Please help! - Timeshare Users Group Bulletin Boards

Topic Closed

Timeshare Users Group Bulletin Boards

Buying, Selling, Renting

Please help! (Page 2)

BBS Home > Buying, Selling, Renting
This topic is 8 pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

next newest topic | next oldest topic

Author	Topic: Please help!
Keitht TUG Member Posts: 1243 From: Gloucester, England, Own at Plas Talgarth Wales Registered: Feb 2003	posted 01-06-2004 12:07 In all the cases above I would suggest that if you can prove that you were conned, you should contact your credit card company if you used one to pay for the purchase. From the number of cases as the same resort reported here it shouldn't be too difficult to show that to be the case. In the UK credit card companies are liable in these sort of cases but I don't know the situation in the US or Canada. It has to be worth investigating though. ------------------ Regards Keith IP: Logged
Hatrack79 TUG Member Posts: 1873 From: Denver, CO Registered: Oct 2001	posted 01-06-2004 13:39 quote: Originally posted by mvs: Could somebody advise me on what to do and when I can sell my contract (if it is worth to bother)? MVS, why don't you email me privately...I may be able to help.(email icon above). Hatrack IP: Logged
Leturno TUG Member Posts: 824 From: Plainfield, IL USA Owns: Silverleaf at Fox River -- Ff Branson @ Meadows -- Ff Nashville Registered: Jan 2003	posted 01-06-2004 18:09 I didn't know there were 'Fairfield Resorts' in Canada?! I am sorry you are suffering such remorse over your timeshare. One of the sadest situation is one like yours where someone gets so upset that they don't use it and therefore continue to throw good money after bad. You can't just cease paying for it, even just the MF without having your good credit suffer. You have a contractual obligation to pay for what you purchased and to support the property you own. You can sell it, there is a ready market for Fairfield Points on the resale market. For annual deeds the going price appears to be hovering on eBay at about 0.022 cents (US). I imagines just slightly less then half that for an EOY deed you have since you only get half the use out of it. Selling it on eBay would be a quick way out. The buyer assumes the responsibility to pay the MF and taxes and you will be done. I would imagine you might get somewhere around $900 - $1300 US for it. If you still owe on it you will have to pay it off before selling it. Your other option is USE IT! As you said life is "a chain of gains and losses!" Well you already loss your initial investment. Timeshare is not generally a money making venture for the new owner. It can be an investment in family time and great vacations. If you learn to enjoy it and leverage what you got you may one day actually be swimming in a pool or skiing down the hill and not be thinking about how you got started in the first place. Did you know you can deposit studio or 1br weeks (blue or white)into RCI and given enough advance planning trade up in several locations such as Orlando to 2 or 3br units in red time?? You could stretch your 105,000 points into two great trips so you could travel every year for your MF + exchange fee. This will be a lot less then renting a hotel room and should be better occomodations for the money. What I am saying is you can look at this as "glass half full" or "glass half empty". Success can be the best vengence and by learning to successfully enjoy your resort ownership like so many TUGgers have you can be triumphant over the problems of the initial sale. Scott ------------------ Scott Two trips planned for 2004! Wife is wondering why I want more:-) IP: Logged
JohnnyO TUG Member Posts: 1740 From: Registered: Apr 2001	posted 01-06-2004 19:32 Well said Scott. Decide what you want to do. You can live with your mistake, and make the most of it. Don't let the freakin rules stop you, learn the system and work it to your favor. You can bet that most of the other owners don't and just put up with it. Welcome to tug and here is a great place to learn how to work the system in the most efficient and legal way. John IP: Logged
Paula TUG Member Posts: 127 From: Vancouver, B.C., Paradise Village and VDP in PV and VDP Flamingos Resort in Neuvo Vallarta Registered: Mar 2001	posted 01-07-2004 21:26 Stacey: I e-mailed you with a few suggestions-positive, as I have recently bought a timeshare privately with no hassel and it can be done. Rather than posting a long response on the board I e-mailed you, but hotmail said e-mail doesn't exist and both were returned, perhaps you have changed it owing to all the feed back. I will check back in a few days. IP: Logged
