# Beware Of The Mayan Palace. Beware Of Their Time Share Scam!!!



## Ravindra&Panna

Today`s Date: April 24, 2012. 
I returned to Canada on April 21st, 2012 from my Vacation in Mexico.
I made the purchase of this time share on April 15th, 2012.
I Contacted the Mayan Palace on April 23rd, 2012 to Rescind-Cancel my Timeshare.

BEWARE OF THE MAYAN PALACE or THE MAYAN RESORTS GROUP

I am currently in disputes with the Mayan Palace in order to cancel my Timeshare that I purchased while I was staying there and after going into one of their sales presentations. I purchase the time share on the 15th of April 2012 and after reviewing the contact once I got back to Canada, I noticed that everything they mentioned to me in the sales presentation was a lie and not stipulated in the actual contract. These Sales people will tell you whatever you need to hear for them to sell you their worthless timeshare units. When I contacted them to rescind-cancel my agreement, they were very aggressive on the phone and claimed that I cannot cancel as I have passed my 5 business day limit for cancellation (even though I called on the 6th business day) and claimed that I was now liable for the full amount and that cancellation was out of the question, even though we just bought the time share and have not even used it as yet. I asked if they had a cancellation policy considering that we have not even used the time share, all we did was leave a down payment and they claimed that not only will I not get back my down payment (almost $4000.00 usd) but I would have to commit and pay for the entire agreement. I am contenting this all the way and will not quit! I can`t believe the people who are in on this can even sleep at night soundly. And after doing some research online I noticed that there are hundreds of people that have been ripped off by the Mayan Palace and the Mayan Group, many of them senior citizens or Immigrants who paid way more than they should have and often these people do not have the energy or know how to get help or the money for recourse. That is who they try to target. Their sales staff is all about the high pressure sales tactics and if that was not bad enough or if that can`t convince a potential buyer or `sucker`, they will just flat out lie to you!

After reviewing my contract I noticed that our Sales Representatives (Veronique was the sales representative and Jeff her Supervisor) had completely Lied to us and Misinformed us about what we were buying. I cannot believe that everything we were told turns out to be NOT TRUE.
After going over my contract with my son and doing extensive research on the internet, I am horrified to find out all of this negative information about the Mayan Palace and the Mayan Group in general. It has also come to my knowledge that the Mayan Group in particular has been known to use deceptive sales practices, by misinforming and out right lying to their potential members in order for them to buy time shares, the same way that Veronique and Jeff had lied to my wife and I. 

THE SCAM:

We were told if we purchased 3 units, that the Mayan Palace would rent out our two units for the three weeks each resulting in an annual income of $5400.00 per year. They even said that" you can consider this a guaranteed annual income". The break down as they explained was that they would guarantee 100% that they would rent out the two units for $2700.00 usd each to their paying guests (each studio unit for $1000.00 usd for the 3 weeks and each 1 bedroom suite for $1700.00usd for 3 weeks) The repeatedly told us that not only was this a great idea for vacationing but also a great investment opportunity and that we would clearly see our return on investment within 5 years. They also claimed that most owners upgrade after 5 years because they have already made their investment back from the income that they get, when the Mayan Palace rents out your units. After speaking with a few other disgruntled members of the Mayan Palace, I learned that they do not rent out your rooms. In fact they offer no guarantee at all to rent out your rooms. They just tell you that they guarantee it in their sales presentation but when it comes to sign the contract (after reviewing my contract) I noticed everything that they had mentioned to me about the timeshare was not stipulated in writing. That means these guys will tell you anything you need to hear but their promises are not in the contract. Matter of fact the contact often totally contradicts everything we were told in the sales presentations.

Veronique and Jeff also said that due to the high demand of the Mayan Palace, each week that we purchased at the Mayan Palace, when traded with an exchange company such as CGI and SFX (these were the ones they specifically mentioned), etc. we would in return receive two weeks guaranteed. They also said using these exchange companies we would be able to travel the world including high demand locations such as New York, Paris, London Tokyo with no problem and no additional charges. Again they lied to us completely. Conveniently they did not mention anything about additional cost when dealing with CGI, SFX and other exchange companies. They mentioned nothing to us about any membership fees or exchange fees. They clearly told us that all we had to do was pay for the usage fee of $465.00 usd per week if we were to exchange, ( the same amount that we would pay if we claimed our weeks at the Mayan Palace, usage fee: $465.00 usd per week) and nothing else.

Veronique and Jeff also claimed that through our membership we would have discounted rates (50% off) on major sporting events around the world as long as they were Major League Sporting events. They even used example such as NFL Football, FIFA Soccer, and any Major Cricket or Rugby Leagues. Again this is a lie and totally false. Veronique and Jeff also promised that our membership would get us special discount (up to 50% off) on cruise ships and air fare through certain airlines. Again this was a lie and totally false.

My son was in Mexico also about two weeks before I visited and he also attended the sales presentation (on the date of March 30th, 2012) at the Mayan Palace. He spoke with a Sales representative or Supervisor named Kate, a Brazilian woman, who also promised him the exact same things. He was told how this was not only a timeshare for vacationing purposes but also an investment opportunity. He was also told that the Mayan Palace would rent out two units for him resulting in an income of $5400.00 in total for his two full units and he could keep one of the units for himself and should he want to travel to different destination points, then again he would receive double the weeks when trading in his Mayan Palace weeks through companies such as CGI and SFX. Even then they failed to mention the addition membership and exchange costs. Fortunately my son does not have the money to buy such timeshares so he did not make any purchase however he did take the presentation and he recalls everything that they said and clearly they lied to him exactly the way Veronique and Jeff had lied to me.

You can checkout other websites such as this one and or Google search for `Mayan Palace` or Mayan Palace Timeshare Scam and you will read several horror stories similar to this one if not worse. The Mayan Palace is listed in the top 3 of timeshare scams on timesharescam.com.
I will not stop disputing this agreement. If anyone else has had similar problems please feel free to post a reply. Thank you.


----------



## MaryH

Please read your membership agreement ASAP and look up the Rescind clause and follow it exactly to the letter.  It need to be sent by registered mail to mexico but I would also call to get fax number and fax them if you are still within the rescind period.  Not sure if it is 7 days or longer.  The registered postmark needs to be before the rescind backout timeframe.

I am sorry to say that you should have done some research and resisted their high pressured sales pitch.  Mayan resorts/SFX  are offering free studios at the Grand Mayan to SFX members depositing a prime week and there have been some livingsocial type deals for stays there with 200$ resort credit.  If they can rent weeks for $1800 per week why should they work with those trip deals where they only get a fraction of the so called value?


----------



## MaryH

Check the contract to see if it is 7 calendar day or 5 business days.  It is not enough to call them the rescind clause in the agreement detailed what you need to exactly.


----------



## pacodemountainside

The pregnant question is why did you wait until you got  home  and recission period expired to read contract?

There are tons of posts here and various approaches people have tried. 

Read through them and take your choice. 

Lying  Developer  time  share scammers  and resale scammers are  one of bigger frauds  from Mexico to USA to England!


----------



## aliikai2

*Rescind now*

If you are within the 5 day rescission period, please cancel now.

The promises of $5400 in income is a pipe dream, it will not happen. Think about it for a moment, if they could rent these for $5400 a year, why would they sell them?

I have never sold retail timeshare, and from the tours I have taken they all stretch the truth.

Please have them cancel now, if they are just beyond the 5 days, please have them contact

customerservice@mayanpalace.com

and explain the lies that the sales staff used to induce them to purchase and ask to cancel your purchase.
Best of luck,
Greg


----------



## Passepartout

Welcome to TUG! We will become friends. We have been warning people about the sales tactics of Grupo Vidanta for years. You are not the first. Everyone likes their resorts- hates their sales practices. 

It is entirely probable that you will be held to the contract that you signed. We have seen some occasions where people have enlisted Profeco, the Mexican Government Office of Consumer Affairs. More often, though it takes people like you spreading factual, yet unflattering commentary about Grupo Vidanta's sales practices all over the Web. They monitor this site and Timeshare Forums, and many other places. If you had a nice video or audio recording of your sales presentation to post on Youtube, it would go far. In fact if you had one of those pieces of paper they did with all the circles and arrows and bug numbers to show fraud, you could dodge the bullet. But you don't, 'cause they kept 'em.

The alternative is to stick around TUG. Learn to use the timeshare you bought. Many, many TUG members awoke to find themselves in the same exact circumstances as you find yourselves in. They learned to use the TSs they bought to best advantage. Or how to rent those weeks to offset some of the MFs. It's unlikely you can rent them for more than the MF, because there are just too many rentals. And face the facts. If Mayan could rent the weeks for more than they get from you, why wouldn't they do it and eliminate the middleman- you?

We wish you well, and hope you prevail, but unfortunately, few do.

Read the Mexico Forum and learn. You saw value in the TS when you bought. Now find it.

Jim Ricks


----------



## Passepartout

aliikai2 said:


> If you are within the 5 day rescission period, please cancel now.
> 
> customerservice@mayanpalace.com
> 
> Greg



Greg, they bought on the 15th. 9 days ago.


----------



## mikenk

Ravindra&Panna,

Even though you are past the rescind period, I would send an email here explaining your situation and why you feel lied to and cheated - and do it in a civil way.

grupomayanblog@grupovidanta.com

These are staffed by some Member Services people (not related to the sales department) that are focused on cleaning up the messes caused by the sales sharks. They have helped a number of people even after the rescission period. Give them a chance to help. 

Good Luck; I hope it all works out for you; If you stay an owner, I hope you can learn to enjoy the good parts. 

Mike


----------



## Karen G

You can also contact Profeco, the Mexican Consumer Protection agency,  here.


----------



## aliikai2

*Yes*



Passepartout said:


> Greg, they bought on the 15th. 9 days ago.



and that is why I posted " *if they are just beyond t*he 5 days, please have them contact

customerservice@mayanpalace.com


----------



## mikenk

aliikai2 said:


> and that is why I posted " *if they are just beyond t*he 5 days, please have them contact
> 
> customerservice@mayanpalace.com



I wonder of both of those email addresses go to the same customer service reps; I would assume so but would send email to both.

Mike


----------



## Tropical lady

*contact with Karen Rose*

In a December post, "Karen Rose" listed 3 ways to obtain assistance with a complaint.  Use the blog address listed here, use the customer service mayan palace address listed here, or use customerservice@grupovidanta.com.
I would guess that using the name "Karen Rose" in the subject, triages emails to a complaint resolution area of customer service since these addresses are used for coordinating transportation, reservations, and general questions as well.
Several posts have acknowledged timely complaint resolution from this area.  Grupo Vidanta has made it known that they read forums and provide an avenue for resolution.  Negative is that they have to do this with legitimate contract complaints, but the positive is that they do make themselves available and publicize the contact info.
If contracts are read before the recission period, member services, the legal entity, are very good to work with for solution to issues.
Hope this info helps......


----------



## nazclk

*Mayan Prison*

oh no not another scam from the Mayan Prison:hysterical:


----------



## mikenk

nazclk said:


> oh no not another scam from the Mayan Prison:hysterical:



Prison? Huh!!!!!


----------



## Ravindra&Panna

*We Reached a Settlement*

First off I would like to thank everyone who replied to our post. Because of your advise and the information we read on this website, we were able to contact the member services of the Mayan Group who I must say have been very friendly and cooperative.

I have been in contact with the billing department of the Mayan Palace and the Member Services department of Vidanta. A gentleman named Christian had contacted me a week ago in regards to our dispute. He was very nice and understanding of our situation and we were able to come to an amicable resolution and settlement. I'm glad that Christian helped us out with our situation. I would like to retract my earlier post. Thank you.


----------



## Ravindra&Panna

*We Reached a Settlement*

Again, I would like to retract my original posting. 

We have been in contact with the customer service of the Mayan Group and I have to say they have been very pleasant and helpful.  After Speaking with Christian, we also spoke with a gentleman named Carlos who understood our troubles and was very polite. We were able to come to an amicable settlement. It's unfortunate that all of this occurred however I'm glad that we were able to work this out with Christian and Carlos with the Mayan Group. And to be totally honest, the reason we bought the timeshare impulsively in the first place is because we really enjoyed our stay at the Mayan Palace Resort. It is a great place and after speaking with a few timeshare owners, most have told us that the Mayan Resorts are probably the best in Mexico. Again I would like to state that I am retracting my original posting, and I'm glad to report that we were able to work out an amicable settlement with the Mayan Group.


----------



## Karen G

Thanks for letting us know and I'm glad you could work out an agreeable settlement with them.


----------



## amos

Sadly my husband and I were also duped. I would like to know if you have had any success. I am embarassed to say our deposit was for much more.It just occurred on Dec 07,2012. we too called to rescind but 7 days had past. I am still trying to work something out.


----------



## mikenk

amos said:


> Sadly my husband and I were also duped. I would like to know if you have had any success. I am embarassed to say our deposit was for much more.It just occurred on Dec 07,2012. we too called to rescind but 7 days had past. I am still trying to work something out.



Have you contacted GM customer service to voice your complaint?

If not, that is what you should do. contact here: Grupomayanblog@grupovidanta.com

Explain your situation and ask for assistance; no guarantees but worth a shot. They hold the cards, so don't be antagonistic.

Mike


----------



## Victor mc

*Good Customer service @ GM*

Me and my family just stayed at the GM Nuevo Vallarta, excellent resort, my sister asked me to join the timeshare plan because she's enjoying it, we went for a presentation and I had a great deal of it. But after a few days a I was hesitating of the commitment I got due to current financial situation.

I called  them back to cancel,  I explained reason and within 10 days I have my money back

Thanks GM staff, and I will definitively consider it in the future

Victor


----------



## BC Bum

I wonder if they realize they would probably sell more units if they dealt squarely with people. Do they have to be sleazeballs?

I bought MP in 1998 and it has been nothing but great vacations and memories and wonderful friends made. Its a shame they feel they have to sell this way.


----------



## CharlesB12

I just want to begin with saying that my loving wife and I exchanged RCI points for a trip to Mayan Palace Riviera this past April. We get there and find the place is stunning and the service is top notch. First day there we commit to the 1.5 hour sales pitch during what they call “buyers week”. Well, in the end it was 5 hours and a majority of the presentation was focused on how these units are investments and that they give you “flexibility” in an extra week to use as a rental. The rental income was presented at $1700 net income after maintenance fees were taken out. We bought into the idea….it sounded great. Upon returning home I researched renting these units and found that they rent for far less than they stated repeatedly in the presentation. I have obtained training material that Mayan employees use explaining in detail how they leverage this with vacationers, then skim over the disclaimer sentence that is listed in the mounds of documents. This fraud has to stop. I would not have entered into this agreement if they had been truthful about this. They describe the rental agencies as partners verbally and that you get your rental check quickly in 60-90 days, which is not true. They used scratch paper to show you the money you would make renting these units and how fast they would pay for themselves, which was untrue. There was no mention of any cancellation period during the presentation, so by the time we arrived home and called to cancel our agreement….we were told it was past the 5 days. I have called and talked with a number of people. To date they have been unwilling to cancel and refund our credit card. A complaint has been filed with the Mexican Government, Profeco and FTC. If you go to any Mayan Palace timeshare resort, PLEASE do not get caught it the misleading sales pitch!!! Just enjoy the resort....


----------



## Passepartout

CharlesB, You're preaching to the choir here. We've been shouting this message from the rooftops to anyone who'll listen. We are deeply sorry that you didn't do your due diligence before you signed and that you waited until after the rescission period to discover the sad truth. 

Yup, Mayan/Vidanta are not honorable people and lie and obfuscate to do what they do. They are clever to play on your 'soft spot'- whether it be give your kids great memories to 'it's a great investment'. Don't you think that if they could make all that money renting them, they'd build units as fast as they could and rent them themselves? I know- if you think about it, you wonder how you could have been duped.

Now- you are not the only one that had this happen to them. I suspect that close to a majority of TUGgers bought at least their first TS from a developer and found themselves unable to rescind. Some even bought more developer weeks and some- at Mayan like the resorts so much that they upgrade through the various levels. 

The best advice we can offer is to study at the 'college of TUG'. Learn to use what you bought. It is not an in vestment- as you figured out, but they are definitely top-shelf resorts. 

Welcome to TUG. Now get studying, and if you feel like doing any exchanging, I'd suggest joining TUG ($15/yr) to give you access to reviews to thousands of resorts worldwide. It's entirely optional, but most of us feel that it's the best bargain in timesharing.

Jim


----------



## pacodemountainside

Jim:

Very well put!

