• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 31 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 31st anniversary: Happy 31st Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $24,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $24 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

ARDA-ROC Voluntary Contribution, not clear that it's voluntary

artringwald

artringwald

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
5,019
Reaction score
4,247
Location
Oakdale, MN
Resorts Owned
HVC: The Point at Poipu, 3 deeded weeks, 1 is in The Club.
For DRI owners with deeds, if you examine the 2019 statements that are going out now, you'll see a line item:

2019-ARDA-ROC Voluntary Contribution - $7.00

ARDA-ROC is a lobbying group that represents the interests of the developers, not the timeshare owners. DRI adds this to your bill, but doesn't tell you that you don't have to pay it. If you don't want to pay it, call them up and tell them to credit $7 to each of the weeks you own. They do this every year.

For points owners, you don't have a choice. The boards of the collections are controlled by DRI so they always choose to donate to the ARDA-ROC.
 
Okay, so I called in to get $7 credit for each of my weeks. The agent said that you have to pay first, minus the $7, then call in to get the $7 credit.

What's really funny is when I asked him what the contribution was for, without hesitating, he said it was for disaster relief (total lie). After I stopped laughing, I asked what ARDA-ROC stood for. He had to look it up.
 
yep, its funny how that "voluntary contribution" is checked by default on millions of owners maintenance fees.
 
artringwald said:
For DRI owners with deeds, if you examine the 2019 statements that are going out now, you'll see a line item:

2019-ARDA-ROC Voluntary Contribution - $7.00

ARDA-ROC is a lobbying group that represents the interests of the developers, not the timeshare owners. DRI adds this to your bill, but doesn't tell you that you don't have to pay it. If you don't want to pay it, call them up and tell them to credit $7 to each of the weeks you own. They do this every year.

For points owners, you don't have a choice. The boards of the collections are controlled by DRI so they always choose to donate to the ARDA-ROC.
Click to expand...

Yup, they even want you to pay their lobby group to keep the owners in a subservient, shut up and pay state. I hate lobby groups like this.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
For my hgvc weeks they show $5 for the added amount. One I just got the paper bill showed $5, when I went online to pay it showed $10. Being it is voluntary I never pay it.
 
I, too, pay the yearly maintenance amount less the voluntary contribution. When I log onto my account is usually shows I still owe the contribution. However, after some period of time, the amount disappears, and the balance goes to $0.
 
Dollie said:
I, too, pay the yearly maintenance amount less the voluntary contribution. When I log onto my account is usually shows I still owe the contribution. However, after some period of time, the amount disappears, and the balance goes to $0.
Click to expand...
This seems to be how Vistana works. If you pay the amount minus the ARDA contribution, it will show a balance owed but then after a while it will show a balance of $0. For Marriott, the ARDA balance disappears instantly if you pay the MF minus the ARDA fee. I prefer the way Marriott does it.
 
Nauseating.
 
Last edited:
nuwermj said:
More dishonest behavior. More evidence that the fraud goes beyond the sales division.

The Bluegreen web payment system offers a checkbox for removing the fee, before a payment is made
Click to expand...
artringwald said:
Okay, so I called in to get $7 credit for each of my weeks. The agent said that you have to pay first, minus the $7, then call in to get the $7 credit.

What's really funny is when I asked him what the contribution was for, without hesitating, he said it was for disaster relief (total lie). After I stopped laughing, I asked what ARDA-ROC stood for. He had to look it up.
Click to expand...

Disaster relief, huh?

I guess there's a bit of truth in the assertion that, Diamond Resorts and ARDA-ROC are a disaster.
 
Last edited:
Another fee to look out for is their Administration fee or collection convenience fee. This fee can range from 5 to 20 bux.

I would enquire what this fee was for and was told its a fee to send me a bill and collect my money. I told them thats fine. I dont need an invoice and will not pay a fee so you can collect my money.

After some wrangling, this fee was removed.

Pay a fee to send me a bill and collect money?? Ridiculous!

Glad i only rent now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Just spent another 15 minutes on the phone. When I called 2 weeks ago to have the $7 ARDA-ROC fee removed from each of my 3 deeded weeks, they only removed it from one of them. I almost forgot to check it. I'll have to check again in a couple of days to see if they removed the fee from the other two contracts.
 
artringwald said:
Just spent another 15 minutes on the phone. When I called 2 weeks ago to have the $7 ARDA-ROC fee removed from each of my 3 deeded weeks, they only removed it from one of them. I almost forgot to check it. I'll have to check again in a couple of days to see if they removed the fee from the other two contracts.
Click to expand...
I had this same issue. Diamond is not good about getting the fees removed - even when specifically asked...
 
I always pay the balance minus the voluntary contribution. I have never call, and have never showed up with a balance due.

