RCI Class Action Lawsuit, Murillo vs. R.C.I.
RCI weeks members should be aware of developments regarding a possible class action lawsuit that is currently undergoing the class certification discovery process. The lawsuit is related to an alleged practice through which RCI takes out a lot of the gold crown, and highly sought after properties to rent out to the general public for profit, or for use as a fringe benefit for RCI employees and special guests. This skimming of available weeks makes it difficult for RCI timeshare resort weeks members to bank weeks for exchange at other resorts, since the availability pool is severely limited by this activity.
The class action suit was originally filed in May of 2006 so we can expect it to be quite some time before this case would go to trial. The current status of the case seems to be tied up with uncovering evidence to show that the lawsuit can hold its weight in the courtroom, and this could take quite some time – usually years. If you are a weeks member that wishes to be included if the lawsuit is heard in a court of law you do not need to do anything. All weeks members will receive relevant literature regarding the case by mail prior to the trial date, and at that time you will have the option to opt out of the case – which basically means you will not be held to any of the binding litigation that comes as a result of the trial.
This lawsuit should prove interesting, especially considering that RCI has financial interest in two companies that rent out timeshare weeks to the general public – Snap Travel and Leisure Link. I am not sure if they have controlling interest in SnapTravel and LeisureLink, but I look forward to hearing them try to talk themselves out of the accusations of selling highly sought after time share resort properties to non-members while RCI members are forced to trade their weeks for stays at resorts that can be considered mediocre at best.
UPDATE: RCI may be trying to settle this case out of court. On July 8, 2008 a settlement conference was held in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, and another was held July 15, 2008 in Federal Court in Newark, NJ. We are still waiting to see what the next steps are in the case, and if they did agree on terms for settlement.
This just makes me wonder – if RCI really believes they have done nothing wrong, and have nothing to hide, why wouldn’t they be requesting a trial date??
LATEST UPDATE: December 2008, it appears Murillo and RCI have reached a settlement. No word yet on whether or not this has been approved, but if approved, this settlement will allow RCI members to search prior to depositing a week. RCI will also be required to disclose trading power in all relevant situations (which, to me, would seem like any instance in which a trade is being processed). Please see the post – Murillo vs. RCI Settlement Conditions – for the verbose outline of the settlement agreement, and what you, as an RCI member, may be entitled to.
April 17th, 2008 at 10:53 am
I find this article very interesting due to the fact that my family has been wondering about some of the issues and/or difficulties in exchanging for the “better” units. Seems strange that with RCI you are ENCOURAGED to deposit early for “better trading power”; however, you cannot exchange for a period of more than 24 months in advance. Problem being when you get ready to exchange…..most and/or all of the BETTER and/or GOLD CROWN and award-winning units are non-existant. My husband and I were just discussing this lack of availability of good locations and units…and I even said……”I guess some people get “special treatment” from RCI…..and are allowed to book before we common-folk are allowed to”. Seems a little underhanded if this is the case. Will definitely bookmark this page and will try to stay up on this lawsuit. If what I read in this article in factual…it makes me furious!!! Thanks!
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I look forward to this action and have plenty of the same experiences with RCI over the last 18 months that I have been a member. No premium properties available during desired times even with a year or more of advance request. The web site for week exchanges is pathetic; sort of ironic that their improvements to UI (user interface) are all in the last minute and extra getaway properties which are only available if you pay for them, no exchanges. The customer service team is not knowledgeable, but does recite well management’s preselected playbook of answers. So far I have 2 weeks banked, have purchased a 5 year membership and have committed funds to search for 2 exchanges — nothing to show for it. Our home property is a 5 star ski resort in the northeast U.S. I think will enjoy my weeks there
—RCI is one of the worst services I have ever come in contact with. Please keep me on the class action info list.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:19 am
I was a member of RCI I was never able to get a week I wanted The getaways were a joke it was a waste of a 3 year membership Now I know why! Please keep me posted I would love to get my fee’s back. I love Interval International They have been great!
May 31st, 2008 at 10:35 am
My wife and I have owed a RCI Weeks unit in Fl. for 10+ years. IN that time I have traded for nice places only a couple times. If you want to go to Mexico your set, always places available. If you want to go to Hawaii, Jamaica, Virgin Islands etc.. Your screwed! God forbid if your looking for a unit during holiday. I have been trying to trade to Hawaii for 10 years! Never anything available anywhere nice except dear old MEXICO. Really makes me mad. Prices have gone up every year since we bought. They always give the same excuse you didn’t deposit early enough, your resort doesn’t have that much pulling power (not so when we were sitting with the salesman!).
The whole thing just pisses me off.
May 31st, 2008 at 10:40 am
Another thing. The Extra Vacation offers! There are always places available at all the good spots for Extra Vacations! How’s that available for a nice sized fee but not available for a trade?
July 13th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
My husband and I just spent 5 hours trying to book an exchange vacation so we wouldn’t lose our week. We always try to book at places in their off season so we will have better luck. Not this time. Everywhere we tried, there was no availability except at one of their mediocre resorts. I have a gold crown home resort and I should be able to trade for the same quality. We have now had to pay extra to extend our week so we don’t lose it. We tried to book a resort in Destin, Fl for February and low and behold, there was no availability. I’ve been there during that time on my own dime and the place is dead.
I can’t wait for this class action suit to come to trial. RCI should be held accountable for their actions and ripping people off.
