Who'll stand with me...outside the DVC 'member' lounge?

[Lyn-CA]

Just curious Lyn - what resort did you buy into?

BVC. It was where we honeymooned back in 2000.

 

[linzjane88]

I love the look and location of BCV, if it would have had a few more years left in it I would have strongly considered it. We went SSR and my plan has been to do a small add on later.
Did you ever consider DGC since you live nearby? We are going to DL next month (first time in 6+years). I was kind of wishing for DGC points when trying to book a room!

 

[Lyn-CA]

I love the look and location of BCV, if it would have had a few more years left in it I would have strongly considered it. We went SSR and my plan has been to do a small add on later.
Did you ever consider DGC since you live nearby? We are going to DL next month (first time in 6+years). I was kind of wishing for DGC points when trying to book a room!

We did consider VGC but we had done 12 trips to DL between 2013-2015 with APs so we shifted our focus to WDW. Over those 3 years, we stayed at all 3 Disney hotels. We used AP hotel discounts and did a bunch of Dapper Day discounted stays.

I hope you love DL as much as we do (despite the no river, no train thing at the moment).

 

[DisDadDVC]

I was upset that Disney would screw the buyers in rofr. If it was never a reality, their poor communication is just as surprising. Then again, why am I surprised? Their IT is as bad as it gets.

But none of this communication came from Disney. The brokers were the ONLY source of this rumor. Disney's public statements have been consistent.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

We bought SSR direct in 2008. From 2017 they have changed the points so there are now preferred buildings that have more points and non preferred with less. Too many requests for The Springs and Congress Park. This is quite a change for our resort. The points remain the same for the year as they reallocate them around. So they do change things and in the small print they can. We did understand this when we bought. We don't mind this change we just enjoy staying at SSR or VGF our add on. I also understand back in the day some members got free park passes with OKW. So offers come and go. Sounds like you have been grandfathered which is great. But there does have to be a cut off date I guess? Somebody somewhere is going to get caught unless they give 3 months advance notice but maybe this would affect sales for resale for those months. Imagine I was selling a contract now I have my buyers pulling out. It is actually more complex than we think.

 

[bashuck]

So if someone bought resale in 2013 for example they are grandfathered in. What would happen if in 2017 they buy an additional resale contract and then sell the one they bought in 2013? All of their points are post April 2016, but they became a member and have stayed a member for the years prior.

 

[pangyal]

So if someone bought resale in 2013 for example they are grandfathered in. What would happen if in 2017 they buy an additional resale contract and then sell the one they bought in 2013? All of their points are post April 2016, but they became a member and have stayed a member for the years prior.

I would think that once their physical membership card expires in 2021, that person would lose access to the benefits.

 

[Rhonda Mousie]

And in 2021 is when all resales lose the perks. We have time... we hope.

 

[mynameisnobody]

But none of this communication came from Disney. The brokers were the ONLY source of this rumor. Disney's public statements have been consistent.

This is absolutely untrue. Read the updated paragraph in the Membership Extras and Disclosure Statement and then read Ken Potrock's Notification that was posted. The MEADS affects ALL resale purchasers without a direct purchase and Potrocks letter only affects purchases after April 4. This is where the confusion started and why the brokers started trying to get confirmation from DVC as to what was going to actually happen. I still contend, based on MEADS, that the original intent was to eliminate membership extras from everyone that does not own a direct purchase contract. I believe once the smoke clears from this mess, and unless the update MEADS, they will implement the more restrictive policy. I hope I'm wrong though.

 

[DisDadDVC]

This is absolutely untrue. Read the updated paragraph in the Membership Extras and Disclosure Statement and then read Ken Potrock's Notification that was posted. The MEADS affects ALL resale purchasers without a direct purchase and Potrocks letter only affects purchases after April 4. This is where the confusion started and why the brokers started trying to get confirmation from DVC as to what was going to actually happen. I still contend, based on MEADS, that the original intent was to eliminate membership extras from everyone that does not own a direct purchase contract. I believe once the smoke clears from this mess, and unless the update MEADS, they will implement the more restrictive policy. I hope I'm wrong though.

