Class Action Against Diamond Resorts?

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irenep59 wrote:

There is deception in the contract. The contract states you can sell points. However, licensed timeshare resale brokers will not buy or sell Diamond points because of restrictions that are too onerous. They will buy and sell Diamond competitor's points. Ads to buy and sell Diamond points are from listing agents that are often not on the up and up and transfer agents. The transfer agent offers a guaranteed deed back for normally $5,000 to $7,000. They then "bundle" 25 to 50 contracts - similar to subprime mortgages. Diamond's transactions are not subject to real estate laws and regulation because it is a VOI - Vacation Ownership Interest. Diamond and other developers buy the bundle as a securitization pool. Read Roddy Boyd's article written for Southern Financial Reporting Foundation: "Diamond Resorts and Its Perpetual Mortgage Machine" March 7, 2016

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will accept complaints through the "mortgage" option even if there is no mortgage. I filed my complaint orally and have heard back. It is extremely important to file with them because, a) the CFPB is Federal so not an elected state position. and b) There is a landmark CFPB investigation going against Westgate and Diamond is always mentioned as being on the radar (Matt at BuzzFeed broke the story). Owners who feel they have been deceived should also file with the appropriate AGs. I have filed with three AGS and have heard back from two.

If anyone has questions, I wrote an article that was sent to several stock analysts, so it is information I learned going through the Diamond annual reports with a fine tooth comb. I sent it out to the Licensed Timeshare Resale Broker organization and Lisa Ann, author of Timeshare Vacations for Dummies picked it up and put it on her blog. I think it is still there. At the end of the week on Friday last week, the week my article was up, the Capital Cube posted after the bell (typically not when happy news is posted), the five ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) with the greatest exposure to Diamond Resorts.

As a former licensed broker, I would have never bought something that could not be sold through a licensed broker. I can live with most of the other things like aggressive sales presentations and limited availability. You can reach me through "Timeshare Insights Blog" if you have questions about the filing process or have information to send me that would help me with my efforts. My Vacation Plan has turned into the twilight zone. But! Thanks to Diamond, I am now a weekly contributor to Jim Cramer's Mad Money "TheStreet". I sent them the article I wrote about Diamond, they contacted me and now I am a weekly contributor having a ball with scary professional editors that make me look like a pro. There's always a silver lining!

I would like to discuss your idea of a class action against Diamond. Let me know if you would like to talk.

Yes

How do we contact each other? Is it possible to do it privately?

Google: Timeshare Insights Blog and scroll down to the second article. My email is listed. Irene

We were pressured during a usual trip to our home resort in 2011. I tried to cancel before we even left Florida - more pressure. We have been owners since 2011 from our home resort in Florida and we have NEVER been able to use a single point. We just pay maintenance fees and get nothing in return - NO AVAILABILITY EVER.

The Arizona Attorney General is investigating a complaint filed regarding fraudulent sales practices specific to ILX owners who were sold additional Diamond ownerships based on a deceptive sales artifice. A second confidential AG investigation is taking place regarding other practices. A letter outlining sales practices in general or specific to ILX owner experience can to sent to: Send to consumerinfo@azag.gov and ask that it be added to case confirmation number #UG236-Z3WSO

You can find my email by searching Timeshare Insights Blog Irene Parker. I don't think my article, "What STAY VACATIONED! at Diamond Resorts Really Means" is posted on the blog anymore but you can still search for it. The host is Lisa Ann who wrote the book Timeshare Vacations for Dummies. Her blog is a good place to voice your opinion and engage in discussions.

I purchased a Resort sampler package in which is impossible for me to use, yet I can't get any money back. What they did is put my traveling companion, at the time, down as a cosigner, without my permission or knowing. Now that I'm currently married I can't use the sampler pack to travel unless I was to go with the person they put on as a cosigner. We specifically told them over and over that she was only to be an authorized used, not a cosigner. Now my wife and I can't travel using Diamond Resort and I've paid over $2000.00, to them so far. This has cause all kind of problems and issues between my wife and I. And I've definitely been jipped.

What does the contract you signed state as far as ownership ? That is what matters what you agreed to in writing.

Hello. My parents are going through the same thing. I'm trying to help them. Please give me a call at 901-502-2909.

