PAID IN FULL 5 Mons ago and no conf..HELP

[Leigh123]

Hello all,

Need to know if there is anything I can do....I paid in full for my rented points in Decemeber (points rented are for this September)....After many emails and 2 phone calls to the DVC member I rented from I still do not have my conf letter. Last Monday 5/10/04 I recieved a scanned copy of the conf letter on email with a promise it would be mailed out ASAP...I still have not recieved it....at this point I do not even want the reservation and will just book at another WDW.....I am guessing I have no point of recourse....anyone know?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

You have received a copy via email. What's the problem? Can't you just print that and use it as your confirmation? As long as it has your name on it I wouldn't worry.

 

[Chuck S]

I've never rented out my points but...

Legally, the transaction is between you and the member that rented you the points, recourse would depend upon the contract you signed...at least I hope you had a signed agreement of some kind.

I hope that the copy of the confirmation you received by email listed the reservation in your name and a confirmation number. You could call Member Services, give them the confirmation number, and verify the reservation...but other than that the member still has control over those points and that reservation.

Both sides of the transaction have risks associated with them, and some DVC members have also been burned by renters.

 

[InstImpres]

Leigh -

Call the resort directly. Tell them you are staying on points and just want to confirm. It sounds like you shoud be fine but this can give you some piece of mind.

Good luck
Sandy

 

[FDNYOEM]

Were you able to confirm the res in your name with Disney?

 

[lat]

Sandy, I don't beieve the resort would have the information at this point for her yet. It is too early. usually the week prior to check-in before they download the info.

I don't think she can get a written confirmation any other way besides having the DVC member send it to her. People should follow through if they want to rent out their points.

I have rented points from people 3 times so far and despite the fact that I rent my own points, it is still a bit uncomfortable until I check into the unit. So far so good.

Leigh, I think you will be OK, people on this board are renting out their points for various reasons, besides one incident, I don't think people are renting to scam others to make a few bucks. Maybe this particular DVC member is just not into following through stuff especially since he/she has received all the money.

Best of luck and I sure hope everything is OK. BTW, you don't need the written confirmation to check-in, just a photo ID. I would just print out the scanned copy and take it with you. That is more than sufficient if you cannot get the actual hard copy.

 

[spiceycat]

calm down - sometimes mail is slow and takes longer - even when DVC mail something out they say it might take 10 business days to get to you. note business days - not just 10 days....

You probably have not allowed enough time for the confirmation to reach you.

 

[Leigh123]

Thank you all for your feedback.....I have checked prior and I do have a reservation in my name with the hotel (called the dvc #800 number)..my issue is the owner I am renting from has been very unresponsive at this point and has not followed through on anything they have said they would EXCEPT after I placed my second phone called, scanned me a copy of the confirmation.

I have found this entire process most frustrating...I am sure you have all been both rentees or renters with much success and ease....but for those of you telling me to "calm down" and asking me "what the problem" is, it is a little nerve wracking placing your money and your trust in someone for your vacation and not even getting a return email. If this were a $.75 sent book I bought on half.com my money would have been refunded in less than a month if I did not recieve it and to me this is the same thing. I paid for a product and granted the reservation is made BUT it can be cancelled by the DVC member.

 

[Disbug]

It is a scary process, especially for the person who has the most at risk.... I have rented points many times and have been extremely happy with the DVC members I have met. Most of the time if the DVC owner has a lot of posts to their credit, you can be reasonably assured they are reliable.

But there are some who are just as reliable, but don't post much either! So, maybe in the future you could do a half down, half when you receive written confirmation via mail?

Best of luck to you and hope your vacation works out great!

 

[Pa@okw95]

I would never rent points out or rent them myself. DVC never intended points to be rented out in the first place. What I get a kick out of is the price they are rented out for, what is it around $10 a point. they should be rented for much higher, close to the price of the room for cash. For about a $1000 people can rent a one bedroom for 5 nights, that is one big bargin, to cheap in my opinion. At any rate it looks like you are ok with your reservation, I just would not do it again if I were you, it is too stressful for you.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Leigh123
I have found this entire process most frustrating...I am sure you have all been both rentees or renters with much success and ease....but for those of you telling me to "calm down" and asking me "what the problem" is, it is a little nerve wracking placing your money and your trust in someone for your vacation and not even getting a return email. If this were a $.75 sent book I bought on half.com my money would have been refunded in less than a month if I did not recieve it and to me this is the same thing. I paid for a product and granted the reservation is made BUT it can be cancelled by the DVC member.

I'm sorry you've had such a frustrating process. From the other side though, while the reservation itself can be cancelled, that does not mean the renter will have the same options or that the points will have the same value. When I rent, I make sure it's clear for the rental to be non refundable. If you cancel, you'll likely lose your money.

 

[Leigh123]

Dean,

Thanks for your feedback, my reservation clearly indicated it was non refundable as well...my point is that the owner has not lived up to their end of the agreement. I in good faith did everthing as it was outlined they have not. For me now it is a matter of principal and ethics. If I do not recieve a response from them soon I am going to have my attorney send a letter. I have kept all of my documentaion

 

[PamOKW]

I know the amount of trust required can be nerve wracking -- for both sides. However, you do have a reservation that you confirmed exists and includes your name. You don't have the actual original hard copy letter but you do have a copy. You are paid in full. In actuality, it's a done deal. There isn't really any need for further contact.

