Diamond Resorts reduces owner benefits again!

I just joined DRI in January and already realize my folly. What progress have u made?

janetf155

Just made the mistake of getting involved with DRI as a result of their misrepresenting statements actually their lies! What progress have you made against them?

janetf155

cindyk175 wrote:

Hello DRI Hawaii friends,

This appears more complicated now with the clear connection to politics that we did not choose, but DRI/Cloobeck did...

Please don't separate yourselves from the rest of the DRI folk. DRI isn't just a Hawaii group. They didn't start in Hawaii, and their main offices are in Las Vegas. To make it even more interesting, last year - to my utter amazement - I found that they were in the same office as Interval International, and my first observations were that Interval Int'l (which exchanges our DRI points/weeks for other resorts) were more closely tied to DRI than just that...and it seemed wrong. I didn't pursue that any more, just yet.

My point is that this is political because Cloobeck is using our funds to make it so!! Obama's "home" state is Hawaii!! The complicated nature of this means that the more national and international (e.g. St. Maarten) irregularities/injustices need to be brought to bear upon any battle...especially as our St. Maarten DRI friends have already won their/her skirmish and the judge there dared to say that he knew more. My hope is the rebel state AZ might take this more seriously. I know that it was eventually moved to the Sr. Investigator and they wanted to know if I was a lawyer b/c of the amount of research I'd done. They took note.

Yet, the way that Arizona treated my case - sending it to Nevada - may say more. Perhaps it really is NV Atty Gen'l that AZ is trying to "awaken" ...Perhaps AZ is saying to them that the US and Int'l travel community is appalled that such theft is being allowed by a company in their state with offices worldwide.

Please don't leave out the larger community here. I think that although it complicates things to think more globally than Hawaii, the reality is just that. There are more people who hopefully can join with us. What if the NV Atty-General begins to hear that judges are making these determinations against the company lodged in their state!

Count me in! janetf155

tracil45 wrote:

Hello Peter!

Yes, let's get our names together and find a public interest law firm that may help us ripped-off owners and former owners.

Hawaii has legal aid societies that may help with big, greedy corporations.

Cindy, we walked away from our points one year ago and my credit isn't affected because they cannot go after you for something you paid for already. And since our maintenance fees were current, they couldn't go after us for fees that we hadn't used yet. It's in the Guidebook that they simply will terminate you. I know it says they may go after you for non-payment but that is only if you owe them for any outstanding loans or maintenance fees.

I am a very unhappy new owner.Just found this site and sm awondering what has transpired with you.

michaeld414 wrote:

sherik43 wrote:

Hi Phil:

I'm compiling my list and letter as we speak and will probably mail out after Christmas. I will send it to Billing and Collections Dept,. Attention Ricky with CC to others. When I get close to sending, I'll shoot you a copy from my gmail account which will have the names of others and possibly those that I've spoken to specifically regarding the reason we're letting our membership go. I haven't compiled the groups mentioned in this forum but will look into adding whoever may be interested in the CC.

What are your going to do?

I would like to talk with you about your choice to surrender your points membership...I got your email from "Redweek", and wanted to ask you who you talked with at Diamond, and how you came to the decision to give your membership back, and even if that is possible... We just returned from Kauai a week ago, we tried to have a meeting with a Diamond Representative, but they just shuffled us into a sales presentation.. We told them prior to our arrival that we would not attend any sales presentations as we surely would not buy another dimes worth of anything Diamond had to sell... So after we walked out in disgust from their attempt to do a sales pitch, the manager called us to apologise, and I again asked to see a Diamond Rep as now we were angry... They scheduled a meeting that was represented to be with the "Project Manager", it was nothing but another sales presentation... They refused to answer any of our questions, and when we said that we were considering walking away from our 31,000 points (paid for), they said that Diamond was not involved, it was the "Owners Association"...

My Question to you is, Are you going to give back your membership points, and if so who have you arranged that with...? We could not get an answer to that question or any other questions... I view Diamond as an ongoing fraud, and an ongoing criminal enterprise, and we are strongly considering walking away from the $ 55,000 we paid as well we have 31,000 points rolled over into 2012... But we are sick to death with Diamond...

janetf155 wrote:

I am a very unhappy new owner.Just found this site and sm awondering what has transpired with you.

michaeld414 wrote:

sherik43 wrote:

Hi Phil:

I'm compiling my list and letter as we speak and will probably mail out after Christmas. I will send it to Billing and Collections Dept,. Attention Ricky with CC to others. When I get close to sending, I'll shoot you a copy from my gmail account which will have the names of others and possibly those that I've spoken to specifically regarding the reason we're letting our membership go. I haven't compiled the groups mentioned in this forum but will look into adding whoever may be interested in the CC.

What are your going to do?

