Has anyone had a problem with Davids Vacation Rentals?

[MickeyPeace]

I just attempted to use Davids Rentals for the first time. A $65 dollar deposit is required for them to look for available points. I paid the deposit while Melissa Mullet looked for available points for me for a trip 3 months out.

After a couple of days I was told there was nothing available within the week I was looking for. She told me that $65 would be credited to my account.

Two weeks later it never was. When I called I was told Melissa was busy so Caroline helped me out.

She told me that paypal messed up (I was never made aware that paypal was involved until this point, I paid by credit card) and never re-issued the refund. They just re-issued it today.

Since it's been two weeks, my credit card payment is due for $65. It's the only charge on the card and I don't want to screw up my credit so I'm going to pay it and then contact my credit card company and explain what happened.

This experience kind of put me off. I feel like I don't have much trust now for Davids Rentals. The first impression was not a good one.

Has anyone else used them? Was this an isolated incident?

Kind of sucks also because this trip is to honor my dad who recently passed away. The last time I saw him was in WDW.

Needless to say, I just booked a resort through Disney.

 

[Master Yoda]

While I have never dealt with the company you are referring to, I have always been a bit leery for services like this that require an up front fee. I can understand why a company would want money up front, as getting accurate pricing together for a vacation is a time consuming task, but I have always seen it as a cost of doing business.

 

[bgraham34]

Hopefully you get this resolved asap. A friend asked me about his service not too long ago and I knew nothing about it. I just don't see how asking money upfront like that is a great business practice. Could you imagine this was the same way to buy a car.

 

[MickeyPeace]

Guess what folks, mistakes and complications happen. This is life. Wow, life's tough when you've got to pay 2 cents in interest charges on your $65 because of an honest mistake. I just spent $2600 with these fine folks who got me exactly what I wanted and run a very reputable operation and have spent years building a great small business with great customer service and saved me over $3000 in the process.

It ticks me off as a small business owner when one person with some ridiculous complaint tries to taint the great service that they've given to thousands of people. Look it up folks, you'd be hard pressed to find one complaint about David's service, people have nothing but good things to say about it.

Thanks David for all the hard work you and your team did to get me a great deal on my accomodation!

My complaint is not ridiculous. It is valid. Your anger is out of line and a poor representation of the company. Best of luck to you and your continued patronage. With testimonials like yours, I'll stick with dealing with Disney directly.

And thanks for the condolences regarding my dad. You are truly wonderful person.

 

[wilkeliza]

edit: I realized that perhaps David's used paypal but typically a website lets you know that the money is going into a paypal account and not a bank account somewhere.

I agree that what happened to you would off put me from their services. I personally would never try to buy points from a dealer and would rather try to find a local that is looking to sell points and deal with the person one on one.

 

[MickeyPeace]

edit: I realized that perhaps David's used paypal but typically a website lets you know that the money is going into a paypal account and not a bank account somewhere.

I agree that what happened to you would off put me from their services. I personally would never try to buy points from a dealer and would rather try to find a local that is looking to sell points and deal with the person one on one.

I am not trying to malign David's Rentals. I am relating the experience as it happened to me and asking for feedback from others who have used this service or have heard from friends who have.

I only learned that paypal was involved when I called and asked for the reason why my money was not refunded. I was told that it was the fault of paypal, not Davids Rentals. The reason given was that paypal didn't issue it to me. Like I said, I paid with my credit card and I was not informed about paypal. I was told I should call my credit card and explain that to them.

Also, no one followed up with me when no points were available and when the refund didn't go through. I had to call and ask for Melissa both times to find out the information. I was gracious throughout the entire process. I even suggested different ways that their service might work for me-by searching a year in advance and asking if the newsletter might come through for me with a last minute deal (things that maybe the salesperson should have suggested).

This was just not good customer service nor a good first impression. I don't care what anyone says.

 

[mickeysshoes]

I just attempted to use Davids Rentals for the first time. A $65 dollar deposit is required for them to look for available points. I paid the deposit while Melissa Mullet looked for available points for me for a trip 3 months out.

After a couple of days I was told there was nothing available within the week I was looking for. She told me that $65 would be credited to my account.

Two weeks later it never was. When I called I was told Melissa was busy so Caroline helped me out.

She told me that paypal messed up (I was never made aware that paypal was involved until this point, I paid by credit card) and never re-issued the refund. They just re-issued it today.

Since it's been two weeks, my credit card payment is due for $65. It's the only charge on the card and I don't want to screw up my credit so I'm going to pay it and then contact my credit card company and explain what happened.

This experience kind of put me off. I feel like I don't have much trust now for Davids Rentals. The first impression was not a good one.

Has anyone else used them? Was this an isolated incident?

Kind of sucks also because this trip is to honor my dad who recently passed away. The last time I saw him was in WDW.

Needless to say, I just booked a resort through Disney.

First off...very sorry about your Dad. I have never used paypal..so I will admit I know nothing about it. When I read you post the very first thing that came to mind is if you paid by CC why was PayPal in the mix??? Can a CC payment be processed with PayPal without you knowing?? Do you even have a PayPal account?? I have no imput on David's...have never used them before. I had looked into maybe buying points but the fact that the point you buy have to paid for at the time of purchase turned me off. I wish you luck in getting this resloved.

 

[dizzney]

I have to say I rented extra vacation points last year thru Davids and found them very easy to deal with. I had read and heard about nightmare issues with renting points directly including someone who posted here speaking about being left with room charges by the party they rented with. Since I didnt want the hassle of problems, I rented my points out thru Davids. They were easy to deal with and payment to me was prompt.

