Bluegreen Vacations review: Scam and cheating! 163

Hello. I just want to say I have shopped various timshare companies through the years and always thought they were overpriced scams. My husband and I actually did finally buying into a timeshare, with BlueGreen, in December 2009. We bought a small 8, 000 points 'every other year' plan. So far, we have used it extensively. We've been to Gatlinburg, Daytona Beach (twice!) and will be going to Charleston next week . . . .another trip to Gatlinburg in September, and then again in December, and then the Wisconsin Dells in June 2011. Although we have a very limited number of points, we have been booking roughly half of our trips using what is called 'Bonus Time'. If you can travel within a 48 day window, which is the earliest time you can make a Bonus Time reservation, you can pick up some really nice accomodations for cheap at any of the Bluegreen resorts for only $59/night for a one bedroom, $69 for a two-bedroom, and $79 for 3-bedroom. The points cost to Daytona Beach in the summer is expensive, but we were able to find a one-bedroom unit both trips for only $59/night. All the units had an ocean-front view. Simply gorgeous! What will $59 get you otherwise? Just a cheap Motel 6 someplace in a dumpy part of town with a view of a grimy parking lot and dumpsters.

You have to be smart about st-r-e-t-c-h-ing your points. We bought from the developer in Gatlinburg, but will probably buy resale for more points in the future. Be forewarned, though, that if you buy your initial points resale, most likely they will not be 'authorized' points. That means that wherever your timeshare membership is deeded at, that is the ONLY location that you will be able to use Bonus Time at. Because I bought from the developer, I can use Bonus Time at any of the many BlueGreen resorts. The bonus time is the biggest perk for me! But once you own 'authorized points' you can go ahead and buy 'used' points, known as 'unauthorized points'. They'll still be just as good as full priced points when booking your vacations. And you'll still have Bonus Time benefits at all resorts.

There is a wonderful BlueGreen Yahoo group . . . look them up. We are a bunch of happy Bluegreen owners, giving each other tips on how to best use our memberships and practical advice about what kinds of perks each resort has, and which rooms/floors/buildings are the best to request!

Sincerely,
Lori Keffer

I sat for 95 minutes. The lady giving the presentation was a bit on the plump side but attractive. I kept looking at her and after the presentation she focused on me. I told her I needed to see a chalet before making a decision. She took me to a nereby cabin and started showing me around. The next thing I knew we were kissing and her ankles were in the air for about 15 minutes. Her name was Lisa. I enjoyed my presentation and my wife was happy with the free steak knives. No I am not a plant. Lisa was very convincing. I bought the sampler pack and hope to see her again.

We signed up for BG 2 years ago and are very happy with them. We haven't had any problems booking vacations with them. We are thrilled to be heading to Myrtle Beach again in April and then heading to Hershey Park in June next year. The places we have stayed have all been beautiful and spacious...much nicer than a plain hotel room and they have a real kitchen with glasses, pots, pans etc. Seaglass Tower in Myrtle Beach was right on the beach (look out the window and see the ocean) and so nice for our honeymoon.

Pay attention to your salesperson and if it is something you can't afford then don't do it. Enjoy your freebies and walk away.

Laura

We just sat thru the BG presentation in Arizona. We were offered the 2 night 3 day pkg, plus the Bass Pro Shops gift cards. The resort does not want anyone checking in before 4pm, even when the room is ready. If you check out later than 10am, your credit card will be charged for that day. The presentation was not bad. We didn't really feel that pressured, and our salesperson was very likable. We did our research online before going in, so we were prepared and had decided not to purchase anything ahead of time. We said, NO, took the gift cards and left. We will never do any kind of timeshare presentation again as this was our first and last.

I am interested. Who did you talk to at the law firm?

I could go on and on, but will make this as short and sweet as possible. All other complaints are just as we are complaining about. DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY. They promise the luxury vacation anytime you want, but that is a LIE! Maintence fees have doubled since we were scammed into this "club", only 3 years ago. And they fail to tell you that! There is never vacancy when you need it. And funny that if you stop by The Falls Village or Big Cedar, there are empty units all over the place! Oh, but they would have vacancy if you wanted to pay some more cash and use "BONUS TIME." We had an operator tell us that we just needed to "learn how to work the system!" Like there is a secret code or something! Bottom line...These people are liars and have no heart. I seriously do not see how they sleep at night, knowing they are taking money from people. Approx. $500 a month goes to bluegreen for NOTHING! If you are already a bluegreen owner feel free to contact us and maybe together we can put a stop to this!

