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Grand Haven Resort Scam

Real Estate Agent with Cambridge Realty

January 29, 2008 03:46 AM

Grand Haven Resort Scam

I was wondering if anybody has been scammed by Grand Haven Resort in Cambridge Ohio (Part of the Cardida Resort Group) the way I was scammed or in a similar method?

Basically I entered a contest somewhere (that was sponsored by Grand Haven Resort) and I "Was a Winner of at least 2 Prizes" with a possibility of winning the grand prize which was a new car! There were about 6 possible prizes and I would randomly win at least 3 of them... those prizes were a Camera, a trip to Las Vegas, $500 Cash, and some other really nice prizes like a Plasma TV etc... All you have to do to claim your 2 prizes is to go through a tour of Grand Haven Resort....

So we took the bait and went to take the Tour for our free guaranteed prizes... At first glimpse the place was pretty trashy.. but then we had our presentation by one of the sales people that dazzled us with all of these great things... Then we drove around in the sales person's car and saw all of the cabins and other cool things this place had to offer...

3 Hours later, it was time for them to make the sale.... A Membership was like $5,000 for the basic membership, but that didn't include half of the cool stuff they were talking about... The good membership was around $10,000 if memory serves me... Of course that was out of our price range... but they just happened to have a trial membership for 1 year... well we had someplace to be and it already was taking a long time, so we decided to do the trial membership.... it was at a reasonable price for what it supposedly offered...

Well we did a down payment on the trial membership and went to get our guaranteed prizes... we won a camera and a trip to las vegas (which required 1 person to pay full price for a plane ticket in order to get the trip)... of course that is basically what everyone got, because they had a pre-made stamp that they stamped on your sheet that had your prizes as a camera and the Los Vegas Trip... The camera was a piece of crap and the trip was a sham because you had to pay for 1/2 of it...

This is where we really got scammed

Well a few weeks later we were ready to give the resort a try... They had some really nice cabins for dirt cheap and some even had Jacuzzi.... So we were going to get 2 or 3 cabins and bring a bunch of friends and have a good time... after all, that was the main reason we got the membership...

So I call and apparently there are only a couple cabins that actually have a Jacuzzi... not the impression we got during the tour...

Next, the pricing... The cabin price was nothing near the price we were quoted on the tour... it was at least double the price to get the cabins than we were quoted... this didn't include the hidden pet fees which we were NOT told about, or the hidden Guest fees which we were NOT told about... of course during the whole tour I was talking about how this would be a great place to bring my friends and my two dogs and how cheap it was... no mention on the hidden fees....

Basically the whole sales tour we were told things that ended up not being the case once we tried to get it... They hid a lot in fine print, wear you down so that you just want to get out of there...

This was definitely a lesson learned... So buyer beware if you ever get a call to tour Grand Haven Resort!

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Anonymous

Bryan B

Hi, Bill B! We are in a similar situation. I am wondering how to get out of it after we are settled up. Can you email me at Bryan.Boatright@gmail.com? Please! Thanks!!

Nov 13, 2014 06:11 AM

#279

Anonymous

Fed up

Okay. I've read each and every one of these posts! Has anything happened with a class action lawsuit? Has anyone with a deed actually been released of their yearly maintenance fees obligation? We have been deeded members since 2003, faithfully paid our yearly fees and only used our membership maybe 5 times. We are sick and tired of this. What can be done without paying a dime more?

Nov 15, 2014 11:33 AM

#280

Anonymous

kathy

I would love to know how to get out of these yearly fees! Supposedly, a couple of years ago when they opened it to the public, fees were supposed to go down or be eliminated.
I too am deeded and have been paying my fees every year since early 2000's. Although it is a nice place, we never have time to use it. Uggh!!!

Nov 16, 2014 03:10 AM

#281

Anonymous

Anthony

Kathy , email me. asharpe0404@sbcglobal.net

Nov 17, 2014 01:28 PM

#282

Anonymous

Lisa

My husband and I have an unused membership we would love to sell - cheap. Email me if you are interested.

Jan 01, 2015 02:11 PM

#283

Anonymous

Margaret Harley

It seems that all the positive comments on this sight are probably Grand Haven management trying to save face. Face it, the place is a dump. I took my daughter there for a birthday party and I couldn't believe how dumpy it was. A few years later I was staying in a cabin at Salt Fork Resort and sales people from Grand Haven literally knocked on our door trying to sell their resort!! What kind of company does that? Can you imagine walking into a restaurant and going to the people waiting for a table and trying to convince them to go to another restaurant? Extremely tacky marketing, and I reported it to Salt Fork management. I hope they went after them. Luckily I knew what a dump that place is. Not even in the same league as Salt Fork Lodge.

