The following is a sample letter you can copy and send to the Attorney General of Massachusetts. I used it and I also included my own additional experiences, thoughts, observations and worries as an addendum. It makes sense to me to personalize the letter in some way. I think it may carry a stronger message that way.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date
Your Name and Address
RE: Complaint Intake No. 103518
Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau
Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley
105 William Street
New Bedford MA 02740
Dear Attorney General Coakley,
I am writing regarding concerns involving some 4,500 time share owners of Sandcastle Condominiums and Resort (SCCR), Route 6A, Provincetown MA. Importantly, many of my fellow owners have fixed incomes, limited means, or are retired senior citizens and jointly we have little resource to protect our legal interests in this matter.
I understand that you have already received communication in this matter (intake no. 103518), but I wish to impress upon your office the broad scope of people affected by this situation and highlight three specific legal concerns remaining at this time.
1)Unethical and possibly illegal sales tactics and practices by Outfield Marketing representatives in Massachusetts. Importantly, the owners of this Texas-based company now hold ¾ majority vote on the Board of Trustees at SCCR.
2)Claim by the Board of Trustees that timeshare units purchased by the Trustees as “Developer Units” built 30 years ago and “never sold” are eligible under law for renovation paid for by owners of other units.
3)Claim by the Board of Trustees that the Developer Units have never been sold or rented when they decline to reveal which units and decline to provide sales and rental records for the entire time that SCCR units have existed.
I remain concerned that potentially illegal practices at SCCR may be perpetuated throughout the Commonwealth by these individuals who have multiple other timeshare endeavors in progress.
I would be happy to discuss these issues in detail with a representative from your office at any time.
Respectfully,
Monday, July 6, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Our New Blog
This blog is my first and it is brand new.
The purpose of this web presence is to have a place where owners of timeshare weeks at the Sandcastle Resort in Provincetown, Ma. can become more informed about the disturbing and confusing situation at the resort, and leave comments and information they have that we can make use of in our search for the truth about what is going on and our efforts to confront what might be wrong about what is happening.
I welcome comments and factual information that will be helpful to that end. First hand accounts are also welcome, as is primary data, resource sources, websites and such that will assist us.
Please do not expect to see rants, flaming, or any kind of bad behavior. I will, to the best of my ability, allow only accurate or truthful information.
I will soon post a letter to the attorney general of Massachusetts created by an active owner, who is allowing it to be used by anyone who wishes to. I have used it and I included my own addendum about the situation to the best of my understanding, in the same letter.
I am not an attorney and I have limited resources and time for this task. Please realize that you as an owner will sooner or later be confronted with some aspect of this situation. Your participation in our efforts to get full disclosure and to shed light where there seems to be darkness, is much appreciated and will help all of us.
The purpose of this web presence is to have a place where owners of timeshare weeks at the Sandcastle Resort in Provincetown, Ma. can become more informed about the disturbing and confusing situation at the resort, and leave comments and information they have that we can make use of in our search for the truth about what is going on and our efforts to confront what might be wrong about what is happening.
I welcome comments and factual information that will be helpful to that end. First hand accounts are also welcome, as is primary data, resource sources, websites and such that will assist us.
Please do not expect to see rants, flaming, or any kind of bad behavior. I will, to the best of my ability, allow only accurate or truthful information.
I will soon post a letter to the attorney general of Massachusetts created by an active owner, who is allowing it to be used by anyone who wishes to. I have used it and I included my own addendum about the situation to the best of my understanding, in the same letter.
I am not an attorney and I have limited resources and time for this task. Please realize that you as an owner will sooner or later be confronted with some aspect of this situation. Your participation in our efforts to get full disclosure and to shed light where there seems to be darkness, is much appreciated and will help all of us.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Dear valued Sandcastle owner,
Thank you for including me in the mailing list and for sending the attached documents. I commend you on the work you have done to date. I especially appreciate the letter to Mr Hagberg.
Because of your work I believe I have a decent understanding of some basics about the situation.
Has an attorney been consulted on behalf of yourself or owners in general? An attorney familiar with Timeshare issues?
We stayed at Sandcastle last week. The assessment letters are supposed to be in the mail today, July 1. I am inclined to withhold payment until proper paperwork and answers to your pertinent questions are provided by Trustees/Management. Contractors were all over the place Monday, June 29 measuring and discussing infrastructure issues.
The dynamics I see are that an organized small group of Timeshare savvy investors (the "few") have engineered a coup to take over Sandcastle to pull money out in several ways. They know the "game" and saw that Sandcastle was ripe for plucking. They may have long term plans as well which cannot be trusted. The various companies are fingers on the same hand, although possibly legally separately incorporated. We need to know if such relationships are legal when the people, not companies, are so intertwined and clearly self serving.
On the other side is a large un-organized group of owners (the "many") that have been blind-sided and roped into a precarious situation where they risk delinquency and foreclosure if they do not come up with large assessment fees in addition to increased maintenance fees. These foreclosures, as well as the aggressive Festiva moves, will place more power, and money, into the hands of the "few".
