about to rent/buy points, how do i make sure it's not a scam

[kerryak37]

Hello, I am emailing with someone found on this website that is willing to sell/rent me points and make a reservation for me using his DVC member points. How do i make sure this is not a scam (before paying) and make sure i do in fact have a reservation.
I have gotten 2 references from him (emails)

I saw somewhere and can't find it again that there is a way to call and verify if a person is actually a DVC member?

any advice, tips, etc on this i would greatly appreciate!! THANKS!!!

 

[RobDoc]

Here is a link to the Orange County, FL Comptroller website where you can look up deeds providing you know the member's name.

You might want to review the **How to use this Board** thread near the top of the DVC Rent/Trade Board as there is a lot of information there for potential renters. Until you trust the person you are working with, please don't send any money. Trust is a key component of any rental transaction. Read past posts they have made on this site, ask for and review references, ask for a copy of the contract they use, etc.

Once a reservation has been made, you can look it up using www.mydisneyreservation.com/dvc .

Good luck!

 

[Chuck S]

You can not call and verify a membership. Member Services will not speak with non-Members.

If the DVC owner owns at a WDW DVC resort, those deeds are listed with the Orange County comptroller, they are public record and may be verified at this link.

However, once the reservation is made and confirmed, the owner could email you a link to the online confirmation. But there is nothing stopping the DVC owner, if they are so inclined to scam you, from cancelling that reservation before you check-in. All rental transaction are a matter of trust between owner and renter, with some risks on both sides. Disney/DVC will not step into the fray on behalf of either party if the deal goes sour.

That said, we have had very few rental transactions through our Rent/Trade board that have gone bad, though there have been a handful over the years.

 

[kerryak37]

Chuck and David,
thank you both for your responses. I figured there were other boards/threads similar to this one but did not see them and get a little overwhelmed by this particular forums board website because there is SO Much information and i find it hard to actually find the threads i am looking for. so that is why i made my own post/thread!

Does anyone know anything about the timeshare company RCI and buying/renting points from those members for Disney resorts. As far as i can tell this is completely legit company and they do offer a few of the disney resorts but wanted to see if anyone else has rented/bought points from a RCI member for a DVC resort. The person i am currently emailing with about the possibility everything seems on the up and up. my one and only concern is he mentioned that sometimes RCI doesn't send the confirmation to disney right away and may take up until 1 month before our arrival (in September) if Disney dose not have the confirmation how does RCI know they will have the room when they send it. Confused a bit on this. any feedback concerning renting points through RCI members for DVC resorts would be helpful! Thanks!!

 

[lions1995]

From your last post, it sounds like they are NOT a DVC member, but rather RCI. I would be a little leary. I am not sure how that works if you have RCI trading for DVC and making reservations for some one else.

 

[bumbershoot]

I could be wrong, but just in case I'm right I wanted to state it up front just in case it takes awhile for someone with more solid knowledge comes by...

I *think* that renting out an exchange (turning RCI week into a DVC stay) is so against RCI's rules that they WILL cancel it if they find out about it. Not just warn that they'll cancel, but they'll just do it.

(not that YOU would be doing something wrong, but the person renting to you would be, if I'm right)

 

[bumbershoot]

Continuing to look around for you.....

Hello, I am emailing with someone found on this website ...

If that person is on the Rent/Trade board, they should have read "You may only offer reservations at your home resort, the resort where you physically own. No RCI/II trades, and no resort system trades may be offered." in the "how to use this board" sticky thread.

 

[vicki_c]

From Bnoble on an old archived thread about renting RCI exchanges into DVC (this was relative to a reservation that was being rented on ebay):

Renting RCI confirmations is against RCI rules, and RC and/orDVC can cancel the exchange leaving the eBay buyer without a reservation at check in.
Not only can they, they have. RCI sometimes looks for this sort of thing, and some RCI Members also actively report it when they see it. If RCI gets wind of it, and can figure out who is doing the renting, they will cancel the exchanges in question and suspend or terminate the RCI Member's account. RCI takes a "shoot first, ask questions later" approach. (And if they have more than one reservation out of the same RCI account, it won't be that hard to figure out who it is.)

I am not an RCI member so I have no first hand knowledge of any of this, but have read it on the boards numerous times. If my understanding of it is not correct as it pertains to your situation, I'm sure one of our RCI experts will come along to correct it.

