# Buyers Beware!



## TEA CIE (Mar 21, 2015)

When purchasing points from DRI, be sure in the contract everything is typed especially the tier level. Nothing should be in handwriting. 

I should have known that. Well I did ask why is my tier level in handwriting while everything else is typed. But I was assured that it did not matter. Should have refused to sign it! My tier level should be permanently Platinum because I bought the 17500 points and had weeks/points credits equaling 35000 through C Com. But no! I'm only temporarily Gold and permanently Silver.  Silver and Platinum may have similar color shade but big difference in properties! 

Any way to get out of this nightmare?


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## TUGBrian (Mar 21, 2015)

are you saying that there are things written on the signed sales contract that DRI is not honoring?


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## VegasBella (Mar 21, 2015)

TUGBrian said:


> are you saying that there are things written on the signed sales contract that DRI is not honoring?



That's what it sounds like. 
Get a lawyer.


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## RuralEngineer (Mar 21, 2015)

*contracts*

typed vs written does not matter.  if it is in a signed contract and the language is consistent then it is enforceable.


stephen


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## CO skier (Mar 21, 2015)

If you decide to waste any money hiring a lawyer, the first question to ask is, "Was the person who signed the type-written/handwritten addendum legally authorized to act on behalf of the principal (DRI)?.  If not, then it does not matter what was written, and you can save yourself a lot of trouble and legal fees.

It is rare that an addendum signed by a salesperson would be legally enforceable, because salespeople are not authorized agents.

It seems unjust, but Westgate, (maybe DRI and others) have built their business on this legality.

You might have a case for fraud, but that is an uphill and expensive battle.


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## pedro47 (Mar 21, 2015)

Sounds like the OP purchased 35000 points from a third party and 17000 points from a DRI salesperson. DRI now do not want to combines those points with her  DRI 17000 points to make the OP permanent Platinum. ...
. The OP in my opinion needs to contact DRI in Vegas. ASAP.


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## TEA CIE (Mar 21, 2015)

*Stay tuned*

Brian, that appears to be the case.  

Here is what I was told or led to believe:
I was told I would be permanent Platinum when I purchased the package. By being "permanently" Platinum, I was also told by the salesperson and her manager that I would get the same privileges each year regardless of whether I register and enroll my eligible weeks in the Club Combination for points.

Here is what I was told by DRI Vegas call center today:
I am only temporary Gold for 2 years because I only purchased the 17500 points and was given a matching 17500 points usable for 2 years. After 2 years or whenever the matching points are used up, I will become permanent Silver. If I register and enroll my eligible weeks in Club Combination to reach 50,000 points in a particular year I then can/may become Platinum temporarily at that time. But if I don't then I'm only Silver.

The only thing I have is a handwritten "Platinum" on my contract. It doesn't specify temporary or permanent. Nor does it tell me about if I would be treated differently if I do or do not enroll my eligible weeks in any particular year.


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## TEA CIE (Mar 21, 2015)

*Most frustrating is...*

I can't find anything on Diamond site that clearly spells out how the Club Combination works. Anyone knows?


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## TEA CIE (Mar 21, 2015)

*24/7 Platinum Service*

I was also told that being Platinum, I would get 24/7 service. Well the office is closed and that's probably because, well you already know, I am not really Platinum.


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## TEA CIE (Mar 21, 2015)

*Club Combination*



pedro47 said:


> Sounds like the OP purchased 35000 points from a third party and 17000 points from a DRI salesperson. DRI now do not want to combines those points with her  DRI 17000 points to make the OP permanent Platinum. ...
> . The OP in my opinion needs to contact DRI in Vegas. ASAP.



Pedro, no I didn't buy 3rd party resale points. I already own several TS weeks with Marriott. Diamond has this Club Combination program also called C Com, which is fairly new apparently only started in 2014. 

