Is this a scam?

BocaBoy · Oct 11, 2015

CCR said:
How are you not understanding that Marriott made the mistake? If a realtor/closing company requests clarification from Marriott and they give wrong information it seems that is pretty straight forward. The previous owners had already paid their 2014 fee to Marriott and I was made to pay the owners back that 2014 fee at closing (based on Marriott's email).

I did not say that Marriott did not make a mistake, but how are you not understanding that you and the realtor did not also make a mistake? From your E-Mail it appears you actually knew (from TUG) that the 2014 fees were for 2013 usage, so why did you let the fee split go unchallenged? I actually believe that your more effective complaint is against the realtor, because the realtor was directly involved in the sale and Marriott was a step or more removed.

Can you share the exact wording of Marriott's E-Mail on this issue?

CCR · Oct 12, 2015

BocaBoy,

The below July 2014 message was sent to the closing company when we requested clarification. They (Realtor the TRCS) wanted me to reimburse seller for their Jan 2014 fees and I told them that was incorrect. When they pulled out this evidence and I re-confirmed with Marriott on the phone I stopped fighting it.

"Good afternoon,

The maintenance are billed in half (is it billed 2014 (1st half) and 2015 (second half) ) and usage is not until 2015.

Thank you for your understanding and have a great day!

MVCI Finance Estoppels
Financial Services
Marriott Vacation Club
863.284.5410 (fax)"

Here's what they wrote me when I complained 2 days ago. They did send another email after I explained the situation again and I received a message that they would look into it.

"Thank you for contacting Marriott Vacation Club.

We do show that you paid the second half of the previous owners 2013 maintenance fee. Since you own 2015 usage, you would be responsible for all of the 2015 maintenance fees. However, you would need to discuss this situation with the Resale’s department to get more information. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us via the e-mail address listed below or via our website at www.My-VacationClub.com.

Best regards"

Looks like Marriott didn't get an extra payment (the previous owners did) and I will end up losing out on about $550-$600 if I decide to continue with the sell of my unit. (Unless of course Marriott actually agrees that they made a mistake and should do something about it. Like I said before, I'm not holding my breath)

CCR · Oct 12, 2015

taterhed said:
You'll want to trim or bump that 9k contract to 7k or 10k if you're going to keep it. 9k is very inefficient...

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hi Rob,
Yes I was originally looking to purchase 5,000, 7,000, or 10,000 credits. This one came along in a local advertisement and was priced very low. Lower than some 5000 credit and 6000 credit accounts are selling for right now. I probably could have kept waiting for one on ebay but other people kept outbidding me.

I finally decided for that low of an initial investment, having 1000 credits less than the ideal amount to maximize my maintenance fees wasn't worth stressing over. I even had Travelshare for 2 months until I called and asked if the TS credits would continue next year. I was able to book in RCI nightly stays instead of full weeks so it was nice to compare how valuable that Weeks/Points account is in RCI.

I had many people on wmowners.com that had offered to buy 2000 points from me, but I don't want to deal with my account being frozen for several months while trying to pull in an exchange for this Spring in RCI. I'll probably sell off 2000 credits down the road when I can deal with not using the account for 4 months. There seemed to be many people excited to take those 2000 credits off my hands.

taterhed · Oct 12, 2015

Gotcha. I have considered same.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

BocaBoy · Oct 12, 2015

CCR said:
BocaBoy,

The below July 2014 message was sent to the closing company when we requested clarification. They (Realtor the TRCS) wanted me to reimburse seller for their Jan 2014 fees and I told them that was incorrect. When they pulled out this evidence and I re-confirmed with Marriott on the phone I stopped fighting it.

"Good afternoon,

The maintenance are billed in half (is it billed 2014 (1st half) and 2015 (second half) ) and usage is not until 2015.

Thank you for your understanding and have a great day!

MVCI Finance Estoppels
Financial Services
Marriott Vacation Club
863.284.5410 (fax)"

Looks like Marriott didn't get an extra payment (the previous owners did) and I will end up losing out on about $550-$600 if I decide to continue with the sell of my unit. (Unless of course Marriott actually agrees that they made a mistake and should do something about it. Like I said before, I'm not holding my breath)

That language is pretty clear and obviously wrong. If I were Marriott I would do something as a goodwill gesture, such as covering the 2016 maintenance fee for you. If I were you, I would ask MVCI Customer Advocacy to "fix" this and make you whole. I honestly think that Department is likely to take your problem seriously.