RedWeek Inc

Once again, we do regret any disappointment that Mr*** or his client may have experienced, however, we remain firm that we do not have any control over resort amenity availabilityWe try to share the information, when we know of it, to prevent any inconvenienceWe provided the advisement on our resort page and it was listed on each of the reservation confirmations that were sent to Mr***.
We have reviewed other travel related websites and the same advisement was in a similar location to RedWeek.com’s advisement on the resort page
As outlined in Section 3(d) of the escrow agreement that was delivered to *** *** on 08/09/2016, the tenant (renter) had the ability to file a dispute with the escrow holder if they felt that the accommodations were materially different than what was reservedWe provided specific instruction via email on how to file a dispute with the escrow holder on August 26, At the time of this writing, no dispute was ever filed with DepositGuard
As a measure of goodwill, we have offered Mr*** a full refund of $on his RedWeek membership fee, should he feel dissatisfied with our service and want to cancel his membership
We are currently looking further into his complaints about our process to see how we can improve this new service offered by RedWeek, and make any amenity changes more obvious

The logon problem was diagnosed successfully within hours of my informing Redweek.com that I had opened the complaintThe problem is resolved
*** ***

We were very sorry to learn that Ms*** lost her jobHowever, we are not able to require the owner to refund any funds that she may have been paid toward this rentalPer our Terms of Service:
http://www.redweek.com/tos
"RedWeek.com does not control rental and resale
transactions for do-it-yourself postings
We allow our members who create do-it-yourself (DIY) postings to communicate directly with each other and complete the transaction on their ownRedWeek does not represent, or act, for either the buyer or the seller, nor do we act as an intermediary between the prospective parties to a DIY transactionAs a result, we have no control over the quality, safety, or legality of the DIY properties posted, the truth or accuracy of the postings, the ability of sellers to sell the interval or unit, or the ability of buyers to complete the purchase
RedWeek is not legally responsible for any problems that arise between the two parties in a DIY transactionWe encourage you to take precautions to ensure your transactions are safe, and we provide information in our resources section to offer assistanceWe are not real estate brokers, so if you are selling or purchasing a timeshare interest, we advise you to use a licensed real estate broker or participate in our full-service resale programIf you rent a unit via a DIY posting, it would be wise to verify the owner has the legal right to transfer the unit to you."
In regard to Ms***'s statement that her communication to RedWeek went unanswered, I have thoroughly reviewed all of the communication and a RedWeek Team Member responded in a very timely manner to all four of Ms***'s emails(See attached) Our team member explained that the reason why Ms*** could not locate the owner's rental posting was because she was attempting to find it on the incorrect resort page.
Again, we deeply regret that Ms*** lost her job, which is especially difficult right before the holidays and I have reached out to her personally to answer any additional questions that she may have

We sincerely regret that our member experienced a delayed deposit from our vendor and apologize for any inconvenience that was experienced. We have confirmed with our vendor that the member successfully received their funds and we are investigating why there was difficulty with the direct...

deposit.

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
You are making all your same claims, I am making my same claims, clearly the business has no 8nterezt in providing any cus timer serv8ce. As for the procks of filing a dispute with the so called escrow company Redweek is twisting facts. While no claim has been opened, this is not my fault. I have in fact followed the directions to open such a claim, via email which Redweek was CC'd on so they are. Definitely aware I filed the complaint, and I also called and left a message with the so called escrow c9mpany,. The company has norlt replied to my voice mail nor email. Redweek, seeing my email, sent me "forms" to file a complaint which were in fact only instructions for filing the complaint,  which of course I already d8d. It is very upsetting that since Redweek was not only CCD on my complaint email which 8s a specific method allowed for filing complaints that Redweek has the audacity , claim there is no record of a dispute. Clearly they have a copy of my submitted dispute but they claim there is no record because their closing company has chosen not to officially open the dispute file.
Redweek you are supposed to be better than this aND yet you ae acting like all the companies you warn us from using. 
OH, to add insult to injury,  Redweek send me an offer to refund my membership fee. How does that help me? I use Redweek to contact Owners. However, I promise you 9ne thing Redweek, I will never again use the wed week rental services, you guys are crooks. I have had three customer where you are managing owner units and I have paid more to use another owner or vendor because I can't trust Redweek rental services to own up to how they did a poor job do closing the pool situation and I will not use you.Sincerely,[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
 
