Ripoff - Marriott Vacation Club Destinations Program - New Point System

Dennis, I take back calling you a SHILL. There is no way you could possibly be getting paid for your bullshit. Listen to yourself, there is no WE, there is only YOU.

Wow, I love the name calling! Really? Why does Dennis have to look out for everyone else and be a "We", Bob? I have been reading these post for the past few weeks because I just purchased DC points. I have 3 legacy weeks. Maybe I got screwed, maybe I didn't. But I made the decision to do it because I think it will be the best thing for me in the long run. If I was wrong, that is a mistake I will have to live with. I am a big boy and I can read. If you people that are complaining so much don't like DC, don't use them, sell your points and move on. Be productive and figure out a way to make it work or don't use it. Calling Dennis names takes away from your credibility to actually make a statement that someone may listen to and respect. I didn't by these points because I thought it would be the best thing for everyone on this forum and I am pretty sure Dennis didn't make his decision based upon what this forum thinks. If this is a medium for everyone to complain because they think they were mislead or didn't take the time to learn about what they we getting into, it works perfectly. Marriott didn't force anyone to do this, so I don't see why there is such hostility towards MVCI. Look in the mirror if you are upset. I am looking in the mirror and so far I am pleased. That may change, but if I am unhappy with this product I only have myself to blame, I won't look for excuses.

And thank you to everyone for the constructive posts. The more well reasoned information, the better.

Bob -

I'm on vacation right now at a great Marrriott property and will not be bothered by a discontented CPA/Attorney who "read that contract and knew it was a joke" - your Apr 16 posting. I can't understand how a bright guy like you could be so overwhelmed by the salesperson who sold you timeshares.

I'm going back to my vacation now and will give you a breather.

Dennis

DON'T BUY FROM MARRIOTT, BUY FROM A MARRIOTT OWNER AND SAVE 50-60% MARRIOTT'S NEW POINT PROGRAM IS EXPENSIVE AND EVER CHANGING. YOU DON'T NEED TO TRADE WITH MARRIOTT, ALL YOU NEED IS A PRIME VACATION SPOT AND HIGHLY REQUESTED WEEKS AND YOU CAN TRADE OR RENT WITH ANYONE.

Don't waste your time saving DC points for the Cruises - the cruises are low value rooms and they add on extra fees. I joined DC points program because I like to trade one of my Marriott properties. And I figured Marriott will try to make it much harder to trade with Interval in the future. I did not think DC Points was a good value and still do not. And I firmly believe the program was conceived just to make more money for the new Marriott company. However, I decided to try one of the Explorer Cruise vacations from Destinations. I converted two platinum 2 bedrooms units into 5000 points and paid two yearly maintenance fees. And I paid the extra $199 yearly assessment to Marriott that goes along with the DC Points program (so I would no longer have to pay booking fees.) I booked a cruise using those points. All info on Marriott's website says "a cruise for 2 for "X" number of points". When I called to book the cruise then I was told about the $827 in Port charges/Gov't fees. But, this is even better - Marriott also added a $19.95 processing fee. (I thought paying $199 a year would eliminate booking fees - not true! How long before the Marriott processing fee is $49?) I went through with the reservation because I had accumulated the points for two years to go on a cruise, so I figured W.T.F. I paid the $847 in fees knowing it was not a good value. Well, I got my room reservation email from Marriott. This week, a month later, I went on the cruise line website to look and saw my cabin # was changed and not for the better. I called Marriott - they blamed it on the cruise line. I called the cruise line and they told me that it was Marriott. Marriott booked my cruise and did not post my payment. (I had paid in full. In fact the credit card bill is even paid.) The cruise cancelled my room for lack of payment. When Marriott realized their mistake they re-booked but, just didn't bother to put in the room I picked. The room I had picked was available when Marriott re-booked. The new room I have is in the category but, a floor lower. Of course, no rooms are left on the floor my original room was on. The rooms Marriott gives for 5000 DC points are extremely low value rooms. I could have booked on the cruise line website for less than all the maintenance fees I pay Marriott and these extra add on port/gov't/processing fees combined. Also I would have a better room. Plus Marriott has my two Platinum 2 bed weeks to re-book. (The room I got was the floor just above the cabins the crew sleeps in. Basically as low as you can go = cheapest available). So my advice = don't save up points to use for any of the Cruise deals (and probably not for any of the DC vacation offers either). Marriott charges high DC point amounts for inferior cruise ship rooms. Marriott charges a processing fee even though their reservation reps are incompetent. I was on the phone for 3 hours talking to the cruise line and Marriott yesterday to get what I thought was fair compensation. All they offered was $50 in cruise dollars. I feel that Marriott screwed up so I should get a cabin upgrade. No dice. I know I paid way too much for a crappy room, incompetent service by reservation reps and poor customer service. Buyer beware the Marriott DC Points Program.

