# Conned into buying Fiesta Americana Vacation Club



## hawkwood (Dec 10, 2021)

Hi all,

Starting December 1st my wife and I stayed a few nights at the Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun. It was our first time staying at a resort like this and our first time in Mexico. Foolishly, we agreed to see the sales presentation for the Fiesta Americana Vacation Club (FAVC), due to the promise of some free massages in exchange.

I won't go into detail about the "presentation" because I think everyone here knows how it goes, but suffice to say that it was a slick, high-pressure, one chance only offer to save a lot of money on wonderful all-inclusive holidays are resorts around the world...After almost 4 hours my wife was enthusiastic, I was keen to get to the beach, and the offer sounded like good value, so when they put the papers to sign in front of our faces, we signed.

I generally like to think that I'm pretty smart (now doubting) and skeptical of sales tactics and I'm absolutely stunned that it didn't occur to me to look up reviews of the vacation club as I was sitting there. One google search for "fiesta americana vacation club review" would have sent me running. 

In the end we accepted the deal because of the salesman's ironclad assurances that with our 2400 yearly points, we would be able to stay for at least a week during peak season at hotels around the world. He explicitly clarified multiple times that the points required to book a resort or hotel were uniform and did not change according to the hotel. He also explicitly confirmed that this plan would allow us to return to the Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun and stay in the exact same room for at least 7 nights. 

We have since looked on the website and found that the same room for just 4 nights on the exact same dates next year costs more than 7000 points. We have also found that the only hotels that can be booked with the points are the Fiesta Americana properties in Mexico. So what we were told in the sales presentation appears to be a bald-faced lie. 

We were also told explicitly at the beginning of the presentation that this offer was NOT A TIMESHARE, and then find in the contract that it is called "contrato de compraventa de derechos de uso y goce temporal bajo el esquema de tiempo compartido", which translates quite literally to "contract for timeshare".

One of the main reasons that we agreed to sign the agreement was because the salesman told us that we could cancel at any time and still use the sign-up bonus points for a holiday. So in effect our deposit of around $6000 would be used for a great holiday and we wouldn't really be any worse off. Now that I've sat down and looked for the information about cancelling the membership in the documents we received, I have not been able to find a single mention of how a membership can be cancelled, let alone our right to a refund due to fraudulent misrepresentation of the contract being offered. 

Given all this, I have been researching our options for getting out of this scam and it doesn't look pretty. Obviously I would love to cancel the membership and get a refund of our initial payment, however at this stage with everything I've read it seems like just getting the membership cancelled and losing the initial payment would almost be a win. These are the options that I'm aware of to reach this outcome (keeping in mind that we're past the legal 5 day period since signing the contract):

Request cancellation and refund via the official FAVC email address (infofavclub@favc.com) - I have done this and have extremely low hopes
Contact the salesman directly and ask for assistance in cancelling and refunding the membership - We have done this and he has for two days in a row promised to call and then not done so. I have extremely low hopes of this going anywhere.
Email other senior company leaders explaining the fraudulence of this particular salesmen and threaten to leave negative reviews everywhere we can think of. This has apparently helped in some cases, for example, in this one. This would be quite a lot of work for also a very low likelihood of success.
Send a complaint to the PROFECO Conciliation from Abroad arbitration process. Seems worth doing but it's not clear to me exactly what they will do and apparently they don't really have any power to enforce anything. I'm not sure it will make much difference.

In the worst case, if they refuse to cancel our membership or just ignore us, it seems that we would have no choice but to either continue paying forever or cancel the credit card and let the charges fail, in which case I would like to know what could be the negative consequences of doing that in my particular case? I am an Australian citizen and my wife is Colombian. We are residents of Colombia. The credit card is from a Colombian bank.

This question feels particularly important because it seems to be the most likely outcome. I have seen conflicting advice regarding this here on the forum. Some people seem to suggest that it's not a big deal and others say to never do it and it's better to go to whatever lengths necessary to pay off the debts. I hate the idea of acquiescing to my own robbery so I would be extremely reluctant to do this unless it was clear that the consequences were truly dire.