Thanks,

TJ

andreah255 wrote:

I too was taken advantage of by DRI. I bought an ILX resort in Sedona, AZ. The MFs were reasonable, IMO. As soon as DRI bought it, the fees skyrocketed. I have just started a FB page so that maybe we can all band together in one place & get something done about this. I have a question for everyone. Was anyone given the option to opt out of DRI or to sell back your timeshare when they took over? I feel like I signed a contract with ILX, not DRI & shouldn't be held to DRI's horrible policies. Maybe I'm just being naive. Btw, my FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/angryaboutdiamondresorts

Please like the page & share it with anyone else you know that is unhappy with DRI.

Also, if anyone is interested in a class action suit against DRI, please go like the FB page & message me, either here or there. There's strength in numbers! Let's stop complaining & start doing something about them.

You signed a Diamond contract if you bought points from Diamond. I have talked to two lawyers who advise against a class action. Diamond has already lost class actions law suits. They have so much money another one will not change a thing. If you would like to change the company, file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the mortgage option even if there is no mortgage. You can also file orally.

Also file a complaint with the Arizona Attorney General's office. My complaint number is CIC - 4021. Most Attorney Generals will ignore your complaint, with the exception of the Tennessee and New York AGs. They, like AARP, ARDA, the timeshare lobby organization and the legislators, are one the side of the developer. Best not to donate $5 to ARDA.

Look what Inside Timeshare in Europe is saying about Diamond. Search Inside Timeshare.

Also watch Drew Griffin's CNN interview with Trump U top sales agent. Eerily similar which is why Trump will in all probability dismantle the CFPB once elected. You can also search Drew Griffin Harris. I think it's gone viral. The victim is Irene!

https://www.rawstory.com/2016/07/cnn-reporter-hammers-trump-u-instructor-is-that-called-ripping-off-an-old-couple/

Diamond is now owned by the founder of junk bond Michael Milken Drexel Burnham Lambert fame, Apollo Global Management. The next step is to sell Diamond to someone like Wyndham or Interval Leisure for $36 - $39 a share. This is the link to the article I wrote for TheStreet, Jim Cramer's Financial News service. The only difference is we are the junk. You can also read my Hilton article which describes how timeshare is supposed to work. http://www.thestreet.com/story/13624491/1/is-apollo-returning-to-its-junk-roots-with-its-acquisition-of-diamond-resorts.html You can also search Irene Parker TheStreet. I am not a paid contributor.

I agree that a class action law suit is ineffective . The only ones who make out in one of these suits is the lawyers. Usually if the plaintiffs win they get a ridiculously small amount usually in the form a credit that no one ever uses. The developers own the industry and protect it with their legal teams. They have unlimited resources.

The best way to avoid these problems is to never purchase points. Points are controlled by the developer and can be changed at their discretion . They can sell the prime weeks and locations on the open market depriving the owners of those exchanges. They have everyone who works for them sign confidentiality agreements so no one can testify about their practices.

It's simple the game is rigged in their favor. I got rid of two timeshares in 2011 through deed backs because I saw the industry lean all the way over to their side. Anyone who buys points after learning about the system does not deserve to complain. Anyone who already has points and wants to get out should explore all their options.

Diamond has a voluntary surrender program if maintenance fees have become unmanageable. To review the rules cut and paste link: http://timesharegame.com/get-rid-of-diamond-resorts-timeshare/ if browser does not go directly to site click on: How to get rid of your Diamond Resorts timeshare . Irene is correct go to recommended site and file complaints, puts greater pressure on Diamond to work with you.

That's great! I can walk away from $50,000, get nothing and then Diamond will resell the points for full value. Not one of the 64 members of LTRBA will sell them. They told me they are worthless. Our contract says we can sell them. So, in Diamond's generosity they will take back our points for no value.

Latticework stock analysts explains in their article, taught by ADW venture capital firm of our LBO, why this is such a good benefit for shareholders of Diamond's stock. Diamond does not have to build resorts. As long as they maintain a 2 to 5% default rate stated as a goal in their annual report and keep up the voluntary surrenders they can keep going through their inventory recapture program known in the industry as "The Diamond Effect". Maybe it's just me, but I really don't like being owned by Apollo, founder of DBL junk bond fame.

