Interval HORRIBLE Fraud tactics

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

The problem is that when you book through I.I. website, the description simply states 3 br because you asked to be shown only 3br. The reason that the consumer now needs to examine what their "interpretation" of 3br is is because these I.I. TIMESHARE SALESMEN are only interested in making the sale, not necessarily delivering what you ask for.

And that is precisely where the disconnect lies. As I indicated upthread, if it is a totally separate room and it has a bed, it is considered a bedroom. This is universal throughout the timeshare world as far as I know it. Every timeshare resort where I have seen such a room has described it, marketed it, and sold it as a separate bedroom. Every exchange company that I know of will count that as a bedroom in its exchange program. And I think that almost everyone here, except for you, would see it exactly the same way.

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The standalone mini-suite does not count as a two-bedroom because to qualify as a bedroom unit the unit must have a living/dining room area. But once the configuration includes a common living/dining room, any additional room that has a bed and a door that isolates the room from the rest of the unit becomes a bedroom. So when that mini-suite is joined to a one-bedroom unit, each of the rooms in the mini-suite becomes it's own bedroom.

And, if you want to be honest, you will admit that you totally agree with that a configuration such as that would create a three-bedroom unit. Your quibble is that the room had a sofa bed instead of regular bed, and not with the configuration.

You are saying that a sofa bed does not make a bedroom, and that is where most of the rest of the timeshare world will disagree. Rooms with sofa beds and Murphy beds still count as bedrooms as long the physical criteria for being a bedroom are met.

******

[added note]: and as Joy added while I was composting, this arrangement was also clearly described by II before the unit was confirmed. Even if you don't agree with the logic summarized above, the situation was presented as part of the confirmation agreement.

If whoever confirmed the unit failed to read what they were agreeing to, how can that be Interval's fault?

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

I have been a timeshare owner for 19 years now and made some not-so-good exchanges in the beginning. So now, before I ever click the final OK for an exchange or extra vacation/getaway, I click on the website of the resort I am considering and double-check everything before deciding to go. I like it when they have floorplans on the site.

If the RCI or II directory only shows pictures of the pool, entrance, and lobby - I tend to rule these out right away as there must be some reason they do not show rooms. It seems that all the not-so-good units we have gotten only had pool & lobby photos. We once got real dump in Acapulco for a Hawaii timeshare exchange. (This one was so bad that we bought our first Mayan Palace unit mostly because they let us move there that day! It only took us 1 hour to take the taxi both ways and pack up our stuff to move to luxury.)

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

if it is a totally separate room and it has a bed, it is considered a bedroom.

If whoever confirmed the unit failed to read what they were agreeing to, how can that be Interval's fault?

That is exactly the issue, the pull-out couch. It is more than a simple quibble too. If that resort did in fact have a bed in that room, there is no question it would be a 3 bedroom. And it would be perfect. Thats the problem all along and one that baffles me that so many people here don't understand how someone could book a 1 week stay without scrutinizing at what kind of furnishings are provided.

The word bedroom implies a room with a bed. The bed wasn't there. It was a pull-out couch. Calling it a 3br doesn't call attention to that detail and therefore it can be overlooked.
Calling it an expanded 2br or 2/3br or some other description other than 3br would be the best way for people to examine the room layout more closely.


Some here would make it sound like the booking was made without regard for any details. Just asked for any old unit and therefore we had it coming. Well it was almost that way except all we asked for and expected was 3 bedrooms, rooms with beds, and we're flexible on pretty much anything else.

Hopefully this is the last time we deal with the bizzarro world of timeshare exchanges where the vocabulary and interpretations are so different than the real world. In my world, a pull-out couch, even with sheets, blanket and pillow is still a couch. And a room isn't called a bedroom unless there's a bed in it.


