My potential renter just changed my Marriott reservation! What is going on???

Quilter · Jul 27, 2016

spaulino said:
Since this is a discussion of "renting" an owned week... Where can i find a guide for renting my week? Sorry if this is not the right place to post this. I just booked my week and not sure if i will use it for next year or deposit or rent it.... But if I do decide to rent it, where can I get such agreement that you guys are talking about? Or is this just a document that I can type up and signed by renter?

And thanks everyone cuz from reading on this thread, i now know some "dos" and "donts"...

And Full payment by renter is a must before adding their name on the reservation.

Sent you the one I use in a PM

dioxide45 · Jul 28, 2016

vacationhopeful said:
If by personal check, I allow 10 days ... seems that is about the maximum the bank will back charge you for a personal check. DO NOT BELIEVE the teller, who quotes the check as clearing the NEXT DAY ... they checks aren't even thru the Fed for several days .. much less cleared via banks 3000 miles away ... as being bogus or insufficient funds.

And HOW MANY Federal Bank districts are in the USA? 12. So money being gamed by being transferred between 3 or more districts will take a bit to unravel.

Keep in mind that with Check 21, they no longer process checks my sending physical checks through courier or the mail like they used to before 9/11. Banks now process most of their checks from images and they clear within a couple of days. 3000 miles away or only 100.

Many banks of course will make funds available to the depositor the next day, but they will take the funds back if the check is NSF after it goes through the Federal Reserve and is processed by the other bank.

Saintsfanfl · Jul 28, 2016

That process and timeframe holds true for honest checks. Unfortunately the system still lacks in regards to checks that are intentionally fraudulent and these are the checks we should be most worried about.

The most common scam check is going to look like a US check but the routing number will point to a bank in a far away place and it won't go through the Fed. The account number will be fake. These are the checks used by the Craigslist scammers that want shipping or taxes paid back from the fake check. You will think the funds completely cleared but then 10 days go by and the money comes back out.

If someone has any suspicion at all that a check is not legitimate they should verify the routing number. It doesn't hurt to always verify the name, address, bank name, adress, and routing number of any check you deal with from an online customer.

vacationhopeful · Jul 28, 2016

Saintsfanfl said:
That process and timeframe holds true for honest checks. Unfortunately the system still lacks in regards to checks that are intentionally fraudulent and these are the checks we should be most worried about.

The most common scam check is going to look like a US check but the routing number will point to a bank in a far away place and it won't go through the Fed. The account number will be fake. These are the checks used by the Craigslist scammers that want shipping or taxes paid back from the fake check. You will think the funds completely cleared but then 10 days go by and the money comes back out.

If someone has any suspicion at all that a check is not legitimate they should verify the routing number. It doesn't hurt to always verify the name, address, bank name, address, and routing number of any check you deal with from an online customer.

Thanks for the updated info. My new policy is 14 days to clear or USPS money order or cashier's check from a big brand.... to do a direct teller local withdraw.

Saintsfanfl · Jul 28, 2016

vacationhopeful said:
Thanks for the updated info. My new policy is 14 days to clear or USPS money order or cashier's check from a big brand.... to do a direct teller local withdraw.

I think 14 days is wise. Banks are allowed to put a 7 business day hold on a deposit of a bad customer. That's 11 actual days if the deposit is made on a Thu or Fri. If the bank thinks a deposit might be at risk for that long then it is a possibility. It could be even longer for a small foreign that only uses paper checks but the bank just can't withhold funds any longer.

spaulino · Jul 28, 2016

Quilter said:
Sent you the one I use in a PM

Thanks! I got just read it and its pretty straight forward and simple.

Has anyone thought of just using PayPal.me for easier payments? Its cash and youbdont need to wait for check to clear. Renter can use credit card too.

DeniseM · Jul 28, 2016

spaulino said:
Thanks! I got just read it and its pretty straight forward and simple.

Has anyone thought of just using PayPal.me for easier payments? Its cash and youbdont need to wait for check to clear. Renter can use credit card too.

Many people use Paypal for timeshare rentals.

Saintsfanfl · Jul 28, 2016

spaulino said:
Thanks! I got just read it and its pretty straight forward and simple.

Has anyone thought of just using PayPal.me for easier payments? Its cash and you dont need to wait for check to clear. Renter can use credit card too.

Paypal is not cash. It is a method for an electronic transfer. Someone with a bank and cc linked and verified account can still use an e-check for an instant transfer. That e-check can still bounce and get reversed just like everything else. If they use a credit card they can still file a dispute over a very long period of time.

Paypal is by no means fool proof or scam proof but they do make it quicker and easier. I always offer that option for the deposit and even the final payment but most of my renters like to send checks which is what I prefer anyway. I only do a handful of rentals a year.

DeniseM · Jul 28, 2016

Saintsfanfl said:
Paypal is not cash. It is a method for an electronic transfer. Someone with a bank and cc linked and verified account can still use an e-check for an instant transfer. That e-check can still bounce and get reversed just like everything else. Paypal just makes it quicker and easier.

Actually - a renter can make a "cash" payment with Paypal. They are transferring funds from their Paypal Acct. to your Paypal Acct. No credit card or bank account are involved.

Saintsfanfl · Jul 28, 2016

DeniseM said:
Actually - a renter can make a "cash" payment with Paypal. They are transferring funds from their Paypal Acct. to your Paypal Acct. No credit card or bank account are involved.

That is true but can you actually tell or even control which method they use? If not then it is a moot point. I never keep a balance in Paypal.