I agree with Brian. I am always getting “great” offers for extra vacations at the destinations I want to go to, but when you try to use your week, there are no rooms available.
I am sure there are a lot of people out there that should be reimbursed for their weeks that they lost and I hope the courts recognize this fact.
July 20th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
[...] You will be able to trade your timeshare week for a stay anywhere in the world (this applies to weeks vacation ownership only). The way that timeshare weeks programs are set up do not make it very easy to trade for other locations, and many weeks timeshare owners have found that without banking a few years in advance, it is almost impossible to get their choice of resort and/or week. For more information on this read -Murillo vs. RCI [...]
August 10th, 2008 at 9:02 am
My wife and I just joined RCI about a year ago. One thing they never told us is that in order for us to use our time share we bought and paid for we need to notify them a year in advance every year. Every time I call them it seems liek I am paying some hidden fee that is buried in the book they give you that you need weeks and a lawyer to decipher. Trying to exchange for anything seems a waste of time for any nice destinations unless you book something years in advance and the website site I can’t make heads or tails of it. Does anyone know of other sites that we can bank points at and do excahnges?
August 11th, 2008 at 7:36 am
I recently attended a timeshare presentation from a company that uses another company other than RCI. The salesman informed me of this lawsuit as part of his sales pitch against RCI Properties. Now I understand why I could never get a week anywhere I wanted to go. Last year I was doing a search in northern Europe, Scandinavia, and the UK I could find nothing available and I was going out 1 ½ and still nothing. I was extremely frustrated and decided to sell my timeshare. Hey if I can’t get anything I want from it what use is it. I will have to go to my property and demand that they get rid of RCI. There are very few properties left with RCI because of this practice.
September 7th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
The old RCI was great and there was no presure to bank ahead of time as there is now. I have lost weeks banked because there was nothing I wanted open. You give them outstanding 2 bedroom units and they want you to take a one bedroom or less in return. I hope the lawsuit goes thru.
September 15th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
We have been ‘weeks’ members since 1992 and would like to be included in the Class Action.
On to another subject. We are now RCI Points members through Blue Bay Resort, Cancun. The primary reason we purchased was to us the points for airline flight discounts. Nine months later, RCI sends us a letter on 9-5-2008 limiting our transfer of points to 60,000 annually. This effectively prevents us from using points for airline discounts. Nowhere in our Participation Agreement does it give RCI authority to restrict our points transfers. In fact, it states in the Participation Agreement that the member chooses the number of RCI points they wish to exchange. Further, it states that there are no more RCI points balance restrictions. RCI’s only response is that the section in the back of the Directory hold precedence over all other agreements. However, the terms and conditions in the back of the Directory pertains only to Weeks subscribing memberships without reference to Points subscribing memberships. HELP!!!
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:59 am
Been an RCI member for 24 years. I have never been able to trade for the resort and week I wanted. I enjoy the vacations I have taken thru trading of my time share, but all have proven a hassle make a good trade for. The only thing RCI is interested in is getting your yearly renewal and their fees, the only way they make money is via the exchange of $169.00. I would love to be part of this lawsuit, I have always asked them what happens to all these exchanged weeks. I just got a ad from RCI saying that Smugglers Notch in Vermont had openings for October, 2008. That is a LIE, I have been trying to exchange there for several years and nothing is ever available. I have no problem with my time share, my problem is with RCI. I just purchased points from Shells and one thing I had a long discussion with them on was exchanges, you know what, I can get into Hawaii now, RCI always trys to book me in a resort in IOWA, what the hell is there to see there?
September 28th, 2008 at 9:11 am
We also purchased a time share 5 years to exchange for cruises. We did it the first year and had a very crappy room next to the engine room and the engine had a very loud noise problem. Later the next year or the year after that, we also recieved a letter letting us know that RCI will only exchange 60,000 points. We only bought the timeshare so we could use it for cruises. I hope this lawsuit does go through! I have not been contacted but would love to be included.
October 8th, 2008 at 7:06 am
Can I be included in the lawsuit?
October 18th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
I bought timeshare (RCI points) from point To Point Destinations in Vancouver, BC (aka West Coast Timeshare, westcoast timeshare, ptp destinations, ptpdestinations)
I am very disappointed.
Please check out the facts and my experience with them here:
http://www.TimeshareRevealed.com
November 17th, 2008 at 9:35 am
We have been members for 9 years. We own a week in Florida, red week gold crown resort. Was told that we would have great trading power with what we bought. Were we badly misleaded. Several times we have tried to make exchanges with RCI, but was told there was nothing available. They always offered us a different location, but it wasn’t what we were looking for. We even had to book a year in advance for a resort in Michigan, what’s up with that? We bought this on our honeymoon, thought it would be a great purchase for our future. All it has been is argurments and disappointment. We are definitely interested in being a part of this lawsuit.
December 1st, 2008 at 11:44 pm
I want to be on the list to sue RCI, they are all liars and cheats. We got scammed big time and lost a lot of money with false promises.