A timeshare rental is assumed to be for a unit AND resort in full working order. The details for the rental are on the rental listing and the advisement for the pool closure should be on the rental listing as well. This topic should be that simple. Each owner is individually responsible to disclose on their specific listing if there is anything which is known to affect the final guest's visit. Heck, even if the listing says "There are known issues which may impact your stay at this resort. Please see <web page here> for more information", and the referenced page correctly disclosed the issues, an appropriate notice would have been provided.
 
The fact that Redweek is still claiming that since they provided the disclosure on an alternate web page and in the confirmation AFTER acceptance / payment goes to show they are more similar to the entities they caution against in the timeshare world than they are different from those entities. These issues, coupled with their very poor email communication, faulty payment/contract system with their agent DepositGuard, and very poor formatting of emails begs the question: At what point are the shortcomings and errors in this reservation process no longer 100% my responsibility? Because the way I read Redweek's response is that they didn't make ANY mistakes and there is nothing they need to do to reduce or eliminate what happened because this is all my fault. Heck, they are even claiming they are only responsible for the unit, and not the resort. WHY THEN do you even bother adding the pool closure warning on your website?  BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOU HAVE SOME FORM OF RESPONSIBILITY TO DISCLOSE MATERIAL ISSUES which affect the reservation. So this is a disagreement about whether or not your disclosure WHICH BY THE WAY SAYS THE POOL WILL BE CLOSED UNTIL OCTOBER BUT DOESN'T DISCLOSE UNITS WILL BE UNDER RENOVATION UNTIL DECEMBER was sufficient effort on your part to ensure guests know about the issue before booking. Again I say, unless you disclose in a location where the inquirer MUST click, you have not provided sufficient disclosure.
 
I am Redweek's customer. While the old adage "The customer is always right" may not be realistic nor meant to be applied in a literal manner, it still should remind us that if a misunderstanding occurs and there is evidence the vendor could have served the customer better, then the customer should be taken care of. My booking through the Redweek service is fraught with pitfalls, errors, shortcomings and this one huge problem of where the disclosure should have been. Could I have done better to overcome all these issues? Yes. Even though I caught many of the errors, even though I figured out what most of the the problems were which I feel were created because of Redweek's or DepositGuard's shortcomings, I still could have done better. How is it 100% my fault though when I missed one of the many things which were wrong? IMHO their process needs a serious overhaul. At what point will Redweek step up and admit they could have done better?
 
Redweek, you are supposed to be better than this. I would never have filed this complaint if you had just been open to your shortcomings and negotiated for a shared responsibility solution. You are acting like there is nothing you can do to be better at reducing this kind of misunderstanding, when you can do much better.
 
The stressful thing about this entire experience is that complications with the Redweek reservation service began with the first set of conversations.  I emailed Redweek to ask questions but not all the questions are answered, leading to additional email questions about the same thing. Then I email and I state my customer is ready to book and at least twice I receive a response that Redweek wants to know what my offer is.  Hey, if I say we're ready to book don't you think it would be better to ask me to verify what price I'm ready to book at?  Instead, you keep asking me to make an offer so I ended up making an offer rather than paying full price. It's issues like this, where repeatedly your method exposes your customer to frustration, confusion, and uncertainty which shouldn't happen in the first place. And what about your DepositGuard "3rd party" for the payment? Why use such a convoluted and new process when you officially recommend an established escrow company for performing this function for other people?
Sincerely,[redacted]

We deeply regret that your client was disappointed that the Super Pool was closed for the duration of their stay. However, we are not able to guarantee that any particular amenity at any resort will be available or operational.
 
