Possible problem with rental

I had posted a redwish for a Starwood resort. We selected one offer. We paid a half deposit via paypal by credit card. As I recall the balance is due in March. I emailed the person a few days ago and no response. I phoned and found the # was disconnected. I emailed againg today and no response as yet. What shall I do? I ha understood that the reservation would be put in our name once paid in full.

sharresed wrote:

I had posted a redwish for a Starwood resort. We selected one offer. We paid a half deposit via paypal by credit card. As I recall the balance is due in March. I emailed the person a few days ago and no response. I phoned and found the # was disconnected. I emailed againg today and no response as yet. What shall I do? I ha understood that the reservation would be put in our name once paid in full.

Hi Sharrese,

There might not be anything RedWeek can do if you didn't use an escrow company but email support@redweek.com with the owner's name or username that you are dealng with and perhaps we have a different phone number for the owner that we can provide you with.

Thanks, Marty

marty8084 wrote:

sharresed wrote:

I had posted a redwish for a Starwood resort. We selected one offer. We paid a half deposit via paypal by credit card. As I recall the balance is due in March. I emailed the person a few days ago and no response. I phoned and found the # was disconnected. I emailed againg today and no response as yet. What shall I do? I ha understood that the reservation would be put in our name once paid in full.

Hi Sharrese,

There might not be anything RedWeek can do if you didn't use an escrow company but email support@redweek.com with the owner's name or username that you are dealng with and perhaps we have a different phone number for the owner that we can provide you with.

Thanks, Marty

Where shall I cantact you to give you his name? I can't believe we were so stupid!

OOPs I posted it wrong. Where shall I contact you to give you his name?

sharresed wrote:

OOPs I posted it wrong. Where shall I contact you to give you his name?

Send an email to support@redweek.com with the name or username of the owner and posting number, for example R304174 if you know it.

Thanks, Marty

sharresed wrote:

I had posted a redwish for a Starwood resort. We selected one offer. We paid a half deposit via paypal by credit card. As I recall the balance is due in March. I emailed the person a few days ago and no response. I phoned and found the # was disconnected. I emailed againg today and no response as yet. What shall I do? I ha understood that the reservation would be put in our name once paid in full.

I Would definitely contact paypal--They should be able to get your deposit back. Jeannette

jeannettes6 wrote:

I Would definitely contact paypal--They should be able to get your deposit back. Jeannette

I have used PayPal for a long time. Once, I was taken in a smaller purchase. They were very good at getting my money back. You file a compaint with them.

Re: >> I Would definitely contact paypal--They should be able to get your deposit back. Jeannette <<

I respectfully but strongly disagree. I am willing to bet that PayPal will be of no assistance to you whatsoever. Keep in mind that PayPal is merely a conduit (admittedly a "secure" one, through which funds are verified (to the recipient) as being confirmed and available.

You might have slightly better luck representing the matter as one of fraud directly with your credit card company. I wouldn't get your hopes up, but you have far less chance of assistance with PayPal, where I predict you'll get absolutely no help at all.

what suggestions does anyone have for the first time we rent our timeshare? Who should we use Paypal? Pitfalls? tinker_mass@yahoo.com

markm284 wrote:

what suggestions does anyone have for the first time we rent our timeshare? Who should we use Paypal? Pitfalls? tinker_mass@yahoo.com

Here is an update as to what has happened. We paid the deposit in Dec. It was through paypal, and my husband was SUPPOSE to put it through the credit card. Turns out he accidently clicked the wrong button and it came out o our checking account. Additionally, paypal is my husbands thing and he never told me that paypal only allows 45 days for a dispute. If my husband relayed this info to me I would have checked on it within that time.

Also...I tracked down what city he was from and called the police( I only had 2 disconnected phone #'s and his name, used the internet). He is unfortunalely now deceased, passed away at the end of Jan!! Also his name was known to the police because I was not the only one. I wrote to customer service here at Red Week, and they too have recieved other complaints. I do know that Red Week has nothing to do with this at all. He responded to my ad and I was too lax.