Even if you could tell and demand that the customer use a "paypal cash balance" transfer that seems like it would be bad for business and raise red flags to the customer.

DeniseM · Jul 28, 2016

Saintsfanfl said:
That is true but can you actually tell or even control which method they use? If not then it is a moot point. I never keep a balance in Paypal.

Even if you could tell and demand that the customer use a "paypal cash balance" transfer that seems like it would be bad for business and raise red flags to the customer.

I'm not suggesting that you should - I'm just explaining how it works.

I have used Paypal for years, and so far (knock on wood) it has worked well for collecting rental payments.

There is no "perfect," payment method, unless you require the renter to wire the money to you, or pay cash, or send you a money order - and that makes you look like a scammer.

Saintsfanfl · Jul 28, 2016

DeniseM said:
I'm not suggesting that you should - I'm just explaining how it works.

I have used Paypal for years, and so far (knock on wood) it has worked well for collecting rental payments.

I take paypal too. My main point is that the payment can still get reversed.

I am not fond of taking a credit card payment for a decent amount of money. The renter can dispute up to a crazy amount of time. I used to think that if the rental was far off I was safe but the law requires the dispute period clock to start from the promise delivery date. 60-90 days from the date of the rental (promised delivery of goods or services). That might be a year from when they paid. I will still take paypal for the full amount if it is what they want to do but I also check into the identity and public records of the person I am dealing with.

Saintsfanfl · Jul 28, 2016

DeniseM said:
There is no "perfect," payment method, unless you require the renter to wire the money to you, or pay cash, or send you a money order - and that makes you look like a scammer.

The first two yes, wire and cash, but not a money order. Not only are there fake money orders but money orders can also bounce. You might find info stating they cannot bounce but this is completely false. They are safer than a check from a careless money manager but not a scammer. They can cancel a money order as lost or stolen and get a refund. Then once the recipient deposits it, it will bounce.

DeniseM · Jul 28, 2016

If you refuse to accept credit card payments, you lose a huge chunk of your potential renters who "need" to finance their vacation, or they can't make the purchase.

So, I think you just have to chalk it up to the "cost of doing business."

That being said, I have never had someone "force" a dispute on me. I have had a few that I negotiated, but nothing nefarious.

Saintsfanfl · Jul 28, 2016

I don't refuse. I just don't push it hard as a payment method. I think I have only had two renters that wanted to use paypal for the whole amount but I don't do that many.

I had one renter that sent me a bunch of money orders. I didn't even ask for them. I think they were afraid of sending me a check that had their account number on it. They were fairly upper class people so I know they had a checking account. To each their own.

VegasBella · Jul 28, 2016

Saintsfanfl said:
I had one renter that sent me a bunch of money orders. I didn't even ask for them. I think they were afraid of sending me a check that had their account number on it. They were fairly upper class people so I know they had a checking account. To each their own.

Or they might do a lot of cash business and would rather not deposit it into a bank

Art · Jul 29, 2016

It sounds rather draconian, but if it was my week, I would call and officially complain about the rep who knowingly violated the rules and changed the reservation at the request of someone other than the owner.

If it costs the rep his job, so be it. Word would get around plenty fast, and that would put a major damper on creativity by reps responding to requests from anyone other than owners.

Art

heathpack · Jul 29, 2016

Honestly if I knew I was renting my week out at a competitive rate and I had a guy who didn't understand timeshares to this degree, I'd just walk away from the transaction. There's so many ways that people who don't "get it" can come back to haunt you. Not worth it IMO unless you're getting a premium rental rate from the guy.

GreenTea · Jul 30, 2016

I like the Cash app for iPhone. The funds sent to me are cash from the person's checking account. I accept and it goes directly into my checking account. Same if I send cash, though my bank charges $1.00 to send money out. (Other folk's banks don't have that charge)

DeniseM · Jul 30, 2016

If you search the App Store for "Cash" multiple Apps come up.

Is this the Square Cash App?

Another Tugger recently had a problem with Square in which they closed her account and froze her funds for 90 days after she did her first rental. Not only that, but they would give her no information about why they did this. The renter was happy, and there were no problems, so this was perplexing.

GreenTea · Jul 30, 2016

I guess it is by Square. I had to click to find the more support page.

I've not had any trouble with using this.

Quilter · Jul 31, 2016

GreenTea said:
I like the Cash app for iPhone. The funds sent to me are cash from the person's checking account. I accept and it goes directly into my checking account. Same if I send cash, though my bank charges $1.00 to send money out. (Other folk's banks don't have that charge)

So no fees like PayPal?

Actually, I've wondered about the fees with Paypal. Do the fees apply to rentals?

DeniseM · Jul 31, 2016

With PayPal there is a 2.9% fee for business transactions. With Paypal the renter can use any major credit card. If you only accept bank transfers you eliminate all the people who want to use a credit card. I don't know of any payment services that let you accept credit cards for free.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ilene13 · Jul 31, 2016

DeniseM said:
With PayPal there is a 2.9% fee for business transactions. With Paypal the renter can use any major credit card. If you only accept bank transfers you eliminate all the people who want to use a credit card. I don't know of any payment services that let you accept credit cards for free.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If they make a deposit to your PayPal account without stating it is business there is no fee.

dioxide45 · Jul 31, 2016

ilene13 said:
If they make a deposit to your PayPal account without stating it is business there is no fee.

Right. If they state the payment is between family or friends. Then the fee for using a credit card is paid by the sender not the receiver.

My potential renter just changed my Marriott reservation! What is going on???

Quilter

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dioxide45

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