You won't believe this!!!

[MissMet]

I am involved in the biggest mix up possible and I am probably going to loose 200+ points over it & it's MS fault!!!

This is gonna be long one... I'm in need of some moral support right now. I'll do a recap at the bottom in bold if you don't feel like reading every single detail.

Okay. I'm a member. I own in SSR. I decided in the beginning of the year that I would purchase an add on with Disney for the AKV. I talked with my guide & decided to go with the incentive points, after much deliberation between the two options. Fast forward to a month later. I still had not seen the extra incentive points online. So I e-mail MS to ask, "How come my incentive points aren't showing online." I get a response assuring me that I do have the points, that they won't show up online & that when I'm ready to use them to just instruct MS to use them. Okay. Fast Forward to the week after AKV start taking resis.

I realize that in Nov I'm going on the Magic & I have to use the incentive points, why not add a week at AKV. I call up MS & start the booking process. I say, "I want to use my incentive points." The woman goes quiet for a second, then proceeds to tell me that I don't have any incentive points. Huh! I explain my whole buying process & tell her about the e-mail I had already sent & told her the CM who replied to my e-mail. She says she's gonna go speak with that man & puts me on hold. I'm on hold for 15 minutes than she finally comes back & asks if I ever received the certificate for the incentive points. I say, "What certificate?" She said, "Well, if you got the incentive points you would have received a certificate stating that." I say, "No, no certificate." She then tells me that my guide put in the other incentive, where it costs me less. I did the math & it appeares as though I got a discount, but I forgot to add in that I put a down payment, so I didn't get the other cheeper incentive, but I didn't realise this until months later. A few days later, my uncle passes away & I have to fly to Fl. Then after getting home I had to turn around & get ready for my trip overseas. Needles to say, the whole issue got lost in the shuffle & I knew that I didn't get the certificate, my guide must have gotten confused & gave me the other incentive, which after the fact I was already kinda wishing I went with. So the whole thing got lost in the shuffle. I made the AKV reservation with my points. Fast forward to yesterday.

So I'm now planning my next trip in May. I called yesterday to start my day-by-day reservation process. I go through it & everything's good. I had to borrow from 2008, but the trip is in '08 & I'm not going to WDW for a while after that trip because I'm going on a Hawaiian cruise in '08. So whatever it will balance out. Now today I call to add my second day. I get through the whole process again & I have to barrow more. I'm up to borrowing 84 points from 2008. Whatever no biggy. So I'm all set & I go to get off the phone & the CM goes, "Wait a minute!" (Uh, huh. you know what's coming...)

"I see here you have 200 incentive points from AKV that you need to use." "What!?" I proceed to tell him the whole story & he puts me on hold. Well, now I'm like, "Ooookay. These people need to get it together." He comes back & says, "No, you have these incentive points. I'm looking right at them. Do you want to use these for this Nov's trip?" I tell him yes. Every thing's great now, right? NO!

He goes, "Okay, I'm gonna put in a request that the points are changed to the incentive points." He pauses & then I knew something was up. "Okay, I'm gonna put it through, but it takes 3 - 4 business days to go through & you're going to be continuing to book day-by-day over the next couple days & that means you're gonna continue to borrow from 2008. And I know that once we get these incentive points changed over, that will free up a lot of you 2007 points & you'll want to use them instead of 2008's. But if that happens your 2008 points will go into a holding account until Aug of 2008. Plus, I also see that you made your AKV in the owner's window & I don't think you're allowed to use the incentive points in the owner's window, so they may not allow it." So he continues to tell me that he's making a note in my file & he'll get back to me.

Basically, they told me I didn't have 200 incentive points when I did. Now it's too late for me to use them & I've borrowed into 2008's points that are now going to end up in a holding account & I won't be able to use them, because I'm not going to disney by the time they expire & that's only if they let me use my incentive points!

Here's my feelings...

I'm so mad at myself for not following up on the whole situation in the spring. But I got sidetracked with my uncle's death & my trip overseas. Plus, I knew this isn't like a purchase at world of disney where they can refund me & do it over. This is a legal sale, so even if I called my guide to rant, all I would do is offend him, because he put through the wrong incentive, which he didn't & if I had called him anyway I would have found that out. Hindsight is 20/20.

Now it looks like I'm gonna loose the 200 incentive because I wasn't allowed to use them in the owner's window. Well, if I wasn't told I didn't have them in the spring & tried to book using them, they would have told me that & I would have waited till the 7 month window to book wherever I could to use the free 200 points that would expire if I didn't use them by the end of the year. And now, even if they overlook that & give them to me, that would mean that I have 200 '07 points to use on my 2007 trip, but I've borrowed from '08 already for that trip, so they're gonna go in a holding account where I have to use them by August of 2008, which I can't!

