Rented Points: Disappointed in Humanity

[DVCjj]

Just got back from a lovely trip and a VERY frustrating last night. All was wonderful at our 3 nights at BLT. All was wonderful for next 2 nights (2 studios) at BWV (used remainder of transferred in points). THEN...on the 3rd BWV night(s) I had rented points for the very first time in order to extend our standard studios for one more night. This was all done in June, 2017 (11 months prior). Though I was very nervous about renting in general, I did my due diligence prior to and after the transaction. I found him on this board.

I was shocked when a very nice man from BWV 'back office' called my room to say there was a big problem for our last nights' stay. BIG problem.

The owner "owed money" and I would have to make other arrangements in order for DD and I to stay for the additional night. I couldn't believe my ears. I asked if Renter was still a member and mentioned I had done all I could prior/after renting. The answer was Yes, a member. I asked if he didn't pay his dues. The answer was "that's not the problem but we can't say anything except he owes money and Member Services cannot get a hold of him". (They had the same email/phone #s that I had on my several correspondences with him 11 months ago).

The only thing that was odd is when I emailed for him to make a return Magical Express once I got air about 3 months prior, he said to have MS do it. I didn't think they would but they graciously did.

Thank goodness, I had Poly points that I used for the 34 points but I cannot believe he could do this to me. How could this have gone so wrong if he was / is a Member and has paid his dues???

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE THE REASON? What if I hadn't had points at all to use? I got back last night and am still shaking my head in disbelief.

 

[Cyberc1978]

I’m sorry to hear about your situation and I’m glad that you found a solution for you and your daughter.

Maybe the member have had other renters not paying their bill or damaging a room. As I understand it this comes down directly to the owner which then have to pay. If the owner doesn’t then I guess the account get suspended.

Regarding DME you can actually book it yourself(even as a renter) on the Disney homepage

 

[NancyDVC]

So sorry to hear about your problem. Most members are reliable and above board in their dealings. Did you rent directly from the member or through a service such as “David’s”?
I would like to take the ‘high road’ here and say that the member had an unforseen issue that they could not resolve before your arrival? But in my opinion the member should have contacted you to help you with your reservation and resolve any problem that might arise before you got there.
There are other fees that members can incur. Perhaps it is a mortgage payment problem? Or heaven forbid a fee for some type of damage that occurred during one of his reservations. If the contact information that you have is the information MS has and they got no reply I wonder if there are greater monetary or other problems?

 

[LYSE]

So sorry, I hope you get your money back.

 

[DVCjj]

I’m sorry to hear about your situation and I’m glad that you found a solution for you and your daughter.

Maybe the member have had other renters not paying their bill or damaging a room. As I understand it this comes down directly to the owner which then have to pay. If the owner doesn’t then I guess the account get suspended.

Regarding DME you can actually book it yourself(even as a renter) on the Disney homepage

Thank you. I didn't know I could book it myself if I wasn't the owner. Good to know. Hmmm..I never thought of another renter being the problem. If I had just known ahead of time, I'm the kind of person who actually might have understood. It did help that the BWV guy who called me several times was upset to have to tell me.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

Glad it worked out, though not the way it should have. I hope you get your rental $ back.

I would assume if you didn't have the points, they would have made you pay cash for the room...? Or allowed you to buy OTU points (maybe bending the 24 point limit rule?) I would have asked them when they realized this "problem" and why they couldn't have let you know sooner!! I'm sure that was very stressful at the last minute!

 

[Marionnette]

Just got back from a lovely trip and a VERY frustrating last night. All was wonderful at our 3 nights at BLT. All was wonderful for next 2 nights (2 studios) at BWV (used remainder of transferred in points). THEN...on the 3rd BWV night(s) I had rented points for the very first time in order to extend our standard studios for one more night. This was all done in June, 2017 (11 months prior). Though I was very nervous about renting in general, I did my due diligence prior to and after the transaction. I found him on this board.

I was shocked when a very nice man from BWV 'back office' called my room to say there was a big problem for our last nights' stay. BIG problem.

The owner "owed money" and I would have to make other arrangements in order for DD and I to stay for the additional night. I couldn't believe my ears. I asked if Renter was still a member and mentioned I had done all I could prior/after renting. The answer was Yes, a member. I asked if he didn't pay his dues. The answer was "that's not the problem but we can't say anything except he owes money and Member Services cannot get a hold of him". (They had the same email/phone #s that I had on my several correspondences with him 11 months ago).

The only thing that was odd is when I emailed for him to make a return Magical Express once I got air about 3 months prior, he said to have MS do it. I didn't think they would but they graciously did.

Thank goodness, I had Poly points that I used for the 34 points but I cannot believe he could do this to me. How could this have gone so wrong if he was / is a Member and has paid his dues???

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE THE REASON? What if I hadn't had points at all to use? I got back last night and am still shaking my head in disbelief.

He could be current on his dues but behind on paying his mortgage.

 

[DVCjj]

So sorry, I hope you get your money back.

Thank you. No, he isn't answering emails/calls and I'm sure I won't see the $510. I am very thankful I hadn't rented the entire 3 night 2 studio stay and it wasn't more money.

I did notice he stopped posting after October though that means nothing I guess.

