timeshare fraud with mayan palace

[marie60]

We have just returned from our vacation in Mexico and we are canceling our contract with Mayan Palace Regency immediately. We were deceived and lied to in order to illegally and unlawfully obtain $25,000.00 U.S. dollars from us during our vacation. We attempted to cancel our contract at the resort within the 5 day cancellation period but our request to cancel was not accepted. we are triying. canceling our contract with the Mayan Palace and we are demanding a full refund of $25,000 to our accounts immediately.

We were told that the Mayan Palace would purchase our two timeshare weeks from us. They promised to pay us a total of $27,800 for the two weeks. They had a contract with the prices they would pay for our weeks but we were not given a copy. We were also not given copies of our credit application and we were not told that we were applying for Bank of America credit cards.

Upon review of our paperwork, we realized that copies of important papers had mysteriously been left out of the notebook that we were given. We also researched the Mayan Palace, their rental rates and sales practices on the internet at the resort. We spoke with our sales representative and asked him for the missing paperwork. He told us that he did not have the papers as they were already sent to Texas but in the same statement he said that we would be dealing with a company in Florida who would be buying our timeshares from us. This same company, Luxury Resort Management insisted on charging our credit card account for $399 in order to process the listing of our two timeshares.

We told them that we wanted to cancel our contract since we could not afford to pay for the Mayan timeshare without the money from the sale of our timeshares

The Mayan Palace refused to allow us to rescind our agreement. We were told that we could not cancel and we would lose all of our money that we paid to the Mayan Palace and that the cancellation period had passed, which was not true.

[PJTSytms97]

Hi,

We were defrauded out of $6175 by Boutique Resort La Jolla, Mazatlan, Mexico. From what I have read from other fellow victims, the only way to get a refund is to hire your own lawyer. The US Embassy to Mexico website, has a list of Mexican attorneys to choose from. Some of the other travel sites, also have listed Mexican attorneys that have been able to obtain refunds, with a cost of 20%-30% of the recovery. Since my cost was relatively small, by example, it would not be worth it to pursue Boutique Resort La Jolla with my own private attorney. I currently have a fraud case against the resort with PROFECO in Mexico City. Over the past year, I have heard many differing opinions about this consumer protection agency, but I remain hopeful of a just outcome. I am fortunate, that I was defrauded out of my downpayment only, and not the entire purchase price listed in the sales agreement.
I found out shortly after I signed the contract with the resort, that they had no intention of every trying to sell my previously owned timeshare. I too, applied for a Bank of America credit card, which was conveniently supplied by our salesman, Fernando Lobato. I submitted written proof of fraud to Bank of America, following the purchase, and I was still made to pay the credit card, or risk having my credit destroyed for years to come. This entire experience has led me to decide to make alternative travel plans in the future. We do not plan to return to Mexico in the near future. Our elected officials should look at the numbers of Americans who fall prey to unscrupulous Mexican timeshare
sales fraud. I wish you luck in obtaining a refund.
Regards,
PJT

[said]

We purchased the timeshare with La Jolla under the understanding that la jolla would find buyers for our two current timeshares at the agreed upon price of $5.00 within six months. At the end of that period when no buyer was found, I demanded reimbursement of the amount I had paid, $15.300 USD. They came back to me requesting another 6 months with the provision that I would be paid the $5.500 USD in equal monthly installments over a 6 month period. At the end of that time if no buyers were found, the Resort would take over ownership, and i would have no further obligation to those timeshares after September 10, 2008. They made the regular six-month payments and paid the $5, 500 in full. I gave them an additional week after September 10 to accept the transfer of ownership of the two timeshares since the sales manager I was dealing with, Ed Chester, was ill.

I sent them the paper work for the timeshare transfers to be signed and returned to me by September 17. The paper work was returned to me unsigned. I sent an email stating that, since I got the papers back unsigned and they obviously had no intention of going forward with the deal, to send me the balance of the money owed me $9, 800 USD. They ignored this and cut off further communication.

Earlier this year, the Resort sent me a bill for the maintenance fees for 2008 and 2009 by email. I responded that since he had voided our contract no monies were due. They responded that I was right and they were sorry for bothering me.