December 6th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
As I read these comments, it seems as if you are mixing apples and oranges. When you buy at a resort, what the resort tells you is what they want you to believe to get you to buy there. They tell you that this is a great resort that will trade well. When you go to RCI, you find that isn’t true….RCI didn’t make the promise to you, the resort did. If no one deposits a week from a resort, there is no way RCI can trade it to you. We recently went to a prime resort in Hawaii on a trade. When we checked in, the resort told us we were really lucky to get a spot there because most of their owners use the week they own every year, and very few belong to RCI…..this is not RCI’s fault. You don’t buy as one person commenting above said, a RCI week, you buy a resort week and then a RCI contract to give you a way to trade that week. The two are totally unrelated things. One resort I wanted to trade for is in Door CO WI and it was never available. I stopped at the resort when visiting the area, and asked about the timeshare and they told me they have 200 units but only 15 opted for a RCI timeshare exchange……your chance of getting one of those is pure luck.
December 27th, 2008 at 9:53 am
We will definitely want to participate in this suit. We were scammed by RCI/Palace Resorts. They have $12,500 of our money, paid in full in advance, and are now making it virtually impossible to use the resorts. Please contact me for more details.
December 30th, 2008 at 9:16 am
I have been a timeshare owner for 25 years. RCI is just the tip of the iceberg. Raintree and Wyndam are the big piece under the water.
January 14th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Agree with all the above sentiments. The new RCI on-line reservation system also provides a pathetic selection of run-down resorts. Look forward to the outcome of the lawsuit
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Remember rci and wyndham are owned by the same bunch of corporate thieves. go to the following web page to see how they are treating their owners.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
I heard a rumor that anyone who is adding more weeks to their RCI contract by phone may not know that RCI is now putting a clause in that permits them to get around what the class action was going after. If this is true, they will eventually be out of the situation, since most people have to renew their membership with RCI regularly. I had purchased a five year plan the last time and it is coming up for renewal next year, so I have been investigating the class action situation to determine if I want to continue extending my membership. If this rumor is true, they will just string out the suit until everyone has renewed and it contains a new wording (which we don’t even see) that will excuse them from renting our units.
February 10th, 2009 at 5:30 am
All people who visit any of these web-sites concerning RCI behaviors and lawsuits against them, should write a letter stating their experiences and grievances to the courts/ attorneys involved. We also need to spread the word so that the courts are inundated with the same message, and will be more likely to take action on our behalf.
February 10th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
this whole rci thing has been a scam unless a few years ago one was willing to go to a bad motel/hotel in mexico
February 24th, 2009 at 9:52 am
I’ve experienced the same as all the above with RCI. Whether or not they put “CYA” verbage in the new membership renewal contracts, they still need to be held accountable since they are still misrepresenting themselves – especially when they make a big hoop-la to announce the availability of new sought-after resorts on their websites to lure new members. Putting loopholes for themselves in the fineprint isn’t enough. Unless they make the reality of the exchange program that Karen explained so well (above at post #18) as clear as their announcements of desirable new “Gold Crown” resorts, they are liable. (A sidenote, however: The resort salesperson DOES show you a book of RCI properties and tells you that you CAN exchange your week for any of these resorts – quite misleading.)
The class action suit should allow for all RCI members who wish to do so to leave and switch to Interval International or other more reputable company who will provide the services paid for by members.
Pharmaceutical companies have to include disclaimers right in their advertisements to protect the health of consumers, and RCI should have to do it to protect the FINANCIAL health of consuming Americans…who have already been duped and bamboozled by corrupt Wall Street big businesses and now have to bail them out of their foolishness. Enough is ENOUGH!
I don’t think it’s too dramatic to ask, where is Jean Valjean when you need him? I guess when it comes to RCI, here in the U.S., the story of Les Miserables would stop soon after Valjean became a businessman…he would have then become a glorified swindler and corrupted Cosette. Curtain falls.
March 4th, 2009 at 7:04 am
I agree that it is difficult to find good availabilty. In the past I have questioned rental practice and been told that they do not rent.
March 10th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
That is hilarious Bruce. You can go on the Las Vegas Grandview website and rent out a room for a few days if it is available. All of these companies are full of lies which is why I will never buy a timeshare. If a timeshare is such a great deal why do they have to lure you into a meeting with free gifts and not let you leave to do some research on your own?
April 8th, 2009 at 11:04 am
would like to participate
April 17th, 2009 at 9:39 am
You are spot on about RCI. We have been a member of
RCI for more than 20 years. We own a 2 bedroom Red time
Gold Crown Resort and the best we have been able to exchange
for with RCI in a desired location is a Studio or 1 bedroom
non rated resort in a blue or white time. This happens no matter
how many months you book in advance. They rent units to non-owners
in order to set it up for the resort to sell more time. Timeshares
are a real scam and it is about time the court gets involved and
maybe some regulations with come from it.
May 4th, 2009 at 9:56 am
It’s so comforting to know we’re as unhappy as everyone else. We just returned from a “free” 3 day “owners’ meeting” at our useless RCI timeshare in VA. Basically they wanted us to “trade up” for $8500! to a red week from a white week. By the time we had interacted with 3 more pushy salespeople, that 8500 was down to $4000. They put us up in a funky ski slope cheap hotel room and drove us to “see” the luxury condo that we owned. I 100% agree with everything posted here about RCI, we can NEVER get an exchange. We own one RCI and 2 II timeshares, all in different places, all bought with cash which also pissed them off, because they don’t make any interest money off them. We too are much happier with our II properties than the RCI and if I could sell it I surely would – seems no one wants to buy that “most desireable” location! Imagine that……
Remember Nancy Ragan’s words – Just Say No!!!
