Living Stone Golf Resort Reviews (%countItem)
Living Stone Golf Resort Rating
Address: 19 Keith Ave Hwy 26 W, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada, L9Y 4T9
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June 28, 2001 paid over $10,000 for even years 1 week, contract was 20 yrs. Husband and I were age 69 and 68 then. Their summary sheet did NOT say it was for non peak months. In 2003, we were told the only way to get summer months was to sign another contract and it had to be for 50 yrs. I would be 118 yrs old when this expires. My husband died this year, I am now 86. I can't afford the payments, nor can I continue to use the benefit of mbrship. Our kids do NOT want this membership and did not sign anything to accept this mbrship.
In 2018 we spoke with Cranberry requesting cancellation. They tried to sell us ownership timeshare as the only option to get out (we were age 86/85). I asked them to advise the cost to us to cancel, she said she would look into it and never replied to us.
Our issues:
1. The upgrade to 50 years is NOT possible for me to continue with. I am now 86 with failing health and widowed. My kids don't want this timeshare.
2. If this mbrship is so great and fair, why can't we return it and let Cranberry sell it so someone else (less an admin fee). We have tried to sell it but no one will take it, even if it was for free (just the admin fees).
3. Cranberry's only solution for us was to buy their next "deal" of actual shared ownership....again, not possible at my age. They offer no other way to end this.
4. There should be help for senior citizens who were taken advantage of. We trusted the salesperson to point out important factors, like we were buying non peak and should not make us buy a 50 yr contract to fix. Impossible for us to enjoy a 50 yr mbrship starting at age 70. There's NO way for us to receive the benefit of this contract and it should not have been sold to us. They hid the fact it was non peak on purpose and that forced us to buy 50 yrs.
I am requesting Cranberry stop my membership after our last visit in summer 2020. I am willing to pay a reasonable admin fee for the paperwork involved. I am hoping to get this resolved before I die so my kids are not saddled with a mistake my husband (passed this yr) and I made at age 70. They do NOT want this contract. I will not be alive and likely my kids will not be alive when this contract ends in 2053.
Hello Mrs ***,
Our sincerest condolences.
I am surprised to be receiving a Revdex.com complaint as you have never hosted a conversation with us in regards to your circumstance. You communicated with us on October 3rd to book your week for July of 2020. During this time you certainly could have explained the situation and we would do what we can to assist. Please contact us at your convenience to discuss.Thanks
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
We DID sit down with Cranberry in July 2018 requesting we stop our membership. Only option offered was to buy a time share for an actual condo, they set price for us to buy, they buy it back in 7 yrs they set the price to buy it back. We were told no other option was available.
Their offer to talk with me now does not provide a phone number or person to talk with. Pls provide both.
HEllo Mrs ***,
You sat with the fractional sales department back in July of 2018. That was not member services. My name and contact informion is provided as I am the responder. For convenience,
***
XXX-XXX-XXXX Ext ***
I look forward to speaking with you.
. The following summarizes why we feel that this contract has been breached and should be considered null and void.
We settled our debt to them years ago and stayed current on maintenance fees thru 2016. We are asking to settle your debt to us and give us a settlement and release for misrepresentation.
In November 2005, we received a marketing call regarding a weekend getaway at Cranberry Resort, Collingwood, Ontario, at a discounted price. We decided to take advantage of the offer just for fun. We were advised it would include a mandatory presentation after breakfast one morning. Our vacation counselor was ***, and she gave us a tour of the facility and discussed membership advantages. The many things she covered included term agreement, activities, amenities and unit availability for members. I remember telling *** a 50 year membership is too long considering our ages. She further explained we had the option to choose only odd or even usage years which would make the number of years shorter, and could easily rent our time out if we weren't able to use it one year. I asked about the maintenance fees (usage fees) and she said we only pay the fees for our usage years. We were led to believe the fee was minimal for a VIP, 1 bedroom/bath, for a week, bi-annual-(even year). We were very naïve about the timeshare industry and took the bait. The signing process was rushed and summarized and we believed *** was telling the truth.
