Original Message:
Re: Diamond Resorts reduces owner benefits again! (by Irene P.):
Do not sign up with the Christian company. I know who they are if they are in Missouri.
I have interacted with more Alzheimer diagnosed seniors buying Diamond points than I did when I served on an Ombudsman Advisory Board advocating for patients in nursing homes. The Lusk family sold at age 89 was reported by USA Today and Diane Burkhart's father sold $250,000 in points from age 86 to 88. https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3310015002 https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/diamond-resorts-still-cant-explain-why-it-sold-250000-worth-of-timeshare-points-to-an-88-year-old-032919.html
The link to our Diamond Member sponsored Facebook: This Facebook was launched by an economics professor. We have 3,000 members, including Diamond employees, even one of the worst DR repeat offenders. https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/
A recent Diamond complaint received is from a single senior lady. A sales agent who earned $2.4 million a year (has a lawsuit filed against Diamond in which he admits creating reasons or problems why existing members needed to buy additional points) switched her from HI to US Collection. Another repeat offender sales agent in HI switched her back to HI twice. There were four switches in three years. She had to cash in her entire retirement annuity of $350,000. She lost everything and is now broke with no retirement. Her daughter is beyond horrified.
She is one of 83 Platinum members who report being up-sold into insolvency. Ten of them will be protesting outside the FL DBPR office Friday May 17 and near Disney World May 18 and 19 Sat and Sun. Of the 83, 42 fell for maintenance fee relief programs that do not exist. The agent takes a legitimate 30/30 program and says, "You can book cruises, hotels and pay maintenance fees at $.30 a point." The agent advises, "Don't say anything to QA because the program has not yet been announced. I could get fired." When the member learns later and complains only Platinum members can turn in points at $.04 a point, which is worthless, the customer service rep explains the 30/30 program and informs the member "You signed a contract" and/or "We are not responsible for what our sales agents says."
Of course there are honest sales agent and members who bought from them. Those duped include two counter-terrorism experts (one is running for Congress), a professor with a PhD in Criminology, an ICE agent with a MS in criminology, two private detectives and a contract specialist for ConEd. What chance has the vulnerable? The contract specialist said, when he saw my look, "I know, I know but when you buy cars and houses throughout your life, you don't expect to be bald face lied to." The AZ AG alone received over 900 complaints, prompting the AG's office to support a pro-consumer timeshare bill that would have offered buyers 24 hours to review before signing. This was successfully defeated by ARDA ROC. I'm in a bad mood after four hours on the phone yesterday with another single senior, Diamond complaint #717 and Platinum member #83 financially devastated. #83 had been happy Gold Key members for decades, now financially ruined.