[ 2013 ] How do you get out of DRI pts forever?

[csalter2]

If you look at the rules...

Look at the rules for the club. If you do not owe any money on your points and don't pay your maintenance fees. DRI will suspend your membership and then terminate it and take away your points.

 

[jafeld38]

I was told that if you "surrender" your points back to the timeshare, it will appear as a bankrupcy and affect your credit rating. Is this true?

 

[DeniseM]

I was told that if you "surrender" your points back to the timeshare, it will appear as a bankrupcy and affect your credit rating. Is this true?

When you surrender your points, the resort AGREES to take them back and there is an orderly transfer.

I don't know how it could possibly appear as a "bankruptcy." That is a completely different legal process and the resort has nothing to do with declaring bankruptcy.

When you don't pay a contractual obligation, it's defaulting, not bankruptcy.

 

[fluke]

I was told that if you "surrender" your points back to the timeshare, it will appear as a bankrupcy and affect your credit rating. Is this true?

This is directly form the official Diamonds Member forum Moderators:

"As discussed previously on this forum topic, Diamond Resorts does not currently have a Voluntary Surrender program. If a member/owner is experiencing a medical or financial hardship that prevents them from travelling, they can submit a written request to surrender their contract, along with documented proof (ie. signed letter from Doctor or Physician) of their hardship to our Corporate Address:

Diamond Resorts International
Attn: Hospitality Management
10600 W. Charleston BLVD.
Las Vegas, NV 89135

Once received, the Hospitality Management department will review the request, the circumstances and substantiating documentation submitted and respond accordingly. Please be aware that there are no guarantees that a request will be accepted for voluntary surrender."

There also have been other posts on this forum referencing the "Loss Mitigation Department". I know there has been a phone number referenced for that department on TUG

 

[fluke]

I think what you are referring to is more like this post from the DRI Official Forum:

"Defaulting on a contract due to nonpayment of loan and defaulting on a contract due to nonpayment of HOA dues (Maintenance Fees) are two completely different situations. If you happen to default on your contract due to nonpayment of your loan, then your credit rating would definitely be effected.

Whereas if you happen to default on your contract due to nonpayment of your HOA dues, then your credit rating would most likely be effected. In this situation, the decision, whether or not this delinquency is reported to the credit bureaus, is up to the Home Owner's Association Board of Directors, where your contract is tied to.

I would refer to your "Promissory Note" for further information about your loan, and consequences for nonpayment, and refer to your "Purchase and Security Agreement" for further information about your HOA dues."


Response to question does default end your points ownership?:

Yes, if a contract is in default, either due to unpaid maintenance fees/club dues, or loan (mortgage) payment, then this would effectively terminate the contract in question.

 

[fluke]

I believe if you fall 2 years behind in MFs you are default on your HOA fees. This is one way to rid yourself of points.

Another way is to convert to European points first as the EU has specific laws that force DRI to take back points. I don't know the details but there was a post from the official page moderators describing how to convert US to European collection:

"First, there cannot be an active loan. If there is a loan, this must be paid in full before any transfer can occur.

There is a £200.00 charge for upgrading to a European account.

All US First Day Incentives (FDI) will be canceled. These cannot carry over to Europe.

The member's points will be transferred to the EU account and the maintenance fees will increase by the number of points transferred over. Due to the current exchange rates, the member's maintenance fees will increase.

If the member has made his or her current year maintenance fee payment, the payment will transfer to the new EU membership if usage on the upgrade contract is for the current year.

If the member has not made his or her current year maintenance fee payment, the maintenance fee balance will transfer to the new EU membership.

Once the member agrees to all of the above, the EU office will send out the appropriate paperwork to be signed and returned to their offices with the check for the appropriate amount."

 

[felicia14]

Still Trying...

I just rejoined Tug, after years of being away, because of this very issue...dealing with Diamond Resorts over a surrender. We have had a deeded week for years now, purchased by my parents. One parent is now deceased, the other is suffering from dementia. (Several times over the years, we've tried to get my dad's name off the title but they still send all correspondence to him!) We bought the week to enable my parents to have a vacation, with our help, once in a while.

Now, we are finding out how hard it is to get rid of the whole thing. It is completely paid for and we pay the associated maintenance fees every year...fees that have been going up and up and seem to include additional memberships we never asked for, nor wanted. How is it legal to force people to continue to pay for something they don't want? (We gave up trying to sell the darn thing a while back). We just want out. Diamond gains the right to resell that "week"/points to someone else if we relinquish it and after all, what do "points" REALLY mean? We can't even go to our home resort when we want to unless it is booked a year in advance. Yet, one night when staying there, we noticed dozens of unoccupied rooms, presumably allocated for RCI or II trades or perhaps for nightly rentals, who knows?