After a year, we decided to pay the membership in full, leaving us only to worry about the maintenance fees (usage fees). At the time of purchase, the usage fee was indicated as being $263.50 + GST. We were led to believe we would pay only in the even years and that we would pay $263.50 in those years. We were surprised when, in 2006, we received a bill for $590.24 and further surprised that our fee increased to $768.41 in 2016. We were also of the understanding, based on information provided by ***, that it was a USAGE fee to be paid only in the years we use our timeshare, but yearly (odd and even) usage fees have been billed and required in every single even year since we signed the contract.
This has been frustrating and if we hadn't been rushed through the signing process we would have noticed and questioned the details. We trusted *** and she deliberately mislead us and gave a false statement of fact.
Due to our frustration, we decided to go to Cranberry in 2012 to cancel the contract. We were advised that it couldn't be cancelled and were given an option to buy a new unit for investment purchases, at which point our membership contract would be cancelled. We considered it but turned them down because of our age and financial situation. We have never used the membership, *** or ***. Every time we try to make reservations somewhere there is nothing available. We've found it is easier and more cost effective to go thru travel agencies and book the exact dates and locations we want
I am retired and *** is retiring soon.***. Our lifestyle has dramatically changed in the last 2 years and we have fallen behind on the maintenance fees. ***. We just want to be allowed out of the ownership, nothing more or less. We paid in full, and are elderly now, and simply can't stay as owners in this any longer. Why is that so hard for them to grasp?
I will provide the information for the usage fees. I have pulled your contract so I can respond to the statements made in regards to the usage fees. On the Membership purchase agreement ( part A ) it states that the current usage fee for 2006 was $527 plus tax to which you paid on April 6, 2006. All invoices are issued the year prior to the usage year. You would always be billed in the odd year for the even year being due on Jan 1st of your current use year. You have paid fees in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016. There have been no fees processed in the odd year for usage fees as suggested. In the Conditions and Warranties document under Review of fees, Charges etc it states that the usage fees shall increase each year based on the CPI ( Canadian Consumer Price Index) dictated by the government plus 2%. As you are aware as a home owner the cost for hydro, water, insurance etc have all gone up. It is not different for the resort and property. In part B of the contract it states under #3 that you understand that in addition to the purchase price of the membership, there are mandatory usage fees for each fiscal year. These fees must be paid by us when billed whether or not we use the membership. The terms of the contract are laid out very clearly in the contract. You have paid these fees every odd year since 2006. If there was a conflict with the fees why have you not addressed them prior to now. The $527 as stated is in part A. In Part B it list the annual fee being $263.50. If you multiply this amount by 2 as you pay bi annually at the time that would have equated to $527 as listed in Part A. There is no red tape as suggested. The fees are not meant to be a secret. You have initialed all of these points stating your understand the fees and what you have purchased. We have had the same owner of the resort for over 25 years. This does not happen by deceptive behavior as implied. In regards to bookings etc. All inventory works on a first come first serve basis and is based on availability. This is true for any travel source or company. Location, Lead time, time of year are all a factor when booking a holiday. Our response to not cancel the membership is in no way a power struggle or for the purpose of greed. You have singed a contract committing to usage of the membership and payment of fees. When members default on their usage fees it negatively impacts the remaining members and the resort it self. You unfortunately can not just cancel the membership because you no longer wish to participate. I would challenge you to go to any lender or business in which you have a relationship, and tell them you are just not paying anymore as you agreed in writing to, and see how receptive they are. Once again I apologize but we will not be cancelling your membership. Thanks
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
We further appreciate this opportunity to reply to your correspondence regarding the denial of our allegations.
To begin, each allegation and concern we have presented to you is very much warranted. During the presentation, the membership was presented as dream to us! Shortly thereafter, we came to notice and realize that many things we were promised and assured we would have during our presentation meeting, were not feasible. We learned that the benefits has been exaggerated ***. We conveyed our grievances with the hope of assistance from your company in lieu of our concerns being completely dismissed like in your previous correspondence.
We appreciate that you have individually read each of our concerns and have elected to address them one by one. However, your conclusion is not what we expected or desire.