June 1st, 2009 at 8:54 am
The latest scam this pack of corporate pickpockets has come up with is; the property owners are promoting change your weeks program with RCI to a points
program for the astounding low price of $2995.00.
You’ll still be with RCI just $3000.00 poorer. That tells me they are totally in the same game and are trying to wiggle around a tricky lawsuit that may tarnish them all, and line their pockets at the same time.
June 18th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
We have had these problems with Silverleaf, and Bluegreen lied about its properties’ locations when we joined them last year. We want to get rid of these two timeshares and get as much of our money back as possible. We plan to sell these timeshares within the next few weeks. Will that jeopardize our joining this lawsuit? RCI is a really bad company.
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:09 am
How do we join this class action suit? We have been RIPPED OFF for the past 5 years or so — we have a Goldcrown Red week and can NEVER exchange it for anything! All we do is bank our week (years in advance) with RCI, pay our annual fee in advance, then when we can’t get an exchange keep paying the ‘extension’ fee. Now we are facing losing some of our weeks. We are just paying through the nose and getting NO VALUE from it. RCI seems to be selling our weeks to other outside revenue paying customers. WHAT A SCAM! I can’t believe no court is willing to compensate the members and PUNISH RCI for their unethical and probably illegal behavior! Any update on the class action lawsuit? How do we sign up?
June 24th, 2009 at 7:01 am
If you wish to be enlightened on the latest in timeshare scams, just google “Raintree Complaints” where you will be taken to a board with many interesting comments on Raintree’s attempt to levy a substantial Special Assessment. Members are outraged and fighting back by simply refusing to pay.
June 26th, 2009 at 11:40 am
[...] power, the power of which is the center of much speculation anyway (see these posts for more – Murillo vs. RCI and Timeshare Owner [...]
June 29th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
[...] weeks for vacations at other resorts is exactly the same problem that the class action lawsuit, Murillo vs. RCI (which is currently in the discovery process) is focused upon – the idea that RCI is withholding [...]
June 30th, 2009 at 10:34 am
[...] 2008, it seems a preliminary settlement has been agreed upon regarding the class action lawsuit – Murillo vs. RCI. For background on this lawsuit please read the post RCI Class Action Lawsuit, Murillo vs. RCI. [...]
July 6th, 2009 at 3:34 am
Include us in the lawsuit. We have the same problems like all the above.
July 29th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
RCI is a bunch of crooks. For example, over the last few years I have requested and received my exchange for a Disney property using Interval International usually within a month or two. I purposely choose the least popular week (48) to do this. This year having been forced to RCI, I made my request the first week of 2009, again for week 48. I have been told on a number of occassions that my request will be difficult to fill and once was told that it will not be filled. What makes this worse is that when I search RCI’s website, the week I requested is available for purchase and had been for months. They are criminals, plain and simple.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Frankly, I am sick of Timeshare and RCI. Trading can be a nightmare. Recently my family and I had exchanged my scheduled week for a week in Fort Lauderdale. When I reseached my designation I was told that we had too many people and could not stay. At 7:30 pm what was I to do. Two years ago I took the same people with me (2 adults and 3 small children). The number of people with me was not a problem before. I had driven 12 hrs and the resort staff acted nonchalant. We were finally placed at a resort on the beach. The location was nice but the resort was not class A. I had complained about the room because of Bees but was never offered to be transferred to a different location. To top things off we came home with a souvenir—SCABIES. Five weeks after our vacation and a trip to the doctor, we are still battling the creatures. I have complained to RCI and their response was issuing me a complaint number and nothing else.
September 3rd, 2009 at 7:05 pm
How about a class action lawsuit for RCI Points holders? It’s even more impossible to get a good location. Usually the only thing available is some place in Kansas or whatever (yeah yeah there’s always the places in Mexico but they’re all All-Inclusives and the points don’t cover that and they charge over a hundred dollars a day each for the All-Inclusive part which is about what you’d pay for the room included if you just booked the whole thing yourself). I’ve been trying to book a room in London for years, which is why I got into this thing in the first place, and even first thing in the morning on the day exactly as far in advance as you are allowed to book, the room is unavailable. I don’t think it actually exists. If RCI is advertising the Hotel it should damn well include every room in the hotel, not just the crappy one right beside the noisy elevator. Lots of luck getting anywhere with that though. It’s exactly the same as Air Miles points that only offer three seats on any given flight, even if the flight is mostly empty.
Sign me Pissed Off and Ripped-Off.
September 16th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
We agree with Dan. Is it too late to join forces with the Weeks group since we have exactly the same problems with RCI and the same questions we would like answered. We have been with RCI for over 20 years but the past few years have been hugely unsatisfactory. we changed to the Points scheme on the promise that it would offer a better deal but, if anything, it is worse.
We have experienced most of the issues listed by the other bloggers and the frustration of trying to get something halfway reasonable in exchange for points whilst seeing wonderful places offered for rent. As for contacting customer service – you get the rote replies and realise that it’s impossible to get an honest and personal reply to your queries.
