Diamond Resorts-is it a scam?

In reply to the OP, I went to a presentation a few years ago in response to a phonecall. We received our free weekend in the lakes, couldn't use the holiday abroad due to restrictions on dates etc. We didn't sign up, quite a few other people did. We avoided this by, instead of being wowed by the resorts, doing some simple maths. Once I quoted figures back at the salesmen, backed up by websites that I use to book holidays and hotels, how much it currently costs me, then added that I work in a school, therefore have no choice in when I take my breaks.....they left us alone.

mpython wrote: »

So in conclusion, I'm correct in believeing that the award of prizes are not independently verified and there is no published list of winners to confirm that people who do not buy actually win real prizes.

As you have been so unconvincing in response to my simple questions, and clearly english is not your strong point, maybe we can try maths.

As you like and believe in your company's product so much, can you tell us how much you bought from them and how much you will spend over its lifetime to Dianmond Resorts? Just 2 numbers are required in reply, no MP's waflle or txt speak required.

yes they are all put in everybodys pack what is sent out independently.

and like i said everyone get 2 gifts to walk away with weather they sign up or not because the 2 codes are sent to you before you even attend so you can walk away with a cruise worth £2000 and a entertainment system wrth £2500 without even signing anything. put it this way the worst you will get is the camera and £500 cash.

thanks roughanready

About DRI. At Lake Tahoe they have these dinner/dance cruises for $81 per ticket.

Where one of the dinner boat docks is the location of the DRI Tahoe Resort and one spot DRI screens for 'potential owners,' and invites them for a '1.5 hour presentation,' afterwards giving then a free 2 nights stay (need to wait 6 months) as well as 2 tickets for the dinner cruise.

Now, I've read about time shares and the horrors before. I've read plenty of posts about how timeshares, Kirby vacuums, Direct Buy, etc., etc., are horrible deals, but I told myself I had never gone to a time share 'presentation,' before and I am cheap enough to drag my wife along to save $182 on the dinner cruise.

They said there would be food and drinks and we would just relax and look over the property. They had about 10 cookies, bad coffee, and iced tea. You would think they would try to wow people with some food or at least have chicken wings or something. Times must be tough for them as well.

We were in a large area with about 15 other couples, each with their own personal sales rep. Our rep started out nice, understanding, and they play on the idea that in life when you are about to die you'll look back on only vacations and the pleasant times you shared with loved ones and if/when you have kids this is what they will also remember.

This is totally true, but nobody ever said you have to get into a time share to create happy memories. Being in a timeshare actually limits choices and forces you to pay upfront for vacation lodging you may never get to use depending on how life goes or for many members - get stuck not being able to go when or where you want.

The reps pen was flying and the rep was obviously well versed in the sales pitch. They glazed over the $890 annual HOA fee and that was for 4000 points. They never mentioned special assessment fees. I kept coming back to the fees and the rep claimed they have owned a time share for 20+ years and the fees have gone from 200-400 over the course of ownership.

The rep kept bringing up how many days we vacationed, how much we paid for hotels, what sort of accomodations we wanted and multiplying it out 20-30 years to come up with figures of $25-45K in possible vacation expenses.

They showed us this video with beautiful resorts, people on jet skis, helicopter rides, surfing, fine dining, sun sets, the Grand Canyon, golfing, sauna/spas, and all this other stuff you do on vacation, but I kept thinking the timeshare is only accomodations - all this other fun stuff and food/drink is still paid for by us, so what does it have to do with their sale? It's not like it's an all inclusive vacation resort or anything.

We were shown what was obviously the 'model,' example room. Flat screen TV's, great beds, full kitchen, mini kitchen in guest room, pull out bed, walk out patio, fireplace, etc., etc. It was obvious the points needed would be insane for that room, but they claimed all rooms here are furnished up to these standards.

I was very enthusiastic and kept questioning the rep and I bet they smelled blood in the water and a nice commission. They showed us these comparisons of searches done online for resort prices on expedia, priceline, and other sites, past vacation trips the rep claimed they took to different resorts (the rep was never in any of the photos though) and the rep talked about their multiple homes and nice car, which the commission for one sale would probably cover 2-3 payments.

It was actually fun for me for the first 2 hours. Call me insane, but as much as the rep was wasting our time we were also wasting their time and I really was curious about how DRI operated and to get as many details as possible. I just regret not bringing my digital voice recorder and taping the entire conversation, but they probably would have tossed me out if I did that.

At 2.5 hours I was starting to get bored and tired. I should have said you had your 1.5 hours, give me my vouchers and gifts that we actually earned with our precious vacation time and we'll be on our way.