Is it nice to get some "customer service" from the member you rented from? Of course. If that person plans to rent again, they might have tried to establish more of a relationship with you for possible additional rentals down the line. But, I don't think they are pulling a scam that you need to worry about. They have sold you the reservation and that's as far as they are interested in carrying out the relationship.

(Just saw your additional post). Yes, legal action is the only recourse. Having your lawyer send a letter will probably go one of two ways. 1) You will receive the original copy of the confirmation letter 2) You will receive a refund of your money and cancellation of the trip.

In actuality, the confirmation letter you want is worthless. They can send it to you today and at the same time call and cancel the reservation. The owner always has control over the reservation and the confirmation letter has no meaning to DVC except for when they are dealing with the owner directly.

 

[Leigh123]

Pam,

My concern is they are not responding AND they can cancel this reservation at any time, that means the day before I am due to arrive they can call and pull it, so I ould be confirming up the last minute, hop on the plane and arrive to no hotel room...am I missing something..can they not do this?

 

[spiceycat]

yes they can - and I didn't mean to be insulting before - but as I say when DVC send out something they will say 10 business days - I think you haven't given the post long enough time.

if you haven't receive anything by the 24th - then call him or email him again.

most of the people who post here are pretty reliability - if not you would have found some post complainting about them...

 

[PamOKW]

You are correct. The rental can always be cancelled by the member. There is no way to stop that.

The majority of people draw up some type of agreement but I doubt whether they would carry much weight in small claims court for either side. The agreements are really just to lay out an understanding between the parties -- legal weight is questionable.

Having to bear this risk and uncertainty is why renting points is so much less expensive than booking through Disney. The member also has a lot of anxiety on their end because of the uncertainties. I think many have moved to wanting full payment in advance because they, too, can get stuck at the last minute when someone just says they no longer want the reservation. We also don't really know who we are renting to and how you will use the villa. We may think we are renting to a nice couple only to discover we rented to an entire fraternity going to spring break in a one-bedroom.

I sympathize with your anxiety but I really think your reservation is legit and you don't need to worry. If you are uncomfortable, you can try to get your money back and make other arrangements.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Leigh123
Dean,

Thanks for your feedback, my reservation clearly indicated it was non refundable as well...my point is that the owner has not lived up to their end of the agreement. I in good faith did everthing as it was outlined they have not. For me now it is a matter of principal and ethics. If I do not recieve a response from them soon I am going to have my attorney send a letter. I have kept all of my documentaion

I agree with Pam, if you have the confirmation and have documented the reservation, it is a done deal. The other person always had the ability to cancel out from under you, you should have known that up front. All you risk at this point is making them angry and pushing them to cancel you at the last minute. When I do rent, the email attachment is all I usually send. If someone wanted more, I'd be happy to send it. You may want to know that it's not uncommon for DVC not to send a confirmation and it does usually take a week and a half to 2 weeks. I'd guess that on 10% of my reservations, I have to ask for it a second time.

As for a lawyer sending a letter, I don't know that's a good idea, especially if will cost you any money. It would be nuts to try to sue someone over such a small amount unless you did it in small claims court which would have to be done in their state I believe.

 

[fkj2]

Leigh123,

They could cancel the day before but DVC rules require the cancellation to occur 31 days prior to arrival or the points go into a holding account, where they have to be used for subsequent ressies requiring the stay to occur within 60 days. For example, if I had planned to travel over the Memorial Day weekend and now found I had to cancel, I could not use the points for anything except calling and booking a ressie within a 60 day window. So, if I wanted to travel over the Labor Day weekend, I'd have to wait until the beginning of July to even try to look for availability.

It would be of little benefit to cancel your ressie on such short notice because it limits the use of those points.

I know it's not exactly a guarantee but it's an incentive to go through with the arrangement for the DVC member, because they take the chance of not being able to re-rent the points.

While it's inappropriate, in my opinion, not to send out the official confirmation in a timely fashion, I'd like to encourage you to take a deep breath and softly prod the DVC member to send it to you. I don't think throwing out legal threats will improve the situation but I do empathize with you--it's a real leap of faith.

 

[JUDSON]

Originally posted by Pa@okw95
I would never rent points out or rent them...

I bet you'd rent them if they were were about to expire

There have been some instances where we have ended up with a small amount of residual banked points, and it just made more sense to rent them for 9 or 10 bucks rather than just lose them for nothing. Granted, if you plan your DVC points usage carefully you would never end up in this situation, but things have a funny way of going klapooey sometimes...

 

[golfnut1264]

you seem very skeptical and paranoid....maybe you should book thru wdw and spend twice as much for your piece of mind....get an attorney involved...pay him the money you saved for probably no reason at all......with all the viruses and email problems going around he may not have received it....he finally emailed a scanned copy in your name what more do you want...just MS every week to keep confirming the ressies....