September 25th, 2009 at 8:11 am
My husband and I bought RCI POINTS and its been nothing but a NIGHTMARE. They limited the availability to use your points for airline tickets for one. Second, as I look on line at their resort directories– what a joke! Almost NONE of them are RCI Points resorts so you have to pay 189 booking fee. Their customer services isn’t customer service. W/ ONE exception, a man named James, every single person i’ve talked to there has been incredibly rude and downright mean and condescending at times- by anyone’s standards. I called again to inquire about the points for airfare to see if they would work w/ us and i got a call back from James saying he heard I wasn’t happy w/ what he offered–no, but it was better than what it was. Then he said if I continued to call about plane tickiets, he would reverse the assistance he gave me and I would lose my points. I believe a supervisor made hi make this call. My husband and I spent thousands w/ them only to be able to use ONE airline ticket. That’s one expensive ticket, I’ll tell you that. POINTS MEMBERS NEEED THEIR OWN CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT! Any lawyers on here???
October 4th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I’ve got one for you. We JUST left the Silverleaf where we own one week. After the standard 90 min. hardcore sales pitch, we say we’re leaving….”no, I’ll get fired if you don’t talk to” this second round suitboy…waiting…waiting…finally, after, “no”, “NO”, and “NO!”, to their “offer” to “upgrade” (for, like, $40,000), “I,ll be right back to sign you out” he says. …waiting…waiting… On his return we explain that we just bought our dream home in the highest priced real estate area in Florida (last year #2(?) in the United States!), “oh, you’ll get tired of THAT…”, “we’re not going to talk about THAT, NOW”, he says, as he blabs on. I say, “well, we’re no going to talk anymore about” his (pitch). He says, I know when I’ve been insulted”, and storms out. I’ll tell you what I think he “knew”…we weren’t buying!! We insulted NO ONE, unless refusals are now insults. I’ll tell about what insulted us…we pay $42, I believe it is, per month for maintenance, along with 51 other owners, per year, I presume…equals over $2000 a year. Our “room”? Ha! …Water spots on the ceiling needed painted, doors were hard to open because bottom seals were shot, every single step we took, the floor squeaked (!), etc., etc.. I guess basketball sized cobwebs aren’t maintenance… How much is paint per gallon, now… $2500? Why do they continue inviting us (saying we “must” come to be “updated”), even after swearing more than once, we’d be on the absolutely don’t call list? Well…some people probably upgrade…some smoke (in the room?). Cost/”fine”? $150. Some bring pets ($75). Some don’t bring pet vaccinations records (another $75). It seems it must be OK if your pet is deadly contagious, as long as you pay, they can stay. On one visit I was called a lousy parent by a red-faced 400 pound (?) man, because we wouldn’t upgrade to points, even though earlier that year we went on a week cruise, and a trip to…I believe that year was Hawaii…many peoples’ trip(s) of a lifetime. This is on top of most of the above mentioned problems others have experienced! I believe we’ve had enough. Where is civility? WHERE IS THE JUSTICE? I guess I didn’t pay enough to the right people to get THAT.
October 9th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
We have a floating week in a gold crown location in Mexico. We have banked it a few times with RCI and can never find a location we are interested in going. I was told RCI abritrally assign a low requested week to the week we bank; so the last time I booked the 4th of July and a month later I banked it; and RCI turned the week into early January. I did not know they could rent the rooms for a profit. That’s pretty underhanded
October 9th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
I have been an RCI member about 16 years. My timeshare is Tahoe Beach and Ski Club. I have been unable to get any real exchanges. I have had to pay to extend my weeks or lose them. I did get an exchange to Mexico right after 9/11, but I did not get the exchange I requested. The room we received was next to the elevator and the bedroom flooded everytime it rained. It truly was a dump. The hotel and RCI were not helpful and did not change our room. I confess 2 years ago I did go to Las Vegas and stayed at the Grandview. I was told the only reason I got the exchange was because of the slow economy. I was required to go on a 90 minute presentation which lasted about 3 hours. They were trying to get me to convert to points and pay more money. I have to pay RCI fees and maintenance fees to VRI (They came on the scene years later, plus $189 exchange fees. I pay more then the trip I would have gotten from the second rate hotels they send me to. I have only been on a few trips because RCI and VRI make it difficult to make exchanges, so I have to call the same numbers and be transfered to some one who really can’t help me.
October 9th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Perhaps the owners should exchange with each other. It would be better than the job RCI does. Does anyone know if we can replace RCI with another exchange company. I have always felt that my weeks were being sold because I have called the resorts in the RCI book and they were available to rent but were not available for me to do an exchange. RCI and the sales people are selling more timeshares but don’t have enough resorts available to accomodate existing owners. I called my own timeshare and it was for rent at a hefty price.
October 14th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I had no idea the problem was with RCI, but several other people I talked to about time shares said they are with Interval and have no problems, always get the exchange they want. Our last few years exchanges have been wasted because we could not exchange! That is a lot of wasted money!
October 16th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Tim above says he tried to deposit a Mexico week for the 4th of July period and he was angered because RCI counted it as a January week. I’m not sure how this could come about, but he should be grateful if this did happen. January in Mexico, when the weather is not so extremely hot, hurricane season is over, and tourists are trying to leave the snow belt, should be a much better trader than July! If RCI has any clout with his resort, they may have asked for the January week because of the higher demand. I hope it will do well for Tim and family.
As someone else said, we are getting many complaints here which have nothing to do with RCI. They are resort specific. RCI is only an exchange company which, admittedly, rents out some of its expiring or excess inventory. Where can it get excess inventory if RCI is doing 1 for 1 exchanges? Resorts with unsold units give it to them in order to bring in sales prospects who have actually experienced the resort they want to sell and not just “3 days and 2 nights” in a nearby motel. This is called “marketing”. Some resort chains will accept an “alien” week from one of their members in exchange for one of their own weeks. That also goes into the exchange company. (I got a 3BR in Spain which Mayan in Mexico deposited in exchange for my 2BR, so I KNOW this can happen.)