Unfortunately like  Nigerian  trunk  with $10 million,  secret investments  paying guaranteed 20%,  winning a lottery one did not enter,  Brooklyn Bridge, etc.  scammers are a fact of  life.

Hopefully,  one does not  get burned too bad  while acquiring degree of experience.


----------



## andex

My Brother in law bought his first time share for $24k. He told me this a week after the rescind period was up. They went on their second TS vacation at the Mayan. Once again, they drank the cool aid. This time they told me this 5 days after the rescind period. They were very excited and pleased with this purchase.
They are honest people and unfortunately believe everyone is trustworthy like them. They sincerely believe that the Mayan will sell their first TS they bought for the original purchase price (which goes for a few hundred on ebay). The cherry on the cake is that the mayan/Vidanta will find a renters for their extra weeks which will give them an annual income.  . 
I didn’t have the heart to bust their bubble! Nobody likes a know it all, 22 years as a top producing financial planner has taught me to keep my advice to myself until asked.  Some day they will come knocking and I will send them to TUG as I have in the past! Very unfortunate!


----------



## ondeadlin

CharlesB12 said:


> I just want to begin with saying that my loving wife and I exchanged RCI points for a trip to Mayan Palace Riviera this past April. We get there and find the place is stunning and the service is top notch. First day there we commit to the 1.5 hour sales pitch during what they call “buyers week”. Well, in the end it was 5 hours and a majority of the presentation was focused on how these units are investments and that they give you “flexibility” in an extra week to use as a rental. The rental income was presented at $1700 net income after maintenance fees were taken out. We bought into the idea….it sounded great. Upon returning home I researched renting these units and found that they rent for far less than they stated repeatedly in the presentation. I have obtained training material that Mayan employees use explaining in detail how they leverage this with vacationers, then skim over the disclaimer sentence that is listed in the mounds of documents. This fraud has to stop. I would not have entered into this agreement if they had been truthful about this. They describe the rental agencies as partners verbally and that you get your rental check quickly in 60-90 days, which is not true. They used scratch paper to show you the money you would make renting these units and how fast they would pay for themselves, which was untrue. There was no mention of any cancellation period during the presentation, so by the time we arrived home and called to cancel our agreement….we were told it was past the 5 days. I have called and talked with a number of people. To date they have been unwilling to cancel and refund our credit card. A complaint has been filed with the Mexican Government, Profeco and FTC. If you go to any Mayan Palace timeshare resort, PLEASE do not get caught it the misleading sales pitch!!! Just enjoy the resort....



Charles, 

If you complain enough on this board and elsewhere there's a very good chance that a representative of the company will contact you and work something out.

So my advice is keep ripping them.

They are a horrible and unethical company.

In a business know for playing fast and loose, they are heads and tails above everyone else for unethical practices.


----------



## Tropical lady

CharlesB12,
The posts #8, #10, and #12 give you the sources to contact to register your complaint and for possible resolution.  Profeco is another alternative/back up, but to expedite the situation you should be using these contacts as stated previously. If you are contacting sales that is not the way to go to solve the situation. Let us know how it turns out for you.


----------



## lonola

The scam continues.  Today Mayan Palace offered us the Bliss for $17,500 and said we could sell it back to them at any time.  We declined yet they continued to make counter offers finally stopping at $10,500.  I said, "if we buy today at $10,500 will you buy it back in 1 year for $17,500"?  They said "yes".  So, I said, "will you buy it back in 6 months for $17,500"?  Again, they said "yes".  So, I said, you will buy it back in 90 days, 45 days, 22 days, 11 days, 6 days, .... TODAY.  I said "deal", "You owe me $7000, where do I sign".  That's when they backed off and said it takes 3 months to sell.  I said, "no problem, let's write that into the contract, just give me $7000".  That's when the sales manager came over and the presentation ended shortly thereafter.  Anyway, the lies get bigger and bigger, just wanted everyone to know MP is out there still trying to take advantage of people.


----------



## drguy

Vida has $15B+ in annual sales.  WYN has about $1.7 in annual sales.  Yes, there are some bad apples in both sales groups.  Buyer's remorse does not make all salespeople liars.  The salespeople are often very good at their jobs, with sales techniques that make you believe whatever it is that you want to believe.  After the purchase, additional questions often arise and are answered here or elsewhere that do not match what we thought that we heard.
Somewhere along the line, personal responsibility ought to come in to play.  Resale does not arise without first having a developer sale.  We all make mistakes, so accept it and move on with life.
Vida has more of my money than I would like to admit, but I enjoy the resorts and have options for more unit use than I can ever use.  As well as access to more rounds of golf and spa treatments than any "normal" human could endure in a week.
We just returned from Grand Luxxe NV rejuvenated and willing to face a few more months at work.  That alone has significant value, though not necessarily a value that can be measured in dollars and cents.


----------



## lonola

Well, it's pretty clear they had no intention of buying back the TS from me as an incentive to make the purchase in the first place.  So, no preceived expectations, just pointing out that their $17,500 buy back offer is not real as it was countered today and they would not execute a contract.  Interesting that every Mayan presentation I've attended has ended when I catch them in their lie.


----------



## Tropical lady

Drguy,
Agree 100% with everything you stated and every point made !!!
Ionola,
Why do you continue to go to the presentations when you "catch them in lies"?  Just enjoy the resort and your time there.  It sounds as tho you enjoy the game.......gotcha.


----------



## pittle

drguy said:


> Vida has more of my money than I would like to admit, but I enjoy the resorts and have options for more unit use than I can ever use.  As well as access to more rounds of golf and spa treatments than any "normal" human could endure in a week.
> 
> We just returned from Grand Luxxe NV rejuvenated and willing to face a few more months at work.  That alone has significant value, though not necessarily a value that can be measured in dollars and cents.



I totally agree with these comments!

We own at other resorts and basically got the same spiel about rentals and exchange opportunities.  We are seasoned timeshare owners and have bought resale cheap and then leveraged those to upgrade at Vida and Buganvilias to their top of the line units. The units and amenities are totally awesome at both - what a way to spend a vacation!

*The key is to buy where you want to go and do not look for rental income or exchanges.*  We have owned numerous timeshares since 1991 and have bought and sold on the resale market until we were able to get what we wanted.  We go to them each year and marvel each time about how we have certainly come a long way in vacation accommodations since the first time we rented a small 2-bedroom unit in Myrtle Beach back in the early 1970's.  At the time, we thought while it was not as nice as the Holiday Inn, it was great because the kids could have a room and we had a living room/kitchen.  Now we have places as nice or nicer than home!


----------



## lonola

Tropical Lady,

Just pointing out that Mayan Palace has not changed it's business practice of lying during their sales presentation.  I'm sure others may have had a good experience, but, in my case, it was just the opposite.  I have bought/sold TS over the past 20+ years and have been to many good presentations.  The main exception to this is the Mayan Group.  They deliberately lie to make the sale.  This is not buyer's remorse, i.e. I paid more than someone else for the same item.  This is a coordinated effort by management to teach their sales staff to deceive.  Once they are caught in their lies they just cut their loss and move on to the next unsuspecting couple they can bait and switch.  Sad really.  Glad you had a better experience and found a sales person who actually delivered what they promised.


----------



## Tropical lady

*never worth it......*

Ionola,
I never have condoned or supported lies or deceitful sales techiques.  I do agree, as Pittle does, with all the points made in Drguy's post.  
I guess you assumed that we always have had good sales experiences, but I did not mention that fact in this post.  Perhaps a better experience as an owner but you still have to be careful.  It just seemed that you were subjecting yourself to numerous presentations after you caught on to them where you could forego the agony and just enjoy the resort.
We do not make it a "must do" to go to presentations, but the few others (in the USA) we subjected ourselves to were just as bad.  Presentations are not worth it.


----------



## lonola

*Groupa Mayan offers to rent/buy back my TS*

I see your point although it is ironic that EVERY Groupa Mayan presentation I've attended contained some form of lie.  They have a great product, it sells itself.  You would think that I would get an honest rep at some point.  The lie usually comes in some form of a promise to buy back or rent the TS.  I should change the topic of this post to:  "How many people have taken a TS presentation where the company promised to buy/rent back their unit"?


----------



## drguy

Vida almost always offers a marketing discount to buyers/upgrades in the form of Marketing weeks (rentals).  Our contract also contains a clause that Vida will not rent out units in our program, even though they credited us for marketing weeks.  I have always thought that the marketing weeks are the weeks that they deposit into exchange companies to get more traffic.  It is play money designed to make the buyers feel that they got a good deal.
They also included a clause to buy back the unit for X% of the money we have spent if we upgrade to full time real estate.
Vida also makes the point that they can't guarantee that a unit will rent, but provide a list of "reputable" companies that will handle the rental for you if you feel that you need that service.  Another clause in the contract is that you state that you are not dependent upon rental income to pay for the unit.
Vacations are for relaxation for my wife and I.  We don't go to updates to play "gotcha" so we'll have a smug sensation of superiority when we catch someone misrepresenting something.


----------



## danac

*Possible Variant on Grand Maya/Vida Scam*

I have encountered a new wrinkle on this well known problem. We attended a timeshare presentation at our resort to obtain reduced tour prices organized by a reputable company we have worked with for many years. We rejected the sales pitch and took the hotel shuttle bus back to our resort. On the bus we casually chatted to another American couple from Wisconsin who had attended the same presentation who invited us to their room to give us information which we assumed was about our resort.

The gentleman of the couple claimed to be an expert in sales from Wisconsin and said at the airport he had been approached to attend a sales presentation from Grand Maya/Vida which would pay him $300. Being an expert negotiator, he negotiated an excellent deal (he said) for a unit and they would buy his current timeshare and give him a number of extra Vida (?) weeks, which he didn't have to pay maintenance fees for, and these weeks would be leased to "Mexicans who wished to take their children to Disney World and couldn't get visas." We were polite and left the unit having stupidly shared contact information and received a CD from him.

That night we were phoned and told that we could make the same deal and there was a contact who wished to speak with us. By this point, we had already investigated the timeshare system online and discovered it was a scam. We declined to any further meeting and told him that it was a scam. Immediately, with no change of expression in his voice, he said he needed our help to get out of the scam. We said we were not interested and wished no further contact.

This appears to be a more sophisticated version of the typical Grand Maya/Vida scam and was more difficult to recognize because the couple were American and were staying at our resort. They did not identify themselves as representatives of the company. Be warned.


----------



## suzanton

_Email received from suzanton:



			I have been in touch with the Mayan and they have settled this matter to my satisfaction.  As part of that settlement I need to remove this post.  Happy if you can remove or edit the contents just to say that the issue has been resolved to my satisfaction.
		
Click to expand...

_


----------



## Passepartout

Suzanton, you're preaching to the choir here. We have known they lie, and that they will verbally promise anything to make a sale. We also counsel people to rescind within the 5-or 7 allowed days after signing the contract or they run the strong risk of not being able to do so. Whether they get that not inconsequential down payment back pales in comparison to the ongoing cost. Most people are happy to forfeit it.

I'm not saying that you are up a creek without a paddle, but you certainly missed the opportunity to rescind this without a fight. The only thing in your favor is having the boiler-room sheets showing the daily use and the boxes- circles, arrows and other nonsense that isn't supposed to leave the sales room. Will it be enough? Who knows.* If it was me, I'd be printing facsimiles of those papers all over the internet for others to see.* One thing Vida has done that we've seen numerous times here is to allow a buyer an 'out' by posting a retraction of all the detrimental stuff that has been posted about them.

Profeco is your friend. CC them all correspondence with Vida. Your only hope this late is proving fraud. You MAY be able to do that armed with the papers you have. Maybe.

Regarding "other companies that may be able to help". *DO NOT EVER PAY ANYONE ANYTHING UPFRONT * to 'help you get out of your timeshare' They are ALL scams.

Good Luck, and Welcome to TUG!

Jim


----------



## Karen G

suzanton said:


> I have seen mention of PROFECO on blogs.  Has anyone had success with them or is there another company you have had success with?


Others have reported success with Profeco.  Here is their website. You have nothing to lose by contacting them.


----------



## DisneyDenis

Ravindra&Panna said:


> Again, I would like to retract my original posting.
> 
> We have been in contact with the customer service of the Mayan Group and I have to say they have been very pleasant and helpful.  After Speaking with Christian, we also spoke with a gentleman named Carlos who understood our troubles and was very polite. We were able to come to an amicable settlement. It's unfortunate that all of this occurred however I'm glad that we were able to work this out with Christian and Carlos with the Mayan Group. And to be totally honest, the reason we bought the timeshare impulsively in the first place is because we really enjoyed our stay at the Mayan Palace Resort. It is a great place and after speaking with a few timeshare owners, most have told us that the Mayan Resorts are probably the best in Mexico. Again I would like to state that I am retracting my original posting, and I'm glad to report that we were able to work out an amicable settlement with the Mayan Group.



Yours is an amazing turnaound story... So amazing, it sounds unbelievable.

Just what was your agreement, if you don't mind sharing...Surely retraction was part of the deal. What else?

Thanks!


----------



## Georgemcg4526

*Mayan Palace Timeshare Scam Documentary*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW5xSsASRiI&list=PLJJr0s4QUxSOZgcnxz24vg6oJFIvG78hB&index=3

The Documentary was created and dedicated to all those families that purchased a timeshare membership with Vidafel, the Grupo Mayan, the Mayan Resorts, the Mayan Palace, the Grand Mayan, the Bliss, the Grand Bliss, the Grand Luxxe, the Grand Luxxe Villas, the Grand Luxxe Spa Towers, The Grand Luxxe Residence, the Grand Luxxe lofts, etc., which are all products from the company now known as Vida Vacations which is owned by the Grupo Vidanta Corporation.

This video clip is from the Philantropist and his Mayan Empire Documentary, the full documentary consists of 38 chapters that have been divided into 8 parts of approximately one hour each.

The main idea is to help the members understand how they were sold their membership, including the decision processes that lead to a purchase.

After learning more about the company, its founder, their sales staff and their selling system, we promise that you will have a clear understanding on how this company has managed to stay on top of the timeshare industry regardless of what they need to do to in order to accomplish it.

If you would like to watch the full chapter from this video clip, please contact George McGarrett 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/george.mcgarrett.5
Twitter: https://twitter.com/George_M123
E-mail: george.mcgarrett@outlook.com


----------



## MuranoJo

Interesting that they copied a few TUG postings in one of the clips.

My net take-away after viewing quite a few of the clips was Ho-Hum.
Many of the training sessions were typical sales tactics:  Sell yourself, find a need, explain how the product will fill the need, handle objections, close.  Oh, BTW, you might get a bonus or even a new car based on your sales.

Yeah, quite a few super-slimy tidbits in there for the sales reps, too. 

Just enjoy your vacation and keep away from timeshare sales presentations/tours/updates.  Those 'free' incentives can be very costly.


----------



## traveler36

*My take on the scam video*

I watched all the clips, even those that repeated.  But the video clips did not sell me that the Vida properties are a scam. 
Vida states very clearly in the contact that all members must sign when they purchase that the member a) has read the contract; b) that the company is making no representations regarding the market for rentals, resales or investment value; c) that the company will not be involved in any way in the rental or resale of the member's ownership and; d) that  the member acknowledges that he (she) is not acquiring ownership for rental, resale or investment. 
The contacts are in English and Spanish. They are short, easy to read and 8 pages long. Also before  you purchase you go to a customer service representative who gives you all the time you want to ask questions. They explain anything you want to know.
True the video clips show some salesmen making demeaning remarks about  sales pitches, or, in one case, promising rentals and saying that this was a good financial investment. Those people were way out of line and I hope management set them straight or worse. I do not sense that many sale people promise rentals or talk investment at Vida. I have gone through eight presentations and no one has ever used those arguments on me.
Locations, especially Nuevo Vallarta, are beautiful, elegant, well managed, efficient and a pleasure to visit. They are great family vacation locations with golf, many swimming pools, a great variety of restaurants, spas, the best maid service I have ever experienced, and excellent fitness centers. Membership is expensive and that is because it is a high end resort and has high maintenance costs. The company gives, and keeps giving, you many choices of accommodations. No one has to go to a owner's presentation where they will try to upgrade you, and many don't. If you want even better accommodations you have to pay more for it. In the end the choice is yours.

