HELP Please!! DVC has my $3000 held hostage

[cforsythe]

Last year during the pandemic we booked 1 passenger on a cruise with DVC points and paid the other with cash. On April 6, 2021 we received an email stating our cruise was cancelled. The CM helped us move our points to a WDW trip and all is good with that.

But the $2948 that we paid last year (due to the fact that we had to pay in full for the cash passenger) is lost in limbo. I have called DVC Cruise CMs 3 times and have spoken with 1 manager and no one can help me get my money back. I called again today and was told they really could not help and I put another request in to speak with a manager.

Can anyone give me advice on what options I have? I am VERY frustrated.

THANKS in advance!

 

[erionm]

Send an email to the DVC Member Satisfaction Team: dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com

 

[cforsythe]

Thanks Michael!

 

[cruisehopeful]

If you paid via credit card, call your credit card company. Even if it's way past the date to dispute a charge, they may be able to help you because of the unusual situation.

 

[drusba]

Consider both of the above-mentioned suggestions. I can guess at what is possibly going wrong here. DVC and the WDW Disney companies do not own or control the cruise line. That line is actually owned and controlled by a subsidiary of Disney, the Magical Criuise Company, LTD, which is a London England company.

My guess is the payment you made ended up on that London company's books and the current DVC personnel you are dealing, who are likely fairly new employees, are unaware of that fact and have no idea how to have the money returned. As the London company maintains a DCL office in Celebration Fl, and has its own separate Disney-related phone number, 800-951-3532, you may ultimately have to contact it

 

[Narcoossee11]

DVC can not help. DCL has your money. Not that DVC would give your suggestion but they can only make you feel better. DCL really should have given you your money by now. DCL is blooding money.

 

[MomOTwins]

When you've paid in full for a cruise (which it looks like you have), DCL automatically converts that money into future cruise credits useable by September 2022 when they cancel a cruise. However, you can call DCL and request a refund instead. That's what you should do.

 

[cforsythe]

On hold now with DCL and they are trying to help but it is all tied up with DVC. CM is AWESOME (Carissa) and is on hold waiting for DVC Cruise to pick up. She is starting to understand the trouble I have been having. Thankful for CMs that are willing to help a person out!

 

[Prince John Robin Hood]

Hopefully this worked out.

 

[cforsythe]

Still no resolution. Only answer is to request a manager call back. The CM from DCL gave me some details that should help me get it resolved.

 

[JohnGypsy]

So, I'm really curious... For the CASH reservation, did you also do that through DVC? I mean, you did part with points and part with cash -- so did you do that as one transaction with DVC and then they arranged it with DCL? Or did you do just the points with DVC and then the cash passenger directly with DCL?

I'm trying to figure out why DCL is saying "tied up with DVC" for the cash part.

 

[cforsythe]

So, I'm really curious... For the CASH reservation, did you also do that through DVC? I mean, you did part with points and part with cash -- so did you do that as one transaction with DVC and then they arranged it with DCL? Or did you do just the points with DVC and then the cash passenger directly with DCL?

I'm trying to figure out why DCL is saying "tied up with DVC" for the cash part.

It was totally booked with DVC. I paid 1 fare with DVC points and 1 fare with cash. DCL cannot help at all. I will NEVER use points for a cruise again. It takes WAY too many. We had several points moved out of DVC to be used in CA because they have very few rooms available at DL to be booked thru DVC. It was cancelled due to COVID. Therefore those points could not go back into my account. So we decided to use them on a cruise. I think in the future I will just sell them because this did not appear to be a very good deal. Lesson learned.

 

[JohnGypsy]

Indeed -- I think using points for a cruise is pretty much always a bad deal. Almost always makes more sense to rent them out. Even using a broker, you're going to make more than enough to buy the cruise with cash and have money left over.

But, in this situation, the points you got all back, right? It is just the cash payment that you made -- which went through DVC. Got ya. Yeah, this is a weird "you're stuck in the middle" situation. DVC and DCL really need to get together and resolve this for you. Good luck!

 

[cforsythe]

Send an email to the DVC Member Satisfaction Team: dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com

So I sent an email to this address and here is my response:

Thank you for contacting Disney Vacation Club

I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts with us regarding the Disney Cruise you had booked that was ultimately cancelled due to the pandemic. I understand your concerns pertaining to a refund you have yet to receive and I am sorry for the inconvenience and frustration caused.

Due to the nature of your message and to ensure it receives the appropriate attention, your correspondence has been forwarded to Member Services for handling. While their response time may vary, please rest assured they will be contacting you directly about your message. You may also contact Member Services at your convenience by calling 800-800-9800 during their operating hours and requesting to speak with a supervisor.

Thank you again for reaching out to us. We hope to welcome you back to your home away from home again real soon!

This is no help at all.

 

[Grumpy Mouse]

So I sent an email to this address and here is my response:

Thank you for contacting Disney Vacation Club

I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts with us regarding the Disney Cruise you had booked that was ultimately cancelled due to the pandemic. I understand your concerns pertaining to a refund you have yet to receive and I am sorry for the inconvenience and frustration caused.

Due to the nature of your message and to ensure it receives the appropriate attention, your correspondence has been forwarded to Member Services for handling. While their response time may vary, please rest assured they will be contacting you directly about your message. You may also contact Member Services at your convenience by calling 800-800-9800 during their operating hours and requesting to speak with a supervisor.

Thank you again for reaching out to us. We hope to welcome you back to your home away from home again real soon!

This is no help at all.

I'm with the person that suggested calling the credit card company.

If by chance its American Express you've got a pretty good chance of getting satisfaction.

 

[howardlee2]

ok you are one of many people who are having trouble getting refunded from cancelled cruises. try ELLIOTT ADVOCACY at ELLIOTT.org. they have contact lists for many companies and if you can't get anywhere (like you!) they will contact them on your behalf and are usually successful

 

[howardlee2]

here is the DCL contact info from elliott.org

https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/disney-cruise-line/
or you could just turn it over to them via their help form

https://www.elliott.org/help/

 

[gharter]

I will NEVER use points for a cruise again. It takes WAY too many.

Sorry to hear about your problems with the booking.
If you purchased your points years ago, when they were cheap, using the points on a cruise was not a bad option.
As price per point increased, the general opinion is that using points for a cruise is too expensive.
This thread has been enlightening as I didn't realize the complete separation of the companies. One more layer of complexity to navigate.
Good luck.

 

[DVC_B]

Because your original cruise was booked so long ago it’s not something that can just be refunded to your credit card. They have a department called escrow that will need to issue a check for the refund. I’m told this can take several months. Member services cannot help with this since the funds were moved to cruise line and then to the team that sends the checks.

 

[cvjw]

Because your original cruise was booked so long ago it’s not something that can just be refunded to your credit card. They have a department called escrow that will need to issue a check for the refund. I’m told this can take several months. Member services cannot help with this since the funds were moved to cruise line and then to the team that sends the checks.

I finally pulled the plug on a booking for a cancelled cruise that I had booked and paid for about 2 years ago. The $5000 was refunded to my credit card within a week. They can just refund your credit card. They knew exactly how much I paid for the cruise - it also had FCC wrapped up in the booking also. No special department was contacted. I called Costco, who got DCL on the line.