I called my guide, but of course he's off today. I'm so furious! What kind of joke are they running?! I don't know what to do next. I guess I have to wait for my guide to call. If I loose any points for their error I'm gonna be a raging lunatic.

Okay. I'm done. Sorry it was so long & kinda on the rambling side, I just can't get this off my chest until my guide calls, which is probably tomorrow.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

thats ridiculous

call and speak to a manager, explain it to them nicely and ask that everything be fixed!!!!

member services can do WHATEVER they want with those points, including using the incentive for your current ressies AND putting 2008 back to their proper place. The are allowed to make manual changes to the points and their standings in case of errors.


I have heard of even crazier things they had to rectify and I have been involved in one situation myself where they made some manual changes.

It would be one thing if you never asked to use them, but if what you say is what happened and the CM told you that you didnt have any and needed a certificate then thats just wrong. Thats THEIR mistake not yours

 

[nezy]

I am still not clear on what incentive you got in the end. Did you pay the higher price as offered w/ incentive points or did you pay the discounted price, offered without incentive points?

If you paid the lower price then you should not get the incentive points anyway. If you paid the higher price then you should get the points.

You definately need to speak to your member guide. I know mine has helped me clear up any confusion w/ certain things int the past.

GOOd Luck!

 

[MissMet]

When I first was told I didn't get the higher priced incentive with the extra points, I went back to figure the math to be sure I got the cheaper incentive without the extra points instead. I did the math & it ended up cheaper than the regular price per point, but the only problem is the numbers I used to figure it out was after I paid a down payment. So it looked to me as though I got the cheaper rate without the extra points, because I forgot to include the money I had already put down towards the principle.

Really though, I got the higher rate with the extra points, but now it may be too late to use the incentive points.

 

[MissMet]

thats ridiculous

call and speak to a manager, explain it to them nicely and ask that everything be fixed!!!!

member services can do WHATEVER they want with those points, including using the incentive for your current ressies AND putting 2008 back to their proper place. The are allowed to make manual changes to the points and their standings in case of errors.


I have heard of even crazier things they had to rectify and I have been involved in one situation myself where they made some manual changes.

It would be one thing if you never asked to use them, but if what you say is what happened and the CM told you that you didnt have any and needed a certificate then thats just wrong. Thats THEIR mistake not yours

Should I call to speak with a manager or wait for my Guide to return my call? I've never had an issue like this so I don't know who's the best to speak with.

 

[LisaS]

Should I call to speak with a manager or wait for my Guide to return my call? I've never had an issue like this so I don't know who's the best to speak with.

Call MS back and ask to speak to a supervisor. They should be able to sort this out, including "unborrowing" your 2008 points. Just take a few deep breaths first so that you can explain things to the supervisor as calmly as possible. Good luck!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Call MS back and ask to speak to a supervisor. They should be able to sort this out, including "unborrowing" your 2008 points. Just take a few deep breaths first so that you can explain things to the supervisor as calmly as possible. Good luck!

I was going to say the exact same thing. Calm down. Deep breaths and talk to someone who is a manager or supervisor. You may even want to talk to a Senior Guide (whatever they call them) and get it straightened out.

Put it in writing, concise and as short as possible and mail a letter to your guide and whoever is that person's supervisor if needs be.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I am involved in the biggest mix up possible and I am probably going to loose 200+ points over it & it's MS fault!!!

This is gonna be long one... I'm in need of some moral support right now. I'll do a recap at the bottom in bold if you don't feel like reading every single detail.

Okay. I'm a member. I own in SSR. I decided in the beginning of the year that I would purchase an add on with Disney for the AKV. I talked with my guide & decided to go with the incentive points, after much deliberation between the two options. Fast forward to a month later. I still had not seen the extra incentive points online. So I e-mail MS to ask, "How come my incentive points aren't showing online." I get a response assuring me that I do have the points, that they won't show up online & that when I'm ready to use them to just instruct MS to use them. Okay. Fast Forward to the week after AKV start taking resis.

