renter didn't pay and wants to cancel

[Maria395712]

my points are okay. I can bank them by the end of july .I try to never rent less than 60 days out. also I never rent for the same price of a value resort DVC is to valuable for that. I rent by the night or 12 $$ or more per point and it's still a great deal. thank you all for your input, it has helped .I do love this board and all the help.1st time this has happened in over 5 years so I think it's been good and will continue.I am renting a townhome at the jersey shore next week and no refunds. if you have to cancel and they can rent it they will give back the money minus a 75.00 fee this is a private owner on VRBO
maria

 

[RobDoc]

.... several emails later now they have to cancel,I say no refunds but I will give you back 100 $$ and keep 50$$ for all my work . ....

I'd just send her a copy of the contract she signed when the rental agreement was made with you. That should remove all doubt about when payments were due and what your refund policy was when you wrote the contract. It should also dissuade any further suggestion that she is due a refund. Having a document with those details and her signature should clearly refresh her memory about what she has agreed to regarding this rental. However, if you later promised a refund, that could also be considered an enforceable contract - especially when you have stated it in this thread. I'd suggest making the refund you have promised in your subsequent contract.

Good luck!

 

[Lewisc]

I hesitate being a dissenting voice but if you told the renter you were willing to refund $100 then you should do it. Obviously you should wait until the renters check to you clears.

It sounds like the renter was playing games with you, the only reason I'm suggesting the $100 refund is the fact that you made the offer.

 

[bongo59]

I had someone contact me about march 30.I got them 5 nights OKW oct 22 their honeymoon. I told them 1/2 due april17 and bal may 1. there are no refunds, but I willl make changes based on availability, and all travel complete by jan31 07 .so 1st payment is late I don't get it till april 27 . she says a grandfather passed away. okay .then she says can I pay may 9? I said yes. now may 17 no money and they say they are moving and now it is costing more .also we changed ressie to mon oct 23 for 5 nights. now they were suppose to send 375 on april 17. I get 150 $$ almost 2 weeks late .they will mail bal on may 9. no money, several emails later now they have to cancel,I say no refunds but I will give you back 100 $$ and keep 50$$ for all my work .she says she reads all emails and doesen't see no refunds I read them all and I point it out to where it is and that all travel must be complete by jan 31 07. she wants to know when I am mailing back the 150 $$ I think I should wait 30 days and then maill back 100 as I didn't get it on time and my points have been tied up since march 30 .what would others do? I have never had this happen. I have a renter who needs to cancel and I asked him to rent it and he did and I just changed the name . I spoke to the other person who is a DVC member and they got it for a friend. no problem very easy so what would you do
also if I posted this in the wrong place I am sorry
maria

.............this is why we always make them pay in full via paypal before we will agree to do anything..............if they dont play by your rules move on.............

 

[Rence]

Warning - There are lots and lots of scams that involve Money Orders, Certified Checks etc. Many people believe that these are as good as cash. They aren't.

A common scam is for the scammer to buy something over the internet. Then they have an excuse as to why they send you a Money Order or Cashier's Check for more than the amount. (Item cost 500, they send Money Order for 1500). They want you to cash it, keep your part and send them the rest as change. Problem is that the Money Order or Certified Check is a forgery and it takes a long time for banks to determine this. It won't bounce to your account for weeks and weeks later. At that point the bank comes and demands the money from you. So the scammer got the item and the change and you're out everything. (I know someone personally who got ripped off for a couple of thousand via this scam).

I have heard of this scam being used for Timeshare rentals among other things. This does not exactly match the scam but it could possibly be a variation. Send a Money Order, wait for it to be cashed, cancel and then ask for a refund. You send refund, Money Order turns up no good five weeks later and you're out the money.

What makes me think it is not a scam is that they seemed sloppy in terms of going to send it, send it late, send it for less etc. Scammers tend to be slicker. Also the amount is a bit smaller than a scammer usually goes for. But it still is a possibility.

If you decide at some point to refund, I would not send a cent until 60 days after you cashed it. At that point any problems should have turned up.

 

[Anewman]

Hope this does not sound like I am placing any blame on the OP.

There were some early warning signs and they would have scared me off very quikly. Maybe I am just a little negative but, if someone is late with the promised down payment 9 out of 10 times they will be late paying off the balance.

I think the OP should consider herself lucky that she is done with this renter.

 

[momrek06]

OP: I do NOT own into DVC and quite frankly I do not understand it all just yet.

I am trying to learn about points and all...BUT all I wanted to say is IF this was a situation where the individual had ADHERE to all the rules you had in reference to renting the DVC and had made her payments in a PROMPT and TIMELY manner without any issues with checks/money orders that cleared immediately THAN maybe you just MIGHT consider a small refund....BUT as you clearly pointed out this was a struggle with constant emails back and forth and a death in the family (understandably) but not your problem. I would NOT refund the money. They did not seem to care one way or the other about YOU and now the tables are turned and they want YOU to care about them and their situation. Naaa, keep the deposit and those people will "live and LEARN" (tough lesson but...)!

 

[greenban]

You have a legal 'right' not to return a thing per your contract, at least until you stated you would return $100.00.

