Waitlist/point renting warning

[realpatt]

I am a DVC member. We rented points for 2 nights at Vero as we were out of points. The person we rented from wait listed us for Ocean view studio as we had requested. She, nor we, ever heard anything. I called the resort on our way out (just 10 minutes out of town) to just reconfirm as I could not find the conformation letter (I'd misplaced it in all the Xmas stuff). They told me my reservation had been cancelled. I had to call DVC Member Services and they confirmed that the reservation had been cancelled. After I recovered (slightly) from the shock, I asked if it was possible that the wait list had come through and they had mistakenly put the reservation in the DVC members name instead of ours. She got defensive and told me they didn't play around with reservations or something to that effect. I restated the possible scenario again, and she said there was no way she could check that, and that they only put the reservation in the name they are instructed to put it in (like someone would make a reservation in another person's name and then request that should the wait list come through to have it switched to their own name???). I was told I needed to get a hold of the DVC member and there was nothing else they could do. This was on 12/30/03 and in the afternoon. We were checking in on 12/31. I had no phone number for the member and since I couldn't find the confirmation, didn't even know what state or city she was in to try and find a number. We returned home and frantically tried to find the confirmation, sent an e-mail to her, and tried to get info of the Dis boards about her (but search function was down). I then decided to call Vero back and see if she had a reservation for the 2 nights and indeed she did in her name. They could not do anything, so I called member services back and explained the situation again (this time knowing that they had made a mistake). After waiting on hold awhile, they did agree it had been a mistake on their part and changed the reservation to our name. Had we just shown up on New Years Eve we would have been in for a very big surprise and a horrible trip. My words of advice are (1) if you wait list for a reservation change, call back and see if the wait list came through and that it was put in the correct name (2) always get or give the phone number of the DVC member who is renting the points. (3) reconfirm the reservation a few days ahead just to make sure there are no problems.

 

[Lexxiefern]

Wow, how horrible! Glad you were able to figure out how to get it corrected!

 

[manning]

Whenever I get the defensive attitude I request a supervisor.

 

[tjkraz]

I'm not sure that it has anything to do with the waitlist. There were a few threads in recent weeks about a computer glitch at MS that caused ressies made in the name of a third-party to revert back to the DVC member's name. Sounds like that may be what happened to you.

Glad you got it all worked out before you left!!!

 

[RobDoc]

Lat reported this issue a couple of weeks ago.

Anyone who has rented or made reservations for someone else may want to reconfirm the reservation.

Here is a link to the <a href="http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=480134">earlier warning.</a>

Good luck!

 

[MiaSRN62]

Wow...how stressful ! Glad it all worked out for you in the end. Also thanks for the advice. I've only ever rented points twice in the past 8 years but I'll remember to double-check everything if I ever do again.

 

[kathleena]

Very sorry that you had to go through this shock!

But, I wouldn't blame MS for this one either - I saw the thread about the name issue with rented points and informed a friend of mine who has a rental for March. He called and sure enough - the ressie was back into the name of the DVC member. He has a confirmation with his name on it, but the computer information had been changed.

I hold onto the confirmations for dear life - I even make three copies of it for each trip - I keep one in my wallet (just the ressie number and my name part cut out so it's small) and give the second copy to the person who will be watching my house and the third copy to my DD. The original gets stored with my luggage so it's there when I go to pack!

 

[InstImpres]

Sorry you had this problem. I think it does happen on occassion. Whenever I rent points I always give my home and cell number. About 2 years ago, a ressie reverted to my name. Even though the person checking in had a confirmation in hand with her name and the matching number they would not let her check in.
The front desk CM did allow her to call me and I gave approval over the phone.

Glad you had a nice getaway in the long run.
Sandy