I do wish that exchange companies would list all their sources up front and clearly. Unfortunately, lawyers get involved and end up stating everything so obscurely that the general reaction tends to be “Huh?”
October 16th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
RCI “Weeks” Class Action – What Are You Doing About It!
By now, if you were a RCI “weeks” owner between January 1, 2000 and August 31, 2009 you have received a post card from the RCI WEEKS Class Action Administrator telling you a Settlement has been reached. Although a Settlement has been reached the Judge has not as yet recognized the class and has not as yet approved the Settlement.
YOU have a second opportunity to object to the settlement even if you have already submitted a claim. YES! you can submit a claim and make an OBJECTION to the proposed Settlement.
If you “opt-out” you cannot object to the settlement and you cannot make a claim. Whether or not you make a claim please make an OBJECTION in writing to the Court. The Settlement IMHO is NOT in the best interest of timesharing as a way of life and it definitely is NOT in the best interest of anyone who uses RCI.
As a class member you may be looking for help with the Post Card you recently received from the RCI “Weeks” Class Action Administrator.
If you are considering an objection to the settlement recommend that you first take a look at the informational instructions provided at:
http://rciclassactionlawsuit.com/
You can simply say something like the following:
“I object to the settlement in In re Resort Condominiums International, LLC Civil Action No. 06-cv-1222 (PGS.)”
THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT THAT YOU GIVE RESONS FOR YOUR OBJECTION.
But, once you have been to the above mentioned site you may decide that you want to say more than the one sentence above.
The following ideas are obviously not unique because we have been talking about these issues for some time at Timeshare Users Group (TUG).
You can use one or two or all of the provided suggested objections within the body of your objection letter.
You may choose to use some of the wording and write your own version.
What you say and how you say it is up to you.
The suggestions:
1) I object to the rental of any week deposited by a RCI member into the RCI Weeks Exchange Program. If, however, a Settlement is reached that allows for rental of weeks deposited by RCI Weeks members into the Exchange Program, I object to the proposed Section II C (Priority for Weeks Exchanges) exclusivity provision which provides a flat “31 days from the date of deposit” for weeks deposited more than 12 months in advance.
If an exclusivity provision is made part of the settlement, the time frame for exclusivity should run from the date the week is made available for exchange to other RCI members and should be a rolling exclusivity period that provides exclusivity as follows:
• 120 days for deposits 11 or more months in advance of the check-in date,
• 90 days for deposits between 6 to 10 months in advance of the check-in date,
• 31 days for deposits between 3-6 months in advance of the check-in date.
2) I object to the fact that the settlement does not clarify that “Vacation Time” will be made simultaneously available for Exchange when it is used for rental or “for any other purpose.” The settlement, if it allows rentals, should state that RCI will make ALL “Vacation Time” available for both Exchange and Rental or another purpose, including rental, whether through RCI or through any other exchange program, partner, affiliate or other entity.
3) I object to the proposed “Balancing of RCI Deposits and Rented Inventory,” which allows RCI to “swap out” weeks deposited for exchange by substituting inventory acquired directly from the resorts, or from another source. If such a provision is included in a settlement the provision should clearly state that “Vacation Time” that is deposited by members and is rented or otherwise disposed of by RCI in any manner other than direct exchange by another member”; shall be replaced with inventory that is comparable as to size, season, location, demand, and RCI rating.
4) I object because the settlement does not address the control of misinformation. There should be an RCI employee or department for complaints about misinformation and that employee or department should be empowered to train and monitor RCI employees to ensure that they are not providing misinformation to members, more than is reasonable and occasional human error. RCI should agree to make all reasonable efforts to ensure that misinformation is corrected.
5) I object because the proposed settlement does not prevent RCI from renting member’s deposited weeks for less than the annual maintenance fee that the member is required to pay to the member’s resort. Units deposited by RCI Weeks members into the Weeks Spacebank for exchange should not be offered for rent through RCI or other exchange program, partner, affiliate or other entity for less than the annual maintenance fees, unless said Week is still available within 90 days of the start date. At the 90 day mark RCI (or its affiliate or partner) could then be free to offer said week for whatever it believes the market will bear. If a restriction is put in place, I would have no problem with the restriction excluding Weeks offered as “bonus” vacation time, as these are not “rental” weeks.
6) I object to the short period that the settlement program changes are to stay in place. Program changes should be made permanent or they should be required to remain in place for ten years from the date a settlement is approved by the court. By the time a settlement is reached the alleged improper actions by RCI will have been in place for almost ten years. Any settlement program should remain in force for at least ten years.
7) I object to the proposed short period for disclosure of Weeks Program Activity. As the disclosure period is the mechanism under which members can be assured that RCI is complying with the requirements of the proposed Agreement it should be in place for at least ten years. “Vacation Time” deposited less than ninety (90) days in advance should not be excluded from this disclosure, but should be reported separately. Alternately, the 90 days could be changed to 30 days, if this change is consistent throughout the agreement.
__________________
Dave (TUG USERNAME: Goofyhobbie)
All my posts are based on my personal experience or should be considered my personal opinion about the subject being discussed.
October 27th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Beware of another RCI ripoff attempt, to wit: charging yearly maintenance fees on expired timeshares.
