Golfers (and anyone else) how many resorts have you been to and seen any sign of this much vaunted refurb programme? When my wife died in 2008 I took my children to Tenerife we hired 2 apartments which were ok but nowhere near 5* I was shown an apartment that had been refurbed AN APARTMENT NOT SEVERAL! I figure this was the one per resort to help sucker more people into this organisation and scam more money out of people they have already ripped off and of course to tempt the new meat provided by Expedia!
"I am certainly not a Diamond employee and I am not connected to Diamond in any way, shape or form, with the exception of being a resort owner/member. I understand that if I misrepresent myself, and in fact have any type of relationship with Diamond that is adverse to the position stated above or provide Diamond with any of this information, that I will be sued for misrepresentation, fraud any my any other legal options deemed appropriate"
I will not answer ANY email that does not have this disclaimer!
James it would appear from your comments above that there is organised resistance to DRI in America as well as in the UK! I am a memeber of a protest group here in the UK now over 1300 strong who are refusing to pay DRI any more money for the points we have been sold which they have now rendered worthless. Sadly Mr Duffy who was a frequent contributor to many of these blogs seems to have crawled back under whatever rock he crawled out from under so he is no longer trying to defend the indefensible, nor is he despite his claims to the contrary answering mail sent direct to him! Maybe with the resistance here and over on your side of the pond they are being kept to busy!
Anyway I wish you success in your endeavours across the pond and hope that between us we can bring this house of cards crashing down.
lmj and sea I assume from your comments that you borrowed money to buy the timeshare? Who did you borrow the money from? On their own Management Fees (in the UK) are not something that can affect your credit rating because they are not regarded as a debt and not covered by the consumer credit act. However loans with financial institutions are so if you borrow money to buy point/timeshare and stop paying you could well have a problem!
Bakers I suspect he is keeping a very low profile lets face it he has not got enough fingers to plug all the hole in the DRI dike! Nor does he apparently have the gonads to continue to defend himself and the other crooks that run DRI! Or maybe he is visiting Cloobeck in a St Maartens jail!
lmj and sea I sympathize with you and hope you can extricate yourself from the clutches of DRI it amazes me how the full force of the law pursues some criminals but lets other get away with it! Maybe the Mafia run DRI if they don't they probably wish they had thought of it now!
Mclemons if you are in the UK there is nothing to worry about because no one who has refused to pay has had any problems getting credit from other sources! No matter what DRI or their pet Debt collectors tell you management fees are not regarded as a debt that can impact your credit rating. Have a look at the Mirror blogs or the DRIP protesters site and you will get loads of good advice, support and somewhere to let of steam!
Unfortunately TCWeaver you are in the same boat as many other people! I belong to a group in the UK who are fighting this company all the way since DRI have taken over GVC/Sunterra contracts our timeshares are worthless as well! The people who run this dispicable company have been conspicuous by their absence of late although Marty Kandel has now popped up threatening all sorts of action (including legal?) because of slanderous accussations against this fine upstanding company! Oddly the last time they went court over what they said was slander they lost!
Unfortunately these people seem to be coated in Teflon but then Cloobeck does spend an awful lot of money (ours no doubt) greasing palms and oiling the wheels of corruption! (oops is this slander? No I think not it was one of the things he was accussed of in St Maartens where they lost a court case). Anyway I wish you luck I suspect there must be groups in the States who are also taking this bunch to task, maybe you can ge some advice from them!
This is priceless! The guy has to have his head up his ***!
Expected standards of behaviour
« on: May 20, 2008, 07:24:48 »A Letter from Diamond Resorts (Europe) Ltd. regarding expected standards of communication between and among members and between members and Diamond Resorts International®.
May 19, 2008
As members of Diamond Resorts European Collection, Ltd. extensive communications occur each day between members, the developer and the management company. This communication takes place in the form of written letters, telephone conversations, and in-person meetings and, ever increasingly, through e-mail and postings on various websites and blogs, including the member’s forum sponsored by Diamond Resorts International® (DRI) for use by members.
One of the benefits about living in an open society is that each of us is free to express our opinions without regard to censorship or repercussions from a governmental entity. That right however does not mean that common courtesy and politeness should not be exercised at all times, even if there is a legitimate disagreement amongst the parties.
Recently, a number of our DRI staff have been subjected to the use of language, both written and verbal, by certain members which is nothing short of unacceptable. These members have taken to using abusive, unprofessional, threatening, and offensive language which simply cannot be tolerated in a civilized society. Additionally, some members have made accusations which are full of untruths and are slanderous to the people to whom they are directed.