Typical story, right? I've seen a Facebook page about this, a webpage of Diamond haters from the UK, and numerous complaints to the BBB. Even watched two episodes of Undercover Boss. Klubeck looked like a pompous ass, throwing OUR money around so "generously" to his employees! There has even been at least one class action suit, launched against this company. Yet, nobody seems to have a satisfactory solution that isn't risky, unproven, or has inconsistent results.

Just "not paying" the annual fees puts us at risk of collections issues, and credit rating risks which I have read DRI has tried in the UK. Not interested in that unless I can be sure it's all a bluff, sorry! So, just by way of an update, can anyone give me the ULTIMATE solution that won't put me in jail -- or debtor's prison?!!! Thanks

 

[TUGBrian]

very sorry to hear your situation is that dire...

have you attempted to contact DRI and explain the situation with your parents and ask if they take the deed back?

 

[pgnewarkboy]

Loans, HOA maintenance fees, and Club membership seem to be three separate things. THERE MIGHT BE a difference in delinquency in "the Club" membership. I don't know if that would downgrade your credit rating or not. Delinquency in the first two would surely downgrade your credit rating. Perhaps someone has personal experience.

 

[Smudge]

The whole process of getting rid of your timeshare could easily take 6 months to a year or longer to complete. Besides foreclosure, you basically have three other options:

1. Talk the resort into taking it back.

2. Sell it or give it away (i.e. list it in the TUG Marketplace or if it’s a Hawaiian week list it with Timeshare Resales Hawaii).

3. As a last resort, you could contact donateforacause.org to get a quote on what it would cost you to have them transfer title of the timeshare into their name and take it off your hands.

 

[BCN]

We had success with a DRI surrender in 2014

We owned a weeks unit at DRI Greensprings Plantation.

I called the Loss Mitigation department at Diamond (1-800-205-7555) in May and ask if they were accepting hardship surrenders at our resort. I have done this before and ask for a deed back which they have said no to so you must ask for a hardship surrender.

They then put me on hold to check my account and the resort data for possible surrenders. We were lucky they needed units at that time.

There cannot be any outstanding MFs or loans. They ask if we had any weeks banked to which I replied no since all weeks deposited at RCI had already been used by RCI. There is a $250 fee for surrenders.

The next step was to send (by mail, fax, or email) a letter declaring hardship and the reasons you can no longer afford to keep the unit. Make sure you check with them a few days after sending the letter to make sure it has been received and noted on your account. After they received the letter it was about 4 months until we heard anything from the office. They have quite a back load of paperwork. At that time we received a call to ask if we still wanted to surrender our week. DRI then sent paperwork to be signed and notarized. We returned it to DRI with a check by registered mail.

We finally had the deed recorded December 3rd, a little over 6 months. There is hope-don't give up!

Important numbers: Loss Mitigation department- 1-800-205-7555
Fax-1-702-804-8606
Email: leadcollector@diamondresorts.com

 

[pedro47]

We owned a weeks unit at DRI Greensprings Plantation.

I called the Loss Mitigation department at Diamond (1-800-205-7555) in May and ask if they were accepting hardship surrenders at our resort. I have done this before and ask for a deed back which they have said no to so you must ask for a hardship surrender.

They then put me on hold to check my account and the resort data for possible surrenders. We were lucky they needed units at that time.

There cannot be any outstanding MFs or loans. They ask if we had any weeks banked to which I replied no since all weeks deposited at RCI had already been used by RCI. There is a $250 fee for surrenders.

The next step was to send (by mail, fax, or email) a letter declaring hardship and the reasons you can no longer afford to keep the unit. Make sure you check with them a few days after sending the letter to make sure it has been received and noted on your account. After they received the letter it was about 4 months until we heard anything from the office. They have quite a back load of paperwork. At that time we received a call to ask if we still wanted to surrender our week. DRI then sent paperwork to be signed and notarized. We returned it to DRI with a check by registered mail.

We finally had the deed recorded December 3rd, a little over 6 months. There is hope-don't give up!

Important numbers: Loss Mitigation department- 1-800-205-7555
Fax-1-702-804-8606
Email: leadcollector@diamondresorts.com

Thanks for this post.