As for reservations, we notice now it is a bit more complicated than what it was originally presented to be. Honestly, there is quite a bit of follow up, planning, calls and fees with this program that we are unsure we wish to engage in now.
It does not seem as though it is that easy after all. We are sorry but as much as we pay for this program, there should not be as you say a first come first serve basis. If that's the case we may as well just use a travel agent, and pay right then what is available. Paying the cost of a travel agent is a far cry from what you have charged us for this!
We were not told verbally or during the signing of the papers that we would have to book months in advance for ANY vacation. We were told that due to the amount of points we were purchasing we had a certain "priority level" that would give us the preferential treatment to make a call any time we wanted, select a location and time we wanted without trouble. Again, we were referred to as owners, with unlimited opportunity for travel through your vacation network. It seems this membership is far more complicated with many different branches than what we expected. It is quite overwhelming and we believe due to the substantial amount of things you have explained today, we are definitely certain; we want no part of this membership. It is simply not for us.
In closing we sincerely appreciate your time and diligence. Please reconsider what we have presented you with and our requests. We aren't saying we have the right to get out of it just because we want to now, we are saying it's the ethical thing to do because you do hold the power to ordain such if you wanted to. truly believe this program is not for us after being sold under false pretenses, and how can you prove otherwise?
Knowing what we do now we cannot imagine moving forward with this ownership.
I am sorry that you no longer wish to participate in your membership. I unfortunately am unable to cancel the contract. You are free to sell or transfer the membership at any time. In terms of bookings, all holidays work on a first come first serve basis.All travel sources function this way. All owners have the same right. If owners are pro active about booking then unfortunately it is booked closer to the check in date.This is only a challenge if you are trying to book a high demand location at high travel times. Again if it is high demand then planning is required. I would suggest having an owners education to go over some of the options you have for when trying to book. Interval provides on going searches, we at the resort also will assist with bookings should you wish the help. I feel the biggest issue is understanding what you have purchased and how to best utilize it.Please contact us at your convenience to go over all the benefits of the membership.Once again I apologize but we will not be cancelling your membership. Thanks
We have written several letters to a *** of the Cranberry Village Resort. However, to date we have not received satisfactory results. While requesting to cancel and be completely released of the timeshare, *** offered a ridiculous option to pay the remaining years of the contract 2020, 2022, 2024 and 2026. Why would we make these future payments when it would be easier for the resort to release us and resell to another consumer?
We have reached out to the CEO and President, *** and believe that the entire organization is not operating with ethical business practices. Requiring future payments when we have explained in detail about our life changing situation is without compassion or a moral barometer. ***. Moreover, we find ourselves unable to maintain the costly fees associated with this timeshare.
We are seeking total release and a refund of the maintenance fees we have paid that we will not benefit from. We want to be advised when this account is closed.
Hello *** and ***,
Once again we are sympathetic to your circumstance. As stated I have lowered your contract to a 25 year term from a 50 year term. Leaving a 4 year obligation to the membership in terms of usage fees. Which means you can pay and travel for 4 additional usage fees. However that being said I have also offered you an early buyout of $3600 versus $4300. Your statement of " *** business practices and functioning without compassion or moral compass" is inaccurate and unjust. We typically have a no cancellation policy here at the resort and I have made every effort to come to reasonable and fair solution for all parties involved. When members do not pay their usage fees it negatively impacts the remaining members and the resort itself. I have communicated with you and have given you very fair terms. Not the least of which is forgiving thousands of dollars that would be owing. I would challenge you to go to any lender or business in which you have a relationship, and tell them you are just not paying anymore as you agreed in writing to, and see how receptive they are. I am happy to work with you any way I can to come to a reasonable solution. Thanks
I have been having issues with my ownership with my timeshare with Cranberry Resort and Spa. I have reached out to them to communicate and have a dialogue to bring this matter to a resolution. As an owner, Cranberry Resorts has multiple ways to contact me,( phone, address ,email) they have chosen to use none of these avenues of contract that they have at their disposal. The issue we have experienced with Cranberry Resorts and our current status has put our contract in jeopardy of being voided. For them not to be willing to talk to us on any level is very concerning to the level of wrongdoing that may have taken place. We know that they received our correspondence because we placed tracking on it and can see that it was delivered and accepted.