This program allows people like me to buy DRI points and then bring bring non DRI or DRI weeks in to be eligible for points 2X of the DRI points purchased. My weeks were given a total of 32700 points (should have been given 35000 points, because I purchased 17500 points so 2 X 17500 = 35000 but they skimmed me on that). I know this sounds complicated. 

All in all, this C Com sounded like a really good program, a win-win for Diamond and a new owner. The new owner gets to spend less to get more. While DRI gets week inventories they otherwise wouldn't have and in my case some first rate resorts in prime seasons at Marriott Kauai, Maui, Aruba, HHI and Palm Deserts that they can turn around and charge other Diamond Club members 10,000 -15,000 points a week.


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## TEA CIE (Mar 21, 2015)

**At least*

I should add  10,000 - 15000 points or more just for a one bedroom. The people who have used Club Select would know better and can comment. 

I only saw the Club Select resorts/weeks listing once, which was shown to me during the sales meeting as a sales enticement to buy large amount of points to make Gold or Platinum as they considered what were on that list "the choicest resorts available only to the top tiers and not to just any Diamond members." This was before they knew I already owned in some of those choice resorts.


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## artringwald (Mar 21, 2015)

You can also try stating you complaint on DRI's moderated forum:

http://www.diamondresortsforums.com/

When I had a problem before, I got better response through the forum than over the phone.


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## TEA CIE (Mar 22, 2015)

*Not as an addendum*



CO skier said:


> If you decide to waste any money hiring a lawyer, the first question to ask is, "Was the person who signed the type-written/handwritten addendum legally authorized to act on behalf of the principal (DRI)?.  If not, then it does not matter what was written, and you can save yourself a lot of trouble and legal fees.
> 
> It is rare that an addendum signed by a salesperson would be legally enforceable, because salespeople are not authorized agents.
> 
> ...



Skier, thanks for the advice.  Except the handwriting is on the actual contract page signed by someone whose name I can't read to make out. The only other names on the same page below that signature belong to the salesperson and her manager.


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## TEA CIE (Mar 22, 2015)

*DRI Forum*



artringwald said:


> You can also try stating you complaint on DRI's moderated forum:
> 
> http://www.diamondresortsforums.com/
> 
> When I had a problem before, I got better response through the forum than over the phone.



Thank you !!  I will post there.


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## Baldwin (Mar 22, 2015)

What you describe as what you were sold is my understanding of Club Combinations (ie you would be permanent platinum whether you deposit or don't deposit your non-DRI TS units). I think that maybe the paperwork isn't fully loaded into the system so I wouldn't go by what the callcenter people see/say. I am Club Select so I can't speak definitively about Club Combinations, but what you described is what I was told at a sales meeting 6 months ago. It did take DRI months to get my Club Select membership into the system. Follow-up on Monday with DRI and let us know what they say.


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## gjw007 (Mar 24, 2015)

I think what was told is correct.  The purchase was for a silver level, they gave extra points to make it temporarily gold.  With club combination points added, it would make it platinum, for that year.  I believe the club combinations requires submitting it every year not once.  If you submit it every year you will be permanently platinum as a result but if you dont submit it every year, those points dont get added and you fall back to your tier level.  I could he wrong on this but i think i am right.  I would have to get more information on club combination but i dont want to talk to sales

If you submitted it for 2015, you should see your level as platinum.  Dri, in my experience, has been good about quickly showing level changes. I am gold and purchased some extra points.  Dri temporily gave me platinum status as an incentive to get me to purchase more to go to platinum.  The change in tier level showed up the next day even though i could still rescind the purchase.   Frankly there is no difference in the tier between gold and platinum that is significant for me and many times i wish i stayed at silver


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## Baldwin (Mar 24, 2015)

Gary, I'm definitely no expert, but what you describe sounds like Club Select. I am Club Select with 2500 points. I am permanently a "valued" member only eventhough I can deposit my non-DRI TS and have over 15K DRI points per year. If I deposit nothing, I have 2500 points per year. Club Combinations is new and is supposed to make you permanent the level you can attain by depositing even if you don't deposit. I don't need more points and don't want to pay more to DRI every year so I decided to decline the Club Combinations offer. It is a very good deal for some. 