In addition, voluntary surrenders are case by case. TUG says they are accepting 93% but they can also turn the program on an off whenever desired or shut it off at certain resorts.

Read Winning the Timeshare Game's accurate pro and con report. http://timesharegame.com/c/companies/diamond/

irenep59 wrote:

That's great! I can walk away from $50,000, get nothing and then Diamond will resell the points for full value. Not one of the 64 members of LTRBA will sell them. They told me they are worthless. Our contract says we can sell them. So, in Diamond's generosity they will take back our points for no value.

I understand your frustration. Many people who bought at these timeshare presentations got ripped off. So you have a choice to make. Continue paying maintenance fees and get usage out of this unit that you paid $50,000 for or give it back for practically nothing and end your maintenance fees.

There is a reason they sell timeshares to unsuspecting people who are in a euphoric state while enjoying a vacation. If they marketed this product on the open market like other products they would go out of business quickly. They also count on you being on vacation long enough for the rescission period to expire before you get home and realize just what you got roped into.

The industry spends millions of dollars researching and developing their tactics. Obviously they're very good at it. Now you have to do your homework and decide what is right for you.

I have been gathering owners who have filed complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. There are several filed. I'm a former Ombudsman Advisory Board member, advocates on behalf of nursing home patients. One person in a nursing home told me his friend has 22 timeshares, a man at church with dementia is being squeezed for $10,000, and one widow told the timeshare resale agent she was considering suicide because her husband died and she can't afford the maintenance fees.

The industry is out of control. We had owned three timeshares for 28 years with no problems until Diamond moved in. A 14.9% increase in maintenance fees was announced to owners to bring the property up to Diamond standards while a "15% cost plus on every budget item was being bragged about to shareholders as a 100% guaranteed pure profit" (David Palmer). The CFPB is the only hope because the legislatures, most AGs ARDA and Trump are kind of a big obstacle to changing perpetual contracts and no Diamond secondary market as the Latticework article emphasized to stockholders as a big plus. I can afford our maintenance fees. We're not even silver. It's the people taking out home equity loans for vacation plans they can't afford and didn't understand due to the convenient oral representation clause that bothers me, especially after doing the math below:

From Latticework and the ADW venture capitalist who urged the LBO: What is less well understood, and appears in no sell side research, is something called 1818 Partners. 1818 Partners should really be called “Management has options for 5 million shares (6% of the company) struck at $12.56 that expire in July 2016.” I told you Adam Wyden was bright. As someone who focuses on insider ownership and management incentives, this is a nice cherry on top. When we factor in the benefits of being private, the valuation, the ownership, the options, and the announced process, I would not bat an eye if this company was sold for $30 per share (almost a 50% premium to our purchase) before the options expire in July.

What is important to remember is that expressing opinions on these posts is just part of the process of sharing information. With a minimal investment of time a complaint can be filed with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (as Irene suggests) along with other agencies who are already investigating industry practices. Due to limited budgets, as well as other constraints AG’s will be forced to address complaints based on the scale of consumer harm. This is why it is important that owners make their voices heard collectively.

Regarding cynical statements being made as to why consumers buy timeshare, it is important to recognize that Diamond’s point system represents a new set of problems on steroids for existing and new owners. There are laws in place to protect consumers, and many reasonable people have made their purchases contingent on those assumptions.

http://www.azre.gov/LawBook/Documents/LawBook_Revised.pdf

Title 32 chapter 20 Real Estate Page 108 B. Any advertising, communication or sales literature of any kind, including oral statements by salespeople or any other person, shall not contain: 1. Any untrue statement of material fact or any omission of material fact which would make such statements misleading in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made.

Regulators and company stakeholders are beginning to question whether contract clauses that state ”do not rely of verbal representations” are simply a red flag that causes them to think it is a tactic used by companies who are in fact likely to make misrepresentations. There are numerous lawsuits already filed against Diamond, and not all clauses in contracts are enforceable. Now is not the time to be cynical, the AZ AG is looking at Diamond, help to bring attention to the problem, and prove its scale. Take the next step, write a letter to: consumerinfo@azag.gov and tell them to add it to file CIC 16-4021; Diamond Resorts

Please email me at jeff@redweek.com; I am writing a new story on Diamond issues for owners.