Hold my hand, Again.......Please

[VogelFamily]

Good afternoon everyone. Once again, I am calling on your experience and knowledge in keeping me rational, informed and sane. A quick up-to-date on my situation. I am a renter who is extremely grateful to be in the position of renting points for a stay in October. This is a new experience for us and one that, looking back on, probably was not the best choice for me. I am someone who likes to have all my ducks in a row, plan reasonably and prepare for any unforseen issues "just in case". It is my desire to be a courteous renter, not cross any lines and be as upfront as I can be.
In November I found an owner thru the DIS rental forum with the points I needed for an October stay at the resort that I wanted. The price was right (9.00 PP) but not my initial concern. I should have done additional research but thought I was prepared. I posted some time ago about issues I had contacting the person I had rented from. After finally touching base with her and being assured and given legitimate reasons for the trouble in contacting her, I really had not given it much thought. I have been counting down since over day 400 and just this month made my ADR's, purchased trip insurance and arranged for transfers. I thought all was good, now........
The person I rented from has contacted me requesting that instead of paying her thru PayPal which we had agreed upon, I send her a check thru Western Union. I am the first to tell you, I have little experience with this and have always used PayPal for the few purchases I have made. The new address she has given me is different than the ones in the past. After much headache, I did receive the confirmation letter in February, and the "owner" was in someone elses name. She explained that she co-owned the property with her aunt and not knowing any better, this sounds good to me.
I have every intention of paying her prior to the due date in full. We have purchased our air fare and have paid in full a cruise that will be the week following our stay at WDW.
Here is my concern. I know and I knew upfront that there were no guarantees but I generally tend to believe that people are good to their word and I have never been proven otherwise. However, I have a really hard time sending money Western Union to someone when I have no guarantee on a reservation. I had a level of comfort paying thru PayPal and using my credit card. It may actually have been no benefit but I felt I could at least file a complaint or charge back if necessary, even though I have no experience with that. We have never signed any kind of agreement and nothing I have actually has her name on it. My balance is due 35 days prior to arrival or full refund. I really want this to work and have no desire to make other arrangements. Am I paranoid? Unreasonable? Do you think I should send a certified letter/contract spelling out our terms and getting a signature. I would be more than happy to pay all fees. Would a signed contract actually provide me any recourse should something happen? My greatest fear is that I arrive and actually have no reservation.
Today, to ease my mind, I called Member Services to confirm my reservation. They can no longer do this for me. For all I know my reservation has already been cancelled. Any words of wisdom? Should I make reservations at another resort for a backup plan? I want to do the right thing and not be screwed but don't know what that is.

 

[prez65]

Sounds a little strange to me. I would not send payment through Western Union.....Thats how most people get burnt on purchases..You will have no recourse.
If the seller was first going to take payment through PayPal (which will be somewhat protected) and now does not want to accept PayPal and will only accept Western Union adding the fact that the address changed the name is not the same..you had a hard time contacting them...My advise is if it looks like a Duck walks like a Duck and quacks like a Duck.....well you know the rest.

Good Luck and hope you can work things out!

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Since you all agreed on PayPal to start with, I would insist on that payment agreement.... I do a lot of business through PayPal, and though there are additional costs... at least you have some back support with them. This all seems a little odd to me. I would be very careful, and not just turn over my money. Here is to your excellent vacation. If this doesn't work out I would suggest you buy into DVC. In fact, why aren't you DVC members now? We are Sooo glad we are.

 

[JimMIA]

Sent you a PM.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

At the bare minimum I would require a signed, notorized contract before remitting final payment. Worst case scenario, you could then take them to court to get your money back.

Although that won't help if you are standing at check-in with no real ressie.

It's too fishy for me. I'd get my deposit back & book through CRO. If they are argumentative about refunding then I'd be even more suspicious.

JM2c

 

[Judy WI]

There are crooked people out there that are able to steal information and set it up to look like it is from the orginial person but it is directed to someone all together different.

 

[Starshine]

Something else to consider- Western Union will charge you (the sender) a fee to send the money, whereas PayPal does not charge any fees to the sender. It's pretty expensive (IMO) to send Western Union. We just used them to send money to a friend who lost his wallet while on vacation, and to send him $300 cost us $34. If you rented a large amount of points, that could get pricey pretty quickly.

 

[Judique]

Good afternoon everyone. Once again, I am calling on your experience and knowledge in keeping me rational, informed and sane. A quick up-to-date on my situation. I am a renter who is extremely grateful to be in the position of renting points for a stay in October. This is a new experience for us and one that, looking back on, probably was not the best choice for me. I am someone who likes to have all my ducks in a row, plan reasonably and prepare for any unforseen issues "just in case". It is my desire to be a courteous renter, not cross any lines and be as upfront as I can be.
In November I found an owner thru the DIS rental forum with the points I needed for an October stay at the resort that I wanted. The price was right (9.00 PP) but not my initial concern. I should have done additional research but thought I was prepared. I posted some time ago about issues I had contacting the person I had rented from. After finally touching base with her and being assured and given legitimate reasons for the trouble in contacting her, I really had not given it much thought. I have been counting down since over day 400 and just this month made my ADR's, purchased trip insurance and arranged for transfers. I thought all was good, now........
The person I rented from has contacted me requesting that instead of paying her thru PayPal which we had agreed upon, I send her a check thru Western Union. I am the first to tell you, I have little experience with this and have always used PayPal for the few purchases I have made. The new address she has given me is different than the ones in the past. After much headache, I did receive the confirmation letter in February, and the "owner" was in someone elses name. She explained that she co-owned the property with her aunt and not knowing any better, this sounds good to me.
I have every intention of paying her prior to the due date in full. We have purchased our air fare and have paid in full a cruise that will be the week following our stay at WDW.
Here is my concern. I know and I knew upfront that there were no guarantees but I generally tend to believe that people are good to their word and I have never been proven otherwise. However, I have a really hard time sending money Western Union to someone when I have no guarantee on a reservation. I had a level of comfort paying thru PayPal and using my credit card. It may actually have been no benefit but I felt I could at least file a complaint or charge back if necessary, even though I have no experience with that. We have never signed any kind of agreement and nothing I have actually has her name on it. My balance is due 35 days prior to arrival or full refund. I really want this to work and have no desire to make other arrangements. Am I paranoid? Unreasonable? Do you think I should send a certified letter/contract spelling out our terms and getting a signature. I would be more than happy to pay all fees. Would a signed contract actually provide me any recourse should something happen? My greatest fear is that I arrive and actually have no reservation.
Today, to ease my mind, I called Member Services to confirm my reservation. They can no longer do this for me. For all I know my reservation has already been cancelled. Any words of wisdom? Should I make reservations at another resort for a backup plan? I want to do the right thing and not be screwed but don't know what that is.