Any advice regarding my situation would be greatly appreciated.

Note: This is the linked page of the salesman who sold me this scam https://www.linkedin.com/in/julioivanlemushuerta/


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## buzglyd (Dec 10, 2021)

Just cancel the card and move on. There is zero they can do to you.


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## hawkwood (Dec 10, 2021)

buzglyd said:


> Just cancel the card and move on. There is zero they can do to you.



Thanks. It's a relief if that's the case. I'll still give them a chance to do things the right way (with the help of PROFECO), but if they refuse to, it's nice to know that we can do that.


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## dioxide45 (Dec 10, 2021)

buzglyd said:


> Just cancel the card and move on. There is zero they can do to you.


How can you cancel a card when you have a $6000 down payment balance sitting on it? I guess you can simply stop paying it, but the OP is a resident of the same country where the card was issued. Not sure that Colombia has the same type of protections for credit card transactions and defaults as we are afforded in the USA.


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## bjones9942 (Dec 10, 2021)

dioxide45 said:


> How can you cancel a card when you have a $6000 down payment balance sitting on it? I guess you can simply stop paying it, but the OP is a resident of the same country where the card was issued. Not sure that Colombia has the same type of protections for credit card transactions and defaults as we are afforded in the USA.



And as has been reported by some others (I said some, not all), they do sometimes come after you and ding your credit.

Look through your contract again, specifically for a section that discusses rescission.  You are likely slightly past the point where you can rescind, but you never know.  If you are still within the defined time frame, follow the steps exactly.  If it says use Fed Ex, then use Fed Ex.

Good luck.

Edit:  As an aside, I just left the Fiesta Americana property in Acapulco.  It was nice.  Not anything to go crazy about, but a solid nice - and in a popular area.  If you can't get out of the contract, at least you can get some use out of it.


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## hawkwood (Dec 10, 2021)

dioxide45 said:


> How can you cancel a card when you have a $6000 down payment balance sitting on it? I guess you can simply stop paying it, but the OP is a resident of the same country where the card was issued. Not sure that Colombia has the same type of protections for credit card transactions and defaults as we are afforded in the USA.



We paid this amount with cash so we wouldn't have any problem cancelling the card. It has no debt currently, it is just set up for the future monthly payments.


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## geist1223 (Dec 10, 2021)

Dispute the charge to your. Credit Cards. You will be allowed to submit a statement. List all the lies the Sales Person to,d you.


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## hawkwood (Dec 10, 2021)

bjones9942 said:


> And as has been reported by some others (I said some, not all), they do sometimes come after you and ding your credit.
> 
> Look through your contract again, specifically for a section that discusses rescission.  You are likely slightly past the point where you can rescind, but you never know.  If you are still within the defined time frame, follow the steps exactly.  If it says use Fed Ex, then use Fed Ex.
> 
> ...



I honestly can't see anywhere in any of the contractual documents they sent us a single mention of anything to do with rescission or annulment.  I will have another look and update if I find anything. Feels like another aspect of the scam that the contract is missing so much information. Very stupid of me to sign something without reading thoroughly, I know!

I can't imagine wanting to use Fiesta Americana ever again. We left extremely happy and ready to bring our entire families next time, and now we feel like our holiday was completely ruined and Fiesta Americana are nothing but a bunch of lying thieves. It's ironic because the entire sales pitch was about how they don't do any marketing and rely on happy customers to spread the word...


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## hawkwood (Dec 10, 2021)

So there is definitely no mention of anything regarding how to cancel or rescind the contract.





I just saw this clause where I apparently agreed that any verbal offers not in the contract are not valid. The part I covered is where they wrote our initials for us. I never actually marked an "x" or initialized anything myself. Any chance I can get any mileage out of that fact?


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## Passepartout (Dec 10, 2021)

PROFECO MAY help, but the worst that can happen is that you are out whatever cash down payment you made. Cancel the credit card that was set up to make payments to the thieves. You might or might not ever see the refund. One thing I have seen work, but nobody has suggested here is to post derogatory posts all over the internet travel sites, Travelocity, Expedia, Yahoo Travel, etc. outlining their scams. I've seen refunds be made when people agree to pull down their complaints.

