Diamond Resorts-is it a scam?

chris.s_5

AMZ wrote: »

Thank you Midgers, I have spoken to the sales rep again and have made it clear that I am not interested in time share and yes we are thinking of going to Villar Do Golf. Have you been there?

So are you a member of Diamond resorts? As long as i dont purchase time shares etc, do you think i will be safe for the rest of the holiday, regarding them hasseling me or taking more money from me?

Before you go ahead and book this, I suggest you look back at page 1 of these exchanges especially comments by chri5 and Antenna. These people are ruthless and their first objective is to get you there. Believe me the 'presentation' will not be a pleasant experience and they are quite capable of making the rest of the holiday unpleasant for you if you are resilient enough to resist their spiel. I would be inclined to look on the net - there are plenty of nice holidays up for grabs on the auctions sites at very reasonable prices

CHR15

chris.s wrote: »

Before you go ahead and book this, I suggest you look back at page 1 of these exchanges especially comments by chri5 and Antenna. These people are ruthless and their first objective is to get you there. Believe me the 'presentation' will not be a pleasant experience and they are quite capable of making the rest of the holiday unpleasant for you if you are resilient enough to resist their spiel. I would be inclined to look on the net - there are plenty of nice holidays up for grabs on the auctions sites at very reasonable prices

I have had some PM correspondence with AMZ regarding this which I will include below
(AMZ: I hope you don't mind me posting it, it may come in useful to others )


AMZ

I wondered if you could help me, I have posted a message in the Diamond Resort Scam thread but have not had any replies. I have been approached by a sales rep from Diamond resorts for a holiday in Portugal, 7 nights for £119pp for me and my partner. However he did tell us that we have to attend a 90min presentation and that's all. Is it really just the 90min presentation? I know all the problems people have with timeshare and do not want anything to do with it but I just want to know if the holiday itself is legit and what I'm paying for the accommodation is strictly for that and there are no other hidden costs or agendas.

My reply

They are kind of correct in what they are saying. The offers do change though. Make sure you look closely at the additionals (how do you get there? do you have to pay for flights, taxes etc?)

The 90 Minute presentation may well last 90 mins, but that is simply the presentation to a room full of people. Once the presentation is over, one of their reps will take you aside for a chat. This is when the REAL push starts.
Think of it not as an hour and a half you can doze off too and ignore, it will be more like a day out of your holiday. You simply will NOT be able to get up and walk off. You will be in there for hours!

Please don't underestimate the pressure they will put you under. You will be hearing champagne corks popping from the other desks where people have signed up. You WILL feel like simply signing it just to get out of the building thinking you can cancel it later.

Also note that if you are abroad, there is NO CANCELLATION POLICY. You cannot cancel as the contract will not fall under UK Law so you will have no protection.

We had a nice time apart from the presentation but to be quite honest, just that one day really marred the whole experience. If I knew beforehand what it would be like, I wouldn't have gone.

I'm not a weak person and was more than happy to keep on declining, but they just get more and more of them around the desk. I felt pity for those I could see who had signed up knowing they would later regret what they were doing.
Whenever I raised my voice, the background music got louder to drown out my voice to stop others listening in.

They are not amateurs and know how to put pressure on people. I can't recall seeing anyone else walk off without signing up whilst we were there.

In Summary, the holiday's are generally quite genuine. They are cheap because they will only offer you something which has had a late cancellation (and consequently you only get a very short notice to go).
You really shouldn't attend unless you are 100% committed to not signing anything at all no matter how fantastic it comes across (and I say again, don't underestimate how difficult that can be).

good luck in whatever you decide.

AMZ

Thank you very much Chris, that was very helpful. Just one last question if you dont mind...When you came back to UK were there any other occuring charges related to the holiday or the timeshare, IF you had NOT signed up to time share. I am very head strong and adamant that I will not be signing up and am purely going for the holiday. I am considering taking four other people as it is allowed to take up to 6, did you have any problems with taking more people with you if you had done?

As far as I am aware all they provide is accommodation which I have paid £238, I have to pay for my own flights and transfers but even then it is working out to be a really cheap holiday for 6 people, what do you think?

My Reply

It was just the two of us who went. I have no idea about taking others.
After the days aggravation I heard nothing at all.
To be honest, the hotel had nothing to do with them. They turned up on the nominated day, ruined the day for us than left.

We didn't even see anyone from the company after that and have heard nothing since.
Hope you enjoy it.... and be strong :)

AMZ

Thank you all for your responses to my questiones, really appreciate it. I have had a look around on the interent for similar packages but cant really find anything as good as, price wise. Im still a bit 50/50 to be honest...what does everyone suggest I do? Is it worth the hassle; the resort, price etc?