All this is happening with no disclosure and plenty of obfuscation.
Some moves by the "few" may be un-reversible. They have an advantage because they have a rehearsed plan and they have knowledge of how this can go from their past business ventures. They keep the "many" in the dark until it's too late to oppose them.
On the other hand, the owners must use their numbers to do what they can. It seems their (our) only advantage, other than potential legal moves and attorney general assistance. If the "few" have made illegal maneuvers, though it may seem now that it is too late, then they can be undone; there is no statue of limitations where fraud is involved.
I would encourage every owner to contact the Attorney General as I plan to. A very simple letter could suffice. It is possible that we could all withhold payment of assessments with written objection as to why it is being done. Until we get full disclosure of the information we have a right to, we will not respond to an unjustified solicitation. If there is an attorney in the group, perhaps he/she could draft a simple letter.
My wife will do some research to see if other organizations might know of an attorney familiar with Timeshare issues. Others could research Festiva's and other parts of the coup group to see who might have successfully opposed them at other resorts.
It also occurred to me that the company that management used to do the mailing, supposedly, of the notices to owners, should have the mailing list we seek. Perhaps a reading of the Sandcastle papers might reveal if there is a legal right we owners have to that list. We may also disprove management's claim that there is a privacy block disallowing them to provide the list. I went to the Barnstable county records website and found it difficult to navigate. At least it didn't seem to be simple to get a master list. Each owner is listed separately, first without address, and printing out anything is on a fee basis (if I understood things correctly). Maybe someone else can do better.
I called and was told the construction plans and permits may be available in Provincetown, and not yet Barnstable. I have not had the time yet to follow up on that.
I believe the list is important because the power we have is in numbers. Whether it is the number of complaints the AG receives, the number of people available to do research, or the contributions available to hire an attorney.
I appreciate your continued efforts on behalf of all owners and the Sandcastle we love.
Sincerely,
Frank
Thank you for including me in the mailing list and for sending the attached documents. I commend you on the work you have done to date. I especially appreciate the letter to Mr Hagberg.
Because of your work I believe I have a decent understanding of some basics about the situation.
Has an attorney been consulted on behalf of yourself or owners in general? An attorney familiar with Timeshare issues?
We stayed at Sandcastle last week. The assessment letters are supposed to be in the mail today, July 1. I am inclined to withhold payment until proper paperwork and answers to your pertinent questions are provided by Trustees/Management. Contractors were all over the place Monday, June 29 measuring and discussing infrastructure issues.
The dynamics I see are that an organized small group of Timeshare savvy investors (the "few") have engineered a coup to take over Sandcastle to pull money out in several ways. They know the "game" and saw that Sandcastle was ripe for plucking. They may have long term plans as well which cannot be trusted. The various companies are fingers on the same hand, although possibly legally separately incorporated. We need to know if such relationships are legal when the people, not companies, are so intertwined and clearly self serving.
On the other side is a large un-organized group of owners (the "many") that have been blind-sided and roped into a precarious situation where they risk delinquency and foreclosure if they do not come up with large assessment fees in addition to increased maintenance fees. These foreclosures, as well as the aggressive Festiva moves, will place more power, and money, into the hands of the "few".
All this is happening with no disclosure and plenty of obfuscation.
Some moves by the "few" may be un-reversible. They have an advantage because they have a rehearsed plan and they have knowledge of how this can go from their past business ventures. They keep the "many" in the dark until it's too late to oppose them.
On the other hand, the owners must use their numbers to do what they can. It seems their (our) only advantage, other than potential legal moves and attorney general assistance. If the "few" have made illegal maneuvers, though it may seem now that it is too late, then they can be undone; there is no statue of limitations where fraud is involved.
I would encourage every owner to contact the Attorney General as I plan to. A very simple letter could suffice. It is possible that we could all withhold payment of assessments with written objection as to why it is being done. Until we get full disclosure of the information we have a right to, we will not respond to an unjustified solicitation. If there is an attorney in the group, perhaps he/she could draft a simple letter.
My wife will do some research to see if other organizations might know of an attorney familiar with Timeshare issues. Others could research Festiva's and other parts of the coup group to see who might have successfully opposed them at other resorts.
It also occurred to me that the company that management used to do the mailing, supposedly, of the notices to owners, should have the mailing list we seek. Perhaps a reading of the Sandcastle papers might reveal if there is a legal right we owners have to that list. We may also disprove management's claim that there is a privacy block disallowing them to provide the list. I went to the Barnstable county records website and found it difficult to navigate. At least it didn't seem to be simple to get a master list. Each owner is listed separately, first without address, and printing out anything is on a fee basis (if I understood things correctly). Maybe someone else can do better.
I called and was told the construction plans and permits may be available in Provincetown, and not yet Barnstable. I have not had the time yet to follow up on that.
I believe the list is important because the power we have is in numbers. Whether it is the number of complaints the AG receives, the number of people available to do research, or the contributions available to hire an attorney.
I appreciate your continued efforts on behalf of all owners and the Sandcastle we love.
Sincerely,
Frank
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