I would like to talk with you about your choice to surrender your points membership...I got your email from "Redweek", and wanted to ask you who you talked with at Diamond, and how you came to the decision to give your membership back, and even if that is possible... We just returned from Kauai a week ago, we tried to have a meeting with a Diamond Representative, but they just shuffled us into a sales presentation.. We told them prior to our arrival that we would not attend any sales presentations as we surely would not buy another dimes worth of anything Diamond had to sell... So after we walked out in disgust from their attempt to do a sales pitch, the manager called us to apologise, and I again asked to see a Diamond Rep as now we were angry... They scheduled a meeting that was represented to be with the "Project Manager", it was nothing but another sales presentation... They refused to answer any of our questions, and when we said that we were considering walking away from our 31,000 points (paid for), they said that Diamond was not involved, it was the "Owners Association"...

My Question to you is, Are you going to give back your membership points, and if so who have you arranged that with...? We could not get an answer to that question or any other questions... I view Diamond as an ongoing fraud, and an ongoing criminal enterprise, and we are strongly considering walking away from the $ 55,000 we paid as well we have 31,000 points rolled over into 2012... But we are sick to death with Diamond...

Go to facebook.com and search that site for the Diamond Resorts Members group. We are Diamond all owners there and will give you some assistance of some ideas to resolve your situation and/or how to make the use of your membership.

janetf155 wrote:

Count me in! janetf155

tracil45 wrote:

Hello Peter!

Yes, let's get our names together and find a public interest law firm that may help us ripped-off owners and former owners.

Hawaii has legal aid societies that may help with big, greedy corporations.

The lawsuit was settled.

charless345 wrote:

janetf155 wrote:

Count me in! janetf155

tracil45 wrote:

Hello Peter!

Yes, let's get our names together and find a public interest law firm that may help us ripped-off owners and former owners.

Hawaii has legal aid societies that may help with big, greedy corporations.

The lawsuit was settled.

The Lawsuit was a sell out not a settlement... By the way ":How did the latest election work out for all of you" in light of that "settlement"

charless345 wrote:

janetf155 wrote:

Count me in! janetf155

tracil45 wrote:

Hello Peter!

Yes, let's get our names together and find a public interest law firm that may help us ripped-off owners and former owners.

Hawaii has legal aid societies that may help with big, greedy corporations.

The lawsuit was settled.

The "Proposed Settlement" has yet to be approved by the Court.

sherik43 wrote:

Cindy, we walked away from our points one year ago and my credit isn't affected because they cannot go after you for something you paid for already. And since our maintenance fees were current, they couldn't go after us for fees that we hadn't used yet. It's in the Guidebook that they simply will terminate you. I know it says they may go after you for non-payment but that is only if you owe them for any outstanding loans or maintenance fees.

-- Did you walk away-- by writing a letter to terminate?--- what happened the next year when maint. fees were due??? thanks Jan

Hello everyone. We are 'former' owner of Monarch. When DRI took over, they called and tried to 'include' us in their 'family' to get more benefits. After my homework I realized the maintenance fees will be more than what we would pay for any vacation outside of timeshare and had to reject their offer. They were very angry about that. Now I don't know what I can do with my old Monarch points. We still have our deposit in Interval International and can use it. Hope it will continue same way since we always used Interval for our vacations. I will be happy to be part of this group and learn more about DRI since they now own Monarch and our contract. I am not happy with this transition after seeing how DRI is treating its members.

I

sherik43 wrote:

Cindy, we walked away from our points one year ago and my credit isn't affected because they cannot go after you for something you paid for already. And since our maintenance fees were current, they couldn't go after us for fees that we hadn't used yet. It's in the Guidebook that they simply will terminate you. I know it says they may go after you for non-payment but that is only if you owe them for any outstanding loans or maintenance fees.

not sure how to read responses to this- my email is sunshinevalues@gmail.com- how did you get out of maint. fees for the next year??? thanks

jans241 wrote:

sherik43 wrote:

Cindy, we walked away from our points one year ago and my credit isn't affected because they cannot go after you for something you paid for already. And since our maintenance fees were current, they couldn't go after us for fees that we hadn't used yet. It's in the Guidebook that they simply will terminate you. I know it says they may go after you for non-payment but that is only if you owe them for any outstanding loans or maintenance fees.

-- Did you walk away-- by writing a letter to terminate?--- what happened the next year when maint. fees were due??? thanks Jan

To Jan- we wrote a letter explaining why we were ending our membership. We listed the grievances and we sent it along with the maintenance bill that was due Jan. 2012. We were never sent a late notice for fees due. And we've never been contacted by any collection agency. I checked one of the credit agencies the other day and there are no outstanding bills due. I had an extensive conversation with two customer reps and the collections supervisor who all assured us that per the dri guidebook nonpayment of fees would simply end in termination. Our membership was paid in full and we hadn't used any 2012 points so we didn't pay the maintenance fee.

thank you-- will read the details in my book too. I have been able to get resorts with my diamond points in areas I prefer in Sedona-- so far ok with the company ... Jan

sherik43 wrote:

jans241 wrote:

sherik43 wrote:

Cindy, we walked away from our points one year ago and my credit isn't affected because they cannot go after you for something you paid for already. And since our maintenance fees were current, they couldn't go after us for fees that we hadn't used yet. It's in the Guidebook that they simply will terminate you. I know it says they may go after you for non-payment but that is only if you owe them for any outstanding loans or maintenance fees.

