Long thread. Desperately need help of experienced DISers

[VogelFamily]

Sorry for the confusing, long story but need your help and advice. I am trying really hard to not get alarmed and think you all might offer some suggestions I have not thought of. I have watched the boards for some time and after recently booking Disney cruise for next October, I talked the huband into visiting WDW the week before. Watched for a long time trying to learn as much as I can from the Dis. After much thought, decided renting points would be the best choice for us. One evening (11-23-05)a poster came on with what seemed the ideal situation. Right number of points, right time of year and a good price at $9.00. I spoke to the poster on the phone and even though it was her first post I made the choice to rent the points and paid her thru credit card via PayPal on the same day. The deposit was 50% and around $500.00. She informed me she would forward confirmation letter as soon as available to her. I knew this was around the holidays and did not get alarmed when 2 weeks later the confirmation still had not arrived. I continued to wait without panic but sent her a private message and email on 12-12-05. The PM is still unread and no reply to email. I called member services for the first time, I did have confirmation number, and they verified my reservation. I felt better and thought I'd just wait a little longer due to the holiday. On 12-26-05, I checked my PayPal account and she has new email listed so I sent message right away and still no reply.12-29-05 Now I am getting worried, I called the home phone and cell phone numbers that I had previously contacted her at and I get a generic voice mail (does not identify anyone) and I left message on both numbers asking her to call me right away. Still no response. 12-31-05 I call both numbers again and get a message that both mailboxes are full and I am disconnected. I have since verified reservations are still current at BCV. I know that can change at any time and that the confirmation letter is really worthless but the thought that I can't contact her now is really firghtening me. I have told myself all along that between Thanksgiving and Christas a lot of people travel or are out of town but I am officially worried. I know renting is a risk but am looking for any advise or reassurance you might be able to offer.
Is it premature to contact PayPal or my credit card? Will it do any good? Anyone?
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and respond.

 

[Disney Doll]

I
understand why you are concerned. I have no idea about the regulations of paypal...can you call them someohow and see if this person is current, active, whatever???

Meanwhile, if they have a verified reservation with your name on it in their system, you should be OK.

 

[AFMom]

The confirmation letter really isn't something you need - and even with it, the reservation can still be changed or canceled - so I wouldn't worry about that. It is possible that the member is on vacation for the holidays - perhaps even out of the country. I certainly wouldn't contact Paypal if the member has made the res in your name and there are really no issues yet.... When is your arrival date at the resort? I would really not panic at all - at this point - assume they are on vacation for the holidays and wait until sometime after this week for them to get back to you. Now - if you can't get ahold of them and your arrival date is getting closer - you still can't take back payment for a reservation that is still in BCV system. If you ever call and your ressie isn't there - that would be different, but I doubt that will happen. Good luck and don't stress!

 

[Fellowship9798]

Although it does seem strange that the member has seemingly disappeared, as long as the reservation still exists in your name, then there isn't really anything wrong, is there? It could be the member has taken an extended vacation to visit family over the holidays or maybe has had some personal troubles. Particularly if the home and cell # mailboxes are full, if you haven't filled them up youself then it seems unlikely that the person is specifically avoiding you as they have been filled up by other callers as well.

As long as the reservation is still there (as you have verified on the phone), you have paid your deposit, and are keeping to whatever payment terms you agreed to on your end, then trying to stop payment through Visa or Paypal doesn't seem appropriate. Nobody has defaulted on anything, except for you not getting the paper confirmation yet, which really doesn't give you anything more than you got by calling member services to verify the same thing.

I made a reservation for someone else on Dec. 8 and just received the confirmtion this Friday. I won't get to send it on to them until next Tuesday, so they may not receive it until mid-January.

I would just reassure myself that everything is in place with a paper confirmation of not, and would maybe reconfirm the reservation with Member Services occasionally until you do hear from the member. It's most likely just holiday vacation time, slow mail service, or a personal problem with the member. I personally think it's very bad form for the member to leave a renter like yourself in a situation like this, but in the big picture nothing is really wrong yet. Of course, you also need to remember there is some element of risk with a rental transacation and there is very little recourse if something goes wrong, but that is what renters sign up for in exchange for big savings.

Good luck.

