Lost and confused !! Mayan /Vida timeshare member

Hello everyone

I am very hopeful that I will get a reply to my concern . Yesterday , my husband and I went to a timeshare presentation in Cancun. We listened to the sales rep and what she offered was too lucrative to say no to . We deposited 3k for a 1 bedroom loft in VIDA Resorts membership for a lifetime .The total price for the loft is 12k

After coming back , i looked at the internet ...and i read everywhere that it is a Big Scam . I am scared and really worried ...Please tell me ...have I been ripped ?

Thank you for your time ...

behopeful said:

Hello everyone

I am very hopeful that I will get a reply to my concern . Yesterday , my husband and I went to a timeshare presentation in Cancun. We listened to the sales rep and what she offered was too lucrative to say no to . We deposited 3k for a 1 bedroom loft in VIDA Resorts membership for a lifetime .The total price for the loft is 12k

After coming back , i looked at the internet ...and i read everywhere that it is a Big Scam . I am scared and really worried ...Please tell me ...have I been ripped ?

Thank you for your time ...

Click to expand...

Rescind. I say this as an owner at Grand Mayan. Unless you plan to travel there enough to justify it, its not worth it. You can buy a TS off ebay for $1.00 and trade into vida every three years and save your $12k.

Theres a link at the top of the MX forum on how to rescind. Read it. Go.

Rescind now!!!

You can get these memberships for pennies. Rescind while you can. The instructions are in the contract you signed. Do NOT go back to the salesroom, as they will do whatever it takes to change your mind.

While these memberships are not exactly a scam, they cost FAR more than they can be had on the resale market. And Mexican timeshare stays can be rented in numerous places at low cost without any obligation or buy-in cost.

RESCIND NOW WHILE YOU CAN!

Welcome to TUG. We're glad you found us in time.

Jim

my hands are shivering ...can someone pls send me the linkk for how to rescind ?? pls

http://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/cancel_timeshare_purchase.html

Dont be nervous. Its not illegal or anything. Just think of it as clothing that doesn't fit so you are taking it back. They won't torture you or anything.

behopeful said:

my hands are shivering ...can someone pls send me the linkk for how to rescind ?? pls

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There is no 'link', but the instructions should be near the end of your contract, above your signatures. There will be an address there to send cancellation to.

Just write a letter, it doesn't have to be fancy, or legalese, just:

I/We wish to cancel contract #____________ dated Dec,__ 2015 in accordance with our right to rescind. Return all down payment funds to us in the manner they were tendered, and cancel any ongoing financial obligations.

Promotional materials will be returned to VIDA under separate cover. (and do it or they can charge you)

Signed_____________ husband, and _____________ wife. Date__________


Make a copy of the page(s) of the contract that shows a contract number and signatures and include it with the rescission. Send it to their corporate offices- not to the resort, and absolutely DO NOT go back to the sales office. Unplug the room phone.

If you have trouble, there is a PROFECO office in Cancun. They are the government consumer affairs office, and will help you.

You have (I think) 5 days, but don't let them delay beyond that or it will be very difficult or impossible to rescind.

The Profeco has a dedicated office to assist non-Mexicans who are already outside the country, the Conciliation a Extranjeros. You can reach them by email at extranjeros@profeco.gob.mx or by phone at one of the following numbers:
(0155) 52 11 17 23,
(0155) 56 25 67 00,
(01 800) 46 88 722

Jim

behopeful said:

Hello everyone

I am very hopeful that I will get a reply to my concern . Yesterday , my husband and I went to a timeshare presentation in Cancun. We listened to the sales rep and what she offered was too lucrative to say no to . We deposited 3k for a 1 bedroom loft in VIDA Resorts membership for a lifetime .The total price for the loft is 12k

After coming back , i looked at the internet ...and i read everywhere that it is a Big Scam . I am scared and really worried ...Please tell me ...have I been ripped ?

Thank you for your time ...

Click to expand...

What level did you buy? Palace, grand, lux etc?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

We bought THE COLLECTIONS which is 1 Bedroom RED category level.

