Scam & Fraud in Cancun / Mexico = Watch Out For Mayan Palace!!
Jul 1st, 2004, 02:32 PM
#22
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The the Mexico government recived so many compliants against Mayan Palace, that they have a website about Mayan Palace Scam and helpful info for trying to get your money back:
http://www.mescam.sws-llc.com/
i still couldn't see my message that was posted on 6/17/04 on my computer, so i will copy & paste it here just in case the rest of you are also having trouble finding it:
Author: nineccat
Date: 06/17/2004, 06:51 pm
Message: Hola, everyone! I appreciate all of the feedbacks that are posted here, they?re all unique and it lets me know my message is being read. However, after reading the feedbacks I think I need to make some clarifications:
1)I had a wonderful time in Mexico; I am not here to bad mouth Mexico.
2)The purpose of my message is to WARN people who are going to Mexico but are not familiar with Mexico, and to provide them some information about Mayan Palace scam.
Travleis, I think the info you provided here is great, I'm sure it'll be helpful to your readers. I also appreciate you took the time to leave your message. However, there are few things I like to point out and I disagree with:
1) I agree there are all types of scams everywhere. As matter of fact not just in the tourist industry alone, correct? However, this doesn't necessarily mean if someone fell into the scam then it's completely his or her fault, nor does it mean this type of scam is insignificant. Each case are different due to various factors, depending on the person; therefore I don't have the right nor the interest in judging who's at fault or to blame on, my only concern is to spread out the words to warn as many people as possible, and to prevent what has happened to me from happening to others.
2) I posted the message specifically for people who are not familiar with Mexico, this includes people who have never been to Mexico, and/or people who have never done any traveling outside US before. Some of us are more experienced (or shall I say has a better common sense) and know how to spot the people who run the scams, but we can't assume the others all have the same ability / knowledge. If all of the scams out there are pretty obvious, then can someone explain why is this type of scam is still growing? Well, I am sure some of us fell for it out of greed, our weakness of human nature could not resist the temptations and it blinds our logic thinking; but even so, does this mean they deserve to be scammed, as a punishment? What's really wrong is the existence of this phenomenon. The bottom line is: don't under estimate these con artists and help spread the words.
3) For the people who have joined the Mayan Palace "tour" or have been scam by them, I have this to say: just because you think you "should have" see it coming it doesn't mean it's completely your fault, and please do not let the fear of being criticized by others or embarrassment stop you from sharing your experiences with other people online or offline.
4) The websites I provided so far are not all of the ones I could find, there are more. I believe there are more people out there but they not familiar with the Internet, or people who don't know how to get help and eventually just give up. If you do a thorough search on Mayan Palace scam you'll see the victims are tricked or lured into the Mayan Palace in all sorts of ways by all kinds of people in different business. Mayan Palace doesn't need a "monopoly"; the commissions they offer will do the trick. That's 1 of the many reasons why I feel I must warn others about what I have gone through: since everything is based off commissions, they're everywhere.
5) Thank you for pointing out assuming a vendor located in a foreign airport is legitimate simply because it's in an airport is a mistake to me. Except that it wasn't a vendor, it was one of those information desks; but I must admit looking back I don't recall there were any signs on or above those counters, we were careless to assume it was. I could easily see other people make the same assumption, that's why I made a big deal of being alert as soon as one arrives the airport.
6) Travleis, although some of my opinions are different than yours, please know that I did not write this to start a quarrel with you. I've seem people writing and arguing back & fourth at the forum and that's just horrible. I just want to make some clarifications to make sure my messages are not misread.
I have done a lot of traveling in Europe and some in Asia, but I have never been to anywhere in or near the Caribbean. I know very littlie of Cancun (Caribbean) mainly because the type of activities (water sports, amusement parks, wild life animal, etc) in the area don?t fit my vacation style. My ideal vacation would be exploring cities, villas, visiting museums and learning a different culture in a foreign country. I prefer travel with friends (sometimes by myself ) and we would plan our own trips, we're not a big fan of joining a tour group, so we're not familiar with the "typical" tour group stuffs.
The reason why I chose to go to Cancun Mexico with my BF is because we both been through a lot past year and we didn't have any time or energy to plan our own trip, so we thought to give Cancun a try; it's near, inexpensive, and seemed to be very entertaining...but the best part of all is that not only we get to relax (I usually walk 8 hr per day on my trips, just like going to work? hahaha!) all we want, but we could visit the Chichen Itza to learn about the Mayans to make the trip educational as well.