I do not sense that Mr. Chavez is trying to get every last nickel out of it. To the  contrary he has repeatedly redone areas (NV Punta Pool area is a good example) not because they were not done well in the first place but because his expectations were even higher. We owners benefit from this. He already  had our money and redoing things better doesn't cost us more.
Some sales people push too hard and that is irritating. Those sales people are usually not the most successful. But to say that the Vida resorts are scams because that happens is ridiculous.  The Vida Resorts are some of the nicest in the world. They are great vacation spots.


----------



## mikenk

If you define scam as "a dishonest way of making money by deceiving people", then I would define the initial sales practices at the Mayan properties a scam. From my experience, they generally do deceive via the "guaranteed" rental claims. That said, I believe most retail timeshare sales anywhere are scams to some degree. How can you honestly sell something worth basically nothing for 20 or $30K?  Groupo Vidanta gets the brunt of the attacks because of the volume and their "renowned" high pressure techniques.

But as Traveler36 points out, the actual contractual process is not a scam. Member Services answers questions honestly and the contract is straightforward and easy to read. The fact that people actually don't read the contracts they are signing is amazing to me. The contracts are honored as written, including addenda that can be openly negotiated with Member Services.

Aside from the sales practices he obviously condones. I admire much of what Chavez has done. He has a vision of what he wants his resorts to be and works relentlessly toward that vision based on available cash. He also employs a lot of people and his resorts are always high on the best places to work in Mexico. He also trains those people very well to cater to vacationers,

The bottom line, as owners, we consistently get great vacations at continually improving  high end resorts with great people catering to us. Ain't all bad.

Mike


----------



## Georgemcg4526

traveler36 said:


> I watched all the clips, even those that repeated.  But the video clips did not sell me that the Vida properties are a scam.
> Vida states very clearly in the contact that all members must sign when they purchase that the member a) has read the contract; b) that the company is making no representations regarding the market for rentals, resales or investment value; c) that the company will not be involved in any way in the rental or resale of the member's ownership and; d) that  the member acknowledges that he (she) is not acquiring ownership for rental, resale or investment.
> The contacts are in English and Spanish. They are short, easy to read and 8 pages long. Also before  you purchase you go to a customer service representative who gives you all the time you want to ask questions. They explain anything you want to know.
> True the video clips show some salesmen making demeaning remarks about  sales pitches, or, in one case, promising rentals and saying that this was a good financial investment. Those people were way out of line and I hope management set them straight or worse. I do not sense that many sale people promise rentals or talk investment at Vida. I have gone through eight presentations and no one has ever used those arguments on me.
> Locations, especially Nuevo Vallarta, are beautiful, elegant, well managed, efficient and a pleasure to visit. They are great family vacation locations with golf, many swimming pools, a great variety of restaurants, spas, the best maid service I have ever experienced, and excellent fitness centers. Membership is expensive and that is because it is a high end resort and has high maintenance costs. The company gives, and keeps giving, you many choices of accommodations. No one has to go to a owner's presentation where they will try to upgrade you, and many don't. If you want even better accommodations you have to pay more for it. In the end the choice is yours.
> 
> I do not sense that Mr. Chavez is trying to get every last nickel out of it. To the  contrary he has repeatedly redone areas (NV Punta Pool area is a good example) not because they were not done well in the first place but because his expectations were even higher. We owners benefit from this. He already  had our money and redoing things better doesn't cost us more.
> Some sales people push too hard and that is irritating. Those sales people are usually not the most successful. But to say that the Vida resorts are scams because that happens is ridiculous.  The Vida Resorts are some of the nicest in the world. They are great vacation spots.


After you see the remaining 8 parts of our documentary, I'm sure you will have no doubts about the other side of the story of Vida Vacations and Daniel Chavez, unless you work for the special department of Vida Vacations that is hired to post this type of responses which we are very well aware that exists. Hold tight to your seats as this is just the tip of the iceberg "traveler36".


----------



## Georgemcg4526

mikenk said:


> If you define scam as "a dishonest way of making money by deceiving people", then I would define the initial sales practices at the Mayan properties a scam. From my experience, they generally do deceive via the "guaranteed" rental claims. That said, I believe most retail timeshare sales anywhere are scams to some degree. How can you honestly sell something worth basically nothing for 20 or $30K?  Groupo Vidanta gets the brunt of the attacks because of the volume and their "renowned" high pressure techniques.
> 
> But as Traveler36 points out, the actual contractual process is not a scam. Member Services answers questions honestly and the contract is straightforward and easy to read. The fact that people actually don't read the contracts they are signing is amazing to me. The contracts are honored as written, including addenda that can be openly negotiated with Member Services.
> 
> Aside from the sales practices he obviously condones. I admire much of what Chavez has done. He has a vision of what he wants his resorts to be and works relentlessly toward that vision based on available cash. He also employs a lot of people and his resorts are always high on the best places to work in Mexico. He also trains those people very well to cater to vacationers,
> 
> The bottom line, as owners, we consistently get great vacations at continually improving  high end resorts with great people catering to us. Ain't all bad.
> 
> Mike


The so called member services department is nothing but another sales department that work on commissions from the sales that they can save from members wanting to cancel, they are well aware of the sales pitch and work in conjunction with the sales department, I will explain and prove this in the other parts of our documentary. As far as Daniel Chavez, do you know the real source of funding to build his resorts?, how is it possible that someone that was raised in poverty opened a resort in his college graduation year?, specially when he paid cash for everything since the beginning? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIfO3Xy9NWk


----------



## mikenk

Whew, lots of implications you are throwing out. 
- Chavez was a drug lord during college.
- Myself and others possibly work for a "special" Vida department and are paid to post positive things.
- That Member Services work the same way as the trained sales sharks.

I looked through your videos; what I saw are:
- Lots of training videos teaching the sales people how to deceive. Actually, there is nothing surprising or new in any of that; their tactics are consistent, well documented and uniformly disliked as being deceptive.
- Other than that, I just saw a bunch of ranting and innuendoes. For example, you make a big deal of Canadian sales people; who cares? You make a big deal that they will offer people to downgrade their ownership level for more weeks at a price. So what's wrong with that? We can take it or leave it - or negotiate it.

Here is what I KNOW:
- They (member services) have honored everything in my contract.
- The contract I have was fairly negotiated through Member Services (the people who can actually sign the contracts). This includes free golf, no fee unless I use - other things I wanted and was willing to pay for.
- I have indeed been lied to by the Vida sales people on numerous occasions; actually, I have been lied to by sales people all my life: cars, insurance, real estate, politicians, and even social media people with agendas. Shame on all of them for lying, but just as much shame on me if I don't challenge and validate.

BTW, instead of all those videos that are frankly painful and time consuming to follow. Why don't you just make a condensed bullet point statement on each clearly stating the point or accusation you are making and the proof you have for the accusation.

Mike


----------



## traveler36

*What happened to reasonable discussion?*

Replacing reasonable discussion with accusations is a poor tactic for making a point.  Like Mikenk (who I do not know) I do not work for Vida and never have. 
Georgemcg4526 you have clearly put in a lot of effort to try and be convincing that Vida is a scam. What I have seen in the clips is not convincing. You do make a point effectively that one or more sales person's tactics were reprehensible. That does not make the resort a scam. In fact it is a great place to go on vacation where we are well treated by the staff. 

Mr. Chavez (who I have never met) has built quality expensive resorts and s continues to do so.  Buying a membership is an emotional decision and I am sure that many people who bought from vida have buyers remorse but not because it is a scam. Buyer's remorse occurs when we spend too much money or buy something we do not need whether it be a house, a car or a timeshare etc..

Some people have been mislead by Vida sales people about the ease of rentals. If that is the case then Vida management should correct the situation for them. I believe they have let such people out of contacts, even though the contacts that we sign state that the resort will not do rentals and also advise people not to buy time for rental or investment purposes. 

You have a perfect right to your opinion but so does everyone else. It is inappropriate and a poor debate technique to accuse someone who disagrees with you as working on behalf of the company you are defaming. If you want to be convincing do it with facts.


----------



## drguy

Admittedly, I have spent a lot of cash with Vida Resorts.  They sometimes exaggerate plans and/or  future expansions, but for the most part are honest.  When I catch them in a misrepresentation, they make it good.  When going in to a discussion with our assigned sales representative, we all know that there is little left to offer us.  The manager knows us well, and no longer is attempting to get us to buy for no reason, although he always has something on a higher tier to offer.  Mr. Chavez works hard to build the largest timeshare company in Latin America, and deserves credit for his efforts.  Kind of like the local Land Rover or Jaguar dealer here in town.
I have willingly entered into all of my contracts with Vida.  I have never been coerced.  For me, Vida is not a scam any more than the local car dealer is a scam.  It is simply a sales organization.


----------



## mikenk

I agree that once the contract is prepared for signing and offered, everything is honest from that point forward. This includes the follow on upgrade / sales presentations; they always have something new to try and get into my back pocket; I have no problem with any of that; I can take it, leave it, or make counter offer. The approach for these updates have all been quite different depending on the sales person - but never a canned pitch as in the rant videos.

However, before I bought resale, I got the privilege of listening to a couple of the high pressure initial sales presentations, they were blatantly dishonest regarding the "guaranteed" rental revenue. It was obviously canned and meant to deceive - definitely a scam by my definition. The sales premise is the people will never actually read the sales contract; just sign, pay, and go on. It obviously works and seems to be perfectly legal as the contract in any business is the binding agreement - not non documented promises. Unfortunately, people seem to go brain-dead during timeshare presentations; the vida sales approach preys on these people - which I do feel is morally wrong.

A couple of years back, I was talking with a number of owners around the pool bar, they had all bought retail through the process, they all understood they paid too much, but yet all were OK with it. The common theme was "it has forced us to take vacations and we always have a great time - so be it." The age of the internet has certainly raised the awareness of the sales tactics, but as long as the great majority just move on, I doubt anything will change. Certainly Vida management is aware of the internet backlash; it will be interesting to see if anything changes.

Mike


----------



## ondeadlin

mikenk said:


> Unfortunately, people seem to go brain-dead during timeshare presentations; the vida sales approach preys on these people - which I do feel is morally wrong.



Mike, I give you credit.  Unlike a lot of folks who really enjoy the Maya/Vida properties, you're ultimately willing to admit that there's something morally wrong about their sales tactics.

Basically, they're stealing from people.  It doesn't matter if they're doing it with a gun or with fast talking, they're stealing.  Maybe not in a legal sense, since you're correct, the fine print of the contract is ultimately what governs, but they're using people's trust in what they're saying to take their money, and that's stealing by any definition.  In fact, if it was taking place in the U.S., it's almost certain they would be shut down for consumer fraud, no matter what the contract says.

Given that, I'm genuinely surprised people can vacation there.  I would not.  No matter how great the vacation experience is outside of the sales center, it's all built on the initial scams - which are ongoing.



mikenk said:


> A couple of years back, I was talking with a number of owners around the pool bar, they had all bought retail through the process, they all understood they paid too much, but yet all were OK with it.



They're making the best of a bad situation.  The best question to ask anyone in this situation would be this:  If I could get your initial purchase price back (not the annual fees, which obviously paid for the vacations), would you want it back?  My guess is the answer would overwhelmingly be yes.


----------



## rpennisi

ondeadlin said:


> ...Given that, I'm genuinely surprised people can vacation there.  I would not.  No matter how great the vacation experience is outside of the sales center, it's all built on the initial scams - which are ongoing....



All timeshare presentations here and in Mexico that I have been to lie about their product to get you to buy it, some more than others.

But not going to Mayan resorts deprives you of a very enjoyable vacation.  _Just say no_ to the presentation pitch, or _just say no_ no matter how hard if on a presentation it sounds too good to be true.

Ron


----------



## rpennisi

> ...Unfortunately, people seem to go brain-dead during timeshare presentations; the vida sales approach preys on these people - which I do feel is morally wrong...  Mike



But this is what happens when people only want to _escape_ the sales barrage that frequently goes on for hours with multiple sales persons.  People get worn down and give up.

I know it has frequently been mentioned that this is sales tactic whether timeshare, auto, etc.   But I get the feeling it is more like endless relentless police-like interrogation...just give me the papers and let me sign so I can get out.

P.S.  I have never been interrogated by the police, just going by the movies and tv. 

Ron


----------



## mikenk

ondeadlin said:


> They're making the best of a bad situation.  The best question to ask anyone in this situation would be this:  If I could get your initial purchase price back (not the annual fees, which obviously paid for the vacations), would you want it back?  My guess is the answer would overwhelmingly be yes.



Actually, we did discuss that. I asked whether they regretted the purchase, they all said no. They just assumed it was the price of admission into any timeshare, which actually might have been true at the time as they had mostly bought seven years or so ago - before the timeshare bubble broke.

Now to be honest, I didn't tell them what I had paid on resale versus what they paid; that might have changed their answer, but the bottom line, they all felt their vacation experiences were worth it.

It would be quite interesting to see a real survey of all Grand Mayan owners as to their level of satisfaction with the resorts. We all know TUG people do not represent the mainstream timeshare owner. I have no idea what the results would be but I would think most have long since forgotten what they paid and how painful the sales process was.

Mike


----------



## mikenk

ondeadlin said:


> Given that, I'm genuinely surprised people can vacation there.  I would not.  No matter how great the vacation experience is outside of the sales center, it's all built on the initial scams - which are ongoing.



I can appreciate your viewpoint. 

Here's a somewhat different perspective. We have close friends who have gazillion RCI points. We bring them to The Mayan properties, they take us to various timeshares across the USA. Realistically, we have never had anywhere close to the vacation experience with them as they do with us - not the same level of accommodations or service. They have actually apologized for that as they fully realize it.

So, yes the Vida sales process is bad, but the ones that do buy are given ongoing great vacations. Would they trade that for a easygoing sales presentation and decades of mediocre vacations in a deteriorating timeshare.  I realize there is no good answer to this, but judging a resort system simply by the sales process does not make sense to me - although I am sure I am in the minority on TUG from that perspective.

Mike


----------



## Pizza67

To be honest (and to be able to go back in time), I would have purchased multiple resales at the Mayan Palace level and then use those to upgrade.  That seems to give the most bang for the buck.  Also, depending on what your goal is, you would need to upgrade through the company in order to obtain any of the perks/addendums.

Even though we started retail, and this was our first timeshare, we very much enjoy these properties and have also enjoyed many exchanges.  Timesharing is what you make of it.


----------



## aliikai2

All of retail timeshare sales should also be included in your " I couldn't go there as they are stealing."

The most often used lie is the purchasing prepaid vacations :ignore:

Or how this ownership will save you thousands in the upcoming years by holding inflation in check???

The Vida group gets it's fair share of bad press for aggressive sales staff, and lots of folks that don't even go to Mexico love to come over and dump their 5 cents worth on them. 

As to your would you want your money back comment, I would guess that over 90% of all timeshare owners would take that...

fwiw,

Greg


ondeadlin said:


> Mike, I give you credit.  Unlike a lot of folks who really enjoy the Maya/Vida properties, you're ultimately willing to admit that there's something morally wrong about their sales tactics.
> 
> Basically, they're stealing from people.  It doesn't matter if they're doing it with a gun or with fast talking, they're stealing.  Maybe not in a legal sense, since you're correct, the fine print of the contract is ultimately what governs, but they're using people's trust in what they're saying to take their money, and that's stealing by any definition.  In fact, if it was taking place in the U.S., it's almost certain they would be shut down for consumer fraud, no matter what the contract says.
> 
> Given that, I'm genuinely surprised people can vacation there.  I would not.  No matter how great the vacation experience is outside of the sales center, it's all built on the initial scams - which are ongoing.
> 
> 
> 
> They're making the best of a bad situation.  The best question to ask anyone in this situation would be this:  If I could get your initial purchase price back (not the annual fees, which obviously paid for the vacations), would you want it back?  My guess is the answer would overwhelmingly be yes.


----------



## rpennisi

Greg,
I'll go one step further.  I bought both of my MP on Ebay.  One was a 2 bedroom, the second a one bedroom.  My plan was to stay for a month a year using the vacation fair trade options on both.  However, with grandchildren and family obligations, we really can't get away for a month at a time.

I shouldn't have bought the second since I have too many deposits for RCI these days. 

Ron


----------



## Georgemcg4526

@mikenk As you know... every story has two sides, I used to believe in Santa Claus too, and defended his existence for as long as I believed in him, but guess what... I was wrong.

-We are not implicating anything, the video clip simply states that Sinaloa is the home of one of Mexico's largest drug cartels as a reference. Nevertheless we would really like to know how anybody in his early twenties can fund a multi million dollar investment, specially when he struggled financially all his life to get by, as Daniel himself implies. 