iconnections TUG Member Posts: 501 From: sunny Southern California! - Laguna Surf, CA - MDSV-I, Palm Desert, CA - Maui Sunset, Maui, HI - Buganvilias, PV, Mexico - Grand Velas, NV, Mexico Registered: Sep 2003	posted 01-12-2004 22:47 My goodness, after reading all these comments, I have to reply. We dealt with the Mayan Palace too and got our money back as well as our timeshares. Management told us in August that they would make sure that the sales staff would clean up their act. They obviously haven't done that yet. Signing a waiver, that you are giving up your recission right, is illegal in Mexico besides selling the investment scam. There were many complaints posted on the Timeshare Beat but these pages are removed as these people got their money back and that was part of the deal between the Mayan Palace, the people who got their money back and the Timeshare Beat. This is what I have been told but the Mayan Palace cannot force me to be silent because I did not sign anything. The more people who are warned the better it is. Go to www.timesharefraud.com/ and I hope this web site will help you too. Yes, you can get your money back if you have been scammed or defrauded like we were too and no, we did not hire expensive attorneys. Good luck to you! IP: Logged
OlgaAndRick TUG Member Posts: 13 From: Santa Rosa, CA Registered: Dec 2003	posted 01-13-2004 21:23 Is it possible to get the money back after 5 days already passed? Olga IP: Logged
MadCanuck Non Member Posts: 11 From: Manitoba, Canada Registered: Feb 2004	posted 02-01-2004 20:22 With regard to Mayan Palace sales tactics... my husband and I too were sold a 90 minute "tour" of a "brand new resort" by an "information booth" person in the Cancun airport. In return for attending we were to receive tickets to Tulum/Xel ha. We attended much to our peril! What a horrible, horrible experience. We arrived at Mayan Palace in a taxi provided by the company and were taken on a lengthy tour of the facility - then into the sales room. My husband and I arrived at 9:30 in the morning and left at 3:30 in the afternoon. The pressure was unbelievable, and we unfortunately, succumbed and signed up for a time share we cannot afford. We spent a sleepless night, called our credit card company at 2 in the morning to find out credit card charges had already gone through and we were maxed out and on the hook. In the a.m. we called Mayan Palace and asked for a refund. We were invited back to the business office, and there we were told in no uncertain terms 'NO" to our demands of a refund (less than 24 hours later). We were told we could either a) walk away and lose our deposit (about $4000) or b) take a smaller package (every two years) and get a bit back on our credit card. As we felt we were in a no win situation we took the latter. We have been sick about this ever since and don't know what to do. We have since learned there was in fact a 5 day cooling off period and we should have received a refund. All we want is out - we are feeling so ripped off that in truth we could never go back to the Mayan Palace - neither of us ever want to see it again. The whole experience has tainted our view of Cancun/Playa del Carmen and Mexico itself. The idea of a "hot holiday" has really cooled off for me! Does anyone know what happens if we just don't make the payments for our Mayan Palace account? We figure the best thing might be to just allow them to foreclose! And the icing on the cake is I have an "unknown" U.S. debit on my credit card statement. Beware of the Cancun airport - the "Information Booth" is not what you think it is! IP: Logged
GinGin TUG Member Posts: 8680 From: Registered: Apr 2002	posted 02-01-2004 20:37 I would get in touch with Profeco and explain my situation or email iconnections above and see precisely what they did. This is out and out fraud. Good luck. ------------------ www.picturetrail.com password:gingin (see 14 timeshares we've visited, please lighten screen before viewing) IP: Logged
MadCanuck Non Member Posts: 11 From: Manitoba, Canada Registered: Feb 2004	posted 02-01-2004 20:47 Thank you for the advice. I will keep the message board up to date if anything new develops. I have read all the posts, and I think I will be emailing Mayan Palace directly with a copy of the email I send to Profeco as well, as advising them I have posted our complaint on TUG. Any advice would be welcome - I sure wish I'd checked out the message boards BEFORE we went to the tour. [This message has been edited by MadCanuck (edited 02-06-2004).] IP: Logged
