Confused on recent Club Dues billing

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

My " stance " is to save owners money by giving free advice on fees that have no basis. There are boards that have charged owners for fees that just plain did not exist. When they were called in on it they were forced to refund monies. It was a case of poor management. You would not buy a home or a car without knowing what all the fees were for would you ?
My " stance " is why pay for something that you may not get anything out of ? I guess if you are OK by just going along and paying for anything then it is OK with me, just trying to save you money.
If something new is added then show the figures on costs and bids if needed.
So, you see, I may have helped someone out. Some people may just ask, what"s this all about? I figure the board works for the owners, not the other way around.

In this case, you have no basis of knowledge but can only tell me what I already know. That I have a bill and I need to look into whether or not it is a valid bill. Well DUH! That's what I'm trying to do.

If you have no information on the subject other than to say it's just another timeshare bill rip off, why don't you stay out of the conversation. Others have posted insightfull information that has been of some help. You, on the other hand, are back on your high horse about timeshares and fee's, which is of little assitance to anyone on these forums.

We get it! Timeshares are expensive. Timeshare developers and mangement companies don't always bill correctly and they make mistakes. We have to stay on top of them. That's what I'm trying to do but, I wanted to get some experience from others. You have posted no useful information on the subject, you don't own a DRI week that I'm aware of and you certainly don't have a grasp on The Club or how it works.

Thanks for your opinion but, I wanted informed opinions.

[1950bing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1950bing]

And now you have mine too.

[barndweller Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close barndweller]

Doug, when I converted in 2007 to Diamond I purchased points in the trust to do so. About 3 months later I got a bill for club dues owed. I searched my purchase agreement & couldn't find anything that said first year was paid, so I paid the club fee bill. In Dec. I recieved the 2008 billing and paid for that. If your contract says the seller is to pay first year club fees, then send an email direct to Cloobeck. I got a problem resolved finally after 12 months only because I complained to his office. I would hesitate to NOT pay the bill and argue. I'd pay it and argue at the same time. They issued a refund to me promptly once I contacted Cloobeck.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Doug, when I converted in 2007 to Diamond I purchased points in the trust to do so. About 3 months later I got a bill for club dues owed. I searched my purchase agreement & couldn't find anything that said first year was paid, so I paid the club fee bill. In Dec. I recieved the 2008 billing and paid for that. If your contract says the seller is to pay first year club fees, then send an email direct to Cloobeck. I got a problem resolved finally after 12 months only because I complained to his office. I would hesitate to NOT pay the bill and argue. I'd pay it and argue at the same time. They issued a refund to me promptly once I contacted Cloobeck.

I paid the bill the next day. I don't want my membership privledges tied up over a minor error.

My feelings are that DRI should be able to sort this out without the president and CEO being personally involved but, if it takes to long I will drop him an E-mail. The wording is on the signed membership proposal and it is signed by both the DRI salesman as well as ourselves. It is not in the sales contract that came attached to the sales proposal. There is a strong arguement either way and I'm not going to cry over $155. I will look upon it as how DRI handles itself and it's business and whether or not they will honor what they say and put in writing in the form or a proposal.

I am willing to see how long it takes for DRI reps to answer on this and make a decision. So far, all I have is one automated reply and no reply to a direct E-mail sent to an alternate listed on the direct reply. If there is no reply by the end of the week I will send a second E-mail to the original person listed on the auto reply E-mail to jog her memory.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

I guess everyone at DRI is on vacation or they forget to turn off the auto-responce answering mechanism for thier E-mail. So far all I've received is the auto-responce of "I'm out of my office until xx/xx/xxxx."

So far, I'm less than impressed with DRI's service portion of their program. Simplicity would be able to get someone who is actually in their office or someone who should be covering for them to handle things in their absence without having to continue to send the same E-mail to 4 or 5 different people.

[RayAndrews Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RayAndrews]

We had our AGM (required by UK Company law) and I was impressed by the presentations of Marty Kandel, Al Bentley, Sarah Hulme et al.

I saw a willingness to admit to mistakes, listen to customers, and a desire to improve things for the benefit of the members.

We had an hour formal meeting then an open mike session for an hour where members put questions directly, nothing was ducked and I left with a feeling that maybe this time it will improve.

I agree that it is strange that the Chairman will respond, often within minutes of being contacted, but when day to day problems arise, trying to get ownership and resolution lower down in the organisation seems difficult.

There is an acceptance over here that the culture needs to change and I am happy to report that only yesterday while I was at the meeting, although I got an automated response saying my issue would be looked at within 5-7 days, it was satisfactorily resolved within hours.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

So far all I'm seeing out of DRI is lip service. They're talking a good game but not delivering on their promise of simplicity.

I've recieved THREE out of office messages to my inquiry about being billed for club dues when my membership proposal clearly stated that they were N/A for the first membership year.

I have sent yet another E-mail requesting correspondence on the matter. I have paid the $70 SA and the membership dues in short order without question as I wish to remain a Club member in good standing. I have done my part but, DRI doesn't seem to even want to do so much as return an E-mail.

It's going to be really tough on Mr. Cloobeck if he has to personally handle such trivial matters. I speaks volumes that this organization doesn't seem capable of taking care of business without the personal touch of the president/CEO of the company.

Of all the people DRI has recently hired, you would think that SOMEBODY would know something about customer SERVICE. Simplicity, as far as I'm concerned, is just lip service for the time being. DRI has a long way to go.

[winger Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close winger]

Doug. we converted right before you did in end of 2007...our contract states our membership starts with x points in 2008 and 1st year dues are 'included'. the only hiccup was that since club dues increased $5 from 2007 to 2008, i was 'asked' (i forget how, but the experience left a sour taste in my mouth) to pay the $5 difference otherwise i could not use my 2008 pts. the contract had $150 written on it and the rep said i am required to may any increase even though 'intent' was for alll of first year membership (2008) was ti be covered. how lame of dri to fuss over $5 in this case.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Doug. we converted right before you did in end of 2007...our contract states our membership starts with x points in 2008 and 1st year dues are 'included'. the only hiccup was that since club dues increased $5 from 2007 to 2008, i was 'asked' (i forget how, but the experience left a sour taste in my mouth) to pay the $5 difference otherwise i could not use my 2008 pts. the contract had $150 written on it and the rep said i am required to may any increase even though 'intent' was for alll of first year membership (2008) was ti be covered. how lame of dri to fuss over $5 in this case.

My proposal CLEARLY states N/A in the club dues section for the first year. I re-emailed the original "out of office" auto reply addy and finally received a responce. Since then I restated my case, my displeasure and asked that this be looked into. It's only been a couple of days so I'll wait another week or two before wondering what's happened this time.

So far, it's just the same-old-same-old customer service from DRI. IOW, no customer service. DRI has been great about announcing all these new highers and promoting themselves as one of the largest timeshare companies in the world. But I guess their greatness only extends to new sales and not service of existing members.