We are fully disputing this contract and the sales practices that were used to get us into this contract. If the company dose not want to talk to us like a normal company would then they can void the contact as we have and we will be done with this once and for all.
We ask the Revdex.com to contact the Cranberry Resort on our behalf and open a dialogue with them so we can have communications and work on a resolution with this matter. At this point we have no other options for communications
we want you to contact the company and find out why they will not communicate back to us in any form. We have been going above and beyond in our attempts to bring this to Resolution and communicate with them. we need your help at this point.
Hello *** and ***,
Once again we are sorry to hear that you no longer wish to participate in your membership. As mentioned we are happy to alter your program in any way we can to try and assist. The statements made of the "company" not communicating with you are surprising and in accurate.In May of 2017 *** the Director of Finance for *** contacted you informing you that your original p note was up and wanted to discuss options with you. He did not hear back from you so a follow up email was sent on May 11th. He then on May 18th called once again and sent another follow up email.On July 19th of 2017 you contacted us stating you no longer wished to participate in your membership.Attached are the notes from your conversation with ***."Spoke with member who explained that he cannot afford the membership and wants to walk away. Member opened his own gym and does not have the time to travel. I explained we cannot just cancel his membership and outlined the resale policy. He understood and asked for the documents to transfer membership." (07/19/2017SS) On July 20th of 2017 you were sent a resale package. We did not hear from you after this communication nor did ***. On Feb 21, 2018 *** once again tried to contact you to discover that both of the number on file were no longer in service. He sent a follow email indicating we had no numbers on file for you and that your account was in arrears. No response from your selves. *** then contacted you once again on March 18th indicating all the same information from the previous email. Again no response from your selves. In March you were sent to collections with 30 days to contact us. You did not so you were placed in full collections as of April 25th, 2018. On May 14th we reached out to you once again as we received a Letter From ***. Left a voice mail and followed up with an email. On may 16th *** spoke with *** and made arrangements to start paying *** and utilizing the membership. We were going to set up an owner education. To date *** has not been paid. Another letter was then sent in September to which I responded to on September 14th with no response from your selves. Attached it the email.
Posted on: 14 September 2018 04:39 PM
Hello *** and ***,
I am sorry to hear that you no longer wish to participate in your membership. I would certainly like to assist with helping rectify the circumstance. We unfortunately have a no cancellation policy here at the resort. This aside my challenge is that your loan and fees have gone to collections which is a third party collection agency and the loan portion of the program is governed by ***. I have no authority over your p notes. In regards to your usage fees and contract I can certainly assist to alter your program to better suit your travel needs etc. As *** is an affiliated company you have no obligation to maintain a program with them which is why they would allow you to cancel. I feel some of the issue is understanding what you own and how to best utilize it. If you wish to come up for a free night stay we can offer you an owners education and discuss how we could alter the program to assist. Please let me know when would be a good time for you. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.
Once again as stated we are happy to assist in any way we can however we will not be cancelling the membership. We have made every effort to try and work with you in terms of your membership and p note. It was a full year of arrears prior to being sent to collections even though we had no communication from you during that time. Thanks
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
We have gone above and beyond with this company. Fist as they keep stating that we are the ones not responding we have been in constant contact with . its like one hand dose not know what they other is doing.
we have been communicating with *** from the resort several times.
also we did get a call stating that our debt had been sold to a collection company - in this case you sold the debit and no longer own it then there is no contact. We have gone over and over this in letters to your company and phone calls telling you about our expedience and how the cost is not what was promised and it is to expensive.
you dismissing our information is not getting anything done. regardless of what you say we can not afford this and we do not have the money for it. by the way the entire *** of timeshare resale is also a trap. they ask for money upfront and place us in a sales magazine nd website that no one goes too because the only place people buy timeshare is at your resort. So this is another delay tactic and false help.