TechnicalBard TUG Member Posts: 13 From: Calgary, Canada Registered: Nov 2003	posted 02-01-2004 22:17 MadCanuck, As you've seen from my posts, and those of others, we have had success in getting money back from Mayan Palace. I would however recommend using written letters as opposed to email. Profeco will ask for copies of all the documents anyway. I found email didn't get me anywhere, but paper did. Technical Bard IP: Logged
John Cummings TUG Member Posts: 2333 From: Murrieta, California Registered: Dec 2000	posted 02-02-2004 06:52 quote: Originally posted by Patri: That sounds like a lie to me. Do you mean that t/s sales people tell lies? I am shocked. LOL ------------------ John IP: Logged
Jonmon Non Member Posts: 120 From: Registered: Nov 2002	posted 02-02-2004 16:18 From what I've read here, I think it would be very wise for everyone who goes to a time share presentation - even if they are convinced they will be able to walk away without buying - To LEAVE YOUR CREDIT CARDS AND CHECKBOOK IN THE HOTEL ROOM SAFE. You need to get away from that table to think clearly. If you have no way of leaving a deposit, you cannot succumb to the pressure to pay it then and there. IP: Logged
travelingjean Non Member Posts: 1 From: Registered: Feb 2004	posted 02-15-2004 12:51 We were able to get our deposit refunded by the Mayan Palace, by placing the charge in dispute with our credit card but did not expect to rely only on their efforts. Unfortunately, we bought a package to a hotel in Cancun that did not disclose it involved a timeshare presentation. If we'd have known, then before we went we would have done research on the internet and been aware of all the fraud involved in some Mexican timeshare sales. They had us deposit $100 to ensure we would show up; we thought it was for the hotel we were staying at, but found out that it was for a timeshare presentation. Part of the fraud involved was that we were told by the Mayan Palace that we had to waive our 5-day rescission period. There were other deceptive actions during the sales presentation and afterwards. We rescinded the contract based upon that fraud, which is a legal remedy that is available. [This message has been edited by travelingjean (edited 03-03-2004).] IP: Logged
OlgaAndRick TUG Member Posts: 13 From: Santa Rosa, CA Registered: Dec 2003	posted 02-18-2004 10:39 WE jus got the full refund from MP! Since October... IP: Logged
lorby TUG Member Posts: 1 From: Tucson, Arizona Registered: Feb 2004	posted 02-23-2004 19:39 TechnicalBard said they sent all paperwork to Desarralo Marina Vallarta. I have checked on the internet and cannot find an address for them. We are in the same boat and trying to get out before it sinks. We meet with a Mexican/American attorny tomorrow and see where we go from there. We sent paperwork out today explaining our disastifaction with the way things were dealt with and that we wanted out of the deal. Any telephone numbers or addresses you could give us would be so helpful. We only have until Wednesday, February 25th to take care of this. Thanks, Jearise IP: Logged
TechnicalBard TUG Member Posts: 13 From: Calgary, Canada Registered: Nov 2003	posted 02-23-2004 20:12 MP should have given you the mailing address to which you are to send payments (if you accepted their financing). It is an address in Houston or Dallas, TX, if I recall correctly. Also make sure you contact PROFECO. That seems to get them moving. IP: Logged
rebeccapm unregistered	posted 02-28-2004 21:46 Desarrollo Marina Vallarta, S.S. DE C.V Ave. Lazaro Cardenas 3422, 2 Piso Col. Chapalita C.P. 45040 Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico Also: Memebership Services Desarrollo Marina Village, dba "Mayan Resorts" P.O. Box 27701-464 Houston, TX 77227 I got my contract rescinded last month. Good luck. Check out this great website for more good info: www.timesharefraud.info [This message has been edited by rebeccapm (edited 03-13-2004).] IP: Logged
jenjen321 TUG Member Posts: 18 From: Registered: Mar 2004	posted 03-03-2004 09:08 Thank you for providing this information. We are in the process of disputing our fraudulent timeshare purchase at the Mayan Palace, Puerto Vallarta. In fact, I have started writing letters and these addresses and contact person in Texas are exactly what I need. We purchased on Feb 15th. By the way, we are from Edmonds. IP: Logged