It took a couple months for my membership to fully change from a Sampler member to a Valued member with Club Select. If I remember correctly, some things changed within 2-3 weeks and some things took much longer.


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## gjw007 (Mar 24, 2015)

Club combinations is essentially club select where unlike club select, the points from the deposit count towards the tier level.  I saw nothing to indicate a one time deposit would give you a permenant tier change and i wonder how diamond would benefit if it did (i just cant see diamond making a change where they dont benefit).  Most loyalty programs are paid out of sales and i dont see where a one time deposit giving permanent tier level priveleges helps generate sales.


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## Bill4728 (Mar 24, 2015)

My thoughts on this is "why the OP would want to get more DRI pts by depositing their marriott TS into DRI?"   IMHO, the marriott TS should be used by the OP and if deposited they should be deposited directly into II where they will get the best trades possible. 

 I can not imagine a reason to give your Marriott TS to DRI so you could get a higher status in DRI.


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## Baldwin (Mar 24, 2015)

Surely, there is someone on here who bought into Club Combinations and can say whether they are now permanently at a level based on the fact that they can deposit TS to reach that point level. As I said, I was told it would be permanent whether I deposited or not. Under those rules, the OP can continue to use her TS and attain permanent Platinum status in DRI. Club Combinations gives the sales team something new to sell. I would have preferred Combinations over Select.


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## tschwa2 (Mar 24, 2015)

gjw007 said:


> Club combinations is essentially club select where unlike club select, the points from the deposit count towards the tier level.  I saw nothing to indicate a one time deposit would give you a permenant tier change and i wonder how diamond would benefit if it did (i just cant see diamond making a change where they dont benefit).  Most loyalty programs are paid out of sales and i dont see where a one time deposit giving permanent tier level priveleges helps generate sales.



Wyndham's PIC (personal interval choice- I believe) does what the OP was told Club combinations would do.  It is used as an incentive to make the sale.  You pay an extra fee to use the points in the system but if you don't you still have status based on those points.


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## kalima (Mar 24, 2015)

*I agree with this.*



gjw007 said:


> I think what was told is correct.  The purchase was for a silver level, they gave extra points to make it temporarily gold.  With club combination points added, it would make it platinum, for that year.  I believe the club combinations requires submitting it every year not once.  If you submit it every year you will be permanently platinum as a result but if you dont submit it every year, those points dont get added and you fall back to your tier level.  I could he wrong on this but i think i am right.  I would have to get more information on club combination but i dont want to talk to sales
> 
> If you submitted it for 2015, you should see your level as platinum.  Dri, in my experience, has been good about quickly showing level changes. I am gold and purchased some extra points.  Dri temporily gave me platinum status as an incentive to get me to purchase more to go to platinum.  The change in tier level showed up the next day even though i could still rescind the purchase.   Frankly there is no difference in the tier between gold and platinum that is significant for me and many times i wish i stayed at silver



I believe that this is correct. You wouldn't be permanently Platinum. Joan on our FB page has done this recently TEA CIE so she could fill you in on her experience but I am positive they wouldn't give you Platinum every year UNLESS you deposited your week every year.


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## Baldwin (Mar 24, 2015)

FYI, what TEA CIE was told by Sales is exactly what my wife and I were told in November. We declined, but I have no reason to believe it wasn't true.


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## TEA CIE (Mar 24, 2015)

*Good News - a Happy Ending!*

My Diamond online page has been set up now so I can finally see the dashboard and it says I am Platinum.  So my salesperson is correct and the call center people were wrong.  

Still think I should have been more careful with accepting handwriting on something so important in a formal contract. But very happy with the final results.  I feel I can finally say I have correctly trusted and helped a person and myself.  It is a good feeling. 

