# RCI "Extra Vacations"



## Crohnos01 (Dec 3, 2012)

I got a interesting phone call last week, which I was in the middle of studying for a test and didn't have time to deal with understanding what the guy was trying to tell me. Suffice it to say that my BS detector was going off just in the short time we talked however.

I am a complete noob with respect to TS ownership in general and RCI in particular. I bought resale (thanks to TUG) a fixed week in Hawaii in a Wyndham property. To my knowledge, I am not a member of RCI. I have been happily using my every other year week, and enjoying the property for all of one year now. We like the resort and I travel enough with work that air miles make buying tickets to Hawaii a non-issue. 

According to the phone call I got, the guy tells me that because I am a Wyndham Owner, I am automatically a RCI member? (BS detector started going off about here) and that he and his company wanted to "purchase" my "extra" vacation weeks from me for $1200 unless I was going to use them by January when they expire. After January (according to this guy) I would receive a new allotment of "extra" vacation weeks which would then go until the end of December of 2013. There was some sort of registration fee for about $150 which I would have to pay for them to then buy these "extra" weeks from me (BS detector is SCREAMING now) and would I like to sell these vacations weeks. He gave me a website address of http://pgs.rci.com/landing/InsideRCI/extravacations/ to check out in regards to this "offer".

Does anybody know what the heck this is all about? My tendency is to run now walk from this type of "offer" but you'all are much more knowledgeable that I about these things and I would appreciate your thoughts.


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## DeniseM (Dec 3, 2012)

Scam - RCI doesn't permit you to rent exchanges or Extra Vacations.


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## Crohnos01 (Dec 3, 2012)

Ah-ha.... Thanks for the confirmation of what I thought....

I have learned to trust my gut feelings in regards to the TS ownership offers from either the developer or "others". Nice to know my detector is working well though.

Is there any truth in this "extra vacations", RCI membership, or anything this guy was saying or was it all a complete, unadulterated fairy tale?


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## DeniseM (Dec 3, 2012)

RCI exchanges and Extra Vacations are available to RCI members for their own use - they can't be rented.  Extra Vacations are rentals - you have to pay for them.


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## RX8 (Dec 3, 2012)

You should post the name of the scam company so others can be warned.  Unfortunately not everyone has that gut instinct to smell a rat.

Other than timesharing is there ANY other industry that has so many persistent scammers trying to steal money?  This is just ridiculous!

One could walk into a 7-11 and steal a case of beer and the police would be all over the area trying to arrest the individual.  Yet, a scam TS company could steal THOUSANDS for MONTHS before any danger of getting caught.  Most of the time they simply close up on their own before they getting arrested and start over again.


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## Crohnos01 (Dec 3, 2012)

So true.... I guess this is one of those "white collar" crime niches that seems to go by pretty much without issue or punishment. I once worked for a property management firm who got burned by a guy who wanted to develop property for them. He went to the bank (this was years ago by the way... I think recent banking restrictions might keep this from happening now) and played two banks against each other to get a loan for $1 million (a lot of money in the 80's). He then went back and told the bank that the project had some unexpected costs and needed another $500k to complete the project. The banks were so busy calculating their interest payments, they didn't inspect the guy's credit history they way the should have... Needless to say, he took the 1.5 million, skipped town, and left the contractors and property developing company holding the bag. He's probably sitting on an island somewhere now running a Timeshare "investment" company...

The name of the company who called me was (as near as I could make out with my old, deaf ears) ATN Travel and they left a phone number of 407-205-7058 which shows up as "private" on my caller ID


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## RX8 (Dec 3, 2012)

Crohnos01 said:


> The name of the company who called me was (as near as I could make out with my old, deaf ears) ATN Travel and they left a phone number of 407-205-7058 which shows up as "private" on my caller ID



ATN is Access Travel Network.  Here is the thread

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170146&highlight=access+travel

They are a timeshare advertising/listing company that *LIES* through their teeth in order to get people's credit card numbers.  They falsely claim to have buyers for their timeshare OR that they have rentors for the owner's "extra" RCI weeks, all for upfront fees and all lies.  What the upfront fees are really for however are for ADVERTISING their timeshare on their crappy website.  They are able to stay around because their contracts don't reflect what is being promised via the phone.  Their own legal disclosure on their website states:

_"Access Travel Network is *not involved in any negotiation *for rent, closing or procuring of buyers...Although, the services we provide allow for a worldwide audience of prospective renters to view and review your timeshare interest and its rental rates, amenities, and location, *Access Travel Network advertising program does not have a specific renter at the present time.*"_

Please, someone close this company down.


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## Crohnos01 (Dec 3, 2012)

Bingo! Thanks for the link. This is exactly the same pitch that was thrown out to me as well. The $149 price was included and the corporate clients wanting to use Timeshares instead of hotels for their employees/clients. It all kind of made sense until he started talking about my automatic RCI membership because I am a Wyndham owner (not how I understand the RCI thing to work) and me having to pay upfront for the "registration" of the vacations so they could turn around and sell them to their corporate clients and send me the check for the $1200 in return for the use of my fictional weeks. Man, you really have to watch your back with this timeshare stuff. It seems like you have a target on you for every scam company under the sun!

Once again, TUG to the rescue. Fortunately, I had the good sense to decline. I was actually kind of surprised they took "no" so easily since scammers seem like they will keep trying to manipulate you and the facts until they get a "yes" even if it's just out of frustration on the part of the mark to make them go away.

Thanks again for the education on these guys!


