Diamond Resorts enormously increases the cost of Maintenance/Reserves on their resorts.

Diamond Resorts does not allow rental of your weeks.

joan700 wrote:

Diamond Resorts does not allow rental of your weeks.

Who has specific weeks? They changed it to a points based system. I tried to get a week in March at my home resort but there is no availability. Could that be perhaps because they are renting out the rooms?

And yes, your maintenance fee is paying for operations and maintenance of the properties. They take your cash and then jack up the maintenance fees to unconscionable levels. It should be a crime.

I purposefully increased my points to spend more time at Kohl's Ranch which was part of PVC taken over by Diamond. That same year they put discount rent weeks on Amazon, so I couldn't get a week no matter. I was told that they owned "deeded" weeks which they got by buying PVC in bankruptcy so they could rent out them at will. However, we cannot rent out our weeks. Mine are as deeded as theirs, PVC didn't designate specific weeks in any other way than distinquishing them as Platinum, red, etc. Even though I went on the point system, in the contract it retains the value of the PVC contract. Any thoughts?

Still ticked.

Amen!

What if all the owners did not pay the next maintenance fee until the timeshare companies (Diamond, etc.) work with the owners to give them what they were promised when they purchased their timeshare and decrease all their fees. We must all stand together and fight back if the lawyers, state and government will not do anything to help the owners.

You could contact your home resort and ask them to take it back through a " deed back ". If they agree you have to be current with your maintenance fees and assessments. They may ask you to pay the next years fees. Make sure you talk to the person that handles these matters. I got rid of two timeshares in 2011 this way. It's great not to have to pay the ever increasing fees and assessments. Good luck.

Read this New York Times article exposing DRI practices.

Read the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/business/diamond-resorts-accused-of-using-hard-sell-to-push-time-shares.html?_r=2

DRI response here: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1566897/000119312516436185/d127988dex991.htm

The Arizona Attorney General is investigating a complaint filed regarding fraudulent sales practices specific to ILX owners who were sold additional Diamond ownerships based on a deceptive sales artifice. A second confidential AG investigation is taking place regarding other practices. A letter outlining sales practices in general or specific to ILX owner experience can to sent to: Send to consumerinfo@azag.gov and ask that it be added to case confirmation number #UG236-Z3WSO

I agree. We should file a Class action lawsuit against Diamond Resorts. Count me in. I am ready to take them to court in front of the judge and spill every single word and trick they played for us, and we trusted their business with our hard earned money.

georgew344 wrote:

What if all the owners did not pay the next maintenance fee until the timeshare companies (Diamond, etc.) work with the owners to give them what they were promised when they purchased their timeshare and decrease all their fees. We must all stand together and fight back if the lawyers, state and government will not do anything to help the owners.

Important for you, and other affect owners to send letter to AZ Attorney General describing your experience. Critical first step, investigation is underway.

Will do. Everyone should write their letter too. United and more members to join and file a complaint, the better it is and we will win. DEAR MEMBERS, PLEASE DO NOT DELAY ANY LONGER AND WRITE YOUR LETTERS OF COMPLAINT TO AZ ATTORNEY GENERAL.

Folks, the government is not going to help you. They do not have the resources, vested interest or concern that you have. The only thing that will stop this is a lawsuit. Then and only then will DRI be held accountable for its actions. I agree there is strength in numbers. I am confident I know how to get around the class action ban in the contract.

Your statement regarding disengagement by regulators due to budgets, and other factors is typically true. Point of fact there are active investigations taking place by the AZ Attorney General. This presents a rare opportunity for those who have been wronged to have their voice heard. Diamond's product is registered in AZ as timeshare. That is not the case in all states. This puts it under the control of the AZ Department of Real Estate, and certain rules that do not apply to other consumer goods. * A.R.S. § 32-2197.19(C) states, inter alia, “No developer or agent shall, in selling or leasing, or offering to sell or lease, any timeshare interest in a timeshare plan: 1. Employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud. 3. Engage in any transaction, practice or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon a purchaser.” There is a Real Estate recovery fund whose purpose is to mitigate harm specific to fraudulent misrepresentation in a real estate transaction. A class action suit is a viable option, however unless someone is willing to come out of pocket for sizable attorney's fees risk for an attorney considering contingency representation had better be greatly reduced. It time to move the narrative from the forum to public record where it can be used to advance a real solution.

