Selling extra vacations in RCI

[raiderfan]

Has anyone else received a phone call to purchase the extra weeks through RCI. We'd purchase the weeks and then they would buy them at a good profit to us. He said we could buy up to 6 weeks per year. Basically paying $2,600 total of the 6 weeks and selling them to him for $10,000 total. Any help to determine if this is a SCAM or real would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Passepartout]

First, I think you would put your RCI membership- and ability to use it at risk. You can't 'sell' Extra Vacays or Last Calls. AND nobody will cold-call you to give you money. It's a scam. I don't exactly see how it works, but it isn't kosher.

Just curious, were you provided with a list of the specific weeks you are to book?

Jim

 

[raiderfan]

First, I think you would put your RCI membership- and ability to use it at risk. You can't 'sell' Extra Vacays or Last Calls. AND nobody will cold-call you to give you money. It's a scam. I don't exactly see how it works, but it isn't kosher.

Just curious, were you provided with a list of the specific weeks you are to book?

Jim

no we were not given specific weeks, he said florida and it sounded like he was going to book the 6 weeks after we pay him, he said his company does this all the time.

 

[bnoble]

he was going to book the 6 weeks after we pay him

Don’t let your greed obscure the fact that this makes no sense.

 

[alwysonvac]

Beware… it’s a scam.

HGVC RCI 2-year rental program...good deal?

Still a newbie owner here. Just got a call from HGVC RCI agent asking if I want to join the 2-year Rental Option program through RCI/HGVC. Can someone please tell me what the downside is? It's kind of like when we bought our property...everything sounded too good to be true. I only have 24...

tugbbs.com

 

[Passepartout]

no we were not given specific weeks, he said florida and it sounded like he was going to book the 6 weeks after we pay him, he said his company does this all the time.

WAITAMINUIT What's this 'you pay him' bit. Run, don't walk away.

 

[Jan M.]

This is a scam and has been going on for years.

 

[PamMo]

If you heed the advice of the TUG members above ^^^ you’ll save yourself a lot of money, time, and aggravation. That ploy is definitely a scam. They’ll take your money and you’ll never hear from them again.

Please pass on the favor, and recommend TUG to your family and friends who have (or are thinking about purchasing) timeshares. You might want to even join TUG to learn about and share ways to use your timeshare - without getting burned!

 

[RX8]

As others have stated this is a scam. It has been around for many years. Below is a TUG thread from 2012 which is the same scam except for a different name. Sad that it continues because people keep falling for it.

Company wants to buy my extra RCI weeks

Hi everyone! I have a question about a company who is calling and asking for my extra RCI weeks. The RCI has extra weeks that I can use if the person that I use them for goes to a presentation. They cost $399 each and you get 12 extra weeks a year. So this company calls and says they want them...

tugbbs.com

Edited: I went to RCI’s website to see if they have any alerts and unless I missed it I could find none. A shame that RCI keeps their head in the sand and their customers at risk for a scam that has been around for years and is still getting victims.

 

[Talent312]

Run for the hills, little rabbit... or you'll end up in the stew.

 

[alwysonvac]

RCI had an alert. Here’s what I posted in Feb 2020 from their website.

From RCI‘s Fraud Alert Page (link)

Consumer Alert: Telemarketing Frauds
From time to time, RCI becomes aware of third party companies attempting to defraud RCI Members and timeshare owners. Recently, RCI has learned of several trends in consumer telemarketing frauds relating to the timeshare and exchange industry that we feel is important to bring to your attention.

The scams vary, but all of them seek either personal information or money. Here are some examples:

• Caller claims to be calling about your recent or past RCI vacations or resort vacations.
• Caller asks you to take a survey regarding your timeshare ownership.
• Caller invites you to an RCI update, dinner or meeting.
• Caller offers to rent your "getaway weeks", "bonus weeks" or otherwise rent your timeshare week with the promise of sharing the rental profits with you, but requires payment of an upfront fee.
• Caller poses as RCI, claims you have RCI weeks left over and offers to purchase them back on behalf of RCI, but requires payment of an upfront fee.