Its been a long time going back and forth. we have repeatedly asked for help and you only want to show us how to better use it. If we do not have the money to be owners then there is no using it.
Stop trying to selling and end this. it is the only option.
Hello *** and ***,
As mentioned we tried to reach out to you on numerous occassions to try and assist in terms of the loan. *** will always do their best to try and alter payments etc to make sure it is manageable for the members. However as stated his attempts to contact you were not responded to. *** is a separate entity and I have no authorization over the loan portion of your membership. You reference *** and that you are sent to a magazine. This is nto the case. Once again the issue is you not understanding how your program works and how to utilize it. Every resort in the *** directory sells vacation ownership. The affiliation with *** is so that all the members affiliated with the company can exchange their time at any of the resorts they own at to travel elsewhere. It is an exchange program. Is it in place so that when you do not wish to travel to your home resort you have options to travel elsewhere. Again as mentioned I will do what I can to alter your program to better suit your needs and provide an education on the benefits of your membership and how to best utilize it. I can not unfortunately cancel the membership nor alter the loan side of the program. Thanks
membership *** - Had to call Club Cranberry because I received email stating that annual dues were past due...called and spoke with ***...asking for a copy of the bill so I can get it paid..*** stated that invoice was sent in August 2017 showing amount to be paid Jan 1st 2018...she stated that she would email me...she emailed me a statement showing the amount but there is also a late fee charge of $ 25.00 attached to the statement...explained that I never received the bill in August and was calling because I received an email stating that a bill was past due...no way on the invoice that was sent shows that if the dues are not paid by Jan 1st that a late fee would be charged...the statement date sent was Jan 12, 2018..she said she was able to waive the late fee but would pass me to *** the manager...explained that I didn't receive the bill and would like to pay the dues but considering that I never received the bill I would like to waive the late fees...she said that is the bill - pay it...she said you know that your dues are due Jan 1st every year...explained that how can I pay if I don't know how much...she said we sent you a bill in August and it was never return so I must have received it...looking at the bill that she did sent to me via email there is nothing stating that there is a late fee of $ 25.00....I don't feel it is fair for a company just to charge a late fee because there feel like it...it should be stated so customers know what the company is charging..*** stated if I didn't pay by Feb 1st 2018 then a extra $ 75.00 was going to be charged...this is not right and I would someone to step in...they also don't want to sent out paper invoices - want online only...I don't like to do stuff online for safety for information...if I don't then how do you get future bills....My understanding is companies must disclose fees for late payments on invoices...this did not happen and still got charged $ 25.00...bill was due Jan. 1st and now paid Jan 23 - 22 days later and charged $ 25.00...
would like to have the $ 25.00 returned and that invoices for the company have to have late fee costs stated on all invoices that are sent to the customers.
In response to Mr ***'s letter. Since signing with an external billing company in efforts to go green, we have gone paperless. The first several invoices were mailed explaining what the new process will be. This did not happen until this year and we started utilizing *** in 2015. We figured this was ample time for the members to be aware and become comfortable with the new process. I am surprised to hear that the member was not aware of the late fees as Mr *** has paid late the past 2 years and it has been indicated on all the invoices we sent out. I have attached them for reference. In fact in regards to late payments Mr *** has only paid one time twice since purchase. Once in 2006 and once in 2007. Since purchase Mr *** has paid late anywhere from 2 months to 7 months late. I have also attached his payment schedule for reference. It is in my opinion that Mr *** abused the system and took advantage of our leniency. We have done our best to try and be lenient with our members however at the end of the day we are running a business. When our members pay late or not at all it negatively affects the other members and the resort itself. Mr *** is now being made to take responsibility for his tardiness and lack of concern for paying on time. Should the member pay on time he would not need to be worried about the late fees applied. As a long standing members since 2005 (13 years) the member is very aware as to when the usage fees are due. As well we sent out 3 emails prior to the due date stating you have now received your invoice pay and book now. This certainly should have prompted the member to contact us if he did indeed not receive his invoice as stated. I am sorry that Mr *** is dissatisfied with the fee applied however we have made every effort to notify the member and in the past been more then lenient. We will not be waiving the late fee.