The Saga of theSSR points

ninjagirl

Mouseketeer
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
We got an email last week while we were in Disney from Fidelity asking why we hadn't returned our closing documents on our contract that passed ROFR in early January. Cue the head scratching. We never received the closing documents from First American. The response to that was that they would resend them. When we got them the file was titled "correct buyer" which leads me to believe someone made a big oops and that's why we're 3 months past our initial offer. Should we/can we ask them to refund some of the closing costs? We lost 100 points thatwl expire this month because they didn't send us the documents and all along we're told it was a hold up with the title search. The date on these documents is January 11. We got them Feburary 19.
 
We're also past the 60 day window so canceling now is an option but not worth it to have to go through this again plus the new fees at fidelity. I just feel like this contract wasn't handled with the professionalism it should have been and cost us near $800-$1200 because we could have rented those points out and according to their own words, they cost us that opportunity.
 
Wouldn't you have to go through ROFR again if you make any changes?
 
Since the broker selected the title company and my guess is they get paid for using them, I would go after the broker.

:earsboy: Bill
 


Sorry you had difficulty with your closing. Given the fact that the points were set to expire so soon, I would say they had a value of about $5 each. I would ask to be credited back the closing costs to compensate you for this loss. The real question is, what are you prepared to do if they say no? Good luck...
 
Wouldn't you have to go through ROFR again if you make any changes?

I don't think so because it wouldn't be a change in the overall ROFR info. Someone is paying the closing, it just wouldn't be us.

Since the broker selected the title company and my guess is they get paid for using them, I would go after the broker.

:earsboy: Bill

This was my thought. Someone forgot to email them to us or sent them the wrong buyer and I think there's fault on both ends. I expect better. After having two difficult transactions with Fidelity, I'm hesitant to use them again even though the end result was a successful purchase.

Sorry you had difficulty with your closing. Given the fact that the points were set to expire so soon, I would say they had a value of about $5 each. I would ask to be credited back the closing costs to compensate you for this loss. The real question is, what are you prepared to do if they say no? Good luck...


I think $5 is fair and asking for the closing costs to be paid by them would be about that much. We have an honest answer with what we're prepared to do and I don't think it will be a popular one. We're generally people of principle that would rather not do business with people who don't own their mistakes. I'd rather give my money to an honest company. I'm not sure whether it's on the title company or the broker specifically but I THINK the broker sent the wrong buyer information to the title company. Or the title company had the correct information on the buyer sheet and put in the wrong info on their own. We had a last minute renter set up due to princess weekend but when it came to look like it wasn't going to happen because of the "title search" issue, they backed out and understandably so. Finding out after the fact that it was their fault and this should have been closed months ago makes me leary and upset that I'm out of pocket money that I wouldn't be had they performed their jobs as they were contracted to do. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't crazy and there are real damages here. I mean we would have even had the ability to call disney and ask for a one time banking exemption. But we don't have that option anymore either.
 
After having two difficult transactions with Fidelity, I'm hesitant to use them again even though the end result was a successful purchase.

pretty sure fidelity is where DVC directs sellers who don't know any better. IMO, the relative ignorance of some of the sellers can mean great prices...but you also risk some additional issues cropping up. i don't think your experiences are that unique...
 


pretty sure fidelity is where DVC directs sellers who don't know any better. IMO, the relative ignorance of some of the sellers can mean great prices...but you also risk some additional issues cropping up. i don't think your experiences are that unique...

DVC did direct us to use Fidelity and if you've purchased resale I think you know how important it is to find the RIGHT contract. When you haven't purchased resale yourself and have no first hand knowledge, you take a leap of faith. There are plenty of people on this forum that will go to bat for Fidelity. I'm not ashamed to say that two weeks ago I was one of them. I felt that in general they were honest but a little lazy with following through on paperwork. In my real life, I hate paperwork too and generally expect that when I send something off to someone else that only has one thing to be done on it, they can handle it and don't need to micromanage it. But, in both cases this has been extreme and I can say with certainty that it is more so the title company that they chose to use rather than Fidelity themselves. On my first contract, it was first american that messed up the cost of the closing fees and as such it couldn't be recorded or closed until it was submitted. The difference was $8 but it was an $8 mistake that only cost us a couple of weeks before we closed. It didn't cost us the loss of a 100 points. It was the seller causing the delay, okay I can choose not to do business then that seller is out the sale. I have no choice in the closing agent they choose to use that has dropped the ball on both contracts. This time fidelity played into the game by giving them the wrong seller information and they should have followed up much sooner on why the contract hadn't closed yet. Top it off with a new $195 fee to deal with their shinengans and I won't be back with them. Right contract or not. 8 months ago when we purchased our first one, I just didn't know any better. I'm sure this isn't unique but I'm also sure that there are some clients that they HAVE met expectations for and I'm not looking to drag them through the mud. They just haven't met my expectations on either contract and I don't think that they are unreasonable expectations. I expect to get closing documents within the specified window of 7-10 days (their number) unless there is some circumstance that has been communicated to me. And I expect someone to follow up with my contract to see that it was rejected by the county much sooner than before I have to bring it to their attention. They do this for a living. They should know.

