Sad Story from One Who Trusted without Checking!

[disney gadabout]

I hope all this gets resolved for you on Monday and your money is returned. My husband says I'm very naive (sp) about "money matters", and I trust too easily also! Your attitude throughout this has been exceptional. I wish you all the best...Andrea

 

[DVCJones]

Geez!!! I really hope you get your money. I was holding my breath reading through all the posts.

My first R/T experience went well. I rented 12 points once to a person who only needed a nights stay. Talk about taking it slow Then I got a little nerve and bought 118 points and had them transferred to my account. I remember at the time, I thought it was a complete leap of faith for the seller, as he just transfered them in my account. Once I confirmed they were indeed there I of course made payment through Paypal. I just couldn't get over the fact that this seller just did the transfer. I would have been a wreck. I don't think I could be that trusting. I appreciate the seller who transferred the points I needed. I just don't know if I could have done the same if the roles were reversed. Maybe it is because DH is a police officer an I have heard too many stories.

Oh yeah, my point. I think the R/T board is a great thing. It couldn't exsist if there wasn't a "trust factor" I believe that 99% of the people there are honest. (I just can't get the other 1% out of my mind.) I don't think it is fair to come down on the OP. Any one of us could run into the 1%. I think it was very brave for the OP to even post her situation. She did us all a favor in educating all of us to the "red flags". Even if it meant getting flamed (a little)
She only did what ANYONE who R/T's would have to do. TRUST!!!

I really hope you get your $$$. I really don't want to believe that there are peolpe who want to steal our pixie dust.

 

[Beca]

I'm sorry this happened to you!! I don't mean to be a cynic, but really....what are the chances that someone would lose their wallet and their mother on the same day?? I mean, if she had known her mother had passed, she might be in shock enough to THEN lose her wallet...but the chances of that happening the other way around are pretty slim.

It sounds to me like a scammer was caught, and is now fearful. I think posting your story on the dis was probably the best thing you could've done. I do think you will get your money back on Monday...I think she is running scared.

Since you have her name, have you tried whitepages.com to try and find her home address and phone number? It's amazing how many people you can find thru them.

Good luck, and don't beat yourself up too much....hindsight is 20/20.



Beca

 

[LisaS]

To the OP: I hope everything works out for you and that you get your money back very quickly!

As Doc said, the DIS was not aware of the first situation because it was resolved satisfactorily by the parties, as far as I know.

If you are referring to the situation I'm thinking of, the renter in that case posted just yesterday that she "stayed at BCV this week" so it does sound like things worked out OK in the end. But I do remember reading her posts about her rental experience and she went through 11 months of stress and uncertainty. She paid 50% up front but didn't receive the confirmation in the mail and couldn't reach the owner for over a month (full voicemail inbox and full email inbox, and some time later the owner's phone was disconnected). The confirmation letter finally turned up after 2 months and it indicated that someone else was actually the owner of the points (a relative, it turns out). The "owner" wanted the renter to make the final payment through Western Union but I think the renter refused and they settled on another payment method. This ordeal played out over an 11-month time period during which the renter really wasn't sure she would have a reservation when she arrived at BCV but it appears now that everything worked out OK for the renter.

So assuming I'm right about this being the same "owner", the transaction was completed successfully, but was an extremely stressful experience for the person renting the points.

My hat is off to Doc for helping, especially while on vacation!

Three cheers for Doc!

 

[LoveToDisney]

So sorry to hear about the stressful situation you are in and thank you very much for posting so the rest of us could learn and perhaps not have it happen to us. I hope things work out well for you on Monday and you get your money back. Be sure to give us an update.

 

[Glorydaz]

wishing you lots of luck. I'm alot like you in the sense that I'd want to give the other person every reasonable explanation under the sun. they say you learn from your mistakes. and it sounds like even if this person really had all these mishaps, you've picked up some very valuable pointers.

looking forward to your positive outcome. and I commend you on your sensitive and delicate handling of this most awkward situation...

 

[T.E. Yeary]

It's really distressing to see this kind of thing happening on "our" boards!

Please "Ms. Renter", do the right thing!!!

Tom

 

[Y-ASK]

Well now that you've had time to sit back and think for a while why not just go through with the transaction. It won't cost you any more pain and suffering. When you talk to the person on Monday just have them call MS and make the transfer. You can call MS after the transfer has been made to verify and then send the rest of the money and you're done. I would think that would be much easier than waiting and worrying about getting the money sent back. Ten minutes tops and your mind would be put as ease. Just a thought...

