Disney hasn't given me my guaranteed week, isn't budging- help!

[EM Lawrence]

It seems clause 3 is clearly applicable to OP, they purchased w/in the 11 month booking window of their fixed week thus they were on notice that they would have to compete with other owners for availability. Plus, their guide clearly explained that to them.
Clause 1 gives them ‘the right to have a [specific villa] automatically reserved for them.’ We know the automatic reservation happens in the month prior to the 11 month window opening - so in OP’s case that reservation is made in Dec. each year & OP bought after Dec., it could be interpreted that they are getting their 2021 guaranteed reservation, in Dec. 2021 a 2 br. will be automatically reserved for their use in Nov. 2022.
If the intent was to identify the first guaranteed stay/occupancy the contract could have said so, instead the contract says guaranteed reservation.

This is an interesting point. Does the contact define the difference between a “guaranteed reservation” and a “stay/occupancy” anywhere?

 

[winterwhite]

I don't understand the controversy here? You have one spot in your purchase contract that says you get the guaranteed week, and another spot that says if you buy in under 11 months from that guaranteed week that it isn't guaranteed. You're under 11 months, and stated that you don't want to go. So, why wouldn't you just take the points and bank them for next year, or rent/transfer them out to a third party? DVC isn't going to pay you cash for your unused points, especially when the contract has a stipulation that you can receive the points and use them elsewhere. There's no "DVC is breaking the contract" at all here.

Ah, but that’s the thing. I haven’t seen a clause yet where the meaning of “eleven month booking window” is described with actual terms or definition (doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, it’s just not been posted here). Is it 11 months from the date I signed the contract? 11 months from my use year? 11 months from my fixed week in which case, 11 months from which day in my fixed week?

we here know what it is, but what matters is what a reasonable person who is signing this contract believes it to be.

a person making a purchase in January might well believe they are within 11 months of their fixed date (January to November) and thus not see a problem with this, plus the date is stated that the first date they will have a guaranteed reservation is 2021, and the contract specifically states that in opposition to the previous line where it says the first year may not be available.

as to what remedies are available, if Disney does indeed provide points in lieu of the room and an equivalent room is obtainable for that points value, then there’s probably not much available besides cancelling the contract and making both parties whole.

 

[Sandisw]

At the very least there are clauses that contradict each other in his contract. Clause #2 is very specific. It lays out the conditions under which he would not get the GW and then refers him to the place where the first calendar year he is entitled to the GW will be in the contract, and both of those say 2021.

I don’t think it is good customer service to string a member along. It would be one thing if the guide explained to OP that he is not entitled to the week, and pointed out to him where in the contract it says so. Then it *might* be good customer service to say they were going to try to go above and beyond to find him a room. If he has no right to the week, even bumping him on a waitlist seems unfair to me. Why should the waitlist be violated if he is only confused about what he is entitled to?

Is DVC/Disney a company that goes above and beyond to achieve customer satisfaction when the customer is confused and wrong about the terms of their contract, or a cold-hearted corporation that only cares about stock holders and is only bound only by the most literal examination of the language in the contracts they enter in to with members? I can’t keep it straight.

Allowing him to believe that he is entitled to the week, and that they are just working on the logistics of securing it for him, while not giving him a straight answer, is terrible, rotten, horrible customer service. I would not feel pixie dusted by that kind of treatment at all.

Correct. He is entitled to a FW for 2021 because that is the first UY he will own that will have the FW dates in it,

What you may be missing is that the clause for buying after the 11 month booking window let’s the buyer know that they may not actually get the first fixed week they are entitled to,

If they had listed 2022 because he was already beyond the 11 month window, then they would not need that clause indicating that you may not get your first FW which is in the product understanding.

There really is no mistake here at all. He was entitled to FW 2021 as his first guaranteed week but only if bought prior to the 11 month window, which he did not.

 

[New Mouse]

To be fair, Disney tends to read contracts how they want to when it suits them best in other situations, so for anyone to hold a purchaser to a higher standard is a little hypocritical

 

[crisi]

To be fair, Disney tends to read contracts how they want to when it suits them best in other situations, so for anyone to hold a purchaser to a higher standard is a little hypocritical

If you want to sue Disney to get a judge to read the contract, go for it. It isn't a cheap proposition. And unless a judge tells them different, Disney has the power to give the reservation or not. And in this case, they don't even have the power to give the reservation - the room is booked by someone else. Giving him the reservation would definitely break their contract with whomever is currently in the room.

