Renting points from DVC members?

[jswalker1981]

I was wondering how many people have rented points before, and how was your service? I was wondering if anyone ever had to sign some kind of contract just to make sure that they weren't shafted. I am just a little paranoid, that is all.

 

[tkd lisa]

I rented points from someone for our Dec 04 trip. It was a very smooth process.

I wrote up a little contract, which explained what I paid, when I paid it, and what my options were if plans changed.

As it happened, our plans changed, I contacted the member who adjusted things, and everything ended up working out smoothly.

I have to admit I was holding my breath as I pulled into the gate at Boardwalk. But the man there said "oh yes Mrs. xxxxx, I see you're checking in for 3 nights. Welcome home!"

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

It's okay to be worried about it...there's usually a lot of money at stake! And yes, most people will have a contract available as it protects both parties.

 

[Cruelladeville]

Actually, the contract protects neither party, it's not admissible in a court of law because no lawyer wrote it! Nevertheless, a contract does lay out what both parties are agreeing to, payment schedule, and so forth. I just made a ressie yesterday for someone who needed 14 points, and someone here was going to charge her $15 a point because it was a small amount. I rented the points to her for $10, and I'm trusting that she pays me. It's far more common for someone to overcharge you than it is for them to steal from you. There has only been one occasion in the last 5 years that I can think of where the person took the money and ran. The entire process is based on trust on both sides. If you are not a trusting person, pay the additional money necessary for a reservation thru CRO. You will be happier in the long run.

 

[Silos]

A lawyer does not have to prepare the contract for it to be admissible in a court of law. So long as the conditions within the contract are not so one sided that it truely benefits only one party, the contract is a binding document signed by all parties.

 

[Cruelladeville]

Most of the contracts here are far too general to do what the parties expect them to do. For the contract to protect both parties in the outside world, they have to be understood by the outside world. If they are not understood, you will be unpleasantly surprised. We found that out to our own dismay when a DVC contract became part of a divorce proceeding. It was an awful mess.

 

[btrim]

I have rented points twice from DVC members. I am also a DVC member and the first time I just needed enough points so my DS and DDIL could stay one more night in their studio. DS had just returned from Iraw and someone was kind enough to rent me 10 points and he made the reservation and just linked it to our existing reservation. One he sent me a copy of the reservation, I sent him a check and that was it. The second time I wanted points transferred to my account and I paid for them through a paypal account. It all worked out very well, but there is a lot of trust involved. I paid for them and then the member transferred them into my account. No contract just trust. I would recommend this person to anyone wanting to rent or transfer points. Would have to send me a pm to get that information though. Anyway, good luck and I hope everything works out for you.

Yeah, nice weather in Illinois at last!!!!

 

[Silos]

I agree with your contract once it gets in the middle of a divorce. However, in most case the contract is written in plain english and spells out what each parties responsibilities are and how they should be handled. The contract here should explain about the reservation, payment, what to do in case of cancellation and so on. Keep it simple and understand what each party wants than you should not have any problems.

 

[jadejazzkayla]

i just rented points last week from a dvc member. no contract involved. i paid. now i have a reservation for november.

 

[JimMIA]

Don't think I'm knocking contracts generally, because I'm not, but I think the contract issue is WAY overblown when you are talking about renting DVC points. Contracts for hundreds of dollars are simply not practically enforceable in the real world - they just aren't.

Renting DVC points (either as the renter or tenant) is a complicated process. There is risk on both sides. There has to be trust on both sides, and good-faith dealing. The most important thing in renting points, IMHO, is not protecting yourself, but understanding the process and understanding where the risks are for both parties.

To the degree that contracts...or written "policies"...or a straightforward telephone conversation...result in an understanding of both party's responsibilities, obligations, and no-no's, they are helpful.

But, your best protection in a rental is to rent from a DVC member with good references and/or hundreds of posts on this board.