Bluegreen will no longer even talk to us. Every now and then we get calls from a broker asking us if we would like to sell our property. When we tell them we thought BG had taken it back they say they show it still listed. I would LOVE to be able to sell the property but afraid BG would come back on us saying we don't own it and then there's a whole new legal mess we can't afford to be in. We still get updates and I still get emails from BG as if we were in good standing. Since they won't talk to us, we have no idea where we stand. I can't understand how they are still in business. To me, it's a good concept but we could NEVER get the destination or time we wanted. Once I started just throwing out random dates and places and before the operator had a chance to look up that place she automatically said, NO AVAILABILITY THAT WEEKEND! What a bunch of liars! Once they found out we couldn't afford to upgrade they walked out of the room leaving us sitting there! SCAM, SCAM, SCAM AND SCAM!

If you successfully rescinded your contract how did you do that? Did you simply send the form that accompanied your paperwork provided by Bluegreen to the offices in Boca Raton, FL?

I've started a facebook group to gather swindled owners for the purposes of filing a class action law suit. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_180578055325962

I've stated a facebook page for the purpose of gathering swindled owners to file a class action law suit. Please join http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_180578055325962

Bluegreen Resorts almost got us to. It's a good thing that I keep a close watch on my credit cards. My boyfriend and I went through 1 of their sales pitches for almost 3 hours. The program was in his name but of course they had mine too. After constantly telling them no, we finally got out of there. They did not have my credit card information from the program but somehow when I checked my credit card this morning I had a purchase of a timeshare on it. I immediately called my issuer about it. Both myself and the issuer called the number on the transaction, lo and behold it was disconnected. The issuer immediately started the dispute process for me. Hopefully it will be taken care of. Do Not sign up for anything that has the name Bluegreen associated with it, I also contacted the Bass Pro Shop where it was done.

I agree that Bluegreen is a rip off. There sales tactics, half truths and professionaism should be investigated by the law in every state they operate out of. If you feel strongly enough about Bluegreen then write to the Better Business Bureau. If they get enough complaints things will happen. If you want to go farther then contact the Attorney Generals in the states they operate out of ( I am) and District Attorney of the county also. Bernie Madoff has nothing over Bluegreeen. They don't actually own enough units to provide the people they con with the vacation they are probably wishing for. Go online and try to book a vacation 6 months or more in advance during prime time. See how many are booked up. Try different states for the same time. Remember people, you need to send your complaints to the Better Business Bureau.

If you try to book at 6months for prime time then yes you will find less availability but then again that is the same with and good hotel . Make your reservations at the 11 month out then you will get what you want. If you can not commit at 11 months then why did you buy a timeshare ?
And yet again you are so very misinformed all the points are backed by a deed which is held in trust by the BGVC and yese they do own enough units.
Please do not make statements that you can not back up

great company

Okay - I was just called the other day (within 3 days) to come listen to the 90-120 tour with the Orlando option and a free cruise later. After reading these reviews, I called the number I was given by the person and was able to get through immediately and spoke to someone who took my information and said my credit card would be refunded in 7 to 10 days if not sooner. So, I will wait and see if Vacation Tour and Travel does it's part and cancels this "deal" in a timely manner. The person I spoke to was polite, did not push me with my reasons, and now I will see if this is removed from my charge card.

Thank GOD for this message board! It just saved me from making a bad decision with BG. Gotta love the internet!

Krizman, there is always 2 sides to a coin and yes thank god for the internet but sorry you did not take the time to find out what is on the other side of the coin.
Well when you do you will be kicking yourself for the rest of your life

We were also taken by this fraud of a company. We have been saving our points (3000 a year) until we have enough to take our children to Oralndo. Now we find out we can not use our points there because they are the wrong color ( sounds racists to me) If I could find the lady that sold us this vacation I would like to have her explain to my children why we can go to Orlando because she lied to us.

you can use saved points in orlando in the off season ie the red season try to get sunshine 1 that resort needs the least number of points

Our credit score will be ruined but we would rather save the money spent on "mortgage" payments and the numerous fees associated with BlueGreen and pay cash for whatever we might need instead of continuing to throw good money after bad. I admit to our NOT having read the fine print on the many forms they had us sign and that we took their "word" at face value. At our ages I'm as upset with US for being taken as by BG's misleading sales pitch. BE WARNED! TAKE THE TIME TO REALLY, REALLY READ EVERYTHING YOU ARE ASKED TO SIGN ! AND BE SURE TO COMPARE WHAT YOU ARE BEING TOLD TO WHAT IS ACTUALLY WRITTEN! We were on vacation and enjoying a fun time; we took advantage of BG's promotional offer of "free" tickets to a show we wanted to see. All we had to do was attend a promotional talk for BlueGreen's vacation plan. Those tickets turned out to be the most expensive we've ever paid for any performance we've ever attended. Let's just say that it's never too late to learn -- especially when the lesson is learned "the hard way". And, boy-oh-boy, have we learned! We will also be filing a complaint with the BBB, the Consumer Complaint Agency, and as many other agencies as possible to be sure our warning is read by as many people as possible.