I agree that there is little chance they will post a negative credit report on you. In Mexico, there is no deed on timeshares, so it's just a vacation club, you don't actually 'own' anything and they have no choice but to cancel your 'membership'. 

Good Luck!

Jim


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## dioxide45 (Dec 10, 2021)

geist1223 said:


> Dispute the charge to your. Credit Cars. You will be allowed to submit a statement. List all the lies the Sales Person to,d you.


This is a credit card issued by a bank in Colombia. It may not have the same protections as cards issued in the United States.


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## easyrider (Dec 10, 2021)

Since it was bought on Dec 1 and the rescission period is past a person would need to claim fraud on the credit card charge. When the fraud is claimed the type of fraud that is recognized is unauthorized charge. Sometimes to fight a liar a persons easiest route might be to claim they didn't sign anything , buy anything or have knowledge of the charge other than they vacationed there. The business in Mexico would have a hard time disputing this type of claim made in the USA because it happens frequently.

Bill


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## hawkwood (Dec 10, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> PROFECO MAY help, but the worst that can happen is that you are out whatever cash down payment you made. Cancel the credit card that was set up to make payments to the thieves. You might or might not ever see the refund. One thing I have seen work, but nobody has suggested here is to post derogatory posts all over the internet travel sites, Travelocity, Expedia, Yahoo Travel, etc. outlining their scams. I've seen refunds be made when people agree to pull down their complaints.
> 
> I agree that there is little chance they will post a negative credit report on you. In Mexico, there is no deed on timeshares, so it's just a vacation club, you don't actually 'own' anything and they have no choice but to cancel your 'membership'.
> 
> ...



Thanks Jim. I will certainly be happy to share my experience far and wide, if only to help others avoid the scam (and perhaps to let off a little steam).

I'm happy to hear that you think that cancelling the card and moving on is viable.



dioxide45 said:


> This is a credit card issued by a bank in Colombia. It may not have the same protections as cards issued in the United States.





easyrider said:


> Since it was bought on Dec 1 and the rescission period is past a person would need to claim fraud on the credit card charge. When the fraud is claimed the type of fraud that is recognized is unauthorized charge. Sometimes to fight a liar a persons easiest route might be to claim they didn't sign anything , buy anything or have knowledge of the charge other than they vacationed there. The business in Mexico would have a hard time disputing this type of claim made in the USA because it happens frequently.
> 
> Bill



Colombian credit cards don't offer the same level of protection as in the USA, however I've checked the bank's website and they do say that charges for things you never bought can be contested up to 60 days from the date. I'd be quite happy to go that route if I can reassure myself that they won't be any serious consequences if somehow they are able to prove that we did make the purchase (e.g. my emails asking for a refund?). Thanks for the suggestion easyrider.


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## dioxide45 (Dec 10, 2021)

hawkwood said:


> Colombian credit cards don't offer the same level of protection as in the USA, however I've checked the bank's website and they do say that charges for things you never bought can be contested up to 60 days from the date. I'd be quite happy to go that route if I can reassure myself that they won't be any serious consequences if somehow they are able to prove that we did make the purchase (e.g. my emails asking for a refund?). Thanks for the suggestion easyrider.


I would expect that a signed contract is proof enough that you bought something?


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## hawkwood (Dec 10, 2021)

dioxide45 said:


> I would expect that a signed contract is proof enough that you bought something?



Haha yeah, that would probably be enough. 

In my defense, I had just finished writing a three page letter in Spanish to PROFECO, so my brain was absolutely spent when I wrote that. I've since talked briefly with the wife and she's not that keen to try anything like that. Would rather just take the hit and move on.


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## easyrider (Dec 11, 2021)

dioxide45 said:


> I would expect that a signed contract is proof enough that you bought something?



