Renter Problem Advice Needed UPDATE Post 64

[1andrea]

Hello all,

I have a problem and would appreciate some advice.

I offered some of my DVC points for rent on the boards here in January. I made a split stay reservation (so technically 2 reservations) for an established member of the boards.

I asked for 50% payment on booking the reservations and 50% due 90 days before which were made on time.

About 7 weeks before the reservation the lady emailed saying she may have a problem with the second reservation as unfortunatly she had some medical issues, she asked if she could rent the reservation to someone else which looking through all the old emails I did not directly reply to. I advised I would look into the options available and let her know. As the lady was waiting for test results until she would know either way this was fine.

I emailed and advised the lady of the holding account which I only had limited knowledge about as I have never used this before.

Two weeks ago the lady received her test results and confirmed good news that she would be able to make both reservations and nothing further was needed.

Today I received an email saying that she was again unable to use the second reservation and she advised that she has arranged for someone else to take over the reservation for her (by advertising here on the renters boards)

My renter then asks me to change the names on the reservation for her as she called member services to make the changes herself but couldn't do this as she was not the owner.

I replied saying that although I understood that she would like to recoup some of the costs that I did not think it was acceptable to arrange a new renter without contacting me first because of the risks attached when renting points.

I also explained that when renting out points I check previous posts of prospective renters to see if they are an established member of the disboards and the person the lady had 'agreed' to rent to is a new member with a post count of 5.

I really don't want to be unreasonable as the lady seems really nice and she obviously did not forsee her unfortunate medical issues and I would love to help her out which was my reason for looking into the holding account for her.

What do you all think?

Has anyone been in this situation before who can offer some advice?

Do you think it was reasonable of my renter to arrange her own rental and call member services to try and make the name changes without my knowledge or permission?

Thanks for taking the time to read my dilemma and any advice or suggestions you may leave.

Thanks again

 

[Maistre Gracey]

As long as you get all the money from renter #1, and #1 knows they are still on the hook for damages, I would be fine with it.
Of course, I have never rented, so this is new territory for me.

MG

 

[RobDoc]

The answer may depend on what terms you had agreed to regarding cancellation by the renter - but it sounds as though you have been paid in full for the reservation and don't stand to lose anything providing the renter respects all other terms of the rental agreement already in place. If your renter has violated any terms of their agreement with you it might be appropriate to demand further compensation.

As for the way the renter went about this - they had no right to offer that reservation on our Rent/Trade Board without your permission - and that permission should have been noted in their offer on the boards. The R/T policy is pretty clear about this - they are NOT the member who controls the reservation and are not allowed to offer a reservation without that disclosure.

In this case, their sub-renter has really taken some chances in agreeing to sub-let a reservation (if they even realize this). Had they done an owner search they might have discovered that the person they are renting from isn't a member and has no ability to change a name on this reservation. The sub-renter has chosen to ignore all of the warnings posted on the R/T and on the DVC Forums regarding due-diligence.

In this case, I think I would let your renter know about any additional charges you feel entitled to ... after you have been able to communicate with the sub-renter. As ling as this was evident in your original agreement you should still be in full control of the rental.

Good luck!

 

[1andrea]

Thanks for the reply.

We did not have an official contract drawn up. I advised the renter of a no refund policy and she was happy with that and as my renter had rented before she understood why this was needed and the dates for payments etc.

I would like to help my renter even if I am not legally obligated to do so although to make things clear at the beginning I said no refunds if I can help my renter out I ofcourse will as long as it is not my detriment.

I have spoken to member services and as the reservation is for within 30 days cancellation would mean the points are placed in a holding account and any reservation has to be booked within 60 days of the arrival date and within my current use year.

I am unsure as to whether the person who my renter has agreed to rent to knows they are not my renters points and at this point I do not know if my renter has paid any money for the reservation.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

OH I would be leary of this deal. I remember reading a post a few months back where someone rented to someone and ended up with an unpaid acct.
What had happened is the person using the reservation upon check in opted to place a credit card on the room key for charging purposes. Well Disney did not run a credit check so when the vacation ended and the renter had no available credit the owner of the DVC points became responsible for the tab they ran up.
So if you have no knowledge or contact info for the 2nd renter because everything was arranged with renter #1 you could be setting yourself up for trouble!

