Raintree Vacation club wants to charge a "special Assessment fee" that is no where written in any of their contracts and here is the answesr I have been receiving from Raintree NEVER answering my question on where is it written:

6/18/09:

Good Morning Mr. McCarthy- As costs increase globally, these increases will be reflected in upcoming Maintenance Fees. While we seek to keep the annual maintenance fees as low as possible and still properly maintain the properties, and even though we spent $6 million in improvements over the past two years, the number of resort properties that are part of Raintree Vacation Club and the inevitable “wear and tear” on these properties with the use by our Members requires that the necessary and desirable improvements and other upgrades be undertaken as soon as possible to avoid an overall decline in the quality of the Raintree Vacation Club properties.



This special assessment is something that we haven't done since 2001 which was after a hurricane. We have been using the money from Maintanence fees to pay for these things but as costs increase globally, these increases will be reflected in upcoming Maintenance Fees. While we seek to keep the annual maintenance fees as low as possible and still properly maintain the properties, and even though we spent $6 million in improvements over the past two years, the number of resort properties that are part of Raintree Vacation Club and the inevitable “wear and tear” on these properties with the use by our Members requires that the necessary and desirable improvements and other upgrades be undertaken as soon as possible to avoid an overall decline in the quality of the Raintree Vacation Club properties.



We are confident that our Members will recognize the importance of making some of these upgrades to our resorts and so will make the required payments in order to continue to be able to use their Membership.

Once again – I thank you for expressing your concerns, and please let me know if I can help with anything else. It is our mission at Raintree Vacation Club to enhance our Members’ lives by consistently providing them with memorable vacations.



Sincerely,



Sharon

Raintree Vacation Club

my response on 6/24/09:

-----Original Message-----
From: "McCarthy, Darcel Y." <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Date: 06/24/09 07:30
Subject: Special assessment fee for member 5-131588


I have received the special assessment notice. I have a copy of my contract, with me.

Please point out the area of the contract that shows that "we may be charged an assessment fee that is equal to the yearly maintenance fee".

I see section:
Rules and Regulations on Chapter I, Article 1.2.3 the maintenance fee may be increased year by year in a percentage that shall not exceed the combined effects of annual inflation published in the Official Daily Gazette of the Federation, during the 12 (twelve) foregoing months, and the variance suffered in the exchange rate between the Mexican peso and the US dollar according to the exchange rate published in the Official Daily Gazette of the Federation during the 12 (twelve) prior months, plus a 10% over the prior year’s maintenance fee, in the understanding, however, that should a larger percentage be necessary, the vote of the simple majority of Members must be considered to accept or reject such increase.

I see nothing in my contract that leads me to believe that because of a hurricane or any other acts of GOD that I must pay a whole years of maintance fee for an assessment fee as there is no regulation in my signed contract of 2/3/03 indicating I will EVER be charged an "assessment fee"

If you cannot answer this question, please give me a contact person in your legal dept so I may have them point out the place in my signed contract.

I look forward to hearing from you


Darcel McCarthy


6/26/09:

Good afternoon Darcel McCarthy-


Thank you for taking the time to write. We do appreciate hearing from our members and do realize that we made a mistake by not providing more notice and some additional information. I would like to address a couple of points briefly. The RVC properties are subject to the full use by all of its members and the members would be entitled to all sale proceeds if the various trusts in which all the properties are placed were to be terminated. This means that the Members have the beneficial ownership of these properties subject to the rules of usage and Raintree's responsibility for managing and operating these properties and maintaining them. This expense, however, is the expense of the beneficial owners---the RVC members, including Club Regina members.

The annual fees cover the operating and normal maintenance expense, insurance, energy costs and taxes and typically a reserve for capital expenditures. These costs have risen over the years and the properties require scheduled maintenance as well as upgrades from time to time. We spent approximately $6 million of the reserve funds in 2007 and 2008 on the three Club Regina properties in Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos and incurred significant expenditures to rebuild Club Regina in Cancun after Hurricane Wilma a couple of years ago. In 2002 we had a special assessment for beach recovery in Puerto Vallarta following a hurricane there. The three Club Regina’s, which are the three major properties, were built in the early 1990's and still need significant capital replacements, refurbishments and renovations as well as certain of the other properties. The number of complaints had risen significantly but the annual fees were insufficient for both annual operations and these capital expenditures.

However, through various channels, including our Post Call and Post Stay Surveys, Annual Member Survey, comments to Raintree Vacation Guides, emails and conversations with individual Members; our Members have consistently asked us to make these improvements. As the administrator of Raintree Vacation Club and all of its resorts, it is our legal and fiduciary responsibility (defined as a relationship imposed by law where someone has voluntarily agreed to act in the capacity of a "caretaker" of another's rights, assets and/or well being) to keep all of our properties up to date and provide reasonable lifestyle upgrades.

You should have received the Annual Member Survey just recently. This survey is one of the many ways we capture our Members’ feedback and we take the results very seriously. For the last two years, one of the overwhelming comments we received from Members is the need to perform significant upgrades to the majority of our properties.

We are confident that our Members will recognize the importance of making some of these upgrades to our resorts and so will make the required payments in order to continue to be able to use their Membership.

Once again – I thank you for expressing your concerns, and please let me know if I can help with anything else. It is our mission at Raintree Vacation Club to enhance our Members’ lives by consistently providing them with memorable vacations.


Sincerely,

Sharon
Raintree Vacation Club

My response 6/29/09:

I have had someone review my contract with Club Regina and request the following:

as in exhibit "C" of terms and conditions of Club Regina:

8. In the event of controversy, the parties submit in the first instance to the conciliation proceedings provided on the Federal Law for the Protection of the Consumer, and in the event that the controversy should a subsist...

At this time we exercising our rights with a request for conciliation proceeding as stated in Exhibit C, numeral 8. with regards to the Special assessment invoice I have been sent on my contract.

First of all your correspondence to me is contradictory. In your email to me you indicate that:

"The annual fees cover the operating and normal maintenance expense, insurance, energy costs and taxes and typically a reserve for capital expenditures." Then you claim "These costs have risen over the years and the properties require scheduled maintenance as well as upgrades from time to time. We spent approximately $6 million of the reserve funds in 2007 and 2008 on the three Club Regina properties in Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos and incurred significant expenditures to rebuild Club Regina in Cancun after Hurricane Wilma a couple of years ago. In 2002 we had a special assessment for beach recovery in Puerto Vallarta following a hurricane there. The three Club Regina’s, which are the three major properties, were built in the early 1990's and still need significant capital replacements, refurbishments and renovations as well as certain of the other properties. The number of complaints had risen significantly but the annual fees were insufficient for both annual operations and these capital expenditures."

First of all I have paid my maintenance fee for 2009 and insurance costs and operating costs are already taken out of that and a reserves for capital, is up to your sales people to sell more vacation clubs. On the second part of your statement about hurricane damage you indicate, annual fees are for INSURANCE, so I am assuming since I paid my maintenance fee, YOUR COMPANY has PAID your INSURANCE and has been reimbursed by insurance for hurricane damages.

Also regulations for Club Regina state." Article 1.4 sub 1.4.6. Orientation to the Member with respect to the nature and characteristics of CLUB REGINA'S MULTIRESORT SYSTEM to chichi the tourist resorts are affiliated." We have nothing from your company or mutual signed addendums to our contract.


At this time I will be holding $820.00 in an escrow account until this is cleared up and will not be releasing the monies until we are contacted by your company and have had a conciliation meeting.

I will be also forwarding this to the FTC and posting this to other members I know that are having similar issues.

Please have someone contact me immediately
Darcel McCarthy