Most of these contracts aren't notarized because most of the timeshares are RTU memberships is what I think. When I signed in Mexico my signature wasn't notarized. Even it it was notarized it wouldn't prevent the fraud claim to dispute the charge. The credit card company isn't usually asking specifically what kind of fraud to dispute the charge. All a buyer would have to say is I dispute the charges because it is fraud. Then the seller has to prove it isn't fraud in court. If court is somewhere other than Mexico, which it is if you don't live in Mexico, then it isn't going to be worth it for them to pursue, imo. 

Bill


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## Janann (Dec 11, 2021)

Is the following summary correct?

Paid $6,000 cash as a down payment on the contract.
Provided a credit card number to make ongoing monthly payments.
If the above is correct, cancel the credit card to stop the monthly payments.  The cash down payment will be extremely difficult to get back.


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## Ima Timesharer (Dec 11, 2021)

If you can't get out of the purchase, I highly recommend the Fiesta Americana Vacation Club in Cabo San Lucas. And unless things have changed, you can also use your points at any of the Hilton Grand Vacation Club timeshares around the world. If you can't get out of your contract, you will probably wish you had bought a couple thousand more points, but depending on the time of year, you can definitely get a week in a small unit for 2400 points.

Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk


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## Hlee (Apr 3, 2022)

Hi All,
Unfortunately I ended up becoming a FAVC member in May/2021 (in Los Cabos). I've been trying to cancel my membership and yesterday they replied saying that I cannot cancel it but they could pause the monthly charges for 12 months.
I live in the US and my cc also was issued here, If they don't agree to cancel my membership I'm thinking in using the points I have available for 2022 and then dispute the monthly charges. Do you guys see any potencial issues if I do that? thank you.


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## Pathways (Apr 3, 2022)

Hlee said:


> Hi All,
> Unfortunately I ended up becoming a FAVC member in May/2021 (in Los Cabos). I've been trying to cancel my membership and yesterday they replied saying that I cannot cancel it but they could pause the monthly charges for 12 months.
> I live in the US and my cc also was issued here, If they don't agree to cancel my membership I'm thinking in using the points I have available for 2022 and then dispute the monthly charges. Do you guys see any potential issues if I do that? thank you.


uh....I'd love to hear the reasoning to dispute charges that stem from a legitimate contract


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## dioxide45 (Apr 3, 2022)

Hlee said:


> Hi All,
> Unfortunately I ended up becoming a FAVC member in May/2021 (in Los Cabos). I've been trying to cancel my membership and yesterday they replied saying that I cannot cancel it but they could pause the monthly charges for 12 months.
> I live in the US and my cc also was issued here, If they don't agree to cancel my membership I'm thinking in using the points I have available for 2022 and then dispute the monthly charges. Do you guys see any potencial issues if I do that? thank you.


Your only option would be to cancel the credit card and hope they go away.


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## Janann (Apr 3, 2022)

Hlee said:


> Hi All,
> Unfortunately I ended up becoming a FAVC member in May/2021 (in Los Cabos). I've been trying to cancel my membership and yesterday they replied saying that I cannot cancel it but they could pause the monthly charges for 12 months.
> I live in the US and my cc also was issued here, If they don't agree to cancel my membership I'm thinking in using the points I have available for 2022 and then dispute the monthly charges. Do you guys see any potencial issues if I do that? thank you.


I would bet that they won't allow you to use the points while the payments are on pause.  You would probably have to bring all the payments current before going on vacation.


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## Hlee (Apr 3, 2022)

dioxide45 said:


> Your only option would be to cancel the credit card and hope they go away.


Can they send my info to a collection company here in the us?
What would you do I you were in my case?


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## Hlee (Apr 3, 2022)

Janann said:


> I would bet that they won't allow you to use the points while the payments are on pause.  You would probably have to bring all the payments current before going on vacation.


I'm not considering in pausing the monthly payments, I don't want to grad this for another year. Just trying to find the best way with less liability to cancel my membership.


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## Janann (Apr 3, 2022)

Hlee said:


> Can they send my info to a collection company here in the us?


Of course they can.  The collector would be the credit card company.  But will they send it to Collections?  It depends on the amount of money involved, and your financial profile.  Whether they send it for collection activity or not, the card will be reported as a charged-off account on your credit report, and it will hurt your credit score.


