Disturbing Issue

[connorlevismom]

In July we were at WDW and staying at SSR so we decided to go and talk with someone about more points. Our guide was not available so we met with a newer girl named Kristy. In the end, we wanted points that they did not have and wanted a reservation they could not get us. (We wanted AKV points with September UY and a week vacation in October with those points) they were going to check and we said that if they could get us those two things, we would talk about purchasing, and we left. We went home and never heard from Kristy again. Then a few weeks ago, I get a call from Kristy saying that they had some points open up and that I was supposed to call her back if I wanted to move ahead. I never called her back because #1. she did not mention being able to get the October reservation, which was our main stipulation, and #2. We were no longer interested. I do remember that we left our credit card number with her when we were in Florida in case we wanted to move forward.

Fast forward to today. I got our credit card bill and there is a 4700.00 charge on my card from Disney Vacation Development. I go online and under my vacation points there is a new 150 point contract that I never purchased! And of those 150 points, only 121 are available and the used amount says 29. I called member services and they could not tell me anything and told me to call member account, who is closed. I also called my guide and left a message with him.

So the charge happened on 08/21 and I have never gotten any paperwork or anything for the supposed contract that I bought. I have never signed anything saying I wanted to buy a contract and not even sure how I used points from a contract that I never bought.

I will be furious if this Kristy person sold us a contract without our approval! How can a guide even do this without the consent or signature of the person buying the contract?

Has anyone had this happen to them?

 

[briand1023]

Call your credit card company and tell him it's a fraudulent charge and they will fight it for you

 

[davedmaine]

In July we were at WDW and staying at SSR so we decided to go and talk with someone about more points. Our guide was not available so we met with a newer girl named Kristy. In the end, we wanted points that they did not have and wanted a reservation they could not get us. (We wanted AKV points with September UY and a week vacation in October with those points) they were going to check and we said that if they could get us those two things, we would talk about purchasing, and we left. We went home and never heard from Kristy again. Then a few weeks ago, I get a call from Kristy saying that they had some points open up and that I was supposed to call her back if I wanted to move ahead. I never called her back because #1. she did not mention being able to get the October reservation, which was our main stipulation, and #2. We were no longer interested. I do remember that we left our credit card number with her when we were in Florida in case we wanted to move forward. Fast forward to today. I got our credit card bill and there is a 4700.00 charge on my card from Disney Vacation Development. I go online and under my vacation points there is a new 150 point contract that I never purchased! And of those 150 points, only 121 are available and the used amount says 29. I called member services and they could not tell me anything and told me to call member account, who is closed. I also called my guide and left a message with him. So the charge happened on 08/21 and I have never gotten any paperwork or anything for the supposed contract that I bought. I have never signed anything saying I wanted to buy a contract and not even sure how I used points from a contract that I never bought. I will be furious if this Kristy person sold us a contract without our approval! How can a guide even do this without the consent or signature of the person buying the contract? Has anyone had this happen to them?

Seems like a simple mistake and will be easy to fix.. Certainly no fraud going on. A pain though, yes..

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

It's what they do when you give them a credit card. Until you sign the paperwork though you haven't really bought anything so don't worry. Unfortunately they are costing you time to tell them you no longer want the points.

 

[disneynutz]

Kristy needs the sale.

Just call the sales number and cancel. You could contact her manager to let them know what's going on but they probably already know.

Bill

 

[connorlevismom]

It's what they do when you give them a credit card. Until you sign the paperwork though you haven't really bought anything so don't worry. Unfortunately they are costing you time to tell them you no longer want the points.

But we never really specified how many points we wanted so I am not sure how she purchased a contract for me when she did not know the exact number of points I was looking for. And where did the 29 points go that were supposedly used?

The other times we have purchased we had our docs really quickly and it has been over a month since this charge happened.

 

[connorlevismom]

Call your credit card company and tell him it's a fraudulent charge and they will fight it for you

We also did that right away.

 

[MEK]

I find the situation odd. I wonder if your credit card got charged for someone else's purchase. And the charge is certainly not what a 150 point contract would cost, so is it supposed to represent a deposit?

