# Cancelled contract but CC company is siding with [Legendary Preferred Destination]



## ix470001 (Jan 11, 2016)

I'm new to this forum and I apologized if this topic was already covered earlier.

We signed a timeshare contract with Legendary Preferred Destination back in June 2015 and was able to cancel within 5 days - email & letter delivered within 5 days. After disputing the charges for the deposit several times, my credit card company is now requiring me to pay the balance on Jan 13, I've presented proper documentation to support my dispute but my CC company is siding with Legendary stating they are not in position to determine cancellation policies and do have an obligation with the merchant as well. 

Please advice, I'm hoping I can avoid paying so I don't wait for a refund. Or any recommendation of any lawyer that can help. Thank you.


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## DeniseM (Jan 11, 2016)

It appears that Legendary Preferred Destination is in Mexico - have you contacted Profeco, the Mexican consumer agency that handles consumer complaints?

Here is  a brochure from Profeco, the Mexican consumer protection agency.

52 55 5211 1723


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## Passepartout (Jan 12, 2016)

I guess the ball is in your court. You will have to find the statute in the state that allows a rescission period, then you must show the proof of mailing within that allowable time. There has to be an appeal process with your (soon to be ex) credit card issuer. It is up to you whether you make minimum payment to the card, or not.

Not familiar with this Legendary Preferred Destination outfit. What is it? Besides a scam.

You might consider having an attorney write them, quoting their verbiage about rescission, and the proof of mailing your letter in time, and cc the Attorney General if in the U.S. (PROFECO in Mexico) a promise of Small Claims court wouldn't hurt.

Good Luck

Jim


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## Karen G (Jan 12, 2016)

Is your credit card company Chase by any chance?  I just finished dealing with them on a disputed charge with a Mexican resort.  If it is Chase I can provide a contact person in the executive office who might be able to help you.


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## ix470001 (Jan 12, 2016)

DeniseM,
Thanks for the PROFECO information.

Jim,
Legendary Preferred Destination carries Hard Rock hotels in Mexico & Punta Cana. I am disappointed with American Express after all documentation I've submitted, they still sided with the merchant, I thought I've presented and documented it well. I'm seriously considering taking legal action against them. I think they're afraid of being sued the Legendary. The last customer service rep I talked to even told me they have no recourse and I can go to BBB to complain.

Karen G,
Unfortunately it's not Chase, it's American Express.


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## DeniseM (Jan 12, 2016)

Don't bother with the BBB - contact Profeco.


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## Karen G (Jan 12, 2016)

ix470001 said:


> after all documentation I've submitted, they still sided with the merchant, I thought I've presented and documented it well.


That seems to be the same stance our credit card co. (Chase) took. We had emails from the agent who acknowledged her mistake and who said she was reversing the charge--but she never did the reversal and doesn't work there anymore. 

It finally was resolved by some good guys in the resort reservations dept. who took the time to listen and understand what happened.  (It wasn't a timeshare purchase but incorrect charges for golf tee times.)

What was so frustrating was that each time we contacted Chase their response was that the merchant reported it as a valid charge. All they went by was the copy of the charge from the resort and they didn't take into consideration the emails or our explanation of what happened.

I think Profeco might be your best bet in dealing with the rescission of your purchase since you did follow Mexican law and sent your rescission within the five-day time period.

Keep fighting!


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## saabman (Jan 13, 2016)

DeniseM said:


> Don't bother with the BBB - contact Profeco.



You can certainly contact Profeco but don't expect much. They have little if zero enforcement power.

"Profeco cannot enforce the Mexico Timeshare Resort to refund any monies to the client nor officially cancel the contract. The office of Profeco offers mediation services but cannot enforce the resolution for the client who has been deceived and/or has had his consumer rights abused."


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## presley (Jan 13, 2016)

An attorney would probably cost more than the deposit paid. Were you given a reason for your deposit not being returned? Such as, you used a free vacation that you don't qualify for, or you kept some type of gift from the presentation?

Social media can help in situations like these. You'd want to post the entire story with names and dates. Someone high up will eventually deal with it. You'll want to ream the resort and American Express. And remember to cancel your American express card and tell them why.


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## ix470001 (Jan 13, 2016)

kareng,
Yes, we'll keep fighting, any more tips to make our complaint with PROFECO more effective will be greatly appreciated.

saabman,
I agree, I don't have high expectation with filing a complaint with PROFECO but will try anyway.

presley,
Yes, they gave us 5 nights stay at Hard Rock, Riviera Maya but we only stayed a night since the room they placed us had cockroach in the closet and resort really didn't impressed us compared to the one we were staying at. At that point, we did realized we made a mistake with the timeshare contract we just signed.


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## csxjohn (Jan 13, 2016)

I'm having trouble understanding the CC companies response here.  You did not get what was charged for so you should not have to pay.  Is the TS company saying you got what you paid for?

I know this doesn't help you in any way but I am baffled how the CC company can take this stance.  Unless the TS can show you got what you were charged for it should be an easy resolution.


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## Karen G (Jan 13, 2016)

Have you escalated your dispute of the charges as far as you can go with Amex?  Have you gotten to the executive level yet?  That's where I finally got to talk with a woman who listened and  understood what happened.  By the time I got to her, though, I had worked it out with the Mexican resort, but I do believe she would have helped me if I hadn't.

She even went back and listened to the phone calls I had with several agents and agreed it had been mishandled.