Often these callers are fraudulently stating or implying that they are RCI, authorized by RCI to make offers, or they are somehow affiliated with RCI. These companies use the name of the RCI exchange programs, or refer to RCI terminology and products, to legitimatize the offer.

Many of these calls originate from "spoofed" or fake telephone numbers. Sometimes the calls give the appearance that RCI is calling when in actuality RCI is not the caller. "Neighbor spoofing" is also used where the calls show up on your “Caller ID” using your same area code and telephone number prefix, leading you to believe it is a local call.

Please know that these calls are not from RCI, and RCI does not approve or in any way endorse these calls or offers.


What should you do if you are contacted with one of these offers?

1. Be Cautious. Be wary of upfront fees. Typically, legitimate resale and listing companies do not collect an upfront fee or request your credit card or bank account information on a call.
2. Ask Questions. Gather specific information about the company calling you, including the name of the company, the full name of the individual, the number they are calling you from and the day and time of the call(s).
3. Know Your Rights. Often these companies are calling you in violation of do-not-call rules. If your number is on the national Do-Not-Call Registry or the Do-Not-Call list in your state of residence, and you do not have an established business relationship with the calling company, you may have reason to file a complaint against the company with federal and/or state regulators.
4. Check the Validity of the Offer. Check various complaint board websites, including the Better Business Bureau, Federal Trade Commission and American Resort Development Association websites, to gauge the legitimacy of the company and the offer. And, please know that RCI can always validate any special offers that may be active by calling 1-800-338-7777 or 317-805-8000. Don’t hesitate to ask! This will allow you to have confidence in knowing it is RCI calling.

We are here to help you plan and enjoy the vacation of your dreams. If you need any further assistance, please don’t hesitate to visit us at RCI.com or call us at 317-805-8000 or our toll free line at 1-800-338-7777.

 

[RX8]

Thanks for the link @alwysonvac. I still can’t find it from the RCI website though. Could be because I am on mobile or maybe because I am not logged in (I have a corporate RCI account through the HGVC ownership). I guess it would make sense to not put an alert about scammers impacting RCI on their public (not logged in) website. Would scare away potential future RCI members.

 

[alwysonvac]

I just looked at the RCI website and couldn’t find a link to that original 2020 alert.

On the current RCI site, there is a section at the bottom of the home page called Resale Advisory found under Resources.

Resale Advisory

Contact RCI - Email RCI today for details and facts about membership, timeshare ownership, and everything you need. Contact RCI today.

www.rci.com

 

[RX8]

I just looked at the RCI website and couldn’t find a link to that original 2020 alert.

On the current RCI site, there is a section at the bottom of the home page called Resale Advisory found under Resources.

Resale Advisory

Contact RCI - Email RCI today for details and facts about membership, timeshare ownership, and everything you need. Contact RCI today.

www.rci.com

There it is! Thank you.

 

[robtete]

I just got one of these calls, company was called Show Vacation Rentals, but they mentioned RCI far more often than their own company. Definitely sounded too good to be true, asking for $399 up front for each week, but "guaranteed" I would receive back at least $1800 each. It turned into high pressure very quickly when I said I would take time to read up and decide, and they got very argumentative, almost shouting, when I pointed out an inconsistency in their offer (said I could do six weeks, but when I mentioned taking time, said they only had 4 "units" left). I didn't let him finish, just said goodbye.

 

[silentg]

I just got one of these calls, company was called Show Vacation Rentals, but they mentioned RCI far more often than their own company. Definitely sounded too good to be true, asking for $399 up front for each week, but "guaranteed" I would receive back at least $1800 each. It turned into high pressure very quickly when I said I would take time to read up and decide, and they got very argumentative, almost shouting, when I pointed out an inconsistency in their offer (said I could do six weeks, but when I mentioned taking time, said they only had 4 "units" left). I didn't let him finish, just said goodbye.

Sounds scamming to me.