I'm not inexperience when it comes to tourist traps & scams, and I've always felt pretty confident that I can spot them and steer away from them. To be honest, before I got scammed in Mexico, I was a bit "skeptical" (if you will) about the people who got scammed whenever I see it on the news, etc., because just like Travleis, I felt they were all pretty obvious. But after the Mayan Palace incident I realized that I was just being "lucky", because obviously the ones I've seen and dealt with were not as experienced & well trained as the people we ran into in Cancun.
Our "guy" at the airport was very nice and helpful, he did not push us to join the Mayan Palace tour nor did he seem to care we join or not (Oscar performance), he just informed us that Mayan Palace is looking for people to take a tour & survey because it's a new hotel, and that in exchange we would receive discounts off tour tickets and a free breakfast. The story made sense to me. To make it short, we weren't interested in the time-share after we found out there's a "misunderstanding" of why we were there, but we were interested in the vacation package. The last 2 guys we spoke with at Mayan Palace apologized for all of the "misunderstandings" and unpleasant events that ever took place during our "tour", they were both very polite & charming and answered all of our concerns about the legitimate of the package well.... The Mayan Palace in Cancun is pretty grand, although I've seen better before, but I must say it's not bad at all (except for its location & transportation). After taking a tour at the Mayan Place and saw lots happy people enjoying themselves by the pool, we figured such big organization wouldn't need any type of scam to sell their beautiful properties. And when I asked them what's the catch for offering such a wonderful price on the package, they said it's for us to enjoy the package and to spread out the words about them by resell some of our "travel coupons" to friends or give it to family as a gift. Unfortunately, I thought that made sense too.
As for the famous "hell-like" sales tactic... I wasn't afraid of the nasty people I met at Mayan Palace. I grew up in NY, (I moved to Chicago last yr), I've seen & dealt with plenty aggressive & senseless sales people similar to the Mayan Palace before. So when I was told that the Mexican government only give them one shot at selling their properties (now I wonder it's true or not), my worst mistake is to think they were bunch desperate, excessive aggressive salesman who would try anything to close a deal instead of a group of con-man. I was too careless to make the assumption that Mayan Palace is reliable simply because it seems to be a large organization and forgetting the fact that not everything is absolute, that they have to do something right to keep some of their customers to stay with them in order to cover up the scams they're running. Just like Enron.
P.S: after doing some reseach, I realized those "happy people" we saw at Mayan Palace weren't owners of time-share unit at Mayan Palace (duh!), probably less than 1/3 people there were owners of the time-share, and that's why they all looked happy! Some of them are like Mariann who trade it with her time share, and some are just tenants, so of course they were happy there, silly me...
http://www.mescam.sws-llc.com/
i still couldn't see my message that was posted on 6/17/04 on my computer, so i will copy & paste it here just in case the rest of you are also having trouble finding it:
Author: nineccat
Date: 06/17/2004, 06:51 pm
Message: Hola, everyone! I appreciate all of the feedbacks that are posted here, they?re all unique and it lets me know my message is being read. However, after reading the feedbacks I think I need to make some clarifications:
1)I had a wonderful time in Mexico; I am not here to bad mouth Mexico.
2)The purpose of my message is to WARN people who are going to Mexico but are not familiar with Mexico, and to provide them some information about Mayan Palace scam.
Travleis, I think the info you provided here is great, I'm sure it'll be helpful to your readers. I also appreciate you took the time to leave your message. However, there are few things I like to point out and I disagree with:
1) I agree there are all types of scams everywhere. As matter of fact not just in the tourist industry alone, correct? However, this doesn't necessarily mean if someone fell into the scam then it's completely his or her fault, nor does it mean this type of scam is insignificant. Each case are different due to various factors, depending on the person; therefore I don't have the right nor the interest in judging who's at fault or to blame on, my only concern is to spread out the words to warn as many people as possible, and to prevent what has happened to me from happening to others.
2) I posted the message specifically for people who are not familiar with Mexico, this includes people who have never been to Mexico, and/or people who have never done any traveling outside US before. Some of us are more experienced (or shall I say has a better common sense) and know how to spot the people who run the scams, but we can't assume the others all have the same ability / knowledge. If all of the scams out there are pretty obvious, then can someone explain why is this type of scam is still growing? Well, I am sure some of us fell for it out of greed, our weakness of human nature could not resist the temptations and it blinds our logic thinking; but even so, does this mean they deserve to be scammed, as a punishment? What's really wrong is the existence of this phenomenon. The bottom line is: don't under estimate these con artists and help spread the words.
