Just received an $820 special assessment bill in the mail from Raintree Vacation Club, this on top of the $820 we paid for our yearly maintance fee which has doubled since we bout in the late nineties. This is supposedly for membership driven requests for Internet in every room and new cushions for the chaise-lounges. No one ever asked me if I was interested in all these types of upgrades! Also, why does this not simply get paid out of our maintenance fee? The RCI exhange portion of this membership through Raintree is also a joke- you have to order several YEARS in advance they tell me in order to reserve a room in San Francisco in mid August. Similar attemps to utilize that portion of our membership with Club Regina have been equally disappointing. Our contract does not give them the right to levy special assessments on us- it is a membership and for that we agreed at contract signing time to pay a maintenance fee- there was NEVER any understanding or disclosure that we had to pay a special assessment fee when we joined the Raintree vacation club. And despite severalarticles as to the absilutely explosive growth year over year 2008 to 2009 of RVC, we still get hit in the middle of a deep recession with this unwarranted and unfair fee that the contract gives them no right to levy? Use the maintenance fee folks and manage the business! We have never been sent ANY accounting as to how the maintenance fee has been used nor have we received any indication that this was coming on the special assesement fee. Tired and disgusted that we ever bought into this timehare nonsense and hoping it won't cost us another $15, 000 to get out!

I just did some research and found this article on line: They need our money for what?

Raintree Vacation Club performs well amidst recession
Written by TSD Staff

Raintree Vacation Club—a Houston-based timeshare company—released their latest financial report. The company says that they are not only looking to acquire new properties, but they are also setting sales records.

Raintree is the largest independent US-based vacation ownership company in Mexico. The company has sales offices in Cancun, Los Cabos, Puerta Vallarta, and Mexico.

The Raintree Vacation Club has 21 timeshare resorts, 10 of which are in Mexico. The Club also has resorts in western US and western Canada.

Recently, the Club bought the Phoenix resort, which marked their 21st property. The company’s president and CEO Doug Bech says that the Phoenix property represents, “… over $100 million in future timeshare sales. It was acquired from Resort Funding, which is also providing an excellent working capital/receivables hypothecation line of credit for the consumer notes for both the Phoenix and Villa Vera Puerto Vallarta resorts. We will be rebranding this property quickly and begin operating it as a Raintree Resort.”

While most timeshare clubs are downsizing, Raintree continues to maintain pursue high-market perspectives. The company is clearly doing something right.

Everyone - Read Mrs. K's comment and write to Texas Atty General online or by mail! Then join us on the Group - look to your right. Group Raintree Vacation Club and add your email address there!

I think this assessment is totally ridiculous. In addition to the fact that the maintenance fees increase eadh year as it is, it seems ludicrous, especially in this economy to charge this fee to members.

To all complaints board filers re: Raintree Vacation Clubs, Raintree Resorts, Int'l, Raintree

The parent company of our vacation club and address is:

Raintree Resorts Int'l Inc.
10000 Memorial Drive #480
Houston, TX 77024
Tele: 713-613-2800

(Notice how this info is not on their website that we have?) I got it from www.google.com
***************************************************************

To file complaint with the Better Business Bureau of Houston on their website: www.bbbhou.org There is a form you complete on the website.

BBB of Metropolitan Houston
1333 W. Loop South #1200
Houston, TX 77027

Tele: 713-868-9500
Fax: 713-867-4947
www.bbbhou.org
[email protected]

I filed one as I think the basis is a contract dispute. There is no wording of "Special Assessment" on any paperwork I signed when I joined the club. (Notice I did not use the words: "I bought a timeshare".)

Even if they can charge us this fee from their Master Contract, they did NOT DISCLOSE this information to us as a potential liability.

Anyway, thought you should have this information. If there is any error in above addresses, tele numbers, please write an update to complaintsboard.com so we all know.

Thank you,
Elaine