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Diamond Resorts raises maintenance fees again!
I just started a new thread under the General Discussion heading. The subject is " Hypothetical way to get rid of a timeshare ". Any resemblance of DRC to DRI is strictly coincidental. It's purely hypothetical but let the discussion begin. The large corporations use every loophole and tactic to take your money for the sake of huge profits. They have no conscience and even revert to shills to claim satisfied customers.
It seems when the consumer uses a loophole or tactic the corporate giants claim foul and try to discourage you from using the system to your advantage. Please read the thread and post your comments. Just remember it's hypothetical and not intended to encourage anyone to do anything illegal or break any laws.
Don P.
davidk689 wrote:the Facebook page is largely European points owners seeking help on how to navigate the arcane rules about using their points.This forum is a place where people who feel they have been/are being ripped off by DRI can exchange horror stories.
Are you a shill for Mr. Cloobeck?
Davidk689, I am just as much of a shill for Mr. Cloobeck as you, just perhaps a happier one than you as it pertains to DRI. I AM NOT SAYING THAT DRI IS PERFECT BY ANY MEANS. However, I have been able to get good value on my membership each summer I go to Hawaii. The Facebook page has many owners from the U.S. as well, but the British are a LOT more vocal. I also noticed that you did not say anything about TUG, which is another RELIABLE source of information where there is more of expectation of seeking answers and solutions than just people feeing ripped off and sharing horror stories.
Charles S.
michaeld414 wrote:charless345 wrote:I would challenge yo to tell me what information is inaccurate or partially true....? What is Un TRUE.... ?There is always so much misinformation on this site as it pertains to DRI. I recognize that there are many unhappy owners here, but some of the responses are either downright inaccurate or partially untrue. I would advise folks to either go to Timeshare Users Group (tug2.net) or to Facebook to the Diamond Resorts Members page. The Facebook page has over 3000 OWNERS from across the world with some who are happy and some who are not happy. However, the information IS ACCURATE.
Michaeld, I have shown it in many past posts. However, I will address one point that you always throw out there. You state that for two years you could not get into the Point at Poipu. I can't understand for the life of me why that was the case. If you had 31,000 points and were in the Hawaii Collection it should not have been that much of a challenge since you would have had the 13 month home collection advantage. If you were like me and are a U.S. Collection member, you would have to wait 10 months out. Personally, I do the 10 month deal during the summer and have had NO PROBLEM getting a reservation there durin peak seasons. I even was able to secure reservations during peak whale season without issue. If you have a very narrow window in which you can stay and it is during peak seasons, you need more flexibility.. It has been difficult for me to understand why you could not get a reservation for two years unless you were waiting until not long out for a very busy time of year.
Charles S.
So what you can not understand about our schedule, makes everything either a distortion of the truth, or a huge misunderstanding... Yes we did try to schedule a 4 week stay for February 2009, we started looking and planning in June 2008 the earliest possible time out where we could plan a definite... We were assured by the sales team that we would have no trouble as this is why we bought there in the first place... It was an extended sabbatical that was planned for 3 years... We were lied to on so many levels and on so many different benefit options... We were lied to about whether the resort had just a points program, or were there owners of different categories like 'Deeded Owners'... My mistake was in not having our attorney read over the huge stack of small print obfuscated documents, as many have said the sales pitch, questions asked and answered did not match the closing session, should have been a bigger red flag to me... I did call then on the 6th day to rescind, and asked about 6 more questions related to some of the documents I was reading... They answered my questions, just telling me what I wanted to hear, and all later proved to be not the truth... Taking it to court is not a real option, in that it would end costing more than we paid for the membership @ 55,000 $$ in cash... I have been a Real Estate Developer builder and investor for 40 plus years, I just wrote this off as a very bad investment.... You are a shill for Diamond Resorts, you just want to brand any complaints as frivolous, you are as bad as the worst of them... Your nose has probably grown very long over these past years in their employ...
Michael D.
People are not making this stuff up. Maybe there are some happy DRI owners out there and you know them. I am not happy and many other people are not happy with the predacious business practices of DRI. My maintenance fee for my Diamond property is nearly three times what I pay for a comparable ownership. It has risen sharply since DRI took over. It is no longer worthwhile to pay $156 a night equivalent in maintenance fees. The money we paid for this timeshare is a complete loss. This is the truth. I believe that you are the one providing misinformation Charless345.
charless345 wrote:There is always so much misinformation on this site as it pertains to DRI. I recognize that there are many unhappy owners here, but some of the responses are either downright inaccurate or partially untrue. I would advise folks to either go to Timeshare Users Group (tug2.net) or to Facebook to the Diamond Resorts Members page. The Facebook page has over 3000 OWNERS from across the world with some who are happy and some who are not happy. However, the information IS ACCURATE.
Robert R.
robertr558 wrote:People are not making this stuff up. Maybe there are some happy DRI owners out there and you know them. I am not happy and many other people are not happy with the predacious business practices of DRI. My maintenance fee for my Diamond property is nearly three times what I pay for a comparable ownership. It has risen sharply since DRI took over. It is no longer worthwhile to pay $156 a night equivalent in maintenance fees. The money we paid for this timeshare is a complete loss. This is the truth. I believe that you are the one providing misinformation Charless345.charless345 wrote:There is always so much misinformation on this site as it pertains to DRI. I recognize that there are many unhappy owners here, but some of the responses are either downright inaccurate or partially untrue. I would advise folks to either go to Timeshare Users Group (tug2.net) or to Facebook to the Diamond Resorts Members page. The Facebook page has over 3000 OWNERS from across the world with some who are happy and some who are not happy. However, the information IS ACCURATE.