I can't even begin to list the untruths in this complaint.
The process Bluegreen goes thru to invite "people" which by the way are not handcuffed to be at a presentation nor subpoena'd in any way only by there sheer need( greed) for a "deal".
It's almost like the schemer gets mad for falling for a scheme (which isn't and in full recorded contract) and then shouts fraud and complains about it.
Irony I'd say lol

I do agree BG has nice resorts and we haven't had a lot of trouble booking stays, but the whole process was a nightmare. Our story starts as many others with the 2d and 3nite visit to Branson Missouri. We bought a sampler and then went to shenadoah crossing where we bought one of the every other year plans. Upon returning home I learned I was being laid off as my employer was going bankrupt. Well, I found out days later (too late) that I could have canceled the plan within 7 days, but the manager who worked with us had us sign that sheet and hid it from us not explaining it. The main_LIE that got me into trouble was that after all the sales pitch was done and we were waiting on paperwork, the manager shared with me that Bluegreen pays your first years maintenance fee. He said you will get a bill, but don't pay any attention to it. You may get it a second time, but they will finally catch on that your a new client. Wow wasn't that nice of BG to do that? Well you can imagine how that wound up with all the late fees, etc. The other things they pull in the upgrade sessions you have to attend when your on vacation really bug me. The rep. always goes through his spill then it comes to the point where he says, you mean you didn't receive the letter informing you that you had this limited time to upgrade at this cheap rate. Then he calls over the floor manager and says they don't know about so and so. Well, that's all just a big lie to make you think your getting a last chance to upgrade. Its the same spill everytime . Well this is only a few of the lies that we have endured in the time since we became owners. The only thing I can suggest is when your on the phone with BG, and it says this call may be recorded, make sure you are recording, and I might suggest a small recorder in your upgrade session.

We have been with Bluegreen for 2 yrs. and they have delivered everything and more! Anytime we book a vacation, we plan everything out well in advance! The people are so helpful and respectful. You are not going to enjoy this company on the "sampler" plan (less than 15, 000 points), we are Silver members and looking to go to Gold! We have enjoyed, Las Vegas, Florida, Myrtle Beach, Virginia and looking to go to Arizona next year and New Years in New York! A lot of you who like to do things at the last minute, then even have a plan for you if you plan it right and it only cost you 3000 pts. if you can be flexible! I love the idea of going where I want instead of having a timeshare where I have to go to the same place every year same time. The rooms are to die for in all of the resorts, some are better then others but much better then hotels.

I'm sorry that everyone here had a bad experience, I would say do your homework before you go to these places, your not going to get something for nothing. If you can't afford it, walk away, the cheap plan is not going to get you anything! If you can afford it, Bluegreen is a great company and along with the other benefits, this company rocks!

David S.

I am not employed by bluegreen! My husband and i purchased our sampler package almost ten years ago. we are now at silver level! It used to be much harder to make reservations. Now i just go online and either choose my resort and search avail dates or i put in my preferred dates and it tells me every possible resort available .we attend updates at many visits and upgrade when we choose and say no when we are content. big cedar is by far our fav resort. We love bluegreen!

I wish I would have researched and seen all these comments before I went to that seminar with my husband. I told rep at bluegreen that we cant have a credit report because we are buying a house and the rep told me not to worry that they wouldn't. That wasn't true because soon as I got back to my hotel room I got an email alert say I have a new inquiry on my credit and it went down. They lied to me and I'm glad we only doing sample package. and they didn't get us out ant real money, but I am very upset because we was there for five hours with our two young kids.

50 happy owners met for our 4th annual July 4th bash at Big Cedar.. 60 of us in Boyne last May... We all love our Bluegreen because we have taken the time to learn how to use it. Sounds to me like Jeff is a former employee who has a gripe...

This organization just called me. It's sounded just like what boiler room operations sounded like on American Greed.
As the call went further along I had won a vacation for up to 8 people. It was for Orlando Fl and then the Bahamas.
As amazing as this was I know when I'm being played. While on the phone I pulled up all the dirt on the company. Blue Green Resorts have a ton of complainants on BBB and other sites. Old people targeted and old people ripped off.
I was called from a 210 AC and the called gave me a Orlando number. This had scam written all over it. Claimed the hotel was a Five star, nope investigation says four. Called said resort was right across from SeaWorld nope. The reported discount was 90%. That's clearly not possible. DONT FALL FOR THIS DECEPTIVE TYPE OF MARKETING AND DONT SURRENDER YOUR CREDIT CARD INFO OR WORSE YET BANKING INFO. FLORIDA COMPANIES SUCH AS THIS OUT OF BOCA RATON FLORIDA ARE NOTORIOUS SCAMS. BBB REPORTS!