Sheila
 
Marriott Vacation Club lists ARDA-ROC as a separate item, when you can select to not, as you choose. This seems to me to be the right way to do it.
 
artringwald said:
Just spent another 15 minutes on the phone. When I called 2 weeks ago to have the $7 ARDA-ROC fee removed from each of my 3 deeded weeks, they only removed it from one of them. I almost forgot to check it. I'll have to check again in a couple of days to see if they removed the fee from the other two contracts.
Click to expand...
It took another phone call (the 3rd try), but they finally reversed the charge on all 3 contracts. The reversals showed up online while I was still on the phone with them. I'm retired so I have the time to pester them until it's done, but it's a waste of their time too. :mad:
 
bobpark56 said:
Marriott Vacation Club lists ARDA-ROC as a separate item, when you can select to not, as you choose. This seems to me to be the right way to do it.
Click to expand...

going off the recent thread in the marriott forum, it certainly appears that for at least that example...marriott is still trying to confuse folks into paying it.
 
artringwald said:
It took another phone call (the 3rd try), but they finally reversed the charge on all 3 contracts. The reversals showed up online while I was still on the phone with them. I'm retired so I have the time to pester them until it's done, but it's a waste of their time too. :mad:
Click to expand...
If I don't have better things to do in retirement then pester people, maybe I shouldn't be looking forward to my 'golden years' :). I've maybe only called DRI once to remove that voluntary fee in many years of ownership, then I never bothered anymore once they informed me it automatically falls off a short time (never given a specific timeframe) after I pay off my MF. This approach has always worked for me - basically I substituted pestering a rep with something more enjoyable like reading TUG or planning my next vacation.
 
Last edited:
How much does ARDA collect a year from all the timeshare resorts ?

Supposed just 200, 000 owners paid that $7.00 fees or what ever you called it.
That is a very nice return for someone.:wall::eek::eek::eek:
 
pedro47 said:
How much does ARDA collect a year from all the timeshare resorts ?

Supposed just 200, 000 owners paid that $7.00 fees or what ever you called it.
That is a very nice return for someone.:wall::eek::eek::eek:
Click to expand...
My Marriott 2BD is $10, my PLT 1BD is $7
 
I got this in my statement email dated 12/1/18:
As our special way of saying thanks, if you pay your maintenance fees and club dues timely we will extend a $500 retail cruise voucher to you. To redeem the voucher, it is as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. Make your maintenance fees and club dues payments by December 31, 2018 – at the latest...
Click to expand...

I prepay my maintenance fees each month throughout the year so that I don't get hit with a big bill at the end of the year. I just paid my 2019 balance of $169 minus $7 effective 12/31/18. Since the fee doesn't drop off for a while and I'll have a $7 balance on 12/31/18, am I going to miss out on the $500 cruise voucher since my fees won't technically fullfill condition 1 of the voucher qualification?

On another topic... now that Surepay is an option to spread out our annual MFs, since I've been prepaying on a monthly basis I'm looking forward to making NO payments in 2019, and making payment 1 of 12 of my 2020 fees on 1/1/20.
 
artringwald said:
Okay, so I called in to get $7 credit for each of my weeks. The agent said that you have to pay first, minus the $7, then call in to get the $7 credit.

What's really funny is when I asked him what the contribution was for, without hesitating, he said it was for disaster relief (total lie). After I stopped laughing, I asked what ARDA-ROC stood for. He had to look it up.
Click to expand...
ARDA = American Resort Development Association (http://www.arda.org/)
ROC = Resort Owners Coalition (http://www.ardaroc.org/)
See anything there about representing timeshare owners?
You can get your $7.00 credited but it may not be worth the hassle.
 
mjc775 said:
On another topic... now that Surepay is an option to spread out our annual MFs, since I've been prepaying on a monthly basis I'm looking forward to making NO payments in 2019, and making payment 1 of 12 of my 2020 fees on 1/1/20.
Click to expand...

Remember the small print: "Subject to change"; and be advised that Diamond's policies are not very stable these days. For example, Diamond has modified the Europeans' payment options in three of the last four years.
 
I just went to pay my Diamond Resort club and HOA fees online, but the payment form would not allow me to enter an amount that would reflect removing the $7 voluntary fees, so I called the toll-free number. The very pleasant agent went in and deducted the $7 fees for two properties, and I paid the balance. No problem! :)

I had 18,225 points that were going to expire :-( . The agent gave me the option to buy a one-year protection plan for $225 that would allow me to use those points to make reservations in 2019, but I had to make them while we were on the phone. I don't like being forced to make snap decisions, but I did it ... I'm told I can cancel the reservations in 2019 and use the points to make another reservation. Seemed like a good idea, I hate losing points!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top