MadCanuck Non Member Posts: 11 From: Manitoba, Canada Registered: Feb 2004	posted 03-09-2004 15:17 Hey there TUG and Technical Bard in particular. We wrote to Mayan Palace and PROFECO. We sent request for a refund to Mayan Palace via Registered mail from Canada and on checking today, found it was delivered to Houston office on February 23. To date - we have heard nothing from them. BUT today, we did get our payment book in the mail. It was mailed from the Houston office on March 2. I have emailed PROFECO twice, and then cc'd them in writing with our cancellation letter to Mayan Palace along with a covering letter explaining why we had asked to cancel and asking for their help in getting our downpayment refunded. We have heard nothing from them either. I did not have our documentation translated to Spanish and I am wondering if that is why we've heard nothing from them as yet. Did you have all your documentation translated? I am starting to despair. One thing that I can do is build a website. I am wondering if I should just start one and see if that makes any difference. Any further advice? Any help would be appreciated. My husband said today that he would never enjoy any holiday associated with Mayan Palace because he just feels so ripped off by the whole experience. [This message has been edited by MadCanuck (edited 03-09-2004).] IP: Logged
TechnicalBard TUG Member Posts: 13 From: Calgary, Canada Registered: Nov 2003	posted 03-09-2004 23:33 MadCanuck, I did not get the information translated. By Email PROFECO indicated they were happy with English. I was very firm in my letters that I had been told I had waived the 5 day cooling off period and that this was illegal. I was also very clear to MP that I had talked to PROFECO already. In your case, you tried to cancel but were refused. Since Mexican Law affords you this period, MPs failure to abide by it could be argued to be fraudulent. You have to not be nice, but be professional. It took MP a couple weeks after I sent the stuff by registered mail to Houston for me to get a nasty phone call and my money back. Have you contacted the Ombudsman at TimeshareBeat? They might have additional hints. IP: Logged
jenjen321 TUG Member Posts: 18 From: Registered: Mar 2004	posted 03-12-2004 15:04 To MadCanuck, I spoke with Ms. Antillon last week and she indicated to me that she has had many complaints and is not able to handle each one individually anymore. She told me she would write a "group letter" on our behalf that would include all the names of the new complaints from the last few weeks. My suggestion would be to call her and request her help. The more pressure we put on MP the better! She must have sent a letter as promised because we received a phone call from MP two days ago. However, they still maintain that we have no rescission rights, but that we could have cancelled and lost our down payment. What a contradiction! You either have rights or you don't. Clearly we do, and that doesn't mean that it costs us our downpayment to use them! I have not heard back from PROFECO yet. Can someone please tell me exactly what their role is in expediting a rescission from MP. [This message has been edited by jenjen321 (edited 03-21-2004).] IP: Logged
MadCanuck Non Member Posts: 11 From: Manitoba, Canada Registered: Feb 2004	posted 03-13-2004 09:58 Well, I called Customer Service and faxed and emailed them (copies of all the documentation I sent registered mail February 16). When I called Customer Service I spoke with a fellow named "Louis". He told me that he would pass my info along to Ms. Antillon. He also told me that Customer Service did not have the ability to give a refund, and that I would have to go through the Mayan Palace, Mayan Riviera. I explained that my husband and I had actually gone back to the Mayan Palace the day after we signed. (We signed Dec 28 and returned there to beg and plead for a refund on Dec 29 - about 17 hours after we signed!) I told him that we spoke wtih Sharon Hopson at the Mayan Palace on Dec 29th and she outright refused to give us a refund. (We were in Sharon's office - well away from the sales floor - for about an hour and a half). I asked Louis what the point of dealing with that office again would be. Nonetheless, I just got off the phone with Kathy Kinglsey of Mayan Palace, Mayan Riviera as Head Office (Houston) had kicked all our paperwork and request for a refund back to them. Kathy repeated the exact comments of Sharon Hopson. "We should not have signed in the first place." "70% of people who attend their timeshare presentation do not sign". I think this is one vicious twist on "blame the victim"! I told her that I agreed we should not have signed and that we were wrong to sign. But that is not the point. The point is we tried to cancel