At DRI we value all of our members, owners, team members, and guests. However, this type of behaviour towards members of DRI staff and other members simply will not be tolerated. We must ask that all communications, both written and verbal, be expressed in a professional and courteous manner. Membership is subject to the rules and regulations of Diamond Resorts European Collection, Ltd. Violation of these rules and regulations will result in the appropriate action being taken. Going forwards, any member who uses abusive tactics will have their membership suspended and potentially cancelled. During any period of suspension or in the event of permanent cancellation, the said member will be unable to use their membership and may even face further legal action if deemed appropriate.
It is our sincere hope that we can continue an open, healthy and productive discourse without profanity, libelous statements and downright rudeness. Diamond Resorts International® is always willing to listen to its members and depends on feedback to ensure that we are always in touch with member’s needs, wants and desires. However, a common level of professional courtesy, decency and decorum is appreciated and expected.
Sincerely,
_________________________
Martin Kandel
President, European Operations
Diamond Resorts International®
Talk about taking the mick! Where are Cloobeck and co these days? Not heard from them for a long time!
Kaiheitai77 unfortunately you have become a victim of this bunch of unscrupulous conmen and you will have a big job on your hands to escape from them! Here in the UK there is a protest group on this site http://drip.enjin.com who are fighting this company and without exception withholding their MF's as all have found out to late that they were lied to at the presentation and have been conned into a contract that could see them paying ever increasing management fees some of us have gotten out but many more are still stuck and being harassed by DRI and their pet debt collectors for non payment of fees! there is some good news however so far DRI have yet to take anyone to court for non payment and several Americans have joined the protest so go on the site and you will find you are not alone and there is some excellent advice on how to deal with these people!
anon123456789 I am really pleased you are enjoying your time share and hope you continue to do so. The crux of the problem however is not so much buyers remorse as peoples circumstances change! In my case my wife died at age 52 which meant I no longer needed or could afford the product but I was expected to continue paying! When DRI were informed by my legal representative in 2008 about the death of my wife they transferred the ownership into my sole name without applying their own criteria of exceptional circumstances! It is only recently this year after some exchanges of correspondence they have accepted they did not act properly and have allowed me to relinquish my ownership which they should have done in 2008! This has resulted in me paying management fees for longer than I should have done. Originally I was told I would have to continue paying until 2054!
During the period of dispute myself and my son, and his legal team looked into various aspects of this company and they are a long way from scrupulous and honest. If it is such a good product why do their sales people continually lie at presentations? If they have right on their side why have they never taken anyone who is refusing to pay their management (and there are nearly 2000 in the UK alone who are doing this) fees to court? Why when you type in their name on a search engine to you get pages of complaints? Why when Cloobeck took someone to court in St Maartens for slander did the judge find against him and say the truth is never slander when one of the accusations against him was relating to corruption? Why are they offering people who are refusing to pay a massive reduction and allowing them to keep their points, while you and many others continue to pay the full amount? Why are they offering through companies like Expedia holidays on their 'exclusive' resorts at a fraction of the price you are paying in management fees? There many more examples but I think the ones given are sufficient for now.
Finally I hope you and your family continue to enjoy your holidays and also hope that you continue to enjoy good health and you do not find yourself in a situation where because of unemployment or a drastic change of circumstances that you are unable to afford the fees because that is when you will find out the true nature of this company! There is no exit strategy for anyone whose circumstances change and they are told they have to continue paying until 2054! Lets face it no one can know what is going to happen 50 yrs down the line! One other question why do Duffy and Cloobeck not have the guts to answer questions like those above? The seem to have gone into hiding of late!
O'h boy are people who have been burned already by a timeshare company expected to believe this? I think there is little chance of anyone being fooled a second time!
With regard the St Maarten's thing where Cloobeck and co tried to sue someone for slander and the case was thrown out it appears they have now lost the appeal as well! Oddly Cloobeck and Duffy still remain very quiet on the sites that are criticising them these days!
Are you sure? I mean the Diamond experience is relaxation at its best according to Cloobeck and Duffy! This of course is said with a degree of irony and a little sarcasm!
I would suggest that it has everything to do with that! Cloobeck and Duffy are finally beginning to realise that they cannot bully and threaten everyone into submission! This is their pathetic attempt to circumvent the Rip Off Britain programme and they are trying to find a way to shut the DRIP site down and make them go away!