It could be, he had intended to follow through with these reservations, but he dropped dead. So we'll never know. However I must say , in all that I've learned after the fact, if it was above board, I would have recieved more info from him right after the deposit.

Re: >> markm284 asked, in pertinent part, >> what suggestions does anyone have for the first time we rent our timeshare? <<

First, understand very clearly that YOU (not the person(s) to whom you rent) will be responsible for any damage caused by the renters in your unit during your week. Not a pleasant thought, but understand and accept that as a reality. Some resorts might require a non-owner to pay a deposit, but undiscovered damage after that depost has been returned will fall on YOU.

Second, obtain and execute a lease agreement. There are several timeshare related sites (maybe including RedWeek -- I'm too new here to know for sure) where a lease form can be downloaded for short money. With this agreement, it is clearly specified exactly what is rented, exactly to whom, for how much, terms of payment, etc. etc.

Re: >> Who should we use Paypal? Pitfalls? << I have no use whatsoever for Pay Pal, personally, but others may have a different point of view. As far as I can see, PayPal offers little more than a secure (and virtually anonymous) means by which the recipient gets guaranteed funds via someone else's credit card. O.K., so funds are sent of by the renter to some unknown PayPal account holder. How does that protect the sender (renter) in any meaningful way? Little if at all, it seems to me.

In the few times I've (reluctantly) rented out my weeks, I've insisted on a signed lease agreement and significant deposit well in advance --- I ask for 50%. Once you have some communication resulting in a written agreement with a real person who has provided a verifiable name, address, telephone number and deposit, and you in turn are forthright about identifying the rental right down to the unit number, then (and only then, in my opinion) can you even BEGIN to be even a little bit comfortable that you are BOTH participants in a legitimate transaction with real people (not scammers) and all involved are acting in good faith. It's a dicey proposition at it's best. Think long and hard whether or not you might be better off "Spacebanking" the time for your own later use, if financially that is a viable option for you.

Good luck.

sharresed wrote:

Here is an update as to what has happened. We paid the deposit in Dec. It was through paypal, and my husband was SUPPOSE to put it through the credit card. Turns out he accidently clicked the wrong button and it came out o our checking account. Additionally, paypal is my husbands thing and he never told me that paypal only allows 45 days for a dispute. If my husband relayed this info to me I would have checked on it within that time.

Also...I tracked down what city he was from and called the police( I only had 2 disconnected phone #'s and his name, used the internet). He is unfortunalely now deceased, passed away at the end of Jan!! Also his name was known to the police because I was not the only one. I wrote to customer service here at Red Week, and they too have recieved other complaints. I do know that Red Week has nothing to do with this at all. He responded to my ad and I was too lax.

He may be dead, but his estate isn't. Check in to filing against an estate, including your deposit and your expenses. Check in to putting a lien against the subject property, too. That way, it can't be sold without paying you off.

If you think this is a lot of trouble, just think of it as a learning experience, Reimbursement 101. You never know when it will become handy in the future.

carries25 wrote:

sharresed wrote:

Here is an update as to what has happened. We paid the deposit in Dec. It was through paypal, and my husband was SUPPOSE to put it through the credit card. Turns out he accidently clicked the wrong button and it came out o our checking account. Additionally, paypal is my husbands thing and he never told me that paypal only allows 45 days for a dispute. If my husband relayed this info to me I would have checked on it within that time.

Also...I tracked down what city he was from and called the police( I only had 2 disconnected phone #'s and his name, used the internet). He is unfortunalely now deceased, passed away at the end of Jan!! Also his name was known to the police because I was not the only one. I wrote to customer service here at Red Week, and they too have recieved other complaints. I do know that Red Week has nothing to do with this at all. He responded to my ad and I was too lax.

He may be dead, but his estate isn't. Check in to filing against an estate, including your deposit and your expenses. Check in to putting a lien against the subject property, too. That way, it can't be sold without paying you off.