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## bjones9942 (Apr 3, 2022)

I'd like to go to Canada and buy a nice, big television set for my home in Seattle.  When I plug it in I think I'll call my credit card company and dispute the charges - it was Canada after all!  What can they do?  Like, they can't take me to collections because they're a different country!


The older I get, the more I wonder how some people even survive crossing the street.


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## dioxide45 (Apr 3, 2022)

Janann said:


> Of course they can.  The collector would be the credit card company.  But will they send it to Collections?  It depends on the amount of money involved, and your financial profile.  Whether they send it for collection activity or not, the card will be reported as a charged-off account on your credit report, and it will hurt your credit score.


The question was in response to if they cancelled the credit card. In that case as long as they pay any charges made to the credit card, the credit card wouldn't be the collector. Fiesta Americana wouldn't have a card to charge and it would be up to them to figure out how to collect. I am not saying defaulting on the contract is right or wrong, but it is an option but could come with consiquences.


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## Jxbee (May 4, 2022)

Hello! Just wondering what did OP end up doing? Can I just cancel my credit card where the monthly payments will be charged and not have to worry about them coming after me? I’m in the US and have a US credit card. Or has anyone done canceling credit card with success?  Thank you!


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## TheTimeTraveler (May 4, 2022)

Jxbee said:


> Hello! Just wondering what did OP end up doing? Can I just cancel my credit card where the monthly payments will be charged and not have to worry about them coming after me? I’m in the US and have a US credit card. Or has anyone done canceling credit card with success?  Thank you!




The OP hasn't been back since December 11th, 2021 so I doubt we'll ever know what happened in their situation.

Welcome to TUG.




.


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## Jxbee (May 4, 2022)

TheTimeTraveler said:


> The OP hasn't been back since December 11th, 2021 so I doubt we'll ever know what happened in their situation.
> 
> Welcome to TUG.
> 
> ...



Thank you for the reply. We happened to signed up for the vacation club which is only for 5 years with 1k down payment and it’s just a 7k agreement. We decided to cancel the next day after signing and got a copy of the letter with a stamp saying someone would call us within 48 hours of the letter but no one did. If no one gets back to us and we have tried calling them and no response - should canceling our credit card and getting a new one be a route we could take without precautions? We read the rescissions and it said if we don’t pay they will terminate the agreement without need of court order. But then I’m afraid they might go to collections. Not sure what to do now…  I appreciate any help! Thank you


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## dioxide45 (May 4, 2022)

Jxbee said:


> Thank you for the reply. We happened to signed up for the vacation club which is only for 5 years with 1k down payment and it’s just a 7k agreement. We decided to cancel the next day after signing and got a copy of the letter with a stamp saying someone would call us within 48 hours of the letter but no one did. If no one gets back to us and we have tried calling them and no response - should canceling our credit card and getting a new one be a route we could take without precautions? We read the rescissions and it said if we don’t pay they will terminate the agreement without need of court order. But then I’m afraid they might go to collections. Not sure what to do now…  I appreciate any help! Thank you


I would say as long as you cancelled and have a copy of the letter indicating it was received, you should be okay. Sometimes iffy in Mexico when cancelling in person but sometimes that is the only way since mail service in Mexico is questionable. How did you pay the downpayment? Did they sign you up for an RCI or II credit card through Barclay's? If so, you probably haven't even received it yet, but you won't be able to cancel the card if there is still a $1000 balance for the downpayment on it.


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## Jxbee (May 4, 2022)

dioxide45 said:


> I would say as long as you cancelled and have a copy of the letter indicating it was received, you should be okay. Sometimes iffy in Mexico when cancelling in person but sometimes that is the only way since mail service in Mexico is questionable. How did you pay the downpayment? Did they sign you up for an RCI or II credit card through Barclay's? If so, you probably haven't even received it yet, but you won't be able to cancel the card if there is still a $1000 balance for the downpayment on it.


Thank you! We just used our chase sapphire visa to pay for the down payment and then it’s also going to be used for the monthly payments which will start 6/20.


