Closed over two weeks ago and so frustrated!

[ercrbc]

So, I have been super patient all Summer going through the process of selling one contract to add on a new contract (new UY too) at HHI. It made sense bc the HHI pts are for the Summer and we have an Oct UY for our OKW contract. We started this process in May and I have known it would take a while but if I can just get that Summer 2013 reservation it will all be worth it Unfortunately the last couple days are wearing a bit thin on my patience and I am getting nervous at all the different information I am getting from Disney and the broker. Could anyone here offer some thoughts?

We closed on 8/27 (16 days ago). I was told that our points will just show up online once they are entered (between 10 and 14 days after close). No problem. Well, 14 days comes and I email the broker to make sure I don't need to be calling MS or MA to make sure the new UY contract is linked to our online account. The response is that a new UY will have a new membership number but both will show up within 14 days. Um, right, that's why I contacted him on day 14 wondering why it wasn't showing up.

I called MS next and they find no other contract is showing up in our name. They told me they load pts on Tuesdays and mine would go through the next day. Well, Tuesday came and went and no points showed up.

So, I called MA today, talked briefly to Tammy who told me I needed the sellers contract # and the sellers last name in order to get our new membership number. So I called the broker and painfully got this information (he didn't understand why I needed it, saying my points will show up within 14 days of close...) When I called MA back unfortunately I did not speak with Tammy again, instead I spoke with some other guy who told me our new contract will NEVER show up on our current online account and we will always have to log on and off to two separate online accounts to manage our points. Then he blasted me about my resale purchase. As if all this inconvenience is what I should expect buying any way other than Disney. Right, this is the fourth resale transaction we have made and the ONLY one we have had any issue with. Both other purchases were in the system within a week and the points within another week. Right now I am at day 16 and no record of the contract is showing up. And apparently that's my fault because I bought resale. Oh, and then he tells me it will be at least Monday before I can CALL back and find out where the pts are. So that would be day 21. And according to him the points won't just show up in my account, I will have to spend a substantial time on the phone AGAIN loading the new contract and setting up a NEW online account. Once again, because I bought resale.

So that last guy was a little more than my patience could take at this point and I decided to come here and vent a little and hopefully find some accurate information to put my frustrated mind at ease

 

[GOOFY D]

So, I have been super patient all Summer going through the process of selling one contract to add on a new contract (new UY too) at HHI. It made sense bc the HHI pts are for the Summer and we have an Oct UY for our OKW contract. We started this process in May and I have known it would take a while but if I can just get that Summer 2013 reservation it will all be worth it Unfortunately the last couple days are wearing a bit thin on my patience and I am getting nervous at all the different information I am getting from Disney and the broker. Could anyone here offer some thoughts?

We closed on 8/27 (16 days ago). I was told that our points will just show up online once they are entered (between 10 and 14 days after close). No problem. Well, 14 days comes and I email the broker to make sure I don't need to be calling MS or MA to make sure the new UY contract is linked to our online account. The response is that a new UY will have a new membership number but both will show up within 14 days. Um, right, that's why I contacted him on day 14 wondering why it wasn't showing up.

I called MS next and they find no other contract is showing up in our name. They told me they load pts on Tuesdays and mine would go through the next day. Well, Tuesday came and went and no points showed up.

So, I called MA today, talked briefly to Tammy who told me I needed the sellers contract # and the sellers last name in order to get our new membership number. So I called the broker and painfully got this information (he didn't understand why I needed it, saying my points will show up within 14 days of close...) When I called MA back unfortunately I did not speak with Tammy again, instead I spoke with some other guy who told me our new contract will NEVER show up on our current online account and we will always have to log on and off to two separate online accounts to manage our points. Then he blasted me about my resale purchase. As if all this inconvenience is what I should expect buying any way other than Disney. Right, this is the fourth resale transaction we have made and the ONLY one we have had any issue with. Both other purchases were in the system within a week and the points within another week. Right now I am at day 16 and no record of the contract is showing up. And apparently that's my fault because I bought resale. Oh, and then he tells me it will be at least Monday before I can CALL back and find out where the pts are. So that would be day 21. And according to him the points won't just show up in my account, I will have to spend a substantial time on the phone AGAIN loading the new contract and setting up a NEW online account. Once again, because I bought resale.

So that last guy was a little more than my patience could take at this point and I decided to come here and vent a little and hopefully find some accurate information to put my frustrated mind at ease

I would have to remind him that he provides a service and that service is not to judge his customers.

 

[disneynutz]

Try searching by your SSN.

If the contracts are not all titled the exact same way or if Disney made a mistake, you will have separate logins.

Disney started making it very clear that they do not like resale buyers a couple of years ago. They deliberately delay the ROFR and account set up process.

Bill

 

[belias21]

Disney started making it very clear that they do not like resale buyers a couple of years ago. They deliberately delay the ROFR and account set up process.