If the only responses to this post were, "gee I haven't heard of anything like that ever happening to someone before" then I might think I should have known better.
It's obvious that there have been many many many people who were misled and deceived this way. There have been 3-4 people responding to this post with their own experiences of how they "learned their lesson" and now they have to read, study, scrutinize and call to be sure they're getting what they're being shown/told. If that many have had or almost had a similar experience like ours in this thread, then obviously there is deliberate mis-representation taking place in the timeshare world.

Even the Star Island GM Blair admitted that she has had the same arguement many,many,many times in the past and the same reason is always that it was completely unexpected that the 3rd bedroom didn't have a bed in it.


Those were real world people staying there like us.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Thanks for visiting us Jay..... we are now all warned about the "Horrible Fraud Tactics" perpetrated on you by II and it's terrible timeshare salesmen...

Sorry you did not find the support you seek here - we are usually a friendly, helpful bunch but can not condone YOU not reading your reservation confirmation carefully before booking and certainly after as well.

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

Hey thanks Pat. I don't know how i'm going to sleep with you not condoning me

Makes me feel like such a teenager.

Great to check out your travel website too and see all the units you're trying to rent.

I guess my week at Star Island really helped out someone like yourself trying to unload their exchanges to whomever it can be sold to.

I wasn't looking for your support. I guess I'm speaking to those whose moral compass doesn't always point straight at the reservation confirmation.

sounding a lot like a mantra at this point. brings me back to the fun times at Star Island.

[joycapecod Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close joycapecod]

Jay, maybe it is time to accept responsibility for the fact no one involved in accepting the exchange read what they were accepting. The confirmation included three seperate, private sleeping areas. The description stated the bedding in each area and the person accepting that reservation through the on line system accepted it as is. You were not forced to confirm the exchange; that was a free choice.

I see you are a new member, and insulting a member who has been a cointributing member of this forum since its inception is NOT a good way to win friends or sympathy.

I think you have beat this dog to death. You got what you accepted when the reservation was confirmed.

Joy

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

Just to play devil's advocate, would it be acceptable if every bed was a pull-out sofa? I mean it would meet the definition of a bed in a room with a door. Technically, a 3BR could have 3 pull-out sofas, and no true beds.

While I agree it's the responsibility of the OP to check the reservation, it does seem less than forthright to call the 3rd sleeping area a bedroom.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

See CAPS

Great to check out your travel website too and see all the units you're trying to rent.
AND THE PROBLEM YOU HAVE WITH THIS IS???

I guess my week at Star Island really helped out someone like yourself trying to unload their exchanges to whomever it can be sold to.
JAY, PLEASE READ THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE COMPANY YOU BELONG TO - YOU CAN NOT RENT AN EXCHANGE YOU RECEIVE THRU II OR RCI OR SFX. THERE ARE COMPANIES THAT DO PERMIT THIS. WHAT YOU RENTED AS A GETAWAY WAS EXESS INVENTORY THAT II HAD BECAUSE NO ONE EXCHANGED INTO THE UNIT.
ANY RENTALS THAT YOU SEE OFFERED ON MY SITE OR OTHERS HERE ARE UNITS I/THEY OWN THEMSELVES OR OBTAIN THRU LEGITIMATE CHANNELS (SUCH AS POINT MEMBERSHIPS)

I wasn't looking for your support. I guess I'm speaking to those whose moral compass doesn't always point straight at the reservation confirmation.
OR PEOPLE WHO DO NOT READ THE CONTRACTS THEY ENTER INTO?

sounding a lot like a mantra at this point. brings me back to the fun times at Star Island.

As I said before, we are happy to help our members with legitimate problems - because you did not read the content of the agreement you entered into - from your perspective - you are the loser, ruined your families' vacation, made oiur mother/MIL? sleep on a sofa bed all week and were terribley hurt by II giving you what your purchased.

Get over it and move on.

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

I've been with RCI a long time, but over the last several years I have gotten unhappy with them and a friend said II is better.

What do you think?

Where can I get a good comparison of the two?