Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Trading Power With RCI Weeks

A long time timeshare owner contacted me several weeks ago with a situation that potentially affects hundreds of thousands of timeshare owners worldwide.

It seems as if he deposited a week with RCI that had a set trading power value.  However, once the deposit was confirmed, the trading value had been diminished, resulting in his inability to obtain the exchange that he wanted.

This was problematic for any number of reasons.

I had a series of phone calls, e-mails and meetings with RCI representatives here in the United States and in Europe in an attempt to resolve this situation. (Let me add a "thank you" to all at RCI who looked into this matter.)

In order to fully understand the situation, here is RCI’s Deposit Trading Power Adjustment Schedule:

Time Frame                                                                    % of Trading
                                                                                        Power
                                                                                        Retained

2 years to 9 months (276 days+) from check in              100%

6 to 9 months (181 to 275 days) from check in               95%

3 to 6 months (91 to 180 days) from check in                 90%

1 to 3 months (31 to 90 days) from check in                   80%

15-30 days from check in                                                 60%

14 days or less from check in                                           45%

It seems that there are only two (2) possible explanations for a reduction in trading power value: 

1)    If the week was deposited into the system close to the date where the value would be reduced (i.e. the 9 month deadline, etc.) and the home resort took some time to verify, causing the actual date to fall outside of the 9 month deadline

2)    If the week was deposited into the system close to an annual evaluation period  done by RCI (of which an owner would have no knowledge of) and again the home resort delayed in verifying

There are then two possible actions that you and all RCI Weeks owners should take:

1)     Do not wait until a week or so out from any deadline to deposit

2)     Call the home resort upon deposit to alert them that the deposit has been made

Have any other owners experienced similar issues?  We’d also like to hear from RCI resorts…how long do you normally take to verify that a week has been deposited?

 

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Been caught there before. The annual evaluation of weeks this time of year can change the previous value of a week that you deposit. Could go up, down or stay the same by the time it gets verified. Weeks get revalued every year, both deposit value and exchange value required.

Nadine Henderson said...

Time shares can become a huge financial problem for those who have bought one, and don’t know what to do with it. Should they sell it, donate it, rent it or cancel the contract? The truth is that the cancellation of the contract has always been the best and most viable solution to get out of a timeshare legally. Therefore, it is very important to know the rules of timeshare cancellation to get the process done in a secure way.

Lisa Ann Schreier, The Timeshare Crusader said...

I respectfully disagree, Nadine. Timeshare cancelation is NOT the best and most viable solution.

Education is.

Canceling a contract is costly and in the vast majority of cases, simply can not be done legally.

Kriz Carcamo said...

Despite RCI is the biggest timeshare exchange companies in the world, you still have to be very careful before exchanging your week, as there are many things that could go wrong during the process. Take into consideration that you have to book the resort as soon as possible, sometimes even up to two years in advance, which can be a problem for some families. Also, you must know that a membership fee needs to be paid, whether you exchange your timeshare or not. These are some complaints made against RCI:

Consumer Affairs

TUG BBS

Ripoff Report

Complaints Board

Pissed Consumer

Lisa Ann Schreier, The Timeshare Crusader said...

Kriz, I agree that you must know what you are doing when trading with any exchange company, including RCI. The resorts rarely give any useful information and the exchange company's information varies depending on who you get on the phone. Education...real education is key.

Barbie Monroe said...

During timeshare presentations, people are frequently told that it is possible to travel around the world when buying a timeshare. Although this is not always a lie, the stark truth is that doing a timeshare trade is easier said than done, in fact, there are many timeshare owners who have never been able to achieve a timeshare exchange.

Lisa Ann Schreier, The Timeshare Crusader said...

Barbie, I appreciate your thoughts. Consumers need to fully understand what they are buying and how to use it. Just because the salesperson tells you something doesn't make it true.

Oftentimes, timeshare owners do not understand how trading works and then resign themselves to not using it.

Bad move. It is imperative to get good, solid, unbiased information and it DOES exist. You just need to learn who to trust.

Gonzalo said...

Lisa, I purchased a timeshare from Celebration World Resort in 2002 for $10,000.00. Unfortunately, I have never used it once. I happened to be in Orlando this week and went to Festiva in Kissimmee basically to see how I could get rid of this timeshare as I am tired of paying the maintenace fees for something I have never used. Upon my arrival I spoke with Lilliana and she advised me that CWR was taken over by Festiva. This was the first I heard of this as I have never received any communication advising me of this change. Although, I have always received the bill for the maintenance fees. She told me that the best thing for me was to upgrade because if I stay with what I have I am only allowed to use the timeshare in Kissimmee and no where else. Unfortunately, this upgrade would cost me $200 due immediately. Then I would have to pay an additional $6500 to convert from CWR to Festiva. Festiva woudl finance this for 7 years at 18% interest. After doing the math I figured at the end of the 7 years I would have paid over $12,000. In addition, the maintanence fee would now cost me $1127 every other year. But she said I would get $1000 back to shop on their website. I told her I just want to get out of this. She proceeded to say that no one would want to buy it and they would not even take it back. I was so upset so I asked to speak with the manager. The manager, Richard, came over to speak with me and gave me the song and dance. How it would be best for me to convert. That he is sorry but they are doing me a favor by offering me this one time chance to convert. It was now or never. I walked out and did not convert. All I want is to cancel this contract altogether. Is there a lawyer who is handling a class action suit that I can contact? Can you help? or direct me to someone who can help? I would love to speak with you or anyone who has had any luck in getting out of this timeshare.

Lisa Ann Schreier, The Timeshare Crusader said...

Thanks for your comments. There has been a blog thread on the Celebration/Festiva issue dating back nearly 2 years now. There is in fact a Class Action suit that is being handled by the Finn Law Group out of Largo, Florida. I cannot give legal advice, so it is best if you contact them yourself.

I would however, like to hear more about this "1,000 shopping credit" which I have never heard of before. Please e-mail me and I'll do some checking.