3) For the people who have joined the Mayan Palace "tour" or have been scam by them, I have this to say: just because you think you "should have" see it coming it doesn't mean it's completely your fault, and please do not let the fear of being criticized by others or embarrassment stop you from sharing your experiences with other people online or offline.
4) The websites I provided so far are not all of the ones I could find, there are more. I believe there are more people out there but they not familiar with the Internet, or people who don't know how to get help and eventually just give up. If you do a thorough search on Mayan Palace scam you'll see the victims are tricked or lured into the Mayan Palace in all sorts of ways by all kinds of people in different business. Mayan Palace doesn't need a "monopoly"; the commissions they offer will do the trick. That's 1 of the many reasons why I feel I must warn others about what I have gone through: since everything is based off commissions, they're everywhere.
5) Thank you for pointing out assuming a vendor located in a foreign airport is legitimate simply because it's in an airport is a mistake to me. Except that it wasn't a vendor, it was one of those information desks; but I must admit looking back I don't recall there were any signs on or above those counters, we were careless to assume it was. I could easily see other people make the same assumption, that's why I made a big deal of being alert as soon as one arrives the airport.
6) Travleis, although some of my opinions are different than yours, please know that I did not write this to start a quarrel with you. I've seem people writing and arguing back & fourth at the forum and that's just horrible. I just want to make some clarifications to make sure my messages are not misread.
I have done a lot of traveling in Europe and some in Asia, but I have never been to anywhere in or near the Caribbean. I know very littlie of Cancun (Caribbean) mainly because the type of activities (water sports, amusement parks, wild life animal, etc) in the area don?t fit my vacation style. My ideal vacation would be exploring cities, villas, visiting museums and learning a different culture in a foreign country. I prefer travel with friends (sometimes by myself ) and we would plan our own trips, we're not a big fan of joining a tour group, so we're not familiar with the "typical" tour group stuffs.
The reason why I chose to go to Cancun Mexico with my BF is because we both been through a lot past year and we didn't have any time or energy to plan our own trip, so we thought to give Cancun a try; it's near, inexpensive, and seemed to be very entertaining...but the best part of all is that not only we get to relax (I usually walk 8 hr per day on my trips, just like going to work? hahaha!) all we want, but we could visit the Chichen Itza to learn about the Mayans to make the trip educational as well.
I'm not inexperience when it comes to tourist traps & scams, and I've always felt pretty confident that I can spot them and steer away from them. To be honest, before I got scammed in Mexico, I was a bit "skeptical" (if you will) about the people who got scammed whenever I see it on the news, etc., because just like Travleis, I felt they were all pretty obvious. But after the Mayan Palace incident I realized that I was just being "lucky", because obviously the ones I've seen and dealt with were not as experienced & well trained as the people we ran into in Cancun.
Our "guy" at the airport was very nice and helpful, he did not push us to join the Mayan Palace tour nor did he seem to care we join or not (Oscar performance), he just informed us that Mayan Palace is looking for people to take a tour & survey because it's a new hotel, and that in exchange we would receive discounts off tour tickets and a free breakfast. The story made sense to me. To make it short, we weren't interested in the time-share after we found out there's a "misunderstanding" of why we were there, but we were interested in the vacation package. The last 2 guys we spoke with at Mayan Palace apologized for all of the "misunderstandings" and unpleasant events that ever took place during our "tour", they were both very polite & charming and answered all of our concerns about the legitimate of the package well.... The Mayan Palace in Cancun is pretty grand, although I've seen better before, but I must say it's not bad at all (except for its location & transportation). After taking a tour at the Mayan Place and saw lots happy people enjoying themselves by the pool, we figured such big organization wouldn't need any type of scam to sell their beautiful properties. And when I asked them what's the catch for offering such a wonderful price on the package, they said it's for us to enjoy the package and to spread out the words about them by resell some of our "travel coupons" to friends or give it to family as a gift. Unfortunately, I thought that made sense too.
