Diamond Resorts reduces owner benefits again!

I am in the same situation. I was an owner (ILX in Sedona) starting in 2000. I traded my every-other-year week successfully until ILX went bankrupt and Diamond took over. I could rent, what is now, a hotel room for less than the fees I'm being charged and the amount of points assigned won't get me a week anywhere. Are you really going to sue?

I've tried to get them to restore my week (Sedona, AZ) and they refuse. My ILX contract says 1 week every other year. The points are worthless - not enough to trade anywhere. How do I get them to put me back to the week instead of their worthless points?

Totally agree. What do we do about it?

most of these owners were sold timeshares on FALSE promises, that is, it would enable the owner to go to other resorts on our planet by exchanging the weeks that they own with others. the problem is that because of the recession the sales of timeshares is now ZERO therefore DRI has no choice but to increase maintenance charges

They have told me that you can quit the Club. They sent me some paper work to fill out. However, you lose whatever you paid to join it and you are no longer able to make exchanges with your weeks unless you go through Interval. You would also then have to pay for Interval Membership and the exchange fees. I will probably do that because as I said, I always do my exchanges through them anyway!

Don't pay the $5.00 ARDA lobbying fee with your inflated maintenance fee. They use your own money to lobby politicians to maintain and enhance their ability to take advantage of you legally.

I recall being offered "The Club" like it was such a great deal and this was my only opportunity to take advantage of it, this will not be offered again. Typical timeshare sales technique, but I was not giving those crooks who were jacking up my maintenance fees one more dollar. Of course it was another scam, and they jacked up those fees too!

Is there no shame, Steve Cloobeck?

I have made a few other financial mistakes in the past, but I just took the loss and moved on. Unfortunately, this timeshare (Los Abrigados) just keeps on draining me with increasing yearly maintenance and no way out. I could take some great vacations to destinations of my choice with the current $1489 annual fee. I am afraid to just "walk away" as I am young enough to care about my credit rating.

I did feel like a rebel when I declined to include the ARDA fee.

"Don't pay the $5.00 ARDA lobbying fee with your inflated maintenance fee."

I did this last year only to find out that that they did not consider me "paid in full" because I withheld the $5. Apparently you must notify them explicitly why you are withholding the $5, but there really is no way to do this other than going to the bother of sending a letter to the HOA.

There are so many ppl here expressing their disgust, but how can we get together to take some concerted action. Hundreds of letters to some investigative reporter at NYTimes, Harpers, 60 minutes might lead to shining more light on the timeshare crooks and perhaps even inspire some law firm to take up our cause.

davidk689 wrote:

"Don't pay the $5.00 ARDA lobbying fee with your inflated maintenance fee."

I did this last year only to find out that that they did not consider me "paid in full" because I withheld the $5. Apparently you must notify them explicitly why you are withholding the $5, but there really is no way to do this other than going to the bother of sending a letter to the HOA.

There are so many ppl here expressing their disgust, but how can we get together to take some concerted action. Hundreds of letters to some investigative reporter at NYTimes, Harpers, 60 minutes might lead to shining more light on the timeshare crooks and perhaps even inspire some law firm to take up our cause.

You can Thank the Members of COPP for NOT going forward with their Class Action Lawsuit... That was the very best opportunity to get DRI into court and force them to open their book and get their fraudulent Business Practice on the record.. DRI will spend any amount needed to prevent that from happening, most of it from your pocket... So you end up defending the very people who cheat you... Of Course all of this is my opinion, DRI likes to threaten people to keep them quiet..

I should buy a Voodoo Doll. Name it after the CEO of DRI. Stick a little pin in the groin area every now and then. Eventually toss it down a latrine.

Attn Premiere Vacation Collection Owners: I was just made aware through very vague correspondence from Diamond in 2011 along with a phone call to Diamond, that we are being billed $170 into our maintenance fees for "Premiere Club Connection". I had never even heard of it even after a lengthy meeting with Diamond reps in Aug 2013 in Sedona, and I certainly never paid to join it. Furthermore, I have never seen this charge itemized on any billing. The kicker is that we had the option to opt out of this as soon as Diamond took over. Whatever advantages they claim this membership provides are moot since my ownership has NO trading value anyway. Talk about "the fleecing of America." I want out of this timeshare so badly I can taste it!!

Ny husband and I are going to a dinner next week to hear "all about the wonderful new benefits since the new CEO has taken over at DRI". When we were invited I told the caller we weren't interested because we owned weeks, not points, and she told me that all weeks were going to be converted to points. I told her I had no intention of turning my weeks into points, and that I wasn't going to pay a penny more to DRI to convert to their point system. She told me I wouldn't have to. I told her that I don't want DRI points, and that if I DID purchase a point plan, it would be from a reputable company like Marriott, and that if they don't want me to have my weeks anymore, that they should but them back from me for what I paid for them over 20 years ago... Surely that should not be a problem with all the outrageously inflated fees and assessments I have been paying them for so many years... If we have deeds for these properties, aren't we protected??? We own at Powhatan Plantation. There must be some recourse. Anybody???

That is no doubt another lie by DRI. They have been saying for years that the weeks were going to go away, but only if they buy them all.

If it won't cost anything, how come I paid $2000 to join the Club so I could convert my weeks to points, and now pay almost $300 a year in dues? They told me if I quit the Club, I would revert back to weeks and they would only be good at my resort, no exchanges unless I then joined Interval on my own. So I think what you were told is not true!!

Nothing that they tell anybody seems to be true.

They will tell you anything to get your money, then its screw you

Just don't EVER cave in to the pressure to give up your deed to points. You NEVER legally have to do that. That's what they want from the DEEDED owners, wherever you own, -- to give up the only legal leverage we have. The new DRI regime tries to pressure you and make you think that's what you have to do; but simply, you don't EVER need to cave in to that. Believe me -- they have tried relentlessly with my husband and I for years and haven't succeeded. In the process, we've simply, honestly, been treated very disrespectfully. It's just simply a shame that they disrespect individuals' wishes. It's a very sad reality in life, but it exists. You just have to be smart and very aware in life,

When we travel, we NEVER go to any of their "owner's updates" sales pitches. They will try to schedule us and we say "NO" . I have even gone so far as to threaten to let them schedule us for one every single day and SIMPLY NOT SHOW UP! We are on vacation. I don't give a flip about their money that they are offering me for my time. The truth is, whatever money they offer is so that they can screw us over. No. We say no. You can too. Just say NO. NO MEANS NO. They will not offer or honor a safe word, so just say NO. Better still, walk in, tell them "Write me a check for what I paid." Give them THREE minutes to agree, then leave when they don't. Now their sales person has an 87 minute dead zone to sit through!

When I first joined the club with Sunterra, I had two weeks deeded at Sedona Summit. They were converted to points,and I did not realize that I gave up my deed. to do that. Lucky for me a couple of years later, I was talked into buying another week and changing my home resort to Grand Beach. When the salesman saw that I did not have a deed, he made sure the new purchase was for deeded property. So I have both points and a deed. But that was Sunterra, before DRI bought it!

(corrected 1st sentence) I have never signed over the deeded 1 week interest and they still allow me only points - so small an amount that I cannot trade for anything through Interval. Was no problem when run by ILX. And if you live in California, they cannot push you to join their Club as the California State license for that Club has been forfeited! Am researching to find out why. Also, why are the properties in Sedona, where we own, being rented out on Hotels.com? I can rent the same accommodations on-line for less money than the fees they are charging me. A representative told me those rooms were being sold by the timeshare's owners!! Uh, anybody know how to sell your yearly week to Hotels.com?