 

[bnoble]

asking for $399 up front for each week, but "guaranteed" I would receive back at least $1800 each.

"Tell you what. Instead of having me net $1400, why don't you just skip the up front fee, and we'll split the proceeds. Just pay me $700 on the back end."

See how fast they hang up.

 

[brp]

"Tell you what. Instead of having me net $1400, why don't you just skip the up front fee, and we'll split the proceeds. Just pay me $700 on the back end."

See how fast they hang up.

I dunno. Why should they? It's a guarantee after all. So they should be glad to take this offer

Cheers.

 

[RX8]

I just got one of these calls, company was called Show Vacation Rentals, but they mentioned RCI far more often than their own company. Definitely sounded too good to be true, asking for $399 up front for each week, but "guaranteed" I would receive back at least $1800 each. It turned into high pressure very quickly when I said I would take time to read up and decide, and they got very argumentative, almost shouting, when I pointed out an inconsistency in their offer (said I could do six weeks, but when I mentioned taking time, said they only had 4 "units" left). I didn't let him finish, just said goodbye.

Some info about Show Vacation Rentals. I think we have run into something new that the scammers are trying. What makes it odd is that the website was created in 2008. The age of the website is usually the very first clue that the business is a scam. There is also a Facebook page that was created in 2010. Here are the reasons why I call it a scam:

• They are cold calling asking for money upfront - ALWAYS A SCAM
• They claim to rent your timeshare to corporate companies only (website says no personal rentals). Truth is that corporations simply do not rent timeshares for their employees. When I had to travel for business for my company, they had very strict rules about which hotels we could book (due to agreements with the hotels).
• The "We rent to corporations" is a common scam because it simply doesn't happen. Their website lists multiple events in which they imply that is how they line of their corporate renters. The first Orlando event that I looked at had a listing of all exhibitors and Show Vacation Rentals was not one of them
• While their website was created July 2008 it also shows updated July 2022. I suspect that the website was revamped this year to the timeshare model.
• There is ZERO internet presence for this company that supposedly has been around since 2008.
• Their Facebook page was created in 2010 but there were no posts from 2012 to 2020. Eight years of NOTHING on their FB page. Plus, their older posts are all about vacation HOME rentals, not timeshare rentals. There has been just the one post in 2020 and nothing since then.
• Their address is a virtual office.
• There are two other websites that are similar to this one - older website domain creation but no internet presence. Those two are CESRentals.com (created 2004) and Resortshare.com (created 2019). Both of those websites also claim to rent timeshares to corporate entities.
• There are actually three websites sharing the exact same verbiage. The previously mentioned two plus Pointsmanagers.com, Pointsmanagers.com supposedly rents timeshare points. However, while they proudly display BBB Accreditation on their website there is no business with that name with the Springfield BBB so that is a flat out lie. I suspect that all three are somehow related. I also think they are getting ahold of old domains and revamping them to suit their scams.

@STLBBB since Points Managers (About Us | Points Managers ) is in your backyard I wanted to make you aware that they are claiming BBB Accreditation. If you click on the “about us” link above, it will take you to their page with the BBB displayed. Note their address is 600 N Boonville Ave in Springfield and that is an apartment complex. There is no apartment number listed with that address on their website.

 

[Queenz]

Has anyone else received a phone call to purchase the extra weeks through RCI. We'd purchase the weeks and then they would buy them at a good profit to us. He said we could buy up to 6 weeks per year. Basically paying $2,600 total of the 6 weeks and selling them to him for $10,000 total. Any help to determine if this is a SCAM or real would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, I received one today! Thank God I put the guy on hold and researched before I gave my credit card info! I just hung up, dodged a $2600 bullet!

 

[elaine]

I got a call from "RCI" today. It was from a 317 area code, he identified himself as being from RCI, and knew we had HGVC as the underlying TS. When I asked if I could go online and book the extra confirm certificate myself, his answer for that was kinda squishy. And, as I've never heard of RCI giving an "extra confirmation that was about to expire," that was the end of that call.