Diamond Resorts reduces owner benefits again!

alanb431 wrote:

21 years owner. Great 20 years ago but today the maintenance fee 300% increase. Benefits degreasing and more owners. Not worth the annual cost. Want to sell points and get out of DRI lying and greedy.

Have you contacted Diamond's loss mitigation program? They are taking back a select, limited number of units from owners provided the owners have their units paid off and the maintenance fees up to date.

The other option is to advertise your unit for sale of giveaway here on RedWeek or other reputable timeshare-related web sites. Just don't pay any company a large, upfront fee to sell or "cancel" your timeshare as those are almost always scams.

thank you for this information- the marketing hard sell at Diamond continues-- apparently there is a new owner for the Diamond Company...so will see what happens.. I appreciate the information about $1000 cost to take back deed... hopefully in the future when I am ready to give back my Diamond points it will be easier.. the Timeshare industry could be better if they worked cooperatively with their owners.. thank you again for this information on Diamond..

Lance Diamond has accepted 100% of Transitions requests for members of our 3400 member-sponsored Diamond Facebook. I have contacted exit companies telling them they are being dishonest accepting clients, which renders the client ineligible for Transitions. Transitions cost $1000 and these exit companies are charging $3000 and often can't get them out. One widow paid a company $9000 for 3 contracts. I helped her get her money back 21 months later from the exit company, but now she has to argue with Diamond because she responded to an ad after her husband died. I can't speak for the universe of Diamond members, but anyone on our Facebook has just clicked the Transitions button on their member log-in page and followed instructions. I don't have many good things to say about Diamond after hearing over 700 families report unfair and deceptive sales practices, but on this point (pun intended) I give them high five. The Facebook page was launched by an economics professor who knows more about Diamond points than anyone I have ever encountered. A voluntary surrender is a bitter pill for people like Ben Y who was told he had to buy $12,000 worth of points to convert his deed to points, buying those points unnecessarily. When he called three days after the rescission period they told him sounds like, "he said she said" telling him he had to wait an additional six months so they could ding him for the maintenance fees. They didn't use those exact words. He told the agent, "My wife bought this Monarch deed 18 years ago. I have hated it for 18 years. I am only here to learn how to get rid of it. What do I have to do?" How about that CLARITY promise of respect for the customer, and clear concise transparent and accountable information." https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/

Jan Did they say who the new owner is?

If you are dealing directly with Diamond resorts then $ 1,000 to be rid of a lifetime obligation is a bargain .

irenep59 wrote:

Transitions cost $1000 and these exit companies are charging $3000 and often can't get them out.

That is one reason why, when people come on boards like these asking how to get rid of their timeshares, I often tell them to first try contacting the resort and to not use any of these companies that claim they can "cancel" your timeshare. It seems like weekly a timeshare owner comes on here asking "Has anyone heard of So-and-so timeshare exit company?".

I need to talk to a supervisor with Diamond. No one will return my calls!!!! Does anyone have a direct number to contact the new owner? I am being ripped off from points and no reservations. I was an owner with Amber since 1995 and when Diamond took ownership, they are ripping me off!!! taking my money but no service

cynthial238 wrote:

Irene, I'm not sure if this pertains to the subject in your article. This is a rough draft of a letter I'm in the process of sending. I have been a DRI owner for 5 years. I have never filed a complaint before now but my last upgrade sent me over the edge. It wasn't just pushy sales tactics it was outright lies. I've been reading about a Relinquish Remedy Program that is probably bogus but my thought was to try that first. My first mailing was going to be sent to DRI and CC to Rick Casper. If you could please read the letter and give me some pointers on where to start it would be greatly appreciated.

January 27, 2017 To whom this concerns.