If we learn that a highly desirable amenity will be unavailable...

we will add a disclaimer on our resort page in the area marked “About The Resort.” For [redacted] we added the following disclaimer on April 20, 2016:
 
Please note: The resort's 3.5 acre superpool will be closed for renovations from August 14, 2016 through October 15th, 2016.
 
Per the rental agreement dated August 09, 2016, your representative agreed to a one-bedroom ocean view unit, which is the unit that we had verified. Upon arriving at the resort, the tenants received the exact unit described in the agreement. 
 
On August 15, 2016, as soon as the landlord changed the name on the reservation, we sent confirmation of such via email. Included in this reservation confirmation was an advisement from [redacted] stating the following:
 
Renovation Alert: Renovation of Molokai/Maui/Lanai suites Aug 14-Dec 16 2016. Main super pool renovation Aug 14-Oct 15 2016. Two other pools will be open. Work hours 9am-5pm, may include Sat-Sun.
 
We believe that the reservation confirmation was read by the agent because we received an email response requesting a name change to the reservation. This same advisement was also included on two additional pdf copies of the reservation confirmation that were sent via email on August 18, 2016.
 
Had we received a request for a copy of the reservation confirmation in another format, we would have been very happy to resend it in another common document format.
 
We did not receive any notice of dissatisfaction until August 23, 2016. Had we been notified before the renter checked in to the unit on August 22, 2016, our Full Service Manager would have been happy to discuss any options that may have been available.
 
We can certainly understand your client’s disappointment, but we are not able to provide a refund of any amount. RedWeek and [redacted] did disclose the pool closure to the agent. We feel that it was the agent’s responsibility to verify that the amenity would be available for their client if the client had conveyed the importance to the agent.
 
We recommend that renters &/or their agents thoroughly review a reservation confirmation for accuracy and to view any disclosures from the resort. If there is a particular amenity that is significantly important to the vacation experience, be sure to confirm the availability directly with the resort prior to reserving a unit.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: This is a bait and switch!  Tell them to produce a copy of the deed for week 27.  I do not own this week they are trying to sell.The one and only copy of the deed to sell was week 22, no other!.  How can one sell a week I do not own?? This company should be out of business, and I'm sure I'm not the only one to file a complaint against this company.I want my money back.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

In regard to complaint ID [redacted], on May 17, 2016 the customer purchased one RedWeek membership ($14.99), two rental postings ($24.99 each), two RedWeek Verified posting enhancements ($14.99 each) and one month of our Highlighted Posting enhancement for each posting ($8.99 each) for a...