If you think this is a lot of trouble, just think of it as a learning experience, Reimbursement 101. You never know when it will become handy in the future.

carries25 wrote:

sharresed wrote:

Here is an update as to what has happened. We paid the deposit in Dec. It was through paypal, and my husband was SUPPOSE to put it through the credit card. Turns out he accidently clicked the wrong button and it came out o our checking account. Additionally, paypal is my husbands thing and he never told me that paypal only allows 45 days for a dispute. If my husband relayed this info to me I would have checked on it within that time.

Also...I tracked down what city he was from and called the police( I only had 2 disconnected phone #'s and his name, used the internet). He is unfortunalely now deceased, passed away at the end of Jan!! Also his name was known to the police because I was not the only one. I wrote to customer service here at Red Week, and they too have recieved other complaints. I do know that Red Week has nothing to do with this at all. He responded to my ad and I was too lax.

He may be dead, but his estate isn't. Check in to filing against an estate, including your deposit and your expenses. Check in to putting a lien against the subject property, too. That way, it can't be sold without paying you off.

If you think this is a lot of trouble, just think of it as a learning experience, Reimbursement 101. You never know when it will become handy in the future.

Hi Carrie, First of all Redweek has let me know that he had been doing this since Aug2006. There had been a woman who had called a resort to see that her name was on the reservation and it was. When she called to check again, her name was gone. So he was a scammer. Aslo when I talked to the police in his town, he said that this guy didn't appear to have much. I looked up his obituary and saw that he he has a wife, kids and grandkids. He called probate court and there has not been a probate case opened as yet. Of he owned anthing at all he would have goen to his wife after his death.

As someone else said above ..... karma, karma, karma in action.

sharresed wrote:

carries25 wrote:

sharresed wrote:

Here is an update as to what has happened. We paid the deposit in Dec. It was through paypal, and my husband was SUPPOSE to put it through the credit card. Turns out he accidently clicked the wrong button and it came out o our checking account. Additionally, paypal is my husbands thing and he never told me that paypal only allows 45 days for a dispute. If my husband relayed this info to me I would have checked on it within that time.

Also...I tracked down what city he was from and called the police( I only had 2 disconnected phone #'s and his name, used the internet). He is unfortunalely now deceased, passed away at the end of Jan!! Also his name was known to the police because I was not the only one. I wrote to customer service here at Red Week, and they too have recieved other complaints. I do know that Red Week has nothing to do with this at all. He responded to my ad and I was too lax.

He may be dead, but his estate isn't. Check in to filing against an estate, including your deposit and your expenses. Check in to putting a lien against the subject property, too. That way, it can't be sold without paying you off.

If you think this is a lot of trouble, just think of it as a learning experience, Reimbursement 101. You never know when it will become handy in the future.

Hi Carrie, First of all Redweek has let me know that he had been doing this since Aug2006. There had been a woman who had called a resort to see that her name was on the reservation and it was. When she called to check again, her name was gone. So he was a scammer. Aslo when I talked to the police in his town, he said that this guy didn't appear to have much. I looked up his obituary and saw that he he has a wife, kids and grandkids. He called probate court and there has not been a probate case opened as yet. Of he owned anthing at all he would have goen to his wife after his death.

Now that we responded to you, you give us the punch line. Even so, what goes to the wife is called the estate. She inherits his bills as well as any "assets." Check with an attorney. You may have a claim.

C.

I tend to agree with Carries25. Not sure I would go with an attorney, simply due to cost. You only paid a deposit, so not worth the trouble with an attorney.

However, the Lien suggestion is worth while. I believe you need to file in State & County where the Unit is located. Small filing fee, usually under $50. Call the Recorder or Clerks office in that County for info on their procedures. Send copy of Lien to Resort and to the Estate of the deceased individual, Certified.

Also, Carries25 is correct about the estate. It exists and you should not accept someone's word that it has no value. Also, there are remedy's in Sm. Claims Court, depending on location.

And.....if your husband can't hit the correct "button" on a financial transaction, then you should take his password away.

jons29 wrote:

I tend to agree with Carries25. Not sure I would go with an attorney, simply due to cost. You only paid a deposit, so not worth the trouble with an attorney.

