any way to protect for rental/transfer? paypal?

[ldo]

I know rentals/transfers involve trust. I am considering a points transfer in which I must pay 50% before transfer. I am using a disboards member with lots of posts unrelated to transfers. is there any way to protect oneself from being out 50% of the downpayment? does paypal offer any protection if points?

 

[4luv2cdisney]

I know rentals/transfers involve trust. I am considering a points transfer in which I must pay 50% before transfer. I am using a disboards member with lots of posts unrelated to transfers. is there any way to protect oneself from being out 50% of the downpayment? does paypal offer any protection if points?

I'm pretty sure Paypal excludes this type of transaction. But if it's going on your credit card, your cc compay should help you out.

That being said, I'd feel pretty good about a DISboard member if they are active and have been on here for years. It's likely that right now there are simply a lot of members finding they need to rent / transfer their points even though that's not normal for them. It's much less likely that they've suddenly seen an opportunity to scam someone on here.

Otherwise, all I can think of is this: At work we have a membership to one of those sites that lets you search people. It often even gives us the persons email address and some social media screen names, info, etc. We even get info like the cars they drive and VIN#s!!!! A lot of peoples posts give away more than they realize, too. So, stalk their posts, maybe ask for any personal info they're willing to share and see if all that "matches up" to make you feel more sure they are who they say they are.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

PayPal excludes all timeshare transactions and vacation rentals.

 

[Sandisw]

Not to mention that per our contact, technically, transfers are not supposed to be for a fee.

Just got to trust. The good thing is that now that the points show up online, you should have confirmation right away. And, you can ask for a 3 way call to be part of the deal.

None will completely protect you, but at least help. I will say I am pretty confident if this person is a member of the DIS community and you feel comfortable with what information you have.

 

[CarolMN]

You might be able to find someone who would agree to using an escrow service, assuming you are willing to pay the fee. Might not be worth it.

Personally, I would not be willing to use an escrow service. I would be willing to assume what I believe to be a very small risk of trusting a DISboards poster with lots of posts, especially if they offer their points via the DIS DVC Rent/Trade Forum. IMO, a 50% down payment is reasonable, since the owner has to trust you to pay after the transfer.

Everyone has a different tolerance for risk, especially when it comes to money. If you are likely to lose sleep worrying about this, don't proceed with a points transfer. Pay cash to book what you want directly from Disney.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

Also, at least one of the major resellers also offers transfers. The price per point seems to run $19-$20. I have no idea if it's negotiable.

I inquired once and was disappointed to find that they basically just give your info to the seller and the seller makes the transfer the same way as on these boards. I was looking for a way to receive a transfer without having to give another member all my personal / membership info along with the security that the transaction was legit. I didn't dig into if any further, but you could check it out to see what they offer in terms of protection. Maybe they hold the money until it is complete.

For me, these boards often have transfers for $15-18 / pt. If I was getting points on the $15 end, I'd take my chances here. If I'm paying $18, I'll go the extra buck and use a company that has an obligation to meet their end of the deal and a reputation to uphold. But I'm also never looking for a lot of points, so the additional cost is negligable.

 

[ldo]

thanks. As there's no protection via paypal, I just decided that I wasn't comfortable proceeding.

 

[JWG]

thanks. As there's no protection via paypal, I just decided that I wasn't comfortable proceeding.

I've done transfers where we've been on the phone with DVC as 3-way call and once we were on with DVC and had explained the transfer I submit the funds and then move forward with the transfer. It's about as close to the same time as possible.

 

[montreid]

I've done transfers where we've been on the phone with DVC as 3-way call and once we were on with DVC and had explained the transfer I submit the funds and then move forward with the transfer. It's about as close to the same time as possible.

Thanks for this information -- MS doesn't have an issue with this to do? Also on the submission of funds - is a live instant payment like Venmo or Zelle? Being old school, still learning these new fangled payment apps and models. Wire Transfer is still my speed

 

[JWG]

Thanks for this information -- MS doesn't have an issue with this to do? Also on the submission of funds - is a live instant payment like Venmo or Zelle? Being old school, still learning these new fangled payment apps and models. Wire Transfer is still my speed

Transfers between accounts are allowed across memberships (one per year), so they have never cared that it was a 3-way call. The other person and I have called each other and then called MS (though, with wait times nowadays who knows what you're in for). We just don't discuss there's a financial transaction involved it's just understood that once we're connected with member services and the transfer is doable that the funds are transferred. Then once the transfer is confirmed we confirm the point transfer with MS.

Historically, I've always used PayPal though now I think you have to pay a fee for an instant transfer. You could use anything like Zelle or Venmo or Cash Pay (or something like that). Lots of choices. I use Zelle with my parents as both our banks use it as their preferred method. They're older so we pay for their cell phones, manage dues for DVC, etc. and then they Zelle us the appropriate amount. I always get an instant text that they did so - but the money is "pending" for a couple of days - not sure how the other party would feel about that.

