Resale gone bad

[DSNY FN]

Boy are we glad we bought through Disney directly and this solidifies the point exactly and now will continue to go through them even if it costs a bit more for the points.

 

[Dean]

I hope it gets worked out. In general, closing agents do not verify the points accounting, only the actual ownership. You do have a beef with the seller and broker. I suspect it's the sellers fault but will end up being the brokers responsibility. We'll see how they do. My guess is they'll get if fixed, esp with all this publicity on one of their main referral sources. You can still bank 68 points from the current batch and hopefully DVC will let you by. Remember that DVC signed off on the contract which listed the specifics it seems so I'd ask them about it. In the future, I'd make sure to get specifics from the timeshare resort (DVC in this case) when buying a resale.

Hopefully TSS or DVC will at least get you full use of the 222. My guess is you'll be out the rest unless the seller is willing to reimburse you. TSS may also be able to get some points transferred to you from another source. Good luck.

 

[5infam]

I tend to agree with SlyHubby on this one. The issue here is that the agent in question is acting as agent and representative for both the buyer and the seller. This means that they need to take extra care in handling both parties equally.

All in all, this was probably an error or an oversight, but poor service should not be excused.

This should serve as a warning to all potential resale buyers out there to make sure you follow up on your agent and not just leave it up to them. It is nice to be able to trust them, but this is a financial transaction and it is always better to be safe than sorry.

I am waiting on my resale to come through (waiting on the ROFR) and as soon as I read this thread I immediately contacted my agent (not the Timeshare Store) via e-mail, asking for verification of my banked points, points from this use year, and clarification that nothing had been borrowed. Within 1 hour I was called at home with the reassurance (and a fax to back it up) that this was all verified through Disney. I was also told that title/closing will do the same, and it is this agents common practice to call Disney directly the day before close to get a final verification.

IMHO, this is the way it should be done!!

 

[SlyHubby]

that is right 5infam.

In NJ (and I know in CA as well), in a real estate transaction where the agent represents the buyer and seller, they are specifically required to get a signature from the buyer that the buyer acknowledges that the agent is representing both. Further, the buyer has paid a fee to the Timeshare Store for their services - right? Wouldn't you think the service of verifying that what is being sold is a true representation of what is stated is part of that? If the buyer has it in writing, there really is no issue here - someone is going to straighten it out, and the buyer is going to get what the contract says. The Timeshare Store is not going to say "deal with the seller" - that is why the Timeshare Store is a middleman - to do a middleman's job - as they were paid to do.

 

[TCPluto]

In the world of instant gratification, I guess it's no surprise that because the problem wasn't fixed immediately it warrants international incident status.

I think it a far better idea to allow Pat Spell and The Timeshare Store time to address the problem. There is no question that a problem exists. However, it is one that cannot likely be addressed on a weekend; after business hours; when at least 2/3 of the business agents unavailable due to vacations (Barb Worden from the Timeshare Closing Service is also unavailable until Monday- my resale was scheduled to close on Friday).

Stuart, I think you can trust that everyone's reputations are too important to them to risk over your discrepency. With patience, your points, or just compensation, will be restored to you.

 

[JimC]

Sorry to hear of your trouble. Whatever your signed contract states you were purchasing is what you are entitled to receive. If it clearly states a certain number of points banked then you have a right to those points or an adjustment to the purchase price (if the points are gone a price adjustment is about the only recourse I suspect is available).

We used Pat at the Timeshare Store and her services were first rate, very professional, prompt and courteous. We would use her again with no hesitation.

Before we went with the Timeshare Store we did a license check with the State of Florida and a BBB check (they are members) to see if their credentials were in good standing and if there were any complaints against them. Their credentials were in good order and their record was clean both with the state and BBB. You can do these searches on the internet.

The time it takes to close depends on many factors -- buyers, agents, sellers, Disney, County clerk, title company, etc. There are many places that a log jam can occur. It might be unfair to single out one party when it is likely that a combination of events have lengthened the process.

We have had problems with real estate closings (personal and business; but not DVC contracts) and sometimes it has taken months to get the issue(s) worked out. But they do work out.

Give your agent (Pat), the broker (Tom) and the sellers an opportunity to determine what happened and how it can be corrected. It is unlikely that professionals who have worked many years to build a fine reputation would suddenly go bad. And if a mistake was made, and we all make mistakes at times, they will work to make things right.

 

[stuartsong]

This problem was first detected on Tuesday and notified to Timeshare Store. I tried contacting Pat first, but I was told she would be out of the office until Wednesday. Tom Yeary did call me and told me he would try to resolve this with the seller. The last I have heard from Timeshare Store is Wednesday. I was specifically told by Tom that he would get back to me the next day or two. He was left with my cell phone number, so it's not a case of not being able to reach me. All this time, Pat has never called me to explain why this happened.

This is not the first time I have used Timeshare Store. I have two very good experience with Jerry. In fact, the last purchase with Jerry started almost two weeks after this purchase with Pat. The one with Jerry closed over a month before Pat's. During the whole process, Jerry called me three or four times keeping me updated on the progress.

