TimeSharing Today has learned that, less than two months after RCI signed a proposed
settlement agreement in a class action brought by its Weeks members, a Points member filed
a class action Complaint with similar allegations in the same United
States District Court. The 33-page Complaint alleges that RCI engages
in a “fraudulent, deceptive and unconscionable marketing
scheme” by representing “that only members of the program can access
the timeshares,” whereas RCI actually engages in the “practice
of skimming a large percentage of the timeshares from the system,
including many prime timeshares, and renting them to the general
public at a profit to RCI, or selling them to vendors who then rent them to the general public.”
The plaintiff, Anton Glenz of Ellsberry, Missouri, an RCI member since 2004, charges that, as a result,
“no matter how meticulously [Points members] follow RCI’s rules and procedures, and no matter how far in and rent that time to the general public, requiring such third parties to conceal
their arrangements with RCI.
After describing numerous failed efforts
to book trips through RCI starting in
2005, Glenz says that he ultimately determined
that his RCI Points were providing
no value to him. He deeded his timeshare
week back to his resort in May, 2008.
The Complaint seeks damages based
on New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act,
breach of the covenant of good faith and
fair dealing implied in every contract,
and breach of a fiduciary duty owed to
RCI members. Glenz also asks that RCI
be required to disgorge to him and other
class members the amount of its profits
from “its practice of skimming Timeshare
Intervals from the RCI Spacebank.”
RCI has filed a motion to dismiss
certain aspects of the Complaint. The
court has not yet ruled on that motion.
A case management conference, setting
deadlines for pretrial discovery and other
pretrial procedures, was scheduled for
October 26, 2009.
®
advance they begin looking for a
desirable exchange, they simply
cannot find available destinations.”
In detailing the allegations, Glenz
contends that RCI’s marketing strategy,
implemented with various sales tools
provided to affiliated resorts, is designed
to “create and reinforce RCI members’
and prospective members’ false belief that
access to Vacation Time is completely or
almost completely limited to RCI members.”
However, RCI’s actions frustrate
his expectations and the fundamental
purpose of the program.
While RCI has represented that its
rental inventory is comprised of last
minute cancellation and weeks that no
member will request or use, according to
the Complaint, RCI places into its rental
inventory “Vacation Time from highly
requested areas during popular times of
travel.”
Glenz further alleges that, “in addition
to renting Vacation Time, RCI secretly
enters into ... Agreements with third
parties” who buy Vacation Time from RCI
Hearing Set for
Weeks Settlement
After a September meeting among
the attorneys for RCI, plaintiffs and
objectors produced no material changes
to the proposed settlement agreement
of the class action lawsuit against RCI,
new notices of the settlement have
been mailed and emailed to RCI Weeks
members.
All RCI members between January
1, 2000 and August 31, 2009 will be
bound by the terms of the settlement
unless they choose to exclude themselves
by November 20, 2009. That is
also the date by which members can file
objections to the settlement terms. The
United States District Court will decide
whether to approve the settlement at a
hearing in Trenton, NJ on November
30, 2009.
See page 38 for additional information
about the proposed settlement.

See also www.tstoday.com/rciclassaction.

Attached Thumbnails

       

This is from Arcamax

An article sure to be enjoyed by all vacationers.

Taking the Kids: Making Scuba Diving a Family Sport

By Eileen Ogintz, Tribune Media Services
Never mind the moray eel. I'm focused on rubbing the "lucky" porthole of a ship that sunk here in a hurricane nearly 150 years ago.

Did I mention that I'm 60 feet underwater, diving mask on my face, breathing oxygen from a tank strapped to my back? That sunken ship -- the RMS Rhone -- is the top dive site here in the British Virgin Islands (www.bvitourism.com) and the morning we're here, there are plenty of other divers in the water as we explore the wreck with Sail Caribbean Divers (www.sailcaribbeandivers.com).

While the Wreck of the Rhone, just off Salt Island, is a must-dive site, Mike Rowe, who oversees Sail Caribbean Divers, tells us that there are many wonderful dive sites here -- canyons, tunnels, caverns grottos teeming with underwater life like Blond Rock, The Chimney, The Wreck of the Chikuzen and The Indians. The BVI boasts more than 50 islands and islets, after all.

