Renting Points Experiences

[michpoit]

I am wondering about other peoples experiences renting points from other members. My friend is joining us on vacation this year and she is renting the points to do so. She paid 50% at the time of deposit and the remainder back on July 7th. She has never received a copy of the confirmation letter that DVC has sent out to the member. I know that the initial reservation was made because I was on the phone in a 3 way call with the member she rented from. I have asked the renter 3 times now for a copy of the reservation from DVC but have gotten no responce. When I called Member Services today to get their take on the entire situation, they said that the renter should have sent us a copy of it. The closer it get to the time that we are leaving, the more nervous I am getting about the whole situation. What do you all think?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Unfortunately for your friend, Disney will not get involved in any way with this problem. I'm kind of surprised that MS even had a comment on this. A few days before the vacation, your friend can call the resort directly to check on the reservation. But until then, she is at the mercy of the member who made the reservation for her.

She probably should call the member. And I hope she got a telephone number to make that call.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Your best defense is to get as much personal information about the renter as possible when the reservation is made. This would include a phone number or address and possibly an email. Unless or until you get some confirmation from the owner of the points, you have to assume all is well. This of course, assumes that you have held up your end of the contract by making all payments on time at to the schedule provided by the renter.

 

[michpoit]

Thanks for your input. She has paid for everything in a timely manner and has certainly held up her end of the bargain. I guess I was just wondering how other renters handle their transactions with the people that they rent to.

 

[Sammie]

Thanks for your input. She has paid for everything in a timely manner and has certainly held up her end of the bargain. I guess I was just wondering how other renters handle their transactions with the people that they rent to.

With all private transactions, which this is, they are all handled differently. I would say that most of the people who rent that are regulars here would have sent the confirmation as soon as they got it. I mean it is only putting it in an envelope and mailing it.

But as Deb said it truly is up to the person you rent from and the savings does come with risk.

 

[mprewitt]

Thanks for your input. She has paid for everything in a timely manner and has certainly held up her end of the bargain. I guess I was just wondering how other renters handle their transactions with the people that they rent to.

You are placing a great deal of faith in the DVC member's promise that a reservation has been made and will remain in force until your arrival. Because of that, renting points requires trust on both sides of the agreement. Hopefully, she performed some due diligence and common sense checking before sending off her money to a total stranger.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Out of curiosity, does she have ANY of the owner's personal information? I would hope there is at least a phone number or email she could use to contact them. If not, I'd be quaking in my boots about now.

 

[Anthony1971]

The piece of paper, although mind setteling, is that a piece of paper.. he reservation could still be cancelled. So if he intention of the owner was to get your $ and run I doubt he would have allowed two payments and kept communication. But knowing who you rent from is important................
Good luck

 

[Chuck S]

You should have gotten a copy of the confirmation from the member, but I've never really needed the confirmation to "check-in" at the resort...a photo ID will do. I hope you at least have the number from the confirmation?

Personally, I try to always have a copy of my confirmation with me "just in case," but as I said, I have never needed it.

I see this thread is duplicated on the Ops board, so I'm merging them

 

[michpoit]

Thanks again everyone for your replies. She does have the confirmation number of the reservation and his e-mail address. I think we would both feel better if we had that piece of paper in our hands, but like some one said, just because we have that does not mean that he didn't cancel the reservation after the fact. What is done is done though and we will just have to assume that everything is going to be OK. Communication though, on the renters part by at least responding to the 3 e-mails I sent him, would certainly ease our minds.

Thanks for moving my duplicate post. Once I had it on the other board, I realized it was in the wrong spot!

 

[mikeandkarla]

The no response to the emails is bothersome. From my latest experience of renting a portion of my developer points has been somewhat comical. It took 2 weeks for me to get a confirmation number for a renter. When I finally received a confirmation letter, it had the renters first name, my last name, and my address. So I called MS to correct the info and am still waiting on the new confirmation letter. The renter paid for the vacation a while ago, but I ALWAYS keep her informed of the progress or lack there of by DVC. I ALWAYS respond or initiate emails. I ALWAYS give my phone number to renters and expect one in return. I hope everything works out ok and the renter is just lax in his corrospondence.

 

[Tamar]

Is there a contract? I'd want that more than the confirmation letter. I've rented points to others, and I always provide a contract that says I'll make the reservation, provide the confirmation number and letter when I get it, and will not make any changes without a specific request in writing from the renter.

Renter agrees to some things to protect me, too.

 

[michpoit]

There isn't a contract, but that is a great idea for any future transactions that take place with other renters. Thanks for the idea!

The renter paid for the vacation a while ago, but I ALWAYS keep her informed of the progress or lack there of by DVC. I ALWAYS respond or initiate emails. I ALWAYS give my phone number to renters and expect one in return. I hope everything works out ok and the renter is just lax in his corrospondence.

Now you are the type of person who I would feel comfortable renting from! I would do the same thing if I was renting out my points. A little bit of communication goes a long way towards peace of mind!

 

[castleri]

Thanks again everyone for your replies. She does have the confirmation number of the reservation and his e-mail address. I think we would both feel better if we had that piece of paper in our hands, but like some one said, just because we have that does not mean that he didn't cancel the reservation after the fact. What is done is done though and we will just have to assume that everything is going to be OK. Communication though, on the renters part by at least responding to the 3 e-mails I sent him, would certainly ease our minds.

Thanks for moving my duplicate post. Once I had it on the other board, I realized it was in the wrong spot!

I had a situation this year where I sent the confirmation to the person I was renting to and she did not get it. I had not made a copy as I don't have a scanner that works at the present time. When I replied to her e-mail that I had sent the confirmation to the name and address she had provided in an e-mail she wrote back that in fact she had put the wrong zip code on the address. That confirmation may still be floating around in the postal system somewhere. She was fine with just having the number and has offered to be a reference if I ever need one and I think good communication is part of what makes any of these rentals a pleasant experience on both sides.

I would call the resort and find out when they will get the reservation in their system if you don't hear from your member soon. Can you tell if the e-mails you sent have been opened? If so then I would be a little more worried than if not. Maybe the person in on vacation and does not have internet access.