In 2008 RCI sent me a notice requiring payment for 2009 maintenance fees (noting a late fee penalty/interest accrual if paid late).
I thought my timeshare had expired but they said it was still valid. I paid via charge card and in the spring of 2009 they levied a special assessment which I questioned and prompted me to locate and review my circa 1980 (28-year contract) which specified that my timeshare expired in 2008!
I repeatedly requested a refund of the 2009 fees and was repeatedly denied …. they ADAMANTLY refused to reverse the charge and said the best they could do would be to give me a “free” one week stay at any RCI resort of my choosing! “Free”? ABSURD!
I tracked down a VP at RCI Corporate who said it would be brought up at the next Directors’ meeting (sure!) and to await their decision. I immediately contacted my credit card company to initiate a dispute resolution.
Two weeks later I received an RCI form letter denying the refund ….. at that point I was glad I had initiated a dispute resolution via my credit card company because, as I had suspected, RCI Corporate had no intention of acting morally, ethically or legally in said matter.
The lengthy dispute resolution process was eventually resolved in my favor by my credit card issuer.
Can you imagine the UNMITIGATED GALL of these RCI bastards, acknowledging that “yes” my timeshare had indeed expired, that “yes” the billing was in error, that “yes” I should not have been required to pay, but that “no” they would not issue a refund and the best they could do was a “free” one week stay yadda yadda yadda?!?!?
My $15.00 settlement check vis-a-vis the lawsuit should keep me in tissue paper for quite awhile and I’ll have a BIG SMILE on my face thinking about RCI whenever I wipe my ass and flush them down the toilet!
October 28th, 2009 at 5:57 am
How can I add my name to the list of people involved in the class action law suit. I don’t remember being sent a post card. My issues mirror those listed above for weeks members.
November 11th, 2009 at 2:33 am
Could I also add my name to this ‘class action’ or does this matter only apply to residents of the USA.
I am both a weeks and points member based in the UK.
I can say for certain that I have not recieved the postcard either.
December 25th, 2009 at 8:42 am
I have a timeshare with Sedona Summit, aka, Diamond Resorts..have never been able to use it, as it seems to be unavailable..timeshares are a ripoff. how do I get rid of it? Seems once you have one, you are stuck with it for life..wasting money to pay for it. They are a pain to deal with, I dont want any more of my money to go to them, but there seems to be no recourse to getting out of a timeshare. Most places want money up front and of course they all say they are different than the last…another rip off. I think they should be forced to buy back from those of us who have been scammed..where is our bailout?????
January 4th, 2010 at 4:38 am
How do I obtain a postcard? I’ve been a member of RCI since 2004 and it’s been extremely difficult securing a resort of my preferred destination. Bonus weeks are a joke as the availability is nonexsistent. I’ve never had an opportunity to use any of the bonus weeks received as the expirations dates, all the restrictions and other difficulties obtaining a unit of choices is nonexsistent.
March 1st, 2010 at 6:10 pm
I did receive the post card and do agree with the Class Action Suit. This is just ridiculous. I have been on so many vacations that I scheduled on my own because of the continuous lack of availability. I try and schedule my vacations for latter summer in January after I have made this continuously increasing maintenance fee for 17 years and the place still hasn’t met gold crown status. I don’t ever recall getting any place that was my first selection. In fact I have gone places that I had no interest. Well, then again, I was successful once and that was in 2009. I can’t schedule 2-3 years in advance. It was not until I purchased that then I hear about land vs water exchange and the difficulty so I’m told. I am for this law suit and wish to be included. If I can’t sell it and come out reasonably okay then at least I could benefit from better opportunities for exchanging and stop spending my money on other vacations because RCI can never locate a preferred selection.
March 15th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
Oh boy . . . .. If all you folks are experiencing all this trouble and YOU ARE OWNERS, than I’m DEFINITELY screwed!! I bought into the Wyndham Discovery Package (“discovering” that
1) the properties that are available to me, are not in locales I’d like to go, and 2)when I have called “it’s all booked up” except for good, ole Las Vegas (which is DESPERATE for tourism . . . I could book a nice room there right now for $25/night!!) I also was mailed a postcard about RCI & this lawsuit (which is such a nice, fuzzy feeling when you haven’t even stayed 1 nite in the increasingly expensive “vacation club” you have a contract with!) Do any of you have any words of wisdom of how to navigate the system, or slip out of my contract for a sadder-but-wiser-and-poorer Discovery Pkg purchaser??
March 31st, 2010 at 5:45 pm
The website shows this, “Update – January 25, 2010, appeals have been filed by RCI. The settlement will not become effective and the benefits requested on the claim form will not be distributed until those appeals have been resolved. This may take several months.”
Some pertinent info:
Visit: http://www.weeksprogramsettlement.com
Call: 1-866-783-5876
Write: Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 1966, Faribault, MN 55021-6162
Questions may also be directed to Class Counsel by email at rcisettlement@njlawyer.com
April 4th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Sure, I’ve been RCI points owner since 2004. I also own at Bali Hai (Started as Pahio). It is a very strong, classy timeshare, but my limited, few & far-between exchanges have been similar poverty-laden & nearly criminal to have to pay exorbitant fees for when downgrading from otherwise luxurious Hawaii. I always thought it must be much better for weeks owner’s or owner’s at the front of the list. It is amazing to hear that you all suffer the same consequences & ever-increasing costs. Let’s get the power of the people & work for our common good. Otherwise our heirs will inherit only our bills & not our luxurious timeshares we would hope could see appreciation in value. Count me in on class-action observations/support.
