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Dial An Exchange is located in Yorkshire, England, our office hours are from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Please feel free to ring us or contact us by fax, e-mail or post. We welcome your questions, and we want to make the exchange process a happy and pleasant experience.
Please before you contact us take a few minutes to read our Frequently Asked Questions, the answer you are looking for may be available here.
- What do you charge?
- Do you have any other hidden fees or charges?
- What happens if I cancel my exchange after I have paid for it?
- How far in advance can I put my Exchange Request on?
- I am already a member of another exchange company, can I still use Dial An Exchange?
- Can I get my week back for my own use, after I have deposited it with Dial An Exchange?
- Will you automatically take my banked week every year?
- Do you have any restrictions on what I can take out of your system?
- Can I see a few examples of the timeshare resorts that have deposited weeks into the Dial An Exchange system?
- Can I see a few examples of the privately owned cottages/villas/apartments that have deposited weeks into the Dial An Exchange system?
- What is a Bonus Week?
- Can I take a Bonus Week as an exchange?
- Can I use Bonus Weeks for Family & Friends?
- How many bonus weeks can I have?
- Do I pay an exchange fee as well as the Bonus price listed?
- How far in advance can I book a Bonus Week?
- I own points in a timeshare holiday club. Can I still user the Dialanexchange service?
- I am a timeshare owner. Do I have to deposit my week to join Dial An Exchange?
- I own a cottage in the UK. Can I use it to exchange into a timeshare in Spain?
- Will you pass my details on to any other company?
- Can I exchange my own home?
- Is there a minimum standard for private holiday homes?
- Can you guarantee standards of accommodation?
- I own a gold crown red week. Do I get the same out?
- I own a red week, does that entitle me to a double credit?
- How do I get double credit for a high season week?
- I don’t own a holiday home or a timeshare. Can I still join Dial An Exchange?
- Can I make last minute deposits?
- How long do I have to “spend” my credits?
- I own a Holiday Rental Property. Do I have to deposit some weeks to join Dial An Exchange?
- What happens if a Dial An Exchange guest causes damage to the holiday property?
Q1. What do you charge?
£79 GBP is all you pay for your exchange.
Q2. Do you have any other hidden fees or charges?
- No Guest Fees
- No Upgrade Fees
- We have
an optional Gold membership scheme which costs £33 GBP
per year and allows you to make priority requests
and gives you access to holiday weeks not shown on our
availability but obtained from our world wide trading
partners.
- Gold
members get a £10
GBP discount off every bonus week
and a £15 GBP discount off all long haul exchanges.
Q3. What happens if I cancel my exchange
after I have paid for it?
You not only loose the exchange fee, but you also loose the week you have deposited. We therefore recommend our Cancellation Protection Scheme.
Cancellation Protection Scheme:
For a fee of £10 GBP in addition to the exchange fee, we offer the Cancellation Protection Scheme. This Scheme allows you to make a cancellation right up to the date of check-in. With our £10 CPS you can cancel your exchange holiday for any reasonable reason and have your exchange credit reinstated to spend on another exchange holiday and your exchange fee refunded.
We would like to point out that "I have changed my mind" or "I have found something better" or "I don't want to go" are not reasonable reasons for cancelling your exchange holiday.
We will continue to take your verbal instructions to cancel an exchange and will reinstate the exchange credit you used for that booking, however before refunding the exchange fee we ask you to send us a document supporting the need for cancellation.
Examples are a doctor's note, a death certificate (copies acceptable), a letter from your employer or a letter from any third party explaining the need to cancel your holiday.
On receipt of such a document, we will issue a refund of the exchange fee you paid immediately by cheque, so please remember to enclose your name & address.
Q4. How far in advance can I put my Exchange Request on?
If you are a Gold member, as far in advance as you like. The earlier you place your
request, the more chance we have of fulfilling that request.
Q5. I am already a member of another exchange company, can I still use Dial An Exchange?
You are free to use which ever exchange organisation you want to use. You own your timeshare
and you are free to choose which ever company can best help you. You can become a member with us and still keep your other memberships.
Please make sure that any week you deposit with Dial An Exchange is not already banked with another exchange company. You cannot bank it twice! Sometimes, if they have not already taken your banked week, other exchange companies may return that week to you, if you ask them nicely.
Q6. Can I get my week back for my own use, after I have deposited it with Dial An Exchange?
