Help ! - FRAUD concern, Mayan Palace/Cancun Bay Tours, Riviera Maya
 

The Mayan Palace ("Vida") airport representative pulled a bait and switch on us at the airport saying he was a representative of Mexican govt tourism which was sponsoring a tour promotion, tkts for which could be picked up at the Mayan Palace hotel - a 20 minute commitment/process.
When we arrived at the resort we were told we had to stay for a 90 min Vacation Club presentation. Three hours and 6 sales people later we finally got out of there but not before one saleswoman got especially nasty and said we couldn't leave until she was finished presenting. In retrospect we should have stood up & sacrificed the cash deposit on our " promotional tour" tkts.
That said, we now have tkts to visit Chichen Itza with Cancun Bay Tours. Is this even a real tour company? Please help!
I'm definitely willing to give up the money to avoid another horrible experience.

The tour company is almost certainly real. But, they may try to get you to buy stuff as well. Use the tickets, and continue to politely decline to buy whatever you don't want.

You just walked into a hard-sell timeshare sales presentation is all. Nothing unusual about anything you've said, unfortunately.

Unfortunately you got hooked into a timeshare presentation, Mayan Palace is known for particularly hard sell tactics. ALL the transfer companies, car rental companies, etc. are OUTSIDE the airport. The people between Customs and the doors to the outside are almost all timeshare reps (couple of kids trying to make a few bucks hauling luggage for folks also). If you go back to the Riviera Maya do not stop or talk to any of these people until you get outside. If you feel you must be polite just say No gracias and keep walking with your eyes down or straight ahead. Most of them wear these really official looking uniforms and will tell you all sorts of lies, like how you have to show them your transfer papers, etc. Just ignore them and keep going.

We talk about this near daily on the Puerto Vallarta Trip Advisor forum. Warning newbies about the timeshare reps at the airport, posing as someone official. They are located after Customs but before you are out into the airport lobby where the real tour operators are stationed.

And Mayan Palace is the most notorious for doing BAD (high pressure) presentations in all the locations.

Thank you everyone - I usually heavily research trips on the forums but this time I dropped the ball!
I have avoided time share sales presentations until now so.. live and learn.

at least you didn't buy a timeshare!
;-)

Sadly...just the same 'ole, same 'ole timeshare routine. I don't understand how they ever sell anything, but it must work on someone, sometime. Now you know.

They worked on my dad.

Twice.

Sigh.

Never never stop to talk to the 'travel information' vultures at the airport. Once you have your luggage and have used the ATM and restroom, get out of the terminal.

I fell for that one too a few years ago (same resort/hotel too).... I know better now. The timeshare people are every where. Cant believe your travel documents didn't clearly state go outside the building.
I have a travel agent that warns me of all this kind of crap. She told me to put my business card inside my suite cases too... saved my butt not too long ago. Airlines lost my suite case all the tags on the outside got ripped off. Took 5 days but I got a call from baggage in Dallas and got my bag back next day, with all my stuff!

Wow people "in your face" and telling you what you can and can't do.. I would be furious,, and likely tell them to f off.. pretty sure more people should just tell them to f off really.. sales people gone rabid is what it sounds like.

Wondering why they don't shoo those folks out of the airports,9 , sounds pretty tacky. The legit folks are OUTSIDE the airport and the skanky shysters are inside,, yeah, that makes sense( not)

If the sales force are "Snakes" so is the company.
Any 8th grade graduate has enough math to show what a bad deal ALL time shares are.

You were looking to get something for nothing, and guess what, no such thing. You eagerly were willing to go elsewhere to pick up free tickets to something, which you got. I seriously doubt they held you at gunpoint when you got there, but probably said you wouldn't get the free tickets unless you spent those hours there. Which you chose to do.

This seems pretty normal to me for people who are willing to trade their time to get freebies. No one forced you to do anything.

FOLKS . . . this is an old thread that was topped by (multiple) spammers.

Why anyone would give a "Cash Deposit" for a "free"presentation is beyond this Ole Iowa Boy.
The Ultimate stupidity IMO!

I also had a horrible experience with them. I've purchased my timeshare 3 years ago, and it's been impossible to get out. I was pressured to sign a contract,
and i was also scammed, they never did what they promised. We must do whatever it's in our hands to put finish to those thieves!!!
I was looking for some information about this resort and all their scam tactics, and i've found these articles that have a lot of info
about them, take a look:

http://www.timesharescam.com/blog/51...imeshare-scam/