I would imagine that the deposit is requried to ensure you are truly itnersted in teh rental adn that they dont locate the points and then have the renter back out

As for timing, what week were you trying to get and where? As a DVC owner for over 12 years now, timing is everything and I need to book at the 11 month window to get peak times and locations

 

[olinecoach61]

My complaint is not ridiculous. It is valid. Your anger is out of line and a poor representation of the company. Best of luck to you and your continued patronage. With testimonials like yours, I'll stick with dealing with Disney directly.

And thanks for the condolences regarding my dad. You are truly wonderful person.

I agree that your complaint / concern is valid. You are merely reporting what happened to you. I'll never rent points, I'm too much of a control freak when it comes planning my wow trips.

 

[awilliams4]

WDWPrince, sorry for your loss.

I have directed many of my friends to David's service over the years. He does charge a premium ($13 per point) but as is with most things in life, you get what you pay for. You could try to rent directly from an owner and get closer to the $11 per point range but David has access to more inventory and increases the likelihood you will get what you want.

As far as DVC Villas go, the sooner you plan the better. I am not suprised that there is limited/no availability for the times/accommodations you were requesting.

I suspect the reasoning for the down payment is to discourage the less than committed opportunities. I suspect David has received tons and tons of requests to check for availability from those that may just never come through with a commitment. By requiring a down payment, chances are you are getting customers that are 'serious' about renting points.

His business, his decisions on how to make it the most worth while to him. I can tell you though, like a previous poster suggested, you will have a hard time finding customers of David that were not happy with his service.

 

[MickeyPeace]

I have to say I rented extra vacation points last year thru Davids and found them very easy to deal with. I had read and heard about nightmare issues with renting points directly including someone who posted here speaking about being left with room charges by the party they rented with. Since I didnt want the hassle of problems, I rented my points out thru Davids. They were easy to deal with and payment to me was prompt.

I would imagine that the deposit is requried to ensure you are truly itnersted in teh rental adn that they dont locate the points and then have the renter back out

As for timing, what week were you trying to get and where? As a DVC owner for over 12 years now, timing is everything and I need to book at the 11 month window to get peak times and locations

I was looking for Sept 26-30th. I understood that the $65 is upfront and that if something was available a contract would be signed and the balance charged. I didnt like that my refund didn't come after it should have and that paypal was to blame when I had no idea paypal was involved. Take responsibility as a business.

As for not getting a booking for a room, I don't blame them. I understand that this is a time sensitive business. Still I didn't hear back when I gave the ok to book. I waited a day before calling only to find out I didn't get the booking.

Maybe this service is great (it seems to be in theory) and I just received less than stellar service.

 

[RSD Part Deux]

On a side note...your credit would not be screwed up by not paying the bill two weeks after it being processed. In theory you would have the time that would include the date it was charged until your billing cycle date plus 30 days before it shows up us late. Even if the $65 was stretching your wallet, a monthly minimum payment of around $7 would be due on that, costing you about 75 cents in interest. Im not trying to be a smart aleck, just trying to help out if something like this happens in other areas of retails.

On a personal note, before I bought in DVC I rented points from both Davids and owners direct. I felt much more confortable with Davids as I felt like I had recourse if things went wrong.

 

[MickeyPeace]

On a side note...your credit would not be screwed up by not paying the bill two weeks after it being processed. In theory you would have the time that would include the date it was charged until your billing cycle date plus 30 days before it shows up us late. Even if the $65 was stretching your wallet, a monthly minimum payment of around $7 would be due on that, costing you about 75 cents in interest. Im not trying to be a smart aleck, just trying to help out if something like this happens in other areas of retails.

On a personal note, before I bought in DVC I rented points from both Davids and owners direct. I felt much more confortable with Davids as I felt like I had recourse if things went wrong.

Thank you. I can afford the payment or I wouldn't be planning a vacation. This thread is about quality of customer service, first impression and others experiences using Davids Rentals.

I'm glad you had a good experience with them. I fully understand their business plan (more per point vs security and recourse if things go wrong). That's why such a thing as not being able to refund $65 promptly and blaming paypal broke my trust in the company and prompted me to ask others if they had similar issues.

 

[Frau Farbissina]

WDWPrince, sorry for your loss.

I have directed many of my friends to David's service over the years. He does charge a premium ($13 per point) but as is with most things in life, you get what you pay for. You could try to rent directly from an owner and get closer to the $11 per point range but David has access to more inventory and increases the likelihood you will get what you want.As far as DVC Villas go, the sooner you plan the better. I am not suprised that there is limited/no availability for the times/accommodations you were requesting.

I suspect the reasoning for the down payment is to discourage the less than committed opportunities. I suspect David has received tons and tons of requests to check for availability from those that may just never come through with a commitment. By requiring a down payment, chances are you are getting customers that are 'serious' about renting points.

His business, his decisions on how to make it the most worth while to him. I can tell you though, like a previous poster suggested, you will have a hard time finding customers of David that were not happy with his service.

I have to respectfully disagree with this point. David (or any broker for that matter) can't do any better than an owner. Availability depends entirely on when you rent since he is doing nothing more than acting as a middle man between the owner and the renter--he's not pulling any strings or magically finding inventory. At a few months out, a broker can't get you a hard-to-get room rental any more than an owner can, which is why quite often the only thing he has is SSR and OKW.

I have nothing against using brokers; I think they provide a valuable service. But it's important not to overstate what they do.

To answer your original question, I've never heard of anyone having any issues with him.