DVC Rental - Nervous!

[TigrLvsPooh]

Originally Posted by sndral

It's a risk I have not been willing to take - but I fly cross country, so I can't just hop in my car and drive home if the owner doesn't fulfill their end of the bargain.

I totally understand what you're saying. I live about a thousand miles from WDW so I definitely can't hop in my car and go home. Different choices work for different people. Some of us really enjoy renting points and have very positive experiences, others don't want to try it and that's fine too.

[Deb & Bill]

Originally Posted by TigrLvsPooh

I always print out everything and bring it with me as proof. Rental agreements, payments made, confirmation #'s, names, phone numbers, etc, etc. After 15 years of traveling to WDW and dealing with resort management at 22 of the 28 resorts, I'd be willing to put my entire reputation on the line that Disney isn't going to put a family out on the street due to some sort of rental scam from David's. I recommend using a Visa or Mastercard to pay, that way if you ever get scammed you can call the credit card company to report fraud. Most times they will immediately make the funds available to you while the case is being investigated. Then at least you could book a hotel somewhere else. Something similar happened to me about 10 years ago... I bought some park tickets on eBay that turned out to be used. (talk about a nightmare and a big lesson learned) I called Visa, they credited me back the $900 and I purchased tickets at the gate.

And you are exactly right, if David's ever had an issue with an owner trying to scam a renter I'm 100% sure you'd read about it online.

Now back to packing!!!! WDW tomorrow!

When you book a vacation with a DVC member, Disney isn't involved in any way. You don't have a reservation with Disney, so they don't owe you anything at all. If you got there and there wasn't a reservations, you'd need to book something on your own (pay rack rate unless you called in or logged into the website and found something).

David doesn't own the points that he advertises for rent. They belong to other members. He's just a middleman. So he can't do anything at all. Except refund the half payment he had not turned over to the member yet. So if you wind up on the street, he can't do a thing about it.

Originally Posted by pepe of ohio

I agree, all that documentation means nothing to Disney.... That's all between you and the point renter.... Disney is under no obligation to honor or intercede if the point renter reneges or problem arise .... That's the reason I prefer an agency....betting my whole vacation, chunk of money on an invisible person is not how I want to chance things... Same for tickets, EBay especially, used tickets and FP's.... Again, what's the risk, and what are you really saving if it turns to be bogus and a sham.... I'll do my transactions with Disney or an official broker!!

David and Paul are not official brokers. Only Disney is an official broker for DVC stays. The only one. It''s just a business for David and Paul. DVC isn't really all that thrilled about brokers.

[deepgreenlee]

There will always be risk associated when making a booking/rental/transfer with anyone other than directly thru Disney....

I guess you just have to way up the risk of dealing with strangers over the internet (even brokers) with the amount of savings you could make.

I am a new DVC owner and I was also thinking about all the risks associated with renting out or transferring my extra points. There is a great deal of trust needed on both ends!!!

I live in Australia and will not be flying to the USA every year so i have been researching what i can do with excess points (other than banking them) - however I am completely new here so of course it would be reasonable for anyone to be nervous dealing with me!!

As someone said earlier, you just have to go with what u are comfortable with...

[magrudersmakes3]

I used stayatWDW and feel very comfortable. I LOVE the fact they are local. They also allow a cancellation for a 50% penalty as no other broker will do that. They also take care of their clients and we all receive a gift card for Disney when we book. I highly recommend them.

[Jenny3]

We rented points last year privately through someone on here for the first time. Yes, it was nerve wracking as you always run that risk of getting scammed, but all ended up perfectly fine and wonderful

I had numerous phone conversations and emails with her while planning our trip; she was extremely helpful in helping us plan our ADRs and other things to do; I documented and printed out everything and we even shared our vacation photos. I just had that gut feeling that all was fine and thankfully was right

It was a fantastic experience for us and I plan on renting points from her again (provided they're available, lol)

[macnodos]

I'm a DVC owner and have used David's several times and would highly recommend his service. It seems to me the company is very thorough and organized. I have heard very positive comments from those who rented our points.

[queenofthehive]

I have rented from owners two times (past two visits) and both transactions went smoothly. I will certainly rent again. It is a risk but do your homework - get a copy of the rental agreement, pay thru paypal using a credit card, and get your reservation confirmation from the seller. Also, make sure your seller has done this before and/or is a long time "poster" on the boards. I do not think I will ever go back to booking with disney direct as it is just too expensive. It is just too much of a savings by renting from an owner.

[letsgoreds]

You can also double check the DVC ownership on the comptroller's website. Honestly, about the same risk as going through VRBO.com, etc. You can get a sense of who the person is via phone calls, email exchanges, etc. We are renting in Jan directly through an owner who has been on the board for a long time, doesn't have a ton of posts and only rented only a few times, but has been very kind, open and helpful during the process.

There is so much information available on the web that you can really check out a story to see if it makes sense.

Contracts for rentals are great, but really aren't worth the paper their printed on if someone is going intending to rip you off. More of just a way to document all of the details of the request.

I think you are buying a bit more security going through the middlemen...they would be more likely to sniff out a scammer and rectify any wrongs in the desire to protect their business reputation. We went for the better bargin (fewer $/point), but if the price was the same, I would go with one of the middlemen. I have only read good things about all of them

[Deb & Bill]

Originally Posted by letsgoreds

You can also double check the DVC ownership on the comptroller's website. ...hem

The Orange County Comptroller's website will only show members who own in Orange County. So if they own Vero Beach, Hilton Head Island, Grand Cal Villas or Aulani, they won't show up there.

Contracts for rentals are great, but really aren't worth the paper their printed on if someone is going intending to rip you off. More of just a way to document all of the details of the request.

DVC members are required to use a contract when they rent their points per the Public Offering Statement.