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## dioxide45 (May 4, 2022)

Jxbee said:


> Thank you! We just used our chase sapphire visa to pay for the down payment and then it’s also going to be used for the monthly payments which will start 6/20.


So you are still almost six weeks out from that first payment. If you see the $1000 down payment refund hit your card prior to then (and you should if all went well), then you should be in the clear.


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## TheTimeTraveler (May 4, 2022)

I would contact Chase to determine if the loan still exists or was cancelled on their end.....  If it was cancelled then you are home free!



.


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## Jxbee (May 4, 2022)

dioxide45 said:


> So you are still almost six weeks out from that first payment. If you see the $1000 down payment refund hit your card prior to then (and you should if all went well), then you should be in the clear.



I have one more day for the 15 days to hit but the “executive” hasn’t talked to us and that’s what I’m worried about. See attachment where it says contract is still in full effect until conclusion has been reached.


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## dioxide45 (May 4, 2022)

Jxbee said:


> I have one more day for the 15 days to hit but the “executive” hasn’t talked to us and that’s what I’m worried about. See attachment where it says contract is still in full effect until conclusion has been reached.


Hard to say, but I would think the conclusion is on their end and that would be a refund of the down payment. If you don't get that result, you should involve PROFECO and provide a copy of the letter you have. The fact that they never contacted you should be their problem, not yours.


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## Jxbee (May 4, 2022)

dioxide45 said:


> Hard to say, but I would think the conclusion is on their end and that would be a refund of the down payment. If you don't get that result, you should involve PROFECO and provide a copy of the letter you have. The fact that they never contacted you should be their problem, not yours.


 Thank you for the quick response!


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## Ima Timesharer (May 28, 2022)

hawkwood said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Starting December 1st my wife and I stayed a few nights at the Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun. It was our first time staying at a resort like this and our first time in Mexico. Foolishly, we agreed to see the sales presentation for the Fiesta Americana Vacation Club (FAVC), due to the promise of some free massages in exchange.
> 
> ...



Others have given good advice, but if that all fails the Fiesta Americana Vacation Club timeshare points can be valuable. Some of the other Fiesta Americana resorts are excellent. Although it is a little older, we particularly like the one in Cabo San Lucas. We've been there several times. Every unit has an unobstructed view of the Sea of Cortez, and there are several restaurants. 2400 points is not a lot of points, but you can probably get most of a week in a small unit, as long as it's not in the prime winter season. Even better, you can use your points at any of  the many Hilton Grand Vacations Club resorts. Another option is to buy another 5000 points or so very cheaply on this website from someone who doesn't want to keep their timeshare. That happens often as owners get older and have failing health. When my health declined we gave away our 3 Fiesta Americana timeshares (that we bought inexpensively second-hand on this site) after getting lots of use out of them at resorts around the world. Getting enough more points for free or very cheaply so you have more flexibility and can stay longer at more resorts takes the sting out of the outrageous down payment they took from you. If you just don't want to use the points, I recommend giving away the timeshare, using the Timeshare Users Group site to advertise it. You won't get much for your points, but you can probably get the buyer to pay the modest fees involved, and even giving it away will stop the annual fee charges and prevent hurting your credit record. Good luck.


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## hawkwood (May 31, 2022)

TheTimeTraveler said:


> The OP hasn't been back since December 11th, 2021 so I doubt we'll ever know what happened in their situation.
> 
> Welcome to TUG.
> 
> ...



Hello, OP here. You are completely correct to assume that I wouldn't return. It's usually the case, however I've had in mind to come back and give an update on what happened precisely because I know how frustrating it is to come across a post from someone who dealt with the same problem and to find that they never said what the resolution was. I'm very grateful that forums like this one exist and there are regulars around who are willing to try to help out complete strangers even though they know the strangers will most likely disappear without a trace.

Initially, following the intense feelings of shame and anger at having been so silly as to fall for this scam, all I could do was wait and see what happened. After looking at the pros and cons, and taking into account our anger, we made the decision to cancel the credit card. We had paid the initial deposit in cash, so the card had no debt. We just weren't willing to watch FACV take our money each month and decided that it seemed like the risk of debt collectors and the like was very low. We had three months from the data of signing before they were going to actually make the first charge, so we waited a month or so before making this decision. 