Mar 26, 2015 06:26 PM

#284

Anonymous

Rick

Just jacked up my cabin fees

May 17, 2015 06:51 AM

#285

Anonymous

David

I also have a "Deed" to Rocky Fork or whatever these scammers are calling it this year. My understanding is that I no longer have a "Deed" but a membership---why wasn't I notified about this and if it was a deeded property who did they pay to change the game. Anyone want a membership please email me at dhardwic@akron.k12.oh.us

Jul 10, 2015 04:16 AM

#286

emily olson

Hello there , here is a reliable place to clear many doubts about timeshare scam :

http://www.timesharescam.com/blog/

Oct 01, 2015 05:49 AM

Anonymous

Jennifer

I want to know how to get out of this deeded membership! There is like no way out and we haven't gone in years...can't afford the monthly payments and no one wants the stupid thing

Nov 01, 2015 09:40 AM

#288

Jonathan Smith

N/A - Senecaville, OH

My husband and I went on a tour yesterday. We like the place but the memberships are very pricey. We joined another campground, Buffalo Hills being local to this area and have seen how memberships go downhill after once obligated. We actually own three lots in Buffalo HIlls but like the activites at Rocky Fork. I refuse to pay this amount of money for another membership. I donot mind the yearly fees. If anyone has a transferable membership cheap, please let me know. I am very unsure after going through this once with poor results.

Nov 07, 2015 02:36 AM

Anonymous

Bobotron

You should definitely be able to get a free membership from someone. We enjoyed ours while we used it, but our kids grew and we gave it away, so we could stop paying those annual fees. You will have to pay about $300 from what I recall, to legally have the title transferred and other paperwork.

Nov 07, 2015 09:16 AM

Jonathan Smith

Senecaville, OH

#290

Jonathan Smith

N/A - Senecaville, OH

Thank you for the emails and messages for give a way memberships. I just want to add I have been trying to research how to do this and talk to someone about how we can transfer from the old Grand Haven deeds and, will it cost more to change to a Rocky Fork membership. I cannot get any response calling except answering machines. I wonder, if you cannot get questions answered to join, what if we actually are a member with a question. I had a local number given to me by the sales rep that I called that took us on our tour. Moving on with the number she gave me to member services (local number), got me nowhere. Has anyone actually been successful in doing this transfer. If so, how do you do it and the costs involved. I donot want to take over yearly payments for someone until I know all this and make sure my membership is really what we want.

Nov 10, 2015 06:46 AM

Anonymous

Chris S

My husband and I bought our deeded membership in 2003, I think, have used it once. The membership has been paid in full for many years. We tried not making the yearly maintenance fees because we were not going to ever use it again, but was threatened with a law suit. Yearly maintenance fees are up to date. We have tried talking to them to get out of paying our annual fees to no avail. If anyone out there knows how to get out of paying those yearly maintenance fees, please email me at chris.sprague52@yahoo.com. It would be very much appreciated!

Mar 02, 2016 09:30 PM

#292

Anonymous

Michelle

Anyone still giving away their membership to Rocky Fork that can contact me about questions I have.
Thank you,
needsaces@yahoo.com

Mar 27, 2016 01:15 AM

#293

Anonymous

Michelle Keathley

I am still looking for a deeded membership, paid in full, someone is willing to give away.
I would of course pay the transfer fee.
I am hoping to get one that can be used at the 6 main resorts. (called travel resorts now)
Please contact me.
needsaces@yahoo.com
Thank you.

Apr 12, 2016 10:01 AM

#294

Anonymous

Angela Baron

I have a deeded membership.

Aug 08, 2016 10:45 PM

#295

Anonymous

Bryan

@Angela - We did too. Unfortunately, you don't have one any longer. Deeds that were left were converted to memberships. We found this out when inquiring a few months back. We are, of course, not happy about this....

Aug 09, 2016 04:43 AM

#296

Anonymous

Brad Burge

I just spent the day at Rocky Fork Ranch trying to get out of my membership. Got a new sales pitch. Up my membership, pay more fees, buy the right to quit, offer good for 1 day only. The cost would be about $6000. I didn't think giving them more money would get me out of it. No way am I trying to sell this white whale to someone else. I'm thinking about just stopping payments to them. They have raised them too much.

Mar 04, 2017 03:54 PM

#297

Anonymous

HTSE

Whatever your dream vacation, chances are, Grand Haven Resort has the perfect resort for you and your family. There’s simply no better way to create family memories, strengthen family bonds, create unique experiences, and establish a family vacation legacy that will be cherished for years to come.

HTSE - www.htse.net

Mar 26, 2019 04:31 AM

#298

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