i had the same experience with the cruise thing. they waaaay overcharge. you can buy a better room cheaper than the maintenance fees for the points! it keeps getting worse and worse the more i get into this and discover all the things they did not tell me.

" If you people that are complaining so much don't like DC, don't use them, sell your points and move on"

obviously you have NOT been reading the posts or you would know that it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to sell these points. Marriott set it up so as to block re sales so they could sell their new ones instead. if you have 6500 points, the buyer must pay Marriott $6500 to change the deed into his name!

a bit excessive don't you agree?

Wow. Marriott charges a dollar a point to change the deed for a point sale? Are you sure? As a deeded owner there are advantages in buying into the point system. But purchasing new points from Marriott is makes zero ecomomic sense to me.

"Wow. Marriott charges a dollar a point to change the deed for a point sale? Are you sure?"

i had a buyer for mine and when they told him that, he backed out even though I offered to pay it for him. he did not want to be with a company that would do that to me. and what if he ever wanted to resell them? i couldn't believe it was so high so i called them myself. they said "well it's on page 52 or some page, "a fee will be charged to transfer deed". i said that doesn't say it will be that high!! when i sold two timeshare weeks, it was like $75. this whole points thing is unbelievable. at first i thought it's because this isn't Marriott. Mariott wouldn't do this to me. but that's giving them too much credit. they are lending their name to these practices, then they are just as responsible as this new company.

I am not someone who is quick to talk about class action law suits, but at some point Marriott may end up with one for: (a) charging owners an unreasnable fee for selling their points and (b) not allowing deeded owners, who bought into the point system, to include that feature when they sell their units.

It is one thing to have some rules. It is another to sell a product that you are not willing to buy back for a reasonable fee and to disadvantage the seller from obtaining a reasonable price.

Normally when one purchases something the owner can sell what he/she purchased. Marriott has established rules that don't allow this to take place. That is grossly unreasonable and should be unlawful.

Are they any attorneys out there who can comment on this?

I'm in if anyone wants to try class action. i'm even thinking of small claims court. i could potentially collect $15,000 of the $22,000 I paid for this. i was willing to sell them for 1/2 what i bought them for just to get rid of them but Marrriott quashed that deal for me. we paid for NOTHING. we own NOTHING. we bought the right to allow them to grossly overcharge us for vacations we could buy cheaper without them. the most upsetting thing is that I was stupid enough to do it.

Before you go talking class action suit which will cost those of us owners money for the legal fees in the long run to get little to nothing, I would advise that you read what you signed.

If you have a deed, you can sell it. However, Marriott has Right of First Refusal (ROFR). This means they can buy it first for your agreed upon amount with the seller you found.

As for the points, if you signed before you bought the points that they were going to have a fee when you sold the points, you would not have a leg to stand on in court. You signed a contract that stated that.

