VWL....Were we upgraded? Or did we pay the difference...

[csharpwv]

We checked in to the Villas at Wilderness Lodge last Saturday, and will be checking out tomorrow morning (Sunday).

We had reserved a Studio, but had regretted not reserving a 1br when it was available - and even checked the day before we left... and nothing was available.

When we checked in, we were told that they had oversold studios, and that category was sold out, and we would be moved to a 1BR.

Great! AWESOME! SPECTACULAR! RIGHT?

Well, I log on to member site this evening... and I think they charged us for a 1BR.

However, the site is now down... so I couldn't investigate further, and won't be able to until the site is up...

We were settled on a studio, and had just agreed that we would 'make due' with going to the laundry room on this trip.

We loved the "upgrade", but we had just recently planned our point usage for the next two years to accommodate a large family trip next summer.... and if they charged us for an upgrade... because they had oversold our reserved room category... then really... they shouldn't have charged us, right? Especially since they didn't mention which one of our contracts the points would come from.

If they charged us for the upgrade, then I am going to be really upset!

On top of that we have had HORRIBLE bus service this week - we waited well over an HOUR for a bus back from Hollywood Studios on Thursday - it was mid-morning... we were the only ones in line... 25+ empty buses passed us... that's really unacceptable! Not a single bus to our stop in over an hour... they run every 20 minutes - we should have seen 3+ buses in that time-frame!

 

[Iceman93]

Can't say what happened re: the buses, but I agree that an hour is unacceptable. I think I would have gone to the little bus customer service window by that point to see what was going on.

And they should definitely not have charged you more than the points for the studio you booked. If it happened, it was a mistake that they will correct.

 

[com_op_2000]

One time at VWL, we reserved a studio, informed of the same issue with over-booking, and were upgraded to a 2-bdrm hotel room in the inn over looking the lake. We were not charged the difference in points.

 

[disneynutz]

The Front Desks are known for messing up DVC reservations and points. They aren't MS and points are not something that they are used to dealing with.

The availability of Disney transportation varies based on the time of day. Extra buses are scheduled at park openings, less after they open. We look for transportation CM's around the stops if our wait is longer than 30 minutes.

Share your concerns with DVC Member Satisfaction, they will correct your points if necessary.

dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com

Bill

 

[LisaS]

Check your points when you get a chance. You do not owe more points for the free upgrade but that doesn't mean someone hasn't messed up your account when modifying your reservation. Verify that your point totals are what you expect and make sure you haven't ended up with points in holding.

 

[csharpwv]

Holy cow did we ever get a shock when we checked our account!!!

Not only did they charge us for the 1BR upgrade... but they ALSO didn't refund our Studio Reservations points!!!!

They took ALL of our 2013 (we are December UY) Hilton Head points without asking where we want points to come from... or even asking if we wanted to upgrade, OR explaining what the point difference would be between the studio and the 1BR!!!

We are so angry!!!

Thank goodness my DW was on the phone and not me - I would have been FAR less patient than she was!!!

She was on the phone on our trip home from the airport for well over an hour when all was said and done.

So we ended up with ALL of the studio and 1BR points being taken out of our account - plus they left 31 2012 points in our account... so it's not like they even did wrong thing right!!!

We are extremely fortunate to have had a Member Services Cast Member who took her job very seriously, and treated the situation as if the points were her own - we really want to send her some Pixie Dust... she REALLY went above and beyond for us.........would we send a huge thank you to the same member satisfaction e-mail address?

We learned our lesson, don't trust a front desk CM to do what a Member Services CM should be doing - they messed our account up royally!

The awesome Member Services CM took it upon herself to seek manager approval to extend our banking deadline because it could be a few days before all of the points are returned to our account - and we are just a few days away from our banking deadline - we wanted to end this trip before banking just in case something were to happen and we needed to stay an extra night or something... you never know what could happen!

Oh, and the front desk at WL also messed up our Dining Plan - we had pre-paid for the DP weeks in advance - but when they changed our reservation, they didn't move the dining fund with the reservation, so they charged our Disney Visa two times for the dining plan! UGH!

We had several other issues as well, but nothing really worth mentioning.