If you have her correct name, I believe you can at least confirm whether she is a co owner of the points with her aunt. The records are public and available online.

I clicked your user name and saw your owner - she's only ever posted once to the disboards. That's not a great sign. At the very least since she wants to change your agreement, get a signed contract if possible. I would say easier said then done at this point. What are your dates at Disney?

Sorry you have to have such a stressful experience.

 

[dzneprincess]

oh no..looking at your post history I see see only has 1 post ever??Not uh no way! Cancel! Whenever I am dealing with persons concerning the DIS I try to always look at their post count and not only that but the actual post content and try to get a feel if the person is legit....I would not deal with this person. they could very well be on the up and up but it looks too risky to me. I think that if you do cancel though, you may have a problem with availability for October due to F&W fest...

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

I was told by someone, I think an attorney??, to never EVER send money Western Union. That it was basically like handing someone cash and was tough to verify.

This does sound somewhat fishy to me, too. Why wouldn't the member still want to use Paypal?? I find it extremely easy to use. I have a Paypal debit card if I want to use the money in the Paypal account or I transfer it to my bank, which takes 3-4 days. No big deal. Plus, instant confirmation of funds. I would think it would be ideal for the member to not have to go through the hassle of going to pick up the $$, it is not there, etc.

I would tell the member you are EXTREMELY uncomfortable using WU and can you use Paypal. See what they tell you. If they are insistent, I would come right out and ask: May I ask WHY you are not willing to take Paypal? You did get a good deal, but this is still too large a chunk of money to risk like that.

Good luck to you!!

 

[polyhm83]

I thought the renter was to receive a confirmation from disney with the reservation transferred to the renters name. I would not pay until you held some sort of confirmation that the reservation was made.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I thought the renter was to receive a confirmation from disney with the reservation transferred to the renters name. I would not pay until you held some sort of confirmation that the reservation was made.

An unscrupulous member could change the name on the reservation right after getting the confirmation. Most members are not this way, but this one just doesn't smell right.

 

[EAP'sDAD]

Please do not do this. When dealing with a person on E-Bay I was warned by ebay that it was a scam. The person from security told me the first sign that something is not on the up an up is when they want to use Western Union only. There is no tracing or liabilty for W.U. I would demand that the person either agrees to the original contract and use Paypal or cancel and look for a more reliable person to rent from.

 

[lulu71]

At the very least, have you had phone contact with this person or just email/pm? I would ask for this and give them a call and explain your hesitation. You might get a better feel for the person this way and be able to work out a payment arrangement that makes you more comfortable. Good luck!

 

[gazeborob]

In your post you say that you have the confirmation letter from Disney. If it has a different name on it, I would contact that person. You can do a Google, or go to www.anywho.com and find the phone number. Call that person today!!

 

[LIFERBABE]

Is your trip insurance thru DVC?

Maybe they can help you confirm that you still have a ressie in your name. No Ressie = No Insurance.
See if they can help you.

I feel your stress, and anything I have to say would only stress you more

 

[NMW]

In general I do not trust strangers and would never feel comfortable renting, so maybe I'm not the best one to respond...

I would never send money to someone by Western Union. I have never bought anything on ebay and have never used paypal either, however if ebay reccomends it, there must be a reason.

I also think the confirmation letter should have your name on it! If it were me, I'd demand the deposit back and book through Disney. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[lizziepooh]

I would try to contact the aunt just to make sure everything is on the up and up and that dear niece isn't trying to pull something. It sounds like the aunt's name and address are on your confirmation. My husband and I own our contract jointly, but the confirmation letters only show his name as owner. I am assuming that the system only picks up the first name on the contract, so she could be a co-owner and her name not show on the confirmation.

I would NOT send money Western Union and I would not send money paypal until I talked directly to someone on the phone and felt confident that all was well.

Renting points is a big risk and not as easy as some people try to make it sound. I hope everything works out for you. Please keep us updated.

 

[3DisneyKids]

Lots of good advice here...and I'll confirm what others have said...do NOT, under any circumstances, use Western Union. Many online shopping merchants warn against vendors who request WU...almost always a scam or fraud, etc. DO use PayPal. The owner (or owner's neice?) will have to assume the PayPal fees...but those aren't huge. If that is her main reason for not wanting to use PayPal, maybe you can agree to split the fees?

Good luck--you are right to ask these questions...

 

[castleri]

You could also contact the aunt and if things are on the up and up offer to send a cashier's check instead of WU . At least that way you have some proof of payment.