Not a scam - but you are paying "full" developer retail

I am not sure what you mean by "loft" If it is a Mayan Palace one bedroom suite (not just a hotel room)-you are paying developer retail (9K- 18 K ? range)

If you wish to continue with the purchase I would ask for the following addendums <which they have in (some/ many) prior contracts but may not be (currently)willing to offer for this price >

1) No go / no pay MF - either from the start or after xx years .
2) when your 10 year week expires one of your 100 year weeks takes on all the benefits of it.
3)one year or similar reservation booking window for one of your week(s)
4) xx% cap per year to MF increase ( 5% -? )
5) right to transfer to a family member for no cost (or one MF) < the transfer fee if sold is probably 10 x MF in your contract . >

Reasons for buying - you want to go in peak season - Jan Feb- every year
for the next 20+ years and will go a least one other week most years .With addendums similar to above your prepayed cost per year is $ 300 or so per week which is somewhat close to the current RCI or II exchange fee .
If life changes and you can no longer go yourself , the no go / no pay
addendum means no ongoing cash outlay and/or you can have others use it
but only if they pick up the cost for a week vacation .

There are recent extensive threads on the Mexico timesharing forum that cover reasons for buying or resinding Vidanta . Vidanta makes resale transfers very costly and therefor once purchased the value is only through use .
The two recent threads are :
Purchased Grand Luxxe yesterday .. started by Seema -Nov 10 2015
Merged Vidanta update ... started by Seema Nov 15 2015

Great resorts - interesting sales ( like many in TS )

- their contract dept does honor all addendums written into contracts and has a good reputation .

If you are unsure - don't buy now- negotiation will get the same or similar in the future .

Resale: while there are fewer 15 year old Mayan Palace contract on Ebay these days - you could probably find one eventually or on Craigs List , Redweek etc . A contract with 10 years left until ( optional ) renewal for say $2000 including transfer cost ( less $ on older ones) etc. works out to a prepayed cost of $ 200 per week and many of those era contract allow the optional Vacation Fare week( usually 45 day book window / so not peak season usable) to transfer so probably 20 weeks for $2000 plus a contractual obligation of 10 MF - currently approx . $700 for one bedroom suite /Mayan Palace level and probably with a % annual cap to any increase and with the 2 (remaining) every 5 year reno / extra MF.

Approx : a $ 12,000 commitment over the next 10 years if you only use one week per year .

Hope this helps

Do u own at a specific resort, or is it good at all resorts As if you owned there? In other words, your purchase is for all resorts and no exact resort is mentioned in your contract.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Thanks everyone for the comments.

Here is what i have to pay (a) +(b):

a) $12,000 upfront commitment
b) $800 usage fee everytime you use the registered week + $200 SFX exchange fee + $1000 every ten year renewal fee --> $1000 per year

So lets say i use this deal for 10 years. Then I land up paying $12,000/10 = $1,200 per year + $1000 per year usage fess = $2,400 for 1 registered and 1 complimentary week.

So $2,400 for 2 weeks stay --> $1,200 per week. Plus car rental costs since these resorts are so far off, there are no good restaurants nearby.

Wouldn't i be better off just buying hotels deal packages for $1200 per week?

behopeful said:

Wouldn't i be better off just buying hotels deal packages for $1200 per week?

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Absolutely. It isn't that timeshares in general, or Vida in particular, are bad deals. It's that in today's competitive market, resort lodging is a very competitive market. With the (gigantic) marketing costs, and ever rising maintenance fees, simply renting the same units for the time you need them without upfront costs and ongoing expenses you have no control over makes total sense.

Get yourselves down to the post office (Correa) and get that rescission letter in the mail. Certified with return receipt is best, and I'm sure Mexican post has an equivalent, though I don't know what they call it. I'm sure the means is specified in the contract's instructions, or at Profeco.

behopeful -

I'm going to join in and say rescind. Timeshare's in Mexico often sell on ebay for $1 and often with all transfer fees paid.

Now that you've found TUG, I would suggest you read the posts in the beginners section. If timeshare ownership still looks good, take a hard look at where you would like to vacation time and time again, and then find a resort you like. Search ebay for a while (a few months typically) until a unit comes up at a price you feel reasonable - and then buy it!