Bill

I could see this happening, but I don't get it. Just because they didn't get our upfront fees, they're still receiving hefty annual payments from all of us in addition to the money we spend when we're at WDW.

Disappointing.

 

[GOOFY D]

I could see this happening, but I don't get it. Just because they didn't get our upfront fees, they're still receiving hefty annual payments from all of us in addition to the money we spend when we're at WDW.

Disappointing.

Exactly! Extremely unprofessional and unwarranted!

 

[RobDoc]

I would send an email to dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com and Members@disneyvacationclub.com and give the history you posted here.

As noted, if your new contract is titled differently than your other contracts you may well need a new login to "see" your account online but even then, the new contract should still be in the system and the points loaded into the contract by this time so you could make a reservation by calling MS.

I think I would again call Member Administration (after sending the emails) and ask to spaek with a supervisor if they are still unable/unwilling to assist if you are that far beyond your closing.

Good luck!

 

[disneynutz]

I could see this happening, but I don't get it. Just because they didn't get our upfront fees, they're still receiving hefty annual payments from all of us in addition to the money we spend when we're at WDW.

Disappointing.

Disney makes money only with direct sales. The dues that we pay goes towards maintaining the DVC resorts, services, with a small percentage going to Disney for management. They get paid even if they do a bad job.

Owners have to use their points or they lose them, you will naturally buy admission tickets and eat in Disney restaurants. There are something like 22 million visitors to Disney Parks each year, 400,000 DVC members are a minority. There isn't any incentive for Disney to treat DVC members any differently. If you don't like what's going on you can sell your contract, but someone else just takes your place.

Bilby did announce a 10% discount at all Disney stores for DVC members and a discounted AP which is a nice gesture.

Bill

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Disney makes money only with direct sales. The dues that we pay goes towards maintaining the DVC resorts, services, with a small percentage going to Disney for management. They get paid even if they do a bad job.

MS and MA are made up of employees and really shouldn't care or be harassing because they are getting paid by current DVC owners to do a job. And jobs can change because supervisors really don't enjoy listening to complaint after complaint.

I'd definitely complain about this and would have been asking to speak to a supervisor right then. We are allowed to sell (and thus buy) via resale and should not be harassed by the support staff for doing so.

I'll give the sales department leeway to handle that angle.

 

[MrShiny]

Owners have to use their points or they lose them, you will naturally buy admission tickets and eat in Disney restaurants. There are something like 22 million visitors to Disney Parks each year, 400,000 DVC members are a minority. There isn't any incentive for Disney to treat DVC members any differently. If you don't like what's going on you can sell your contract, but someone else just takes your place.

Per AECOM, there were over 17 million VISITS to MK in 2011 (to keep it simple, let's just include MK). So a family of 4 staying 5 days visiting MK each day would be 20 of those visits. Figure the average DVC party is 4 (there are a lot of couples, but a lot over 4 too). Figure 50% of them visit in a given year and visits MK say 6 days in that year. That's 200,000 x 6 x 4 = 4.8 million, or about 28% of all the visits. A minority, but a pretty large one.

 

[princessaloha]

ercrbc, that's awful. Really sorry this happened to you. If it were me, I would first, eat some chocolate to calm down. Second, try membership again and request to speak with Tammy, since she's the one who originally told you to get specific information. Then if either she isn't available or isn't helpful then request to speak with a supervisor, explain your frustration and ask them to tell you what you're suppose to do. Also make it a point to request the supervisor's name "for recording purposes".

Once it all works out, then I would send a letter to membership outlining your experience in a polite but strong manner. I usually start off with a compliment, followed by the complaint/issue: "We really enjoy our DVC membership and have always found your staff to be very helpful. However...." In most cases, companies that provide public services appreciate constructive feedback so they can improve the quality of their services.

Let us know what you end up doing and how it worked out.

 

[ercrbc]

Thanks for the information and support! I looked over the email from the broker another time hoping to see something I overlooked. I found it specifically noted that it could be 14-28 days after close for Disney to load the points, looks like we will be closer to 28 days.

I am fine with that, but was thinking 14 days and our timeline had been under that the past few times. I think it is legitimate to have been concerned when they couldn't even seem to find any trace of the purchase.

For the most part though, I have had helpful people when talking to MS. I felt a definite disdain regarding the resale process from the last call today though. I would gather by our conversation that having to take time to load points and change membership deeds from resale contracts is a burden on their work load at MA I can't understand any other reason for pointing this out or offering anything other than relevant information as to the location of the points we purchased last month.

 

[Dean]

I could see this happening, but I don't get it. Just because they didn't get our upfront fees, they're still receiving hefty annual payments from all of us in addition to the money we spend when we're at WDW.

Disappointing.

But they were already getting the fees on that contract unless the contract were non performing and even then, it's only the members at risk, not DVD or DVCMC. So no new money into the system related to the resale purchase.