When Disney member services found out about this problem, they had no problem banking the remaining 222 points from 2002 use year. One problem solved, but there is still the missing 65 points that was part of the contract. Yes, I would like a quick resolution and a follow up from Timeshare Store. When I promise to call someone in specific amount of time, I follow up. That's my expectation also from people I deal with.

I have full expectation that this will be resolved, but I feel I shouldn't have to push to get this resolved. Timshare Store should take on the full responsibility and resolve this matter as soon as possible. I should not have me wait for them to resolve the issue with the seller before resolving the issue with me.

 

[Mojomanny]

Just my 2 Cents.....

If you spoke with Tom on Wednesday and he said he would get back in a day or two, it would be nice if he did that, even if just to say he has no immediate answer for you. Of course we need to understand that yours is not the only matter Tom and his staff are dealing with. To you it is the most pressing and urgent, to Tom and his staff it is surely just one of many issues which all deserve priority.

That being said, this sounds like a time consuming problem which will not be solved in a day, especially if some of the principals involved may be on vacation (tis the season).

IMHO, I think you need to take a deep breath, relax and give them a bit more reasonable amount of time to research and resolve the problem. If it had been a a week without hearing, I can see blasting them on the boards but not under the circumstances you describe.

Take a breath, relax. I am sure all will be well.

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by Mojomanny
IMHO, I think you need to take a deep breath, relax and give them a bit more reasonable amount of time to research and resolve the problem. If it had been a a week without hearing, I can see blasting them on the boards but not under the circumstances you describe.

I have to agree. It may seem that it's been forever since you found the error, but it's only been 2 days (Thursday and Friday) since you were able to speak to someone at TTS. That is really not enough time for Tom to follow up on such a difficult problem. Especially if the problem is a seller who used your missing points for a last family vacation on your dime . I would also not be surprised that Tom told Pat that he (as the boss) was handling the problem and that she didn't need to return your call.

Since you have all of us hanging with baited breath, please update us next week when you learn more!

 

[JimC]

I concur with the others who have said that you should give Tom a week to make some headway on this issue. It is quite possible that he is having trouble contacting the seller, and he may need to do some homework to become familiar with your transaction.

I believe that The Timeshare Store acts as a Transaction Broker, which means it provides limited representation to both parties to facilitate a transaction. Representations regarding the contract are made by the seller. If the probelm lies there, then Tom can facilitate a resolution of the issue between seller and buyer. But he is not obligated nor should he make good on a breach by seller.

 

[tinkerboy]

I had a problem with my resale. Without going into details, The Timeshare companies did not contact me, when they should have. This did not give me a whole lot of confidence with these companies. It is their responsibility to keep on top of this type of stuff. Certainly some compensation should be given.

 

[wilderness01]

This will get resolved but in time. However, I agree that someone should at least call you back on a regular basis to assure you that the problem is being worked on. You have already had trust broken and now should be handled with a little extra TLC. EVERYONE is busy but they should be extra nice and take the extra time because of the mistake. Good luck.

 

[stuartsong]

It took little more time than I would have liked, but this issue has been resolved to my satisfaction. To make the long story short, Tom at Timeshare Store will reimburse me for the points that were missing on the contract. The Timeshare Store is taking the full responsibility for the missing points and not passing it off on to the seller.

I may have been hard on Pat for not calling back and the contract taking so long. I understand the situation as Tom explained it to me. I also did not know Tom was the owner until I read the replies. I guess I can't fault for Pat not calling back on this issue if the owner was involved in it already. I also learned Pat had a death in the family, so there was a legitimate reason for the lack of a call back.

I appreciate Tom handling the issue and taking the responsibility. I was led to believe that the seller would have to take the responsibility first before any resolution was completed. In the end, Tom took the responsbility to make the customer happy. Now, I can finally get back to enjoying the Disney experience.

 

[TIdoublegaER]

I'm glad everything was resolved and.. WELCOME HOME!

 

[TCPluto]

Congratulations Stuart!

What a great job by The Timeshare Store folks. Hopefully they don't have to absorb the loss created by the activities of the seller.

 

[rsschneck]

We had such a great experience with The Timeshare Store, Pat Spell and The Timeshare Closing services that I figured it would all work out.
My first add-on will probably be with Pat again, she was great!
I hope you enjoy planning your first DVC vacation!

WELCOME HOME!

 

[Pumbaa_]

Glad to hear that you had a positive resolution to your problem. It sounds like it was handled promptly and professionally.

Welcome Home!

 

[tiberius]

I am glad to hear that The Timeshare Store did right by you. They handled my resale purchase for me with no problems, but the real measure of a company is how they handle a problem like yours!

 

[robinb]

Thanks for the fantastic update. I'm glad that everything worked out for you! I knew that they would come through . Tom handled my first resale personally when The Timeshare Store was Williamsburg Realty.

Welcome Home!!!