— Travel America —
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| Ponderosa Bankruptcy Delta Isle Bankruptcy Travel America Rejects TAI Contracts! |
Lifetime Dues Paid ?
Travel America (TA) Violates Bankruptcy Commitments
Many former TAI members were notified by TA this March that a major commitment made to secure approval of the reorganization plan in Ohio is "out the window"!!
TA, as a prerequisite to securing approval of the Ohio Plan for Reorganization, specifically stated in that plan:
The Debtor will specifically assume all of its membership agreements in effect as of the Petition Date. The membership agreements are set forth in the Debtor's Schedule G. The effect of this assumption is that the terms and conditions of each member’s. contract with the Debtor, including any addenda, will remain the same. For example, a member whose dues are contractually frozen for life will continue to have their dues frozen for life. On the other hand, the Debtor will retain its contractual right to amend the rules and regulations from time to time. A copy of the rules and regulations is attached as Exhibit G.1. These contracts will be assigned to Travel America, who will abide by the terms and conditions in effect at the time of the filing of the Petition. There will be no increase in annual dues, unless a specific member's contract provides for an increase.
[Ohio Reorganization Plan – Pages 12 and 13]
The March 2001 letter from TA, signed by Ray Novelli, states that "your (lifetime dues paid) annual maintenance fees will be [increased to] $198.…[and] may increase [still further]." We believe that his action is in specific violation with the covenant made with the Federal Bankruptcy court in Ohio and with the creditor members in that bankruptcy.
Mr. Novelli new that there was a substantial number of "Lifetime Dues Paid memberships in Thousand Adventures of Ohio.[and other TAI subsidiaries], as evidenced by the reorganization plan. It is not something he learned ‘after the fact’ of the Plan confirmation.
Part of the cost of stepping into the shoes of the Ohio Debtor, was the assumption of all membership contracts "including the Addenda" that he hoped to acquire in that bankruptcy.
We believe that, if you are denied access to a TA facility because of this new tactic by Mr. Novelli’s companies, you may be entitled to take legal action against them.
We also believe that we can find both Federal and State attorneys and Judges that will agree that this is a fraudulent and deceptive practice of Mr. Novelli and his companies in order to secure confirmation of the Plan.
IF YOU ARE A "LIFETIME DUES PAID" FORMER MEMBER OF TAI WHO WAS DECEIVED BY WHAT WE BELIEVE WAS A FRAUDULENT PROMISE IN THE OHIO REORGANIZATION PLAN – TELL US HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU. WE WILL HELP THE YOU COMPLAIN TO THE APPROPRIATE AGENCY AND WORK WITH YOU TO HELP FORCE TA TO HONOR THEIR OHIO COVENANTS.
You are not alone! You CAN fight back. They may even owe you some kind of "Punitive Damages" for what they have done.
Dan Hopper, Chmnm NAM
Travel
America — "Unclean Hands"
"Abuse of Members"
Travel America Harasses Former TAI Members
— STILL —
Several former TAI members have notified the Ohio Attorney General that they are still being harassed by persons alleging to represent Travel America. These 'representatives' typically call and demand money with the threat of lawsuits and additional repeated phone calls.
We have been notified by some of these former members that they have heard from the AG's Consumer Protection Office. The AG is aware of these inappropriate telephone calls and is apparently preparing to take action to make them stop.
Former members of Thousand Adventures of Ohio, according to the AG's staff, are NOT required to pay anything to Travel America if they do not plan to use their facilities and do not want to be associated with them.
We will update this notice when more information is available.
ALABAMA DRAWS THE LINE AGAINST FRAUD
The Alabama Attorney General's office has filed a lawsuit against Travel America, TAI, Thousand Adventures of Alabama, DBV, RV Holdings, Ray Novelli, Steve Alleman, John T. Cloud, etc..., alleging violations of the Alabama Fair Trade Act. The specific charges include:
- Unconscionable, false misleading and deceptive practices in the solicitation, sale and maintenance of campground memberships
- Fraudulent and deceptive acts by soliciting and coercing member of TAI's Alabama campgrounds to enter into additional contacts for services that they were already entitled to receive thorough their original contracts
- Failing to provide the services and benefits contracted for by all members of Alabama Queen due to closing of that campground
The case is still pending. (February 23, 2000)
The complete text of the complaint can be downloaded in Adobe PDF format by clicking on the following link. It is about 700k in size so it will take a while. You can save it to your hard disk and print it out if you wish.