total of $112.93. The rental postings and Highlighted Posting enhancements were activated immediately and the verification was completed in a timely manner on May 19, 2016.
On June 08, 2016, he called us advising that he would like a refund for the entire amount of $112.93 because he did not receive any inquiries on his two rental postings. Under normal circumstances, Do-lt-Yourself postings and any enhancements purchased along with them are not refundable. The RedWeek Verified enhancements are always nonrefundable once the week has been verified by a RedWeek staff member.
After reviewing the customer's account we decided that as a measure of goodwill, we would allow a total refund of $69.47 because although he used 22 days of advertising on our site, he had not received any inquiries from prospective renters. The refund was processed on June 08, 2016 and we immediately provided the customer a receipt for the refund. Below is the breakdown of the refund provided:
Membership - $14.99Rental Posting [redacted] - $24.99Rental Posting [redacted] - $24.99Prorated Highlight for [redacted] - $2.25Prorated Highlight for [redacted] - $2.25
We did not refund the RedWeek Verified enhancement that was completed on each posting, as the work required to verify his rental postings had already been completed by our staff. Because the customer had used three weeks of each Highlighted Posting enhancement that was purchased, we provided a prorated refund of $2.25 on each.We regret that the customer did not successfully rent his timeshare reservations, however, per our Terms of Service, we do not guarantee that any posted weeks will result in a successful rental:
"Success rate of rentals and resales RedWeek, its brokers and affiliates, make no representations as to the period of time it will take to sell/rent a timeshare interval, the success rate of properties advertised on our website, or the sale/rental price an owner may receive on a DIY posting. RedWeek, its brokers and affiliates, may not be held liable for any unsuccessful transaction."
Please feel free to let us know if you have any additional questions.
Best RegardsValerie H[redacted]RedWeek.com Customer Service Manager[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I   did receive a check for the money that was owed. I don't feel I got an appropriate letter of apology. I was never told the reason for the 17 day delay and would bet that the suggestions I gave both companies would have solved the problem. I was left with the feeling that it was my problem to solve but when I made suggestions for a resolution, they were not considered. I am still left with the feeling it was the companies fault but they don't want to admit it. The lady (Paula) that handled my account only contacted me once and she was the main person that made me feel like I did something wrong or was trying to put something over on her compay and I never heard from her agin. Pretty poor business tactics. I am grateful that the matter is resolved but unhappy with the way the company does business. Customer service needs an overhaul, no direct phone number to supervisors, have to leave messages and its takes several hours to two days to get answers. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]

While we regret that the complainant was unhappy with his Full Service Resale experience, we disagree that he received no communication. We communicated with the member 33 times over the course of 10 months. Please see attached communication. The member did not advise us that he was not receiving...

our emails and did not call in to the telephone number that he was provided on August 05, 2016 and August 24, 2016. On November 23, 2016, his assigned broker sent her quarterly update and the member acknowledged receipt of that message. On November 25, 2016 he asked for a link to his posting stating that he had lost the email that was sent to him with this information. Because his request for that link was received after business hours, his assigned representative provided the requested link on the following business day. On November 27, 2016, the member informed us that he wanted to sell a different week. We always create postings with the information that is provided to us by the resort via the estoppel form and the documentation that the resort sent to RedWeek stated that he owned week #27. After a full three months of his posting being active, the member stated that he wanted to sell Week #22. While we do not normally allow posting changed, our Full Service Manager granted an exception and would allow the change on the condition that the member request a new estoppel form from his resort for Week #22. The member responded with the following: “Just let it go…you will not sell the unit anyway. A complete waste of money!” We asked him if he would like his posting cancelled and he stated: “No, I paid for it. So keep it active.” More communication took place about unit information and photos until June 12, 2017 when his assigned broker informed the member of an offer that we had received for his timeshare. The member accepted the offer and we again requested his deed for week 27, which is the week that his resort stated that he owned. The member replied back stating that he was selling week 22. However on November 27, 2016 he asked us to keep the posting active for week #27. At this point, our Full Service Manager stepped in and provided the member with a transcript of the email conversation that took place where he advised us to keep the posting active. She granted yet another exception and did not require he pay the $399 fee that is due to the assigned broker when an owner will not complete a sale on an accepted offer. Some additional communication took place detailing the services that we provided, as well as a recap of the extensive communication that took place between the member and RedWeek.com. On August 24, 2016, we asked him to review his posting and repost any issues to us, which he did not do. Because extensive work had been done by our staff, per our terms of service, no refund is due. Full-Service Products and Verification RedWeek provides pro-rated refunds on all full-service products and verifications based on the amount of time our staff has worked on them. If we receive a refund request before starting work, a full refund will be provided. If you have any questions on our refund policy, please contact us. The refund confirmation e-mail sent by our accounting department will act as a proof of the cancellation of service. Once again, we do regret that he was not satisfied with our service, but as you will see from the attached communication history, the member’s claim of no communication is baseless. We provided him with the opportunity to take advantage of two policy exceptions, both of which he declined.