I hope you can get it all straightened out tomorrow, but it certainly doesn't instill much trust right now. Do you have those points in your actual account? I missed that part. Guess I should go back and re-read.

 

[MEK]

Never mind. I see they are in your account.

Odd.

 

[connorlevismom]

I find the situation odd. I wonder if your credit card got charged for someone else's purchase. And the charge is certainly not what a 150 point contract would cost, so is it supposed to represent a deposit? I hope you can get it all straightened out tomorrow, but it certainly doesn't instill much trust right now. Do you have those points in your actual account? I missed that part. Guess I should go back and re-read.

That is what we are thinking-some kind of deposit. And no, it does not instill a lot of trust.

 

[Sur]

I've read of this before- keep the cc# on file to charge when points are available.

 

[connorlevismom]

Jus talked with someone that said that it was Kristy that processed the order for the contract. I asked them how she could do that without my consent and he just kind of acted like it was no big deal.

I said she did call me and told me that some points had opened up, but never told me how many points or even what use year, so how could she just assume that I wanted them? I told him that she told me to call her back if we wanted to move forward and I never did because we were no longer interested.

He just kind of said it is not an issue and they would just cancel it. I could not believe that he just dismissed it like that. $4700 is a lot of money to charge to someone's card without their consent! Furthermore, it was charged over a month ago and I never got any paperwork. So where is the paperwork for this contract? The guy was like, "well no paperwork was signed so it is easy to cancel" I said "yes, no paperwork was signed because we never got any".

I am really disappointed that this happened and that they just do not seem to care at all. I guess for other's, never leave your credit card with them unless you are OK with them purchasing a contract for you without telling you what it is and without your consent!

I never did hear back from my real guide.

 

[JimMIA]

Fast forward to today. I got our credit card bill and there is a 4700.00 charge on my card from Disney Vacation Development.

Congratulations...and WELCOME HOME!

Seriously tho...I would certainly at least write an email to Member Satisfaction. It's only "not a big deal" in the sense that it is easily reversed, and the person saying it's no big deal is a timeshare salesman.

To me, putting a $4,700 charge on someone's credit card without specific affirmative authorization from the cardholder is very much of a big deal, even if it's not fraudulent. The fact that it is almost certainly not a criminal act doesn't excuse the unauthorized action.

 

[JimMIA]

He just kind of said it is not an issue and they would just cancel it. I could not believe that he just dismissed it like that. $4700 is a lot of money to charge to someone's card without their consent! Furthermore, it was charged over a month ago and I never got any paperwork. So where is the paperwork for this contract? The guy was like, "well no paperwork was signed so it is easy to cancel"

Sounds to me like this guy was just blowing you off. I would call Member Administration and let them know you did NOT authorize the charge, or the purchase of points, or anything else -- and make sure the unauthorized transaction gets undone.

I sure wouldn't take this guy's word for it getting canceled!

 

[supersnoop]

Congratulations...and WELCOME HOME!

Seriously tho...I would certainly at least write an email to Member Satisfaction. It's only "not a big deal" in the sense that it is easily reversed, and the person saying it's no big deal is a timeshare salesman.

To me, putting a $4,700 charge on someone's credit card without specific affirmative authorization from the cardholder is very much of a big deal, even if it's not fraudulent. The fact that it is almost certainly not a criminal act doesn't excuse the unauthorized action.

While I understand this seems like a big deal to the OP, I don't think it's as big a deal as it's being made out to be.

My bet is, somewhere in the paperwork you signed, you authorized them to put a charge on your card to hold a waitlist purchase. That $4,700 charge looks like 20%-25% of a 150 point contract at $130-$135 per point. Unless they opened a mortgage in your name, I just don't think it's a big deal. It was a charge to hold the points for you while you made your decision.

Of course, I'd check the Orange County deed records to see if they actually filed something for you. If that happened, then I'd agree that it's a bigger deal.

 

[connorlevismom]

While I understand this seems like a big deal to the OP, I don't think it's as big a deal as it's being made out to be.

My bet is, somewhere in the paperwork you signed, you authorized them to put a charge on your card to hold a waitlist purchase. That $4,700 charge looks like 20%-25% of a 150 point contract at $130-$135 per point. Unless they opened a mortgage in your name, I just don't think it's a big deal. It was a charge to hold the points for you while you made your decision.