-We know as a fact (through inside sources) that Vida Vacations has an entire department dedicated all day to post positive comments to counter all the negative comments that they get.

-The real name of the so called "Member Services department" is VLO department and we also know as a fact (through inside sources) that they work in conjunction with the "sales sharks" as you call them.

I became a member with Grupo Mayan many years ago and made several upgrades, before I realized how I had been lied to and deceived over and over again.

The resorts are great, don't take me wrong, it is the sales tactics that they use to deceive thousands of innocent victims, their advantageous membership contracts, and the whole operation which is what we do not agree with.

I'm glad to hear that you feel they have honored everything that they promised you, as I hope they explained to you that all contracts after 2010 are only good for 10 years, and after 10 years you will no longer be a member but a certificate holder of just bonus weeks, but I'm sure you read all the documents and have no high expectations after the 10 year period is up. (This will be explained more in detail in our documentary.)

We will publish the 8 parts of the documentary, but one at a time. Once everything is exposed, we guarantee you that you will no longer believe in Santa Claus either.

If you would like to watch the complete version of part one, contact us at george.mcgarrett@outlook.com 

We will be glad to give you a direct link for it.

Best Regards,

George McGarrett


----------



## Georgemcg4526

@traveler36 We have indeed spent a lot of time, effort and resources to help other members open their eyes as of this organization, but there isn't only one reason to it, there are several, and they are all well substantiated as you will find out soon.

We agree they have great resorts to visit, but the principal of lying and deceiving, distorts what they are really selling which is just a right to use contract, meaning just a "timeshare".

Traveler 36 your knowledge of the whole sales process beyond most members comprehension, your very well structured verbiage known by company insiders only, and the way you defend the company as instructed by their training manuals, tells us a lot.

Keep up the good work

George McGarrett


----------



## Georgemcg4526

@drguy I'm glad you admit that you've caught them misrepresenting you, so that everybody is aware.

It sounds like you've spent time with Mr. Chavez and have witnessed his hard work, which we do not deny, however, working hard is one thing, and growing rich by deceiving hundreds of thousands of people is a complete different story.

Like we've said before, once you watch the full documentary we guarantee you will be shocked as we were.

Best Regards,

George McGarrett


----------



## MuranoJo

George,

You've obviously put a lot of work into these videos (or whoever the source may be) and trying to gain exposure for them.  But I'm curious--what's your objective in all of this?

To seek revenge (due to buyer's remorse for agreeing to _multiple_ upgrades, only to find out later that it's only RTU)? You should have known this before even the first upgrade.
To rouse some sort of class action lawsuit?  (Good luck.) 
To tie Grupo to drug cartels? 
To warn other potential victims about the sales practices?  (No lack of that information already out there and ongoing.) 

So what's our call-to-action?  View the full videos and come back here and post, "Oh, yeah, their sales teams lie and deceive to make a sale?"
I hardly think that's going to be anything new or revealing.  (Nor that unusual in the industry overall.)


----------



## traveler36

*Georgemcg4526 ???*

George, if that is your name, you seem to think that because I  disagree with you I work for the Vida. I don't. I'm 75 years of age,  a retired lawyer and businessman who lives in Arizona. I'm done working for anyone. I just don't agree with your conclusions. 
Your presentation focuses on negative aspects of Vida resort ownership. I am aware that some sales presentations are not completely honest and I do not like that at all. I get your point here. But your presentation is not balanced. It does not give equal time to the positives of being a Vida member. I have been a member for 6 years and have paid attention to the pros and cons. For me the positives of being a member far outweigh the negatives. My wife, friends and I vacation twice a year at the Grand Luxxe in Nuevo Vallarta for one reason -  we think it is one of the greatest vacation spots in the world. It  has great accommodations and service and the grounds are beautiful. Apparently many other people think so too. 

You are on a mission to 'expose' Vida's bad practices. OK. No problem. The problem comes that you label people on this site who disagree with you as the enemy and call them employees or collaborators of Vida. It would be far better if you hang up the conspiracy theory and accept that fact that not everyone agrees with you. It is healthy and productive for people to disagree. Don't rain on it.


----------



## mikenk

Georgemcg4526 said:


> @mikenk As you know... every story has two sides, I used to believe in Santa Claus too, and defended his existence for as long as I believed in him, but guess what... I was wrong.
> 
> -
> I'm glad to hear that you feel they have honored everything that they promised you, as I hope they explained to you that all contracts after 2010 are only good for 10 years, and after 10 years you will no longer be a member but a certificate holder of just bonus weeks, but I'm sure you read all the documents and have no high expectations after the 10 year period is up. (This will be explained more in detail in our documentary.)
> 
> We will publish the 8 parts of the documentary, but one at a time. Once everything is exposed, we guarantee you that you will no longer believe in Santa Claus either.



George, I am guessing you never read your contract when you were a member. I absolutely understand what my contract says and I got things modified (through addenda) to be acceptable. You could have to but my guess is you didn't.

In actuality, the Vida contracts allow significant customization to allow people to create their contract to best suit their lifestyle. You have to be willing to negotiate and challenge. My guess is you did not know, or do this. 

My problem with your rant videos is the ones I saw are full of half truths, part speculation, lots of innuendos, and intended to misrepresent the real situation - actually not much different from the Vida sales presentations.

Yes, the Vida sales process is brutal with many things misrepresented, however the resulting contract and addenda are honored. I doubt if I will see that in any of your videos. It is up to the buyer not to sign things they don't agree with and the contracts are actually quite easy to read - if you choose to do so.

Also, it is a fact that Vida memberships are one of a very few that offer (or have offered and honor) no mandatory maintenance fee and other perks that add up to great vacation values. I doubt if any of that will be in your videos. 

The bottom line for me: I don't intend to watch any of your videos until I see any hint of something that I don't already know, any hint of real proof of your allegations, or any sense of fairness. 

Making statements to watch all the videos and I won't believe in Santa Claus anymore doesn't work for me. I would suggest you list all your allegations one at a time with the proof for open discussion. This is a great forum to do so. 

Mike


----------



## Georgemcg4526

@muranojo Indeed we have and will continue putting a lot of work and effort on this matter, just as we keep growing as an organization with the people that are seeking the same objective:

To not let the bad guys keep getting away with it.

Just as there are a lot of people that choose to look away when things are not right, there are a lot of other people that choose not to ignore, we fall in this second category.

We are not seeking for revenge, we are seeking for justice.

Getting rich by taking away the hard earned money from the people that deposited trust in a company and their individuals that are trained to sell a product with lies and deceptions, in our opinion is not right.

We are also very well aware of the extensive legal reaches that the company has at their disposal, so just as any other just cause (historically speaking) the voice of the people and their opinion is their most important strength. 

After watching the whole documentary everyone will have their own opinion and choice as far as what they want to do, if the path is to start a collective lawsuit to get their money back, and for new prospects not to buy from them... let it be.

The bottom line is... Money is all that this company cares for.

Best Regards,

George McGarrett


----------



## drguy

Georgemcg4526 said:


> The bottom line is... Money is all that this company cares for.
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> George McGarrett



Sounds a lot like Citibank, B o A, Wells Fargo, Dow Chemical, Monsanto, SuperValue, Exxon...Isn't that why corporations and companies were originally invented?  Tactics may be questionable, but are they much worse than the salespeople that sold me a Land Rover?  Prius?  Dodge Journey?  My clothes from Dillards?
I get it.  You don't like the capitalist system.  Okay.


----------



## saywhat

Both sides of this conversation are right. If George feels strongly enough and wants to crusade he may prove helpful to those who are not willing to let getting screwed go so easy.


----------



## Monica

*Ever heard of personal responsibility?*



Georgemcg4526 said:


> @muranojo Indeed we have and will continue putting a lot of work and effort on this matter, just as we keep growing as an organization with the people that are seeking the same objective:
> 
> To not let the bad guys keep getting away with it.



Did you get scammed?  And do you think they are the only timeshare company doing heavy handed antics?

Where does one's personal responsibility play into your revenge?

We're owners, and have been since 1999.  I wouldn't trade all of our units away for anything!  We use them all of the time.  We bought 1 from the resort, the others resale.  We learned about resale by doing our due diligence.  Good gosh, it's like hardly anyone takes responsibility for their own actions...it's always someone else's fault (isn't it).

No everyone is "scanned".  Get a life.


----------



## Monica

*You apparently have an axe to grind, george*



			
				Like we've said before said:
			
		

> You sound like someone with a huge block on their shoulder.  Did you get fired or something.


----------



## ondeadlin

aliikai2 said:


> All of retail timeshare sales should also be included in your " I couldn't go there as they are stealing."



This is simply not true in anything but the most superficial way.  It's like saying a speeder and an arsonist are both criminals, technically true but showing no ability to recognize the significant difference and impact of the "crimes."  There is no comparison to how you are treated in a Marriott/Starwood/Hyatt presentation and how you are treated in these presentations.  There is no comparison to the level of lies and misrepresentations. None.

And I'm sure on some level you know that.

The fact you need to force the comparison tells me that on some level you feel the need to justify your support of this scam.


----------



## Karen G

*Please stick to the topic*

Please keep comments on the topic of this thread, and please don't resort to personal attacks on posters with whom you disagree.


----------



## saywhat

Monica said:


> Did you get scammed?  And do you think they are the only timeshare company doing heavy handed antics?
> 
> Where does one's personal responsibility play into your revenge?
> 
> We're owners, and have been since 1999.  I wouldn't trade all of our units away for anything!  We use them all of the time.  We bought 1 from the resort, the others resale.  We learned about resale by doing our due diligence.  Good gosh, it's like hardly anyone takes responsibility for their own actions...it's always someone else's fault (isn't it).
> 
> No everyone is "scanned".  Get a life.



If you were one of the many who bought MP based on the "investment pitch" and had no use for it you would be pissed too and not just say "ahh schucks they got me". 

Being overwhelmed by the beauty and size of the mayan system is easy. Who would think that such a place would be employing such sc#"bags to sell their product. So telling those who wish to voice their outrage to grow up is to me being blind to the truth that of what's happening to countless families.

You're ok with being lied to.....others not so much.


----------



## drguy

saywhat said:


> If you were one of the many who bought MP based on the "investment pitch" and had no use for it you would be pissed too and not just say "ahh schucks they got me".
> 
> Being overwhelmed by the beauty and size of the mayan system is easy. Who would think that such a place would be employing such sc#"bags to sell their product. So telling those who wish to voice their outrage to grow up is to me being blind to the truth that of what's happening to countless families.
> 
> You're ok with being lied to.....others not so much.



Huh???
They specifically state at closing that if rental income is needed to pay for the unit, you should not do it.  Guess that I don't understand why that is a scum bag comment for them to make to a potential owner.  Yes, they exaggerate, but so do many of the cosmetic companies in the US that promise to eliminate wrinkles with the use of their $100+ jars of wrinkle cream.  Or Botulinum Toxin A, which lasts a few weeks by paralyzing areas of the human body.
Disney claims to be the "Happiest" place on earth.  Now that is a crock of @#&* if I ever heard one.
To each, his/her own.  We all make choices.  Some good, some bad, some even ridiculously bad and others blissful.


----------



## saywhat

drguy said:


> Huh???
> They specifically state at closing that if rental income is needed to pay for the unit, you should not do it.  Guess that I don't understand why that is a scum bag comment for them to make to a potential owner.  Yes, they exaggerate, but so do many of the cosmetic companies in the US that promise to eliminate wrinkles with the use of their $100+ jars of wrinkle cream.  Or Botulinum Toxin A, which lasts a few weeks by paralyzing areas of the human body.
> Disney claims to be the "Happiest" place on earth.  Now that is a crock of @#&* if I ever heard one.
> To each, his/her own.  We all make choices.  Some good, some bad, some even ridiculously bad and others blissful.



Agreed. The fact that people don't read the contract is just plain stupid! By the time it gets to that they're just worn out. Like i said, they get lulled into thinking the whole show is on the up and up and thus are much easier to "trick F##k" as the manager on the video so eloquently put it. That's how they are trained, total disregard for the people they're selling zero ethics.  

 So blowback like what George is doing is inevitable. I don't know why you all are so against his outrage? You might not like what he's saying, but it doesn't make him wrong, just search this blog and most of what he's covered so far is contained there.


----------



## Monica

*A timeshare as an investment...no way!*



saywhat said:


> If you were one of the many who bought MP based on the "investment pitch" and had no use for it you would be pissed too and not just say "ahh schucks they got me".
> 
> Being overwhelmed by the beauty and size of the mayan system is easy. Who would think that such a place would be employing such sc#"bags to sell their product. So telling those who wish to voice their outrage to grow up is to me being blind to the truth that of what's happening to countless families.
> 
> You're ok with being lied to.....others not so much.



We didn't buy any of our timeshares as investments.  If you do, you're going to be very sorry.  And as far as being ok about being lied to?  We weren't.  Everything that was pitched to us on our 1 purchase from the resort itself was true.  They are not investments...they are vacation destinations only!


----------



## saywhat

Monica said:


> We didn't buy any of our timeshares as investments.  If you do, you're going to be very sorry.  And as far as being ok about being lied to?  We weren't.  Everything that was pitched to us on our 1 purchase from the resort itself was true.  They are not investments...they are vacation destinations only!



I understand it's not an investment, tell that to the managers who train the sales staff. They couldn't hit their sales projection without the investment pitch. You weren't lied to that's great ....hard to believe but you're happy and that's what matters. I got over being lied to and I too am happy. However I don't agree with the way the sell there and if you been around the resorts enough you know it's a problem. If the resorts weren't as incredible as they are I would have dumped mine long ago.


----------



## drguy

saywhat said:


> Agreed. The fact that people don't read the contract is just plain stupid! By the time it gets to that they're just worn out. Like i said, they get lulled into thinking the whole show is on the up and up and thus are much easier to "trick F##k" as the manager on the video so eloquently put it. That's how they are trained, total disregard for the people they're selling zero ethics.
> 
> So blowback like what George is doing is inevitable. I don't know why you all are so against his outrage? You might not like what he's saying, but it doesn't make him wrong, just search this blog and most of what he's covered so far is contained there.



Venting doesn't make him right either.  And neither is the venting by other members of this forum.  
I see it as wasted energy, serving no good purpose.
If I screw up, I may become upset.  That upset is usually with myself for doing/believing something that was a poor choice.  Others may get caught in the cross-fire temporarily,  but I make every attempt to hold myself accountable for my decisions.


----------



## saywhat

drguy said:


> Venting doesn't make him right either.  And neither is the venting by other members of this forum.
> I see it as wasted energy, serving no good purpose.
> If I screw up, I may become upset.  That upset is usually with myself for doing/believing something that was a poor choice.  Others may get caught in the cross-fire temporarily,  but I make every attempt to hold myself accountable for my decisions.


 
Your right we all need to row our own canoe. I'm not here to defend those videos but I think it will push the Mayan to examine their business model and hopefully conclude that it's not healthy to continue doing business that way. I wish he would not have included the crap about the cartels. Can't prove it, can't say it!


----------



## saywhat

drguy said:


> Venting doesn't make him right either.  And neither is the venting by other members of this forum.
> I see it as wasted energy, serving no good purpose.
> If I screw up, I may become upset.  That upset is usually with myself for doing/believing something that was a poor choice.  Others may get caught in the cross-fire temporarily,  but I make every attempt to hold myself accountable for my decisions.



I think George is doing more then venting, there's obviously a larger plan here. My guess would be he's attempting to put together a class action or it's a competitor.


----------



## traveler36

*Class action??*

Interesting speculation that George is trying to find plaintiffs for a class action. Class Actions were made permissible by the Mexican Constitution only recently and the first Mexican class action law became effective about 2 years ago. This law is very different from the class acton laws in the US.  One requirement in Mexico, for the kind of class action George may be interested in, is that there must be at least 30 identified plaintiffs. How do you best advertise for 30 plaintiffs? 

The lawyers in Mexico have not focused on creating class actions. It is not anywhere as financially lucrative for a law firm to pursue a class action in Mexico as it is in the US. The percentage of legal fees that can be granted to the successful plaintiff, under the Mexican law, is substantially lower than ours. One needs a significantly large dollar case to make it worthwhile for lawyers seeking compensation from the court. So far, class actions in Mexico have been few, most notably an environment case against BP and some cases against banks challenging their practices.