 

[fmer55]

Thanks for the information and support! I looked over the email from the broker another time hoping to see something I overlooked. I found it specifically noted that it could be 14-28 days after close for Disney to load the points, looks like we will be closer to 28 days.

I am fine with that, but was thinking 14 days and our timeline had been under that the past few times. I think it is legitimate to have been concerned when they couldn't even seem to find any trace of the purchase.

For the most part though, I have had helpful people when talking to MS. I felt a definite disdain regarding the resale process from the last call today though. I would gather by our conversation that having to take time to load points and change membership deeds from resale contracts is a burden on their work load at MA I can't understand any other reason for pointing this out or offering anything other than relevant information as to the location of the points we purchased last month.

Have you searched OCC to see if your deed was recorded? if so the date from there should take no more than 14 days.

Good luck

 

[ELMC]

While I'm sorry that this happened to you, I would like to offer a silver lining by saying that once you have your membership number and start using your DVC, I predict that you will receive the same level of customer service as direct purchasers. My guess is that the people you spoke with recently deal almost exclusively with resale buyers, many of whom call several times a day/week asking about the status of their accounts. While it doesn't excuse poor customer service, it might provide some insight into why they have the dispositions that they do. Once you are dealing with Member Services, it will be more smiles and rainbows for sure. Good luck getting everything squared away!

 

[tjkraz]

The resale purchase lecture was certainly uncalled for.

But the delays are pretty much the way DVD has chosen to do business these days. As others said, they don't receive any direct revenue (other than some modest fees) from a resale purchase. As such, they don't prioritize servicing of those customers when it comes to the initial setup. It's sort of a backhanded way of encouraging a direct purchase.

Yes, DVC members spend a lot at the resorts and in theme parks, but Disney Vacation Development--the timeshare sales entity--has its own goals and objectives. You may think that "Disney" as a whole should cherish every customer from the top down...but that's really not the case.

IMO it's no different than dealing with any other large company. Each little piece of that company is its own domain they don't necessarily take into consideration what you may have to offer other domains within that organization.

Unfortunately the 14 days is just a general rule of thumb rather than a firm deadline. You could file a complaint with the Florida Timeshare Bureau if you really think they are jerking you around, but chances are the issue will be resolved before any investigation begins. And it's entirely possible that delays were caused by entities other than DVC/DVD.

 

[Tinkerdreams]

Disney started making it very clear that they do not like resale buyers a couple of years ago. They deliberately delay the ROFR and account set up process.

Bill

Well I have the perfect solution for Disney on this one. When someone wants to sell their contract, instead of going to a Resale broker, Disney can buy it back directly at an "X" percentage and then they can re-sell those points back to interested parties.

No need for ROFR and Disney will have an unending money making machine.

 

[disneynutz]

Well I have the perfect solution for Disney on this one. When someone wants to sell their contract, instead of going to a Resale broker, Disney can buy it back directly at an "X" percentage and then they can re-sell those points back to interested parties.

No need for ROFR and Disney will have an unending money making machine.

That idea doesn't work if the resale price is higher than Disney's buy back plus Disney would have to pay dues on the bought back points.

Looking at the way that they do business, they don't even tell buyers that they can buy "sold out" resorts from Disney so it's safe to say that the money is in selling the new resorts.

Bill

 

[tjkraz]

Well I have the perfect solution for Disney on this one. When someone wants to sell their contract, instead of going to a Resale broker, Disney can buy it back directly at an "X" percentage and then they can re-sell those points back to interested parties.

No need for ROFR and Disney will have an unending money making machine.

Based upon Disney's public statements regarding the construction cost of Bay Lake Tower ($80-100 mil) and the number of points represented by that building (about 5.5 million), it costs Disney about $15-18 per point to build.

With so much land available in Florida, it just makes more sense to continue building rather than buying up old points.

Why should they bother to re-acquire BLT points at $60 or 80 each when they can effectively create "new" points for less than $20 each???

 

[belias21]

While I'm sorry that this happened to you, I would like to offer a silver lining by saying that once you have your membership number and start using your DVC, I predict that you will receive the same level of customer service as direct purchasers. My guess is that the people you spoke with recently deal almost exclusively with resale buyers, many of whom call several times a day/week asking about the status of their accounts. While it doesn't excuse poor customer service, it might provide some insight into why they have the dispositions that they do. Once you are dealing with Member Services, it will be more smiles and rainbows for sure. Good luck getting everything squared away!

To that point, I'm curious... Beyond the initial account and point setup, how do you suppose it is indicated (like to MS) that these points are from a resale purchase and not direct? Obviously it must be flagged in some way because of the restrictions in place on resale points, but I guess I'm trying to determine how (or if) the average "Joe Castmember" that is dealing with you would know.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Well I have the perfect solution for Disney on this one. When someone wants to sell their contract, instead of going to a Resale broker, Disney can buy it back directly at an "X" percentage and then they can re-sell those points back to interested parties.

No need for ROFR and Disney will have an unending money making machine.

You're right. Perfect!