Karina Basso  |  September 12, 2014

Category: Consumer News

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Marriott class action lawsuitMarriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. is facing a proposed inflated cruise ship fees class action lawsuit, which claims the company illegally overcharged its time share program members for alleged government and port fees even when members cashed in their program points to purchase a cruise ship vacation.

The Marriott Vacations Club is a popular time-share company that holds properties in over 50 locations in the United States, Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. These locations are co-owned by more than 400,000 Marriott Club Members.

However, the Marriott class action lawsuit claims:

“Defendants engage in a common course of conduct and practice of creating, inflating and collecting deceptively inflated government fees and port fees in booking cruises for members of Marriott Vacation Club. While members use points in booking cruises, defendants charge members of the Marriott Vacation Club cash for certain other fees such as government fees and port fees which they deceptively create or inflate and then retain these sums.”

Florida resident Daniel Finerman filed this Marriott class action lawsuit in Florida state court back in June, but, earlier this week, the case was removed to Florida federal court. The plaintiff has been a Marriott Vacation Club Member since 2005, around the same time he booked a one-week time share located in Aruba.

Over the years, the plaintiff has booked other time-share vacations through Marriott. In November 2013, Finerman used his travel points accumulated through the Marriott Vacation Club and the Marriott Explorer Club to book a six-day Carnival Cruise Line vacation from Florida to the Caribbean. During check out, Finerman allegedly paid using 2,650 of his accumulated reward points and an additional $566.17 to cover the cost of government fees, ports fees, and processing fees.

According to the Marriott inflated cruise ship fees class action lawsuit, “The amounts charged and paid by plaintiff were fabricated, or at the very least inflated to increase defendants’ profits, and these deceptively billed and collected sums were never intended to and were not in fact paid to any governmental entity or port authority in their entirety, and these sum were retained by defendants.”

Finerman has filed this Marriott class action lawsuit in order to represent himself and a proposed Class of Marriott customers that would include all U.S. citizens who from 2010 until now have been Marriott Vacation Club Members and have booked a vacation through Marriott.  It is estimated that the number of potential Class Members is in the thousands.

The inflated cruise ship fees class action lawsuit alleges that Marriott violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and additionally charges the company with unjust enrichment. In this Marriott class action lawsuit, Finerman seeks to certify the Class defined above, and seeks equitable relief for himself and other Marriott Vacation Club Members through payment of damages  and refund of fees paid.

Finerman is represented by Tamra Carsten Givens and John Allen Yanchunis Sr. of Morgan & Morgan PA.

The Marriott Inflated Cruise Ship Fees Class Action Lawsuit is Finerman v. Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp., et al., Case No. 6:14-cv-01461, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

UPDATE: April 2018, the Marriott Vacation Club cruise fees class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.

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