We all know what Murphy's Law is. Here, we have a different code - the lumpy pillow rule. Any lumpy pillow - even if you just toss it on the floor and use another one - is going to be reported and memorialized here on the DISboards. Even if the pillow poses no problem to anyone, it will be cussed and discussed here. Knowing that, any DVC owner who has hung here with us for a while would never violate an agreement with a renter. We'd trash them!

On the other hand, we would defend them if the tenant turned out to be a moron.

So the lumpy pillow rule protects both sides much more than any form of unenforceable written or verbal contract does.

I submit that, if both sides understand what they are doing, renting DVC points should be one of the most trouble-free transactions you will ever do.

 

[pjshaff]

I just rented from a DIS member, for BCV in May. The process went extremely smoothly, he sent me the ressie confirmation letter from DVC and I sent him a check for the amount. I have dealt with this gentleman before and he is a great person. If I have to rent points again, he will be the first person that I will contact.


Pam

 

[cindyf]

We rented points in Dec 04 and again this month for an extra night added to our April vacation! Both experiences have been wonderful and I think you just "know" by the tone of the emailing,PM's ,etc if it feels like a good thing. It's been a fun way to add to our OKW visits and still have points in our own account! Both DVC members seemed very eager to work with a fellow member!!! Added a bit of pixie dust to the deal!!!!
14 days till we are home again in OKW!
cindy

 

[Y-ASK]

I just made a ressie yesterday for someone who needed 14 points, and someone here was going to charge her $15 a point because it was a small amount. I rented the points to her for $10, and I'm trusting that she pays me. It's far more common for someone to overcharge you than it is for them to steal from you.

Boy for minute I thought that I might be that someone. But then maybe that's only one side of story that they told you. Could be somebody totally different but I did offer someone who was looking to rent 14 points in July just this weekend a per point price of $13.00 per point (far from $15.00) and only $1.00 more than what I was offering in another thread because it was such a small reservation. What's wrong with that? And who's to say what an overcharge is. The total amount that the renter was going to save from paying the full cash price was substantial so I don't see where even $15.00 per point would be consider overcharge. If the points are considered too much then the market will bare that out. In fact I have since dropped my price per point to $11.00.

Any way the problem I had is with the renter. This was a day or two of communication between us and she knew what the price was and agreed to the price on Saturday after I did all the leg work to find out the room was available for her. No one twisted her arm to make her agree to the terms. She even sent all her personal information and gave me the go ahead to make the reservation Monday morning. I thought it had been a very reasonable transaction. Then I get the message on Sunday that she found someone else with a lower per point price after she had already agreed to the transaction with me. In my book that transaction was the equivlent to a handshake or giving your word for something. I couldn't believe it in the end all her WORD was worth was $42.00 bucks. In her mind she could go back on her word for $42.00 bucks. My father would have kicked my butt if I threw around my word as if it was worth nothing. I guess times are different.

Y-ASK

 

[Cruelladeville]

Whether this is the same person or not, I can't say, but the time frame is certainly right. At any rate, if you have rented to others before, you are well aware that we are dealing with people who really don't get that we are people, not corporations. How many times have people emailed you a message that says "would you check May 1-7 for me?", and once you do that, they are done with you? It is so unbelievably rude!! They may not have better things to do, but I sure do!

I learned that renters are generally rude, but it's due to stupidity, not malice. When I borrow 260 points from next year for a ressie, and they cancel, there is a financial cost to me for that cancellation. They just don't understand the DVC system.

 

[Y-ASK]

Cruelladeville, You are so right! I was kind of shocked that this person would share the details (inacturate at that) of that transaction not that it really mattered. I guess it's just a different mind set. I go out of my way to teach my kids about honor and that you stand by your word. I can't imagine what this renter might have said to her Kids, "Look I just saved you $42.00" never mind that I broke an agreement and my word.

Just for the record I have had several rental transactions go very smoothly with payment on time and written confirmation delivered as promised. I've only had one renter back out after the reservation had been made and the circumstances were perfectly understandable. Fortunately the points did not have to be borrowed.

