[2012] SCAM - Occidental Vacation Club

Welcome to TUG, DStehman927. Scroll up to post #51 in this thread as contacting Profeco might be a place to start if you feel that fraud is involved in your purchase.

Yes, the booze flows freely at Mexican TS presentations and you are well serenaded.

But come on, do you really believe a resort(any one ) could provide all you can eat and drink for $63 a week?

Most resort breakfasts with a couple Mimosas are $20 a person!

PBS lobster dinner and bottle of wine was about $120. Fortunately used credits from sales pitch!

Did you read what you signed?

Stick with Profeco when seeking help. Lot's of save you scammers out there for more money!

I thought that was a ridiculously low number as well, which made it seem like an even better deal. But that is what the sales rep told us when we were in the presentation.. never having dealt with anything like this before we thought it was just one of the perks of paying all that money up front... we did read and tried to understand everything as best we could when we were initialing the paperwork... thanks for the quick replies. we are going to see if Profeco can help us.. we are also going to email the concierge email as well and see where that takes us. I will definitely keep you all posted on our progress.

occidental Vacation club

when me and my wife signed up we had a lot of anxiety not having been prepared, they hit us at the airport, moved us to grand Cozumel and set us up in first club, for the week free, gave us a free all day cab tour of the island, giving us first year maintenance free 2oo dollars resort cash, I bought my wife silver jewelry and they gave us the 1 owners week and 1 developers week plus 6 weeks of Bonus time, and 1 free week certificate wee used at the Grand xcaret which we had a great time staying 10 days with bonus time costing 560 dollars for the 3 days all in march, 170 dollars a night compared to $360 a night at other sites, and we were first club and the first club by the pool was excellent having breakfast by the pool 1/4 inch bacon and liquored coffee I am beside myself describing it wanting to be there, and all the restaurant's the servers work hark and provide first class experience, they did not serve Mexican coffee but the head server made it with the burning liquor it was fantastic, they had an owners party and it was fun with a show and had drawings for prizes, question is am I happy, Yes , could I buy this cheaper now that I know yes, there are some disgruntled buyers willing to get out for as low as 2grand, so I have learned but my experience is good with this club, I even bought lifetime MyPlatinumrewards and deposited my developer's week for a 1 time $1,000 dollar vacation cash and bought tickets to Hawaii with it plus they gave me a cruise certificate and a resort certificate, joining lifetime cost $3,400 but they sell 49 dollar getaways just like RCI does and I am a member there too for 3 years with my purchase of the occidental vacation club, that cost me $15,700 every other year for 25 years, I did go all in to see if they would disappoint me and so far myplatinumrewards resort certificate does not get me a good deal in Hawaii but I am shopping the Hawaii cruise now and I will bring in a nice price with it , my cruise certificate that is, so that's been my experience with this resort in mexico so far and its been the best

Wow! All that and in just one sentence. You Really oughtta join TUG so you can post such a ringing endorsement that is so opposite the majority in the thread. I smell a shill.

I thought we taught better grammar in Western New York!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ilene, maybe it's Niagara Falls, Ontario!

Smell has reached Colorado.

One would certainly expect scammer to be a little more polished in their pitch.

whats all the crying about grammar

ok I need nothing from the crying in my vacation beer babies

whats all the crying about grammar

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Most people will just ignore a post that is one long run on sentence, because it's nearly impossible to read.

We spent $25,000 and have used it just 3 times. With the increases in maintenance fees and all-inclusive fees, not to mention air fare and bus transport to the resort, it is MORE expensive to use my own timeshare than to book a package deal thru Apple Vacations. Never got anything they promised us like help booking discount airline flights. Now I'm faced with maintenance fees for next 20 years.

Just got back from Occidental Grand

What is a time share?

As I understand it, as buyer I decide I like a location and buy 1/50 ownership in a unit for say $25,000. I get to use my unit for one week(1/52) and for one or two weeks during the year the unit is serviced fixed repaired etc.... (2/50) That allows for 49 other owners.

If the company selling time shares is successful at getting 100% subscription, they have effectively sold a vacation unit for $1,250,000. Having just returned from an admittedly great vacation at Occidental Grand, I believe my unit was not bigger than 500 sq feet.

I looked up timeshares and found this bbs group. Here's my point, I also found properties for sale. This 5,000 square foot home(link below) in cozumel was listed for sale for just over $500,000. The comparison to a timeshare was stark. 10 X the living space for less than half the REAL price for the timeshare unit. Now let's admit this is not beachfront property but there are loads of public beaches in Cozumel. Anyway it hit me as a large question. Why would you buy a timeshare at that price? I think timeshares have their place but is $1.2 Million the right price? I am interested in your responses....

http://www.realtor.com/internationa...Quintana-Roo_Cozumel_Quintana-Roo_MX_15061474

The shill is back, or there are a lot of one or two post participants whining about one resort.

OccidentalTourist said:

What is a time share?



Why would you buy a timeshare at that price? I think timeshares have their place but is $1.2 Million the right price? I am interested in your responses..

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Hmm. You asked "What is a time share?" and then went on to answer your questions.

Why would anyone pay $12,500 for a TS in Mexico or anywhere else for that matter? Well I'm assuming you attended one of those dreaded TS sales presentations. If you did, then you'll understand why people buy. All the high-pressure and lies make many people crack. You can read many people's experiences on these boards as to what prompted them to buy. You can also read how they regretted it in as few as a few hours later.

Now if you're asking why someone would buy 1/52nd of a condo or townhouse for $12,500 when, proportionately, he can get a whole house for a lot cheaper, there would be a few reasons.

You mentioned Cozumel so I will use that as an example. If someone is living where you are then why would he need to put down hundreds of thousands of dollars for a property where he will only stay for one, maybe two weeks?