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## ix470001 (Jan 13, 2016)

csxjohn, 

I'll also baffled how AMEX have responded to me, after presenting all evidences that I've cancelled the contract properly, they still won't take the charge off. And I have clearly documented everything. 

Here's the actual verbiage on their last response after 5 times I've disputed the charge:

"As an intermediary, American Express is not in a position to determine policies to our merchants nor can we guarantee credit to our Cardmember when a merchant have denied your claim. We must therefore, ask you to pursue your claim directly with the merchant".

I've mentioned I'll just pursue this case by filing to a small claims court but they seem not affected by that. 

Anything else I can do and convince them otherwise? I really wanted to stop the charge with the CC so I don't have to put in the money and wait for a refund, I thought it was a clear cut case


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## Karen G (Jan 13, 2016)

What has been the merchant/timeshare co.  response to you?  Have you asked them to reverse the charge?


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## gmarine (Jan 13, 2016)

ix470001 said:


> csxjohn,
> 
> I'll also baffled how AMEX have responded to me, after presenting all evidences that I've cancelled the contract properly, they still won't take the charge off. And I have clearly documented everything.
> 
> ...



From the Amex quote you provided it sounds to me like Amex is saying the dispute doesnt fall under the provisions of the Fair Credit Billing Act. It may have to do with the way you worded the dispute. The FCBA has specific provisions that have to apply. 

If your dispute is strictly that the company didnt provide a refund when you canceled that might be why Amex is denying the dispute. It isnt a billing error and it isnt a problem with the quality of good and services. It also isnt an issue of the merchant not providing what the contract says though the merchant isnt adhering to the cancellation policy. I wonder if Amex is strictly adhering to the FCBA. 

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0219-disputing-credit-card-charges#billing

I would escalate with Amex and I would also try Profeco. Good results have been reported on Tug in the past with that route. 

Also take to social media and review sites to post your experience with Legendary and make sure they see what you are posting. I doubt small claims court will do any good against a company in Mexico and there is no small claims case against Amex because Amex isnt the merchant who you paid.


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## ix470001 (Jan 13, 2016)

Karen G,

We've contacted Legendary Preferred Destination so many times and they just won't give us a straight answer, regarding our account and would say they'll contact us back but never has. But we do still try once in a while hoping we'll be able to talk to someone decent. I even had to find their number because the one in the contract is not right. This is their number in case somebody needs it in the future: 1-888-762-5002

Also, I will try to call Amex again and see if I can escalate this further.

gmarine, 
Thanks for the info, will try Amex again


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## Karen G (Jan 13, 2016)

If you are able to escalate your dispute to a higher level at Amex  be sure to let them know that you have been trying to work it out with the merchant but aren't getting anywhere.

 I know how very frustrating this whole process is. I spent several months going through it myself. It will certainly affect my use of a credit card when dealing with anyone in Mexico.


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## gmarine (Jan 13, 2016)

I forgot to mention one thing. If you are on Facebook, send American Express a message using Facebook briefly explaining that you are having a problem and getting no satisfaction from the reps you have spoken to. In my experience using FB results in quicker responses and better results than any other contact method.


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## Passepartout (Jan 13, 2016)

Bombing them with bad reviews and reports on TripAdvisor and other social media can have a way of getting their attention. Administrators here frequently get requests to remove derogatory comments because "the dispute has been settled to (OP's) satisfaction". 

Can't hurt to truthfully detail correspondence with them, including names and dates.

Jim


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## ix470001 (Jan 20, 2016)

Once I file a complaint with PROFECO, how do I know the status of the complaint? Is there an online site I can check on it for status or do I just keep calling to follow up? Thanks


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## saabman (Jan 21, 2016)

ix470001 said:


> Karen G  -- We've contacted Legendary Preferred Destination so many times and they just won't give us a straight answer, regarding our account and would say they'll contact us back but never has.



Profeco will get the same runaround from Legendary Preferred Destination so don't expect much. I'm very surprised by Amex's position on the matter unlike Visa/MC who are more responsive.


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## Joan-OH (Jan 22, 2016)

saabman said:


> Profeco will get the same runaround from Legendary Preferred Destination so don't expect much. I'm very surprised by Amex's position on the matter unlike Visa/MC who are more responsive.



I wouldn't expect much from Profeco.  I know the Palace attorney (probably the same attorney for Hard Rock) is the judge in Cancun.  Hard Rock takes 30 days to refund - no way around it.  And that's an improvement to the 60 days they used to take.

I will say posting all over their facebook pages, trip Advisor, etc will get you the furthest.


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## ix470001 (Jan 25, 2016)

Thanks saabman & Joan-OH for your comments. From what I'm reading PROFECO refund will take some time but will eventually get to it. Or is it still hit-or-miss, just need to follow up often.

What about the official cancellation, would they be able to provide me an official document that the contract was officially cancelled? Not really sure how that works... Thanks again


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## pedro47 (Jan 26, 2016)

What is the preferred cc to use in Mexico to avoid this problem?


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## saabman (Jan 26, 2016)

ix470001 said:


> From what I'm reading PROFECO refund will take some time but will eventually get to it.



Profeco doesn't refund your money. They merely help you arbitrate a resolution. If the resort doesn't participate then expect nothing.


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## ix470001 (Jan 27, 2016)

pedro47 - I'm sure I'm not going to use AMEXagain for international expenses.


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