Hi everyone,
We know the last several weeks have been painful for everyone. We’ve been working as hard as we can to restore service to the affected components of our offerings. We’ve held this process very close to chest up to this point, as is conventional in such matters, but we feel at this point our customers are owed more information.
Current Negotiations
We’ve been attempting to negotiate a deal that would satisfy our primary data source. We are being represented by an attorney with expertise in this field. The primary data source hasn’t responded to our latest proposal yet, but we are trying to be as proactive as we can. Unfortunately, at this point, there is still no guarantee that anything in particular will happen, but we are still in communication.
The undesirable position of “hurry up and wait†devolves upon us due to a confluence of factors. We are trying to find a mutually agreeable way forward out of simplicity and goodwill. At this point, there is no formal legal requirement that we stop service; we have voluntarily complied with the data source’s request that we stop, in hopes of reaching an amicable resolution. Because we want to demonstrate our good faith and because we want to comply with the policies of the data source, we are choosing to do everything in our power to work out a mutually beneficial agreement, despite the fact that there are other potential avenues to resolution.
It is our hope that the primary data source will recognize the value not only in our service, but also in our voluntary cooperation and the great lengths of extension to which we have gone and are going to attempt to find an arrangement that will benefit all parties and ultimately allow the thousands of people that depend on the affected services to continue their business. It is our hope that the data source will be persuaded not only to help reach a resolution, but to do so in a timely fashion.
We appreciate your patience as we undergo this process. We are committed to finding ways to reward customers who remain loyal.
We will reactivate this feature as soon as circumstances permit. Expect more updates on this as they become available.
Refunds and/or Credits
We do not offer refunds. Each user is required to acknowledge this as they go through the checkout process by clicking “OK†on a message that states this. The FAQ, to which the user is directed multiple times, states this in multiple places.
One of the several messages that requires the consumer’s explicit consent to the refund policy.
The checkout page also explicitly states this, and monthly members were required to check a box indicating their assent to this. Our Terms of Use explain this in clear and elaborate detail, including information about the severability of individual features.
The nature of our service has always been high risk, as there is only one data source that provides most of the data that we rely upon. It’s always been a possibility that access to that data source would be impeded. We took every reasonable measure to communicate this to the consumer, and could have never operated the affected services without that policy.
We appreciate the integrity of our customers that are willing to stick to the contract they entered when they purchased our services, and invite them to continue the journey with us as we seek to continue to provide value.
It is not advisable to dispute charges from WDWTools with a bank or credit card company. Banks uphold the refund policies of vendors who give the consumer adequate notice. When your bank reviews the case, including our refund policies and the multiple affirmative assents to it that are required to successfully make a purchase, they will be informed that elite memberships have not been terminated, that use of remaining features is still permitted, and that features are now and always have been severable. Any amount that was credited when the dispute was filed will be automatically re-debited by the card issuer and their records will reflect that the consumer has filed a bad dispute.
Persons with existing elite memberships will be granted an automatic two month extension as a credit.
If you feel there is a special circumstance that warrants a different resolution in your case, please email us at feedback@wdwtools.com to discuss. Please note requests for an exception to the refund policy without an extenuating circumstance will be disregarded.
Future
While the affected services are one of the primary membership drivers for us, they’re not the only offering we have. Unlike our former competitors, we do not intend to close our doors, regardless of the outcome of the discussion with our primary data source (which, again, is still not finalized).
We continue to offer Documents to elite members, which provide a concise overview of events around Walt Disney World and make excellent stuffers for travel agent packets. We’re adding our Doc on Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party today.
We will continue to provide articles and photo essays to all.
Several other tools are under development. We’ll shortly be releasing a beta version of the trip files feature to elite members, which makes organization and management of trips simple and should greatly ease the daily work of travel agents.
WDWTools remains committed to maximizing the magic of Walt Disney World vacations. We hope you’ll continue the journey with us, and we’re anxious to hear your ideas on how we can best improve your experience at feedback@wdwtools.com.
Thank you,
WDWTools Staff