However, the Lien suggestion is worth while. I believe you need to file in State & County where the Unit is located. Small filing fee, usually under $50. Call the Recorder or Clerks office in that County for info on their procedures. Send copy of Lien to Resort and to the Estate of the deceased individual, Certified.

Also, Carries25 is correct about the estate. It exists and you should not accept someone's word that it has no value. Also, there are remedy's in Sm. Claims Court, depending on location.

And.....if your husband can't hit the correct "button" on a financial transaction, then you should take his password away.

Actually, choosing your funding source at PayPal is more than a click. First, you have to enter the source on a separate screen. Then you click on which of the choices you yourself have entered. Your choice is displayed for your approval at least one screen before you make the payment final. Even so, if you make an error, you can e-mail PayPal right away to have the payment source changed. It's irritating and frustrating, but doable.

Although there are those who don't like PayPal, I love it. When a transaction went south for me, and I had 60 days to report it, they got my money back. Paypal gives and PayPal takes, and it goes both ways. Their terms are on their site, in clear declarative sentences.

Government employees--filing liens, small claims, and other legal actions--are very helpful. But you have to be upfront and clear with them. They've seen it all before.

O.

Thanks for everyone's input. I'm not going to pay a lawyer to advise me. The deposit we lost amounted to $925. I'm not going to small claims court, I live in CA and he lived in MA, so that's not an option

I'll check into filing a lien . I know whatever he owned is called"estate". On the internet I was only able to turn up his street name and city, not the actual address. I'll have to figure out how to file a claim against his "estate" without knowing his address.

On another level, in a way I feel like letting the whole thing go. How desperate does someone have to be to scam people? Maybe he did it all his life, maybe not. He died young,57 . Maybe he was sick, maybe he ended his on life. Who knows???

I feel for Sharresed - losing $925 is not a small thing. I have to say that I've had very good luck renting my timeshare weeks through Redweek. I reserve weeks we'd want to use if they didn't rent. But they've always rented fast, for what I asked, and I've never had a renter complain. And I've been very satisfied. I've gotten paid both via Paypal (we got $50 less than the rental fee asked since the other party did not have their account registered on Paypal and paid with a credit card, so $50 went to Paypal for the service), and by check - both personal check and bank check. I've had no problems at all. And since at my resort (a Marriott), the party checking in has to leave a credit card, any damages done to the condo during their stay would be charged to them, not to me (Marriott doesn't have my credit card unless I'm the person checking in). Perhaps Marriott Vacation Club works differently than the company Ken 1193 (posting above) deals with, but my feelings are quite different than his. I go by my gut feeling. I establish communication with the party wanting to rent, and talk with them by both phone and by email. I make sure I know what they expect, and if their expectations are not what they'll find at my resort, I let them know up front. I don't want there to be any surprises for them once they get to the condo. We come to a verbal agreement, I change my reservation to list their name, and once I get the revised reservation from Marriott, I mail or email them the revised reservation which Marriott sent me. Once they get the reservation, (and if they want, call the resort to be sure I've made the change as I said), they then pay me - I prefer a check, and if I'm at all worried, I've requested a bank check. When the check comes, I deposit it. Yes, this requires trust on both sides. I suppose I could call my resort again and delete the renters' name from the reservation, but I'm an honest person and I would never do that. I feel people are generally honest (although poor Sharresed has certainly had a very bad experience and probably feels otherwise), and so far, I've not been let down. Actually, in my case the trust factor is more on the side of the renter, since I get their money before the date of the vacation. But I don't mis-represent my resort or what it offers, I ask a fair price for the week, and I try hard to be sure the renter understands everything from how to reach the resort, activities and amenities to expect, good places to eat and shop, check in and out times, etc. I make sure any requests they have for something in the condo are in the reservation and I call the resort a week or so before they check in to make sure everything is still good to go, all requests noted (cribs, high chairs, location of condo, etc.). I'd hope someone would do the same for me. So from my perspective, Redweek works just fine - I have satisfied renters and I'm a satisfied owner.