Aulani vs. AKV - Bait and Switch??? - UPDATED with resolution!

[MamaDrama]

Hi! DH and I attended the Aulani DVC event in Pasadena this past weekend and decided to become owners. Well today I get all our paperwork via fedex and everything is for AKV! I called and left a message for my Guide but she is already gone for the weekend. Then I called the QA# on the paperwork. They claim all the notes they got from Guide's name removed our Guide say AKV!! They also left a message for Guide's name removed and said they will try to straighten it out.

Has anyone else had this happen? Do you think it was on purpose? Should we keep AKV vs. Aulani?

 

[RobDoc]

If you'd rather have Aulani it should be an easy fix (with new documents). It sounds like a clerical error on the part of the guide and not anything devious.

Just wait for the corrected paperwork and enjoy your points!

 

[disneydenisel]

Wow! Well, it sounds like your guide made a mistake, but that she can fix it and make it right as soon as she gets your message.

You will have the 11-month owner booking window at Aulani if you buy at Aulani, so if that is where you want your home resort to be, that is where you should buy. It does seem weird that if you were talking about Aulani the whole time you were with your guide that she should have remembered that in the paperwork! It will be interesting to hear what she says when she returns your call.

I'd stick with Aulani if that is where you want to stay! AKV will be much easier to book at the 7-month window than Aulani since it is a huge resort.

Good luck and report back on what your guide has to say!

 

[MamaDrama]

The only reason I was thinking something my be fishy was that someone on these boards that went to the event in Pasadena on Saturday (we were there on Sunday) said that there was some issue with paperwork and the state of Hawaii and DVC was currently unable to take any money until it got straightened out. Nothing was mentioned about that when we were there on Sunday. So when the paper work came for AKV, I thought they did than on purpose just so they could collect money from us on Sunday rather than give us time to change our minds!!!

Since we are from SoCal and frequent DL (we are AP holders), we thought Aulani was a better fit for us. We love going to HI and the Disney aspect makes it even better. We only do the WDW trip every few years and are not locked in to one particular resort there so making reservations at the 7 month mark would not be a problem. I didn't second guess this till the incorrect paperwork came in the mail!

 

[kylmac]

Hmm-we just bought more points at Aulani on our cruise and there have been no problems. Hope it gets straightened out.
Take care-Elizabeth

 

[MamaDrama]

I got a message back from my guide saying that when I left the room to get my son she discussed with my DH that they are not selling Aulani and they agreed to AKV. DH says nothing of the sort was ever discussed!!!! I am REALLY pissed right now!

 

[DVCconvert]

I got a message back from my guide saying that when I left the room to get my son she discussed with my DH that they are not selling Aulani and they agreed to AKV. DH says nothing of the sort was ever discussed!!!! I am REALLY pissed right now!

If your not comfortable with things, just walk away from it and forget about it for now. Aulani will be selling for quite awhile into the future (if that's what you want), or just wait until next week, call and ask to have another guide assigned to you. So long as you haven't signed any contracts you're ok.

 

[Brian Noble]

Call back, tell your guide that you aren't interested in AKV, but she should call you when Aulani is available. Then shred the docs. Even if you have signed something, you do have a rescission period---but, follow the rescission instructions to the letter if that's the case. Being angry won't help with anything, but if you'd like a new Guide assigned to you, let DVC know that.

 

[disneynutz]

I agree with Brian, cancel. This will give you additional time to do additional research to determine if DVC is a good fit for you and your family.

Bill

 

[Bell30012]

I am inclined to think administrative error. Anyone ever typed into an Excel spreadsheet? You type the first letter and it sort of finishes it for you... Want to bet the first letter is A for both of these resorts? I'll bet the guide will be fixing this, apologizing and feeling foolish. This to me sounds like a total error.

 

[Brian Noble]

It's not a typo; apparently, they were not able to sell Aulani at the Pasadena event.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2756239

However, it's possible that this is a mis-communication rather than a malicious attempt to deceive. If the OP believes it was deliberate, though, there is no harm in asking for a new Guide to be assigned to them.

 

[disneydenisel]

Cancel!

I can't believe that your guide would be so sneaky! She should be thrilled to sell you Aulani IF and WHEN it is available, not switch you to AKV without telling you, and then make up lies about what your DH agreed to!?

Cancel and demand another guide! Luckily you have a number of days to rescind, and then you can buy from an honest guide who won't try to make you question your original decision.

 

[MamaDrama]

Our concern with buying at AKV, is being unable to book Aulani at the 7 month mark if it becomes popular. Obviously no one knows since the resort hasn't even opened yet!

 

[Brian Noble]

That's perfectly valid. If Aulani is the resort you want, wait until Disney is able to sell it to you. My guess is that they will be able to do so in short order.

 

[Dean]

That's perfectly valid. If Aulani is the resort you want, wait until Disney is able to sell it to you. My guess is that they will be able to do so in short order.

Better yet, fly over to HI for a few days and buy there.

 

[Brian Noble]

Genius!

 

[Dean]

I got a message back from my guide saying that when I left the room to get my son she discussed with my DH that they are not selling Aulani and they agreed to AKV. DH says nothing of the sort was ever discussed!!!! I am REALLY pissed right now!

All I can say is WOW. Either your DH or the guide must be lying. I can't even see it reasonable if what the guide says is true, discussed it with DH, that they didn't go over it again when you returned unless they purposefully didn't thinking you'd squash the sale. I'd personally send a letter of complaint to DVD and I'd consider sending one to the AG for the state of CA as well depending on the response I received.

 

[MamaDrama]

Better yet, fly over to HI for a few days and buy there.

We are booked to go in November. We never cancelled our original paying reservations and booked a second DVC reservation. We could wait to purchase then but we were getting used to the idea of having the 1br villa that we wouldn't book paying (it prices out at $11K!).

 

[Dean]

We are booked to go in November. We never cancelled our original paying reservations and booked a second DVC reservation. We could wait to purchase then but we were getting used to the idea of having the 1br villa that we wouldn't book paying (it prices out at $11K!).

Or do a preview tour with Marriott, Wyndham or Westin and buy when there.

 

[MamaDrama]

All I can say is WOW. Either your DH or the guide must be lying. I can't even see it reasonable if what the guide says is true, discussed it with DH, that they didn't go over it again when you returned unless they purposefully didn't thinking you'd squash the sale. I'd personally send a letter of complaint to DVD and I'd consider sending one to the AG for the state of CA as well depending on the response I received.

I am pretty sure DH is not lying because he's the one set on Aulani. It is possible that he misunderstood, but knowing him I doubt that. I would have been willing to go AKV (it's my favorite WDW resort). He really wants Hawaii.