No. When you deposit a week into the Dial An Exchange system, you are ceding your rights of occupancy for that week to Dial An Exchange Ltd. However, if we have not found an exchange customer for your deposited week, and you ask for it back, we will normally return that week to you, assuming that you have not used the credit given to you for that week.
Deposited weeks are often taken within hours of your deposit, so please check with us FIRST before assuming your deposited week is vacant.
Q7. Will you automatically take my banked week every year?
No. We are not RCI! You need to tell us each time you wish to bank a week. If you do not bank
your week with us, we assume you are using the week yourself.
Q8. Do you have any restrictions on what I can take out of your system?
No. Any week in gets any week out. That means that you can use your credit to take any week
in any property at any time of year in any location, assuming that it is available through the Dial An Exchange system i.e. some one else has deposited it.
This applies to both timeshare units and to private holiday rental properties. You can deposit one and take the other if you wish.
Q9. Can I see a few examples of the timeshare resorts that have deposited weeks into the Dial An Exchange system?
Click here to see some examples.
Q10. Can I see a few examples of the privately owned cottages/villas/apartments that have deposited weeks into the Dial An Exchange system?
Click here to see some examples.
Q11. What is a bonus week?
A bonus week is a week deposited into the Dial An Exchange system, but not taken as
an exchange 6 weeks prior to check in. In order to fill these weeks, we make them
available to our members at bargain prices, without the need to deposit a week in
exchange or to use a credit.
Gold members get a discount of £10
GBP off every bonus week and a £15 GBP discount off all long haul exchanges.
Q12. Can I take a bonus week as an exchange?
Yes, of course. You then pay only the exchange fee and not the advertised Bonus Week price.
Q13. Can I use Bonus time for Family & Friends?
YES you may use Bonus Weeks for family and friends, however, when you do this "you" take responsibility for their actions while using the holiday accommodation.
Q14. How many bonus weeks can I have?
You are not limited to the number of Bonus Weeks you can use. If there is a Bonus Weeks available and you get in first, it's yours.
Q15. Do I pay an exchange fee as well as the Bonus price listed?
No, you only need pay the bonus price listed for the week you are going to use.
Q16. How far in advance can I book a Bonus Week?
Bonus time only becomes available six (6) weeks prior to the starting date of the week booked.
Q17. I own points in a timeshare holiday club. Can I still use the Dial An Exchange service?
Yes, but you must convert your points into a week through your points club, and then deposit that week with Dial An Exchange.
Q18. I am a timeshare owner. Do I have to deposit my week to join Dial An Exchange?
No, you can wait until we satisfy your request for an exchange before depositing your week if you wish. You can join Dial An Exchange at any time without making a deposit.You can deposit your week at any time, as soon as you have decided that you will not be using that week yourself. You then get a 3 year credit.
Q19. I own a cottage in the UK. Can I use it to exchange into a timeshare in Spain?
Yes, timeshare weeks and weeks in outright owned property are interchangeable in the Dial An Exchange system. You are the customer, so you have the choice as to the type of accommodation you exchange into.
Q20. Will you pass my details on to any other company?
No. Dial An Exchange is careful to treat the privacy of its customers with care and due regard to United Kingdom law. Please click here to see our privacy policy.
Q21. Can I exchange my own home?
I want to exchange my own home for a holiday in some one else’s home. Can Dial An Exchange help me?
No Dial An Exchange deals only in weeks in holiday homes. There has to be a local property manager available during the inbound customer’s holiday to attend to any problems that customer may have.
The weeks deposited into the Dial An Exchange system have to be weeks in timeshare resorts, holiday rental properties, or managed second homes. We do not accept weeks in people’s own homes.
Q22. Is there a minimum standard for private holiday homes?
Most properties whose owners deposit weeks into the Dial An Exchange system have a high standard of internal comfort and are in wonderful holiday locations. We have the following minimum standards.
To be accepted into the Dial An Exchange system your property must be entirely self contained. (No facilities inside the property shared with anyone else). It must contain a kitchen suitable for preparing meals and obviously a private internal bathroom. It must be in a pleasant location in an area where people normally take pleasurable holidays. It must have a reliable local property manager, to attend to any problems that may occur during the inbound exchange guest’s stay.
