Class Action Against Diamond Resorts?

Hubby and I bought the sampler package last January. Just went on our sampler vacation to be told that our points expire after two years when our sales agent told us 3! Then he proceeded to tell us we can only travel to 34 of their destinations. They are scammers! The worst company ever

jessicae130 wrote:

Just went on our sampler vacation to be told that our points expire after two years when our sales agent told us 3! Then he proceeded to tell us we can only travel to 34 of their destinations. They are scammers! The worst company ever

I wouldn't necessarily classify Diamond as "The worst company ever" just because a sales person there lied to you. Sales people for almost all timeshare companies and resorts are notorious for lying. There is a difference between the timeshare company and the sales people that work for them.

Many timeshare owners will tell you that they like their timeshare and even the timeshare company with which it is affiliated. However, they hate the sales people or the sales presentations. There's a big difference.

Lance, I agree and disagree with your analysis. Diamond has some nice accommodations. However, the Diamond "experience" can be depressing, as SOME customers have been taken advantage of in horrendous ways. I would submit to you the article published TODAY, March 5, 2021 by www.insidetimeshare.com regarding 6 different Diamond customers. The website is from England, but they cover events in American timeshare. The misrepresentations by Diamond salespeople are despicable. And management usually blames the customer, based on the "verbal representation" clause in the contract. Just one person's opinion.

I have written over 200 articles for Inside Timeshare. One of the saddest I edited was published yesterday 3/20. There have been many variations on the theme to buy additional points to be relieved of maintenance fees. This timeshare member retained an attorney and went to arbitration to dispute $16,000 in loans alleging he was told he could pay maintenance fees by charging to a Barclaycard at $.20 per point when the redemption rate is $.01 or $.02 per $ charged. The judgment issued against him is over $95,000. The $79,000 difference is Diamond's arbitration/attorneys fees. The year this happened the former CEO received $384 million when Apollo acquired Diamond. A recent Inside Edition has him suing a porn star trying to get back $1 million in gifts he gave her, a jilted lover, linked in this article. It's so hard to hear these reports.

https://insidetimeshare.com/fridays-letter-from-america-73/

I have heard from over 1,000 Diamond members, over 2,000 members and owners overall. I'm still a Diamond member because I refused to sign an NDA in 2016 when I was offered a refund. I used to work with children in foster care. I felt like a victim silenced and isolated. Overall, I agree with you. Diamond is the worst. Attorneys agree. Too many lives financially ruined while top producers earn over $2 million a year selling points. Bluegreen is known as the Walmart of timeshare. They only lose on average $26,000 while Diamond disputes of $50k, $100k or more are not uncommon.

This is a member-sponsored Facebook of over 5,600 members, most alleging unfair and deceptive practices. Diamond employees are allowed. We advocate self-advocacy - working directly with the timeshare companies. There is an extensive network of volunteers to answer questions. https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/

Thank you for all you do for timeshare owners.

I did sign the NDA so I must be careful about what I say.

I am one the few who was lucky enough to get 'out of the trap' and must say that DRI is an almost perfect scam!

It is a well tuned combination of great 'optics', high pressure sales tactics, predatory (and often unscrupulous) sales staff, an airtight contract (with no time to study the contents before signing) and heartless management! The average mortal who falls prey to a DRI sales pitch doesn't stand a chance.

While on a stay in Hawaii two years after purchasing the timeshare, we returned to take advantage of our investment. The originally promised 7 day stay had been conveniently reduced to 3 days because of a newly introduced 'point thing'. The two year old promise of the rest of the rooms being upgraded like the show suite had not materialized, the place was run down and the management did their best to try and 'encourage' us to drop an additional $20k for an upgrade to Platinum membership.

When they explained that our original investment had increased substantially in value - we gladly offer to let them take it off our hands for free, but were unfortunately turned down.

I was amazed by the promises, deals and incentives offered to encourage us to wade deeper into their quagmire. We refused and walked away. From that point on we were treated like a dog turd on the lawn of life! It's as if we had been marked! The staff were rude to us, the front desk folks made no effort to treat us like members and we left in disgust!

A few months later, we watched "Undercover Boss". Surprise, surprise, it was the (then) owner Stephen Cloobeck - with a bad wig and a fake moustache in a less than convincing role as a new staff member at Diamond Resorts International - extolling the "Meaning of Yes", the company's mantra de jour. He was later touted in Forbes Magazine after DRI claimed a $150 million dollar profit in 2015.

Following the passing of my wife (and presentation of her death certificate), I was allowed to pay an additional departure fee and was let go. Have you ever seen "Midnight Express"? The last scene was me running down the road to freedom.

Being a Canadian, I later found out that the contract is non-binding in Canada as DRI has no legal jurisdiction to prosecute.

I am sure that the TV series 60 Minutes would love to put DRI under a microscope and expose them for what they are.