As for the famous "hell-like" sales tactic... I wasn't afraid of the nasty people I met at Mayan Palace. I grew up in NY, (I moved to Chicago last yr), I've seen & dealt with plenty aggressive & senseless sales people similar to the Mayan Palace before. So when I was told that the Mexican government only give them one shot at selling their properties (now I wonder it's true or not), my worst mistake is to think they were bunch desperate, excessive aggressive salesman who would try anything to close a deal instead of a group of con-man. I was too careless to make the assumption that Mayan Palace is reliable simply because it seems to be a large organization and forgetting the fact that not everything is absolute, that they have to do something right to keep some of their customers to stay with them in order to cover up the scams they're running. Just like Enron.
P.S: after doing some reseach, I realized those "happy people" we saw at Mayan Palace weren't owners of time-share unit at Mayan Palace (duh!), probably less than 1/3 people there were owners of the time-share, and that's why they all looked happy! Some of them are like Mariann who trade it with her time share, and some are just tenants, so of course they were happy there, silly me...
Sep 10th, 2004, 11:16 AM
#24
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Just want to share the good news:
WE'VE GOT OUR MONEY BACK! ^o^
After 3 months of reseaching and waiting, this has finally come to an end.
For people who are planning thier first trip to Mexico, please learn from my story and make sure to stay away from any activities or discount offered by MAYAN PALACE or any other sales representation-- even if you think you've got the wits to deal with these blood suckers, b/c it's a waste of your prescious vacation time and even if they can't con your money they'll make sure to find a way to stain your vacation memories.
Enjoy your first trip to Mexico everyone!
WE'VE GOT OUR MONEY BACK! ^o^
After 3 months of reseaching and waiting, this has finally come to an end.
For people who are planning thier first trip to Mexico, please learn from my story and make sure to stay away from any activities or discount offered by MAYAN PALACE or any other sales representation-- even if you think you've got the wits to deal with these blood suckers, b/c it's a waste of your prescious vacation time and even if they can't con your money they'll make sure to find a way to stain your vacation memories.
Enjoy your first trip to Mexico everyone!
Oct 18th, 2004, 05:53 PM
#25
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ninecat:
we too were scammed. Currently over $5000! What folks did you go through to get your money back? Right now, Mayan Palace is trying to re-do our contract. We want out of this scam. Can you help? ([email protected])
we too were scammed. Currently over $5000! What folks did you go through to get your money back? Right now, Mayan Palace is trying to re-do our contract. We want out of this scam. Can you help? ([email protected])
Nov 23rd, 2004, 01:32 PM
#26
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Sorry to know!
Go to the following website and look for "Attention to Foreigners". This is the Mexico agency that helped us got out money back.
http://www.profeco.gob.mx/html/consu....htm#attention
Good luck and don't forget to let us know how it go!
Go to the following website and look for "Attention to Foreigners". This is the Mexico agency that helped us got out money back.
http://www.profeco.gob.mx/html/consu....htm#attention
Good luck and don't forget to let us know how it go!
Mar 17th, 2005, 11:52 PM
#27
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I bought this package in Sept 2003 and finally have just tried to use it.
I have now found the same inconsistencies i the package and the original agreement. The reps in phoenix are apparently looking for available locations for where I want to go now so we shall see what they come up with.
Is there a time restriction on getting your money back. Does anyone have any updates on what has happened with them?
I have just e-mailed PROFECA and will await a response from them.
Trying to sort through all this is just too time consuming. If anyone has any more info it would much appreciated.
I have now found the same inconsistencies i the package and the original agreement. The reps in phoenix are apparently looking for available locations for where I want to go now so we shall see what they come up with.
Is there a time restriction on getting your money back. Does anyone have any updates on what has happened with them?
I have just e-mailed PROFECA and will await a response from them.
Trying to sort through all this is just too time consuming. If anyone has any more info it would much appreciated.
Mar 18th, 2005, 12:42 PM
#28
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A multitude of sayings come to mind "Let the Buyer Beware", "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is", "You get what you pay for". I guess I am just amazed that people are so trusting &/or gullible. Particularly regular participants on this board. Good luck to all, in recovering your losses. A well placed letter, on an Attorney's letterhead may help speed up the process.
Mar 19th, 2005, 06:40 PM
#29
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Oh, Diana...How quickly they ignore your SWD program advice and return to the timeshare woes. Sometimes talking to people who are convinced their child had such a wonderful experience with one of these programs and ignoring the repurcussions, I just want to bang my head repeatedly with a frying pan...the results are about the same. Read the information available friends on this subject and please stop contributing money to keep these businesses thriving...please.