If that is the case, then Potrock never would have put that in the letter. His letter was very clear. It is the legalese that wasn't.

 

[mynameisnobody]

If that is the case, then Potrock never would have put that in the letter.

Nonsense. Potrock's letter was most likely phase 1 implementation of the new policy. The confusion caused because of the disparity between it and the MEADS caused DVC to issue a clear policy regarding contracts in ROFR. As has been mentioned by a one or two other posters, the 2021 expiration of the new member cards may in fact be the implementation of the full policy outlined in MEADS.

 

[DisDadDVC]

Nonsense. Potrock's letter was most likely phase 1 implementation of the new policy. The confusion caused because of the disparity between it and the MEADS caused DVC to issue a clear policy regarding contracts in ROFR. As has been mentioned by a one or two other posters, the 2021 expiration of the new member cards may in fact be the implementation of the full policy outlined in MEADS.

I think we are talking about two different things. I have no doubt that this is only phase 1 and they will continue to strip benefits from resale buyers. My only point is that I do not think DVC did this:

1) Originally decide to grandfather people in who were in ROFR and make the announcement
2) Then hours after announcing the changes, change their mind and say that people in ROFR would not be grandfathered in
3) Then the day after that, change their mind again and say those people were grandfathered in.

#2 would make no sense. If they didn't want to grandfather those people in, they would have decided that in advance.

 

[BuzzyBelle]

And in 2021 is when all resales lose the perks. We have time... we hope.

This is something I haven't seen mentioned much if at all in all the hundreds of pages about these new changes, but have been very curious about over the last few days. Why do our new cards have expiration dates? Maybe we'll all be on the chopping block in the next few years and you'll only receive benefits with a new direct purchase at the current resort. We love our membership and knew before buying that the discounts come and go frequently, but it's still nice to save a few bucks here and there

 

[DisDadDVC]

This is something I haven't seen mentioned much if at all in all the hundreds of pages about these new changes, but have been very curious about over the last few days. Why do our new cards have expiration dates? Maybe we'll all be on the chopping block in the next few years and you'll only receive benefits with a new direct purchase at the current resort. We love our membership and knew before buying that the discounts come and go frequently, but it's still nice to save a few bucks here and there

Well, it could be something harmless. Credit cards have expiration dates on them. However, I would bet it is NOT harmless. I believe this latest move is the first salvo in the war on resale.

 

[mynameisnobody]

I think we are talking about two different things. I have no doubt that this is only phase 1 and they will continue to strip benefits from resale buyers. My only point is that I do not think DVC did this:

1) Originally decide to grandfather people in who were in ROFR and make the announcement
2) Then hours after announcing the changes, change their mind and say that people in ROFR would not be grandfathered in
3) Then the day after that, change their mind again and say those people were grandfathered in.

#2 would make no sense. If they didn't want to grandfather those people in, they would have decided that in advance.

They had no intention of grandfathering anyone in that did not complete their purchase (closed and recorded) by the end of April 3. I think when brokers and members started calling member services and member administration for the policy clarification they were getting conflicting statements even from the same department. Keep in mind that it was DVC/DVD that notified all of the brokers by phone Monday evening that people in ROFR would not be grandfathered in. All of the large resale brokers reported exactly the same statement received from Disney. I think that due to the uproar this caused and because the real impact to their bottom line was minimal that they decided to reverse themselves and grandfather the contracts in ROFR. There were probably only a few hundred, if that many, contracts in ROFR at that time. It was probably a calculated move to retain some good will while not costing them a lot.

 

[DisDadDVC]

They had no intention of grandfathering anyone in that did not complete their purchase (closed and recorded) by the end of April 3. I think when brokers and members started calling member services and member administration for the policy clarification they were getting conflicting statements even from the same department. Keep in mind that it was DVC/DVD that notified all of the brokers by phone Monday evening that people in ROFR would not be grandfathered in. All of the large resale brokers reported exactly the same statement received from Disney. I think that due to the uproar this caused and because the real impact to their bottom line was minimal that they decided to reverse themselves and grandfather the contracts in ROFR. There were probably only a few hundred, if that many, contracts in ROFR at that time. It was probably a calculated move to retain some good will while not costing them a lot.