Of course, I'd check the Orange County deed records to see if they actually filed something for you. If that happened, then I'd agree that it's a bigger deal.

We never specified how many points we were looking for because we really did not know at the time, so how could she just assume that I wanted 150 points? I would think if you called someone and said call me back if you want to move forward and they never called you back, would you just assume that we wanted to move forward? That is the part that bothers me. I never told her to go ahead, and she clearly asked me for permission. And also, it was over a month ago that this charge hit my card. In my last contracts we had fedex paperwork really quickly. Still after a month, we have nothing to sign. I would think that they would not hold points for over a month waiting for someone to get back to them.

Either way - it put a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[supersnoop]

We never specified how many points we were looking for because we really did not know at the time, so how could she just assume that I wanted 150 points? I would think if you called someone and said call me back if you want to move forward and they never called you back, would you just assume that we wanted to move forward? That is the part that bothers me. I never told her to go ahead, and she clearly asked me for permission. And also, it was over a month ago that this charge hit my card. In my last contracts we had fedex paperwork really quickly. Still after a month, we have nothing to sign. I would think that they would not hold points for over a month waiting for someone to get back to them.

Either way - it put a bad taste in my mouth.

Oh, I can certainly understand the bad taste. But, seriously, go check your paperwork. You gave them your credit card for something. The biggest problem I see here, is that the guide didn't follow up, and didn't release the points to the next person on the list. I mean, they ROFR'd points from someone and never sold them. That's the crazy part. Frustrating? Yes, but "disturbing," not so much.

I wonder what would have happened if you used the points. Now that would be an interesting story!

 

[Breyean]

A few years ago we did a couple of smallish add ons at VGC direct.

The first time our guide called when the points became available (we went on wait lists both times). The full amount had already been charged to our card and the points were already in our account, but at least he called to tell us.

The second time, and I still have the emails back and forth with the Guide, we weren't sure how many points we wanted since we had been trying to get a resale at VGC but had been ROFR'd twice. So when we went on the list, I specifically told him a range, and requested he call us when we got to the top of the list so we could decide exactly how many points we wanted. I requested this in writing.

One day I'm on the phone with MS and the CM said something like you have all these VGC points available, do you want to use them or bank them. WHAT VGC points, I said? We had used all those we knew about and I was calling to use OKW points, which I did still have available.

Turns out DVC had processed the maximum number of points in my range (the Guide had been the one who suggested using a range so he could contact me if a smaller amount, in the lower part of the range, came up before a larger number of points). Charged my card for the full amount. Put the points into my account. Guide never called me. Either before, as I had requested, or after, as he had done with the first add on only a few months before.

I called the Guide - he was out of the office. So I spoke with someone who said she was his supervisor. She said it was no big deal because I could change the # of points if I wanted.

Basically the same response the OP got when she called.

But here's another issue that I don't think has been addressed, particularly in the case of the OP. If she didn't know DVC had charged her for $4700 more than a month before, she ran the risk of running out of credit limit on her charge card. What if she used that card for other payments, like her mortgage or utility bills, and didn't know the DVC charge had driven her over her limit?

As others have said, it seems DVC plays fast and loose with your credit card once they have it, and will correct it if they make a mistake, so to them it's no big deal.

But it could have repercussions to the person being charged, not related to, but caused by, Disney. And maybe not so easily fixed as just deducting some points from your DVC account.

 

[connorlevismom]

Oh, I can certainly understand the bad taste. But, seriously, go check your paperwork. You gave them your credit card for something. The biggest problem I see here, is that the guide didn't follow up, and didn't release the points to the next person on the list. I mean, they ROFR'd points from someone and never sold them. That's the crazy part. Frustrating? Yes, but "disturbing," not so much.

I wonder what would have happened if you used the points. Now that would be an interesting story!

What paperwork? I have no paperwork from our visit in July at all.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

What paperwork? I have no paperwork from our visit in July at all.

So you just handed them a credit card ? Something isn't adding up here. Have you checked with you spouse, if applicable.