Then there are the maintenance fees (MFs). If you're staying in Cozumel for one week, then you only pay the MFs for one week ($850, or so). It will cost a lot more than that to maintain a house in Cozumel for a year

Also there are the exchange privileges. Owning a house does not get you any exchange possibilities with any exchange company. So one would have to vacation in Cozumel each year instead of trying out other places.

And of course there's the initial cost. Many TS owners can swing $12,000 for 1/52nd of a condo but not the hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a house. After all, isn't that one of the lines TS sales people use? Buy only what you will use? Own a piece of paradise for only $12,000 as opposed to hundreds of thousands?

Is there a better way? A newer model fro time shares?

First off, no I am not a shill. I would never buy a time share. I paid $1178 cdn or about $900 US to spend one week at a very nice resort - Occidental Grand in Cozumel. The economics don't work for me...

I know not everyone can organize and buy a $500,000 home in Cozumel to use for one week per year.

I guess my point was to say that buyers of a timeshare collectively pay a significant premium that is way out of wack for the benefit of convenience.

Is there a better way?

On websites like Air BnB, VRBO, and Holiday-rentals.co.uk there seems to be a lot of choice that is wider than any one network like RCI.

My view is that timeshares are simply prepaid vacation accommodation.

I think the timeshare sales people conflate a prepaid vacation and a real estate investment. The message seems to be "you can invest in this project and stay here too. If you ever want to sell you can sell it for more. Isn't that a smart idea?".

Is it better to combine an airBnB or VRBO but use a "by the week rental" for time share owners? Does one of these websites already exist where Timeshare owners can really get a return? or pay a lot less for a week in order to afford two weeks? one they can use and the other to get rental income?

Just asking.

OccidentalTourist said:

I guess my point was to say that buyers of a timeshare collectively pay a significant premium that is way out of wack for the benefit of convenience.

Is there a better way?

On websites like Air BnB, VRBO, and Holiday-rentals.co.uk there seems to be a lot of choice that is wider than any one network like RCI.

My view is that timeshares are simply prepaid vacation accommodation.

I think the timeshare sales people conflate a prepaid vacation and a real estate investment. The message seems to be "you can invest in this project and stay here too. If you ever want to sell you can sell it for more. Isn't that a smart idea?".

Is it better to combine an airBnB or VRBO but use a "by the week rental" for time share owners? Does one of these websites already exist where Timeshare owners can really get a return? or pay a lot less for a week in order to afford two weeks? one they can use and the other to get rental income?

Just asking.

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The reason why people who buy retail are paying a premium is because someone has to pay all the commissions for the sales people as well as pay for all those presentation gifts.

As for what the sales people tell potential buyers such as "smart idea", "great investment", etc., those sales people are notorious for lying, exaggerating, and deceiving in order to get people to buy.

Websites such as airbnb and VRBO are good for locating rentals of TSs and even houses. Renting instead of owning in many cases is a good idea because you can find many rentals for less than the MFs, especially in Mexico.

I, too, am waiting for a satisfactory resolve. If one does not come soon, I shall share all my e mail correspondence and horror stories with fellow TUG BBS members.

COOKIECPA said:

I, too, am waiting for a satisfactory resolve. If one does not come soon, I shall share all my e mail correspondence and horror stories with fellow TUG BBS members.

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What exactly are you waiting for? Did you rescind within the allowable period? How long is 'soon'?

Didn't rescind....

But never received what they said I would... soon is what I am told the time frame for a reply will be

COOKIECPA said:

But never received what they said I would... soon is what I am told the time frame for a reply will be

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OK, more questions... What did they promise? Is it in your contract? Just between you and me, salesweasels lie. They can- and will promise the moon and all the stars, but guess what- You'll NEVER get 'em. But if the contract you (and them) signed, says you are entitled to use week XX in a XX size unit, and get YY number of 'bonus weeks', you ARE entitled to get those and not much else.

Some time ago, no rescission was allowed. You bought it, now pay up. If you didn't take advantage of that offer, you might be a proud timeshare owner. Now, how much leverage they have on the finances of a US or Canadian owner is open to some conjecture.

There have been visitors to TUG who have made lots of accusations against (possibly this) outfit, and the (self-identified) CEO posted here that they would be released from their contract. iirc, that was the last we heard from the OP in that case.

Good Luck and we hope you get resolution, 'soon'.

Jim

Take a look at posts 26- to about 40. Keep reading if you find it interesting. As you will see, you aren't alone.

COOKIECPA said:

But never received what they said I would... soon is what I am told the time frame for a reply will be

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Hello CookieCPA!

If there's any issue you need assistance with, or are still waiting for an answer regarding a concern you may have, don't hesitate to contact us at concierge@occidentalvacationclub.com. We will be glad to help you and address all your questions.

Best regards!

Ignaura Tejeda Soliman
Social Media Manager

COOKIECPA said:

I, too, am waiting for a satisfactory resolve. If one does not come soon, I shall share all my e mail correspondence and horror stories with fellow TUG BBS members.

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Please disregard posts from me regarding OVC...I posted in the heat of the moment.
Thanks

OVC said:

Hello CookieCPA!

If there's any issue you need assistance with, or are still waiting for an answer regarding a concern you may have, don't hesitate to contact us at concierge@occidentalvacationclub.com. We will be glad to help you and address all your questions.

Best regards!

Ignaura Tejeda Soliman
Social Media Manager

Click to expand...

Please disregard posts from me regarding OVC..I posted in the heat of the moment.
Thanks

Passepartout said:

What exactly are you waiting for? Did you rescind within the allowable period? How long is 'soon'?

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Quote:
[Upon further reflection, I've removed my post]