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Originally Posted by PJTSytms97
The only way to fight back against these unscrupulous individuals, is to try to warn as many tourists as possible about Boutique Resort La Jolla, Mazatlan Mexico, as well as the other timeshare companies. The bottom line is that we Americans have no protection against these salesmen. Bank of America, the bank that issued the credit card for the $6175.00 downpayment, could have cared less that I was defrauded by Fernando Lobato. I submitted documented proof, that Lobato breached Contract No. 417 with Addendum on June 18, 2008. I even tried writing to Ken Lewis, who was then, the CEO of Bank of America, and received no response, accept a telephone call from one of his people, telling me that I must pay the credit card bill, or risk having my credit destroyed for seven years. I submitted all my paperwork describing the fraud to PROFECO in Mexico City, but have not heard any follow-up. I wrote to my state senators, congressman, Comptroller of the Currency, and paid $500 for some legal advice on how to move forward. All this to be forced to pay $6175 for absolutely nothing. I have written off the $6175. Paying that debt was a very bitter lesson to learn at my age, but learn I have. PROFECO cannot force Lobato to refund my downpayment as he agreed to in Contract No. 417 with Addendum. It could have been worse, I might have paid the entire purchase price, and then I would have to deal with Lobato, for the next 29 years-that would have been disastrous.
I like to think that I have healed from this experience, as it will soon be two years, since I was defrauded. I like to think of myself now as a timeshare fraud survivor. Knowledge is power, and this will never happen to me again, I can assure you. We survivors, I think, have a responsiblity to warn potential victims of timeshare fraud.
Good Luck to us all.
PJT Sytms97
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Dear Fellow Sufferer and Survivor and Victor,
I am going through something very similar. If you care to look on the websites epspecially Pissed Consumer, Complaints Board, and even Tugg, among others, just plug in my name "Vera V Christopher" and you will see what I have been through with them. I am a UK citizen and I really feel for the US citizens who have been deceived by these dreadful bandidos. It is coming up to nearly three years but one month that I have been wrestling with them for the return of my money. They are a hard nut to crack. But just keep on exposing them on all the websites that you can. This is what the experts say. You must put up a pressure. The more people do this the more are forewarned and forearmed. I see that they are totally unscrupulous.
They are even willing to spike the coffee at the Mayan Palace so called free breakfast to make a person less alert. They did not expect me to drink three cups of coffee, hence their surprise that I was so weak and could hardly walk after that breakfast. My companion was all for going to see this "wonderful five star deluxe hotel" that they were saying they wanted to show us for next year! They never once used the word timeshare, not once. We had just had a ten hour flight and had slept the night before these Mexican "cheap trip" salesmen arrived at our hotel the next day upon arrival to Mexico. My companion fell for their cheap trip game. The whole purpose of them being at the airport is to fish out foreign visitors to Mexico to defraud them essentially. Nothing else. We imagined that they were travel agents. We went to the Mayan Palace in good faith and before we knew it we were in that glass auditorium with clay models of all their timeshare resorts and a woman was on our back talking at us what a deal it is that they are offering. After all that "coffee" I was not myself at all plus we had had ten hours of travel the day before. I learned a huge life lesson on that vacation. It was so unlucky, as I had intended to rest and take some sun as we have so little here in the UK in winter especially. What a disastrous place for me! Apart from the mosquitoes because it was the rainy season these timeshare were horrible. No control at the airport, they have their own desk etc. Their government should do something about them but they are not doing anything, in fact they are supporting them to do this by the looks of things!!! It is a lawless place and it has put me off going there again. The weather and the natural beauty of the country is wonderful but these sharks were badgering us all the time. They want foreign money and these timeshares are a con, total con.
Many people do not believe that they would be willing to drug a person to get their money, but I have learned that it is not that unusual. In Spain and the Canary Islands there are a lot of timeshare companies and they have been known to use this method so that they "paralyse" the mind, a person feels sleepy and unconcerned. I was not totally drugged but enough to render me unable to make a proper decision in that state. All I could wish for at that time was to sleep. They take a lot of chances, but with authorities like that in Mexico it is no wonder that they are not afraid to do this type of thing. From that side I would never risk going there again. Had I been on my own ironically I would have been much more cautious about these things but my companion was one that I had to keep on pulling toward myself away from these sharks and I just was not fast enough. She purchased "cheap" tickets to Chichinitsa and the next thing I knew these two characters were at out hotel parked in the alleyway of the hotel, like in hiding, away from the hotel staff.
It was horrible. The whole experience was to make a person really cautious and wary for the next time for sure. But press on with exposure. They hate this....and the more people do it the better for them and Mayan gets nervous as this is not good for business. That vacation was ruined for me. It was a horrendous trial to have to go back and ask for my money, and then I saw what I did not see the first time. These "managers" there are shady characters, keeping the door slightly open when they speak to you so that the others across the hallway can hear what you are saying. It was nasty for me. They have a very unorthodox way of doing "business". You are right it is all trickery and deception. Just pursue by exposing them on all the websites that you come across. It is the only way. The whole business is daylight robbery and apparently these salespeople are paid very high commissions for every "sale", so it pays them to become very good liars, looking you straight in the eye and telling you a big pack of lies from beginning to end. The Mexican legal system stinks, corruption. I have no faith in it. They are used to all this trickery there by the looks of things, they accept it as "normal". Coming from lawful countries it is a shock to the system for us. Timeshare has not got a good name in England for instance, although some people do have them, but in general it is shunned as a con. Mostly ex cons go into this business I am told. It is fast money, selling "hot air", and what happens if they go bust tomorrow you lose out!! There are so many pitfalls in this industry.
I am going to continue to press on.....I too would never touch any timeshare now with a barge pole!!! Even if it is honest business as I understand that Disney are good and Sheraton, after all that I have gone through, no way! Never, ever again!
Take courage. I hope that I have been of some use to you with this sharing of what it has been like for me. The worst was the waking up in the hotel at three am and trying to work out how all this happened to me. I felt very uncomfortable in that place even though the natural beauty of the place was stunning, it was those reps that got to me. They have a lot to gain by deceiving the public and they are much more trained than it appears. I was told what a rigorous training they get to convince the client that they are offering you a fantastic deal that you must not let pass you by...! All lies for their own benefit. I met a woman here who had been trained by one of the large timeshare companies there, and she said if people only knew what goes into all of that they would never entertain it. They are trained to study you psychologically. That "free breakfast" is the beginning of their assessment process of the individual that they target....it is not good. I like the quiet life. I really regret allowing my companion to go with me to on the holiday, as she was not controllable and I was unable to restrain her.....she went straight into the lion's mouth at the airport!!!
All the best to you in your quest to get your money back.. Do not give up! Fight the good fight with all they might, and take it all the way to the end, when you have victory over them. They cannot win over everybody. Just persevere and endure to the end. It does take time but I am sure that you can do it. You sound young and full of life! They should not be there as they are....they need stringent legislation to be enforced upon them. It is a rotten system there, not straightforward. I feel sorry for some of the people there. It is very medieval, very rich and dirt poor, no golden medium!
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK OF EXPOSURE. YOU WILL REAP A GOOD HARVEST AT THE END! DON'T GIVE UP!