And - congratulations in taking the time to find TUG!

The Collections ??? - Please explain more

behopeful said:

We bought THE COLLECTIONS which is 1 Bedroom RED category level.

Click to expand...

If you do not mind can you give more details.
Vidanta adds new options/ twist regularly and existing owners on TUG love to know " whats new in TS sales"
Since these are RTU contracts there is not a single version and Tuggers have said " if you buy any Vidanta brand resale make sure you see the original contract and what addendum are in it and what transfers on resale ".

1)What brand or buildings can you stay in?
2)Is it a suite with a separate bedroom(s) & combo living room /partial kitchen? or just a "hotel room " ie what size for $800
3)What months are " red season" available in your contract paperwork?

-- In our last visit to Mexico(April 2015) I became aware that what used to be " summer / mud weeks" are becoming increasingly valuable to Vidanta / Mayan to sell to the growing Mexican( National) middle class - and so they may no longer wish to include "white" summer season in new contracts to "Gringos" especially at the Mayan Palace level .

More Questions

behopeful said:

Thanks everyone for the comments.

Here is what i have to pay (a) +(b):

a) $12,000 upfront commitment
b) $800 usage fee everytime you use the registered week + $200 SFX exchange fee + $1000 every ten year renewal fee --> $1000 per year

So lets say i use this deal for 10 years. Then I land up paying $12,000/10 = $1,200 per year + $1000 per year usage fess = $2,400 for 1 registered and 1 complimentary week.

So $2,400 for 2 weeks stay --> $1,200 per week. Plus car rental costs since these resorts are so far off, there are no good restaurants nearby.

Wouldn't i be better off just buying hotels deal packages for $1200 per week?

Click to expand...

So - if you never use the resort (again) do you pay an annual MF or only only the 10 year renewal ?

Can you go to their other properties or just RM / Cancun ?
Some of the other Vidanta locations ( NV & PV & Maz. for sure) do not require a car - although some visitors do rent one .

Interesting that this is a 1 wk +1 wk (optional) contract which is more like the older contracts (pre 2010/11) except for the 10 year renewal .
Mine from 2006/7 is 25 yr until renewal but extra reno / MF every 5 yrs
I can book my registered week - 6 months out
<Raygo123 has the 1 + 2 contract that followed >
How far in advance of staying can you book the registered week vs. the comp . week and what about after the 10 years and a renewal ?

PS - there are lots of Pueblo Bonita's for $ 1 on E-Bay but not too many Mayan's anymore
mostly what I see are their " hotel rooms"which have an approx.$ 500 MF vs $700 for a 1 bedroom and $ 850
for 2 bedroom ( lockoff / splltable ) so at $500 you are getting a lot less sq. feet per dollar and no kitchen facility.

Rescinding may make sense -
since you only have 5 days and it sounds like you may wish to do more research.

Great quote - thanks Huenix

huenix said:

http://tug2.net/timeshare_advice/cancel_timeshare_purchase.html

Dont be nervous. Its not illegal or anything. Just think of it as clothing that doesn't fit so you are taking it back. They won't torture you or anything.

Click to expand...

Good line for every newby who finds TUG

Not sure just what you bought, but Mayan Palace, Grand Mayan, Grand Bliss, & Grand Luxxe are not scams. They offer the right to use a week at their resorts when you pay the maintenance fees. The resorts are expensive, but very nice. They are not scams, but you do need to know for sure what you bought. I really doubt that you got a 1-bedroom Loft for $12,000. That seems too low!!! Lofts are in the Grand Luxxe and nothing there is that price.

Somewhere in the middle of all that paperwork somewhere is GENERAL PROVISIONS - that will give you information on how to cancel. Do not go the sales office - go to Customer Service.

We originally purchased in 1999 and have upgraded over the years. We love what we have, but do not use it every year as we have other options that our family likes to use when we go to Puerto Vallarta. We love Grand Luxxe, but the Buganvilias works better for our family vacations in PV. We use GL when it is just us and friends or in a location other than PV..

pittle said:

I really doubt that you got a 1-bedroom Loft for $12,000. That seems too low!!! Lofts are in the Grand Luxxe and nothing there is that price.