Now I can start experiencing the Diamond vacations!  Hope to continue to learn from the tuggers to maximize my ownership and also share my vacation experience with all of you.


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## TEA CIE (Mar 24, 2015)

*You're right! My hope is to not have to deposit in C Com*



Bill4728 said:


> My thoughts on this is "why the OP would want to get more DRI pts by depositing their marriott TS into DRI?"   IMHO, the marriott TS should be used by the OP and if deposited they should be deposited directly into II where they will get the best trades possible.
> 
> I can not imagine a reason to give your Marriott TS to DRI so you could get a higher status in DRI.



I decided to join Diamond because of the flexibility it offers.  In particular the ability to use points to book travel packages that include airline tickets,  resort/hotel stays and local excursions. I have been planning a trip to Australia to see the Great Barrier Reef. It's an once in a life time trip and I want to bring my family along. I gave my trip itinerary to my salesperson and her manager to find out how many points it would take for 3 persons.  My itinerary calls for 3 round trip airfares from US to Sydney then to Cairns and then back to Sydney and US with 7 nights stay in a 2 or 3 BR at a resort or hotel in Cairns and Catamaran excursions for 3 persons to the Great Barrier Reef with overnight stay on the GBR pontoons and 2 nights on Green Island and ending with 2 nights stay in Sydney before returning to the US for a total of 14 days.  The salesperson's manager checked with Diamond's travel service and came back with 44400 points covering the whole thing.  When I priced the same trip elsewhere the lowest price was $12,000.  I figured if I can take 8-10 big trips like this in my ownership lifetime, I would be able more than breaking even.  

And I plan to use this year's 17500 points plus the matching 17500 bonus points and a couple of my Marriott weeks to get the 44400 points needed for the Australia trip this year.  The rest of the time I still have my Marriott weeks and I don't need to enroll them in C Com to enjoy the Platinum benefits unless I want to.


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## winger (Mar 25, 2015)

TEA CIE said:


> ... The salesperson's manager checked with Diamond's travel service and came back with 44400 points covering the whole thing.  ....



Sounds like you have an awesome trip in mind.

If I were in your shoes, I would want to confirm ASAP what the salesroom person was telling me.  I suggest start diving into the it and see what specifically makes up the 44,400 points (e.g. airflights x pts, hotel#1 y pts, hotel#2 z points, car rental#1 n pts, etc.). 

Please do report back your findings if you would not mind - some of us here may like to plan for a similar nice family trip !


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## TEA CIE (Mar 26, 2015)

*Points are for the total package*



winger said:


> Sounds like you have an awesome trip in mind.
> 
> If I were in your shoes, I would want to confirm ASAP what the salesroom person was telling me.  I suggest start diving into the it and see what specifically makes up the 44,400 points (e.g. airflights x pts, hotel#1 y pts, hotel#2 z points, car rental#1 n pts, etc.).
> 
> Please do report back your findings if you would not mind - some of us here may like to plan for a similar nice family trip !



I've asked that question.  But they (my salesperson and her manager) said the points are calculated based on the total package including how many travelers, time of traveling, specific areas etc so can't be broken down into parts. Two or more persons traveling together will be cheaper per person than a single traveler for example. 

Definitely be glad to keep you and other interested tuggers posted.  I have told my salesperson and her manager that if what they told me is not true then no deal.  I guess I will find out soon! 

Just a thought: if it turns out not to be true what is my best legal option (s)?  

Fingers crossed it will all work out in the end.


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## tschwa2 (Mar 26, 2015)

Unless you have the trip and the points requirement written up as part of the contract, I don't think you will have any legal rights.  My felling is you might find out that the points my be correct or close but that there will be a couple of extra $1000's in taxes and fees in addition to the points requirement.