 

[VogelFamily]

Thank you so very much to those who commented. You have confirmed what I already knew, but sometimes even when you do your best to stay rational, the imagination takes over. I certainly would never have attempted to stop any type of payment without confirming there was a real problem. Yes, the owner has made the reservation and I simply became alarmed when I was unable to connect with her via phone or email. I should have done additional research as far as payment protection via credit card PRIOR to making payment. Too late now and I will concede that not everyone checks their messages daily or logs on to the computer for that matter. I was fully aware of the risk involved when I made the payment. I look forward to my future stay at the BCV. I am thankful that through the generosity of an owner who rents points that I will be able to experience this beautiful resort that otherwise I could only imagine. Happy New Year...............Heather

 

[Rence]

I agree with the others, that you probably have nothing to worry about. My bet is an extended vacation over the holidays. It is unwise to leave information regarding vacations on voice mail systems as that can tip off theives. Many folks don't like to take cell phones on vaction wtih them or perhaps they have traveled to a local where their cell phones don't work (cruise, out of the country etc.) G

However, I do like to be prepared and make sure I know what my options are if something goes wrong. I have used the PayPal complaint process in the past after an ebay auction went bad (seller never shipped, ignored emails etc ....)

I recommend that you go read the PayPal help screens. Click on the help link on the upper right hand corner. You will learn a lot about the complaint process just in case you need to use it. However, some of it is going to depend on how you made your PayPal payment. PayPal gives virtually no protection on a payment if selected 'Service' when making the payment. If that is the case you will have to go other routes.

Once you understand the process and how it applies to you, you will know what the deadlines are for filing a complaint. I would give as much time as possible for the matter to resolve itself. I believe that you have 45 days to file a complaint, so I would wait until that time is almost up before you consider doing anything. It makes sense to research your options, but don't take action until you need to.

If PayPal won't do anything, you have a second line of defense, if your PayPal payment was made to a credit card. You can file a complaint with the credit card company that you were charged but never got what you ordered (of course at this time you have what you ordered in the sense that you have a confirmed reservation). I believe you have 60 days to file a complaint. PayPal will kick and scream and tell you that you can't do that and that you agreed not to when you accepted the PayPal user agreement, don't believe a word of it, you did not give up any rights when you created your PayPal account. PayPal doesn't want you to do this, because the credit card company takes the money back from PayPal and then they have to try to get it back from the seller, doing this does not make PayPal happy, the worst that can happen is that PayPal may close your account over this, but at that point I'm sure you don't care.

You have a phone number and hopefully an address. The best way to get satsifaction if you are ripped off (again I am not saying that you are, but this is just in case everything goes bad) is to file a complaint with the police department in her town/city. This would be theft if they take the money and don't deliver. Police departments today are pretty good about dealing with this type of fraud. Of course you can't file a complaint now, because you have what you paid for, you have a confirmed reservation. When and if the reservation is canceled and you are unable to contact the seller in a reasonable amount of time (couple of weeks) then you can file a complaint. The key here is to make a log of everything that has happened, make sure you have addresses, phone numbers etc. all recorded so that you will have it if you need it.

But right now all is right with the world. You paid your money, you have a confirmed reservation. You now know what some of your options may be, just in case.

 

[toesmom]

It'll probably work out fine for you and at $9.00 per point sometimes these discounts come at a price (ie. your worries that it may be a scam or fraud). Going through CRO gives you completely confidence about the hotel, and doing it through dvc member at much reduced rate can be worrying for some people because you have to trust the dvc member who is usually unknown to you. I bought some cheap tickets for disney off ebay and still worry whether they will work when I get there (but it was quite the discount!!!)

So if it all works out then you got a bargain for a small price (being worried about whether you'll have a problem). hope it all works out

 

[VogelFamily]

I have received some very helpful and great information here. Just as I knew I would. Thank You.

I do know what a great deal I received. You know those nagging thoughts when you find a great deal and you tell yourself over and over that if it seems to good to be true it probably is. Well, I had lots of those and jumped in anyway. I think that is where my insecurity comes from. If I am ever fortunate enough to be an owner, I would not rent to others at the price I was able to secure but I didn't go asking for it. It just seemed that everything fell into place without a lot of effort and my better judgement tells me that doesn't just usually happen. Maybe all will go perfectly smoothly, I hope and pray so. If not, no one to blame but myself. I will attempt to "chill out".

One last question, assuming everything goes as planned until October 2006 and then something happens, would I still be able to contact my credit card company since it would have been nearly a year since I paid the deposit. My agreement with the owner of the points states that the reservation is in October 2006. I know that I should have searched these answers before paying but I really got caught up in the process and excitement. I so want that whirlpool tub.

Once again, I appreciate your time and experience..............Heather

 

[Canadian Tom]

Hello: I know what you're feeling. I felt the same way. I didn't like the feeling of risk for so long until the resservation date, so I bought some points. If you're one that sees yourselves renting often, buy a very small contract anywhere and rent points by having the seller put them into your account. This is called a transfer. Once they are in your account you make the reservations and no one can cancel it except you. Sometimes it's worth the cost to reduce the anxiety of renting. I've seen small resale contacts of 25-50 points available which you are allowed to buy. By the way, I now own lots of points and sometimes rent them out(very seldom and usually only to friends). Good Luck.