I think it's especially hard for me because as a consultant in my real life, my clients pay me to handle their problems and I do so to the best of my ability. I have to be at the top of my game and know when things aren't normal and head them off at the pass. I get paid for my knowledge and my expertise and strive to rise above every other consultant that just drops something off and never follows up with seeing if it was accepted or not. Thats MY job. They pay me to do that. I feel like I pay them to handle my sale and know that everything is okay. The seller pays them a commission for the same reason. And now she's out $6000 that would have otherwise been in her pocket gaining interest weeks ago.
 
pretty sure fidelity is where DVC directs sellers who don't know any better. IMO, the relative ignorance of some of the sellers can mean great prices...but you also risk some additional issues cropping up. i don't think your experiences are that unique...

True. Fidelity has a contract with Disney that makes Disney refer potential sellers who call them looking to dump their DVC contracts refer them to Fidelity.

This makes some listings on Fidelity very attractive for buyers since many of those referred sellers are somewhat desperate to sell. There are also distressed contracts such as divorces and bankruptcies which lead to people needing to sell, and if they call Disney and get referred to Fidelity, again somewhat lower asking prices.
 
DVC did direct us to use Fidelity and if you've purchased resale I think you know how important it is to find the RIGHT contract. When you haven't purchased resale yourself and have no first hand knowledge, you take a leap of faith. There are plenty of people on this forum that will go to bat for Fidelity. I'm not ashamed to say that two weeks ago I was one of them. I felt that in general they were honest but a little lazy with following through on paperwork. In my real life, I hate paperwork too and generally expect that when I send something off to someone else that only has one thing to be done on it, they can handle it and don't need to micromanage it. But, in both cases this has been extreme and I can say with certainty that it is more so the title company that they chose to use rather than Fidelity themselves. On my first contract, it was first american that messed up the cost of the closing fees and as such it couldn't be recorded or closed until it was submitted. The difference was $8 but it was an $8 mistake that only cost us a couple of weeks before we closed. It didn't cost us the loss of a 100 points. It was the seller causing the delay, okay I can choose not to do business then that seller is out the sale. I have no choice in the closing agent they choose to use that has dropped the ball on both contracts. This time fidelity played into the game by giving them the wrong seller information and they should have followed up much sooner on why the contract hadn't closed yet. Top it off with a new $195 fee to deal with their shinengans and I won't be back with them. Right contract or not. 8 months ago when we purchased our first one, I just didn't know any better. I'm sure this isn't unique but I'm also sure that there are some clients that they HAVE met expectations for and I'm not looking to drag them through the mud. They just haven't met my expectations on either contract and I don't think that they are unreasonable expectations. I expect to get closing documents within the specified window of 7-10 days (their number) unless there is some circumstance that has been communicated to me. And I expect someone to follow up with my contract to see that it was rejected by the county much sooner than before I have to bring it to their attention. They do this for a living. They should know.

I think it's especially hard for me because as a consultant in my real life, my clients pay me to handle their problems and I do so to the best of my ability. I have to be at the top of my game and know when things aren't normal and head them off at the pass. I get paid for my knowledge and my expertise and strive to rise above every other consultant that just drops something off and never follows up with seeing if it was accepted or not. Thats MY job. They pay me to do that. I feel like I pay them to handle my sale and know that everything is okay. The seller pays them a commission for the same reason. And now she's out $6000 that would have otherwise been in her pocket gaining interest weeks ago.

Go back to your first statement please.....DVC directed you to Fidelity? I think any 'guide' who was known to mention a resale company would

A) Be very unsuccesful at selling timeshares
B) Be fired on the spot if this was revealed

This all really stinks for you and hope you come to a reasonable settlement. I understand your not wanting to give them your money, but is your time it would take to go through the whole process again not more valuable?

Best of luck!
 
Sorry to hear of the problem you had. This is one of the reasons people buying resale need a lot of patience. Screw ups can happen with the broker, with the seller and with the closing agent, all if which can be annoying and waste time. This could happen with any of the brokers. Better luck next time.
 
Sorry to hear of the problem you had. This is one of the reasons people buying resale need a lot of patience. Screw ups can happen with the broker, with the seller and with the closing agent, all if which can be annoying and waste time. This could happen with any of the brokers. Better luck next time.