To think that I was going to utilize the service of Fernando Lobato, the sales manager who started this charade, to help me purchase a residence since my wife and I were planning to retire in Mexico, is laughable. It is good that I found out the type person he is and by reflection, the resort itself is, before I invested any additional monies. I have tried since the beginning of this deal to make it work because I was so totally convinced by Mr. Lobato that this was a good deal. Boy, was I wrong. The time and money I have spent money for legal forms, postage, phone calls, and shipping costs to Mexico dealing with the transfer of my current timeshares.

This situation has been the source of considerable aggravation and anxiety for almost two years now. Whereas previously my wife and I had seriously considered relocating to Mexico, we have no desire to visit there again at the moment. It's a shame that a Lobato and Resort La Jolla could make us feel this way. Since this incident happened in trying to find a resolution to getting my money back, I have found other individuals who have also been scammed by them. People like this should have any sales licenses they possess cancelled since they unfortunately represent to an extent the Mexican people.
I am going to dedicate myself to aware future travelers to Mazatlan and Mexico to be careful about going to timeshare presentations since we are not protected by the laws of Mexico or the US.

[Zimscammed]

I am yet another victim of the timeshare scam perpetrated by Mayan Group/Grupo Mayan and The Grand Mayan Vacation Club at their Grand Mayan and Mayan Palace resorts. From my perspective, the timeshare sales program at these resorts is nothing more than a criminal enterprise designed to separate foreign tourists from their money. There is nothing these people won’t do in order to make the sale. Then, they are trained to give you the run-around and offer you crumbs when you approach them about their unethical sales practices. And, unfortunately, there is little recourse against these unscrupulous people, since U.S. law is of no help, the credit card companies side with the fee-generating business, and the Mexican consumer protection agency has no teeth to impose a resolution.

My story is a familiar one. In December, 2008, I was traveling with my extended family in Mexico and agreed to attend the sales presentation at the Grand Mayan resort in Cabo San Lucas. At the conclusion of the presentation, I stated to the Grupo Mayan sales representative, Alex Lehan that I was not interested in purchasing a Grupo Mayan timeshare because they were for properties located only in Mexico and because they were expressly unavailable during school vacation periods. I mentioned that the only interest I had was to travel together with my extended family, during school vacations, to high-end properties around the world, not just in Mexico.

At that point, Brent Underdahl, another representative of Mayan Resorts/Grupo Mayan, joined us. I again repeated the reasons why I had no interest in purchasing a Mayan Group timeshare. Mr. Underdahl explained that even though the Mayan timeshares being offered were not available during school vacation periods, they could be “exchanged” for very high-end properties located throughout the world that would be available during school vacation periods. He bragged that the Mayan Group was associated with the best exchange companies who were connected to the finest properties in the world. He asked me if I was familiar with and would be satisfied exchanging Mayan Group timeshares for properties known as the “Residences” that are affiliated with the Four Seasons, the Ritz Carlton and the St. Regis Hotel chains. I am familiar with and am satisfied with the quality of the Residences affiliated with the Four Seasons and Ritz Hotel chains, having been solicited to purchase them in the past.

Mr. Underdahl repeatedly assured me that the Mayan timeshares that were unavailable during school vacation periods could be readily exchanged for Four Seasons, Ritz or St. Regis Residences, on a one-to-one basis (a two bedroom Mayan suite for a two bedroom suite at Four Season, Ritz or St. Regis Residences), at any time throughout the year, including during school vacation periods. He also told me that each Mayan Group timeshare could also be sold each year for a “guaranteed” $2500.

Unfortunately, it was not possible for me to check the truthfulness of Mr. Underdahl’s statements while I was in Mexico because information about the exchange programs, I was told, would not be available until after I registered as a Mayan timeshare owner. Mr. Underdahl stated that we would have to wait to exchange our Grupo Mayan timeshares for a Four Seasons or Ritz Residence timeshare for the Christmas 2009 school vacation period until we were enrolled in the HSI and Registry Collection exchange programs, which could take up to 45 days.

When I returned to the United States and received some of the exchange program materials, I attempted to exchange the Grupo Mayan timeshares for timeshares known as Four Seasons or Ritz Residences. It was then that we discovered that no such exchange opportunity existed and that Mr. Underdahl had lied to us.