Also, it is dishearting to read some of the post in this thread about how they would never make any kind of rental transaction from the R/T board. How many threads have ever been started saying that someone got scammed? I've only seen this one so far. There might have been others that I've missed but this is the 1st for me. There are probably any where from 10-100 transactions that take place every day on that board and it's been available for years. I think it was the Reagan Admin. that said "Trust but Verify". Why scare everybody with talk like that?

Y-ASK

 

[chip1]

I can't wait to read about how this ends. Hoping it ends well.

 

[WOW]

Thanks soooo much for your posting!!! I am the trusting type also, and sometimes I need to realize that there are many people out there that are not!!!!

Your situation is a reminder that we all need to be careful.

So sorry that this happened to you, but as others have posted, DO NOT BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF. You are not stupid....just trusting.... and sometimes that bites you.

 

[Lasrnw]

Something struck me from another post - every transaction I've done took some time. We had written contracts which were signed and returned with a check. Then I waited for the reservation confirmation prior to sending out the balance. I think if research was done on scams we would find that each one has some kind of limited time or urgency attached...like "you will lose this opportunity unless you act now". I have a boat for sale, listed on the internet and just the other day got an e-mail that a broker had someone who wanted to buy the boat -sight unseen - but wanted to send me a check but prior I would have to sent this broker his commission -RIGHT! These scams are out there everywhere in almost every industry. I would be happy to give references for the people I have done business with - I would even supply a copy of the contract and a copy of the reservation confirmation.

 

[castleri]

To the OP: I hope everything works out for you and that you get your money back very quickly!

If you are referring to the situation I'm thinking of, the renter in that case posted just yesterday that she "stayed at BCV this week" so it does sound like things worked out OK in the end. But I do remember reading her posts about her rental experience and she went through 11 months of stress and uncertainty. She paid 50% up front but didn't receive the confirmation in the mail and couldn't reach the owner for over a month (full voicemail inbox and full email inbox, and some time later the owner's phone was disconnected). The confirmation letter finally turned up after 2 months and it indicated that someone else was actually the owner of the points (a relative, it turns out). The "owner" wanted the renter to make the final payment through Western Union but I think the renter refused and they settled on another payment method. This ordeal played out over an 11-month time period during which the renter really wasn't sure she would have a reservation when she arrived at BCV but it appears now that everything worked out OK for the renter.

So assuming I'm right about this being the same "owner", the transaction was completed successfully, but was an extremely stressful experience for the person renting the points.

Three cheers for Doc!

I agree it does seem to be the same person and hopefully this will get settled in whatever is the best way for the OP.

On the subject of number of posts - that is not always a good indicator as some people seem to feel the need to post on a cetain number of threads a day to up their count but really don't say much except - I agree or congratulations, or Welcome Home and while these are nice sentiments they don't really give you much to go on. If a person can give you a reference or you can talk to them on the phone you may get a better feel for how the rental/transfer will go. The person I am renting to this year was originally referred to me by a friend at work based on posts from another board. It just felt right and this is the second transaction we have had. We all started with 1 as a post count and some people just build up those numbers slowly so while they may be inexperienced it does not mean they are trying to get away with something. I will add that I had a death in the family on a Monday when I was supposed to check availability for someone and it completely slipped my mind for about a week before I got back to him and asked if he was still interested. Fortunately he went ahead and found someone else to rent from and was able to get the days in Jan he wanted, when he didn't hear back from me. It all worked out as now I think I will be able to use the points myself which is always a good thing. No money had changed hands so at least there was no issue there.

 

[DMKEDM]

In response to Y-Ask, I thought about going ahead w/the transaction...but just don't feel the necessary comfort level w/this particular renter/poster...I'm not sure how the transfer transaction works; some have said you give MS both member numbers; others have said the transferring member needs to give a number and the name of the person who's getting the transfer, but that MS will look up that person's number...I don't want to risk giving out my member number...not sure why, but I really don't...

