Bad/Good Experience renting points

[dpuck1998]

Has anyone had any bad experiences renting points?

Is there any place to check to see if the person your renting
from has bad reviews? Maybe DIS could put up a forum or
list to "rate" people that are renting points or buying points
even.

Thought?

 

[betslinc]

I rented from WDWWendy, and she was great, went above and beyond to make sure that everything went smoothly

 

[tjkraz]

I rented twice before purchasing DVC myself. I, too, can give you a couple of good referrals if you like.

I suspect the bad experiences are few and far between. I would suggest the following:

- Ask for the names / contact info for people who have rented from the person you are talking to. Contact the references to verify their experiences.

- Ask if the person has an eBay account and check-out his/her feedback rating.

- Speak to the DVC member on the phone at least one time before you send any money. Don't rely 100% on emails--at least have one conversation with the person. One of the people I rented from even went so far as to put DVC on speakerphone while he was making the reservation on his cell phone. I heard the entire conversation and was able to verify that the dates and accommodations were correct.

- While most people will want some money up front since their points are being committed when the ressie is made, make sure you don't have to send the balance of the payment until you have the DVC confirmation in your hands with your name on it.

- I believe that the full records of the reservations are dumped to the resort 3 or 4 days before your check-in date. Call the resort directly and ask to verify that everything is in order. Chances are very good you will have no problems, but this will still give you a couple of days to resolve any problems if they exist.

Finally a bit of advice--if you anticipate being a regular WDW visitor and are considering renting a substantial number of points, I'd suggest considering DVC ownership for yourself. I wish I had back the $2000 we spent renting points over the last two years.

Good luck.

 

[StormalongKay]

Know what you mean, I recently rented points and found it takes a bit of a "leap of faith". I found a DVCer on these boards, emailed her and asked for a reference, emailed her reference and then finally spoke to her on the phone just to ease my mind. She gave me her home address and telephone number so I could send payment by FedEx, which gave me a better comfort level with the transaction. On the day the FedEx was received, she called MS, transferred the points and then emailed the confirmation number to me.
The person I dealt with was honest and reputable. But I wondered how true that was across the board. For me, it was important to have a verified address and telephone number - that way, if someone keeps your funds and doesn't transfer the points, you would have a starting point for legal action. I also think it was important to have a timeline for the whole transaction, so there are no misunderstandings on either party's part. But neither of these are absolute guarantees. I was new to soliciting points for rental, and I found that alot of people on the boards were renting them for the first time as well. People mean well, but short of using a rental agreement and/or an escrow agent, IMHO there's no great arrangement out there.
I'd also be curious to hear if anyone has had a bad experience.

 

[castleri]

I have only rented out points once and that time the "leap of faith" was on my part. The person renting wanted a servation that was within two weeks of the date we talked. I made the reservation and he sent me a cahiers check that arrived in 2 days. I know now after the second try at renting points that I was very trusting as the second person toold me he had already gotten points from someone else after I mad the reservation in his name. That left me with points in a holding account which fortnately I was able to use to stay that the
Disneyland Hotel when we went there. As for references - there seem to be a few people who make a business of renting out points and will have many refernces. Then there are those like me who may only rent in order to not lose points because a WDW trip is not in the budget for a given time frame or who may need the money to pay their dues or payments because of temporary financial set backs or who may want to cruise and know that doing so for cash is a better deal than using points. We also may not have an e-bay account - I may be in one of these situations next year and I hope that a phone converation will serve to develop the trust between both parties and as I know now a written contract is the most sensible thing you can do from both sides.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

I have both rented points out to others (3 times) and rented them myself (1 time). It is always some leap of faith no matter what side you are on. I think getting to know the person you are renting from or renting to is important.
tjkraz gave a good list of things to do. One thing I would add is to read the person's past posts right here on the dis boards. You will find out a lot about a person by going back and reading some of their posts. I know this may hurt some newer members but it might also encourage people to get on the boards and make posts as well.

HBC

 

[TWOOD]

I've rented points from 6 different DVC members & never had a problem. Some want 50% up front, some have let me work out the payments (I'm a single mom teacher & only get paid once a month), some prefer cashier's checks while others will accept personal checks or money orders. I've had to change reservation dates & once had to leave WDW before I even got to VWL (my dad had a stroke), and 1 time a member who was trying to rent last minute points actually let me pay her in cash in person @ BWV when we arrived without an advance deposit! All she wanted were references from the other DVC members I've rented from. It's an awesome way to stay "deluxe" without paying "deluxe prices". My honeymoon (after 10 years of dating) is next up & we're renting points for it! DVC members ROCK!

 

[lenshanem]

I rented once before we joined. I had a hard time getting them to contact me back after I paid in full. Was told i'd receive the original confirmation letter, but nevetr recieved it. finally after months I got them to respond back and they faxed me a copy, never did receive the original. I was a nervous wreck. There was another perosn who had also rented from them and was having the same problem. Turns out everything was OK, but it wa sa scary experience. I was calling MS like every week to make sure the ressie was still there. Since then I've learned getting a contract si very important. Luckily we bought in. I think the large majority of DVc members renting out will be great, I think the peron I rented from was either too busy or just too lazy to mail the confirmation letter and didn't wnat to return my emaisl or calls. I woudl now only pay a deposit ands pay the balance only after I got the confirmation letter. Regardless, it was worth it cause we got to go to WDw at a nice resort and at a fab price. I had us originally booked at All-Stars for around the same price! Good luck!

EDIT- I think I'd always feel safest with paypal, too.

 

[caskar]

I have rented twice. Once last summer and once for next summer. Both times the Dis member was nice and explained everything to me. I own at BCV but wanted to try OKW last summer and HH this summer so I rented a small amount of points to get a taste of the two resorts. OKW was nice and I am waiting to sample HH. It is, as others have said, putting trust in people you don't know. But aren't the vast majority of people trustworthy? I think so.