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Don't go w/INTERVAL INTERNATIONAL for exchanges-use RCI or anyone else! (by Regina A.):

7-15-12 Timeshare exchange? Stay away from Interval International-Go w/RCI!

Our vacation & current timeshare exchange: Emailed Interval International & resort@ approx 11pm last night regarding unsatisfactory conditions. There was a dead bug on the bed, some kind of black residue sprinkled under the 18" diameter table meant to function as a dinette at the foot of the bed, the scatter rugs did not look as though they had been vacuumed in a long time. The entire "studio" we were assigned at Reef Ocean Club in Vero Beach, Fl (& I do pre-vacation homework - older reviews were poor, but they were better in the past couple of years,) was 11' x 20' & in an old motel stretched right along Ocean Ave. These motel units were not like the units BEHIND and nearer the beach and were not the units featured on the banner as "Beautiful Waterfront Vacation Apartments Directly on the Beach" - DIRECTLY? We traded a 1200 sq. ft. townhouse in Charleston, fairly luxuriously decorated, for something we wouldn't have lived in when we got married 31 years ago? We drove 15 hours for this vacation, are in the middle of a job change, moving a home of 20 years, and this year was my husband's second major cancer surgery, and if anyone ever needed a relaxing vacation, it was us. Did Interval International care? Well, the THIRD person I spoke with after 30 minutes on hold did seem to, but she did all she could (I believe,) and her manager did NOT care. I gave fair warning that I would post this info on every travel site that would allow such information. So...here is the documentation. Take my advice: go with RCI if you have a timeshare exchange. I used to and am going back. They do not misrepresent properties, they vet their properties better, and they staff their customer service lines for longer hours.

Also, this is our second vacation in 5 years that II has mangled. They once put us in a sleazy hotel near Daytona that was over an all night karaoke bar. We left it that night. We did stay over last night in Vero, checked out this morning.

Lack of satisfactory disposition, details, and hold time follow:

10:02 phoned Interval intnational's customer svc line from website: Got Internet support? Lady listened, then said she was escalating call to customer support, I would need to make sure & hold. I tried to give her my cell # in case we were disconnected during hold time, she didn't want, just told me to make sure and hold.

10:25 Got Dimitri at Shell vacations desk??? He stated he was not even customer service, no idea why call came to him, was sorry, he would transfer me.

10:39 Got Luisa, finally, a customer service rep. Told me she could refund exchange fee $149, can't do more, nothing else available in all of FL this week

10:44 told her I knew it wasn't her fault, but this is unsatisfactory, vacation week is ruined, want exch fee, week back, and membership fee for this year extended another year since this year's vacation is gone. She said she wasn't allowed to do both. i asked for transfer to mgr, no mgr avail, too busy, wkend. On hold. Luisa back 10:51, still can offer me only exch fee & week back, on hold again. This week is good ONLY until January 2013. I don't know that I will have a full week of vacation available again by then? Told her that & She told mgr to no avail.

10:56 Luisa back, same except $50 twd next exchange. She said she would post credit. Asked her to check coasts of NC, SC, GA - also nothing available, except for a studio in Orlando. We declined.

Told Luisa that I was incredibly unhappy with the arrangement, with her manager's lack of judgment, that her service had been very good, that my vacation week had been ruined. I would pursue posting negative comments about II on travel sites online.

Hung up at 11:01

Reef Ocean Club, Vero Beach, Confirmation # 016581523