I'm feeling very gun-shy right now...not only because of this set of occurrences, but also because I moved too fast...I need to slow myself down and take a careful look at HOW to rent (either as one getting or as one giving points)...I think much of the reason I'm in the pickle I'm in is because I moved way too quickly, w/way too little thought ... all I thought was important was that I knew I wanted the points and I knew I was willing and able to pay for them...that's just not enough for a smooth transaction...

So...I'll "start over" and think through a process by which I'm willing to rent (either giving or receiving) and then I'll "toe-tip" back in...but not before...

Happy Sunday to everyone...

 

[Y-ASK]

It's totally your choice and please don't take this like I'm trying to talk you into anything. I'm just going to convey some information having done a little of both renting and point transfers.

Point Transfers:
The person who is transfering the points will need to know your Full Name and your member number and nothing else. Do not give out your SS# because that, your address, and your telephone number is what is asked for to prove ID when you call MS. Now as part of the deal the person transferring the points may want a little more info from you such as address or phone number. All of that information can be gotten off the internet so what does it matter if you give it. And if you really don't want to give out your MS number you might be able to use just your address and phone number is MS will allow this.

Some times MS asked the person transferring the points for a faxed signed document basically telling them to transfer said amount of points from thier account to yours. The process does not take that long to do but they may wait for the fax. I would not send the 2nd half of the money until you've verified that your account has been credited with the points.

Renting points:
Renting points requires a little more trust than a transfer. The owner can always cancel the reservation and get thier points back but I've never heard of that happening except for lack of payment. Most of the time it's the people who are renting that cause most of the problems. What you experienced is not the norm.
As you've already learned if the person renting the points will only take one form of payment such as Western Union that should be a very big Red Flag and you should consider going to someone else. There's also ways of checking up on the person renting the points. Post count is one but a low post count does not mean an untrustworthy person. As someone alluded to earlier in this thread you can actually go to a Govt. website and put in the name of the person renting the points. You should be able to verify that they indeed own DVC points. Personally that would be enough for me because I don't think anyone risking jail time would actually be purchasing into DVC in order to conduct a scam. I can give you the link to Govt. site if you so desire. A contract is nice but the chances are that it probably would never stand up in court, although it is a great way to put to paper a detailed understanding of what is being offered and what is being agreed to. And don't be surprised if the person renting the points asked for the full name of all the adults, the 1st name of the kids, and their ages. That's what MS ask during the reservation process. The person renting should also know that written verification will be mailed in about a week or two and they should have no problem forwarding that written confirmation to you. It will have your name on it. Hope this helps a little and I'd be happy to answer any other questions you may have.

Y-ASK

 

[alldiz]

I agree that low post count is not a good way to judge. I have been lurking here for a year and today has been my 1st post. I want to rent points which was my motivater to finally post. I am very nervous to try this, but i will. I see now western union., not a good idea, any other red flags i should look out for? What is best way of payment? any tips would be great!
Thanks

 

[Deb & Bill]

Not only would I look for the number of posts, but I would look for the types of posts. 100 posts on the R/T Board would be as unsettling as 1 post. But if the person posts all over the place, the DVC boards, Resorts board, etc., I might have a little more faith in their offer.

 

[JimMIA]

If you are referring to the situation I'm thinking of, the renter in that case posted just yesterday that she "stayed at BCV this week" so it does sound like things worked out OK in the end.

Yes, Lisa...that was the first incident with the DVC owner in question. I sent that renter an email yesterday to re-check, but haven't heard back from her, but it is definitely the first situation.

I'm also glad it worked out, and that should make Dani feel a lot more confident about her transaction working out eventually.

 

[FisherFamily]

I feel your pain. Though we have had 3 very successful R/T transactions they always made me have anxieties that all would work out ok. One did have a few bumps but the other party was very understanding. I think the key is frequent communication so the party on the receiving end is not just sitting and wondering what is going on. Best of Luck to you in your situation I will try to send out positive vibes your direction.

 

[lizziepooh]

I would be concerned that this person may have already spent the money and may not have it to wire on Monday. If she does in fact have points, you might be better off having her transfer the half that you paid for and forget the rest of the transaction. I hope it all works out for you.

Since Western Union is a red flag, pay pal has scams, money orders can be faked, and a personal check can bounce, what is the best method of payment?

 

[Deb & Bill]

... Since Western Union is a red flag, pay pal has scams, money orders can be faked, and a personal check can bounce, what is the best method of payment?

Stick your first borne on a plane to the person requesting the funds????