As of December 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.  Below you will find the terms and conditions of the settlement benefits in their latest form, which are subject to change.  I will keep this post updated regarding any changes or development in the settlement, and what exactly this could mean for RCI members.  Please scroll to the end of the post to explore how this settlement could effect you, or to post comments regarding this impending legal action.
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Operating under the name Point to Point Destinations, or West Coast Timeshare Ltd., this Vancouver, BC based company has been selling points based timeshares since their inception in 1999. In recent years there have been a number of time share owners speaking out against PTP Destinations, and looking for help in dealing with their PTP Destinations timeshare purchase. There is hope for the many PTP Destinations timeshare owners out there looking for assistance. There is an excellent web timeshare resource dedicated to informing, warning, and educating consumers about PTP timesharing called TimeshareRevealed.com. TimeshareRevealed.com is working to mobilize, help, and inform unhappy PTP Destinations timeshare owners, and assist them in taking action against the company.
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A friend of my recently came across a company called IBD Marketing and was in contact with them regarding selling an RCI affiliated timeshare unit in Orlando, Florida. After offering them a sum about 3k higher than what they had assumed they would be able to sell their timeshare for, they called me for assistance. I was unfamiliar with their organization and decided to do some investigating before giving my friend the go ahead to try to list and sell with them. My first search was a simple Google query for “IBD Marketing”, and I have to say I was mildly shocked when I realized that the first 10 listings were all negative commentary on the company, and not one of the links was to the actual company website itself! That was only the beginning of the bad omens…
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Whether you are facing timeshare foreclosure, or are looking for a way to get rid of an unwanted time share, a deed in-lieu of foreclosure can be a great option to get rid of your timeshare obligation. It is important to note that a deed in lieu of can usually only be (easily) obtained by an owner that has already paid off the principal balance of the property, whose only remaining financial obligations are yearly/monthly maintenance fees. If you still owe money on the property, in addition to maintenance fees, you will want to discuss a deed in lieu of foreclosure with your lender - their willingness to allow you to sign the deed instead of foreclosing depends on a variety of factors including the amount owed, frequency of delinquent payments, your personal situation and resort desirability. If the deed in lieu of foreclosure is accepted and executed in this case, the former owner may be responsible for any applicable legal fees and/or amount owed different than what the property was resold for; although I have found that many timeshare resort property owners do not take this extra legal step, as it involves a series of court orders and legal fees for their company.
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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.
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