June 20th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
I also own week timeshare and I love Aruba and I can never find anything there, but the other day I got a call to change over to points for about 5 grand and I asked what’s the advantage over weeks and I was told ” YOU WILL HAVE MORE RESORTS TO CHOSE FROM”, to me that’s bull……. I belong to the same comp. as the point owners so I should have the same amount of resorts to chose from. I also did some research on my own and called resorts that RCI said there was no available units and the resort told me they had plenty of units available, hmmm interesting……. O wait not to mention if your a points owner you don’t have to pay 180 bucks for transfers, why is that? Why is it that us week owners have to pay the 180? Why is it that point owners have more resorts to chose from? Why is it that I can call a resort and they tell me that they have units available and RCI states on their website that there are no units available?
PUT ME ON THE LIST PLEASE
thank you
June 25th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
I am so frustrated with RCI, I can never get what I want.
The RCI Weeks “book” continues to get smaller and smaller… this is not what I paid for.
I just came back from Sedona, AZ (which was a RCI timeshare exchange)…. upon checking in the resort they push “really hard” to get you to look at another timeshare package called Diamond Resorts International which is a points system. If you buy into their timeshare package you can either trade in your RCI week for points in their system plus pay a small price ($10K) or you can buy a smaller amount of points and bank your RCI week in their system and get points. If you bank your RCI week in their system this totally takes the RCI Week out of the RCI system…..meaning we have LESS to choose from!!! What a screw-up system!!!! I’m with you…. sign me up for the lawsuit.
July 16th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
What a for crap settlement! I just get to one time not pay deposit fee. Until after RCI finds unit. unless I put on search then they get exchange fee. To me it’s very little change only for 1 time. When are they going to hit them where they might make changes. In the pocket book. I bought Peppertree Wi. Dells over 20 years ago. The reason for purchasing was the idea I could exchange through RCI anywhere in the world anytime I wanted. I only stayed at home resort one time. Otherwise I exchanged until 10 years ago I had no problems. However I did do search one year in advance. Now it’s like previous comments. I have one bedroom they want me to take studio or hotel unit. Where I want to go is never available. So Peppertree (Or you name it timeshare sales) sales is just as crooked as RCI
July 20th, 2010 at 11:31 pm
[...] anyone following the class action lawsuit Murillo vs. RCI, final approval of the settlement was granted by the courts on December 7, 2009. RCI has denied the [...]
July 21st, 2010 at 11:01 am
We bought points shares in Sedona, AZ at Sedona Pines Resort in the summer of 2009. We just learned there was an active class action suit or more in place against RCI at the time of our purchase but it was not disclosed as it should have been in any AZ real estate transaction. The case was apparently settled to benefit the plaintiffs and benefits now being dispursed. This was our first shared property after years of presentations and in this one year of ownership we have experienced all of the problems expressed by others. It would seem that the properties and RCI remain in partnership in scamming the public. We have established a case with the AZ Attorney General’s office as a part of our own chosen process. As a points owner we were not to be assigned a specific personal week but RCI assigned us one and now we have no opportunity to use our points even at our own home resort for more than a year in advance. Othere than advising others to not purchase shared property be sure to take a lawyer with you if you do.
July 29th, 2010 at 8:18 am
There should be an RCI Points class action suit. When I bought my timeshare in 2001, I was told that I could to make my reservation for my week up to one year in advance and by the end of January of my use year. I usually booked my next year’s vacation upon my return home, which was usually in August. One year I tried to book my next year’s vacation upon my return home and I was told that I had lost my week for the next year because I hadn’t booked early enough. I informed them that I always booked my vacation in August and I was told that that was impossible because the RCI policy was that I had to book my week between July 1-30 of the previous year. (I had my confirmation letters from previous years to show that I had made reservations in August and even January).
When I tried to make my 2011 reservation in January of 2010 I was told that I could not book my reservation that far in advance (I have yet to be given an explanation as to why). I was told that the only time that I could make a reservation for Aug. 2011 was between July 1- July 30 2010. When I called back on July 14,2010 to make my reservation for Aug. 2011, I was told that I could not book my reservation because I had not paid my membership fee for 2011 (the 2011 fee was not due until October 2010). So in order to book my reservation for 2011, I had to pay a membership fee in July even though I had paid for Oct. 2009 through Oct 2010.
I don’t understand why I can’t book a reservation at my home resort outside of a 30 day window.
It seems that RCI is counting on people forgetting to book within those 30 days and then they take a week that has been paid for and put it in a bank and charge other members exhorbitant fees to use it as an “exchange” or quick get away.
August 10th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Hi Bob,
I too have fallen victim to the Sedona Pines scam. Please provide any info you think may help as you have already begun your battle, it sounds. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
August 28th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
I can’t believe there are so many people in the same shoes as me! I always thought I just wasn’t lucky
To get the exchanges I wanted. I bought the two weeks timeshare in 1997, and in all those years we
Have lost weeks or been exchanged with quite dreadful places. One time we stayed just two days because
Of no air conditioning ( Texas in summer) and over run with cockroaches! We got no apology or
Refund. Is there any way we can join a suit, or if anyone knows how we can get out of this mess.