Apr 7th, 2005, 02:53 PM
#30
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Belle,
I didn’t start this tread for SWD (Just where did you see SWD in the subject?) It is only natural that people are exchanging their opinions and experiences regarding fraudulent timeshare / vacation package. I found your post a little absurd. I personally agree with Diana in regards to SWD and there’s absolutely plenty of room for SWD info to be post here, but I don’t agree with what you wrote: “How quickly they ignore your SWD program advice and return to the timeshare woes.”
This thread IS about fraudulent timeshare / vacation package. Your comment was immature and disrespectful to everyone who has contributed to this thread.
I didn’t start this tread for SWD (Just where did you see SWD in the subject?) It is only natural that people are exchanging their opinions and experiences regarding fraudulent timeshare / vacation package. I found your post a little absurd. I personally agree with Diana in regards to SWD and there’s absolutely plenty of room for SWD info to be post here, but I don’t agree with what you wrote: “How quickly they ignore your SWD program advice and return to the timeshare woes.”
This thread IS about fraudulent timeshare / vacation package. Your comment was immature and disrespectful to everyone who has contributed to this thread.
Dec 19th, 2006, 06:00 PM
#32
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Mayan Palace is still scamming people after all these years of complaints. check out http://www.mayanresorts.info before you travel to Mexico or if you have been scammed and want to learn how to get out of your contract.
Apr 22nd, 2007, 07:50 AM
#33
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Mayan Palace’s ruthless timeshare tactics has a new twist that travelers need to be aware of.
First off: Never, NEVER attend a Mexican Timeshare Sales presentation – PERIOD. But if for some reason you do, be aware of a new SCAM run by Mayan Resorts. It’s called the Great Vacations Club. Here’s how it works:
You attend a Mayan Resorts timeshare sales presentation, and resist signing a timeshare contract, they hit you with a new twist. Here is how it goes: You are free to go, you just need to fill out an exit survey. Some ‘nice guys’ tell you they don’t work for the timeshare sales company, but actually work for the developer. They gain your trust by admitting everything you were told inside during the timeshare sales presentation was exaggerated, and the rental amounts quoted are not realistic. Then during the exit interview, they ask you if you would be their guests and come back for a week for $199.00 and also get 2 spa treatments and 2 rounds of golf (or some other B.S.). When you agree that this sounds good, before you know it, you are in another sales presentation for a 5 or 10 year membership for Mexican Vacations, weeks here and there, cruise certificates, discount airfare, etc.
Wow sounds good, you sign, and initial agreements and addendums; they buy you Margaritas, WOW what NICE guys, and what a GREAT deal. What could go wrong? Well, you are so tired of all this, you just want to get out of there and get back to your vacation (the 90 minute sales presentation you originally agreed to actually lasted 4,5,6 or 7 hours!) . You forget to ask about cancellation, you overlook the numerous references in your agreement to ‘SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY’. Yes, you’ve just been SCAMMED. They don’t even mention your 5 working day right to cancel and get a full refund, a right given you, the consumer, by Mexican Law. You just paid $5000.00 for 5 years of ‘NO AVAILABILITY’, the rest of the package is also just more worthless junk.
It gets better; the whole scam is accessed online via www.greatvacatoinsclub.com, and in a few weeks you will get your packet with your login ID and password - then you can start booking these great vacations. Well, once you get access to the password protected web-site, you find the sting – nothing is ever available; and, oh yeah, now you are past your 5 day right of rescission, so you ain’t getting’ your money back either (a clause in the agreement you signed says: “Member may cancel an active membership at any time but the enrollment fee is non-refundable.” – and YOU Initialed this!!!). Welcome to Mexico – what a way to ruin a great vacation!
Remember, if you did get scammed by Mayan Resorts or Great Vacations Club, you have ONLY ONE WAY OUT: 5 WORKING DAY RIGHT OF RESCISSION. Check the links below for instructions on how to get your refund, BUT DO IT FAST! I did (act fast) and I have (my FULL REFUND).