These statements of Mr. Underdahl, which led to my decision to purchase, were not true. There is, in fact, neither an ability to exchange the Mayan Group timeshares for accommodations at the Four Seasons, Ritz or St. Regis Residences, on a one-to-one basis throughout the year, including during school vacation periods, nor is there any guarantee that the Mayan Group timeshares can be sold each year for a “guaranteed” $2500. Mr. Underdahl deliberately lied to me to induce me to purchase Mayan timeshares, knowing that I had no interest in making the purchase unless I could rely on the truth of his representations.

I have tried to engage the Grupo Mayan company in a dialogue about my experience and unhappiness. They have made a few half-hearted offers that only compound my unhappiness with their business practices. Grupo Mayan obviously believes that making the “sale” is more important than resolving bona fide disputes with customers. They have no interest in amicable resolution of disputes. It is sad that I am forced to engage in an information campaign to share my horrible experience with others in an effort to discourage others from falling victim to this scam. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE. They cannot be trusted.

[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

[PJTSytms97]

Yesterday, we received a letter from a man claiming to represent, Mr. Fernando Lobato,our Boutique Resort LaJolla, Mazatlan, Mexico salesman. The letter states that they are investigating the stories of my timeshare experience with Mr. Lobato, that I have posted on the worldwide web. This is the second notification of possible legal action, that we have received from Boutique Resort LaJolla. Americans are protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution for freedom of speech. My stories of our timeshare sales experience with Mr. Lobato, are documented clearly in Contract No. 417 with Addendum, that was signed by us and Mr. Lobato on December 17, 2007.

On June 17, 2008, Mr. Lobato breached Contract No. 417 with addendum, when he did not sell our previously owned timeshare, and he did not "reimburse all monies given up to that point." The contract stated that if he did not sell our timeshare by June 17, 2008, we could cancel the contract, and we would receive a refund of our earnest money downpayment of $6175.00. Mr. Lobato personally initiated and signed Contract No. 417 with addendum on December 17, 2007. On June 17, 2008 we notified Mr. Lobato by email and certified mail, that we were canceling the contract, and we wanted to receive a refund of our earnest downpayment of $6175.00. We had to hire an attorney to reinforce the cancellation of Contract No. 417 with Addendum, but still we have not received a refund of our earnest money down payment. It is really very simple, we abided by Contract No. 417 with Addendum, Mr. Lobato did not. This business transaction would have ended amicably on June 17, 2008, if we would have received a refund of our downpayment as written in Contract No. 417 with Addendum.

We are now the creditors and Mr. Lobato is now our debtor in the amount of $6175.00.
I believe that contracts are legally binding instruments in both Mexico and the US.

Let The Buyer Beware!

[PJTSytms97]

Recently, we received a letter from a man claiming to represent, Mr. Fernando Lobato,our Boutique Resort LaJolla, Mazatlan, Mexico salesman. The letter states that they are investigating the stories of my timeshare experience with Mr. Lobato, that I have posted on the worldwide web. This is the second notification of possible legal action, that we have received from Boutique Resort LaJolla. Americans are protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution for freedom of speech. My stories of our timeshare sales experience with Mr. Lobato, are documented clearly in Contract No. 417 with Addendum, that was signed by us and Mr. Lobato on December 17, 2007.

On June 17, 2008, Mr. Lobato breached Contract No. 417 with addendum, when he did not sell our previously owned timeshare, and he did not "reimburse all monies given up to that point." The contract stated that if he did not sell our timeshare by June 17, 2008, we could cancel the contract, and we would receive a refund of our earnest money downpayment of $6175.00. Mr. Lobato personally initiated and signed Contract No. 417 with addendum on December 17, 2007. On June 17, 2008 we notified Mr. Lobato by email and certified mail, that we were canceling the contract, and we wanted to receive a refund of our earnest downpayment of $6175.00. We had to hire an attorney to reinforce the cancellation of Contract No. 417 with Addendum, but still we have not received a refund of our earnest money down payment. It is really very simple, we abided by Contract No. 417 with Addendum, Mr. Lobato did not. This business transaction would have ended amicably on June 17, 2008, if we would have received a refund of our downpayment as written in Contract No. 417 with Addendum.

We are now the creditors and Mr. Lobato is now our debtor in the amount of $6175.00.
I believe that contracts are legally binding instruments in both Mexico and the US.