At the end of the day, every thing worked out, we will get all of our points back except the ones we originally booked the studio with.

OH and to the PP who got upgraded to a 2BR in the Main Lodge.... I am extremely envious! That would have been incredible!!!!

SO... lesson learned... never trust them to do everything correctly - you have go back and check to make sure everything is as it should be... sad... but that's the way it is from now on for us!

 

[Sammie]

Yes you can address Thanks Yous to Member Satisfaction. They will see she gets it.

 

[Breyean]

Yes you can address Thanks Yous to Member Satisfaction. They will see she gets it.

Yes. I have done this and even got a call back from another member of that team (not the one I was praising) thanking me.

I bet they get a lot of complaints and few thank you emails and I bet it helps them to see we're all not unappreciative of what they try to do for us.

 

[disneynutz]

Sorry that this happened to the OP but this happens more than it should, never let the front desk touch your DVC account.

If a problem like this does occur, don't have MS fix it, have Member Satisfaction do it. They are senior people with advanced knowledge plus they have access to information and tools that MS doesn't have. Just tell them what happened and they will fix the problem and get back to you when it's done, no reason to be on the phone for over an hour plus they will follow up with the resort management, something that MS won't do.

You should still report the issue to member satisfaction.

Bill

 

[Dean]

Most things I see on DIS, I would not be nearly as upset as the posters seem to be. In this case I'd be right there with you. Just make sure to follow up that all is truly taken care of. Keep the info of when you called and who you talked to, esp any names you have. I'd write a log to have until all is settled for about 6 months.

 

[Sandisw]

Sorry that this happened to the OP but this happens more than it should, never let the front desk touch your DVC account.

If a problem like this does occur, don't have MS fix it, have Member Satisfaction do it. They are senior people with advanced knowledge plus they have access to information and tools that MS doesn't have. Just tell them what happened and they will fix the problem and get back to you when it's done, no reason to be on the phone for over an hour plus they will follow up with the resort management, something that MS won't do.

You should still report the issue to member satisfaction.

Bill

I had a small issue with VWL in May as well. I had one night booked on one membership and the other 3 on the 2nd one. MS had them linked and when the CM at the desk looked, it showed everything correct.

But, then, for some reason, she saw my name listed twice, and decided to cancel the one--resulting with me not having the night anymore. The manager came over and gave me some options and the only thing I told her was that whatever she did, do not mess with my account. She assured me that she would not.

Once I was checked in, I immediately got on my Ipad in front of her and checked and when I saw it was fine, I relaxed. Of course, I checked it again the next day, too, and then when we got home, and things stayed as they should have so I was grateful...

 

[CarolMN]

Sorry that this happened to the OP but this happens more than it should, never let the front desk touch your DVC account.....

Completely agree. We had an issue after a front desk CM decided to give us an upgrade we didn't ask for (and didn't want). I now politely refuse any DVC upgrades offered & if we don't have a choice, I watch my account like a hawk!

OP - So glad this is getting resolved. Sorry it happened and sorry you had to take your time to get it fixed. As others have posted, please keep checking until everything is as you expect. Thanks for sending a thank you to member Satisfaction - the CMs don't get near the number of TYs that they deserve.

 

[dboules]

Good advice! I never check my points till a long time later - when I am going to use them.

This would have been too late in your situation.

Thanks for sharing - I will definitely be more vigilante in the future!

D

 

[tgropp]

During our Christmas 2010 stay, I had the worst experience at the Lodge (long long story). Thank goodness I love the Lodge. They really messed things up that time!!

 

[csharpwv]

So..... the saga continues.

My DW goes online today to make credit card payment to pay off our trip... and there you go.... Wilderness Lodge charged us a THIRD time for the dining plan!!!

They didn't move our original payment from the studio reservation, then charged us again for the 1BR - and THEN seeing the cancelled dining charge, assumed it was an error and charged us AGAIN!!!

The charges were close to $2,500!!!

I am so fed up with this experience, I am going to be on the phone tomorrow morning - this is absolutely ridiculous!

PLUS they just took 31 more points from us for no reason!!!!

This is getting absolutely out of hand - I understand problems here and there, and we are typically very...very... patient people. But when customer service is messed up in SO many way so badly, I just want to get to the bottom or why such simple things were messed up so badly!!!

