Unhappy vacation owners usually experience an exhausting wave of resistance from timeshare resorts when seeking a way out of their perpetual agreement. Because of this, many fail. In most cases, the resilient and financially stable are the only types of owners able to obtain some sort of restitution. But even then, buying a timeshare can still leave scars. Although the evaporated cost can be troublesome, timeshare credit reporting and failed debt collection procedures can be devastating.
A mark on a purchase of this magnitude doesn’t go unnoticed in today’s world of risk calculations and technological assumptions. In other words, negative credit reports from timeshares limit purchasing power. In turn, this can really hinder one’s quality of life – bringing us to this week’s news article. After filing a previous sales fraud suit resulting in a settlement with Diamond Resorts International Club, Inc. (DRI), two former owners recently filed another class action lawsuit against the timeshare resort for reporting negatively on their credit.
Not the First Lawsuit By These DRI Owners.
The proposed lawsuit essentially alleges that DRI used it’s “collection arm” to involve Experian Information Solutions in credit reporting fraud that derived from their settled timeshare accounts. But it’s important to not forget the context of the suit. After already being involved in a previous legal battle with the owners, it seems odd that Diamond would not have complied with the terms of the settlement. When someone asserts that your sales departments used “deceptive sales practices” and made false promises or “oral misrepresentations” about the product, then you should probably waive the white flag.
Even though Diamond Resorts International Inc. agreed to waive and terminate “any and all” of the owner’s remaining balances to release them from their contractual obligations, they allegedly did not completely follow through. The plaintiffs balances were cleared, but they stated that the timeshare credit reporting for major bureaus inaccurately showed the purchase as being a “charge off”. As you can imagine, this infuriated DRI’s former owners. It wouldn’t be a surprise to us as failed timeshare debt collection procedures are common in this industry. It’s all part of the well-oiled collections scheme.
Disputed Timeshare Credit Reporting for DRI.
After spending even more time and energy communicating with the three major credit bureaus, the case goes on to say that the plaintiffs received minimal closure. Experian said they would take care of the disputed account and TransUnion told them it was not on their reports. But according to the lawsuit, a negative tradeline remained after Experian simply “updated the accounts”. Despite their alleged promise to delete the accounts and release the plaintiffs from any liability, it was argued that DRI “permitted and caused the wrongful report to occur.”
What’s interesting about this story is that the plaintiffs claim they were lied to every step of the way. Not only did they state that they were initially sold on their ability to acquire and redeem timeshare points for right to use (RTU) lodging at “certain resorts” – they were continuously complained that they were lied to about their options. Once they figured it out and took legal action, they thought they attained resolve. But they didn’t. Now, two former owners are dealing with even further inconvenience stemming from Diamond’s actions.
It’s hard to tell how many people are affected by a timeshare-gone-bad. But with every story comes new light on the deception behind the industry. There are tons of concerns surrounding timeshare credit reporting and failed timeshare debt collection procedures. The problem is, most people don’t know what hit them until it’s too late. If you have any questions about ownership or the process of cancellation, never hesitate to reach out.