 

[RobDoc]

...
I am unsure as to whether the person who my renter has agreed to rent to knows they are not my renters points and at this point I do not know if my renter has paid any money for the reservation.

I have reviewed the "Reservation for Rent" made by your renter and no mention was made that they were not the DVC member who controls the reservation. I don't know if their renter realizes this or not, but it was certainly not made obvious in the offer made - in violation of the Rent/Trade Board policy.

It would seem that your decision is still whether to accept the new renter or not by making the name change on the reservation.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Other things to consider. You will now have to add ME, dining and any other thing the new renter wants to add to the reservation. So it will take up more of your time. You can ask the original renter to cover your additional costs of time and effort.

But you need to have name, address, telephone number, cell phone, e-mail, birth certificate, drivers license, name of first born child, etc that makes your feel comfortable with working with the newer renter. Find out from them what they will be paying the original renter and ask for any costs over what they originally paid you for your fee for doing this.

So if you got $600 for the reservation and the original renter is getting $650, she owes you $50 to make the changes. She shouldn't be making a single $ on this deal.

 

[Sandisw]

Personally, if it was me, I would not get involved with another renter. The fact that this person advertised your reservation as their own would make me leary.

One of the risks of renting DVC points is that they are usually a non-refundable transaction. As much as you want to help this person out, you must protect yourself. If you do decide to do anything, I would suggest getting some signed contracts from both the old renter and new one, detailing the responsibility. I would probably even ask for the new fee and not return the original renter's money until the new renter has gone, checked out, and you know there are no issues for you as the member.

Good luck!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Personally, if it was me, I would not get involved with another renter. The fact that this person advertised your reservation as their own would make me leary.

One of the risks of renting DVC points is that they are usually a non-refundable transaction. As much as you want to help this person out, you must protect yourself. If you do decide to do anything, I would suggest getting some signed contracts from both the old renter and new one, detailing the responsibility. I would probably even ask for the new fee and not return the original renter's money until the new renter has gone, checked out, and you know there are no issues for you as the member.

Good luck!

Shoot, the original renter wouldn't get a cent from me. It would be up to her to collect from the person she sublet it to.

 

[Sandisw]

Shoot, the original renter wouldn't get a cent from me. It would be up to her to collect from the person she sublet it to.

What I meant is that the new renter would pay the member (so she would have both the original renter's money and the new renter's money)so that she had like a "security" for taking the risk with the new renter.

Basically, the original renter would get no reimbursement, either from the member or the new renter, until after the reservation was completed and there was no issues in terms of damage or unpaid bills, etc.

 

[Deb & Bill]

What I meant is that the new renter would pay the member (so she would have both the original renter's money and the new renter's money)so that she had like a "security" for taking the risk with the new renter.

Basically, the original renter would get no reimbursement, either from the member or the new renter, until after the reservation was completed and there was no issues in terms of damage or unpaid bills, etc.

Oooh, yes, good idea.

 

[tecodis]

Sorry to hear the transaction isn't going so well.

I agree that it seems wrong that the renter would advertise the reservation without letting you know first. On the other hand, you have received all of the funds you were expecting so you are kind of going down a path without the ability to turn back. You have nothing in writing as far as a contract so neither you, or either of the renters have any legal grounds to support you at this juncture.

My suggestion, if you are really concerned about the secondary renter, offer the original renter a portion of the money back, say 10%, as good faith to exit the second reservation transaction and consider it void. You'll have the points back (albeit holding account points) but you could have peace of mind.

Bottom line is that you are the DVC owner and bear all risks (in Disney's eyes) associated with someone else staying on your points. The renter is not really in the drivers seat here. Do what you feel is best without completely screwing the renter. The third-party renter is none of your concern in that regard.

I can only suggest you have some type of contract in the future.
I rented my DVC reservation once and the renter wanted something about being able to use the points up to the use year expiration if he was unable to use the reservation. He even sent me his own rental contract. My DVC account so my rules is the way I see it. I put as part of my contract that I was not responsible for renter not being able to use it after payment was made in full (i.e. no refunds, no reservation changes). Of course, next time I will add that renter may not sub-rent the reservation.