I own four timeshare properties, with one of them being Villas at Polo Towers, Las Vegas. An "owner's update" turned into a HARD presentation on changing my deeded week to points. We did not agree...knew that they could not make us ( our daughter worked at timeshare sales at one time and told us that). Mind you, this was not easy to do, and took us a hour to convince the tag team that NO meant NO....they were infuriated to say the least... Slamming booklets down. That being said, to have our fees be over $1400. annually at this point is the highest of all the ones we have, and all of them are Gold Crown Resorts. What really is hard to swallow is that I could just rent a week from them or anyone else for way less than that with no further yearly obligations...go one year, or not, whenever. When we first started time-sharing, the only way to stay in these lovely condo units was through ownership. Now our neighbors do the same thing with no sales presentations or maintenance fees..just go online and rent them; just totally unfair! I tried renting for my maintenance fee cost only, and that was too high in comparison to others, and thus unsuccessful at this location. I erroneously thought that once this building was sold out, as lovely as it is, it should not be hard to sell if I chose to in the future, right on the Vegas Strip. Wrong. As stated by others, listings were for $0- $500. I just can't make myself "GIVE" it away for nothing, and of course now our 3 grown children do not want ownership either. I tried one year to reserve a week in Oct, early Nov. and was told NO...that is when all the conventions are in Vegas and they rent out those weeks. I am a OWNER and was given no preference...I was told I could space bank it...which means of course I have to pay MORE to trade into somewhere else. Just amazing.

Suggest you research what Diamond is really offering when the tell you to give up your deeded week. Diamond's Club points are nothing more than a user rights membership. They say it is based in a deed. What they are doing is stripping user rights out of properties, selling those without any property rights attached. Its like a gym membership except there is no end date, your fee obligations are in perpetuity. With your deeded week ownership you have something tangible to sell on the resale market. It has been alleged by numerous resale Brokers that Diamond is making it virtually impossible to resell points. There a challenges being made regarding Diamond's business model Suggest you read article with link provided to gain a better understanding of what Diamond is REALLY offering (sorry demanding that you buy) http://www.thestreet.com/story/13624491/1/is-apollo-returning-to-its-junk-roots-with-its-acquisition-of-diamond-resorts.html

Diamond has a voluntary surrender program if maintenance fees have become unmanageable. To review the rules cut and paste link: http://timesharegame.com/get-rid-of-diamond-resorts-timeshare/ if browser does not go directly to site click on: How to get rid of your Diamond Resorts timeshare There is a rare opportunity to have your voice heard if you have purchased Diamond in AZ. The AZ Attorney General is one of just few offices that is actively investigating Diamond. Now is the time to move your experiences from bulletin boards to public record where they can contribute to a real solution. If you feel you have experienced fraud and/or deception in the sales process with Diamond describe it in a letter and send it to link below Ask that it be filed with case #CIC 16-4021; Diamond Resorts consumerinfo@azag.gov The AZ Department of Real Estate investigates violations of the real estate statutes and Commissioner’s Rules by licensed real estate brokers and salespeople. * A.R.S. § 32-2197.19(C) states, inter alia, “No developer or agent shall, in selling or leasing, or offering to sell or lease, any timeshare interest in a timeshare plan: 1. Employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud. 3. Engage in any transaction, practice or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon a purchaser.” Below is link to their recovery fund whose purpose is to assist those that have been harmed. http://www.azre.gov/EnC/RecFund.aspx

Thanks, this is excellent information.

So they will take your timeshare back to sell again and they only charge you $250. What a deal. That is if you are accepted. What sleaze bags.

Unfortunately, I purchased from ILX and Diamond bought ILX so I don't have much of a fraud case against Diamond. The agreement did disclose that maintenance fees might increase, and there was no limit. But it has gotten so high that it is not worth it.

The case being made against Diamond by other legacy owners such as yourself is in reference to claims being made like not buying into Diamond's Club would diminish access. Misrepresentations that amount to scare tactics regarding consequences of not entering Club are common. If you feel misleading statements were made to induce you to purchase in the Club important to write letter to AG case listed above.

marks1499 wrote:

The case being made against Diamond by other legacy owners such as yourself is in reference to claims being made like not buying into Diamond's Club would diminish access. Misrepresentations that amount to scare tactics regarding consequences of not entering Club are common. If you feel misleading statements were made to induce you to purchase in the Club important to write letter to AG case listed above.

We own a deeded Red Week in a VA Beach development Diamond took over. We were pressured to buy a club membership last week. The types of claims you mention (i.e., our options would diminish and eventually be limited if we didn't join) were made, however, we did not take the bait. We were offended by their sales tactics. Since we did not buy a Club membership, and since our experience was in VA (not AZ) I assume our input to the AG is not useful/helpful. Correct?

Incorrect, the timing is crucial for all owners who can verify Diamond's misdeeds to step forward and alert AZ AG. Given that they have been pressured into investigating there is an opportunity to demonstrate that Diamond's practices are institutionalized and need to stopped. By demonstrating the consistency of these practices there is no means for investigators to claim it is an isolated instance. This is the most heavily guarded rabbit hole for Diamond and once enough evidence accumulates it will become very difficult for investigators to explain why action was not taken sooner.