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If memory serves, "The Collection" is either Sea Garden or MP. Its the lowest level. I think this is the first exit package... You say "No and Im leaving!", they offer you this deal. I think its a hotel room, not the actual suite.

OP, wonder if you rescinded and how that went? Also, was wondering if you knew and cared to elaborate about what exactly they were offering you for the money. Was it a single room, or the efficiency suite?

I apologise for the delayed response. I have been going back and forth with customer service . I have emailed them my cancellation intention and also copied Profecto on my email . More details

http://www.mescam.com/5dayRecind.htm


I will answer to all the questions . Please bear with me.

Based on my papers , I quote

Unit Type : The Collections Suite

Bedroom : One Bedroom

Baths ; 1 bath

Capacity : 4

Time Classification : Red

Number of Collection Weeks in this : 2

Initial Reservation Fee Per week : $ 800

Unit type : there are 3 unit types - Master Suite , Suite and Master Room. Ours is a ' SUITE ' with kitchen and 1 bedroom , occupancy 4

We will have $ 4000 vida lifestyle dollars applied to account upon return to Riviera Maya Resort in 2015 or 2016 . I guess they gave only for a year ...which i didn't read then ):

They have taken away my week for 2015 and 1 week from 2016 .

Hope this info helps someone . Please share your thoughts .

I am not sure how to post a pic in this .

But when I look at the layout of the ' Suite ' I see a small living room with a breakfast nook , one bathroom and one bedroom.

raygo123 said:

Do u own at a specific resort, or is it good at all resorts As if you owned there? In other words, your purchase is for all resorts and no exact resort is mentioned in your contract.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

My purchase is for all the resorts and no specific one mentioned in the contract .

The Collection (s) -new Vidanta ( brand / sub-brand )

behopeful said:

I am not sure how to post a pic in this .

But when I look at the layout of the ' Suite ' I see a small living room with a breakfast nook , one bathroom and one bedroom.

Click to expand...

Dear behopefull - thank you for posting & answering - Please enjoy the rest of your vacation . ( and we would love for you to post more later)

To All interested Vidanta / Mayan World readers
RE : The Collection - I received my 2016 MF ( upon use - no go/no pay)
recently ( Oct/Nov 2015) and just went back to look at the "Return to Paradise"promo mailing that was included. At the bottom all the Mayan World brands are listed and Line 2 starts with " The Collection " I think this may be new since it is not on the new website which went live post Labour Day 2015 I believe.

My Take on this : Since Vidanta is RTU- this new(? )(combo -brand ) allows flexibility in sales AND booking of weeks by reservations . In RM were the OP is staying there is lots of Mayan Palace buildings and Sea Garden / Ocean Breeze is by itself, in Maz the Sea Garden Building(s) are right in the resort (stayed 2010)
In NV limited MP units , a nice scale SeaGarden < see mikenk review & Zib - a few months ago on this forum> as well as Grand Mayan and up ;Acapulco has a new MP and a Sea Garden etc . So Vidanta has lots of flexibility in filling all the buildings and resorts and removes the(potential)headache they had when Grand Luxxe was sold, but not all built and owners of GL were upset when "downgraded" to Grand Mayan . This makes a lot of sense to me - especially for a product selling for 12 K with a 4K Vida Dollars/Lifestyle" promo included . The time limit on the use of the promo gets you to book sooner - which fills spaces etc. and may also get you to upgrade ( sooner) .< more potential $ to developer next year>

My take again-RE : Unit type - Master suite is a hotel room / no kitchen (max 4)- therefore for $800 per week you could get this in xx location OR reservations could suggest that at another location for the same $800 you get a full suite with separate bedroom - again this gives reservations more flexibility in satisfying owners AND filling all the resort locations. ie You own this package and agree to go to the new Grand Mayan in Puerto Penasco in January because RM is full or you live in Arizona and use PP in the shoulder seasons but decide to follow a reservation persons suggestion to try Acapulco in July .
----------
More Vidanta / Mayan stuff
PS : The promo in my MF package lists "The Cascades " which is on the website as a listing and was part of the recent Vida News email and/or mailing that talked about the future Cirque de Soliel and surrounding future building in Nuevo . On the website " East Cape" is listed which is the Cabo area development- talk of which on TUG goes back to 2007 or so .