Let The Buyer Beware!

[PJTSytms97]

Originally Posted by PJTSytms97

Hi,

We were defrauded out of $6175 by Boutique Resort La Jolla, Mazatlan, Mexico. From what I have read from other fellow victims, the only way to get a refund is to hire your own lawyer. The US Embassy to Mexico website, has a list of Mexican attorneys to choose from. Some of the other travel sites, also have listed Mexican attorneys that have been able to obtain refunds, with a cost of 20%-30% of the recovery. Since my cost was relatively small, by example, it would not be worth it to pursue Boutique Resort La Jolla with my own private attorney. I currently have a fraud case against the resort with PROFECO in Mexico City. Over the past year, I have heard many differing opinions about this consumer protection agency, but I remain hopeful of a just outcome. I am fortunate, that I was defrauded out of my downpayment only, and not the entire purchase price listed in the sales agreement.
I found out shortly after I signed the contract with the resort, that they had no intention of every trying to sell my previously owned timeshare. I too, applied for a Bank of America credit card, which was conveniently supplied by our salesman, Fernando Lobato. I submitted written proof of fraud to Bank of America, following the purchase, and I was still made to pay the credit card, or risk having my credit destroyed for years to come. This entire experience has led me to decide to make alternative travel plans in the future. We do not plan to return to Mexico in the near future. Our elected officials should look at the numbers of Americans who fall prey to unscrupulous Mexican timeshare
sales fraud. I wish you luck in obtaining a refund.
Regards,
PJT

Boutique Resort La Jolla and I reached a settlement agreement. On December 16, 2009 I received one-half of my earnest money down payment from the resort. I agreed to remove one-half (11) of my internet posts from the websites. I completed my part of the agreement on December 17, 2009. Within the next 30 days, or by January 17, 2010, the resort is to reimburse the remaining one-half of my earnest money downpayment. Upon receipt of the refund, I agreed to remove the remaining one-half (11) of my internet posts from the websites. Hopefully, on January 17, 2010, this two-year long ordeal will come to a mutually agreed upon end.

[PJTSytms97]

Boutique Resort La Jolla and I reached a settlement agreement. On December 16, 2009 I received one-half of my earnest money down payment from the resort. I agreed to remove one-half (11) of my internet posts from the websites. I completed my part of the agreement on December 17, 2009. Within the next 30 days, or by January 17, 2010, the resort is to reimburse the remaining one-half of my earnest money downpayment. Upon receipt of the refund, I agreed to remove the remaining one-half (11) of my internet posts from the websites. Hopefully, on January 17, 2010, this two-year long ordeal will come to a mutually agreed upon end.

[katanaz]

My issue with Grupo Mayan has been satisfactorily resolved.

[katanaz]

My issue with Grupo Mayan has been satisfactorily resolved.

[punisher]

hello i would like to tell everyone that has got ripped of by the Mayan Palaced In Puerto Vallarta or Nuevo Vallarta to please post the names of the sales people that lied ,cheated and robbed good people out of their retirement,savings,collage tuitions for their children,and just hard earned money.Most of the sales people that rippoff the American-Canadian tourist here in P.V are American-Canadian themselves ,and the ones that work at Mayan Palace and other Puerto Vallarta- Nuevo Vallarta timeshare hotel companys here,ARE ALL JEHOVA WITNESSES! I want to put a stop to these sales people that claim to be righteouss.They wont go to jail but their deeds will be put into the light of the congregation and they will be put to shame and expelled.!!The only way to do this is for the victims of timeshare fraud in P.V write the names of their sales reps,and anyone else involved in the transaction. and the truth shall set you free!

[cwhaynes918]

My daughter, Crystal, was visiting Mexico on 6/27/10 when she signed an agreement (#CRQT 2172) with Mayan Palace Regency Vacation Club for $19,564.00, which included a trade in of her existing Time Share with the Boardwalk Resort Hotel in Virginia Beach, VA.

As per this agreement, the Value Calculation had an applied Trade In credit of $25,900. The timeshare that was traded in is owned by my daughter and her husband (Brian). Her husband was not present (he wasn't even in Mexico at the time) nor did he sign any paperwork.

