Heads Up: Week converted to RCI Points can't be used in II or in Weeks

[JudyS]

Hello, all.

As some of you may recall, I bought a pair of EOY weeks that turned out to have already been converted to RCI Points. I bought these weeks for trading in RCI Weeks and II, not for using in RCI Points, since I already owned in Points. Several people here on TUG speculated that I might still be able to deposit these converted weeks into RCI Weeks. However, when I tried, RCI wouldn't let me.

I was still hoping that I could use these weeks in II, however. I told RCI that they couldn't have the weeks, withdrawing them from RCI Points during the Home Week Reservation period. However, when I attempted to deposit the weeks into II, the resort's management (VRI) refused to release them to II. It seems that their policy is not to let weeks that have been converted to Points be deposited into any exchange company. (I haven't tried the independants yet.)

So, be warned! If you convert a week to RCI Points, you may not be able to deposit that week anywhere else.

 

[e.bram]

RCI points conversion = leasing TS to RCI for points

Whn a week is converted to RCI points you are leasing your week ro RCI for RCI points. RCI points lets you sublease other weeks thy have leased, like yours. Since they have leased your weeks they control(own) them for the lease period, and they decide what haens to them, not you.

 

[teepeeca]

It is my understanding that if you are in the "points" system, BUT want to use your time at your "home" resort, during the "home advantage" timeframe, you can reserve a unit that you own at your home resort, and it will NOT be in the RCI points base that year.

When you have your reservation (time and unit at your home resort), then you can exchange that week with any exchange company that will take it.

You might need to do some further checking, and talk to supervisor at VRI.

Tony

 

[boyblue]

e.bram is right the week belongs to RCI. You can get it back, you can rent it but I'm not sure they'll let you do much more with it.

Remember though the arrangement is only for 3 years. You should be able to go back to normal after that.

 

[RonaldCol]

Critical Time is When You Convert Your Week to Points

I believe on a technicality that the week you have that you do/don't place in RCI Points resolves your dilemma.

At the beginning of your use year of your week you can decide to put it into RCI Points or not.

If you do not do so, then you can elect to take your week and do whatever you want with it, i.e. deposit it elsewhere, use it yourself, rent it out, etc.

Once you place your week into RCI Points, it belongs to RCI Points. If you then elect to take it out of RCI Points (it has been so tagged), your home resort will not take it back to permit you to do whatever you want with it (see immediate paragraph above) except to use it for your own use, or even possibly rent it out. I think this is how it works.

 

[JudyS]

e.bram is right the week belongs to RCI. You can get it back, you can rent it but I'm not sure they'll let you do much more with it.

Remember though the arrangement is only for 3 years. You should be able to go back to normal after that.

Actually, because I have EOY weeks, my units were dedicated to Points for six years. The contract with RCI Points is for three years of actual usage, which is six calendar years for an EOY unit. Then, of course, I have to wait two years for the unit to be available to me again. The earliest I can exchange my units outside of Points is something like 2011.

It is my understanding that if you are in the "points" system, BUT want to use your time at your "home" resort, during the "home advantage" timeframe, you can reserve a unit that you own at your home resort, and it will NOT be in the RCI points base that year.

When you have your reservation (time and unit at your home resort), then you can exchange that week with any exchange company that will take it.

This is exactly what I tried to do. Although I took my week out of the RCI Points pool for the upcoming year, and although II would be happy to have the week, the resort management refuses to release it to them. I have spoken to three people at VRI, and they all say no.

I believe on a technicality that the week you have that you do/don't place in RCI Points resolves your dilemma.

At the beginning of your use year of your week you can decide to put it into RCI Points or not.

If you do not do so, then you can elect to take your week and do whatever you want with it, i.e. deposit it elsewhere, use it yourself, rent it out, etc.

I'm not sure what you mean, Ronald. As I said in my original post, "I told RCI that they couldn't have the weeks, withdrawing them from RCI Points during the Home Week Reservation period," yet the resort insists that this is still a RCI Points week and can not be deposited elsewhere. I am not aware of any other way to tell RCI that they can't have your converted week.



Before I bought these weeks, several people here on TUG insisted that I would be able to use my weeks in II, or even in RCI Weeks. So far, though, I have not found anyone who has successfully deposited a converted week into another exchange program.