More help for scammed can be found on these sites:
http://www.mescam.com/index.htm
http://www.mexicolaw.com/Timeshare.htm
http://members.cox.net/tequila1921/gvc/gvcscam.html
http://www.everythingagave.com/vacat...ofecohelp.html
http://www.gkaufmann.com/Content/Pla...haraeFraud.pdf
First off: Never, NEVER attend a Mexican Timeshare Sales presentation – PERIOD. But if for some reason you do, be aware of a new SCAM run by Mayan Resorts. It’s called the Great Vacations Club. Here’s how it works:
You attend a Mayan Resorts timeshare sales presentation, and resist signing a timeshare contract, they hit you with a new twist. Here is how it goes: You are free to go, you just need to fill out an exit survey. Some ‘nice guys’ tell you they don’t work for the timeshare sales company, but actually work for the developer. They gain your trust by admitting everything you were told inside during the timeshare sales presentation was exaggerated, and the rental amounts quoted are not realistic. Then during the exit interview, they ask you if you would be their guests and come back for a week for $199.00 and also get 2 spa treatments and 2 rounds of golf (or some other B.S.). When you agree that this sounds good, before you know it, you are in another sales presentation for a 5 or 10 year membership for Mexican Vacations, weeks here and there, cruise certificates, discount airfare, etc.
Wow sounds good, you sign, and initial agreements and addendums; they buy you Margaritas, WOW what NICE guys, and what a GREAT deal. What could go wrong? Well, you are so tired of all this, you just want to get out of there and get back to your vacation (the 90 minute sales presentation you originally agreed to actually lasted 4,5,6 or 7 hours!) . You forget to ask about cancellation, you overlook the numerous references in your agreement to ‘SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY’. Yes, you’ve just been SCAMMED. They don’t even mention your 5 working day right to cancel and get a full refund, a right given you, the consumer, by Mexican Law. You just paid $5000.00 for 5 years of ‘NO AVAILABILITY’, the rest of the package is also just more worthless junk.
It gets better; the whole scam is accessed online via www.greatvacatoinsclub.com, and in a few weeks you will get your packet with your login ID and password - then you can start booking these great vacations. Well, once you get access to the password protected web-site, you find the sting – nothing is ever available; and, oh yeah, now you are past your 5 day right of rescission, so you ain’t getting’ your money back either (a clause in the agreement you signed says: “Member may cancel an active membership at any time but the enrollment fee is non-refundable.” – and YOU Initialed this!!!). Welcome to Mexico – what a way to ruin a great vacation!
Remember, if you did get scammed by Mayan Resorts or Great Vacations Club, you have ONLY ONE WAY OUT: 5 WORKING DAY RIGHT OF RESCISSION. Check the links below for instructions on how to get your refund, BUT DO IT FAST! I did (act fast) and I have (my FULL REFUND).
More help for scammed can be found on these sites:
http://www.mescam.com/index.htm
http://www.mexicolaw.com/Timeshare.htm
http://members.cox.net/tequila1921/gvc/gvcscam.html
http://www.everythingagave.com/vacat...ofecohelp.html
http://www.gkaufmann.com/Content/Pla...haraeFraud.pdf
Jun 5th, 2013, 08:55 AM
#34
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Mayan Palace sales tactics are hardcore and they will tell you anything you want to hear to get you into the contract and keep you in contract with them, and dealing with Mayan Palace after the purchase of your timeshare can be a little frustrated. Especially because customer service won’t get you the answers you expect to get when it comes on how to use your timeshare or trying to Book your next vacations, lucky if you are able to do book anything:
http://www.timesharescam.com/blog/51...imeshare-scam/
http://www.timesharescam.com/blog/51...imeshare-scam/
Jul 1st, 2013, 06:05 PM
#35
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Beware of Vacation Class S.A. de C.V. (advertising The Bliss Resorts, Bliss Vacation Club, Grand Mayan, Vida Vacations, VidaSales and more).
My mother and I traveled to Mexico to celebrate my graduation from college. After about seven hours traveling we were met at the airport in Cancun by some saleswoman misrepresenting her intention. The next day we were at their Grand Mayan where we were subjected to five hours of high-pressure sales tactics before we relented signing an English-only document purporting to be selling "lodging rights and services."
After getting away, we learned more about whom we had been picked up by from websites like tripadvisor, timesharescam, complaintsboard, scam, mescam, pissedconsumer, independenttraveler, and fodors, to name a few (all ending dot com). We notified the sales office that we cancel and asked for our downpayment back. They pretend to be confused and refuse.
We learned that Mexican law protects consumers under PROFECO; that all contracts regarding property in Mexico, including timeshares, must be in Spanish and bear certification by a Notario--neither of which was true for us; and that we can file a complaint in at any Mexican Consulate.