By your phrasing of the question, I think your 'moral' rights are less clear to you. Since you can bank, rebook or otherwise use the points without distress (such as holding), refund them the $100.00 you mentioned, keep the rest for your efforts or donate it to charity, you'll sleep better.

When these 'warning signs' occur again in the future, you'll know to immediately stop dealing with the individual.

Good luck & sleep well!

-Tony

 

[Disbug]

I hesitate being a dissenting voice but if you told the renter you were willing to refund $100 then you should do it. Obviously you should wait until the renters check to you clears.... I'm suggesting the $100 refund is the fact that you made the offer.

You have a legal 'right' not to return a thing per your contract, at least until you stated you would return $100.00.... I think your 'moral' rights are less clear to you. Since you can bank, rebook or otherwise use the points without distress (such as holding), refund them the $100.00 you mentioned, keep the rest for your efforts or donate it to charity, you'll sleep better.

I'm going to put myself in with these guys... since you DID offer the $100 refund. That negates your original email stating 'NO REFUNDS'... It sounds like you are a really nice person, Maria; you must have felt sorry for their predicament! I would refund the $100 and your conscience will be clear. Next time, maybe the "NO REFUNDS" should be in BOLD PRINT? ** Helps those near-sighted readers with that important detail!

 

[browniemtb]

Its really sad that it comes to this at times. Renting DVC points from owners is a great money saver for the renter. But to take advantage of the situation kind of stinks. If you had a contract that clearly states no refunds then keep the deposit. Renters don't understand the time value of points....you had your points tied up for 2 months and in that time you could have rented to some one else. I agree with one of the above posts that explains if you give back any money they may be more likely to do this again. I had a ressie made for 2 months as well and never even got the deposit...after many emails and finally me cancelling did I get any response...a bitter one at that.
Brownie

 

[mikesmom]

IF (and that's a big IF) you stated in writing that you would refund $100, you probably should (JMHO), but only after you have been able to re-rent and perhaps after waiting a cautionary 60 days.

That being said, these folks may be having problems BUT they may actually be one of those folks that makes a deal, then goes shopping for a better deal. This actually feels like one of those to me. ("Death in the family" is right up there with "dog ate my homework" unless you saw an actual obituary.)They could have made an agreement with you and then started looking around for cheaper points. The send/don't send issues smack of ongoing negotiations with someone else. Refunding them (and publicly) just encourages them and other people to play games with renting. Several folks on this Board have been jerked around by people "just wanting to get the best deal". You are doing the rest of us a big favor by sticking to your guns.

I guess I'm having a cynical moment.

 

[Plutofan]

Renters do not realize how much work we have to go through to save them 20-50% off their rooms while the DVC member makes $1 - 2 if even that much.

 

[castleri]

IF (and that's a big IF) you stated in writing that you would refund $100, you probably should (JMHO), but only after you have been able to re-rent and perhaps after waiting a cautionary 60 days.

That being said, these folks may be having problems BUT they may actually be one of those folks that makes a deal, then goes shopping for a better deal. This actually feels like one of those to me. ("Death in the family" is right up there with "dog ate my homework" unless you saw an actual obituary.)They could have made an agreement with you and then started looking around for cheaper points. The send/don't send issues smack of ongoing negotiations with someone else. Refunding them (and publicly) just encourages them and other people to play games with renting. Several folks on this Board have been jerked around by people "just wanting to get the best deal". You are doing the rest of us a big favor by sticking to your guns.

I guess I'm having a cynical moment.

I just had the same "cynical" thought-

It sounds like they agreed to $12 a point but may have found one lower and are now trying to back out on OP.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Stick to the contract.

 

[3DisneyKids]

As an experienced renter, I am sorry that you have had such trouble with this...situations like these are what gives renters a bad name. And it is unfortunate b/c renting can and should be mutually beneficial.

As a renter, I have always considered any money that I paid nonrefundable (the only negative about renting, IMO...last minute cancellations mean losing your money, but I go into the situation KNOWING that).

Best wishes on resolving this.

BTW, DH and I are heading down for F&W if you need someone reliable to rent to...LOL! Hopefully by then we will have our own contract...just waiting on TTS.

 

[CantSleep]

I would agree to stick to the contract.

 

[rogerram]

stick to the original deal and do not refund anything. They broke the terms of the agreement and that would hold up in court. This is not your fault.

 

[byoung]

We rented before buying, always paid within 2weeks of contacting him.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Based on your original post I would refund the $100 (because you've caused this to be documented extensively in this thread) and keep the $50. Hopefully that would be at least $2 per point although it doesn't sound like it.

I'm of a generous mind when it comes to refunding but NOT when the person has jacked me up twice. I would consider the contract broken on two counts, insufficient funds and late payment. Truthfully when she missed the first payment date I'dve given her the one and only second chance to make good within five days business days AND I would have made sure she understood she would have to meet the May 1st deadline with no grace period. Once the short payment showed up after the deadline I would have been done with her.

 

[mikron]

I get 100% within 10 days from sending the reservation to the renter. The savings to the renter is large,they should honer your terms. I get signed contract before sending reservation to the renter. Contract states i will help them re rent ther points (they rent they own) and return any money back. check webmaster on contracts.