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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.
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113 thoughts onClass Action: Diamond Resorts Pressures Buyers into Timeshare Contracts
I have had ongoing problems…never any availability. Had to go to owner meeting and pay for the weekend to be told that I couldn’t do anything with package I bought and promises made to me were not being honored at that time…Ie they would purchase my other time share property and maintenance fees waived…..however if I bought this sampler package it would preserve and extend other things they promised. So I finally bought the sampler package….but no availability . So I refused to pay maintenance . They called me asking why I hadn’t used sampler package and then tried to get me to extend it by paying even more money. This company is bleeding me dry….I have a vacation package I have e t o pay for and can’t even use and now I can’t afford to take any vacation because I am stuck p aying off a worthless contract so I don’t ruin my credit. I should also note they held my mother hostage for 6 hours at the owners meeting until she signed a contract she couldn’t afford. I am on disability and need help.
They are horrible and a bunch of liars. They promised me a full refund and I have yet to receive this. Is there anything I can do legally?
My mother and I have had the same problem with them in Missouri. They have lied and told us that is we purchased additional we would never have to pay maintenance for our life if we upgraded either. Said we could not even give it back to them. Lies and more lies. I could keep telling more. Is this an open lawsuit to join?
I received a phone call May 31 from diamond resort they try to get me to go on one of those trips and he promised me the world promised me another trip air flight and none of that was true I was so angry and I was speaking with the supervisor asked for another supervisor in the same he came back on the phone offered me a cheaper price
I would also like to join in this class action. Diamond Resorts have some pretty shady sales people! So many details that they “leave out”, and their 90 minute information meetings take OVER 120 PLUS HOURS. THEY TELL YOU THAT THEY WILL COMBINE THEM TOGETHER AND THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO YOU HAVE ANOTHER TIMESHARE.
I’ve only been with this company for just over a year, I’ve already paid them about $10,000, $5000 for the start fee, $2600 for interest and $1600 for this year’s maintenance fee, and I have not even been on one vacation yet, I got a free room last year from them, but that was it and that was the first time owners meeting they said I had to attend at which time they tried to get another $60,000 for points, all this with out ever had a vacation yet. I WANT OUT!!
My companion and I started out with Tempest “The Palms” and after the company went belly up Diamond took over. It’s been a down hill spiral with them twisting the sales pitch to their advantage. They prey on senior consumers who are looking for a way to spend their end of days vacationing in different venues. Our last update meeting led us to some truths, but because the last sales person was a liar, we are stuck with no way out. The new Diamond company owner is Apollo. They are investors and care only about profits. The whole thing just stinks.
me too
My husband and I would also like to join in this class action. Diamond Resorts have some pretty shady sales people! So many details that they “leave out”, and their 60 minute information meetings take 7 plus hours. I have so much more I could post, but if you have dealt with them I am sure you already know.
I am looking to sell my in Vegas it’s never open and the maintenance fee