Later that evening, Crystal called her husband to tell him about the timeshare. Brian advised her to cancel the agreement as he was not going to trade in their existing timeshare. Crystal was told that she was "locked in" and the contract could not be cancelled. NO ONE mentioned Profeco or having 7 days to get out of a contract. Who knew that Mexico had a Consumer Protection Law?

She has been trying since June 28, 2010 to get out of this contract. She also made her down payment on a RCI MasterCard for $6,847 for this Mayan Resort transaction.

Two months after she got back from Mexico she called about the status of her existing timeshare in Virginia Beach and was told that Mayan Resorts had cancelled the trade. Crystal has excellent credit and has always made her payments on time. She is on the verge of filing bankruptcy over this one! She cannot afford the payments on the down payment nor the timeshare itself.

And shame on Bank of America for allowing a $7,000 charge to be posted to an account knowing it would take her 30 years to pay it off!

[ladycoco2007]

For CWHaynes,

I hope you find a way to resolve your issue with timeshare ordeal. I wish some of these untruthful resort companies would get sued, go bankrupt & shut down completely. Again I hope it works out for you. I gave $500 to timesharesonly.com and haven't seen any hope at all. I've decided to pay off my resort & give it as a gift to a person who will use it & willing to pay just maintenance fees. I will not let the resort co have it back after I've paid it off. I give it away free to a person. This is a lesson in my life to never trust anyone asking for a large sum of money or large down payment upfront again without making them wait a week or so then taking my time to do some research.

Good Luck,

[cwhaynes918]

This complaint has been satisfactorily resolved.

[Vera]

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

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!

[Mayan Scam]

This issue has been satisfactorily resolved

[amorquest]

I visited this resort in January. It was a lovely resort and of course the very first day I was bombarded by salesman wanting to give me the speel.
I listened to the presentation, I believe the salesmans name was Don, from the US and then to his higher up, a very engaging man from Canada with a unique name that now I can't remember. I liked everything they told me about the program and how they were constantly making things better, soon to change their name to VIDA.
I was promised X amount of dollars for 3 of my 6 timeshares and was told I would have to pay the title search fee on each. After months they finally contacted me and told me they needed those funds, which I paid. Within a couple weeks their associate company was asking for another $500 to $800 per unit that was never in the contract. My three units added up to more than what I was purchasing, I thought, but they had my credit card info and Mayan Palace was charging it over $300 per month. The card was about to expire so when they informed me of that I told them I would not give them the new information and that I was very upset at the misrepresentation. I have already signed over the deed to 3 timeshares, gave them $5000 in cash as well as the 4 months they charged my card.
I do not have all the paper work to the deal as someone previously mentioned in their dealings. What I do have is showing what they promised to pay for my units and that amount is more than what their unit cost.
My credit card company tells me that since I signed a contract they can't do anything or get the funds returned.
What other recourse is there for such a shady outfit as this?

[amorquest]

Originally Posted by Mayan Scam

This issue has been satisfactorily resolved

No this issue has NOT been resolved. Still waiting for refund.

[amorquest]

9 months but I have received a credit for the funds paid to Mayan Resorts. This issue is resolved!

Originally Posted by amorquest

I visited this resort in January. It was a lovely resort and of course the very first day I was bombarded by salesman wanting to give me the speel.
I listened to the presentation, I believe the salesmans name was Don, from the US and then to his higher up, a very engaging man from Canada with a unique name that now I can't remember. I liked everything they told me about the program and how they were constantly making things better, soon to change their name to VIDA.
I was promised X amount of dollars for 3 of my 6 timeshares and was told I would have to pay the title search fee on each. After months they finally contacted me and told me they needed those funds, which I paid. Within a couple weeks their associate company was asking for another $500 to $800 per unit that was never in the contract. My three units added up to more than what I was purchasing, I thought, but they had my credit card info and Mayan Palace was charging it over $300 per month. The card was about to expire so when they informed me of that I told them I would not give them the new information and that I was very upset at the misrepresentation. I have already signed over the deed to 3 timeshares, gave them $5000 in cash as well as the 4 months they charged my card.
I do not have all the paper work to the deal as someone previously mentioned in their dealings. What I do have is showing what they promised to pay for my units and that amount is more than what their unit cost.
My credit card company tells me that since I signed a contract they can't do anything or get the funds returned.
What other recourse is there for such a shady outfit as this?