BTW, my renter was superb and a pleasure to work with.
I recouped a little on points I couldn't use and he got to enjoy a value priced weekend at VWL!

Good Luck!

 

[Dean]

If you had hinted you might be OK with it the first time as it seems in your OP when you suggested you'd check into it and get back to her but never did, that does muddy the waters somewhat. You certainly have no obligation to do so though. The other issue is whether you were paid the second payment of 50%, if not, your agreement is violated and you could move on if you wanted. If you were paid in full, I'd likely ask to talk with the third party to make a final judgement.

 

[skelooch]

OH I would be leary of this deal. I remember reading a post a few months back where someone rented to someone and ended up with an unpaid acct.
What had happened is the person using the reservation upon check in opted to place a credit card on the room key for charging purposes. Well Disney did not run a credit check so when the vacation ended and the renter had no available credit the owner of the DVC points became responsible for the tab they ran up.

When making a reservation for a renter is it possible to have MS add that charging privledges are not allowed for that reservation.
It's hard to believe Disney didn't check to see if the credit card wasn't any good. Why should the member be responsible for their negligence. I thought they always put a hold for the designated amount for charging to your room card on your credit card. Am I wrong about that?

 

[Sammie]

I agree with Dean, until I was able to speak to the third party I would not make a judgement. I would definitely make sure they paid the same amount as you were asking.

It would make me uncomfortable they did this in violation of posting policy for the rent/trade and without your knowing.

 

[Sammie]

When making a reservation for a renter is it possible to have MS add that charging privledges are not allowed for that reservation.
It's hard to believe Disney didn't check to see if the credit card wasn't any good. Why should the member be responsible for their negligence. I thought they always put a hold for the designated amount for charging to your room card on your credit card. Am I wrong about that?

No it's not possible to do that and why should Disney. If you rent you the member are responsible for the actions of the person you rent to and that includes financial responsiblity.

Regardless of what type of agreement you have with the person renting, the member is always going to be held responsible.

 

[1andrea]

Update

My renter has emailed me in response to my earlier email today and has assured me that the lady she agreed to re rent the reservation to has references from previous rentals and is not the brand new member who has replied to her thread so that is good news.

My renter thought she was helping by re-renting the reservation so that less of my time would be used up my renter was caught up in trying to inconvenience me as little as possible and honestly thought she was doing the best thing for both of us.

I have asked for the new renter to contact me as we will move forward from there so without making any promises things are hopeful.

 

[Sandisw]

Update

My renter has emailed me in response to my earlier email today and has assured me that the lady she agreed to re rent the reservation to has references from previous rentals and is not the brand new member who has replied to her thread so that is good news.

My renter thought she was helping by re-renting the reservation so that less of my time would be used up my renter was caught up in trying to inconvenience me as little as possible and honestly thought she was doing the best thing for both of us.

I have asked for the new renter to contact me as we will move forward from there so without making any promises things are hopeful.

Good, I am glad you are feeling a bit better and I really hope things work out for you.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Make sure you do like Sandisw suggested

What I meant is that the new renter would pay the member (so she would have both the original renter's money and the new renter's money)so that she had like a "security" for taking the risk with the new renter.

Basically, the original renter would get no reimbursement, either from the member or the new renter, until after the reservation was completed and there was no issues in terms of damage or unpaid bills, etc.

 

[mikron]

OH I would be leary of this deal. I remember reading a post a few months back where someone rented to someone and ended up with an unpaid acct.
What had happened is the person using the reservation upon check in opted to place a credit card on the room key for charging purposes. Well Disney did not run a credit check so when the vacation ended and the renter had no available credit the owner of the DVC points became responsible for the tab they ran up.
So if you have no knowledge or contact info for the 2nd renter because everything was arranged with renter #1 you could be setting yourself up for trouble!

I think the DVC member would only be responsble for damages to the rented unit or smoking rules nt personal charges. Disney offered to let the renter charge on the room key.