Still, at 2.5 hours they didn't even give us prices. Finally we find out they wanted $26K for 4000 points, but there was a 'special,' to bring it down to $21K and they would waive this fee and this signup cost, etc.

Some shocking points for me at this point were:

1) Still complete lack of disclosure on HOA fees, special assessments, and the way they seem to have been increasing fees 40% in one year. Keep in mind I knew none of this going in. I have just been reading websites since last night on DRI.

2) They don't expect most folks to have $20K cash, so they have 'financing,' at 22% APR. I started laughing because I couldn't help myself, but the reps suggestion was to finance at 22%, then re-fi at my credit union for a lower rate. What lender is going to loan out money now on a timeshare? Did lenders ever loan out money for timeshares? Can you imagine paying 22% on a $20K+ timeshare loan?

3) The rep claimed DRI had all these perks for 'first time,' buyers that were good that day only - major hard sell technique.If we didn't commit that day, at that moment, we would lose the 'opportunity,' forever. They even claimed this was something they had to do with some real estate agency and said you had to sign a form stating you understand this is a one time deal and you were giving up on it forever.

I 'negotiated,' with the rep and talked prices. Told the rep we were saving cash for emergencies and for a house downpayment. The rep went to talk to a 'manager,' about 'special expired,' deals and came back and said they could do 4000 points for $17K and 'lower,' the APR on the loan to 17%

4) The rep kept using key words like, "owner, investment, value, inflation, locking in, etc." This is also what car salemen do, but cars and time shares are not investments. Investments have a good possibility of increasing in value (except last year, dot com bubble, etc) they don't depreciate or lock you into monthy fees you can't escape. Getting locked into a cell phone contract for 2 years is bad enough, but a lifetime of HOA fees for a timeshare? That is insane.

This is a long post and I can actually probably write here for a ton more listing out the DRI rep claims of being able to reserve spots using points, then selling the reservation to how valuable time shares are because you 'lock in,' vacation prices forever, etc., etc.

It was a very hard sale. Far worse than used cars and that is saying a great deal. The rep offered us a 2500 point option for $11K too because obviously they just want to lock you into the contract at any price point and charge you interest on financing.

Like car salesmen they used techniques like saying the monthly fees are just a night out for dinner and no big deal. They try to focus on payment costs, not total costs with finance charges and ongoing HOA and other fees.

The walked away to 'let us think,' came back with more pressure and I finally told the rep it wasn't our thing, signed the opt out sheet, had my wife sign, and the rep transformed from a nice, helpful, friendly, understanding, person into the blood sucking, rude, insulting, angry, psycho.

I was actually shocked. The insulted our intelligence. The rep implied we were cheap or poor. The rep implied we wasted their time instead of the other way around. The rep then went to get a manager to sign off on our gifts.

This rep was also a salesman who was pushing for you to buy a 7500 or 5500 point 'sampler,' deal where you go to one DRI site for 7 nights at $890 or 4 nights for $690 or so (cash, they had horrible financing here too)

I actually did pay $890. I figured since they didn't lock me in they would go out of their way to try to fulfill my exact resort and dates of travel in order to show me that the company and deals are good. I'm afraid they may go bankrupt before I get to use the vacation and I have read I have another hard sell to experience once we arrive, but airfare and then spending one good vacation at a nice location without further commitment would be cool.

If the trip happens I'm going to bust out the voice recorder. I'm going to explain to them why their sales techniques are full of lies, why with the Internet and economy they offer zero value for the initial outlay, but the ongoing fees and 40% or more increases in fees makes the entire deal a huge money sink.

I'll tell them their reputation of screwing existing members is well documented on the web and I know my 'sample,' experience is their way of trying to trick me into believing getting the time and resort you want is the norm instead of another sales tactic.

Some folks have written that the 'gifts,' or bribes offered really can taint the vacation and I have to agree because no matter how much fun you have or what you do it is hard to forget such a hard core sales push and I am sure my experience was far from the worst experiences.

I can't even imagine actually signing up for a timeshare. I actually had nightmares that we did sign up for the 2500 point offer and were stuck with it.

roughandready is only a few weeks out of the drive-thru window at Burger King. This job is his big break and first chance at Management :laugh:.

Totally brainwashed into selling his soul to these bloodsuckers.

For the sake of your family and friends, go back to flipping burgers, it's a more respectable job.

They wanted $860 maintenance per year for 4000 points and $630 per year for 2500 points. The 7 night deal I decided to get was $890 one time with nothing ongoing, unless they can get me to commit. For this $890 I get 7500 points.

You get an employee discount on fees? You have to commit for years or can you drop?

Out of the sampler deals, what resort should I aim for?