MARRIOTT VACATION OWNERSHIP CLUB RIPOFF SCAM

There are a series of reports titled "Don't Buy Into Marriott Vacation Club Unless You Are Rich" in another section here on RIP OFF REPORT.

To find them, and when finished here, go back up to the top and type in "Marriott Vacation Club" into the search engine field.

And have no other connection to Marriott. My whole family own various Marriott VC properties.
We have had years of wonderful vacations at many different Marriott timeshare including Grande Vista in Orlando. Making the most of a timeshare involes learning the tricks of the program.
There are websites with people that would be happy to help you make the most of your timeshare ownership. Try www.tug1.net and go to the Marriott forum on the BBS.

Purchasing a Timeshare requires research. Unfortunately some of the sales people do lie. Most just try to show only the positives and the best case scenario without any of the negatives.
You should do research before you go on a timeshare tour. And read everything before signing. It doesn't matter what the saleman says. If its not in writing it doesn't exist.

To the originator of this complaint, you are correct in your recount. My experience with Marriott is somewhat similar. When we called to inquire about their resale program we were told that they has "so many" to sell we should list it ourself! So much for customer service and what we were told when we purchased the timeshare(s).

Yes, we were gullible enough to buy more than one!
Companies like Marriott tend to get away with so many misdeeds, thanks goodness for the insight of the creator of this site... hopefully it help others to be more aware of the rip-offs that occur everyday.

We bought a pre-construction ocean front week at the Marriott Ocean Pointe on Singer Island near Palm Beach Florida.We love it. We can use the two bedroom unit for one week or use a one bedroom unit at select Florida Mariott resort locations for two weeks. For the money at the time (a little over $14000), we have a superb unit on the ocean with marvelous views and amenities (no trailer trash here). Along with the package, Marriott threw in a vacation for two anywhere in the world for a week. We chose London, flew Virgin Atlantic, stayed at the elite County Hall Marriott on the Thames River across for Parliament, and were treated superbly.

We have stayed every other year at our time share, using the points and extra points for, say, five nights on the upper floor beach view suite of the Mariott Waikiki Beach Thanksgiving week last year.

We take advantage of Mariott specials in Orlando, Hilton Head, etc. and stay cheap for the cost of a sixty minute sales pitch - which is low key.We just go to the presentation get the points.

One thing we have discovered: Mariott time shares vary in quality and price. We think the Marriott Grande Vista is a rat hole compared to our "home resort" at Ocean Pointe. The time shares in Hawaii going for $35,000 plus are a waste of money versus the points and hassle of travel.

Like anything else, if you buy right and buy location, Mariott Time Shares are just fine. One week at Ocean Pointe on the ocean front is worth more than a month of Grande Vista, in my view.

Is a time share an investment? No. Is it a wonderful vacation expierience if you are intelligent enough to not fall for add-ons and hype? Yes.

I used to work for good ole Marriott. I am sick of the way they treat their owners. I have witnessed how, after they (Marriott Service Representatives & Managers) hang up with an owner who have just lost a loved one and is in desperate need of selling their unit/weeks due to financial difficulties, or after 9/11, due to layoffs and financial crisis, need to desperately sell their weeks, are treated on the phone with respect and sincerity, but yet after hanging up the phone, they begin to laugh and say things like "Yeah right! like we're going to put you ahead of everyone else.. come up with a better lie", or while the owner is talking on the phone of their desperation for getting out of a contract due to being mislead, the representative or owner has their hand cupped over the phone and are busy talking to someone else or they're busy in an email to someone else while the Owner honestly believes they are listening and understand their concern! It truly disgusts me! I've seen it time and time again! This is because during meetings, Managers are telling agents and representatives that owners will come up with every excuse to get out of it, and not to buy their excuses! I had to get out of Marriott.. I'm sorry, I have empathy for people in situations as stated above and I cannot work for a company who has no empathy and plays on peoples emotions.

Your naivety to actually what takes place in the Industry is the reason that it is so lucrative for companies. Patsies such as yourself find it immpossible to believe that you have been duped. Sir, do the math. Not the Marriott math, the real math and you shall see that you have purchased a pig in a poke. However, you will have a "Lifetime of Vacation Memories" that will cost you way more than had you rented. It must be true Mr. Marriott says so. You have a deed and it is in perpetuity, how long do you really believe these buildings will last? Look around and do some research on the Timeshares that are now 20 years old and see where they are and the condition they are in, ask the owners about assessments. When you get your assessment bill for new roofs, sidings etc. go tell everyone how only a few people at Marriott may mislead clients. No disrespect intended, but misleading you with smoke and mirrors is how we are so successful. We are absolute pros at conning customers. We are highly trained to do so. Think of us as "Grifters in the Timeshare Arena". As for the points, your smugness that the individual was mislead is hilarious. The individual was not mislead, the system is so complicated and adds so many extra charges that if fols really think about it they rarely come back and purchase. This is why they will use every skill, every tool , every phrase, every emotions that they are taught to get you to sign that day. In regards to recission, in some states it is only 3 days at most 10 days, by the time the new owner gets a statement about the number of points in their account it is too late..........

I am not a current OR past employee of Marriott but I am a Marriott Vacation Club member since 1996 owing a 1 week interval in Kauai,HI.

"....he told us we would get 470,000 Marriott Rewards bonus points for buying two weeks in Grande Vista,...I was given only 250,000 bonus points...."

The 250k points was, undoubtly, the purchase incentive for buying the 2 weeks initially. If you had, in addition, deposited your two weeks for points at the time of purchase for the additional 220K points for a total of the 470k points you expected. It appears that the sales guy didn't explain that part well enough.

It sounds like you you expected 470K points every year based on one statement the sales guy said? If you would have read the contracts during the recission period, I think you would have spotted the inconsistancy and had time to back out.

As for what points could be exchange for, you should have asked for and received the program guide that listed the points required for different travel plans to verify what the sales guy was telling you. The plans offerings can and do change occasionally (as stated in the program materials).

I know some of the world tour plans for r/t air and 1 weeks accomodations were changed in July 2002 and either required more points or were modified as to what they offered.

I know because we were notified of the changes and decided to use our points for a USVI trip from Calif before that particular plan was due to require more points after July/2002.

The with 4 weeks, the sales guy MAY have been able to "..travel the world with his family of four in style..." in previous plans offerings but even he might be required to cough up more points to "travel in style" now.

Marriott like any business CAN have one or two bad apple sales guys and it may be the case here but ultimately it's up to you to check that what's in the contract is what the guy said.

If you can't find it, have the sales guy or his boss to point to it in the contract during the reccision period. Something that expensive is worth making sure you are getting you expected.

Sorry you think MVCI is a ripoff, but so far it works as advertised for us.