Y-ASK

 

[becobscot]

I am considering renting points but it seems like many folks renting points have not posted on these boards very much(which is not a bad thing). Is there a way to find someone who has experience renting their points?

 

[aubriee]

I'm renting points for my trip in May. I PM'd her, she made the ressie and sent me the confirmation. I then sent her a certified check for the full amount and am looking forward to having a studio in a great hotel at a price I otherwise couldn't afford. I'm very grateful and intend to be the perfect rentee. This is my first time to rent, so was I nervous? Yes, but she has several hundred posts here on the DisBoards and that makes me feel better. It's a matter of trust.

I plan to rent points again for a trip in late Sept-early Oct and then again the second week of December. I would love to rent from the same lady, but if not I'll be looking for someone that has alot of posts, will read some of those posts, and find someone I feel good about. Find someone you can trust, someone that loves Disney, and then go with your gut instinct. I think most people are basically honest.

Good luck!

 

[becobscot]

Thanks aubriee! That sounds like good advice!

 

[mjslvswdw1]

I am very interested in renting points for the first time in the last part of Oct and first part of Nov, wanting to stay at the BCV in a studio...When is the best time to start looking and what should I expect to pay. I already know we will need 106 pts. I have been following this board for a little while, and I don't want to be a problem renter, but I don't want to spend a lot of money and have something bad happen. I understand that trust is a big issue and you can follow who posts a lot, but I don't want to waste any DVC owners time either. So what kind of payments are usually accepted(CC, Certified Check, personal check, etc), should I be open to other resorts? I know this is a long post..I just want to be as informed as I can be!

 

[Y-ASK]

There are a couple of different ways that you can protect yourself. If you click on the Alias (Like mine Y-ASK) name you can search all the post that were made by that person. While it's not necessarily true that a low post counts means a shaddy deal, that would be one sign to look for. But having said that most ripoff artist are hit and run so their post count will be low and the registration (Join) date is going to be very current. The next question would be how knowledgeable is the person about renting the points. If they don't ask you for any information (just a send your check to...) or they don't want to share any of their own personal information that's another sign that something might be wrong. I would avoid anyone who won't take a personal check or who only gives out a P.O. Box (but that's just me). You can always use Paypal for the transaction but be aware that the DVC Owner will probably want you to pay the 2.9% transaction fee.

The process is a pretty simple one. You, as the renter, agree to the terms of the DVC Owner. You will need to provide the following information in order for the DVC Owner to make the reservation: Checking In - Checking Out dates, the resort you want to stay at, the room size you are looking for, Adult names (First and Last), Children names (First), Children Ages, and any preferences like smoking or non-smoking, close to the pool or bus stop, etc.

Once the reservation has been made Member Services will give the DVC Owner a confirmation number. Personnally, when I send that information to the renter I normally ask for full payment at that time. There will be a written confirmation that will be mailed to the DVC Owners address (take about 7-10 days). The DVC Owner should then mail that written confirmation to the renter (about 4-5 days). Transaction complete.

Things to be aware of. The rental is non re-fundable. If you have problems and can't make the trip you may need to go back to the DVC Owner and ask for help. If you find someone (a friend, co-worker, etc.) to take over the reservation you will need to have the DVC Owner make the names changes to the reservation. You can't just send your friend and not make the changes because Disney will be asked for ID and if the names don't match they will not get checked in. If you can't find someone you know to take your reservation you can try to post it on the forum and see if someone will want it. Your last option, besides just not going and losing all your money and depending on how close you are to the date of the reservation, is to ask your DVC Owner to cancel and try to rent the points on your behalf. You probably will not get a full refund but if you can get .70 or .80 cents on the dollar at least you got something back. But there's always that chance that the points will expire and you will lose everything.

On this forum I have never seen anyone come back and say a DVC Owner ripped them off or they got ripped off by someone else. Most of the problems are with the renters and some of their unrealistic expectations. Your main risk is that you can't make the trip with a very short notice.

Y-ASK