I realize that in Nov I'm going on the Magic & I have to use the incentive points, why not add a week at AKV. I call up MS & start the booking process. I say, "I want to use my incentive points." The woman goes quiet for a second, then proceeds to tell me that I don't have any incentive points. Huh! I explain my whole buying process & tell her about the e-mail I had already sent & told her the CM who replied to my e-mail. She says she's gonna go speak with that man & puts me on hold. I'm on hold for 15 minutes than she finally comes back & asks if I ever received the certificate for the incentive points. I say, "What certificate?" She said, "Well, if you got the incentive points you would have received a certificate stating that." I say, "No, no certificate." She then tells me that my guide put in the other incentive, where it costs me less. I did the math & it appeares as though I got a discount, but I forgot to add in that I put a down payment, so I didn't get the other cheeper incentive, but I didn't realise this until months later. A few days later, my uncle passes away & I have to fly to Fl. Then after getting home I had to turn around & get ready for my trip overseas. Needles to say, the whole issue got lost in the shuffle & I knew that I didn't get the certificate, my guide must have gotten confused & gave me the other incentive, which after the fact I was already kinda wishing I went with. So the whole thing got lost in the shuffle. I made the AKV reservation with my points. Fast forward to yesterday.

So I'm now planning my next trip in May. I called yesterday to start my day-by-day reservation process. I go through it & everything's good. I had to borrow from 2008, but the trip is in '08 & I'm not going to WDW for a while after that trip because I'm going on a Hawaiian cruise in '08. So whatever it will balance out. Now today I call to add my second day. I get through the whole process again & I have to barrow more. I'm up to borrowing 84 points from 2008. Whatever no biggy. So I'm all set & I go to get off the phone & the CM goes, "Wait a minute!" (Uh, huh. you know what's coming...)

"I see here you have 200 incentive points from AKV that you need to use." "What!?" I proceed to tell him the whole story & he puts me on hold. Well, now I'm like, "Ooookay. These people need to get it together." He comes back & says, "No, you have these incentive points. I'm looking right at them. Do you want to use these for this Nov's trip?" I tell him yes. Every thing's great now, right? NO!

He goes, "Okay, I'm gonna put in a request that the points are changed to the incentive points." He pauses & then I knew something was up. "Okay, I'm gonna put it through, but it takes 3 - 4 business days to go through & you're going to be continuing to book day-by-day over the next couple days & that means you're gonna continue to borrow from 2008. And I know that once we get these incentive points changed over, that will free up a lot of you 2007 points & you'll want to use them instead of 2008's. But if that happens your 2008 points will go into a holding account until Aug of 2008. Plus, I also see that you made your AKV in the owner's window & I don't think you're allowed to use the incentive points in the owner's window, so they may not allow it." So he continues to tell me that he's making a note in my file & he'll get back to me.

Basically, they told me I didn't have 200 incentive points when I did. Now it's too late for me to use them & I've borrowed into 2008's points that are now going to end up in a holding account & I won't be able to use them, because I'm not going to disney by the time they expire & that's only if they let me use my incentive points!

Here's my feelings...

I'm so mad at myself for not following up on the whole situation in the spring. But I got sidetracked with my uncle's death & my trip overseas. Plus, I knew this isn't like a purchase at world of disney where they can refund me & do it over. This is a legal sale, so even if I called my guide to rant, all I would do is offend him, because he put through the wrong incentive, which he didn't & if I had called him anyway I would have found that out. Hindsight is 20/20.

Now it looks like I'm gonna loose the 200 incentive because I wasn't allowed to use them in the owner's window. Well, if I wasn't told I didn't have them in the spring & tried to book using them, they would have told me that & I would have waited till the 7 month window to book wherever I could to use the free 200 points that would expire if I didn't use them by the end of the year. And now, even if they overlook that & give them to me, that would mean that I have 200 '07 points to use on my 2007 trip, but I've borrowed from '08 already for that trip, so they're gonna go in a holding account where I have to use them by August of 2008, which I can't!

I called my guide, but of course he's off today. I'm so furious! What kind of joke are they running?! I don't know what to do next. I guess I have to wait for my guide to call. If I loose any points for their error I'm gonna be a raging lunatic.

Okay. I'm done. Sorry it was so long & kinda on the rambling side, I just can't get this off my chest until my guide calls, which is probably tomorrow.

OMG!! You have my life! This sounds like something that would happen to me. I BELIEVE in Murphy's Law.

On a happier note, it sounds like you got good advice. I hope everything works out. Good Luck!!!

 

[MissMet]

Okay. I took you guys' advise & called MS back & asked for a supervisor. I've always felt that no matter how wrong someone is, you start off kind & give them respect & if they don't give you respect & treat you the same than if necessary become the raging lunatic, but only if absolutely necessary. So I was very nice. I worked in retail a lot of years. There's no reason to shoot the messenger. They're there to fix the issue for you. Okay, I'll step off the soapbox now.