Bottom Line: Once you have converted a week to Points, you may find that the resort will not let you deposit that week elsewhere during the time period of your Points contract. If you were thinking of, say, converting a week to Points, and then using other weeks as Points-for-deposit while using your original week in II or in RCI Weeks, better think again.

I think my only option is get rid of these weeks and buy something else for trading in II.

 

[JudyS]

PS -- another way to sum up is to say that e. bram and Blueboy are correct; once the week is converted to Points, RCI Points controls what you can do with it for the life of the contract (usually 3 years, but six in my case). You can use it yourself, and maybe rent it out, but don't count on anything else.

What's really sad is that the person who sold me these weeks paid $3000 to convert them. Ugh!

 

[caribbean]

About 2 years ago I posted an Ask Madge question. I can't locate it on TUG now. I own Points in Australia in 2 different resorts ( both fixed holiday weeks ) that are both 5* in II. Basically I asked:

1) Can I reserve my own week using my points and deposit it in another exchange company like II. Madge answered that I could reserve my own week during the Home Week period ( month 13 ) and use it as I pleased. It was mine to use, rent, or deposit with another company. She went on to say that owners of floating weeks could make a reservation during the Home Resort period ( month 12 ) and likewise use, rent or deposit.

2) Can I reserve my own week using my points and deposit it in RCI weeks. After consulting with others since she had never had this question, she came back and said no to depositing it in RCI weeks. She said it would be too confusing to RCI and that they were not sure how they could handle it in the computer since my points resort was not be listed in my weeks account.

It sounds to me that your problem is with a lack of understanding by the VRI management. Maybe you could do another Ask Madge. Then if she comes back with the same answer she gave me, you could show that to VRI and ask them to verify it. Were you trying to make the RCI reservation during the Home Week or Home Resort time period? I think that if you did it after that time, the answer may be different.

Good luck. And please report back what you find out.

 

[e.bram]

RCI points = you no longer own use of your week

Technically when you take tour week in your home resort, you are subleasing your week back from RCI points and tour possession rights are the same as any other week you obtained from RCI points along with all the restrictions which go along with RCI points. You don't own your week you are leasing it back from RCI points who technically own during the period it is associated with RCI points.

 

[brucecz]

We own a VRI resort The Resort On Cocoa Beach and are gald you bought this to our attension. Seeing we already have 2 RCI Point weeks we would have not coverted our VRI unit to points anyway, but you posting will make VRI owners what they need to be aware of and know.

Bruce

PS -- another way to sum up is to say that e. bram and Blueboy are correct; once the week is converted to Points, RCI Points controls what you can do with it for the life of the contract (usually 3 years, but six in my case). You can use it yourself, and maybe rent it out, but don't count on anything else.

What's really sad is that the person who sold me these weeks paid $3000 to convert them. Ugh!

 

[Carolinian]

File a complaint against VRI with the Real Estate Commission in the state where the timeshare is located. They are your weeks and this is monopolistic collusion between VRI and RCI.

You might want to make a direct request first to the HOA President. If he/she refuses, add the HOA to your complaint to the Real Estate Commission, and you might even throw in RCI Points as well. If you have a strong real estate commission, they will take action. The North Carolina Real Estate Commission backed RCI down on some of the more heavy-handed early policies of GPN (the early name of RCI Points) and those reforms stuck for the entire system.

Hello, all.

As some of you may recall, I bought a pair of EOY weeks that turned out to have already been converted to RCI Points. I bought these weeks for trading in RCI Weeks and II, not for using in RCI Points, since I already owned in Points. Several people here on TUG speculated that I might still be able to deposit these converted weeks into RCI Weeks. However, when I tried, RCI wouldn't let me.

I was still hoping that I could use these weeks in II, however. I told RCI that they couldn't have the weeks, withdrawing them from RCI Points during the Home Week Reservation period. However, when I attempted to deposit the weeks into II, the resort's management (VRI) refused to release them to II. It seems that their policy is not to let weeks that have been converted to Points be deposited into any exchange company. (I haven't tried the independants yet.)

So, be warned! If you convert a week to RCI Points, you may not be able to deposit that week anywhere else.