 

[mousefansmom]

Hello, I am emailing with someone found on this website that is willing to sell/rent me points and make a reservation for me using his DVC member points. How do i make sure this is not a scam (before paying) and make sure i do in fact have a reservation.
I have gotten 2 references from him (emails)

I saw somewhere and can't find it again that there is a way to call and verify if a person is actually a DVC member?

any advice, tips, etc on this i would greatly appreciate!! THANKS!!!

We were petrified the first time we rented, it was a lot of money to gamble with for us. It worked out very well, and then we became members ourselves! You are right to be cautious.

You could ask for a 3 way call as the reservation is made with DVC. This might make you feel better, but there is no protection afterwards (meaning that the member could always cancel the reservation once they take your money). However, as was previously pointed out, there are only a handful of problems that have been reported.

Good luck and feel free to post or pm me if you have more questions--I have been in your shoes!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Chuck and David,
thank you both for your responses. I figured there were other boards/threads similar to this one but did not see them and get a little overwhelmed by this particular forums board website because there is SO Much information and i find it hard to actually find the threads i am looking for. so that is why i made my own post/thread!

Does anyone know anything about the timeshare company RCI and buying/renting points from those members for Disney resorts. As far as i can tell this is completely legit company and they do offer a few of the disney resorts but wanted to see if anyone else has rented/bought points from a RCI member for a DVC resort. The person i am currently emailing with about the possibility everything seems on the up and up. my one and only concern is he mentioned that sometimes RCI doesn't send the confirmation to disney right away and may take up until 1 month before our arrival (in September) if Disney dose not have the confirmation how does RCI know they will have the room when they send it. Confused a bit on this. any feedback concerning renting points through RCI members for DVC resorts would be helpful! Thanks!!

Hopefully Dean or Brian will post here. Both of them will tell you to run far away from an RCI trade. It's just like Vicki stated. Against RCI rules.

 

[Sammie]

If you are renting from someone that is renting you an RCI booking at a DVC resort, they are wrong on two counts.

Not allowed by RCI

And Not allowed by the DISBoards.

I would run from this and let the moderators of the Rent/Trade forum know.

 

[amypetecar]

Theres a good bet and a safe bet in renting points.

the safe bet is dvcrequest.com, but you pay the premium of $13 per point.

if you rent from an established renter on disboards, you can get a cheaper deal. have them make the reservation before you pay any money. when they email you the reservation, be sure to save their name and address listed on the reservation so that if the deal goes south, you at least have the contact information that DVC has on file in an attempt to get your money back. still risky, but at least its some recourse.

 

[WDWBlue]

Theres a good bet and a safe bet in renting points.

the safe bet is dvcrequest.com, but you pay the premium of $13 per point.

if you rent from an established renter on disboards, you can get a cheaper deal. have them make the reservation before you pay any money. when they email you the reservation, be sure to save their name and address listed on the reservation so that if the deal goes south, you at least have the contact information that DVC has on file in an attempt to get your money back. still risky, but at least its some recourse.

It's a safe bet for nearly every member using the rent trade boards to rent their excess points. They're also cheaper and more flexible. I know of many that will allow you to tweak, modify, or cancel a reservation completely with no penalty/cost.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Theres a good bet and a safe bet in renting points.

the safe bet is dvcrequest.com, but you pay the premium of $13 per point.

if you rent from an established renter on disboards, you can get a cheaper deal. have them make the reservation before you pay any money. when they email you the reservation, be sure to save their name and address listed on the reservation so that if the deal goes south, you at least have the contact information that DVC has on file in an attempt to get your money back. still risky, but at least its some recourse.

But no member with any brains is going to make a short notice reservation without the cash in hand. Otherwise, they may be out money if the non-member doesn't pay and they have to cancel or try to resell the reservation.

DVC isn't going to help a non-member in recovering money from a rental gone south. They don't want members to rent out reservations, even if it is permitted.

 

[kerryak37]

thanks for all the tips and advice. I have taken the warnings seriously. As much as i would like to rent points from a DVC member my husband is the biggest skeptic on the planet and has a very hard time trusting people (yet he buys and sells on ebay all the time! go figure!)

we would really like to get a DVC villa IF we find the right person that can really win my husband's trust!!

thanks everyone for the input and help!

 

[disney dumbo]

Wishing you the best.

We rented our first DVC trip, but hated the fear factory. Bought small. Added on more!

LOVE having my own points!!!

If it wasn't for that fear, I would be a renter to this day. Who really WANTS to put all that money out up front to buy points!!!