When I called earlier today the CM that told me I had those points told me he would make a note of the situation in my "file" & it was obvious he did, because after only giving my member number to the CM & being put on hold for a supervisor, the supervisor picked up & new the whole story & started the conversation with an apology. (Insert first sigh of relief)

She asked how she could help me. So I very politely said "I just feel like I'm in limbo land not knowing what is gonna happen with my points." She said that she could see that the CM I spoke with earlier put in the request that the incentive points are used, but that they had not gotten to it yet. She assured me that the incentive points will be used for the Nov reservation. So I made her repeat that. I said, "So I can use the incentive points for the Nov trip even though I booked that trip in the owner's window?" & she said, "Yes, you will be using those points." I said, "Okay. But now my other predicament is I'm in the middle of booking a May reservation & I've been borrowing points to make it. Will the 2008 points be returned to 2008?" She said, "Yes, you will have those points returned." I asked, "They will be returned to that use year & not a holding account?" She said, "Yes, they'll be returned & you'll be able to use the 2007 points that were used for you Nov trip." I said, "Thank you so much. I was just so worried I would loose points, because the conversation was kind of left up int he air & I hadn't heard anything." She then said, "I am so sorry for the mix up. Can you give me the number I can reach you at? I am going to personally call inquiries & have them work on this right away & I'll get back to you as soon as it's done." I gave her my number & thanked her.

I'm so relieved. It was obvious right away that they new they had messed me up, because I didn't even have to tell her the whole story. She answered the phone apologizing.

Well, thank you guys for the moral support & advise. I thought I was gonna have to "fight" to get my points back, but I didn't. Once I hear back from her I guess I'll call my guide back & leave a message explaining that the situation has been resolved.

Thanks again guys!

 

[BroganMc]

I'm glad it worked out for you Lisa. See, MS are not the ogres we sometimes make them out to be.

FWIW, your story inspired me to look into my own points. There was a discrepency regarding how many points I had available to bank next year and what my surplus was. But the CM and I backtracked through and realized what happened. I banked too early then changed my October ressie for more days. So they had to borrow and left me with less available to bank next year. Not a problem since I have more than the full amount. I just need to be sure I use at least 80 points next year because I can't bank them.

Lesson learned. Next time I'll wait longer to bank. And MS can be very helpful when you are nice about it.

 

[Dean]

Contact your guide as well and have them get with MS to make sure all your borrowed points are put back where they belong. They can do this and they will if you approach it as noted in this thread. Let us know what happens.

 

[MissMet]

- UPDATE -

The Supervisor never called back. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt, because she did warn me that there was a slight possibility that she would not call until tomorrow. Although, my guide did call. I was going to leave him another message saying everything is good once I heard from her. Apparently, he was home sick, but took some meds & felt better & needed to finish up some pressing paperwork or something. He got my message & handled the issue, that's why the supervisor answered the phone apologizing. He then called me. I didn't know this, so I went through the whole story again with him, but I started to get the feeling he knew what was going on cause he started to finish my sentences. He told me if I ever have any issues like that again with MS, to call him right away & he'd take care of it. I love him, he's so great!

So I'm still waiting to hear from her. I'm kinda disappointed though, because I had hoped everything would have been fixed before i have to call tomorrow morning for my day-by-day reservation. I hope the poor CM doesn't get confused. I guess they'll just continue to borrow from '08 until they get it fixed.

 

[jjohnson]

I'm glad everything was worked out for you Lisa.

 

[MissMet]

I'm glad everything was worked out for you Lisa.

Thanks.

I live in Westchester County too! Small world.

 

[jjohnson]

Thanks.

I live in Westchester County too! Small world.

I'm in Cortlandt Manor where are you?

 

[MissMet]

I'm in Cortlandt Manor where are you?

Yorktown Heights - I'm five minutes from the JV Mall!

 

[RLRDA]

Glad to hear everything is working out with your points...and that you didn't have to get into a 'knock-down-drag-out' with MS to get it straightened out. Sounds like you have a great guide....comes in after being home sick and takes care of it...very professional !

Enjoy your points !!

P.S. - The Indians just tied Game 2.....and GO SOX !!

 

[3DisneyKids]

Keep us posted so that we know that everything really DID get fixed!

 

[jjohnson]

Yorktown Heights - I'm five minutes from the JV Mall!

Wow; small world. I'll be at the mall with DD12 & her best friend tomorrow afternoon.

We used to live on Dale Street off Lexington Ave. about 12 years ago.

 

[jjohnson]

Lisa I forgot to mention. My DSD will be staying at BWV the same week as you. We're giving her a 5 night stay as a birthday/Christmas present.