Royal Shell Vacations (Sanibel)

I struck a deal for a weekly rental with a condo owner at Pointe Santo %26amp; was directed to make the deposit with Royal Shell Vacations. However, when the deposit was collected I was not provided with a written or verbal copy of the charges. When I contacted Royal Shell by email, with my questions, I received no responses.

This is now the third day, and I have yet to receive a response clarifying the charges. I am losing my sense of trust and fear that if I cancel that I will also lose the $55 booking fee. Advice?

Royal Shell Vacations (Sanibel)

howd u make hte deposit? check or credit card?

Royal Shell Vacations (Sanibel)

Credit card via telephone.

Did you call them? How did you make your initial deposit via phone? Royal Shell is a reputable company - you might ask this on the Sanibel forum also, as that is where Pointe Santo is located.

Call them again, do you have the name of the person you originally talked to? Royal Shell seems to have a good customer track record and it is the height of their busy season. I would just call, instead of emailing.

DiscoDee,

I have rented through Royal Shell for many years. They are very reputable. I have also rented a home via the owner and been directed to Royal Shell. In my experience, you will receive a contract within a few days, so give them time. Mine has always been via email. They send the contract as an attachment. Royal Shell also has a live chat option on their website, I have used it many times for questions. Why not call them using the toll free number on the website?

Thanks to all who have responded. I have been actively trying to obtain a written confirmation and a breakdown of the charges by email AND telephone for 3 days. This afternoon I was successful in reaching the individual with whom I originally spoke.

When I pinpointed her on a breakdown of the charges (and that took a couple of attempts on my part), she finally acquiesced. Bottom line, the 20% deposit was $81.05 more than 20%. The rep insisted it wasn%26#39;t, challenged my math skills, then admitted that the computer would not accept a deposit under $300. I told her that I could understand that (it would have been nice to have been told this upfront), but why $61 more than $300? The rep blamed that on the computer as well.

Next, was the issue of the damage fee waiver that was added without my consent/approval. When challenged, the rep said it was mandatory. I did not agree, as Royal Shell%26#39;s site does not state that it is mandatory, and I had not paid it last year. After we danced around that issue, the rep agreed that the site does not state that the fee is mandatory and admitted that other customers also questioned the nonrefundable damage waiver fee.

I also questioned why the booking fees vary. (In the 3 days that I was waiting for Royal Shell to respond, I had time to research other condos at the same complex and noticed that some had a $35 booking fee, while others were $55). I was told that the owner sets the fee. (Not a biggee, just a notable fact.)

Bottom line: The issue has not been resolved, as the rep was going to call the owner to see if she, the owner, would waive the damage waiver fee. My response was that if it were waived, the reservation would stand; however, if it were not waived, forget about it (but I will expect a full refund based on attempted fraud).

Renter (Buyer) Beware!

WOW! That%26#39;s good information about the damage waiver fee and other stuff. In fairness to renters, Royal Shell should clearly spell that out. If the party is all adults or very small, the damage waiver fee can very safely waived.

I%26#39;m very glad you came back and gave us the details. I don%26#39;t blame you for being upset. I hate all those %26#39;mandatory fees%26#39; charged by hotels, resorts and now agencies and owners. If you%26#39;re going to make a fee %26#39;mandatory%26#39; TELL ME!

Great News! Today, I spoke with a seasoned representative at Royal Shell Vacations regarding the aformentioned issues. The lack of communication was apparently due to their computer servers being down on Monday %26amp; Tuesday, which prevented them from receiving/sending emails from outside sources; thus, they were never in receipt of my emails, nor was I in receipt of the rental confirmation.

The issue of the term ';mandatory,'; as it relates to the Damage Waiver form and the Terms and Conditions form will be reviewed and (hopefully) altered to discourage any future misunderstandings.

All in all, I believe this experience has been educational, enlightening, and beneficial to all. It has for me. I thank Royal Shell Vacations, specifically Tiffany, for stepping up to the plate. Way to Go!

DiscoDee - It%26#39;s rare for a poster to come back and let us know when the issues have been handled well. I%26#39;m glad Royal Shell contacted you. Let%26#39;s hope they address the Damage Waiver Fee (which I too assumed was optional) so there is no future confusion.

And thanks again for the update. I%26#39;m covering for the current DE (I used to be DE here) while she%26#39;s on vacation. I%26#39;m sure she%26#39;ll be interested in this information.