Also - when we flew on VivaAerobus in April2015 from Puerto Vallarta to Mexico City ( after Friday checkout - Great vacation ending weekend) we bought a Mexican biz publication where I read an article (sort of with limited Spanish skills) about how Grupo Vidanta received an award from the Minister of Mexican tourism and outlined growth plans . I latter also saw most of it in English .

PPS - re MF - and how Vidanta honors written contract language.

--My contract has the 5% max cap per year and it is based on a specified formula using consumer price index "stuff" from both Mexico and USA . My MF increased about $25 from 2015 to 2016 which is less than 5%- which makes sense given current inflation ( see oil/gasoline prices)
From reading many TUG postings on various TS system ( DRI owners for instance ) not every TS group is as careful on contract language and MF increases .
This xx% cap is a good addendum to have in your contract and with the MF on use only addendum can give "use value" to an ownership that has little dollar resale value .

Thank you T-Dot. Based on what I mentioned about all the details of my contract , what are your thoughts about my purchase ?

Can any experienced Timeshare member please fill in ? I am an absolute newbie , intention to buy was a good vacation for my family.

Thoughts ?

behopeful said:

Thoughts ?

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I thought you intended to rescind this purchase based on your other posts.

You have so many questions about what you bought that it would be good to rescind this purchase while you still can. Do more research. Understand completely what you are buying. No matter what the salesman wants you to believe that deal will still be there tomorrow or whenever you have all the facts.

Would you make any other huge purchase in the U.S. without understanding what you are buying? Would you shell out $12,000 on the spot just based on what a slick salesman is telling you? Rescind while you can then come back here and ask all the questions you need to until you completely know what you are doing. Don't talk to the sales dept. any more--they don't have your best interests at heart.

The contracting department called us today morning and explained following:

a) We have 2 weeks each year for a 1 Bedroom suite (king bed, 1 bath, living area, small kitchen). The contract for this is 10years with 10 renewals ($1000 per renewal) = 100 years. So my total fees to Vida is $12K + 1Kx10yrs = $22K). They will charge a "usage fee of $800" for each week I use - if i don't use, i don't pay any maintenance fees. If i use the 1-resort-week at outside hotels via SFX (for $200 additional exchange fee) then I get 2 weeks. And since i have 2 resort weeks, i can get upto 4 outside hotel weeks for $800x2 + $200x2 = $2000. Which comes to $500 per outside hotel week. Now i have to use these weeks as whole. Doesn't make sense to break up. If I want to stay individual nights, they are recommending i deposit the 2 resort weeks with SFX and they will pay $3K per resort week in
Vida-Dollars. So I can get $6K vida dollars for 2 weeks that I can use to buy a package tour with their vida lifestyle website. And with those $6K i can buy individual outside hotel nights at whatever price is listed on vida website. They say they will pricematch if we can show for the same package/hotel/airline/cruise someone else is offering a lower price but that will never happen because 2 packages are never identical between Expedia and VidaLifestyle. Not sure whether $6K vida dollars in return for spending $800x2=$1600 exchange fee is a good deal or not.


b) In addition to above for 100yrs, we also have 1 Vida week available for use via SFX exchange for next 10 years. This gives us the option to buy 1 week stay at Studio ($169) or 1Bed ($499) at any outside hotel. Dont think there is any other usage fee here -- need to verify and any blackout dates. They are providing SFX Gold membership for life as long as you use it (book a room once every 2 years and login to SFX website twice a year)

c) In addition to above for next 10 years, they are giving me 1 resort week to stay at their resorts or get 2 weeks to stay at outside hotels for $800 usage + $200 SFX exchange = $1000 per week. They gave me this 10yr option because to lower the contract price, i gave them back my 2 weeks listed above in (a) for FY 2015 and FY 2016 (which they call as Marketing Week buyback).


So above is what I am getting for $12K contract. Please advise on limitations and pros/cons of this contract.