Class Action: Diamond Resorts Pressures Buyers into Timeshare Contracts

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Diamond Resorts International Club Inc. is facing a class action lawsuit alleging it engaged in deceptive high-pressure sales tactics to sell timeshare contracts.

Plaintiffs Gisele Fournier and Rejean Fournier of Riverside County, Calif., claim they obtained on an unknown date a “membership” with Diamond Resorts that would allow them to acquire timeshare “points” that they could redeem for accommodations at various resorts.

In July 2015, the plaintiffs say they contacted a Diamond Resorts sales associate to express their dissatisfaction with their membership. Specifically, they complained that they were not able to secure accommodations on the dates and at the locations they wanted.

According to the Diamond Resorts class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs were advised to upgrade their membership to “platinum” in order to receive superior customer service. They were also told to attend an “update” meeting to have their concerns addressed.

The meeting did not provide the Fourniers an opportunity to air their grievances, according to the Diamond Resorts class action lawsuit. They claim they were pressured again into purchasing a membership upgrade and were reportedly mocked by Diamond Resorts’ agents because they did not bring a credit card to the meeting.

According to the Diamond Resorts class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs “felt bullied, manipulated and intimidated into signing a new contract upgrading their membership with the Defendant.” They claim that the agents’ high-pressure sales tactics caused them “a great amount of stress, embarrassment and humiliation” and that they felt they could not leave the meeting unless they signed up for a membership upgrade.

Their credit card was allegedly charged $2,000 for the membership upgrade, and the upgrade caused their monthly membership dues to nearly double, according to the Diamond Resorts class action lawsuit.

Despite paying for the upgrade, the Fourniers say they did not receive the services they were promised and sought to terminate their membership. When their attempts at cancelling via phone and online chat were unsuccessful, they sent a letter in August 2016 informing Diamond Resorts that they were terminating their membership and cancelling all future reservations.

After they mailed the letter, the plaintiffs reportedly received a monthly loan statement with an invoice date of Aug. 22, 2016. This invoice stated a balance of $813.77 with a due date of Aug. 12, 2016. This statement indicated that payments received after the due date would be subject to additional fees.

According to the Diamond Resorts class action lawsuit, the statement indicated the Fourniers owed a “Principal Balance” of more than $45,000 and that they had paid at least $6,000 toward interest fees.

They subsequently sent more letters informing Diamond Resorts of their intent to terminate their membership but Diamond Resorts repeatedly denied the requests and claimed that the plaintiffs would remain contractually obligated to pay the fees. They continued to receive letters demanding payment. These letters reportedly contained “confusing, conflicting and misleading” information about their membership.

The plaintiffs say they received harassing phone calls from Diamond Resorts even after they asked the company to stop contacting them.

The timeshare sales class action lawsuit accuses Diamond Resorts of violating the Truth in Lending Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the California False Advertising Act, the Consumers Legal Remedies Act and the California Welfare and Institutions Code.

Diamond Resorts is also currently facing a class action lawsuit alleging it targets older consumers with abusive sales tactics.

The plaintiffs are represented by Amir J. Goldstein of The Law Offices of Amir J. Goldstein Esq.

The Diamond Resorts Timeshare Membership Class Action Lawsuit is Gisele Fournier, et al. v. Diamond Resorts International Club Inc., et al., Case No. 5:17-cv-00911, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.