That's not the order the brokers reported.

1) Brokers reported that DVC said people in ROFR were grandfathered in
2) Brokers reported that DVC said people in ROFR were NOT grandfathered in
3) Brokers reported that DVC said people in ROFR were grandfathered in

There is no way that DVC gave them 3 different decisions. If they just did #2 and #3 I could easily believe that. People are making it sounds like DVC changed their mind each of those times. They either started with #1 and never changed, or they started with #2 and changed their mind once.

Anyway, none of this is important now. But I think the brokers are mostly responsible for the mixed up messages.

 

[mynameisnobody]

That's not the order the brokers reported.

1) Brokers reported that DVC said people in ROFR were grandfathered in
2) Brokers reported that DVC said people in ROFR were NOT grandfathered in
3) Brokers reported that DVC said people in ROFR were grandfathered in

There is no way that DVC gave them 3 different decisions. If they just did #2 and #3 I could easily believe that. People are making it sounds like DVC changed their mind each of those times. They either started with #1 and never changed, or they started with #2 and changed their mind once.

Anyway, none of this is important now. But I think the brokers are mostly responsible for the mixed up messages.

But that's exactly what Disney did. Even posters on this board were reporting that prior to the notice Monday evening that DVC Member Administration was telling them contracts in ROFR were grandfathered. It is obvious that DVC did a very poor job of telling their front line folks exactly what the policy was and who it would affect. You can't blame the brokers, they were only relaying the information they were getting from Disney.

 

[DebbieB]

Well, it could be something harmless. Credit cards have expiration dates on them. However, I would bet it is NOT harmless. I believe this latest move is the first salvo in the war on resale.

I think they did it so that people who sold can't keep using them forever. I know they do key in the member number for ticket sales to verify membership but they don't for other discounts.

They had no intention of grandfathering anyone in that did not complete their purchase (closed and recorded) by the end of April 3. I think when brokers and members started calling member services and member administration for the policy clarification they were getting conflicting statements even from the same department. Keep in mind that it was DVC/DVD that notified all of the brokers by phone Monday evening that people in ROFR would not be grandfathered in. All of the large resale brokers reported exactly the same statement received from Disney. I think that due to the uproar this caused and because the real impact to their bottom line was minimal that they decided to reverse themselves and grandfather the contracts in ROFR. There were probably only a few hundred, if that many, contracts in ROFR at that time. It was probably a calculated move to retain some good will while not costing them a lot.

I just don't get where they thought it was ethical to pull the rug out from under people who are in process, especially when they first said they were grandfathered. Some of whom are past the point of legally rescinding. Probably an extra month to 6 weeks of resales included, was it worth the bad publicity?

 

[CMNJ]

Just for curiosity sake-a lot of those who would have been affected by this change (in the buying process but not yet members) say they are upset about being treated like second class members and not getting perks that were "part of the contract the signed". So would you all be less upset if Disney announced tomorrow that perks had been discontinued for everyone? Or would you still feel cheated?

 

[Rhonda Mousie]

First off I am happy my new first contract will have full resale perks. For however they last. And I appreciate all the support from Direct and existing resale members gave to the cause. It was our brokers (My broker called me every day to keep me status'ed) and these forums that made DVD fix our issue. I truly believe that.

Second, Yes we knew what we were buying. We knew perks could change. But we got caught up in bad timing. And DVD really did not handle it correctly.

Just for curiosity sake-a lot of those who would have been affected by this change (in the buying process but not yet members) say they are upset about being treated like second class members and not getting perks that were "part of the contract the signed". So would you all be less upset if Disney announced tomorrow that perks had been discontinued for everyone? Or would you still feel cheated?

This was my biggest problem. That they treated us differently with no notice. I would have nothing to say if it was all of resales. This was done in 2011. Cause in the end I am buying the points. I do expect this to happen at some point.

It was sad to see other resale members reiterating it over and over what the contract is that you are buying. A simple "I feel for you would suffice." There were some of those. So TY for that as well.