On 10-30-16 while on vacation in Las Vegas, Nevada while staying at Polo Towers we went to the required owners update meeting for using our Diamond Dream Holiday package. Instead of sitting us in the normal group meeting as they usually do Rick Casper took us directly to a private office and started talking about an Owner Update Dinner that we had missed with important updates that we needed to be aware of. He handed me a paper and told me what to write so I could verify I had not been contacted and had not attended the dinner. He said they needed this letter to be able to discuss the updates that we missed at the Owners Dinner. Rick Casper went on for about two hours talking in circles about how there had been major changes in the system telling us our maintenance fees would increase significantly if we did not change over to the new system and once the change took place we would be able to sell our points if we were ever in a position that we needed to. He proceeded to tell us that Diamond was partnering with Amazon and we would be able to use our points to purchase anything you could buy through Amazon. He was asking my husband how much he spent per year with purchases through his business. Through all of this he never mentioned any dollar amount. Finally, after 3 or 4 hours I started asking how much this would cost to upgrade to the new system thinking probably another $10,000 that I did not want to spend. When he finally came in and put the numbers in front of us there was still no price but a breakdown on how much it would cost monthly saying that this was less than the amount my husband told him he was spending on business anyway and that we could purchase all the items through Amazon and it would work out to our advantage. When I finally figured out the dollar amount ($75,000) I said no way was I going to make that decision and that I wanted no part of it. I had just paid off my loan that I had from my Gold membership and was perfectly happy with Gold. He went on to tell us basically that what we had was worthless and we would never be able to sell it if we did not upgrade and our maintenance fees would continue to rise. By this time, we were about 5 hours in. I told my husband I would not make the decision to buy into this because it was too much money. The cost for this was more than double the amount we already had into Diamond. I made it very clear to Rick Casper that I did not want to go into that kind of debt because my husband had some serious health issues. My husband looked at Rick Casper and agreed and Rick Casper said more reason to upgrade because we would be able to sell for 3 to 4 dollars per point. He told us that he was a Real Estate Broker and if we called him after the first of the year he would handle the sale for us so we could go back to where we were GOLD but still have the option to sell later if we chose to do so. He said HE WOULD HANDLE THE SALE BUT NOT TO TELL THE OTHER GUY THAT HAD BEEN SITTING IN ON THE MEETING WHEN HE CAME BACK IN THE ROOM. THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MY RED FLAG TO SAY NO AND WALK OUT. Rick Casper knew I did not want to sign. THE ONLY reason I agreed to sign the papers was because he offered to sell our points for us. Rick Casper also said the maintenance fees would be rolled into the financing. Once he wore us down as usual the paperwork started rolling in and of course both of our names (mine and my husbands) were already on everything. Before we left the office, Rick Casper shook our hands and looked me in the eyes and said call me after the first of the year. I emailed him twice before the first of the year, once to ask some questions about Amazon not having anything except for travel brochures for sale and he told me none of that would be available for me until after my Platinum points clicked in. The second email was to ask why I had over $8000 in maintenance fees due by January 1st? The answer to that was they would not allow him to add the fees to the financing. The third email was sent after the first of the year to discuss how to start the process to sell enough points to pay off the new loan. My husband is diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer and it’s necessary to get out from under this new debt that I did not want to take on. I got no response so I sent a message to his other email address and he sends me an email back telling me Dan will take care of it. I don’t know who Dan is but Dan was very informative with telling me about the Legacy Program that I could go through to sell or pass down to friends and family that will be starting sometime this year or if I want to sell points myself I can list them on EBay and if I find a buyer they (Diamond Resorts) will help close the sale. I had never even heard of the Legacy program until Dan mentioned it to me. If he would have told me how the resale of my points had to be done I would have never signed the contract. RICK CASPER flat out lied to us to get the signatures. I was fine with being a Gold Member that was more than enough points for me. Now I am $75,000 in debt and I have over $8000 in annual fees. Rick Casper set me up to fail.

NONE OF THE ABOVE IS LISTED ANYWHERE IN THE 2017 OWNERS BENEFIT MANUAL. The request I am making is not to opt out completely from Diamond but to Relinquish the NEW UPDATE I was told I needed. I do not need to be a Platinum Member with another $75,000 debt to pay. I never wanted to be Platinum but Rick Casper convinced my husband he was doing the right thing and he would take care of the sale to put us back where we started. I have already paid for my Gold Membership. Hopefully one day my husband and I will be able to travel again and I will be able to access this. But the “New System” we were scammed into buying I do not want and cannot afford. If I was not Lied to I would not have NEVER signed this Contract. I read about the Relinquishment Remedy Program and would like information on how to access it. I wish to cancel the Contract that was signed on October 30, 2016.