It must be thoroughly cleaned prior to the exchange guest’s arrival, and be presented in a warm and comfortable condition. Bed linens must normally be provided. (Can be an extra charge) Acceptance of any week deposited in any property is entirely at the discretion of Dial An Exchange.
Q23. Can you guarantee standards of accommodation?
Most timeshare resorts are to a very high standard, however there is still variation of quality from resort to resort and country to country. At Dial An Exchange, we do not attempt to offer like for like. The choice of which resort to take in exchange, including the time of year and the unit size, is entirely up to you, the customer. This gives you the maximum choice without the artificial “like for like” restrictions which other timeshare exchange companies impose. Private holiday rental properties vary in standard enormously. A rustic gite in the French countryside will obviously be of a completely different standard to a luxury condominium in Florida. It is up to you, the customer, to choose the kind of exchange holiday accommodation that suits you best. We provide the name and contact details of the property owner on confirmation, to enable you to satisfy yourself that the property is right for you. In the highly unlikely event of the owner failing to maintain the holiday property to a good standard, then the property and the owner will be removed from our lists.
Q24. I own a gold crown red week. Do I get the same out?
Only if you want to restrict your choice enormously. At Dial An Exchange, a week is a week, no matter what time of year, no matter what standard of resort. One week in gets one week out. It is up to you, the customer to select the week and the property that suits you best.
Remember, the words “gold crown” and “red week” are used by the timeshare industry to sell you more expensive weeks. We at Dial An Exchange do not use these marketing terms, however we will do our very best to fulfil your exchange requirements.
Q25. I own a red week, does that entitle me to a double credit?
No, Unless the week you are depositing falls into one of the locations and periods listed below as high season.
Q26. How do I get a double credit for a high season week?
If you deposit a week in a 2 bedroom (or larger) property in high season, then you get 2 credits instead of one. This is to encourage deposits when we have greatest demand for exchange weeks from our members. You cannot use your “double credits” to take out two weeks in high season, but you can use them for one week in high season and one week at any other time of year.
HIGH SEASON IS DEFINED AND LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING.
Europe: (Excluding Canary Islands and Ski Resorts); the last week of July and all of August.
Canary Islands and Madeira: the last week of July, all of August, Christmas and New Year weeks.
Ski resorts in Europe and North America: Christmas and New Year weeks, the last two weeks of February, all of March and the first week in April.
North America (excluding Florida and ski resorts): the last week of July and all of August.
Florida and the Caribbean: Christmas and New Year weeks, the last 2 weeks of February, the first week in March and the 2 weeks either side of Easter weekend.
NO OTHER WEEK OR PART OF THE WORLD IS DEFINED AS HIGH SEASON.
Q27. I don’t own a holiday home or a timeshare. Can I still join Dial An Exchange?
NO. Dial An Exchange membership is open only to people who own timeshare, holiday rental property or a managed second home, all of which have to be available for holiday occupancy in one week periods.
The family and friends of members of Dial An Exchange may take weeks from the system only with the permission of an existing member and by quoting that member’s membership number.
Q28. Can I make last minute deposits?
We require a minimum of 8 weeks notice. I.e. you can deposit weeks up to 8 weeks prior to check in. However we are sometimes able to take deposits at short notice for popular times of year if we know we have members waiting to take that week. (Entirely at our discretion)
Q29. How long do I have to “spend” my credits?
You have 3 full years from the date of your deposit to use your credit. You use your credit by booking an exchange holiday. It is the date of booking that has to be within 3 years, not the date of your exchange holiday. You can save up your credits for a long trip if you wish. Your family and friends can use your credits with your permission.
Q30. I own a Holiday Rental Property. Do I have to deposit some weeks to join Dial An Exchange?
No. You can join now and deposit weeks when you are ready. It's free to join and it takes about 15 minutes to fill in our on line membership application form, to include details of your holiday property. How to Join. As soon as we have reviewed and accepted your holiday property, your membership number will give you access to Bonus Weeks, and allow you to make deposits and take exchanges.
Q31. What happens if a Dial An Exchange guest causes damage to the holiday property?
Dial An Exchange has insurance in place underwritten at Lloyds of London which covers severe damage to holiday property caused by any Dial An Exchange guest. The minimum claim is £400 and the maximum £4 million. This indemnity applies only if the claimant's existing buildings and contents insurance fails to cover such damage.
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