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## winger (Mar 27, 2015)

TEA CIE said:


> I've asked that question.  But they (my salesperson and her manager) said the points are calculated based on the total package including how many travelers, time of traveling, specific areas etc so can't be broken down into parts. Two or more persons traveling together will be cheaper per person than a single traveler for example.
> 
> Definitely be glad to keep you and other interested tuggers posted...


Thanks alot - I look forward to your followup !

We ended up using some points for three hotels over a four-night span at the beginning of a cross country trip for the family this summer.  We compared prices against the normal suspects (e.g. Expedia, hotels.com, etc.) and was pleasantly surprised DRI's prices was very competitive.  We did have to pay a processing fee to DRI (approx $25, I forget exact amt) and had to wait for a check to arrive by USPS, but overall a smooth process.  Nice to have a decent alternative way to use our points for those times when we non-timeshare accomodations.


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## winger (Mar 27, 2015)

tschwa2 said:


> Unless you have the trip and the points requirement written up as part of the contract, I don't think you will have any legal rights.  My felling is you might find out that the points my be correct or close but that there will be a couple of extra $1000's in taxes and fees in addition to the points requirement.


Unfortunately, until OP comes back with actual figures, I tend to agree with you.


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## TEA CIE (Mar 31, 2015)

*The Ordeal*

Since the last time I posted in this thread, I have called the Diamond platinum concierge, Diamond Dream Vacation, and Diamond travel services, and talked to quite a number of people. At first no one seems to know who or which department should or can handle a request like mine. 

My pleas for help to my salesperson and her manager were mostly unanswered. Actually the salesperson has responded a few times and tried to but didn't or couldn't really give helpful information. It was her manager who got those points estimates and so it was to her that I kept asking to find out who she worked with to get the estimates. But she has not answered my text messages or emails.

I have all the back and forth emails on those points discussions for my Australia itinerary saved from January before I purchased the DRI points. Saturday I finally talked to a person in their travel services who gave me her email address so I could forward her my email chain with the salesperson and her manager. She was able to determine and tell me yesterday that it should be the Dream Vacation department to handle my request.

Yesterday I spoke with another person at the Diamond Dream Vacation and she said she would look into the matter and get back to me in 48 hours. That's tomorrow. I am keeping all my fingers crossed that they will come through on this.

If not, with all my emails as documentation, think I can contact what's his name and ask for refund?


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## gjw007 (Apr 8, 2015)

tschwa2 said:


> Wyndham's PIC (personal interval choice- I believe) does what the OP was told Club combinations would do.  It is used as an incentive to make the sale.  You pay an extra fee to use the points in the system but if you don't you still have status based on those points.



Wyndham pic does but you have to deposit it yearly as well.  I was told about this by wyndham sales as they tried to get me to make a purchase.  Wyndham has its own share of issues with things such as transaction points, house keeping points, moving units to rental at the 60 day mark (coincidentally, the same time the tier levels can start to upgrade unit)s.  One thing diamond does that i like is allow you to upgrade at the time of the reservation (although at a price) rather than force you to wait until 60 days prior to the start of your vacation and hope you can get an upgrade as is done by wyndham


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## TEA CIE (Apr 8, 2015)

*Update*

Time for the weekly update.  It's been a week since my last post.

Unfortunately there isn't anything new to update.  I still have not heard from Diamond what they plan to do to make my trip happen as was promised by their salespeople.  But there's a small progress since last week.  After many calls and getting bounced from one department to a different department then another,  someone finally called and said she is the hospitality person and the only person I need to deal with for my trip from now on. That was last Thursday. Just got an email today saying she is still working on it.


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## ccwu (Apr 28, 2015)

TEA CIE said:


> I was also told that being Platinum, I would get 24/7 service. Well the office is closed and that's probably because, well you already know, I am not really Platinum.



Yes. I am platinum. I got 24/7 service. Whenever I call from home phone or cell phone, there is always answer I. The other end and no security check. They know my name (tied with phone number).  I can call at 2 am on Christmas or new year eve and got a sleepy voice respond.   Always polite and professional.  I do like the service!


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