Critical Customer Information Goes Missing From Marriott Office

Marriott, one of the largest timeshare resort developers announced on Tuesday that private customer information went missing from one of their corporate offices in Florida. The backup computer contained over 206,000 customers personal information.

Customers affected by this mishap are primarily those who are part of the Marriott Vacation Club International, which is the timeshare division of the chain. The backup computer held information on customer’s credit card numbers, social security numbers, contact information and even bank details.

Marriott officials state that all affected customers have been contacted and offered a free credit-monitoring service to look out for any suspicious activity that may conclude to identity theft.

Stephen Weisz who is the president of the timeshare division for Marriott stated that, “We regret this situation has occurred and realize this may cause concern for our associates and customers.”

It is still under investigation as to how the secured information went missing to begin with.

Owners of Marriott timeshares are being kept informed via the company website.

Timeshares in Europe – New Laws into Effect in 2011

According to this article in BBC News, new legislation to standardize “Timeshare-like” products will become law across Europe in 2011. This is good news for consumers in the EU, as there has been a struggle for legal cohesion since the 1994 directive now in place was implemented.

This past February, the European Parliament adopted the new directive, covering the sales and marketing of timeshare, long-term holiday products, resale and exchange. The law will increase the length of the cooling off period from 10 to 14 days, and there will be stronger language requiring full disclosure and ensuring common definitions and explanations of products. The new directive will replace current national laws and solidify practices across Europe, essentially offering increased protection for buyers, restricting the presence of negative sales tactics, and minimizing the negative headlines timeshare business often attracts.

Also important to note, the act additionally covers the fractional ownership industry, whether those particular industries define themselves specifically as timeshares or not. Companies can’t avoid the directive just because they call themselves by a different name. Selling a house and calling it a fish does not make it swim.

On the other hand, legitimate fractional ownership companies will benefit because of the new standards because they won’t necessarily be associated with rogue timeshare companies and developers who have tainted the theoretical co-ownership potential of the industry.

Various sources say perhaps the most difficult part of the legislation will be to ensure that developers understand how these laws apply to them when they go into effect. Companies that already operate in the gray area of the law will probably continue to skirt the issues, ask for money upfront, not allow for cooling-off periods, bait and switch with the ideas of free vacations and prizes, and do everything in their power to get your cash out of your pockets and into theirs. Hopefully, though, the new directive will give consumers a better chance to get their money back should a situation go sour.

Essentially, the purpose of this new legislation is to protect consumers from increasingly shady business practices associated with high-pressure sales tactics and misleading promises that have become prevalent in the EU. Timeshare fraud and scams are universally problematic, and the European Parliament is taking action to appropriately protect its consumers and its legitimate industries.

RCI TV goes online

It’s common knowledge that the timeshare industry is struggling right now. Profits are down, foreclosures are up, news of fraud is rampant, and owner dissatisfaction is at an all-time high. That said, timeshare businesses and developers are going have to be more creative in order to stay in business at all. RCI may have found one piece of the answer to that riddle.

RCI TV, the RCI Company’s web-based television network that until now was exclusive for RCI clients, is live and available to all consumers at RCI.com. The average person is starting to be more informed about the high-pressure meetings and is learning to distrust spam e-mails and cold calls, so why not turn to television, right?

As referenced by this CNN article, “In coordination with these efforts, RCI has also signed a deal with Resort & Residence TV, a new network that reaches millions of households on DirectTV through its travel, lifestyle and real estate programs.”

So now, information that was previously contained to RCI members is not only available to everyone, but will be part of a grander advertising scheme with “educational and entertaining ‘Resort Showcase’ and ‘Destination’ channels along with other information dedicated to increasing timeshare industry awareness and promoting the benefits of vacation ownership.”

If you follow the RCI TV link, “Dan the RCI guy” will greet you right away, with some easygoing jazz flute background music.

Naturally, the fine print at the bottom of the screen reads “Resort Showcase and All-Inclusive videos are provided for informational purposes only by the resorts. RCI does not own or manage any resorts or endorse any of the resort activities, guides, vendors or service providers described in these videos. All information in these videos is subject to change as determined by the appropriate third party service providers.”

Paraphrased: “The information given here is not endorsed and can be changed at any time”. Sure, why not?

Skimming the some of the videos on the channels, there are beautiful landscapes and enticing narration, but very few real details. They are sort of like living brochures. Everybody loves Mexico, you know? Why not book a vacation!

It doesn’t matter how timeshare developers try to package their sales pitch – in person, over the phone, or on TV – the bottom line is still that timeshares are for people who can afford them, and most people can’t. But RCI wants you to feel free to fantasize …

Timeshare development – Making the Directors Liable

In an article in a Singapore newspaper, there may be a new development causing a wrinkle for higher-ups in timeshare business schemes. The Consumers Association of Singapore is going to recommend and amendment to consumer law that would hold company directors accountable for unfair practices by their companies.

That means that directors will still be liable for company debts, even if the companies they direct have closed down or gone bankrupt. The intent of this amendment would be to protect consumers from directors who drive their firms into the ground with bad business practices, declare bankruptcy to free themselves from that responsibility, and then start a new firm with the same practices with no real consequence.

Apparently instances of company directors and officers sidestepping responsibility for debts are common enough to have raised a ruckus recently. These owners have defended themselves by claiming they are not involved in day-to-day operations, thus do not shoulder any personal liability when their companies fold. There is definitely some sound logic to that, which will make the eventual wording of the amendment extremely important.

Think for a minute, is it fair to hold promoters liable for shows they put on? Is it fair to hold movie directors liable for this mistakes their actors or staff make? Is it fair to hold a restaurant owner liable for his chef’s bad cooking? In some cases yes, others no … There is some indeterminate logic in there; you almost need to be able to determine if higher-ups had actually planned to defraud their customers and clients, or if they had created a service understanding that it would fail, but it would fail at a point that would be beneficial to them. I imagine that will be the selling point of the eventual amendment – who will have better protection, consumers or businesses?

There’s also the question, if they are putting together these suggestions for the timeshare business in Singapore, will they be trying to do the same things in other countries around the world? Will US or European consumer law follow suit? Will Wyndham managers and RCI executives potentially be held responsible for the legally gray area that smaller players in the timeshare pyramid play in?

There’s definitely room in there for a very tiny soap opera, we here at Safe Hands Transfers just hope the balance of fairness weighs in on the side of the little guy who got his money jacked by the bully.