It is laughable that a few complainers want relief from a seller for their own stupidity. As I recall, Ifrappa called Vacation Club to buy points, did not read the paperwork, did not rescind the contract, etc. Others are also complaining about their plight after not doing their due diligence. Quite frankly, businesses should be protected from dumb bells. I don't think customer stupidity is reason to sue a seller.

If customer stupidity was a reason to sue the seller, you would no doubt be the richest person in your village. Reed before you type! Calling other's STUPID, and than letting that BS come out of your mouth only makes you look dumber.

Law suits are generally settled based on what the persons who are defrauded are led to believe, regardless of what may or may not be buried in a contract. Generally, as would be the case here, numerous pertinent facts are purposely not disclosed to the unsuspecting buyer. That alone could be the basis for a law suit. Will it happen? Only time and money will tell. Most class claim defendants think they have all the bases covered. Most don't!

Dennis, if you don't want to here other's complain, please start your own thread for owners who are HAPPY. HERE, YOU ARE ONE OF THE FEW!

Oh Bob, aren't you the attorney/CPA who can't read and said he wasn't participating anymore? I will write so long as you are complaining about stupid stuff.

Dennis

bobp223 wrote:

If customer stupidity was a reason to sue the seller, you would no doubt be the richest person in your village. Reed before you type! Calling other's STUPID, and than letting that BS come out of your mouth only makes you look dumber.

Law suits are generally settled based on what the persons who are defrauded are led to believe, regardless of what may or may not be buried in a contract. Generally, as would be the case here, numerous pertinent facts are purposely not disclosed to the unsuspecting buyer. That alone could be the basis for a law suit. Will it happen? Only time and money will tell. Most class claim defendants think they have all the bases covered. Most don't!

Dennis, if you don't want to here other's complain, please start your own thread for owners who are HAPPY. HERE, YOU ARE ONE OF THE FEW!

dennish144 wrote:

It is laughable that a few complainers want relief from a seller for their own stupidity. As I recall, Ifrappa called Vacation Club to buy points, did not read the paperwork, did not rescind the contract, etc. Others are also complaining about their plight after not doing their due diligence. Quite frankly, businesses should be protected from dumb bells. I don't think customer stupidity is reason to sue a seller.

tm178 wrote:

bobp223 wrote:

If customer stupidity was a reason to sue the seller, you would no doubt be the richest person in your village. Reed before you type! Calling other's STUPID, and than letting that BS come out of your mouth only makes you look dumber.

Law suits are generally settled based on what the persons who are defrauded are led to believe, regardless of what may or may not be buried in a contract. Generally, as would be the case here, numerous pertinent facts are purposely not disclosed to the unsuspecting buyer. That alone could be the basis for a law suit. Will it happen? Only time and money will tell. Most class claim defendants think they have all the bases covered. Most don't!

Dennis, if you don't want to here other's complain, please start your own thread for owners who are HAPPY. HERE, YOU ARE ONE OF THE FEW!

Bob P, I suggest you just ignore Dennis and don't respond to him. Eventually he will go away and starts his own blog for the "Eternally Happy idiots that are bad at math".

he did....

http://www.redweek.com/forums/messages?thread_id=18337

Good grief. I wrote: that if was not appropriate for Marriott to: (a) charge owners an unreasnable fee for selling their points and (b) not allow deeded owners, who bought into the point system, to include that feature when they sell their units. I pointed out that when you purchase something you should be able to sell what you purchased. I asked if any attornies had any comments on the likely success of a class action lawsuit.

The comments that some have supplied have not been helpful. Ok to call me stupid if this is what turns you on. But the question was intended for those who actually have something worthwhile to say. When the program first came out some of you will recall that Marriott was not answering questions accurately or completely.

I agree that Marrott can set the rules on what they sell. But we do have laws that allow buyers to have recourse when what is being sold is misrepresented or misleading. Example: Look at the rules banks now have to follow since some mislead customers.

My bottom line point is really simple. Customers should have the right to sell the program they purchased. Currently we can't -- and that is wrong.