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Class Action Against Diamond Resorts?
Hello My recommendation is to file suit with the following... State Att General State Division of Real Estate County District Attorney If your elderly, Elder Abuse agency Contact Apollo Global the parent company and file governing agency that controls stock market etc...
You will need documentation as you sign a lot of documents perhaps go to an update and use digital hd camera and ask all those questions and let them lie...
Also diamond use sales tactic's that are unethical such as offering owners a frozen price (FAKE) then they tell you you have an offer that is in your account, lie. a drop down which is the real price and they pack it which means they add money on top of real price, very used car tactic
hope this helps, good luck
Kevin D.
I have filed a complaint with Diamond concerning a"purchase" at the Daytona Beach office. I claim, in effect, misleading sales practices and no meeting of the minds as to what was bought and what was sold. What kind of information might you need from me?
kimberlyb569 wrote:Not sure if you’re still looking for contract information but I’m looking for some help to try to get out of my contract. My husband just retired after 30 years in the military and we bought into this after being told they do adults only all exclusive. We’ve paid into this for a year haven’t used any of it because they do not cater to adults only all exclusive. Any help you have would be greatly appreciated thank you.susanb1439 wrote:Help us address concerns about DRI!Disclaimer: The following is not intended to claim or infer that DRI has done anything wrong.
As some of you know, a group of people have been engaged in a long term private investigation of DRI's business practices. We are nearly finished, but the speed and quality of our work is dependent upon our ability to obtain more copies of DRI purchase documents. We'd like to obtain copies of contracts from every year and every state.
We need as many DRI members as possible to contribute their documents and time is of the essence. We have no need to know who you are and we will not ask you for that information. We encourage you to redact all personal identifiers before sharing your documents with us or anyone else.
The DRI contract is far from "iron clad". Although we do not give legal advice, if we see a specific item of interest in your contract we will certainly bring it to your attention. If we all work together on this we WILL be able to make a huge difference for all consumers.
Regards, Susan, Consumer Activist
Henry E.
henrye30 wrote:I have filed a complaint with Diamond concerning a"purchase" at the Daytona Beach office. I claim, in effect, misleading sales practices and no meeting of the minds as to what was bought and what was sold. What kind of information might you need from me?
"As to what was bought and what was sold", that depends on what is written in the contract you signed. You have to go back and read your contract. Unfortunately, what the sales people tell you and what is written in the contract usually differ so you have to go by what you signed in the contract.
As for this complaint that you are filing, what resolution are you hoping to achieve?
Lance C.
Henry I have written over 300 articles about timeshare and have heard from four others who fell for the same Brad Leslie pitch. All four have their pitch in writing. One I don't know the identity because an attorney called me and asked if I had heard of Brad Leslie. His client had the same pencil pitch in his possession. If you would like to read the articles written about Brad Leslie please contact me at ireneparker377@gmail.com and I will email you the links. #1 was Sheilah Brust. She has become actively involved in our effort to affect change. She has her "pencil pitch" that clearly states $8631 - $8631 = 0 meaning if she bought additional points she would be relieved of all maintenance fees. #2 Gad Liebmann both Sheilah and Gad published articles about Brad Leslie. Gad has the identical pencil pitch in writing. Gad and his wife Noreen are both army veterans who picketed outside the Daytona Regency for two years off-summer. Sheilah and Gad are in the default process. I just heard from Platinum member #122 up-sold to default if not resolved. #120 was duped four out of five times and he worked his career as a criminal investigator. He was #25 complaint against the same Polo Towers agent who earned $2.4 million and admitted in a lawsuit he created reasons or problems. What chance the vulnerable? #3 A third resolved their complaint against Leslie. I think the complaints were piling up. Same thing - an identical pencil pitch. "He told us we could redeem points on-line under the “My Benefits’ section, Money Matters, Fee Payments. We asked what he was talking about because of the extensive explanation he had provided of the $.30 to pay maintenance fees or other uses of points at $.30 per point. We saw this redemption value at $.04 per point when we signed the contract, but Brad said the $.30 per point was a new benefit that would not be in the contract. There were two of us at this presentation. We clearly heard Brad say we could pay maintenance fees at $.30 per point.
Diamond started recording the closing section after the AZ AG issued an Assurance of Discontinuance. Over 900 filed complaints. Almost all members said they were coached why not to say anything about the "new program" so that when they complaint, Diamond anti-hospitality agents dismiss with, "Oh, that's the 30/30 program (the legitimate travel discount program)." And, "You didn't say anything on the recorded QA." Diamond even snowed the AZ AG making him think this was pro-consumer measure. When Diamond's PR firm called me and said, "And we're going to go beyond the AOD! We're going to record the QA" I was flabbergasted.
These are the statistics from the Florida legislative workshop. The timeshare division DBPR in Florida dismissed all complaints we've followed - hundreds. They say you have to have proof. Well, how about those pencil pitches? "We don't know if you took them or they were given to you willingly." Meaning evidence obtained illegally is admissible. Then, they said, "Well, I talked to Diamond's attorney and now I understand the presentation what Brad Leslie meant." Do you think $70 billion a year flowing into Florida has anything to do with the following statistics? I'm really tired of being the bad girl tarnishing Diamond's good name while these guys are getting away with financial murder. The only good thing about the Coranavirus is it might also kill some commissions. Here are the Florida stats:
At the Florida HB 435 workshop held in Tallahassee March 12, Victoria Butler, from the Florida Attorney General’s Department of Consumer Protection, reported a figure of 1,500 to 1,600 timeshare complaints in 2017 and 2018, with about 50% involving senior citizens. She said the majority of complaints were in regard to the initial sales presentation. There have been 700 complaints filed so far in 2019 (almost 4,000). Ms. Butler stated that the Florida timeshare division engaged only 42 complaints, the majority concerning resale.