Thank you, Cynthia Lashley

Hello, I just signed up with Red Week after reading this posting and wondering what, if any, results were obtained for or by Cynthia B. Reason I ask is that in September 2019 my wife and I were subject to a very similar scam in Las Vegas. And unfortunately the Sales associate was so convincing and kept us there so long that we eventually signed the contract. While we've been holding out hope while being doubtful, we now realize we were scammed for almost $100000, plus increased yearly maintenance fees. I would appreciate knowing if there were any positive results from this similar incident. Thanks. CliffordB40

I wish there was a way to inform people of the pitfalls of this unconscionable industry . Corporate greed has taken over and frankly it's out of control . Capitalism is great for business owners who are lining their pockets using questionable tactics to sell their over priced products . They pay lobbyist to pay off our elected officials to pass laws protecting this kind of behavior . We had an organization that used to speak for timeshare owners so what does the industry do they bought the organization and uses it now for their own benefit .

Now we have billionaire businessmen running the country and guess who's side they are on . Our only protection is to use common sense and not get sucked into these scams . Unfortunately the industry spends millions of dollars perfecting these one sided presentations and they obviously work .

I'm not putting down the entire industry . There are still some decent properties out there that charge reasonable maintenance fees . I own one on the Las Vegas strip that I wouldn't part with for anything . My maintenance fees just increased to $ 600.00 a year . That's right I own a one bedroom timeshare on the Las Vegas strip right next door to Bellagio and it only costs me $ 600.00 to spend a week there . I only use it for Las Vegas and never trade it . It usually takes no more that a 15 minute phone call to book my week . They treat owners like royalty there .

My point is to shop around and find a real value out there . Unfortunately for the ones trapped in unreasonable contracts the best advice I could give them is to negotiate an exit plan that you can live with . You will recoup you losses over time by not having to pay maintenance fees, assessments and the cost of traveling to and from .

Now another change. We have used The Club Select many times and this is the main reason we have kept our Diamond membership, even upgrading a couple of years ago (we bought originally Sunterra in 2000). Now The Club Select is gone and after many chats with people who don't know what they're doing and a phone call to someone who had to keep asking someone else my questions, I was finally told that now that is a part of their Combinations membership. Does anyone actually know what happened to the Club Select? This is a worthless timeshare without it. There are very few resorts with availability for summer 2020, so the choices are VERY limited without the club select. I don't want to go to Orlando and Branson every summer because those are about the only things available! Even worse, when we upgraded a couple of years ago they kept pushing the versatility with Club Select so we bought more points. Then we went to a recap dinner that next January, mainly with new 'suckers' in the room, and they kept pushing Club Select with display boards around the room. Now they've taken it away from us. How is that legal?

They keep changing programs and increasing fees . CORPORATE GREED !!!!

Timeshare extrication companies are now so mainstream that they advertise on TV. What other industry has spawned a counter-industry to get you out of the deal the first one put you in to?

HI, I am trying desperately to return my Beachwoods Kitty Hawk NC unit to Diamond Resorts through the transitions program. I am getting such a runaround, it is unbelievable. I qualify, but they just keep saying I do not. I was gifted the unit by a family member and I think they think it is a resale. Despite submitting tons of documentation, I cannot get past the "party line." It seems no one is really looking at my application. If it does not fit on the assembly line, they won''t deal with it.

I gave up and filed a complaint with the NC AG. I've been communicating with Diamond since early August. I'm perfectly willing to pay the $1000 fee. I just want out!

If your family members who gifted you the timeshare did not directly purchase the week from Diamond or the company DR bought, you are not eligible for the program.

Donna I spoke with an attorney about this as it is unfair that if someone purchased from a developer, before Diamond acquired the property, they are denying transitions. I bought directly from Diamond, but denied transitions. I was offered a full refund for my last purchase, but could not sign the non-disclosure agreement. I filed a complaint with the AZ, FL and NY Attorneys General on my own. I mentioned in passing to an attorney that I could not sign an NDA. It took him about 10 minutes to send a letter which was never answered. I am declined Transitions because of working with a third party. I was willing to pay them $3,000, but my husband with a high credit score, is left with no choice but to default at age 82.