Over time we have moved up to the platimun level so that we would have the ability to enjoy all the benefits of the club. These benefits were in writing set out in their brochure. Didn't realize once they got you hooked they could go in and change these benefits. What low life these people are, wish we had legal claims to bring against these organizations that sell timeshares. The best thing I believe is to get people not to buy into them and drive them into bankruptcy.

Why would you do that, Orvis ? What benefits changed for you ? They made the 10 reservation per location rule, and the 10 cancellation limit rule for a reason - because of the mega renters trying to make it into a business.

I've been happy with my BlueGreen Timeshare until this year when they attached fees to roll over your points to the second year. They say it's to encourage people to use their points in the first year during High Red season. Now you have to pay $35 online or $50 on the phone to roll over your leftover points or lose them. Don't you enjoy paying twice for things? Anybody have any idea what I could do?

I am socked with a huge $ 660.) late fee for dues ( I thought it was on automatic deduction from my checking). It is outrageous!
Also they way they do the points makes it very hard to actually book a trip at all, and rolling over points is a nightmare!
the only thing I have been able to book is trips in my own state to Boyne. I want to sell and not loose my shirt!
They also lie about Taveler Plus service-like 50% off hotels, etc.
Fed up! Lydia

Yes Bluegreen sales reps are unethical promises the world. Bluegreen resorts are great places to vacation. Do not purchase anything without researching. The point prices are high through sales office you can find them cheaper through resales. Do not believe the promises the sales office spills. Check with the resort of interest on the resort policies (example Habor Light resorts is promised ability to use Shore Crest pools and facilities; this is true they are not allowed day passes). Those converting from fixed weeks to points do not get first priority. Complaints of many not being able to get weeks and resorts of their desires is one heard over and over again. You need to be diligent in making requests. If you are flexible in your traveling there are great places to go. I personally use getaway through Interval for extra excursions are great prices. There are groups of timeshare owners you can join to help make your vacation experiences more flexible in your needs. I have owned Shore Crest I fixed week for 20 years, dread the sales team most of time do not do updates (it saves headaches). Would I buy again? It was our family vacation well worth it; no not at prices today, resale pricing if at the right price I would consider.

I just paid $1400.00 to get Bluegreen off my back and not only did i lose my 15000 points plus my maintain fee of $1400.00. This was a expensive lesson to learn. Don't buy into this company its a scam

I have been a Bluegreen owner for about 6 years currently a silver owner..Paid cash for my points, pay maintence fees on time...Recently down at Tradewinds Resort in St. Pete we decided to buy a sampler package to add to our package...It was $895.00 for 9000 points..We decided to cancel the deal when we got home due to unfortunate fraction of my shoulder and medical bills...We sent the cancellation letter within the 10 day recission period for Fl..This purchase was made on 4/17 and to this day I haven't rec'd my refund of the $895.00 I am beinbg told it
will be around end of June to get it...Fl Statue if I am reading correctly is 15 days for refund or fine of $15, 000 to seller...Statue I was looking 721.10 and 721.07 ...very frustrated and have sent a letter of complaint to Fl. Business Professional Regulation

We have tryed to make plans with our Timeshare Bluegreen.
Most of the Time you can't book.
We have called Bluegreen about helping us sale our time share.
There Respond is O we dont do that. They sure do mind Taking Your Money.
And the Maintenance fee are a joke. To dang high$$$$.
When you can't book when you want. O yes if anyone looking to buy. I will sure Sale you mine. Just tex me. I am on Facebook. Only buyers please Texs.

BLUEGREEN IS A DISHONEST CORPORATION !...I did their 90 minute scam with the understanding that I would get a $200 Credit Card. I did get the credit card and NOT ONE PERSON in this entire corporation could tell me that the credit card expired. I had surgery and the last thing I was thinking about was using this credit card. When I got around to using it it was DECLINED and when I called Bluegreen to complain all they can say is "I apologize for the inconvenience"...We stood in the cabin that they gave us and lost heat on the coldest day during our stay. We came back and complained about this since they ask how are our experience was and when we told them again we got a "I apologize for the inconvenience"...they do NOTHING to take care of the customer and to make sure the customer is satisfied...I will never recommend them again. Bass Pro should not be associated with this company either because it makes them look bad.

We purchased a trial package, enjoyed our trip to Charleston where we went through the same sales pitch a second time and were offered an upgrade plus a cruise. While we have used our points and been very impressed with the facilities, because of Covid were not able to use our cruise. I emailed the customer service department asked if there were an extension to the free cruise since we were unable to redeem it. I was re directed to another department and I asked them the same question. I have not heard back and it's been two weeks. I would advise that if it's free, then it's too good to be true!

I bought into going to the presentation. Haven't gone yet and already have major problems. How can you feel good about buying if they are already lying to you? I am already completely turned off by their lies and extreme lack of concern. Won't honor what was offered to me and won't give my money back. SCAM, SCAM AND SCAM! Horrible customer service. Held on the phone for literally HOURS!