Rod M

Rod, you have a wry sense of humor and a great perspective on Diamond Resorts. They have an amazing reputation on the complaint sites - but only in hindsight. The salesmen spin a great tale, and leave the customer in a financial fog. Just so you might get a feel that "payback is a bit$h," here is a recent video regarding your former CEO, Mr. Cloobeck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yepfn6stI5I&t=55s

Apparently he found someone who could sell just as good as he could. He took home an estimated $324M when Diamond was bought out by Apollo Global. He won't miss the money too much. :-)

can you pm me to discuss, i'm in the same boat and want to know how it went?

What happened, was it resolved?

Wes, There are over 5,700 mostly Diamond members on a member-sponsored Facebook. Diamond has been working with members to resolve disputes. There have been 157 Platinum members who have complained of deceptive practices, promise the ability to sell points or be relieved of maintenance fees if they bought more points, and the newest "unlock equity" of which there isn't any. If the dispute cannot be resolved, most file reports with regulatory agencies. Over 900 filed with the Arizona Attorney General resulting in a settlement and the issuance of an Assurance of Discontinuance. Below is the mission statement and the Facebook link. There is a network of volunteers to answer questions about filing regulatory complaints. All complaints should be filed with the Federal Trade Commission https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/ Mission Statement: We seek to provide Diamond Resort members a way to proactively address membership concerns; to advocate for timeshare reform; to obtain greater disclosure from the company; to advocate for a viable secondary market; and to educate prospective buyers.

Now I need to get a refund from square one who said they'd get us out if diamond. Any advice would be appreciated. This is so difficult to navigate.

Ash, Square One has a "F" rating with BBB. If you read the complaints on BBB, you will notice that many people want their money back due to non-performance of their contracts. Square One has also done business under other names, which is not a good sign. The Attorney General of Missouri has also sued them. You would be wise to file a complaint with the AG in hopes of getting some payout if a settlement is reached. Chances of that are not good. These people usually close up shop and disappear. Good luck.

ashh16 wrote:

Now I need to get a refund from square one who said they'd get us out if diamond. Any advice would be appreciated. This is so difficult to navigate.

They're probably getting you out by telling you not pay anything and then letting it go into foreclosure. Once Diamond forecloses on you, you will no longer be owner and you will technically be "out". Then this company will tell you that it did what you wanted, getting you "out" of Diamond.

Hi Irene. I do not have a facebook account and I don't want to make one. We just received paperwork and signed it so we have a NDA. My husband didn't want to sign it because of that but I just wanted out.

I understand. Diamond has been working with members to resolve disputes.

I would be happy to join you if your still looking to file.

kevinbb2 wrote:

I am looking to take Diamond Resorts to court in an attempt to sue for damages as well as getting most of my money back. I'm looking for a good attorney as well as others who need to file suit as well. If there are any timeshare owners who share any wrongdoing please let me know and perhaps together we can move forward

The name of this forum needs to change because 1) Diamond has a class action ban written into their contract. The buyer agrees not to participate in a class action unless they opt-out of arbitration within 30 days of signing the contract. No one does. If arbitration were fair the member should be able to elect arbitration when a dispute arises, instead of being forced to arbitrate because they did not opt-out. Diamond pays their arbitrators $400 to $800 an hour. A judge is paid for by taxpayer dollars. An active duty Navy member could be separated from service after buying the minimum number of 2500 timeshare points from Diamond, the loan $10,000, the judgment against them is $66,000, the difference mostly Diamonds' attorneys fees, a cash cow for Diamond's arbitrators and 2) class actions based on fraud by inducement typically don't work I'm told because damages aren't uniform. One successful class action that recently settled was about Premier Vacation Points for owners like me who were overcharged maintenance fees, damages are uniform.

A quote from private equity Diamond CEO David Palmer from 2016 until he flipped the deal: What owners don't often know is that a big chunk of that money goes directly into the pocket of the company. Here's how the CEO, David Palmer, described it to investors in 2014, per the Times article:

"Anything that is put in the budget that gets expended on an annual basis, we get our 15 percent fee," Mr. Palmer explained to investors at a September 2014 conference, according to a transcript. "That is basically a 100 percent profit business."

Timeshare owners of the Grand Beach Resort, a 192-unit property in Orlando, Fla. ... learned in a letter in September that their annual maintenance fee would rise 14.9 percent this year.

Sorry! I made a mistake.

We stayed at Grand Beach back in 2020 and were very impressed with the Facility and Suite we were in - however, that is also the place where we were "scammed" into a Sampler Package with false promises and got home to realize the Agent that gave us 2 separate phone numbers including his "personal cell number" had lied and was nowhere to be found when we had questions.

We learned a lot from that stay and will never spend another dime on DRI/Hilton over and above the boatload we have already spent to Purchase and our annual Maintenance Fees. I can see that in the very near future we won't be able to afford those any longer and will just cut our losses and walk away. Fool me once, shame on you .. Fool me twice, shame on ME! We won't get fooled again.