I heard his manager Jason Abdela has been fired but that's hearsay.
Irene P.
KD No it is not a waste of time to file complaints. Diamond has granted refunds and cancelled loans for many following our self-advocacy process which has saved members well over $2 million in legal fees. One attorney jokingly said he wants to go into business with Diamond to put me (and our growing network of volunteers operating like the French Resistance) out of business. The process involves composing a clear concise complaint and emailing up to seven individuals and organizations, depending on the level of alleged fraud. When denied, filing with the appropriate agencies.
I was offered a refund. I could not sign the non-disclosure agreement that states the member will never say anything disparaging about Diamond Resorts. Has I not been asked to sign the NDA you would not be reading this. I was supposed to move to Florida to restart my piano teaching career. Instead I get an average of five calls a day from Scotland to Malaysia about many timeshares, not just Diamond. I used to work for family court writing court reports for judges and interested parties to make the best determination for a child in foster care. The program is called CASA (GAL Guardian ad litem in Florida). I have applied their model. Instead of asking if you want to go home to mom I ask if you want to go back to your home resort.
To stop me, Diamond used the excuse of a lawsuit filed against an attorney. I'm not being sued, I'm not even a party to the case. It was classic whistleblower retaliation. It cost $25,000 in legal fees which I raised via a GoFundMe in five months. Diamond's outside counsels remind me of another organized syndicate.
Irene P.
annettet80 wrote:Please give me more information on the Class Action against Diamond International. We are unfortunately unhappy owners.
What are you hoping to accomplish by joining a class action suit? Are you hoping that you'll get tens of thousands of dollars in refunds? Or are you just hoping to get out of your ownership? If so, check out Diamond's Transitions program. Diamond might take ownership back from you for a fee if you are paid up on the mortgage and maintenance fees.
Hiring a lawyer will just cost you money.
Lance C.
I guess I was fortunate as I was on a Board of directors in Orlando ( for 16 years we had an agreement after Sunterra went Bankrupt they had NO votes ), and when Frank Gecoko (DRI VP) got involved with Cypress Pointe 1 and his tactics , he threw the BOD under the bus, none of us survived, but guess what he got what he deserved. DRI and ALL their management employees are THIEVES! You WILL never win over DRI ( DEEP POCKETS) as they have a fee just to be your management company ( our 8500+ intervals cost us over $1,000,000 just because they could, yes you seen that right) PLUS ALL FEES they can charge for and do ( computer, bookkeeping, housekeeping, etc. etc. etc. etc)
Ralph O.
Annette: Diamond's contracts have a class action ban. You can't file a class action against Diamond unless you in writing opt out of arbitration within 30 days of signing a contract. Lawyers tell me deception doesn't work well in class actions because damages are not uniform, as in the case of a medical device failure. There were two class lawsuits filed against Diamond and both could not move forward because the (same) judge ruled in favor of arbitration. Every lawyer I spoke with feels arbitration is a kangaroo court. Diamond pays the arbitrators $400 to $800 an hour day after day, as opposed to a judge paid by taxpayer money. The arbitrator sees you once. Decisions are private and binding. If you lose you can be liable for Diamond's attorneys fees. At a trial I attended a dentist was sued for $176,000 of which $86,000 was Diamond's arbitration fees. The attorney from Greenspoon Marder stated that Diamond only lost one arbitration case (probably with their firm) because "You signed a contract" and the almighty oral representation clause. Diamond has armies of lawyers. The best course is to join our member-sponsored Diamond Facebook launched by an economics professor. I believe we are around 4,500 members since 2017. There are several volunteers answering questions on how to file complaints with regulatory agencies, some of them are actually on the side of the consumer. Hundreds of members have resolved their dispute working directly with Diamond. They can't post because they signed a nondiscloure agreement. I was offered a refund but refused to sign an NDA because I write articles. There are many who have joined together to affect change reaching out to the media and to lawmakers to propose bills for greater disclosure. The latest Diamond pitch is about "equity" despite Diamond points having no resale value. Our FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/
Irene P.
Henry: The best course is what I described on my prior response. Self-advocacy works. The last Brad Leslie complaint was resolved following our process. On our Facebook we have a list of seven law firms we trust if the member is too busy to self-advocate or is in a touch spot, like those deceived who have a security clearance. A foreclosure can mean the loss of a career.
Irene P.
donaldl291 wrote:We are interested in a class action suit against diamond resorts. We feel we have been given fraudulent information and false statements.
What are you hoping to gain by launching a class-action lawsuit? Remember, these lawsuits can drag on and, in the end, the plaintiffs, if they win, usually come away with very little other than a "moral victory". If you just want to end your ownership, check out Diamond's deed back program called Transitions.
As for you being "given fraudulent information and false statements", that might not hold up in court. If you are claiming that what the salespeople told you is different from what you received and is in the contract, then the onus would be on you to prove that the salespeople lied. That's hard to prove in court as it becomes a matter of He said, she said. That's why there are written contracts, one that you probably signed.
Lance C.