Yes, there are many happy owners out there as there are many unhappy owners. On our Facebook site it does all come out about DRI. There is the good, the bad and the ugly as it pertains to DRI. There are certainly aspects of the program that I do not like. I don't particularly care for the "updates", and I certainly don't like the annual maintenance fee increases. Plus, I find very little benefit from their membership "benefits". Often I can get those "benefits" cheaper by just paying for cash for them like the cruises. I get that. However, in most cases I can still get nice accommodations cheaper than hotel experiences. I usual travel during peak seasons as I am an educator. I have seen rates cheaper than DRI on booking.com, but those are usually during off peak seasons. DRI does something similar when it offers owners those specials with 50% and 75% off accommodations. I guess the other thing to me is that I read and hear about others' timeshares and they have similar concerns about increasing maintenance fees, availability and sales people's lack of scruples. My thoughts are that if you don't like your timeshare try and find a buyer or give it away or rent it or try and do whatever, but understand you bought it and use it to the best of your ability to your advantage.
Charles S.
Charles345: for many of us there is no way to sell or give away our timeshares. they are less than worthless. This is why there are so many of those secondary predators" out there offering "timeshare relief". Do you seriously think that people would be falling for these scams where one pays some sort of upfront fee (often in the thousands of dollars) to get rid of their timeshare if they were actually able to give it away or sell it for some nominal amount? Get real!!!
David K.
Today I had a call from a Diamond Representative inviting me to a dinner in my area (Monterey-Santa Cruz, CA ) to have a one-on-one meeting with a representative to help me better utilize my points! It was quite short notice, tonight or tomorrow night. Do you think they have poisoned the well with their horrible maintenance fee increases and nobody is attending "member updates, so they are taking to the road? I am sure they will tell me the same story, that if I just give them more money my life will be better. The sad part is that they can make you believe it! I would actually have gone if we were available. Tell me I am not getting royally screwed by Diamond Resorts International and maybe I can believe it for a little while.
Robert R.
davidk689 wrote:they are less than worthless. This is why there are so many of those secondary predators" out there offering "timeshare relief". Do you seriously think that people would be falling for these scams where one pays some sort of upfront fee (often in the thousands of dollars) to get rid of their timeshare if they were actually able to give it away or sell it for some nominal amount? Get real!!!
But the advice usually given is to not pay these "relief" companies (sometimes called "transfer companies" or PCCs) thousands of dollars to get rid of it for you.
If an owner can't even give it away, what makes you think that paying a "relief" company thousands of dollars will be able to do it? A better suggestion is to use about $1000 towards the next maintenance fee and closing costs and offer it to whoever wants to take possession of the unit.
Lance C.
Explain exactly how it is "accurate" please. Otherwise we know you're a DRI mole.
charless345 wrote:There is always so much misinformation on this site as it pertains to DRI. I recognize that there are many unhappy owners here, but some of the responses are either downright inaccurate or partially untrue. I would advise folks to either go to Timeshare Users Group (tug2.net) or to Facebook to the Diamond Resorts Members page. The Facebook page has over 3000 OWNERS from across the world with some who are happy and some who are not happy. However, the information IS ACCURATE.
Bob C.
"offer it to whoever wants to take possession of the unit"
Is this a joke? there is no one willing to take it. who in their right mind would take possession of a unit where this would entail a legal obligation to pay maintenance fees which are already in excess of the cost of staying in a hotel in the same area?
David K.
davidk689 wrote:"offer it to whoever wants to take possession of the unit"Is this a joke? there is no one willing to take it. who in their right mind would take possession of a unit where this would entail a legal obligation to pay maintenance fees which are already in excess of the cost of staying in a hotel in the same area?
No, it's not a joke. If the price is right, there may be a taker. My point though was why pay a transfer company thousands of dollars to find a taker? Use the couple thousand as an incentive towards a willing taker such as paying closing costs and the next maintenance fee.
If there are no takers, then what makes the owner think that hiring a transfer company will do the trick?
Lance C.
daveb430 wrote:Anyone know what closing costs are even involved and what they are?
Closing costs are generally what it costs for a closing company to legally execute a transfer of ownership from one party to another. I don't know if you own (or have owned) a house. When you bought it, you had to pay closing costs to a lawyer who would legally register the property in your name.
For timeshares, the costs can range from $150 to $350. Legal Timeshare Transfers will do it, if there is no escrow involved, for about $150. Another recommended one is JRA (timeshareresaleclosings.com) who will do it with all the bells and whistles for about $300.
Then you have to factor in resort transfer fees. For instance, Wyndham will charge an additional $299 transfer fee if you have a Wyndham property.
So if you're in the process of a sale or giveaway, make sure both parties in the transaction are aware of the costs involved and agree as to who will pay these fees.
Lance C.
robertr558 wrote:People are not making this stuff up. Maybe there are some happy DRI owners out there and you know them. I am not happy and many other people are not happy with the predacious business practices of DRI. My maintenance fee for my Diamond property is nearly three times what I pay for a comparable ownership. It has risen sharply since DRI took over. It is no longer worthwhile to pay $156 a night equivalent in maintenance fees. The money we paid for this timeshare is a complete loss. This is the truth. I believe that you are the one providing misinformation Charless345.ctually it is @ 400 $$ per night with DRI Point of Poipu members... Really anyone who thinks this is a worth while investment for your Vacation Dollars, call me, I have some investment ideas for you...
charless345 wrote:There is always so much misinformation on this site as it pertains to DRI. I recognize that there are many unhappy owners here, but some of the responses are either downright inaccurate or partially untrue. I would advise folks to either go to Timeshare Users Group (tug2.net) or to Facebook to the Diamond Resorts Members page. The Facebook page has over 3000 OWNERS from across the world with some who are happy and some who are not happy. However, the information IS ACCURATE.
Michael D.