 

[Brian Noble]

Is DVC/Disney a company that goes above and beyond to achieve customer satisfaction when the customer is confused and wrong about the terms of their contract, or a cold-hearted corporation that only cares about stock holders and is only bound only by the most literal examination of the language in the contracts they enter in to with members?

It seems pretty clear to me that they are both based on watching them these past many years, though I might quibble with the extent to which they go "above and beyond."

 

[dvc lover 1970]

To me the contract is pretty straight forward. If you purchase a fixed week you are entitled to that week in the first full year of your use year, unless the purchase was made in the 11 month window.
If OP purchased his 2020 June points in September 2020, he would have gotten November 2021 FW However he did not purchase until January 2021 - which is within the 11 month window. FW's are booked by disney BEFORE the 11 month window opens for owners. If you wanted to arrange a booking for that week, you should have worked with your sales guide prior to your purchase. Since your wife is pregnant and you won't be able to go anyway, I would bank the points so maybe next year you can bring your parents or other family member with your family and reserve two rooms.

 

[Gf77]

ㅤ

 

[DL1WDW2]

Disney has currently booked many guests and “moved” them upon day of arrival/ checkin... Why aren’t they just playing this game to end conflict and stress ?

 

[Sandisw]

Disney has currently booked many guests and “moved” them upon day of arrival/ checkin... Why aren’t they just playing this game to end conflict and stress ?

The timeshare world is different. They can not book two people for the same room right now and then just move later.

Cash rooms are a different story, They can oversell.

 

[crisi]

The timeshare world is different. They can not book two people for the same room right now and then just move later.

Cash rooms are a different story, They can oversell.

That would be in violation of so much timeshare law!

 

[Anthony Vito]

I've been avoiding commenting on this post, since so many have eloquently and clearly pointed out the clarity of the terms of the contract. I just want to point out that individual terms, clauses, or phrases are not read independently when interpreting such documents. The document is read as a whole. So such terms that may seem to be "conflicting," are actually meant to be read together, so terms may seem on their face to say one thing, but are then modified by subsequent or additional language. The additional language that modifies or changes the meaning does not make them conflicting - they have to be taken as a whole.

 

[CSLucas]

I've been avoiding commenting on this post, since so many have eloquently and clearly pointed out the clarity of the terms of the contract. I just want to point out that individual terms, clauses, or phrases are not read independently when interpreting such documents. The document is read as a whole. So such terms that may seem to be "conflicting," are actually meant to be read together, so terms may seem on their face to say one thing, but are then modified by subsequent or additional language. The additional language that modifies or changes the meaning does not make them conflicting - they have to be taken as a whole.

Absolutely agree with this. Also, fwiw, contract law doesn't hinge on "gotcha" moments.

One other thing I would point out- the language saying you are entitled the the fixed week starting in 2021 is probably there for your benefit, not for Disney's. What if point values were rearranged, you bought in 2020, and now suddenly the FW is available but now it costs more? If you aren't entitled to your first one, then even if it is still available inside the 11 month window you still wouldn't be able to use it because you would need to come up with more points that first year. The fixed week means you don't have to worry about how many points the week actually costs. And yes, of course Disney has hedged its bets here and isn't going to lose in that game, but the contract still protects you as the purchaser. Unless OP's contract is substantially different from the examples posted above, I think it is pretty hard to make the case that this is a clerical error and impossible to make the case that this had malicious intent. It sounds like Disney is trying to make this a positive experience for OP since they are "working on it" (which I take means they will bypass the waitlist for OP if the room somehow becomes available), but to ask for anything more seems ridiculous (especially given the fact that OP has already said he chose to buy on the assumption that the fixed week was not available the first year).

 

[birchtree95]

UPDATE:
I had given up on getting anywhere with this, but to my surprise, I got a call from my guide on Thursday, 6-24. I missed the call, but in the voicemail he asked if I had heard from a manager regarding the fixed week. I intended to call him later that day and tell him "No", but unfortunately, I took a hard fall at work and cracked 3 ribs. So my priorities shifted to my health.

I received a call on 6-28 from someone else at Disney letting me know that my guaranteed week was available if I still wanted it for this year.

Less than 24 hours prior, a charity auction had occurred where I put my points up for auction in 2 blocks. If the call had come a week earlier, I would have gladly put that week up for auction, but alas, it was too late and those points are now essentially rented out.

So Disney pulled through, though it took quite a while (over 4 months).

Thanks everyone for your input, some more helpful than others.