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## LannyPC (Dec 3, 2012)

RX8 said:


> Other than timesharing is there ANY other industry that has so many persistent scammers trying to steal money?  This is just ridiculous!



Perhaps.  But the fact is that these scammers see timeshare owners as naive and desperate and, hence, easy prey and easy money.


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## tschwa2 (Dec 3, 2012)

Actually your Wyndham Program Fee (if you have points) pays for an RCI membership.  If you have other weeks you can use it to trade them in RCI or you can use it to access Extra Vacations,etc.   You will need to call to find out how to set up the account.


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## Crohnos01 (Dec 3, 2012)

I am not a "Club Wyndham" owner or points owner of any kind... I seem actually to be kind of an anomaly in the Wyndham system as they don't seem to even be able to find my contract easily as the large majority of owners are points and/or Club Wyndham owners. I just have my little old fixed week contract buried deep in their system... So far as I know, this doesn't give me access to RCI unless that's a "perk" (I use quotes because perks are usually quirks of TS ownership) that I am unaware of.


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## tschwa2 (Dec 3, 2012)

You're right no automatic RCI account for you.  But Wyndham points owners pay the RCI fee too, it is just part of the annual program fee whether they want it or not.


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## stanleyu (Dec 4, 2012)

Mine was from "Premium Resorts", and I had 3 bonus weeks which they wanted to rent for $2100 each (total of $6300). Sorry yours was so cheap!


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## tpejza (Jun 12, 2013)

Where does it say you cannot rent extra vacations?


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## tschwa2 (Jun 12, 2013)

tpejza said:


> Where does it say you cannot rent extra vacations?



In order to rent an extra vacation you would need to get a guest certificate in the name of the person checking in.  When you look at the restrictions at RCI.com concerning Guest certificates it just mentions that they are not to be sold or used for any commercial use.

On the confirmation itself that goes to both the member and the guest this additional information appears (emphasis added by me) :



> *Additional Information*:
> 1. By using this guest certificate you agree to be bound by the same terms and conditions which apply to the RCI subscribing member who requested this guest certificate on your behalf.
> 2. This guest certificate is non-transferable.
> *3. The member who requested this guest certificate will be responsible for the payment of any damages caused by the guest while staying in the vacation unit and for the replacement of any missing items.*
> ...


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## bestgolf (Oct 6, 2013)

*Extra Vacations*

When I bought my timeshare, I told the salesman because I did not need one because I am a golf pro and often get comped and rarely pay for hotels.  I also organize vacations for my friends since I have good relations with many golf courses and resorts.

The salesman told me that was exactly the reason I needed to buy, since I could use the extra weeks to sell to my friends-giving them a low priced vacation and making a profit myself at the same time.

If what you say it true, then I cannot do that - and my salesman told me a blatant lie, and I want to go after him and get every penny back that I have paid and put him in the slammer.


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## LannyPC (Oct 6, 2013)

bestgolf said:


> - and my salesman told me a blatant lie, and I want to go after him and get every penny back that I have paid and put him in the slammer.



There's that old, worn-out saying here on TUG that is perpetually applicable: How can you tell that a TS salesperson is lying?  His/Her lips are moving.

Very few retail timeshares have been sold based on honest truths.

Now that you've expressed your frustration/anger in a public forum like this where you've stated your intentions of "[getting] every penny back that [you] have paid and [putting] him in the slammer", watch out for some of these fraudulent or questionable law firms that contact you or have Google-type ads on timeshare-related websites, claiming they can do what you just stated.

They'll ask you sort some sort of upfront fee and then make off with your money.


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## Passepartout (Oct 6, 2013)

bestgolf said:


> When I bought my timeshare, I told the salesman because I did not need one because I am a golf pro and often get comped and rarely pay for hotels.  I also organize vacations for my friends since I have good relations with many golf courses and resorts.
> 
> The salesman told me that was exactly the reason I needed to buy, since I could use the extra weeks to sell to my friends-giving them a low priced vacation and making a profit myself at the same time.
> 
> If what you say it true, then I cannot do that - and my salesman told me a blatant lie, and I want to go after him and get every penny back that I have paid and put him in the slammer.



What??? A salesman lied??? No kidding... What he told you means nothing. What governs what you bought is all laid out in your contract, and you had somewhere between 3- and 10 or so days to read it and rescind. 

It also sounds like you heard that a timeshare was some sort of 'investment' in which you can make money. Not likely.

Now, since you posted this in a 'Points' forum, I assume you bought into one points plan or another. That said, you CAN book condos and rent the use of them to your friends and associates. Whether or not you can pay MF, exchange membership, exchange fees, guest certs, and make a profit yourself is at best iffy. 

Welcome to TUG. If you are beyond your rescission period, stick around and learn how to use what you bought. That's about the only 'value' in timeshares, because it isn't financial.

Jim


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## Makai Guy (Oct 6, 2013)

bestgolf said:


> ...The salesman told me that was exactly the reason I needed to buy, since I could use the extra weeks to sell to my friends-giving them a low priced vacation and making a profit myself at the same time ...



To clarify what has been said above...

If you reserve time directly with your resort (or resort system) as part of your ownership, then you basically own that time and can give or rent it to anybody you please.  Depending on the system, you may need to make some specific arrangements with the resort so that your renter will be recognized at check-in as being authorized to use your time.

If, on the other hand, you deposit this owned time with a third party exchange company (RCI, II, etc.) and then reserve exchange time through THEM, the exchange company may well prohibit the renting out of that exchanged time


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