 

[JeffV]

How can you make such a suggestion when the OP bought something they obviously had not checked out the details. What they bought had already been committed to a program with definite rules that they are now trying to contravene. They don't have a leg to stand on and I am sure any real estate commission will point that out to them in short order. There is no monopolistic collusion, just the case of a buyer not knowing what they bought and trying to make it someone elses fault. The HOA has no place in all of this as the contract the buyer assumed was between the seller and RCI and perfectly valid. If the North Carolina Real Estate Commission is so great, why haven't you filed complaints against RCI before now?

File a complaint against VRI with the Real Estate Commission in the state where the timeshare is located. They are your weeks and this is monopolistic collusion between VRI and RCI.

You might want to make a direct request first to the HOA President. If he/she refuses, add the HOA to your complaint to the Real Estate Commission, and you might even throw in RCI Points as well. If you have a strong real estate commission, they will take action. The North Carolina Real Estate Commission backed RCI down on some of the more heavy-handed early policies of GPN (the early name of RCI Points) and those reforms stuck for the entire system.

 

[ouaifer]

Carolinian and JeffV.....

As Moderator, I am stepping in before this gets out of hand. Do not turn this into another one of your sparring matches. If you have something to say to one another, do it in personal e-mails. I will not tolerate anything further along this front. Forewarned is forearmed!

 

[JudyS]

... the OP bought something they obviously had not checked out the details. What they bought had already been committed to a program with definite rules that they are now trying to contravene. They don't have a leg to stand on and I am sure any real estate commission will point that out to them in short order. There is no monopolistic collusion, just the case of a buyer not knowing what they bought and trying to make it someone elses fault....

Jeff, I did in fact try to check this out before buying the week. Madge said RCI wouldn't stop me from depositing the week into II; I asked her essentially the same questions that Carribean did. I tried speaking to someone in VRI, but I wasn't sure they even knew what I was trying to do. I asked here, and many people thought I'd be able to deposit in II, but no one had actually tried to deposit a converted week. I am not trying to "make this someone else's fault" nor am I trying to "contravene the rules." I am simply informing people here of my experience, since there seems to be a lot of confusion on this issue. Unless TUG members like me describe their experiences, I don't see a way for buyers to "check out the details," as you say they should. I think you owe me an apology.


Carribean, telling Madge about this is a good idea and I will do that soon. However, I suspect that this isn't a case of VRI not understanding how the system works; it's simply that they have a policy against this. I can't imagine that RCI will try to make VRI change their policy.


Given that VRI and RCI have a partnership and encourage members to trade via RCI, it's possible that VRI has adopted this policy to make it harder for members to use II, as Steve said. On the other hand, it's also possible that VRI just doesn't want the hassle of tracking weeks withdrawn from the Points system, especially since probably very few people try to deposit a Points week into II. Either way, I think a major fight against this policy isn't worth my time.

 

[caribbean]

Judy-

How about asking VRI to show you, in writing, where their policy says that you can't deposit it with II. I bet it isn't in writing and that it isn't even policy, just something someone in the office cooked up to make their job easier. Obviously it isn't an RCI requirement or Madge would not have said we could do it.

In my case I had already bought both of my Points weeks before I even had the thought about depsoiting in II. I realized it might be an advantage since I owned holiday weeks and both were 5*. I don't belong to II as yet, but when we retire in a few years and have more time to travel will definitely be joining and trying to deposit my weeks with them occassionally. really hope you get this worked out. Don't give up!!

Good Luck!!

 

[JeffV]

Judy, you certainly have my apology, I meant no disrespect for you. I really doubt that VRI has a problem with your using II, I would be more apt to think it was an uninformed employee who didn't want to take the time to work it out. I hope you are able to resolve your dilemma. You were certainly correct in bringing your problem to TUG.

 

[Carolinian]

Judy -

Why not print off Madge's statement, mail it to the top VRI person at the resort, with a letter pointing out that she is an authorized representative of RCI, and again insisting that the week be deposited with II. cc the letter to the HOA president, and perhaps all of the HOA board.