----------



## saywhat

traveler36 said:


> Interesting speculation that George is trying to find plaintiffs for a class action. Class Actions were made permissible by the Mexican Constitution only recently and the first Mexican class action law became effective about 2 years ago. This law is very different from the class acton laws in the US.  One requirement in Mexico, for the kind of class action George may be interested in, is that there must be at least 30 identified plaintiffs. How do you best advertise for 30 plaintiffs?
> 
> The lawyers in Mexico have not focused on creating class actions. It is not anywhere as financially lucrative for a law firm to pursue a class action in Mexico as it is in the US. The percentage of legal fees that can be granted to the successful plaintiff, under the Mexican law, is substantially lower than ours. One needs a significantly large dollar case to make it worthwhile for lawyers seeking compensation from the court. So far, class actions in Mexico have been few, most notably an environment case against BP and some cases against banks challenging their practices.



Purely speculation on my part. Just that he's or they've put alot of time and effort into the project just to rant. As i said before I think/hope it'll force the Mayan to clean up there act. 

Thanks for the education on the differences in class action procedure.


----------



## Monica

*Trolls writing regarding this topic*



saywhat said:


> I understand it's not an investment, tell that to the managers who train the sales staff.



Didn't you post up above, _"If you were one of the many who bought MP based on the "investment pitch" and had no use for it you would be pissed too and not just say "ahh schucks they got me". "?_ Then you post the first quote that I used to start this reply?  So which one are you, Saywhat....you bought as an investment or you didn't?  And to set matters straight, I never said or impled "ahh schucks thay got me".  

You sound like someone that has a grudge, too.  And where is "george"what ever the ending was to his name.  He hasn't posted in about 10 days.  Where is his short movie showing scam after scan?  He must have tired of his rantings, seeing that not many people were getting on his bandwagon.

Trolls....:rofl:


----------



## saywhat

Monica said:


> Didn't you post up above, _"If you were one of the many who bought MP based on the "investment pitch" and had no use for it you would be pissed too and not just say "ahh schucks they got me". "?_ Then you post the first quote that I used to start this reply?  So which one are you, Saywhat....you bought as an investment or you didn't?  And to set matters straight, I never said or impled "ahh schucks thay got me".
> 
> You sound like someone that has a grudge, too.  And where is "george"what ever the ending was to his name.  He hasn't posted in about 10 days.  Where is his short movie showing scam after scan?  He must have tired of his rantings, seeing that not many people were getting on his bandwagon.
> 
> Trolls....:rofl:



Troll? Lighten up Francis. Did I buy for investment? No not really, but it was certainly part of the pitch. Did I try to rent my weeks through the BS brokers and lose the $499? Yes. Do I have a grudge? Maybe you can call it that. We do enjoy the resorts when we go, but to see that those POS salespeople being allowed to just lie their asses off and nada happens...yeah, that doesn't sit well with me.

I repeat Monica, if this makes they Mayan clean up there act that would be a good thing. Do you agree? Having an opinion that differs from yours makes me a Troll, how nice. If I want this kind of abuse I'll just go on a presentation next time back at the Mayan:hysterical:


----------



## mikenk

Can't we all agree that the initial sales practices are indeed high pressure and verbally deceiving. I hope over time that the practices will change, but probably won't as long as they work and the backlash is not too great. We hear from a lot of folks mad as hell, but it is a drop in the bucket compared to the number of people going through the sales process - hundreds per day.

That said, nothing is ever just black or white. Those of us that are owners get to see both sides. We see a continually improving resort system with always top notch service. Indeed, they are always offering us new stuff for a price; I have no problems with that; just good business.  We also get fair treatment on contracts that all of my kids want to keep - not get rid of.

My biggest problem with George's rants, for whatever reason, is meant to deceive; Yes, he makes valid points on the sales staff canned pitches, but he also attacks the owner personally, and makes all kind of innuendos on all the other Vida practices; everything is black in his mind or the way he portrays it. In my experience, general smear campaigns don't work; I assume there is some sort of financial incentive - just not sure what.


----------



## Monica

*Final*



saywhat said:


> Troll? Lighten up Francis. Did I buy for investment? No not really, but it was certainly part of the pitch. Did I try to rent my weeks through the BS brokers and lose the $499? Yes. Do I have a grudge? Maybe you can call it that. We do enjoy the resorts when we go, but to see that those POS salespeople being allowed to just lie their asses off and nada happens...yeah, that doesn't sit well with me.
> 
> I repeat Monica, if this makes they Mayan clean up there act that would be a good thing. Do you agree? Having an opinion that differs from yours makes me a Troll, how nice. If I want this kind of abuse I'll just go on a presentation next time back at the Mayan:hysterical:



_Quote:  Troll? Lighten up Francis. Did I buy for investment? No not really, but it was certainly part of the pitch. Did I try to rent my weeks through the BS brokers and lose the $499? Yes. Do I have a grudge? Maybe you can call it that. We do enjoy the resorts when we go, but to see that those POS salespeople being allowed to just lie their asses off and nada happens...yeah, that doesn't sit well with me._

Sorry about the troll comment.  But tt's weird that you showed up after george stopped posting.  My bad.  

I do want to say not all of the salespeople are POS's, though.  I admit, there are a few bad apples.  I managed to get one to lose his job after the arm-twisting, and we didn't even make it out of the lobby to the breakfast for the update before I complained!

Rregarding renting out, I know you don't have to do it at the resort.  Why didn't you do your due diligence?  That kind of stuff of blaming others for your misfortune doesn't sit well with me.  That is your fault for not doing your due diligence before you parted with your $499.  Once again, I speak of accepting responsibility for your decisions.  They didn't make you do that.  That topic is discussed heavily on the internet; you would have found that information quite easily.  I feel that you are lumping all of them together, and that isn't right either.  

Once again, sorry about the troll comment.


----------



## saywhat

Monica said:


> _Quote:  Troll? Lighten up Francis. Did I buy for investment? No not really, but it was certainly part of the pitch. Did I try to rent my weeks through the BS brokers and lose the $499? Yes. Do I have a grudge? Maybe you can call it that. We do enjoy the resorts when we go, but to see that those POS salespeople being allowed to just lie their asses off and nada happens...yeah, that doesn't sit well with me._
> 
> Sorry about the troll comment.  But tt's weird that you showed up after george stopped posting.  My bad.
> 
> I do want to say not all of the salespeople are POS's, though.  I admit, there are a few bad apples.  I managed to get one to lose his job after the arm-twisting, and we didn't even make it out of the lobby to the breakfast for the update before I complained!
> 
> Rregarding renting out, I know you don't have to do it at the resort.  Why didn't you do your due diligence?  That kind of stuff of blaming others for your misfortune doesn't sit well with me.  That is your fault for not doing your due diligence before you parted with your $499.  Once again, I speak of accepting responsibility for your decisions.  They didn't make you do that.  That topic is discussed heavily on the internet; you would have found that information quite easily.  I feel that you are lumping all of them together, and that isn't right either.
> 
> Once again, sorry about the troll comment.



No worries about the comment. 
Absolutely, you're right I screwed up twice. For believing the mayan salespeople and not checking out the scam rental company. Like I said before the resorts are just so damn nice, I like a lot of other couldn't believe they owner would allow such a thing to go on. My bad.

Not everyone is hip to the level of lies that occur and we get caught. Lesson learned. But I won't stop expressing my opinion about their tactics as long as they continue to behave so.

I actually enjoy the product now,thanks to the member services in Nuevo Vallarta. When those folks start training salespeople the mayan will be heading in the right direction.


----------



## aliikai2

Calling a business a scam is your tactic not mine.

This company is aggressive, and any aggressive sales group, Wyndham, Westgate, Holiday Inn, etc will lie to make a sale, on some level you know I am right.  They all talk about prepaid vacations, lock in your future costs, etc.. So I don't see how I am failing to distinguish the crime???? 

My issue is with people like you that don't travel to Mexico coming here to dump on these threads. So if that shoe fits please wear it.

Posted from Mazatlan MX in our 8th week on this trip. 

PS I don't own any Grupo Mayan or Vida Properties any longer. So I am Not supporting Their Scam .

fwiw,

Greg



ondeadlin said:


> This is simply not true in anything but the most superficial way.  It's like saying a speeder and an arsonist are both criminals, technically true but showing no ability to recognize the significant difference and impact of the "crimes."  There is no comparison to how you are treated in a Marriott/Starwood/Hyatt presentation and how you are treated in these presentations.  There is no comparison to the level of lies and misrepresentations. None.
> 
> And I'm sure on some level you know that.
> 
> The fact you need to force the comparison tells me that on some level you feel the need to justify your support of this scam.


----------



## DCfolks

*Mexican Consumer Protection for Timeshare WORKS*



Karen G said:


> You can also contact Profeco, the Mexican Consumer Protection agency,  here.



Go to Profeco immediately We too were mercilessly harassed into buying by Grand Mayan sales team in PV in 2008. I went online after we agreed to the scam, and found TUG. Should have joined then. We actually stopped in a small town nearby when we saw sign for a Mexican attorney. Got his advice at reasonable cost, and he sent us with some paperwork to Profeco office in PV to file it canceling our purchase. This was 2 days later. ( FYI You don't need the lawyer, go to Profeco website and office, it's easy.) Came back and gave it to the big boss at Grand Mayan and he wasn't happy but he didn't argue. He tore up our agreement and refunded the credit card charge.  We wasted vacation time and added a lot of stress to our week, but we learned our lesson. Do not agree to any timeshare presentation no matter what they offer.  

Oddly, husband retains fond memories of the Grand Mayan resort itself and wants to go back! He forgets that if you are not an owner, your unit will overlook the parking lot and garage.  We only got a sea view when a pipe broke and they quickly moved us. That won't happen again unless we break the pipe….


----------



## mikenk

Actually, within 5 days of purchase, you could have just taken the paperwork directly to member services and cancelled - no attorney, no costs, and no Profeco. i have done it - no problem, no hassle, it is written in the contract you can do so.

The other lesson I hoped you learned is to read any contract that involves transferring your hard earned money to anyone for whatever reason.

Mike


----------



## VacationDeb

*these "customer service" email addresses*

Earlier in the thread, there are a number of email addresses to customer service people, in which people are getting helped out following high-pressure sales tactics. 

We bought way back in 2002, way before I'd heard of this and other warning sties, and back when I was young enough to not know that high-pressure salespeople will lie to you outright in order to make the sale. By the time I was home and figured out selling my other timeshare and renting out my weeks for so much money was a total lie, I was well-past any recission period. Have focused on just making the best of it. I generally deposit my weeks to SFX and trade them back out to, ironically, my original timeshare. 

What I'm curious about... has anybody used any of these complaint vehicles years after their purchase? the original poster and some other people got satisfaction after sleazy sales tactics, but the sale was in the recent past. Has anyone tried this for a sale long past?


----------



## RLA

*Need advice on getting out of Mayan Palace Contract PLEASE*

Well...sadly I got talked into a Mayan Palace timeshare while in Cancun in May 2014.  Now, like most of the people I'm reading about, I find that many of the claims were lies.  I put $2000. down on a credit card about 6 weeks ago, and owe the balance of $6,000 in August.  My questions for anybody who can help, or point me to some help are:
1.  Is it even possible to cancel my contract?  Or do they pursue you to the ends of the earth???
2.  Are the Mexican lawyers who advertise online, who say they can help, also a scam?
3.  What will actually happen if I dispute the credit card down payment and do not pay the balance due in Aug.
4.  Has anybody had any luck with negotiating the contract down to a reasonable dollar amount with the Mayan Palace people?
5.  If it goes to collection has anybody had luck with negotiating a reasonable contract reduction amount through the collection agency?  
6.  Part of my deal was that they would sell my existing timeshare.  If I pay the $795. fee will this actually happen, or it this also another scam?

I apologize if these questions were already answered somewhere else....I couldn't find much information on what has worked for other people who are trying to get out of the Mayan Palace contract.  

I'd like to take some proactive steps to resolve this if anybody has suggestions.  Appreciate it!!


----------



## pjrose

RLA said:


> Well...sadly I got talked into a Mayan Palace timeshare while in Cancun in May 2014.  Now, like most of the people I'm reading about, I find that many of the claims were lies.  I put $2000. down on a credit card about 6 weeks ago, and owe the balance of $6,000 in August.  My questions for anybody who can help, or point me to some help are:
> 
> 1.  Is it even possible to cancel my contract?  Or do they pursue you to the ends of the earth??? If you deal with their customer service contact, NOT the sales people, you may be able to negotiate something.  Karen Rose, customerservice@grupomayan.com or by telephone at 1-800-292-9446.  Also, contact PROFECO, linked a few posts before yours in this long thread.
> 
> 2.  Are the Mexican lawyers who advertise online, who say they can help, also a scam? I'm not going to say they are an actual scam, but I haven't read posts here from anyone who was helped by them
> 
> 3.  What will actually happen if I dispute the credit card down payment and do not pay the balance due in Aug. Nothing to lose by contacting the CC company, at least that should put the whole thing on hold.  But if the CC company doesn't go along with you, you could mess up your credit rating.
> 
> 4.  Has anybody had any luck with negotiating the contract down to a reasonable dollar amount with the Mayan Palace people? Yes, see number 1.  Look at posts 15 and 16 on this thread; the OP responded there that they were able to reach a settlement.  And look way down through this forum, and you'll find some.
> 
> 5.  If it goes to collection has anybody had luck with negotiating a reasonable contract reduction amount through the collection agency?  don't know
> 
> 6.  Part of my deal was that they would sell my existing timeshare.  If I pay the $795. fee will this actually happen, or it this also another scam? scam.  do not pay it.  This will not happen. When your MF comes due you'll find out you still own it, and then when you complain to the group that you thought was promising to sell it, you'll find that all you paid for was advertising (and who knows where and to what extent)
> 
> I apologize if these questions were already answered somewhere else....I couldn't find much information on what has worked for other people who are trying to get out of the Mayan Palace contract.  No apologies needed, this is part of what we help with!
> 
> I'd like to take some proactive steps to resolve this if anybody has suggestions.  Appreciate it!!



You've come to the right place; I hope others will chime in with more info to help you!


----------



## drguy

6. Part of my deal was that they would sell my existing timeshare. If I pay the $795. fee will this actually happen, or it this also another scam?

They did for us, but our fee was about $500, not $795.  They got 5 Monarch Grand Vacations accounts and our Pahio Bali Hai account out of our names in about 90 days, saving us roughly $6000 per year in mfs.


----------



## saywhat

drguy said:


> 6. Part of my deal was that they would sell my existing timeshare. If I pay the $795. fee will this actually happen, or it this also another scam?
> 
> They did for us, but our fee was about $500, not $795.  They got 5 Monarch Grand Vacations accounts and our Pahio Bali Hai account out of our names in about 90 days, saving us roughly $6000 per year in mfs.



Think there's a difference here Doc. RLA I believe is expecting a broker to resell something for which he'll receive some proceeds, total scam.

You on the other hand, i think did an equity exchange, which does as you stated gets the old T/S out of your name. You were probably told you received a credit for the T/S and that credit was discounted from the purchase price......scam light.....but in the end you got out from under a huge M/F obligation....so you both gained.


----------



## drguy

An equity exchange is all that Vida has offered to us, so I interpreted the other comment as that.  I don't see Vida becoming involved with resales of other timeshares.  I would run from an offer from which I would be expecting a paid broker to sell the timeshare and then pay me for it.  I also do not see the benefit for Vida in that scenario.


----------



## RLA

Thanks for all the info on each of my questions.  I really appreciate it.  

I re-read the paperwork for the "trade-in" of my old timeshare and the language seems to indicate that I am transferring my deed to "Equity Acquisition Services" (EAS).  They are charging an administrative fee to quote: "properly record and transfer rights of said "Unit" from Seller to EAS".    

My Mayan contract states I am trading-in my current T/S for a specified credit amount toward the purchase of the Mayan unit.  

Anybody see any snags with that contract language?  There is absolutely no mention of marketing the unit.  The contract states I am to deliver the deed and it will be transferred to EAS where they will become the owner.  

It appears to be on the up and up...but then again everything seemed straightforward during the sales pitch!!!!

I'm thinking I need a quick visit with my lawyer at this point.   I've spoken with the MP Contract dept. several times and they seem very professional and are polite.  They even appeared concerned about misrepresentations their sales staff was making.  No one has ever been defensive, or indicated that I was the one who misunderstood.  Nice of them....   now we'll see if they do anything to stand behind their product.   And the saga goes on....