Including buying direct from Disney.

We had one contract issued with the wrong UY and another was put under a new and separate membership even though it was an add-on.

:earsboy: Bill
 
Sorry to hear of the problem you had. This is one of the reasons people buying resale need a lot of patience. Screw ups can happen with the broker, with the seller and with the closing agent, all if which can be annoying and waste time. This could happen with any of the brokers. Better luck next time.
Yes, this could happen with any of the brokers. But it doesn't.

With all the thousands of contracts they've handled over the years, I only remember hearing about two or three mixups with The Timeshare Store -- and all of those were remedied quickly and professionally. The other two "major" resalers other than Fidelity are small operations, and I've never heard of a messed up closing with either of them.

Fidelity's sloppiness goes back all the the way to their inception as GMAC. They have improved some things along the way, but Fidelity is still by far the least competent broker dealing with DVC resales.

Some of Fidelity's difficulties no doubt stem from the high volume of distressed contracts and sellers they attract by virtue of their association with Disney. But TTS had that association for many, many years prior to Fidelity and we never heard of any problems.

The problem is Fidelity.
 
The real question is, what are you prepared to do if they say no?
This REALLY is the real question. Are you prepared to walk away?

Personally, I would walk away without asking for compensation anyway. In fact, I've done that on one resale contract.

I just don't do business that way, and I'd also be asking myself, "If I continue, what new drama will be added to the 'Saga of the SSR points' next week?"

OTOH, small contracts that exactly meet your needs are relatively hard to find. Not as much with SSR, and not as much with 100 points contracts because DVC sold a LOT of 100-point SSR contracts, but finding another contract would still require some time.

In the end, your answer to ELMC's question is the key.
 
We've gotten a few more answers out of them inbetween yesterday and today. Apparently the original closing documents had the seller's deceased mother listed as the seller which was very obviously incorrect. No acknowledgement of whether that happened on behalf of Fidelity or on behalf of First American (nor do I expect there to be acknowledgement) and then the correct documents where never sent. The seller was listed correctly on the original contract we signed to send to ROFR. I understand mixups happen, but when I inquired about it, at least be honest. We weren't told any of this until we got here. Either way, it was a simple error that should have been caught long before now. We're prepared to walk if we need to. These 2013 points aren't vital to us which makes it easier to walk. If we NEEDED them, we might be in a different boat. I just don't care to give them $400+ in closing costs nor have them be paid a commission that they didn't earn. Part of me wonders if the seller is aware of any of this or if they have told her this. I'm sure when she inquired the delays were blamed on us. I just don't think they deserve whatever the commission fee is on this transaction. They failed their task of executing this contract in a timely manner and as such it cost us 100 points, regardless of what the reality of getting to use them looked like to them.
 
And yet another update... First American refunded all of the fees that weren't required by state law which is an acceptable form of restitution on their behalf ($275.00). Thanks to First American for making this situation right to the best of their ability. This gesture says a lot about the company and those professionals owning up to their mistakes and attempting to patch it up.

I standby my negative feelings towards Fidelity as they have done nothing other than apologize that it happened to us and shifted blame to us. We'll close this contract and hopefully it will be the last time but I stand by advising buyers to avoid Fidelity due to their lack of professionalism, laziness, and inability to communicate and/or execute contracts in the given amount of time.
 
And yet another update... First American refunded all of the fees that weren't required by state law which is an acceptable form of restitution on their behalf ($275.00). Thanks to First American for making this situation right to the best of their ability. This gesture says a lot about the company and those professionals owning up to their mistakes and attempting to patch it up.

I standby my negative feelings towards Fidelity as they have done nothing other than apologize that it happened to us and shifted blame to us. We'll close this contract and hopefully it will be the last time but I stand by advising buyers to avoid Fidelity due to their lack of professionalism, laziness, and inability to communicate and/or execute contracts in the given amount of time.

I would demand Fidelity eat the newly institued $195 admin fee. Obviously their admin does not deserve it. This would bring you up to $470 in savings, not far off the distresses point level.
 
fmer55 said:
I would demand Fidelity eat the newly institued $195 admin fee. Obviously their admin does not deserve it. This would bring you up to $470 in savings, not far off the distresses point level.

We started this process before the fee was instituted so luckily it is not part of our agreement. If it was, I'd be advocating for that.
 
ninjagirl said:
And yet another update... First American refunded all of the fees that weren't required by state law which is an acceptable form of restitution on their behalf ($275.00). Thanks to First American for making this situation right to the best of their ability. This gesture says a lot about the company and those professionals owning up to their mistakes and attempting to patch it up.

Glad to hear you got this. Still can't believe you are not getting reimbursed for the lost points!
 

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