There are thousands in your situation. What the attorney said is they don't have to offer an exit to anyone. They only bowed to pressure. They can turn it on and off, pick and choose. If you must default and need support join our Facebook of over 5,000 mostly angry Diamond members. I have no qualms about defaulting on maintenance fees. There are many on our Facebook who have posted about this. This is the link to our Facebook launched by an economics professor. https://www.facebook.com/groups/DiamondResortsOwnersAdvocacy/ I have heard from over 2,000 timeshare members and owners. Given the volume of seniors who have contacted me left with no choice but default, I wrote this article I am taking to the media and to lawmakers. I wrote this article for Maury #1 of 10 seniors, as we are reaching out to his local On Your Side TV reporter. Senior defaults https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/senior-timeshare-defaults-irene-parker/

Sharing my past experience, if it helps? Not sure where Diamond is domiciled, so I don't know which state or state agency that you should contact. Three years ago, I had a problem with Hilton and their 5-day promotional timeshare week coupled with a 2-hr solicitation presentation. They took my payment in full, then changed the dates of my stay after guaranteeing me set dates to close the deal. I complained repeatedly and finally threatened to sue, but they did not respond. Just repeatedly told me they were sending my issue to their legal counsel within their organization, who never responded. I researched and found that Hilton is domiciled in Florida. Florida's Dept of Agriculture has a legal division to resolve timeshare disputes. They intervened on my behalf and within 30 days I had all of my money back, and no attorney fees or other expenses. Diamond would have to be domiciled in Florida, or a state with similar legal dept, to force Diamond to respond to the state agency. Whatever you do, you will need to document in writing all of your emails & phone calls to Diamond (including dates, times, person contacted, phone number, what was said) and written copies of ownership and ownership transfer to get any action.

Suggestion: If a timeshare company puts my calls on a recorded line, I also tell them and tap the calls too. That way there are never any "lost" recordings. In disputes, I send a demand letter via certified mail, then wait 30 days for a response. Following your state laws, thorough documentation and proper procedures are essential, if you expect to succeed. Florida's Dept of Ag will walk you through their requirements and procedures, if they have jurisdiction.

My family bought the week from the company that DR bought.

Good work.

Great information. Thanks.

Robert: Diamond is domiciled in Nevada. Diamond members have sent the Nevada Real Estate Division 100s of complaints to which they responded, "You have no proof" even when we supplied recordings of fraudulent presentations. Stephen Cloobeck, the founder of Diamond, ran for Governor of Nevada. Kamela Harris in her Senate race accepted from Cloobeck a $100,000 donation. Members should still file for the record even though you will just receive denial letter.

Florida's timeshare division does not mediate disputes. Like the FBI, their role is not to make the victim whole. They regulate the licensee. The Florida timeshare division, DBPR, under the Agricultural Division, is not a consumer protection agency and cannot mediate a dispute. I exchanged many emails with the DBPR supervisor who admitted this. They review, and if T's are crossed and I's dotted, they send a, "Verbal representations are hard to prove" letter. They blame the consumer for not reviewing within the 10 day rescission period, despite the buyer not allowed onto the booking site until after the rescission period has ended.

I ended up the manager of Seniors Vs Crime, a Special Project of the Office of the Florida Attorney General, until one of Diamond's many law firms, Greenspoon Marder, demanded of the Florida AG and Victoria Butler that I step down. It took my husband and I a week to comply with their Public Records Request. They said I was biased against timeshare, despite my husband and I owning timeshares for over 30 years. I could continue with my position only if I not accept any timeshare calls, even on personal time. I am biased against deceptive timeshare sales practices, having bought Diamond points only to learn it would cost about $10,000 or more to use Diamond points in NYC, compared to about $3,000 booked online for the same property, same week. Diamond customer service responded, "Those properties are for people who bought so many points they don't know what to do with them all." I was offered a refund, but could not sign an NDA. I have since heard from 140 Diamond Platinum members alleging they bought points for reasons that did not exist, like being able to be relieved of maintenance fees or be able to sell points.

If you bought in Florida, or live in Florida and bought a timeshare anywhere: Seniors Vs Crime is a Special Project of the Florida AG. It is a consumer protection agency and they can mediate disputes. Marty describes the program in his YouTube. Marty served as a police officer for 35 years, of which 30 years were with the Stuart, Florida police department in Martin County. Marty has been a Seniors Vs Crime volunteer for over 30 years. Captain Brian Hester, with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s office, interviewed Marty on 10-8 about Seniors Vs Crime. In his interview, Marty explains:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTLvICfgvGI&feature=youtu.be To File: Seniors Vs Crime Senior Sleuths do everything possible to reach a settlement without cost. http://www.seniorsvscrime.com/history

Seniors vs Crime online complaint form: https://sites.google.com/a/svcproject.com/intakecenter/onlinecomplaint

Order the book Not Today Buster written by the founder who advises not to attend a timeshare presentation. https://www.amazon.com/Not-Today-Buster-Senior-Sleuth/dp/059546503X