----------



## tschwa2

This is my take from reading dozens of posts about this topic here and on other complaints boards.  Equity trade ins are common in timeshare in general and especially common with Mexican Timeshares.  The developer you are buying from doesn't expect anything in terms of equity and may even be paying the broker something out of pocket to help "dispose" of your unwanted property.  Mayan has been doing this for years.  5 and more years ago, you could probably rely on the transfer taking place 99% of the time.  The only time it wouldn't is if there was some kind of problem with the title.  

Fast forward to today, the disposal brokers are absolutely overwhelmed trying to find someone or even questionable entities who are willing to accept timeshares even for a fee.  I certainly think they will make a good faith effort to give it away to anyone who will take it.  If they can't find a taker they may even be willing to pay up to the amount you paid them to have someone accept your timeshare.  At that point if they can't, they will in all likelihood come back to you tell you that you can keep your discount and your old timeshare.  If you protest I think they will give it another round of good faith trying.  At that point if they can't find any takers, they will just give up and you will be on the hook for your old timeshare.  

So do you think you have a timeshare that you or someone else could give away if you paid the closing and/or transfer fees.  If you have a fairly desirable one you probably don't need to worry.  If they can't do what they say, they will probably refund your fee and then you would have to do it yourself.  If you have something with high MF's and/or at a high PPPN AI fee mandatory resort, or a smaller unit at a 2nd or 3rd tier resort especially with restrictions as to which weeks you can reserve.  If any or all apply to your timeshare than your chances that they will successfully dispose of it goes way down.


----------



## saywhat

drguy said:


> An equity exchange is all that Vida has offered to us, so I interpreted the other comment as that.  I don't see Vida becoming involved with resales of other timeshares.  I would run from an offer from which I would be expecting a paid broker to sell the timeshare and then pay me for it.  I also do not see the benefit for Vida in that scenario.



Well, what they did is inflate the starting price so they can show a "credit" for your trade ins, so essentially you received zero for what you traded in. And you may be ok with that because you shook the 6k per yr in m/f's.. The benifit on their side is they pick up a sale were there may not have been one. You probably would not have piled more on top of what you already had. Those equity companies don't give the resorts any proceeds they make off the trades. The resorts are happy just to have that tool. It accounts for about 25% of sales at the resorts the use that method.

Its an old car selling tactic, nothing new. it's just that the resorts don't want to get involved in reselling other inventory.....(they find it hard enough to sell there own) and those equity companies absorb the hassel.


----------



## indyjuli

Hi,
Can someone help me???!!!   I got suckered into buying or should I say trading my timeshare for one at the Mayan Palace on 5/21/14.  I signed a contract from Equity Acquisition for an amount of $745 for them to process the trade.  They contacted me a couple of weeks later regarding the trade and then offered me the option to buy back my TS for $1,800.  They stated that I have a 1st Right of Refusal which gives me that option.  That didn't sound right.  How can they give it back to me and for that price.  

I told them I needed to research this further.  Luckily, I have NOT given them anything and was told by someone in the timeshare field that this was a tactic to get me to buy a time share at the Mayan by stating they would trade my timeshare to offset the cost of purchasing one at the Mayan.   

Can someone help me and figure out what my rights are?  Do I have to pay them to transfer anything?  Why would they offer me the option to retain it for a higher fee (when in fact, it was never sold??).  I know I was scammed at the Mayan as I am reading so many negative posts.  What can I do to get around this.  I do need to sell my timeshare in Palm Springs to pay for my mess.

Signed Desperate in CA.


----------



## tschwa2

Tell them you don't want you old timeshare.  That they should go ahead and sell it.  That is unless you want to keep both.

So at this point you bought a Mayan Palace.  The price they said your old timeshare was worth was smoke and mirrors.  If you had come in with no timeshare the final price would have been the same or possibly less depending on your negotiating skills.

If you say no to your old timeshare they still need to find someone to take it.  They would rather get another $1800 from you than to get $0 from someone else or have to pay someone to take it.  It's not gone until they have it out of your name but if you want it gone you definitely don't want to accept it back or worse yet pay to take it back.


----------



## pittle

Quite often resorts do give you your trade-in as "credit" (often more than you originally paid) for your purchase - huge red flag in my opinion!   Generally, they do start at an extremely high number and give you "credit/trade-in" for what they call your "equity", but it is most likely close to their bottom line if you had nothing to trade in.  

If you do already own Mayan Palace and/or Grand Mayan weeks, they apply the full price for your contracts.  Now this works great if you bought re-sale as they do give you the prices for the original contract(s), so if you were to pay $2500-$5000 re-sale and they give you $16,000 credit, then you are doing pretty well - but, realize that regardless, they are still making money!   (That is why many people purchase resale for a low price so that they can "leverage" the final price.)

Full disclosure - I have purchased full retail from MP, bought re-sale units, and upgraded on more than one occasion. - We love "Mayan World" and feel that they have treated us fairly with our upgrades!  I would do it again!!!  

They have a great product and the resorts are totally awesome!!!


----------



## RLA

I'm in exactly the same boat with the Equity Acquisition Services thing.  (I bought on 5/04/14 in Cancun).  Here's some info that I just found out... 

I called Mayan Palace member services (1-800-292-9446) and asked about EAS.  I was told that I am under no obligation to use EAS and did not have to pay the $749.  There would be no recourse other than I would be keeping my current TS.  

I then called my local County Clerk and Recorder (I'm in Colorado) and they informed me that I could do a Quit Claim Deed and deed my current TS over to EAS if I had all their info (which is in the email they send out).  The fee for doing this is $11.  !!!   

At this point I'm not sure I want to incur the wrath of EAS (if I do the Quit Claim Deed) and deal with whatever tactics and threats they might use to try to get money out of me.....  Anyway, there are options.

This sure makes me never want to step another foot into Mexico!  EVER!


----------



## pacodemountainside

You got some bad advice!

If one could simply  "quit claim" a deed for unwanted real estate to HOA, Pope,  bum on skid row,  dog, etc.  life would  indeed be  simple for  exterminating  unwanted TSs!

Has to be acceptance by donne  and resort in most cases has to  legally process!


----------



## pittle

Several years ago, I sold a timeshare to someone by doing the Quit Claim Deed thing.  I paid like $10 and the HOA office filed it for me and transferred it to the new owners name!  It does happen!!!  This unit was in Florida.  The new owner paid me using PayPal.


----------



## tschwa2

Although you physically are able to pay to record a quit claim deed for X dollars, it does not mean it is a valid transfer without the permission and consent of the person in who's name you deed the property.  Legally you have done nothing but muddy the validity of the deed slightly.  All EAS has to tell the resort that you deeded the unit to them without their permission and the transfer and responsibility for the MF's would still be with the original owner and in order to get it out you would have to have EAS's cooperation to deed it to some one legitimately first back to you and then to who ever is willing to accept the deed.


----------



## pjrose

RLA said:


> I'm in exactly the same boat with the Equity Acquisition Services thing.  (I bought on 5/04/14 in Cancun).  Here's some info that I just found out...
> 
> I called Mayan Palace member services (1-800-292-9446) and asked about EAS.  I was told that I am under no obligation to use EAS and did not have to pay the $749.  There would be no recourse other than I would be keeping my current TS.
> 
> I then called my local County Clerk and Recorder (I'm in Colorado) and they informed me that I could do a Quit Claim Deed and deed my current TS over to EAS if I had all their info (which is in the email they send out).  The fee for doing this is $11.  !!!
> 
> At this point I'm not sure I want to incur the wrath of EAS (if I do the Quit Claim Deed) and deal with whatever tactics and threats they might use to try to get money out of me.....  Anyway, there are options.
> 
> *This sure makes me never want to step another foot into Mexico!  EVER!*



Don't give up on Mexico, just don't go to TS sales presentations!


----------



## indyjuli

Do you have to sell your TS through Equity Acquisition?  What are your options??  Can you just keep it?


----------



## indyjuli

RLA,  What was your outcome?  Did you give your TS back to Equity or did you just keep it?


----------



## indyjuli

*ANOTHER MAYAN PALACE Scam*

_Post removed at indyjuli's request as a condition of a settlement with Grupo Mayan._


----------



## pittle

Contact Customer Service. You did not say when this all transpired, so you must be out of the 5 day window to rescind, but they often will work something out.  I see that you have posted on the longest thread that has a lot of information in it.  There are a couple of other recent threads about Grand Bliss or Mayan Palace that you should read.  They were actually higher on the list than one you posted in twice.


----------



## Passepartout

I think that the MAJOR problem with Mayan's sales procedures is that they don't state clearly, and have the buyer sign- or at least initial- that they understand that they have 5 days to study the 'deal' and if they find it doesn't fit their needs, they can rescind.

That they either fail to mention it altogether, or bury that fact in the small print buried somewhere in a very wordy contract, it at best deceitful. They* INTEND* for this information to not be found until* too late to act on it*.

The Mayan resorts are great resorts. It's just their sales practices that are deceitful. Simply said, *MAYAN SALESPEOPLE LIE!* And they do it with corporate backing and training to do so.

Jim


----------



## indyjuli

*Mayan Palace Scam*



pittle said:


> Contact Customer Service. You did not say when this all transpired, so you must be out of the 5 day window to rescind, but they often will work something out.  I see that you have posted on the longest thread that has a lot of information in it.  There are a couple of other recent threads about Grand Bliss or Mayan Palace that you should read.  They were actually higher on the list than one you posted in twice.



Hi Phyllis,

Yes, I am out of the 5 day rescission period.  I was not made aware of this practice, otherwise, this post would NOT be here.  Again, thanks for your feedback.

Juli


----------



## MuranoJo

Passepartout said:


> I think that the MAJOR problem with Mayan's sales procedures is that they don't state clearly, and have the buyer sign- or at least initial- that they understand that they have 5 days to study the 'deal' and if they find it doesn't fit their needs, they can rescind.
> 
> That they either fail to mention it altogether, or bury that fact in the small print buried somewhere in a very wordy contract, it at best deceitful. They* INTEND* for this information to not be found until* too late to act on it*.
> 
> The Mayan resorts are great resorts. It's just their sales practices that are deceitful. Simply said, *MAYAN SALESPEOPLE LIE!* And they do it with corporate backing and training to do so.
> 
> Jim



The MAJOR problem is some people don't read their contracts before signing.  Regardless of how whipped a victim may feel, why would you not read a contract often involving tens of thousands of dollars.

I have the original paperwork from a 1999 contract which I purchased resale in '02.  Now, I don't know what the more recent contracts include, but I can assure you this 4-page contract is very clear that there is a 5-day cancellation period right above the signature line.  Plus they make it clear in the contract that the member should not rely on anything except what is contained in the contract.  Quotes therein:

Right above the signature line:  "Do not sign this agreement before you have read it or if it contains any blank spaces...You have the right to cancel this agreement within five (5) business days after the date you sign by (A) returning all documentation to the Member Service Representative..., and (B) sending written notification by certified mail, return receipt requested, within five (5) business days from the date you sign this agreement."

On the New Members' Verification Statement (one-page), which requires initials on each point and signature at the bottom: "The company will not rent or resell my weeks.  An outside broker may be suggested but it is understood there is no guarantee on rental or resale, and I acknowledge that these weeks are not being purchased for the purpose of rental income or resale."
 "I am signing the agreement of my own free will and volition, and have not received or relied on any promise, offer or inducement of any kind..."

Just to be clear, I do not condone the high-pressure sales tactics used by Vida or any other timeshare operation, and I hope the OP gets resolution.  I just wanted to point out that, in my experience, VIDA is upfront with and honors their contracts.


----------



## Tropical lady

*clearly stated or didn't read?*

Our contracts have all included the rescind information and the page where you must initial each important point of the contract.  
This was all reviewed verbally with Member Services before signing.
I agree with all the points Muanojo made....very well written.

None of us have ever supported the Vida sales practices, but we have also experienced untruths here in the States.  Ex: we attended a presentation with friends who upgraded their timeshare contract which they then rescinded.  The following year's presentation included a review of the rescinded contract which was NOT what the 4 of us had understood and it was clear that the details were changed after signing.  They were glad they had rescinded and that brought this presentation to a quick end.  Another time friends at another table were told that we bought, sales had just opened a bottle of champagne with great flair nearby.  Found out later that when the bottle was opened others were told "there's another buyer".....no one had bought...a lie!  Mexico does not have the corner on ? sales practices.


----------



## Passepartout

I'd be interested to see the contract that is currently used. If the rescission instructions are as clearly stated as you owners state, it's kind of hard to be REAL sympathetic toward a buyer who signed, and initialed without reading it. Also, she mentions early in her post that she's an owner at a Palm Springs TS, so that would indicate that she is not exactly a blind tourist who is unfamiliar with how timeshares work. A 'trade-in' deal was apparently offered, and accepted.


----------



## suzanton

The Mayan has satisfactorly resolved my issue and I remove my post


----------



## Passepartout

suzanton said:


> The Mayan has satisfactorly resolved my issue and I remove my post



I love it when a plan comes together!


----------



## indyjuli

*Wonderful News*



suzanton said:


> The Mayan has satisfactorly resolved my issue and I remove my post



There is HOPE!!


----------



## Passepartout

indyjuli said:


> There is HOPE!!



Yeah, there is hope, but if you go back and read the post from April, she has the papers where the salesweasels made specific promises, and offers not included in the contract. Fraud was pretty easy to prove with the assistance of PROFECO. Did you keep all those hand written promises? Did you open a file with PROFECO?

It takes more than hope.

Jim


----------



## pittle

Passepartout said:


> I'd be interested to see the contract that is currently used. If the rescission instructions are as clearly stated as you owners state, it's kind of hard to be REAL sympathetic toward a buyer who signed, and initialed without reading it. Also, she mentions early in her post that she's an owner at a Palm Springs TS, so that would indicate that she is not exactly a blind tourist who is unfamiliar with how timeshares work. A 'trade-in' deal was apparently offered, and accepted.



Jim - I have my Grand Luxxe contract that was written in June 2013. (We upgraded all our MP & GM weeks to GL.)  It has _three (3) folders about the contract_ - basic, First 10 years, and then years 11-100.   The first one has a statement about they adhere to Mexican laws.  Then when I was reading the 2nd folder, I see that under General Provisions - there is a statement in the middle of the paragraph that I had underlined - "Member has the right to rescind this Contract within five business days from the date Member signed this Contract."  It even says that Sunday is not considered a business day.

So, it is in there, you just have to look for it.  Novices might miss it since they do not read and underline or highlight everything we question when they get back to their unit.  We found several things that we went back to talk to them about the next day and they made addendums for those.

The first page of the page where you have to initial everything specifically states that the Company will not rent or sell my weeks.  Then the last statement on that page states that this contract is subject to Mexican law and jurisdiction.

So - it is in there.  *The key is to READ your contract carefully BEFORE you leave the resort - not when you get home.*
_

Actually about 30 years ago, we almost bought at Fairfield Bay in Arkansas near where my in-laws lived.  Our boys were teenagers who loved golfing and swimming so we thought that would be something to have to use and have family visit us there for everyone to have a vacation.  We got back to our unit and that night, I read everything over & over.  The next morning we went back and rescinded the contract.  That experience was certainly helpful for when about 7 years later, we did buy our first timeshare.  We knew what to look for in contracts and the questions to ask and to make sure everything was what you felt you bought.  

I think we all do try to be as helpful as possible with the "newbies".  We just need to help them figure out what is best for them.  Basically, it boils down to - If you got what you wanted, then keep it and use it.  If you read everything in the contract more than once and are uncomfortable with what you read, go back to the office and either have them make it right (in writing)  or rescind.  If you have "buyer's remorse", that is OK, most of us have been there.  But, it sure is easier to do something about it in those 5 days!!!


----------



## Passepartout

pittle said:


> <snipped for brevity>
> So - it is in there.  *The key is to READ your contract carefully BEFORE you leave the resort - not when you get home.*
> 
> If you have "buyer's remorse", that is OK, most of us have been there.  But, it sure is easier to do something about it in those 5 days!!!



I couldn't agree more. It would make our- and their- job soooo much easier. 

It REALLY bothers me when someone comes here, and there is basically nothing that can be done to undo what they have done to themselves. In the vast majority of cases, nobody did it to them, their situation was to a large extent self-inflicted. It could have been set straight if only they had read the contract.

Then when someone comes here commiserating that they were taken advantage of, when they (a) admit that they didn't read the contract, and (b) that they were already timeshare owners, so MUST know how these things operate, I have little sympathy. That doesn't mean I won't tell them about what has been shown to work, but if they are victims off their own laziness , and unable-or unwilling to help themselves, it's their problem, not mine.