 

[LYSE]

Thank you. No, he isn't answering emails/calls and I'm sure I won't see the $510. I am very thankful I hadn't rented the entire 3 night 2 studio stay and it wasn't more money.

I did notice he stopped posting after October though that means nothing I guess.

Well, file any dispute you can, I know what sucks about these things is 11 months is usually far beyond the time one has to file a credit card charge back or PayPal fraud report

Scary to think about, I myself have upcoming rental stays...this is why I have such a big problem with individual owners asking for full payment upfront, if you pay 11 months in advance the renter pretty much has no hope of getting that money back unless something starts smelling funny months before the travel date.

 

[disneynutz]

Stuff happens, issues with an owner or issues with Disney, all you can do is do your homework, plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Bill

 

[DVCjj]

Stuff happens, issues with an owner or issues with Disney, all you can do is do your homework, plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Bill

You're right. I need to keep it in perspective. I'm very thankful and blessed to have points and be able to go several times a year. No one died. No one was harmed. I'm making it up by not extending a future trip by a couple of days. I guess it really caught me off guard and disappointed. Venting helps.

 

[DVCjj]

So sorry to hear about your problem. Most members are reliable and above board in their dealings. Did you rent directly from the member or through a service such as “David’s”?
I would like to take the ‘high road’ here and say that the member had an unforseen issue that they could not resolve before your arrival? But in my opinion the member should have contacted you to help you with your reservation and resolve any problem that might arise before you got there.
There are other fees that members can incur. Perhaps it is a mortgage payment problem? Or heaven forbid a fee for some type of damage that occurred during one of his reservations. If the contact information that you have is the information MS has and they got no reply I wonder if there are greater monetary or other problems?

Thank you. It was an owner posted here.

As I mentioned to 'Disneynutz', I'm finally keeping it in perspective and it has helped to just vent.
I appreciated the replies.

 

[ziravan]

Did the staff on site let you keep same reservation but pay with your points? If so, that’s fantastic.

The owner seems to have gotten into a bind since he rented to you. Doesn’t sound like he meant to scam you. Of course he should have let you know. He probably doesn’t have the money to make it right (if he did, he could have probably made it right with DVC).

Sucks all the way around.

 

[DVCjj]

Did the staff on site let you keep same reservation but pay with your points? If so, that’s fantastic.

The owner seems to have gotten into a bind since he rented to you. Doesn’t sound like he meant to scam you. Of course he should have let you know. He probably doesn’t have the money to make it right (if he did, he could have probably made it right with DVC).

Sucks all the way around.

Yes, “Nick” from “BWV back office” sounded genuinely sad to tell me of the situation and called Member Services twice to arrange for my Poly points to go towards the ‘cancelled’ rooms. He made sure we didn’t have to move rooms, the Magic Bands would work and even checked the Magical Express reservations were good. He went above and beyond.

I made sure to praise him in the BWV survey I rec’d this evening.

 

[LisaS]

If the owner financed through Disney and is behind on payments, Disney will eventually file paperwork with the Orange County Comptroller's website, first a lien and eventually foreclosure documents. Look up the owner on the comptroller's website and you may find some answers there.

As others have posted, it may also be due to another of the owner's renters damaging a room or failing to pay their bill.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

I am so sorry this happened, and what a kick in the chest way to end your trip.
I doubt you will ever get the money back, but I also doubt the rentor meant to cheat you, but rather got into trouble he couldn't get out of.
He probably didn't contact you because he couldn't "face you" so to speak, and may have been "hoping for the best' somehow.

 

[Beesknees6]

Ok, so as a new DVC owner myself, and trying to understand the situation, if the owner you’re renting from is any type of arrears, the renter is on the hook for it at time of stay I guess? And the renter has no recourse? If so, I would suggest publicly putting this person’s name out there to prevent anyone else from being in the same situation.. that’s just awful!!

 

[Wakey]

This is why I'd only rent via a reputable agent such as Dave's as I believe they'd make it good as they couldn't do with bad publicity.

 

[Beesknees6]

I am so sorry this happened, and what a kick in the chest way to end your trip.
I doubt you will ever get the money back, but I also doubt the rentor meant to cheat you, but rather got into trouble he couldn't get out of.
He probably didn't contact you because he couldn't "face you" so to speak, and may have been "hoping for the best' somehow.

It’s still despicable whatever his “intentions” were. It’s called personal responsibility and could’ve left this renter in a worse spot than they were. Just shameful.

 

[Marionnette]

It’s still despicable whatever his “intentions” were. It’s called personal responsibility and could’ve left this renter in a worse spot than they were. Just shameful.

We don't know the owner's situation so it's not fair to pass judgement. They may very well have entered the rental agreement with the intention of cheating their renters. Or they may be in a position where they are unable to answer the renter's emails and phone calls. I'm going to go with the assumption that the owner went into the rental situation needing the money more than they needed the points. Finances may have gotten out of hand for them and paying a DVC loan went to the bottom of the list of priorities. And at this point, they have no way of refunding the renters and have no answer for them other than "I'm sorry", so they have elected to just ignore both DVC and their renter. I've seen it happen time and time again with people who are in over their heads.

None of this helps the OP who is now out $500+ plus the points that they didn't want to use for this stay. It sucks, no two ways about it. I hope that there weren't other renters who are about to find out that they have no accommodations for their planned vacations.