You may also want to cc the Real Estate Commission. In most states, developers and HOA's have to have a license from the Real Estate Commission to sell (or in the HOA's case, resell) timeshares. That gives them some regulatory control. They don't have the staff of lawyers to file court actions like a state AG, but they can often lean on an HOA to do the right thing through their regulatory powers. In most cases, this has to be a matter involving a resort's action rather than that of an exchange company, which is exactly what you have here. Of course the North Carolina Real Estate Commission forced RCI Points, then called GPN, to make some major changes by threatening to treat GPN as a developer, subject to the developer statutes and regulations, rather than an exchange program if RCI kept it like it was originally set up. They were proactive in getting several other states interested in the issue, and RCI beat a hasty retreat by making the changes they wanted.

 

[CaliDave]

I don't understand how this could happen.. ???
The point worshippers of Tug, have always said there is NO reason that all resorts shouldn't be in RCI points. The is no drawback whatsoever.

 

[timeos2]

And so what is the issue?

I don't understand how this could happen.. ???
The point worshippers of Tug, have always said there is NO reason that all resorts shouldn't be in RCI points. The is no drawback whatsoever.

What is the problem? When you choose to join RCI Points you commit the week to points for 3 years. That is part of the way RCI guarantees availability. There is an opportunity each year to claim your week at the resort outside of points but if that passes you are in points for another use year.

This is a real tempest in a teapot. The OP admits they weren't aware that the time was in RCI Points when purchased. Once the 3 year period runs out they can go back to regular use if thats what they desire (personally I wouldn't but thats another story). It is a nice FYI to post but it isn't a problem with points.

 

[cclendinen]

Reserving you home week in points is using your own week.

When you reserve your home week in points it is really no different than a normal use of your own week. Only, the mechanism to do this is RCI points system. When you reserve your home week or home resort (for those with floating weeks) there is no exchange fee because it is not an exchange but a notification of your intent to use the week you own. However there is a time limitation to reserve your week before it is made available to other points members. The ability to reserve your home week has always been a feature of the RCI Points system and emphasized in sales presentations.

I can understand why RCI would not want you to deposit your home week into the weeks program because of the confusion it would create. (RCI points are confusing enough to most people already.) I agree with Jeff that maybe the reason VRI said that you could not deposit into II could have been an error on the part of the person that told you or it might be legitimate. (Maybe a limitation of the computer system they use to track reservations.) It could be that like RCI it is too much trouble or confusing for VRI.

I would try to deposit it in II again and if they say no, ask for a supervisor. I would remind them that a key feature of the RCI points system is the ability to use your own home week, and after all, that is all you are asking for; the right to use your week like others are allowed to use their week. The fact that you paid additional money to use it with points should not limit the use of your ownership but enchance it.

 

[JudyS]

Judy, you certainly have my apology, I meant no disrespect for you. I really doubt that VRI has a problem with your using II, I would be more apt to think it was an uninformed employee who didn't want to take the time to work it out. I hope you are able to resolve your dilemma. You were certainly correct in bringing your problem to TUG.

Thanks, Jeff!

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. At the moment, I've posted an "Ask Madge" question about this.

I think this really is a VRI policy -- I've now spoken to three people there.

As for fighting this with the resort, I don't feel that is a good use of my time. It will probably mean a fight each time I want to deposit the week. Getting a non-converted week instead would be much easier.

Patty, I'd suggest calling your resort and asking about this. Their policy may be different than VRI's.

 

[cclendinen]

Find the policy maker.

Judy, I agree there is no need to fight with the resort, but why not at least find out if it is their policy and the reason for it. I believe that most companies want to provide better than average customer service.

Ask if you can talk to the person that is the policy maker and explain what you are trying to do. Start the conservation with something like "I understand that your company is committed to quality customer service and I wonder if you could help clarify a policy and help me out." I have never had someone reply "Oh no, our company is committed to mediocrity” and even if they were they would never admit it. Try to motivate them to want to help you.

 

[JudyS]

On Feb 16th, I posted on Ask RCI about this. After a week or so, I gave up on getting a reply, but I recently checked that board and found that Madge had replied on March 2nd. She said, essentially, that she hadn't thought that depositing in II would be a problem, and asked me to email RCI about this. I've now done so; I'll let you know what (if anything) I hear back.

 

[JudyS]

PS -- I just got this automated reply from RCI:

Please note we are currently receiving a high volume of
incoming e-mail. Consequently, a response will likely be delayed. We
apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Not a promising start, especially considering how slow feedback@rci usually is!

 

[ouaifer]

Judy,
You've got e-mail!
Evie