In the meantime, I had actually also written a complaint to PROFECO. I think it was the same day that I made the initial post here however it might have been the following day. In this letter I detailed the exact dates of our stay and the details of the sale, including the name of the salesman. I had noticed that someone other than us had initialed the pages of the contract for us and I highlighted that this was the case as well. (If the forum elders here don't see a problem with it, I'd be happy to share what I wrote in a slightly redacted version.)

Anyway, this complaint was sent somewhere around December 11. On January 14, I received a notification that it had been received by them. On February 10, they informed me that they would be meeting with representatives of Grupo Posada on the 14th. On February 28th they informed me that Grupo Posada had agreed to refund the deposit and cancel the contract. In this email they requested bank account details where the refund should be made. 

Following this, it was another few weeks before someone contacted us from Fiesta Americana, where they again asked for our bank account details. They then also requested that we send a signed letter saying that we give up the right to do a chargeback on this payment. I have no idea if this is legally binding in any way but after reading through it we decided that we didn't mind signing that letter. The refund (minus the CC charges of ~$250) was then made a few weeks after that. 

So in the end it was an extremely lucky outcome for us, thanks to PROFECO, and thanks to me sitting down and wasting most of a day writing the complaint instead of joining my wife and friends at the Dallas Zoo. I'm not sure if it made any difference, but I did write the complaint in Spanish. All the subsequent PROFECO correspondence was in Spanish as well, so it seems like it would be hard to go through the process if you don't understand it to quite a high level.

Finally, although we had cancelled the credit card, they agreed to cancel the contract before the first payment was actually due, so we don't know what they would have said/done once they realized. 

If I can help anyone out who's in the same situation, I'm happy to try. I wasn't getting notifications from my account here, so I'll try to turn those on.


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## Jxbee (Jun 3, 2022)

Thank you OP for following up!

Following up on my situation - We ended up getting our deposit $ back and they canceled our membership/contract. It took a lot of calling the account exec # in Mexico and following up to make it happen though! Took about a month.


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## gdstuart (Aug 13, 2022)

TheTimeTraveler said:


> I would contact Chase to determine if the loan still exists or was cancelled on their end.....  If it was cancelled then you are home free!



PMJI, but Chase just processes payments they receive from vendors; they don't hold the loan papers.  They would have no knowledge of whether Jxbee had a contract with Fiesta.


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## Mphraider80 (Sep 25, 2022)

hawkwood said:


> Hello, OP here. You are completely correct to assume that I wouldn't return. It's usually the case, however I've had in mind to come back and give an update on what happened precisely because I know how frustrating it is to come across a post from someone who dealt with the same problem and to find that they never said what the resolution was. I'm very grateful that forums like this one exist and there are regulars around who are willing to try to help out complete strangers even though they know the strangers will most likely disappear without a trace.
> 
> Initially, following the intense feelings of shame and anger at having been so silly as to fall for this scam, all I could do was wait and see what happened. After looking at the pros and cons, and taking into account our anger, we made the decision to cancel the credit card. We had paid the initial deposit in cash, so the card had no debt. We just weren't willing to watch FACV take our money each month and decided that it seemed like the risk of debt collectors and the like was very low. We had three months from the data of signing before they were going to actually make the first charge, so we waited a month or so before making this decision.
> 
> ...



Hello, I have a questions as I’m in the same situation as you were. Is it possible to pick your Brain in regards to the letter you wrote to the PROFECO? I’d appreciate your help.


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## Passepartout (Sep 25, 2022)

Mphraider80 said:


> Hello, I have a questions as I’m in the same situation as you were. Is it possible to pick your Brain in regards to the letter you wrote to the PROFECO? I’d appreciate your help.


That person you were replying to hasn't been on TUG since June. I'd suggest using the search function. Many people have referenced PROFECO, though I don't know how much good it's done after one has departed Mexico.

Good Luck! 

Incidentally, you won't be able to PM anyone until you've amassed a few points and moved up from Newbie to Guest.


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