looking into the idea. However, he also said that we must not love our children because we are not leaving them a vacation spot. As we were leaving my husband (very calm man), said let us tell the world...! So, I thought this would be the best way.

bought into a vacation point club that is difficult to use, impossible to unload and has fees that are outrageous. bought it in 2008 and have yet to use it. just wrote another check for fees but realize this is a never ending bill. i would like to just opt out and cut my losses but am afraid of the possible damage to my credit report. any ideas anyone?

We joined Bluegreen while subjected to the immense sales pressures... they are so good at that.

We joined a trial membership called a sampler package. This package cost us $90.00 per month for 1 year.
Now when you go to use the points you have enough for approximately two weekend stays...figure it out...that is about $500. per stay...what were we thinking?
Anyway, we figured we better use it. So we booked a weekend in Gatlinburg TN. Living space was small as were the beds. My wheel chair barely fit through the hall in teh room.

We were told we had to go through another sales meeting with them at our first stay...I guess so that we can get pressured some more...no problem.

That night it snowed...alot. We were ok as we really were not driving anywhere. Our meeting was set for Sunday morning. Sunday morning we had more snow and ice. We thought it best to head home as we had to drive through the Smokey mountain park and feared worse driving conditions.

We did the right thing by calling the front desk to let them know we would be checking out early (due to weather) she said she understood and would inform them of us not attending.

A few days later I get a debit in my checking account (the same account set for our $90.00 monthly payments) The debit was for $150.00. I called the resort immediately only for them to say they did not charge it, to call Bluegereen. In calling Bluegreen I got a run around for weeks...from 12/17 to today, 12/30.
Finally today, some rude manager told me my contract states we are responsible and they would not refund it. He said the resort was opened so we needed to attend...regardless of what kind of hazardous driving conditions existed.

I have since put a stop on the auto debit...I'm sure they will try to collect...but they did not care about our welfare, I don't care about theirs.

DO NOT GET INVOLVED WITH THIS COMPANY...you will regret it as we are now doing.

We joined Bluegreen in the spring of 2005 or 2006 and have always paid our annual dues in May. This past week, we got a no-notice bill stating we owe them a much higher maintenance fee than usual, real estate tax, and a finance charge and late fee based on the first two items plus the ARDA, which is supposed to be voluntary. We never received the original (November) bill for these fees, and Bluegreen did not bother to check with us, although we have always paid on time previously. We have therefore told Bluegreen and Illinois' Attorney General that we consider the additional charges fraudulent and that we will not pay anything beyond our bill. In addition, since our payments are due in May, why are they demanding payment now?

We also were lied to about Bluegreen having resorts in our state. When we purchased our "weekend" points, we told them clearly and specifically that we wanted only the number of points we would need to take a "weekend" trip in Chicago's northern suburbs. Instead, when we wanted to use our points this year, they told us they only had the same resorts as Silverleaf, which is extremely limited in its offerings and definitely does not include the Chicago area.

We want out! Please let us know how to accomplish this with the best financial result possible for our family.

My husband and I have owned for about 5 years now and it doesn't seem like we will ever get out of this. Bluegreen sales reps are all liers. We have tried for over a year with two different companies to sell and have not had any luck. They are good at making promises but when it comes down to backing up their words, they are useless. You can't sell it, rent it out or get what you want when you want it. This company is a big rip off. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It seems to me that they could try to help people who want to get out even at a loss rather than try to keep selling more and *** off more and more people. What a rip off!

I tto bought theidea of a great vacation club. I stayed at the Falls Village Inn in Branson 2 times.The first time I complained because they were building new buildings behind the place we were staying. The workers started at 5 am. The manager said there was nothing he could do. I told them if I was making noise at 2 in the morning I bet I would be told to be quiet or leave. still nothing.
The 2nd time we stayed we booked a big room with balconey and full kitchen. When we got there we got one of the smaller rooms. I went to complain and they said they were all booked up no rooms availible at all. The room next to us was unoccupied the whole time. It was the kind we wanted as well. I supposedly own at Big Ceder but I can never get in there. I got a sampler package and found out later I paid for a regular paskage and they treduced the points just for me wasn't that nice of them.

Went to a presantation, bluegreen said we would get more if we bought from them, , charter bonus time, payed dues, ect, , we bought, , , then we got home and found some resales out there, , pinnacle and timeshare resale, they said we would get all the same things that the company would get so we cancelled our ownership with bluegreen we bought, and bought from a second source, , , 6 months later still no title or papers, , no deed, , no charter, , no bonus time, ect, we should have kept our purchase with bluegreen, , now we are stuck with nothing, , lost our money to, , had to pay cash with the other guys, , , so my advice only buy from the bluegreen company, , , , sighned RESALE RIP OFF

Went to a presantation, bluegreen said we would get more if we bought from them, , charter bonus time, payed dues, ect, , we bought, , , then we got home and found some resales out there, , pinnacle and timeshare resale, they said we would get all the same things that the company would get so we cancelled our ownership with bluegreen we bought, and bought from a second source, , , 6 months later still no title or papers, , no deed, , no charter, , no bonus time, ect, we should have kept our purchase with bluegreen, , now we are stuck with nothing, , lost our money to, , had to pay cash with the other guys, , , so my advice only buy from the bluegreen company, , , , sighned RESALE RIP OFF

Thank Goodness for Websites like this and all of you folks who took time to share your experiences about Blue Green Resorts. My husband and I went to one of their presentations yesterday in Las Vegas. And yes, when we first got there everyone was dripping with sweetness and "sincerity". We watched their show, saw all the beautiful pictures of the different resorts and were told we could go anywhere...anytime. It looked and sounded so good, we almost caved in and signed on the dotted line. But, having been "burnt before" by slick salespeople, we said we wanted to go home and think about it. Then came the HARD SELL. "You HAVE to sign up NOW or you'll never get another chance". We asked for material to take home and look over.. again "NO YOU CAN'T"
That set off the red flags. We got out of there as fast as we could. Now that I've read all the comments on this site, thank goodness we did. A truly honest company will always give you time to consider your decision to buy or not buy their product. So, if anyone tells you "You have to sign up NOW"... run like the devil because it IS the devil that's chasing you for your money.
chris

STAFF LIED TO US AND TRICKED US IN TO LOOKING AT RESORT. WHEN WE GOT THERE THEY TOLD US WE COULD'NT LOOK AT THEM BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE A MAJOR CREDIT CARD THEN GIVE US A HAND WRITTEN CHECK THAT WE COULDN'T GET CASH WHY WE WERE THERE IN PIGEON FORGE BECAUSE OF THE HOLIDAYS. WE GIVE CASH AS A DEPOIST WE FEEL THEY SHOULD GAVE US OUR CASH BACK TO US .THEY TALK TO US LIKE WE COULD NOT AFFORD SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT THERE ARE SO WRONG .