in person and within 24 hours of signing and were flat out refused by Sharon Hopson. Kathy then stated that she did not have notes that said we tried to cancel. The notes only said that we had downgraded our package. I pointed out that we had been given 3 choices by Sharon : 1. Take our package as it was (and try to find $200 US more to fulfull the downpayment as our Visa was maxxed out); 2. Walk away and lose what we had alread paid, or 3. Accept a lesser package (bi-annual). Since we were between a rock and a hard place, we took # 3. Kathy's position was that we NOT try to cancel; we simply downgraded! When I asked her if she was calling me a liar, she got very defensive. I told her to ask Sharon Hopson if we did not beg and plead and grovel, while she refused to cancel, and refund our money. At this point, it was obvious then that Kathy was not going to refund our money and in fact, she told me she did not have the ability to refund our money. (so why bother to call!!!) I asked her to send all our info back to Head Office. I am going to pursue this. We did try to cancel within 5 days -and we were refused. That is the bottom line. I would not want to ever stay at a place that treated its "owners" so poorly! I will send TUG a link to my webpage when I get it up and running. It will feature a copy of our "so called Invitation" to the VIP tour of Mayan Palace - 90 minutes, no obligation! Ha ha. What a joke. 6 hours one day and 1 1/2 hours the next and refusal to honour Mexican law. I urge anyone in this predicament to get their paperwork in order and contact Mayan Palace head office in Houston, PROFECO, and their travel agents as well. The travel agents should be warning naive tourists (like me) about the "Information Booth" in Cancun Airport whose uniformed agents will spot your luggage tags and call you over by the name of your tour company - pretending to be a representative - In our case: "Signature Vacations, over here" as he waved us over to him! Good luck one and all! IP: Logged
GinGin TUG Member Posts: 8680 From: Registered: Apr 2002	posted 03-13-2004 13:38 This is one of the main reasons why Tug is such a good place for timesharers to convene, info such as the above. I wish you good luck with your webpage and your endeavor. You are truly an activist and I applaud you. ------------------ www.picturetrail.com password:gingin (see 14 timeshares we've visited, please lighten screen before viewing) IP: Logged
jenjen321 TUG Member Posts: 18 From: Registered: Mar 2004	posted 03-14-2004 10:10 To MadCanuck, keep on trying to reach Nina Antillon. Keep calling untill you can speak directly with her. She does have the ability to work on your behalf. She told me so herself. Also, send her a fax with your specifics and be sure to ask for written confirmation that she received it. That way you have documentation of your attempts to involve her. The sales people are all liars and their customer service reps at the resort continue to back them up. We were told that the majority of people do sign. The salesperson even went as far as to point people out in the room. That is just a tactic they use at the time to make you feel good about your purchase. Did they use that phrase "welcome to the family"? YEAH!! Seems that everything they say to you can be used against you later on!! Best of luck!! IP: Logged

This topic is 8 pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 All times are in Pacific Timezone	next newest topic \| next oldest topic
Administrative Options: Open Topic \| Archive/Move \| Delete Topic
	Hop to:

Contact Us | TUG Home | Privacy Statement

Copyright Timeshare User's Group - BBS Script customized by Laurence Chan lcc_home@hotmail.com
The Timeshare Users Group (TUG) makes no representations or warranties with respect to the use of the TUG bulletin boards, or their contents and further makes no representations with respect to the results that may be obtained from information on the BBS. The Timeshare Users Group shall not be liable for any damage or loss of any type arising from such use or content, and reserves the right to remove any posting on the bulletin boards. The bulletin boards are intended for use by Timeshare Users Group members, Non member postings are welcome. Advertising is not permitted on the BBS, TUG provides other areas on this web site for advertising. Any messages that are deemed as advertising will be deleted. Please read the full TUG BBS Usage agreement located in the FAQ. By using the BBS you accept and agree with the above statements. If you do not agree please return to the TUG Home Page