-- Did you walk away-- by writing a letter to terminate?--- what happened the next year when maint. fees were due??? thanks Jan

To Jan- we wrote a letter explaining why we were ending our membership. We listed the grievances and we sent it along with the maintenance bill that was due Jan. 2012. We were never sent a late notice for fees due. And we've never been contacted by any collection agency. I checked one of the credit agencies the other day and there are no outstanding bills due. I had an extensive conversation with two customer reps and the collections supervisor who all assured us that per the dri guidebook nonpayment of fees would simply end in termination. Our membership was paid in full and we hadn't used any 2012 points so we didn't pay the maintenance fee.

Congratulations on terminating your DRI points and retaining your timeshare. You have regained your right to vote at election time for the resort that you own. That is a very big deal in my opinion. As long as people own DRI points, they forfeit their right to vote and DRI votes for you according to their wishes. Points are just a service and nothing more. However, forfeiting your right to vote translates into control of the resort for DRI. Please join poipuowners.com, if you own there and haven't already joined. We try to vote as a block for Board member elections. If enough people join and vote together, we can easily gain control of the resort. It doesn't take fighting and attorneys, just common sense. Deeded owners just need to wake up and work together.

robert3451 wrote:

Congratulations on terminating your DRI points and retaining your timeshare. You have regained your right to vote at election time for the resort that you own. That is a very big deal in my opinion. As long as people own DRI points, they forfeit their right to vote and DRI votes for you according to their wishes. Points are just a service and nothing more. However, forfeiting your right to vote translates into control of the resort for DRI. Please join poipuowners.com, if you own there and haven't already joined. We try to vote as a block for Board member elections. If enough people join and vote together, we can easily gain control of the resort. It doesn't take fighting and attorneys, just common sense. Deeded owners just need to wake up and work together.

And how is that working out for you... How did this Class Action Lawsuit Settlement affect this last election...? I will bet it had very little to do with the outcome of DRI's winning the election again, and they will again & again ad nasium, and nothing will change

I didn't expect to win a seat for our group with this election, simply because not enough owners know about COPP or understand the significance of their voting rights. I at least try to talk with other owners whenever the opportunities arise. Getting mad is a waste of time, so I'm thankful of the work being done by Point at Poipu Owners Association (COPP). They have at least saved us owners $500,000 on excessive fees being charged by DRI for the water intrusion project. As you know, COPP provides a platform for us owners to vote together. Further, I see owning fee simple timeshares without DRI points as a good business opportunity. Where else in Hawaii can you buy a spectacular oceanfront week for just a few thousand dollars on the resale market at an industry average maintenance fee. I note that Hilton is about $1600, Westin is about $2600. I don't remember Marriott, but I thought it was over $2000. Each is one week for one 2 bdrm villa unit. Their villa units are much nicer than Pt of Poipu, but they typically have no ocean view. For me it is a trade off. DRI's lousy management just makes it less expensive for me to pick up extra weeks from those owners who scare easily, get mad and throw in the towel. I'll be even happier when the building renovations are completed. If you want to aggressively take DRI on in a court battle, I assume that you are willing to pony up a couple million dollars to make it happen... and I sincerely hope that works out OK for you.

The Class Action Lawsuit should not have stopped short of the "full discovery process", you may have saved a few dollars (500K) is really a small amount compared to what they will extract from the membership over the next 10 - 15 years...

bruceb306 wrote:

charless345 wrote:

janetf155 wrote:

Count me in! janetf155

tracil45 wrote:

Hello Peter!

Yes, let's get our names together and find a public interest law firm that may help us ripped-off owners and former owners.

Hawaii has legal aid societies that may help with big, greedy corporations.

The lawsuit was settled.

The "Proposed Settlement" has yet to be approved by the Court.

Since the settlement is not yet approved by the court, let's get together and write the court to explain that DAMAGES FROM FRAUD issues, etc. are not equitably addressed by the settlement, that many owners and former owners have been adversely affected by fraud, mismanagement and negligence of Diamond Resorts, and that these ripped-off owners are not compensated, etc. The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii may help us. We need to organize SOON to contact the courts.

*********ATTENTION*****ATTENTION**********ATTENTION*******

OUR CONTACT AT THE LEGAL AID SOCIETY OF HAWAII IS COURTNEY SANITER, WHO MAY BE WILLING TO HELP US AS WE ORGANIZE AND FILE OUR OWN PETITION WITH THE DISTRICT COURT IN HAWAII.

Case Number is 13-0-07000346 or another case number if a collective group of owners re-files grievance. Ms. Saniter's contact info. is below and I have yet to discuss case with her, but will do so shortly. Other owners must band together and be supportive of these efforts.

Telephone No. is 1-808-527-8026 E-Mail: cosanit@lashaw.org