Jim


----------



## LannyPC

Passepartout said:


> It REALLY bothers me when someone comes here, and there is basically nothing that can be done to undo what they have done to themselves. In the vast majority of cases, nobody did it to them, their situation was to a large extent self-inflicted. It could have been set straight if only they had read the contract.
> 
> Then when someone comes here commiserating that they were taken advantage of, when they (a) admit that they didn't read the contract, and (b) that they were already timeshare owners, so MUST know how these things operate, I have little sympathy. That doesn't mean I won't tell them about what has been shown to work, but if they are victims off their own laziness , and unable-or unwilling to help themselves, it's their problem, not mine.



I'll agree almost completely with your post.  There is no question that it is incumbent on the potential buyer to read and fully understand a contract that involves several thousand dollars.

That being said, you/we have to realize the circumstances under which the buyer probably signed the contract.  First, we've heard these horror stories about how buyers have been practically held captive for 4-6 hours in what was supposed to be a 90-minute presentation.  Most buyers sign on the dotted line just to get out of the place.  Under such circumstances, who's going to read a multi-page document with a whole lot of legal mumbo-jumbo, let alone understand it?

And if the buyer does not understand something, who's the first person he's going to ask to explain it?  My answer would be the sales person he's been talking to?  And of course, the sales person is going to answer in such a way that will make the contract seem like a license to print money and the buyer will just take the sales person's word for it.


----------



## indyjuli

*Issue Resolved*

Thank everyone for their support and encouragement here on TUG.  I am in current negotiations with The Vida Vacation Club and Grand Mayan.  I would like to thank Eridany James and Karen Rose for providing excellent customer service.  They have resolved my issue and as a result, I would like to retract my earlier post. Thank you. 

Julie M.


----------



## Passepartout

Excellent post, Julie! C'mon back anytime you want to talk timeshares or vacations.


----------



## indyjuli

Passepartout said:


> Excellent post, Julie! C'mon back anytime you want to talk timeshares or vacations.



Thanks JIM.  I will!  I want to learn all I can on TUG to make vacationing the best I can!!

Regards, Juli


----------



## Passepartout

If you don't mind saying, how much did the advice you got on TUG save you? PM me if you don't want to say publicly.


----------



## pittle

Congratulations!   I am glad it worked out for you.  Once you are not talking to Sales, but Customer Service, you can get things resolved.


----------



## indyjuli

pittle said:


> Congratulations!   I am glad it worked out for you.  Once you are not talking to Sales, but Customer Service, you can get things resolved.



Thank you Phyllis, You all are awesome here!!


----------



## red fuji

What I find ironic is the crooks who want to rob you first before helping you.
Beware of companies like timesharescam.comwho want to charge you over 35% of amount you are getting back from Timeshare resorts.


----------



## Passepartout

red fuji said:


> What I find ironic is the crooks who want to rob you first before helping you.
> Beware of companies like timesharescam.comwho want to charge you over 35% of amount you are getting back from Timeshare resorts.



If you get anything back at all- or if they even actually get your TS out of your name. We have ALWAYS counseled people to *NEVER PAY ANYTHING UPFRONT* to anyone to sell or 'relieve' you of your timeshare. 

Honest brokers take their commission from the proceeds of the sale. Period. 'Nuff said.

Scammers can only operate with your permission.

Jim


----------



## Georgemcg4526

Hi everyone, my staff and I have produced a detailed documentary about how Vida Vacations which is owned by Grupo Vidanta are, and have been systematically deceiving their own members and prospects for decades. The documentary was carefully done, making sure we can back up all of its content by irrefutable evidence provided by inside sources. The following link will take you to a 50 minute preview. Seat tight, and be ready to know the truth. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0KXGFzb5dA​
George McGarrett


----------



## saywhat

Bringing a class action against them here (US) had been unsuccessful back in '08. Since then they have taken measures to make sure none of their transactions are conducted in the US. It won't be easy cause as you know they have a ton of money to fight. 
But I do applaud the effort, don't think you have a snowballs chance but if it forces them to change the quality of the sales presentation to equal the quality of the resorts and services we win!


----------



## Tropical lady

*Really??*

OK. George whatever,
I have been following this and could not see that was worth my time to acknowledge your "new found info to share and spare us from bad guys".
Ho Hummm.....what else do you have?  For the owners who go to the presentations we know exactly what we believe, upgrade or not.  We do not sanction the sales practices and challenge them as needed, negotiate our own contracts.  There is so much here, that after the fact, your info is out dated.  Sales are on to other approaches.
There is much info here on TUG that even a newbie can get caught up.
Mexico does not have the market on sleazy sales, the US can give them a run for presentations.
If sales presentations are your expertise (used lightly) why not include the whole t/s market and discuss buyers remorse?


----------



## RLA

*Resolved my issues with Mayan Palace timeshare*

I had made an earlier post regarding my purchase at the Mayan Palace.  After working with a very nice lady at Mayan Palace Member Services, who really listened to all my concerns,  I was able to work through all my issues and come to a successful resolution, directly with Vida Vacations, that I am satisfied with.   

I found the company to be very receptive to my concerns and most willing to work on a compromise.      My suggestion to all who have an issue with Mayan Palace would be to go directly to Member Services and begin a dialog.


----------



## saywhat

Tropical lady said:


> OK. George whatever,
> I have been following this and could not see that was worth my time to acknowledge your "new found info to share and spare us from bad guys".
> Ho Hummm.....what else do you have?  For the owners who go to the presentations we know exactly what we believe, upgrade or not.  We do not sanction the sales practices and challenge them as needed, negotiate our own contracts.  There is so much here, that after the fact, your info is out dated.  Sales are on to other approaches.
> There is much info here on TUG that even a newbie can get caught up.
> Mexico does not have the market on sleazy sales, the US can give them a run for presentations.
> If sales presentations are your expertise (used lightly) why not include the whole t/s market and discuss buyers remorse?



Yes owners are hip to what's going on but a great portion of their sales are new sales, and only a very small amount of them find their way here, so George's videos do serve a purpose. 

As for their approach being different maybe so but they're are still pitching it dirty, they have to it's the only way they can get the volume ownership requires.

As I've said before, people get overwhelmed at the Mayan because the are stunning and can't conceive that ownership would allow such a dirty pitch.


----------



## pmbois

*Vida Vacations - Vacation privileges club*

After going to a timeshare presentation at the Mayan Palace and refusing to buy, we were talked into a "vacation club".  Vida Vacations grossly misrepresented the vacation club, which was called Vacation Privileges and was based out of Arizona.  Once home, my husband and I realized it was a bait and switch scam and that that we had paid $4900 for timeshare and hotel rentals that we could have received without the membership.  We tried to cancel but our emails and phone calls were not returned.  Initially, our credit card company agreed to credit our account, but later recharged us after Vida stated that the contract that we signed did not cover "verbal promises".  I have contacted the BBB in Arizona hoping that they will be able to intervene.  Anyone else out there with any additional advice?


----------



## MuranoJo

Please see the link in post #8 of this thread for a way to reach customer service for help (if you are past the 5-day rescission period, which I'm assuming you are).  

You should always follow the cancellation instructions in your contract to the 't'  --and do not go back to sales to try to rescind, where you'll get more pressure and delays.  If you run into issues, contact Customer Service a.s.a.p.


----------



## gnorth16

Tug2.net reference at 22:00.

This video was better than anything on TV at 2am...   I'm still laughing at the word "trick-f**k"!!!  To hear a sales manager say that in a meeting with sales associates...YIKES!!!


----------



## pacodemountainside

pmbois said:


> I have contacted the BBB in Arizona hoping that they will be able to intervene.  Anyone else out there with any additional advice?



Forget about the BBB.  Wyndham, the largest  TS Developer has an  "F"  rating and over 1,500 complaints.


----------



## Passepartout

pmbois said:


> Anyone else out there with any additional advice?



Since you bought, then didn't read in the contract that you have at least 5 days to cancel it like nothing ever happened, here's my advice: Stick around TUG, and learn to use what you bought. Lots of TUGgers (about half) bought their first TS from the developer, so you're in good company. It's no sin to have overpaid for something you didn't understand, and were pressured into buying. The Vida resorts are great places to vacation, and you'll have many memories to show for this purchase. Just don't dwell on the sales and buying process.

Jim


----------



## LannyPC

Passepartout said:


> Just don't dwell on the sales and buying process.



And, it goes without saying, watch out for the scams aimed at TS owners (especially owners of Mexican TSs) that claim they have a buyer who will pay a king's ransom for your TS but you have to pay some sort of fee or tax to complete the deal.

As well, watch out for these outfits that are, at worst, scams and, at best, questionable law firms, that claim they can get you out of your timeshare agreement, sue the salesperson, etc.


----------



## lonola

Just returned from Cabo San Lucas 2 days ago (missed the hurricane by 12 hours). While there my wife and I went to a presentation at the Grand Mayan in Cabo San Jose.  This was by far the best presentation we have ever had at a Vida property. No tricks, no hard sell, no lies, no renting promises as an incentive to lower the sales price, etc..  Everything talked about in this thread was absent from the presentation.  We already own a MP 2BR (bought in Acapulco) and seriously considered upgrading to the package they presented.  In the end we declined their offer to upgrade for $8500.  We certainly have had our share of dishonest Vida presentations, but, this clearly was not one of them.  Good job Grand Mayan Cabo San Jose.


----------



## saywhat

Yes it appears that for the time being they are cleaning up their act. I think that the George McGarrett video was a wake up call for them. Also with Cirque du Soleil is set to open in Cancun in Nov. and there is probably some concern there about brand damage. 
Should be interesting to see how long they'll stay clean, once the sales totals drop. They still have a lot of building to do to catch up with the reservations demand. I'm a MP owner and I usually get what I want if I plan far enough in advance, but listening to the GL owners at the resorts they are always bitching about availability. Some have spent well over 100k and they're still being put in the GM.


----------



## C Survivor

Hello,
I'm new here and will try to not bore you all. My gosh I wish I would have found this sight a few years ago....I'm sure you hear that alot.
I would just like say that I'm trying to get unscrewed from the thieves who disguise themselves as legit sales people at Mayan/Vida Vacations. 

Back in 2006 I had undergone a stem cell transplant. First there were 6 rounds of chemotherapy, one every three weeks, as was standard at the time. Then, because mine was such a high-risk cancer (I had 37 cancer-positive lymph nodes---basically "off the charts"). Then I was placed in the hospital, in isolation, for nearly a month, where I received very high dose chemotherapy in order to kill my blood cells. It was GRUELING. I left with no immune system, no hair, no fingernails, no taste buds, you name it. Recovery from that was arduous. 

Once I was cleared to travel I went to PV to relax. Made a terrible decision to spend 20k with the Mayan, fell hook, line and sinker for the rental pitch as well as some exchange lies. Had I been on top of my game I wouldn't have been so stupid, I just wore down. Once the exchange info came I called to say it wan't as promised they said sorry that's what you have purchased. I told them if that's the case I need to cancel. I guess you all know the rest. And you all know how the rental income went.

They did take a little responsibility and refunded 5k which I took out of desperation to pay some medical bills. Now I'm trying to get the remainder of my money and I noticed that the squeeky wheel gets the oil, which is what brought me here. Sorry if this is going too long.

As a side note I have posted on other complaint sites and yesterday the Mayan informed me when I accepted the 5k I signed a gag order and they are looking into coming after me legally now. I told them I would make my medical history available to them, to which they never responded. They really don't give a hoot.

I see that alot of you are happy with their product and that's great and I don't mean to knock your decision, but I just don't know what else to do, so I'll just keep posting and posting.

Thanks for the read,
Christie


----------



## Karen G

Welcome to TUG, C Survivor. You might go back to the first page of this long thread and look at posts 8, 10, and 12 for some contact email addresses for customer service at Grupo Mayan. Nothing to lose by trying.


----------



## C Survivor

Thank you Karen.
We actually have been in communication with Karen Rose and she replied to my request with a threat of legal action because they say I'm violating the gag order. I see that some people on this forum have taken a dim view of that Mayan Empire video on YouTube but I'm here to tell you that's what happened to me.
As the sales trainer so eloquently phrased it I was "trick f#*%ed". I hate playing the victim I'm just lucky to still be alive and I'm not ok with walking away from 15k.

Thanks again Karen, hopefully they'll see this and do the right thing.
Christie


----------



## Passepartout

Somehow, I don't think they would want you testifying in any sort of open court about their practices, gag order or not. On the other hand, if you bought in 2006, there has been a lot of time to rescind, come to some sort of agreement (well, it seems both you and MP have a different view of $5,000). 

Our experience here has been that even though some time has passed, telling it like it is, and not backing down has frequently worked. Post it BIG. Use *BOLD* printface. Post in different places- especially travel sites. I have often seen posts (I think there might even be a couple in this thread) where a poster has stated that they and MP have come to an agreement and they retract all the statements made. One of our chief Kahuna moderators has kindly deleted all the derogatory posts at the request of the poster. It's no secret that there's a quid pro quo going on.

Good Luck!

And after surviving what you went through, everything else is just frosting on the cake.

Jim


----------



## C Survivor

Thanks Jim,
And yes I am on several sites and I'll just keep at till they realize supporting what happened to me is not good for anybody. 
You are correct Sir, I'm on bonus time

Christie


----------



## MuranoJo

It's been about 7-8 years since you made this purchase?  And you've received a partial payback which apparently incorporated a 'gag order.'

And now you want another payback after all these years?  

I am sorry for your health issues and certainly hope you are doing better now. But, seriously, (and perhaps this is more for fellow TUGgers) how many other timeshare systems would allow any (or an additional) payback after all these years, regardless of sales pressure at the time of purchase?  I would suspect none. At some point, we need to stop the coddling here on the board.

This is a case where I don't agree Vida should compensate further, regardless if the posting is in BOLD letters.   

That's JMO.


----------



## C Survivor

Wow, I guess you're entitled to your view. I'm not here to be coddled. I'm simply following through on a promise I made to Vida that this issue is not being swept under the carpet. I wasn't aware there was a statute on exposing liars and cheats. I don't believe that the passage of time absolves them from taking responsibility, fraud invalidates contracts so the 5 day window means nada.  BTW, I've been back and forth with Vida all these years trying to resolve this. Maybe you can tell by my OP " I don't give up". And if there an ancillary benefit by blowing the horn one more time and helps someone else all the better.
Christie


----------



## Grupo Mayan

Dear Mrs. Rigg,

We have been informed about your comments. As you know, we are committed to helping you understand the great value of acquiring a membership with us, as well as the significant benefits we offer our members. Although the information is clear in the signed documents, we continue to work towards an even clearer communication.

Our hard work is focused on developing great products and surpassing your expectations, since we continue to grow in the industry by making our members’ vacations a memorable experience. Moreover, as we have stated to your advocate, we look forward to helping you within the legal boundaries of your membership with us. Based on that premise, we remain at their service and look forward to resolving this in an amicable way.

Sincerely, 
Karen Rose
Customer Support Representative
Email: grupomayanblog@grupovidanta.com


----------



## C Survivor

Ms. Rose,

You refer to legal boundaries, does Vida consider pitching rental income to prospective members within legal boundaries, knowing it’s a benefit that will NEVER be achieved? If I understand you correctly you're saying that Vida sales reps can misrepresent your product to unsuspecting clients tell them whatever is needed to achieve the sale, and Vida policy is that this practice is within legal bounds and Vida will support this duplicitous way of selling. Due to the facts I’ve presented this is the only conclusion one can draw. It’s worth mentioning, this contract has never been used in 8 years. Although the contract says it’s not to be purchased for investment, the sales team made repeated assurances that rental income was not going to be a problem. Yes I'm is guilty of believing the Vida sales team. And Vida’s position Ms. Rose is that was a mistake on my part?
You all must be proud of yourselves.


----------



## drguy

C Survivor said:


> Ms. Rose,
> 
> You refer to legal boundaries, does Vida consider pitching rental income to prospective members within legal boundaries, knowing it’s a benefit that will NEVER be achieved? If I understand you correctly you're saying that Vida sales reps can misrepresent your product to unsuspecting clients tell them whatever is needed to achieve the sale, and Vida policy is that this practice is within legal bounds and Vida will support this duplicitous way of selling. Due to the facts I’ve presented this is the only conclusion one can draw. It’s worth mentioning, this contract has never been used in 8 years. Although the contract says it’s not to be purchased for investment, the sales team made repeated assurances that rental income was not going to be a problem. Yes I'm is guilty of believing the Vida sales team. And Vida’s position Ms. Rose is that was a mistake on my part?
> You all must be proud of yourselves.



