Here we are again, another Friday and another letter from America, yes, this week we are back with our cousins across the great lake. Irene Parker gives us another article in the series Nightmare on Timeshare Street. Irene and her Husband have evacuated from their coastal home due to Hurricane Irma, which is set to hit over the weekend, we hope that you all remain safe.
Now on with some news from Europe, as we have shown in the past there are many types scams to rob you of your hard earned cash, this is the latest we have been informed about.
It begins with a telephone call supposedly from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, from a Mr D Clarke, he informs the timeshare owner they have received from the Spanish courts several million pounds, which is to be divided up and paid to owners. In this case the lucky owner is to receive over £24,000, but as it is over the £10,000 limit the owner has to ring the number given and quote the supplied reference number.
The numbers supplied by our reader are 003460209896 which is a Spanish mobile number and 033558663 (the reader has missed out some numbers).
No doubt the next phase is when you do call, there will some “tax” that you need to pay first, once this is paid then you will get the money. Well, we have heard that one before!
Firstly, HMRC will not make telephone calls or send emails, they will contact by post, they will also not be working for the Spanish courts to hand out “compensation” especially for timeshare. If you have employed a lawyer or law firm to take legal action in Spain, then once your case has been heard and the court awards you payment, this will be dealt with directly from the court. The court will pay you through a bank transfer direct to your account. They will not be sending it to HMRC or any other third party.
CLA have also published a letter from one of their Norwegian clients, in this case they purchased from Anfi 2 floating weeks in 2005, for around 34,000€. They explained that after 4 years they found what they had purchased was not for them, it wasn’t working in their interest. They also found out that it was difficult to get out of the contract, selling would not get them anywhere near what they paid.
They came across CLA who then took on their case, their case was heard at the Supreme Court, their contract was declared null & void on the basis of the illegality of the floating weeks and the taking of deposits within the cooling off period. Eventually, in June this year the awarded amount was transferred to their bank by the court. This does show that contrary to claims made by Anfi that no one gets paid out, clients do eventually get their money.
So, now on with our Friday’s article from Irene.
Triple Nightmares on Timeshare Street!
Diamond Resorts says Marjorie Menacker’s claim is without merit
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring Closes Case
A Victory for the Oral Representation Clause
By Irene Parker
September 8, 2017
Marjorie, Ann and Marcia share their experience
Inside Timeshare has received 130 Diamond Resorts complaints from US members. The following three timeshare dream vacations nightmares are allegations, but with 119 out of 130 complaints alleging deceit and bait and switch, in our opinion, a compelling and compounding pattern seems to have developed.
As in any industry, the bad apples make things difficult for timeshare sales agents trying to compete honestly in a world where Master Closers earn $1 to $2 million a year working at sales centers that can book $10 million a month. I have interviewed nine former and current timeshare sales agents and managers who assure me “pitching heat” is endorsed and encouraged top down and industry wide by sales agents that hop from resort to resort as they make their way up the ranks.
This came as a shock to me. I built my business as a stockbroker, myself hopping from timeshare resort to resort in Hawaii, signing up timeshare sales agents for retirement and stock trading accounts. Back then many sales agents were independent contractors. “So we’re the units!” they would jokingly say. They were good people and one of those sales agents is still a close friend today. She too is shocked by the escalation in aggressive tactics, assigning buyers to a perpetual contract, often with no secondary market.
Today’s Triple Nightmare on Timeshare Street includes Marjorie, Marsha, and Ann. Marsha called me on the eve of what would been her 51st wedding anniversary, attempting to file a Mark Herring Virginia Attorney General complaint online. Marsha told me she was literally having Diamond Resort nightmares. All three direct their complaints against Diamond’s Virginia sales centers. Inside Timeshare has received twelve complaints against Virginia sales agent. Six of the members have reported a positive outcome feeling Diamond, after many rebuttals, listened and took appropriate action. Diamond Resorts Advocacy Department has resolved issues for a total of 31 out of a total of 74 formal complaints filed by our readers. Ann and Marjorie’s complaints are against the same Virginia sales agent.
Inside Timeshare has reached out to AG Herring and to Diamond Resorts for comment. To date they have not responded. Diamond has introduced a program called CLARITY ™ which they say offers transparency, accountability and respect for members.
I will call the following nightmares allegations, but Marjorie, Ann and Marsha would argue this is what really happened. Ann and Marsha have asked not to be identified, but they want to show Marjorie their support, having experienced up-sells similar to what Marjorie alleges.