I'm just thankful to share this spectacular adventure in paradise with my husband and kids. It's terrific -- and rare -- when you can find something you all enjoy, especially as the kids grow older (kids as young as 10 can become certified divers) on vacation. Learning to dive is easier and less expensive -- typically $300 -- than you might think, thanks to the option of completing online coursework first (www.padi.com). PADI reports that a million people become certified divers every year.

My husband, Andy, and son, Matt, had gotten certified some 15 years ago in the BVI -- a father-tween bonding exercise; I did some years later on a trip to Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas. My daughter Mel learned to dive last year on a mom-daughter trip to Grand Turk Island and then was able to use her certification in Bali when she was studying in Asia. (Read what I wrote about our Grand Turk trip http://www.takingthekids.com/weekly-...ribbean-resort.)

Now it is time for my daughter Regina Yemma and her boyfriend Dan Foldes to join our club. When we planned a sailing trip to the British Virgin Islands with The Moorings (www.Moorings.com) we knew we wanted there to be a diving component. Sail Caribbean Divers, a PADI 5-Star Instructional Development Dive Resort, the only one in the BVI with these highest ratings and with four locations, made it easy: Reg and Dan came to the BVI ahead of us to complete the first of their required three days of water instruction with Victoria "Vicky" Zgardzinski. First, they had learning sessions at the beach on Cooper Island, going over the fundamentals of the gear. (Certainly a lot more pleasant than when I did it in a chilly YMCA pool.) By the time we arrived, they were ready for their required open-water dives and we were able to rendezvous with our boat at Norman Island.

Reg and Dan reported they were stunned by the sea life -- fluorescent-colored fish, countless coral and sponge species, spotted eels, and prickly urchins -- on dives that were exhilarating and a little scary, as they learned to breath underwater and manage all the necessary equipment.

Their final dive before "graduation" -- through the canyons of an underwater reef -- "was over before we wanted it to be," they reported. "Soon we were on the surface trading high-fives and fist bumps, reveling in our accomplishment," Foldes added.

(In case any of you have water-loving teens, the same crew from Sail Caribbean Divers has been running summer learn-to-dive and sail programs here in the British Virgin Islands for more than 30 years, www.sailcaribbean.com.)

Our dive on The Rhone was memorable not only because it was our first together as certified divers but because the site is a constant source of fascination for divers and snorkelers -- part of the ship can be snorkeled. We were actually able to swim through part of the wreck -- it took us less than two minutes. (There is still a spoon with the captain's initials on it.) The massive size of the ship's superstructure is amazing -- as is the sea life that now calls it home -- Queen Angel fish, fire coral, sponges that cover the wheel. Wow!

It was simply fate that The Rhone was here at all that fall day, Oct. 29, 1867 to be precise, explained our dive master Melisande Rowe. The state-of-the-art ship was actually supposed to go to the much busier port of St. Thomas, but because of an outbreak of Yellow Fever there, the passengers and cargo came to Tortola to take on coal and provisions.

When the hurricane blew in, Captain Robert Wooley was the first casualty -- washed overboard as he tried to assess the weather. The crew tried frantically to get the 300-pound anchor up and get the ship out to sea, but the anchor and chains were stuck. It was all over in a matter of seconds. The ship exploded. To this day, no one knows exactly why; the red-hot boiler furnaces blew the ship in half.

Some 200 perished on The Rhone and 75 other vessels were either lost or seriously damaged in the hurricane. Amazingly, there were some survivors -- one washing up on the island of St. John 17 miles away. Because the people on Salt Island (so named because they harvested salt) worked so hard to save the survivors and bury the dead, Queen Victoria gave them the island -- a wonderful gift for the poor islanders.

We saw the gear box house and rudder, crow's nest and mast, the hatch -- all covered with coral and sponges. The Rhone is now a national park but, according to Rowe, that hasn't stopped people from trying to steal the lucky porthole.

I'm glad they weren't successful. I rubbed the porthole -- number 26 -- three times as instructed and we had great luck the rest of the trip. Everyone was happy (for the most part). Meltdowns were few. Memories were made.

I need a lucky porthole every time I take the kids.