Our lawyer is putting together copies of their responses to share with you the names (and taunting words) of these sales people and the additional aliases they use. We hope that this post reaches you before you travel to Mexico, so you know to stay away from these people when they try to get you at the airport.
My mother and I traveled to Mexico to celebrate my graduation from college. After about seven hours traveling we were met at the airport in Cancun by some saleswoman misrepresenting her intention. The next day we were at their Grand Mayan where we were subjected to five hours of high-pressure sales tactics before we relented signing an English-only document purporting to be selling "lodging rights and services."
After getting away, we learned more about whom we had been picked up by from websites like tripadvisor, timesharescam, complaintsboard, scam, mescam, pissedconsumer, independenttraveler, and fodors, to name a few (all ending dot com). We notified the sales office that we cancel and asked for our downpayment back. They pretend to be confused and refuse.
We learned that Mexican law protects consumers under PROFECO; that all contracts regarding property in Mexico, including timeshares, must be in Spanish and bear certification by a Notario--neither of which was true for us; and that we can file a complaint in at any Mexican Consulate.
Our lawyer is putting together copies of their responses to share with you the names (and taunting words) of these sales people and the additional aliases they use. We hope that this post reaches you before you travel to Mexico, so you know to stay away from these people when they try to get you at the airport.
Jul 8th, 2013, 04:27 PM
#36
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My mother and I have received an "offer of settlement" (viewable at this link http://tinyurl.com/k3mggkf) that would obligate us to lie about our experience with these people who have identified themselves to us as Bliss Resorts, Bliss Vacation Club, Vida Vacation Club International Sales, Grupo Vida Vacation, Mayan Resorts, Riviera Maya, et al.
First, this offer purports to create a contractual relationship between us and another company, to wit: Premium International Vacations S.A. de C.V. We are trying to sever ties with the authors of this unpleasant chapter of our lives, not expand the list of characters.
Second, this offer purports to have us surrender our free speech rights, and goes further by obliging us to participate in marketing activities, such as posting positive comments, on behalf of the Premium International Vacations S.A. de C.V. and its unidentified "Affiliates," for no consideration other than the return of our own money.
Third, this offer demands our silence, requiring us to keep these terms a secret, and never to speak about it, under threat. Meanwhile, we are suppose to trust that the "Person Offering Settlement" noted on this offer with an office at the Riviera Maya (a) has the authority to make this offer, and (b) will eventually refund our downpayment.
Who are these people? And why would any reputable hotel or resort allow them on their property to take our money? More importantly, why hasn't any of THESE hotels and resorts contacted us to resolve this?
First, this offer purports to create a contractual relationship between us and another company, to wit: Premium International Vacations S.A. de C.V. We are trying to sever ties with the authors of this unpleasant chapter of our lives, not expand the list of characters.
Second, this offer purports to have us surrender our free speech rights, and goes further by obliging us to participate in marketing activities, such as posting positive comments, on behalf of the Premium International Vacations S.A. de C.V. and its unidentified "Affiliates," for no consideration other than the return of our own money.
Third, this offer demands our silence, requiring us to keep these terms a secret, and never to speak about it, under threat. Meanwhile, we are suppose to trust that the "Person Offering Settlement" noted on this offer with an office at the Riviera Maya (a) has the authority to make this offer, and (b) will eventually refund our downpayment.
Who are these people? And why would any reputable hotel or resort allow them on their property to take our money? More importantly, why hasn't any of THESE hotels and resorts contacted us to resolve this?
Jul 15th, 2013, 05:42 AM
#37
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My advice: If you are getting your money back and will no longer be obligated to buy a timeshare, let it go and sign the document. Realize that you are getting what you want and be happy. Then move on.
I'm not sure why we are resurrecting this years-old timeshare thread, and I'd like to modestly propose that we let this one die a natural death.
Timeshares are definitely not for everyone, are never a good investment, and are often sold very "hard". That's the nature of the business. But no one should ever sign a legal document or contract without reading it completely and getting every question answered. You can always walk away from a timeshare presentation. This whole problem need never have happened.
I'm not sure why we are resurrecting this years-old timeshare thread, and I'd like to modestly propose that we let this one die a natural death.
Timeshares are definitely not for everyone, are never a good investment, and are often sold very "hard". That's the nature of the business. But no one should ever sign a legal document or contract without reading it completely and getting every question answered. You can always walk away from a timeshare presentation. This whole problem need never have happened.