Marjorie’s story
Elle and I purchased an additional 6000 Diamond points December 26, 2015 having been told about an exciting one day promotion if we purchased that day. The sales agents said we would not have to pay maintenance fees for 2016 or beyond. We had been struggling to keep up with rising fees as a result of medical expenses. Our contract lists a William Humphries as our sales agent, although we spoke to Brian and his supervisor Jeff at Diamond’s Greensprings Plantation Resort. We were encouraged to open two Diamond Barclaycards to finance the purchase. The finance rate is 25.74%.
The sales presentation was very high pressure. We repeatedly stated that we could not afford anything that would require a loan, and did not like the difficulty we encountered finding availability. Maintenance fees were rising faster than we expected.
Brian repeatedly assured us that if we took advantage of the promotion offered that day, we would not have to worry about any maintenance fees ever again. He illustrated in chart form on paper how this program would save us money by trading in part of our total points each year. He said the remaining points would actually get “treated as double points.”
We were told this promotion would have been offered to us had we participated in dinner meeting offers over the previous year. I’ve learned almost all Diamond presentations begin with, “You should have been invited to a dinner meeting.” Out of our sight, Brian obtained special permission from his supervisor Jeff to extend the offer only for the day (12/26/2015).
http://insidetimeshare.com/another-nightmare-timeshare-street-client-experience-diamond/
Ann S
First, last January, when meeting with Brian Humphries at an ‘Owner Update’ in Virginia, we were told FLAT OUT that if we bought 7500 more points we would now be part of an ‘ELITE’ group of Platinum owners who are credited 30 CENTS PER POINT when ‘recycling’ annual points back to Diamond so that Diamond can bring in potential owners. We were told that the conversion at 30 cents per point would be more than enough with all our points to pay our annual fees and still have points on which to travel. We restated the claim back to Brian several times to make sure we understood correctly. Brian now denies that he made any such promise. When I called Diamond and even the Platinum Department no one had ever heard of such a program and kept referring us back to Brian. He had even told us “When you get your bill and it’s time to pay your maintenance fees just contact me and I’ll explain how you do this.” We would NEVER have purchased that day had that not been our understanding. But then nothing was ever given to us in writing (they even somehow took our personal notes from us and did not return them) and repeated emails and phone requests only ended in denials or flat out ignoring of our questions. After hearing what happened to Marjorie, I will be filing a complaint with the Virginia Attorney General’s office.
Marsha Y
I only purchased additional points because the sales agents at Diamond’s Powhatan Resort in Williamsburg said the maintenance costs would go down if I purchased more points. I have since learned this was not true. I had told the agents I could not afford the rising maintenance fees. I was also not told a $7,100 charge would be charged to a Barclay card for a down payment. The same thing happened in Hawaii. I was not told a Barclay card was being opened to charge a Sampler. I later learned the agent in Hawaii was later fired for this.
The hospitality agent in Williamsburg, when I told her about how I had been deceived previously, told me she understood and that is why sales were stopped at the Williamsburg center for a while until the CLARITY ™ program was put in place. Still, when I attended the Williamsburg presentation, I was charged $7,100 on a Barclaycard without my knowledge.
My husband (now deceased) and I originally owned three deeded weeks. We had no complaints about the agents that sold us those weeks. Up until this point, what I owned was within my budget. The additional charges have caused a great hardship. I am a widow on a teacher’s pension. The actions of these agents have taken away my financial security. I feel trapped. My credit score has dropped from over 800 to the 700s. I had no intention to buy points as it is not as easy or enjoyable to travel without my husband. I can still travel with friends and would be able to remain a Diamond customer if I would be returned to Silver status.
Will the timeshare industry ever admit to deception on the front end of the timeshare sale? Are these customers really not to be believed, along with so many other identical complaints? All three attended the presentations with their families and are adamant what they heard was what they were told.
The following Facebook pages consist of members helping members. Contact Inside Timeshare or join with others members working towards reform if you have a timeshare story, positive or negative, to share, or need help with a timeshare concern. After this Attorney General’s ruling, it really does seem the only court available is the court of public opinion. We posted below “Do you know your Consumer Rights?” Are there any Consumer Rights?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/
https://www.facebook.com/timeshareadvocategroup/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/180578055325962/
Thank you Irene, Marjorie, Ann and Marcia for your contribution to this week’s article, as you can see, timeshare can become a nightmare, it all sounds so great in the presentation.
It just leaves us to say have a good weekend, and for those of you in the path of Irma, stay safe.
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