crits

I have gone thru all the recent posts following "AMZ's" query specifically asking whether he will be hassled if he refuses to sign up after attending the promised presentation entitling him to a week's stay in Portugal for GBP 119.
My first reactions to this are:
Firstly, it seems that DRI personnel have different marketing methods in different countries - in my case, I was stopped while strolling around Tenerife where I was handed a 'Scratch & Win' card which whoever handed over to me said I had won & this entitled me to a whole day touring around the various timeshare resorts there in Tenerife ending up after 4-5 hours.After a full day accompanied by some Rep who explained the way their system worked, I found myself sitting in a large room, full of other people, with, as "CHR15" said, champagne corks popping up around me from other desks. Here I refused to sign up BUT because I had been with them for about 6 hours, thru my winning at the 'Scratch & Win' I was entitled & given a couple of free vouchers, one for a free Car Rental in Tenerife & the other to be used the following year, for 7 days accommodation in either of 3 Europeans countries. I didn't sign up & collected the respective Vouchers & returned back to my Hotel in Tenerife after an eventful day ! I later made good use of the Car Rental voucher in Tenerife without problems. The following year I phoned the number on the Free Accommodation voucher & booked a 7 night holiday in Mougins - went there in 2002 with another couple & all was fine and all free with no hassles whatsoever. In Mougins obviously we were reapproached & opted to sign up & give it all a try. So now, I have been an active Member since 2002 & with 5000 Points & have made very good use of various European Resorts,sometimes once or twice a year. Since 2002 I have been 10 times to different Resorts in the UK;Portugal;Germany;Scotland;Austria;Paris; and Normandy.
Of course the ever increasing Annual Fees are of concern to all Members - this is an issue which has to be taken up with DRI's management - in my case the annual fees have increased from GBP 325 in 2002 to GBP 720 for 2009., but otherwise all is fine & accommodation has always been very good value. In your case "AMZ" I would suggest that you negotiate with DRI personnel & tell them that you expect free accommodation in Portugal (not GBP 119) & that you expect to be free to decide afterwards whether to sign up with DRI or not - it's entirely up to you, but insist on free accommodation in Portugal. Another issue of concern is whether or not one may quit Membership after having signed up, simply by not paying up the Annual Maintenance Fees thereby losing respective points with the result that no further accommodation shall be available - previous correspondence here indicates DRI haven't effectively taken any drastic action in such cases. Good Luck & enjoy Portugal :-)
CRITS
23/3/2009

chris.s_5

I cannot for the life of me understand why your experience is so completely at odds with everyone else's. Most people when they fail to sign up are left stranded at some god-forsaken hole and have to pay for their own taxi ride home. You must be some lucky guy! Or could it be something else?

crits

Correspondents, "chris.s"; "AMZ"; and "CHR15", please be rest assured that my previous detailed comments dated 23/3/2009, are nothing but the truth & I have no personal relationship with DRI except that I have been & still am a fully paid Member.
So far all has been very good - let's hope the situation remains that way. Basically as soon as one grasps the way the system works, one can really benefit & enjoy many holidays.
Regards/Sincerely,
CRITS
30/3/2009

jackit

We have been members of DRI for 10 years now. Bought when they were GVC. We have 2 kids and so most holidays have been taken during school holidays.

The standards are high and resorts are being continually upgraded. We have experienced various types of Sales Reps. However we have remained strong.

If you are only going for the freebie - just think of it as a 6 days holiday rather than 7. In the current climate you can tell them your not signing up as your company issued a notice saying their was about to be redundancies or something similar if you are feeling the pressure.

If you decide you want to sign up I'd suggest you buy the smallest amount of points possible and then get the rest on the second hand market. They cost very little then.

Our only gripe is the sudden increase in fees in the past two years and we have no control over this. Hope you enjoy your holiday whatever you decide.

usignuolo

I have been reading these time share threads with some interest as I was recently offered one by a friend, at next to nothing but was horrified when I looked into it and realised the management fees (nearly £600). This is quoted as yearly but as the time share itself is only for one week you are effectively paying £600 for a week just to stay in your own place. What exactly do you get to justify such a high cost, compared to say a late break at a good hotel? Can anyone explain to me why the management fees are so high?

chris.s_5

Buying them on the second hand market no matter how inexpensive they are could be the worst decision you make in your life. The agreement you have with them will be open ended on their side and close ended on yours. So they will be able to increase management charges as they please while you will have to accept what holidays they have available for you - and unless you can book a year in advance and outside of peak periods you will find it impossible to find anything half decent.

What possible reason could there be for wanting to deal with this organisation when a simple trawl through this site and others (the Daily Mirror blog for instance) must show you that this is a totally ruthless company which will make your life a misery if you are mad enough to sign anything with them. Take no notice of comments concerning 'constant upgrading of facilities' and 'knowing how to work the system' - this is absolute tosh and the only system that will be worked is YOU.

roughanready86

hey people i myself happen to work for diamond resorts international i deal with the incentives department offering you gifts to come and see what we do.
i would like to mention that these gifts are given to you to listen to us rabbit on about our company but has they clearly state its no obligation and theres only yourself who can sign the contract to join.
you do walk away with a minimum of 600 quid worth of gifts where else will do that for you. to be honest most people tend to come for the gifts and to have a free day in one of the resorts and why not its free just remember where there to show you not to tell you. theres only you that can decide on the day if you want in or not i myself think if you like 5 star holidays and take 2 or 3 holidays a year could really benefit from it. if you pay 3 grand you cud get 10 holidays to australia in 5 star aswell but if your just wanting uk resorts its not worth it if your from the uk but i would advise people who are thinking about coming to a presentation to think first is it something i could benefit from and is your time of 90 minutes worth the gifts that you will receive me personally think the gifts are a good way to get you interested like a bribe to get you here then like a say if you dont like what is on offer who can make you sign up. its that easy you like it or you dont obviously its not gonna work for everyone but others it work exceptionally well for. i hope this does help some people all the best