 

[Sandisw]

Thanks for this information -- MS doesn't have an issue with this to do? Also on the submission of funds - is a live instant payment like Venmo or Zelle? Being old school, still learning these new fangled payment apps and models. Wire Transfer is still my speed

I think you need to be careful on a call with MS as if they know funds are changing hands, they are not supposed to complete it as It violates the contract.

 

[JWG]

I think you need to be careful on a call with MS as if they know funds are changing hands, they are not supposed to complete it as It violates the contract.

We've always just said we're the two owners and just making sure it works since we're in different locations. They've never questioned.

 

[Sandisw]

We've always just said we're the two owners and just making sure it works since we're in different locations. They've never questioned.

I saw that you mentioned not discussing that after I posted, Just wanted others to know that do as you do...just say owners wants to transfer and leave it at That

 

[JWG]

I saw that you mentioned not discussing that after I posted, Just wanted others to know that do as you do...just say owners wants to transfer and leave it at That

We also haven't done a transfer in quite awhile. We just rent our points out and then pay to rent the points we need (i.e. we're planning an Aulani stay in a 3BR villa and we rented out our BLT points in order to rent Aulani points for the 11-month window). Ironically, the first time we stayed at Aulani I did a point transfer in to have enough points to book at 7 months, but this time wanted the 11-month window.

 

[gisele2]

I will be at the other side of the deal and had the same trust issues with the payment . So it is really a question of trust....

 

[mgarbowski]

I'm pretty sure Paypal excludes this type of transaction. But if it's going on your credit card, your cc compay should help you out.

PayPal excludes all timeshare transactions and vacation rentals.

This has long been the consensus here at DIS, and this post has a link to what was the PayPal page setting forth the policy. The post below that has a screenshot of the policy. But that PayPal link now resolves to "The page you're looking for is no longer available." I cannot find a similar notice or warning anywhere on the PayPal site, either repeating, revising, amending, or repealing that policy. To be clear, I am not advising that PayPal has relaxed its rules, but it is possible that is the case, and if someone has the ability I lack to find a PayPal FAQ, Rules or Policy statement that either confirms or denies this that would be very useful. I looked pretty had recently when I was renting out my points and could not find anything relevant.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

This has long been the consensus here at DIS, and this post has a link to what was the PayPal page setting forth the policy. The post below that has a screenshot of the policy. But that PayPal link now resolves to "The page you're looking for is no longer available." I cannot find a similar notice or warning anywhere on the PayPal site, either repeating, revising, amending, or repealing that policy. To be clear, I am not advising that PayPal has relaxed its rules, but it is possible that is the case, and if someone has the ability I lack to find a PayPal FAQ, Rules or Policy statement that either confirms or denies this that would be very useful. I looked pretty had recently when I was renting out my points and could not find anything relevant.

They consider timeshare and vacation rentals real estate, which is specifically not covered in the Purchase Protection program:

https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full#purchase-protection

Real estate, including residential property.

It is also worth mentioning that PayPal provides no protection for Friends & Family payments. So many people would be excluded by this clause as well.

This is the key thing that makes Venmo a no-go for DVC rental as well - basically, Venmo personal accounts cannot be used to conduct business. You cannot dispute payments made between Personal Accounts.

Except for commercial transactions expressly authorized by Venmo, for example, transactions with authorized merchants or business profiles, or purchases made using your Venmo Mastercard®, personal accounts may not be used to conduct business, commercial or merchant transactions with other personal accounts, which includes paying or accepting payment from other personal accounts held by users you do not personally know for goods or services (for example, concert tickets, electronic equipment, sneakers, a watch, or other merchandise).

 

[mgarbowski]

They consider timeshare and vacation rentals real estate, which is specifically not covered in the Purchase Protection program:

Very helpful. You found what I could not. Thank you. This does seem like a relaxing of the old rule, which I believe prohibited such transactions altogether. Now they are only excluded from Purchase Protection. But for renters/buyers looking for protection including OP, I realize the revised rule offers no more protection than the old one did.

ETA: I also note the old rule specifically mentioned Timeshares as a separate category from Real Estate. Which could mean there is an argument they are treated differently now, but I would not put any faith or reliance in that.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

but I would not put any faith or reliance in that.

If the payment recipient has a business account, there may be some recourse. But only if it is an approved business account. Most private DVC rentals use Friends & Family payment, which also excludes ANYTHING from protection.

 

[mgarbowski]

If the payment recipient has a business account, there may be some recourse. But only if it is an approved business account. Most private DVC rentals use Friends & Family payment, which also excludes ANYTHING from protection.

For sure, F&F offers no help.