I've rented my weeks when I was a Grand Mayan owner, and also when I was a Grand Luxxe owner, so it can be done.  Not for the amount Vida suggested nor through the agency that they suggested, but I did rent weeks.  Several times, in fact.
Just because you are unable to use the contract as you would like does not make the contract fraudulent.
By the way, I too have had my disputes with Vida and we have settled our differences and moved on to a point that our encounters are no longer contentious.  I hope that you too can find contentment and solace in the agreement that you made with Vida at an earlier point in time.


----------



## MuranoJo

C Survivor said:


> Wow, I guess you're entitled to your view. I'm not here to be coddled. I'm simply following through on a promise I made to Vida that this issue is not being swept under the carpet. I wasn't aware there was a statute on exposing liars and cheats. I don't believe that the passage of time absolves them from taking responsibility, fraud invalidates contracts so the 5 day window means nada.  BTW, I've been back and forth with Vida all these years trying to resolve this. Maybe you can tell by my OP " I don't give up". And if there an ancillary benefit by blowing the horn one more time and helps someone else all the better.
> Christie



I am curious: What responsibility do you take for signing a purchase for $20k without reading the contract before signing?  

If you've read it by now, you'll probably notice a couple of statements about how you're agreeing only to what is written in the contract.  It will probably include a page where you had to check off points including that you understand there are no guarantees about rental or resales.

I guess there's not a statute on exposing liars and cheats.  Likely, I don't think there should be a statute on questioning personal accountability.

I've said before that I do not condone their sales practices. Frankly I'm not sure why they do this when they have a great product.  

As to coddling, all you have to do is find this thread online and you'll get all kinds of support as you've seen.


----------



## C Survivor

MuranoJo said:


> I am curious: What responsibility do you take for signing a purchase for $20k without reading the contract before signing?
> 
> If you've read it by now, you'll probably notice a couple of statements about how you're agreeing only to what is written in the contract.  It will probably include a page where you had to check off points including that you understand there are no guarantees about rental or resales.
> 
> I guess there's not a statute on exposing liars and cheats.  Likely, I don't think there should be a statute on questioning personal accountability.
> 
> I've said before that I do not condone their sales practices. Frankly I'm not sure why they do this when they have a great product.
> 
> As to coddling, all you have to do is find this thread online and you'll get all kinds of support as you've seen.



Right now I'm taking 15k's worth of responsibility. Ok, I'll say it, I was a fool. 
I was a fool because I believed that those responsible for one of the most magnificent places on earth would at the very least have someone who wasn't lying through their teeth showing me the product. I let my guard down because I felt I was seeing the real deal not some boiler room. They used their resort to create a sense of credibility and I fell hook, line and sinker.
I have never used it, I can't use it and you're saying I should shut up. 
You're certainly entitled to say it. And I'm sorry if you feel I'm infringing on this space. The reason I'm here is it's a well respected forum and Vida cares about what's being said here.


----------



## Karen G

C Survivor said:


> And I'm sorry if you feel I'm infringing on this space. The reason I'm here is it's a well respected forum and Vida cares about what's being said here.



Everyone is welcome at TUG, and each person is entitled to his/her own opinion.  Historically, Grupo Mayan/Vida has generated the most heated discussions on this TUG forum between those who feel they have been cheated by the aggressive and deceptive sales practices of the company and those who own there and love going to the resorts. 

I do agree with MuranoJo's statement: 


MuranoJo said:


> I've said before that I do not condone their sales practices. Frankly I'm not sure why they do this when they have a great product.



It would certainly be refreshing if Grupo Mayan/Vida and all the other timeshare sales entities would change their business model to something more honest and transparent.


----------



## MuranoJo

I've probably come across as kind of harsh, and for that I apologize.
And I certainly don't feel you are infringing.  At a minimum--as you mentioned before--perhaps someone will learn from your experience and think twice & read twice before signing a contract, or better yet, avoid sales presentations altogether.

My main point is that I just don't happen to agree that anyone should expect reimbursement 8 years after the fact.  And particularly if they've already agreed to and received partial reimbursement.  

But who knows, perhaps Vida will come through for you again, in some way.


----------



## C Survivor

MuranoJo said:


> I've probably come across as kind of harsh, and for that I apologize.
> And I certainly don't feel you are infringing.  At a minimum--as you mentioned before--perhaps someone will learn from your experience and think twice & read twice before signing a contract, or better yet, avoid sales presentations altogether.
> 
> My main point is that I just don't happen to agree that anyone should expect reimbursement 8 years after the fact.  And particularly if they've already agreed to and received partial reimbursement.
> 
> But who knows, perhaps Vida will come through for you again, in some way.



No worries, I realize I may be going where few have gone before, much time has passed making it a long shot but I will continue.


----------



## tschwa2

Most of the people who post who seem to get satisfaction come within a month of returning home.  Occasionally it may be 6 months or so.  Those who come later aren't looking for a refund but simply the best way to use what they purchased and now own.   No one really knows if their definition of satisfaction is more than a refund of 25% of the purchase price or to be let out of the contract completely as the terms of the agreement include non-disclosure and retraction if possible and the simple statement that they have worked things out to their satisfaction without any further posts on the subject.


----------



## pittle

You must have one of the no pay unless you go contracts to have not gone in 8 years.  You really should go a week at one as all of the resorts are totally awesome at every level.  We have been owners for 15 years and rental income was never a reason for purchasing - we wanted to always be able to stay in a really nice place that was not just a hotel room.  We also knew that if we did this, we would always take a nice vacation each year.  We have purchased quite a few more weeks and in 2013 traded in 4 Mayan Palace weeks and 2 Grand Mayan weeks in for 2 Grand Luxxe weeks.  We do not need to go as many weeks now that we have moved to AZ, but do want to go sometimes and stay in awesome places.  We have exchanged quite a few times and taken many extended family vacations.  Our family loves going to any of the Mayan Resorts.

I am sorry you are so unhappy with Grupo Mayan, but in my opinion, you should not get your money back after all this time.  If it had been 3-6 months, I would have suggested contacting Karen Rose at Customer Services.  But, since you did get 20% back, I think you should be grateful and use the property.  

My husband is also a C-Survivor (6 years now) and absolutely loved going to our timeshares after chemo. We found it restful for him during his recovery.  We also purchased another property during this time that has had numerous issues.  We may walk away from that one soon.  We were seasoned timeshare users at the time and still bought because of the uniqueness of the small resort.  Well, they have not finished it in 6 years, and only have 4 units available and no amenities, just an awesome condo that we can stay in.  If we decide to walk, we will be giving up about what you paid (after your refund).  We know that no one will buy our week and the developers would not even consider taking it back.  We have to look at it as a learning experience.


----------



## Tropical lady

*8 years too late.....*

Muranjo and Pittle,
Agree 100% with all your points made so will not repeat.  Sorry for the health issues of C Survivor, but after 8 years that does not justify the post.  The resorts are fantastic, so learn to enjoy.  If rental was the reason for buying, no t/s company would have met these expectations.


----------



## C Survivor

Tropical lady said:


> Muranjo and Pittle,
> Agree 100% with all your points made so will not repeat.  Sorry for the health issues of C Survivor, but after 8 years that does not justify the post.  The resorts are fantastic, so learn to enjoy.  If rental was the reason for buying, no t/s company would have met these expectations.



I understand what you all are saying but enjoying the resorts is not an option due to personal circumstances. Please don't feel this is eating up with negative emotion, it really isn't. Vida/Mayans reputation is well documented here, as well as many other forums. So I'll just sound off from time to time if that's ok?
Not trying to blow smoke but this is by far the most helpful and well informed t/s forum.


----------



## Passepartout

Tropical lady said:


> Muranjo and Pittle,
> Agree 100% with all your points made so will not repeat.  Sorry for the health issues of C Survivor, but after 8 years that does not justify the post.  The resorts are fantastic, so learn to enjoy.  If rental was the reason for buying, no t/s company would have met these expectations.



Add my voice to this feeling as well. After 8 years and a 20% reduction in price already from Vida/Mayan, it's time to move on. If C-Survivor indeed has one of those 'don't pay MF if you don't use the resort' contracts, there will be no ongoing cost to just let bygones be bygones.

The time for rescission was within the first week after buying. No 'cooling-off' period has EVER been intended to go on for 8 years.

Jim


----------



## zinger1457

I'm at the Mayan Palace this week and attended the sales presentation yesterday.  I've been through presentations at many different timeshare ownerships (Starwood, Marriott, Diamond, etc.) so I'm use to TS sales practices  but these guys take it to a new level, never heard so much BS in a presentation and they are relentless.  Had 5 different sales people before I finally got out the door and they seem to each have a different story.  The last sales guy I talked to told me he represented the owner and the other sales people were just temporary contractors and came right out and said that they lie to make sales, then he proceeded to feed me his BS.  At least the buffet breakfast and golf provided for attending was very good and the resort is nice although they do want to charge extra for most things (internet, fitness center, etc.).


----------



## saywhat

So much for the Mayan cleaning up their act. Are they still pitching rent and resale? Which location did you go to?

Does Cirque du Soleil know who they are getting into bed with? When we went to Cancun last  March the Cirque Soleil was a big part of the pitch. I'm actually looking forward to going to see the show in Feb.. Mayan has the best product in Mexico and its getting better but WTF are they thinking about allowing the sales dept to run their name through the mud. Ownership can't say they don't know, which means they allow it because sales has been doing it for years. I guess it's worth all the bad publicity or they would have stopped it.


----------



## zinger1457

saywhat said:


> So much for the Mayan cleaning up their act. Are they still pitching rent and resale? Which location did you go to?



The Mayan Palace in Puerto Penasco.  It sounds like they just rotate the salesman through their different resorts, I do recall a couple of them mentioning that they had worked at multiple locations.  This was my first time at a Mayan resort so I'm not sure what the 'rent and resale pitch' is but they did mention that I would receive guaranteed rental income each year for 10 years with a purchase, as I recall it was about $1200/year.  Does Mayan use an exchange company (SFX)?  When I mentioned to the first salesman how much I use and like Interval (getaways) with my current TS he said the Mayan uses SFX and said I could do everything and more with SFX.  The last saleman (owners rep) I talked with said Mayan doesn't use an exchange company and the other salesman was lying to me.  He said the reason why they lie is that they get a big commission (50% of a sale), whereas he worked directly for the owner and was on salary only.


----------



## pittle

It sounds like they just rotate the salesman through their different resorts, I do recall a couple of them mentioning that they had worked at multiple locations.  Yes, they do this sometimes.  Because we have been owners for 15 years, we have seen some of the same people at different resorts.  When someone does well, they often get promoted to work at one of the other resorts in a management role.

Does Mayan use an exchange company (SFX)?  When I mentioned to the first salesman how much I use and like Interval (getaways) with my current TS he said the Mayan uses SFX and said I could do everything and more with SFX.  They sometimes use RCI, and sometimes Interval, and always SFX.  When you are an owner and want to deposit a week using their reservations website, only Deposit with RCI shows up.  Some Grand Luxxe, Grand Bliss, & Grand Mayan contracts use Registry Collection (upscale RCI) or Interval in addition to SFX.  We have only used SFX a couple of times - not impressed.

The last saleman (owners rep) I talked with said Mayan doesn't use an exchange company and the other salesman was lying to me.  He said the reason why they lie is that they get a big commission (50% of a sale), whereas he worked directly for the owner and was on salary only.The sales people only get paid if they sell, so that is their motivation. They do not get 50% - it used to start around 5-7% depending on your experience and then as you sell more and more, the % goes up to maybe up to 15%, never to 50%.   Total overhead for the sales department is pretty high though.  Just think about all the people who get paid - the folks that brought you get cash (more if you buy), the Sales Manager & everyone that talked to you gets a % of your purchase too. The sales department also has to pay for all those clerical folks that you see. But the developer gets most of the money.


----------



## saywhat

zinger1457 said:


> The Mayan Palace in Puerto Penasco.  It sounds like they just rotate the salesman through their different resorts, I do recall a couple of them mentioning that they had worked at multiple locations.  This was my first time at a Mayan resort so I'm not sure what the 'rent and resale pitch' is but they did mention that I would receive guaranteed rental income each year for 10 years with a purchase, as I recall it was about $1200/year.  Does Mayan use an exchange company (SFX)?  When I mentioned to the first salesman how much I use and like Interval (getaways) with my current TS he said the Mayan uses SFX and said I could do everything and more with SFX.  The last saleman (owners rep) I talked with said Mayan doesn't use an exchange company and the other salesman was lying to me.  He said the reason why they lie is that they get a big commission (50% of a sale), whereas he worked directly for the owner and was on salary only.



Oh well, I guess that addiction to rental is hard to kick. SFX is still there, we enjoy SFX so much we let RCI lapse. But in March they were selling the SFX as some kind of 3X1 proposition, turns out it was BS but regardless SFX has good member benefits.

Phyllis is right with the exception of maybe Disney all t/share reps are 100% commish. And how wonderful that the "owners rep" tells you the last several hours was a waste of time because they all lied to you, just lovely.:hysterical:


----------



## Snowbird22

*Mayan Palace on Tripadvisor*

I noticed Tripadvisor has a lot of posts about the Mayan properties that are 1 time posters mentioning how great their timeshare salesperson is. I saw this on Mayan Palace NV and the Grand Luxxe NV

It appears the timeshare sleazepeople are asking their "clients" to post how great they are. 

I guess if you can talk someone into spending thousands on a worthless product you can also convince them to brag about you on the internet.


----------



## dash

Trip Advisor must be a big push for those who work there. We were asked by many employees to post out positive experience on Tripadvisor


----------



## Passepartout

I've always been suspect of too many glowing reviews on Tripadvisor. Just like the one star reviews from someone with an axe to grind. At a hotel where we stayed recently, I asked the desk for a courtesy shuttle ride, and was given a card pre-printed with the link to give them a good review and the name of the desk clerk. Talk about quid-pro-quo.

Jim


----------



## saywhat

dash said:


> Trip Advisor must be a big push for those who work there. We were asked by many employees to post out positive experience on Tripadvisor



One of the decent sales guys who I made friends with yrs ago in NV told me last visit they actually have bonus for sales reps how can get members to post positive. For my family the Mayan NV is our favorite place to go, we have a countdown clock on our visits, we just love it there.  I just can't understand why ownership allows sales to run their name through the dirt.  We know better then to deal with sales but every year we meet families who have a several days of their stay stressed out because they fell for the sales show. We inform them the best we can on how to get out. Just not fair to do that to your guest who spent good money to be there.


----------



## Monica

C Survivor said:


> Wow, I guess you're entitled to your view. I'm not here to be coddled. I'm simply following through on a promise I made to Vida that this issue is not being swept under the carpet. I wasn't aware there was a statute on exposing liars and cheats. I don't believe that the passage of time absolves them from taking responsibility, fraud invalidates contracts so the 5 day window means nada.  BTW, I've been back and forth with Vida all these years trying to resolve this. Maybe you can tell by my OP " I don't give up". And if there an ancillary benefit by blowing the horn one more time and helps someone else all the better.
> Christie



_Personal attack removed_


----------



## Okies

_response to personal attack removed_


----------



## saywhat

If c Survivor wants to expose what they Mayan did that's her prerogative. People often confuse truth with negativity. She's yet another Mayan victim.....nothing wrong with her calling them to task. She's got a tough road to hoe but I wish her luck.

Mayan Sales Reps are vicious. Love the resorts but can't stand they way they represent the product.


----------



## Markgates

*Reply*

triplicate ad post deleted, peddle your nonsense elsewhere


----------



## brucecz

Is it  not amazing how many newer posters when Mexican resorts are being posted about in a unpositive way?

They could before heading to Mexico run  some copies  of completed ebay auctions if they like .  I have not done that but maybe next time. 

But I wait for the sales person to make a lie that I  can it s a lie and prove it is a lie and I challenge the salesperson with a $500  TO $1,000 WAD of $100 dollar bills. The salesperson is surprised shocked and shook and ran to get his sales manager.

Before the sales manger sits down I tell him in a firm voice that I would not invest with a company who's sales staff at best was  untrained or  worse yet not completely honest. That tends to shorten the sit.

Besides the last time we were in Puerto Vallarta other resorts were paying $200 to $300 more than the Mayan.



Bruce


----------



## Ty1on

This thread is like watching a great MMA match....the best MMA match ever.  A 3 year long marathon MMA match with blood stained canvas and body parts everywhere.


----------