It just seems that we have more problems, and more complex problems each time we visit!

On one visit in 2009 we ended up going through over 25 different room keys because of mistakes a cast member made at check in (There were 6 of us, so just figure out how many trips we had to make to the front desk at Saratoga Springs to get that total mess figured out!!!)

I am glad folks on here understand why we are so upset, we don't want to be unreasonable at all, but we also don't want to be steamrolled!

Thanks for the support - I will follow up once we have all of our points back, the two extra dining plan charges reversed, and an explanation of why the front desk CM ever touched our account to start with!

 

[disneynutz]

So..... the saga continues.

My DW goes online today to make credit card payment to pay off our trip... and there you go.... Wilderness Lodge charged us a THIRD time for the dining plan!!!

They didn't move our original payment from the studio reservation, then charged us again for the 1BR - and THEN seeing the cancelled dining charge, assumed it was an error and charged us AGAIN!!!

The charges were close to $2,500!!!

I am so fed up with this experience, I am going to be on the phone tomorrow morning - this is absolutely ridiculous!

PLUS they just took 31 more points from us for no reason!!!!

This is getting absolutely out of hand - I understand problems here and there, and we are typically very...very... patient people. But when customer service is messed up in SO many way so badly, I just want to get to the bottom or why such simple things were messed up so badly!!!

It just seems that we have more problems, and more complex problems each time we visit!

On one visit in 2009 we ended up going through over 25 different room keys because of mistakes a cast member made at check in (There were 6 of us, so just figure out how many trips we had to make to the front desk at Saratoga Springs to get that total mess figured out!!!)

I am glad folks on here understand why we are so upset, we don't want to be unreasonable at all, but we also don't want to be steamrolled!

Thanks for the support - I will follow up once we have all of our points back, the two extra dining plan charges reversed, and an explanation of why the front desk CM ever touched our account to start with!

If you don't send an email to Member Satisfaction and let them fix this mess you are asking for trouble.

They will call you back in a couple of days after they check out what's going on. Your dues pays for them to be your advocate. If for some reason they don't take care of business, have senior vice president and general manager Ken Potrock call you back.

Bill

 

[lilpooh108]

Good luck OP. I actually trust DVC member satisfaction to take care of your problems. AKV royally screwed up our DDP during our 2010 trip and when we came home it was all taken care of.

This thread also reminds me to decline upgrades, etc. Last year one of my renters got an upgrade. She was nice enough to text me about it since she was so happy. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was secretly freaking out about the points in my account.

Good luck.

 

[maburke]

This thread also reminds me to decline upgrades, etc. Last year one of my renters got an upgrade. She was nice enough to text me about it since she was so happy. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was secretly freaking out about the points in my account.

Good luck.

The exact same thing happened to me! Add this to the risks of renting out your points!

On that tangent, I have noticed that when making a reservation online, there is a checkbox for whether the person on the reservation is a member. I assumed that was to find out whether the person should be entitled to "Member" designation on their key and perks, but the little explanation that comes up when you mouse over it says something about whether that person has the ability to deal with any point issues at the front desk. I'm thinking, no way should they be messing with my points for anybody that can't produce a DVC ID with my account number on it!

 

[lilpooh108]

The exact same thing happened to me! Add this to the risks of renting out your points!

On that tangent, I have noticed that when making a reservation online, there is a checkbox for whether the person on the reservation is a member. I assumed that was to find out whether the person should be entitled to "Member" designation on their key and perks, but the little explanation that comes up when you mouse over it says something about whether that person has the ability to deal with any point issues at the front desk. I'm thinking, no way should they be messing with my points for anybody that can't produce a DVC ID with my account number on it!

I clicked the box saying that they are not a member. They were upgraded any way due to lack of rooms being available (just like the OP). I've had many many issues with AKV receptionists/front desk, so honestly I was waiting for a disaster to happen.

The biggest problem for me was that she was upgraded form a 1BR to a BR during the week of Christmas. The point difference would have been staggering. I checked my points balance for 2 weeks before I quit worrying about it.

 

[supersuperwendy]

OP that is so awful!!! What does Chase have to say about the over charging of the DDP?