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Contract cancellation (2017)

Passepartout

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Also, when you say "half of TUGgers bought their first TS from the developer", are you referring to TLC as well? I thought these guys are more like brokers? Sorry--I'm such a newbie at this.
Forgive my ignorance. But exactly WHAT did you buy? Is TLC a broker of resales, or foreclosures, or do they market full retail developer weeks? If they market resales (timeshares that were previously owned by another private party), Nevada Real Estate law gave them a nice little gift. In Nevada, resale timeshares DO NOT have a 'Right of Rescission'. No cooling off period. All sales are final. That's why so many timeshare resale outfits have set up shop there.

But anyway, pray tell us what you bought. As in what resort, what week or season, size of unit, which exchange co. (RCI or II), and for how much are you on the hook?

I still don't think that signing up for ANY upfront fee outfit is wise. Our experience here is that as soon as you pay them, they, along with your money, disappear.

Jim
 

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I'll first reiterate my personal belief that NO attorney, no matter how capable or energetic, possesses any "magic beans" or "secret processes" by which to magically extricate someone from a legally binding contractual obligation, most certainly including a voluntarily assumed loan debt. None. Period. The End.

To answer your specific question above, Mitchell Sussman is an attorney in California. I watched a videotaped interview with him in the not too distant past that I had inadvertently stumbled upon while doing some timeshare related "research". My own impression (perhaps mistaken) was that Mr. Sussman apparently believes that there are "loopholes" in California law that he believes himself able to somehow exploit on behalf of owners of timeshares in California. Whether his assertion has any merit or substance I certainly do not claim to know. Whether or not he professes to have similar "strategies" for timeshare ownerships in other states I also do not claim to know. However, he made no references to possessing any magic beans or secret elixirs during the interview.

Thanks for your input on Mitchell Sussman. I agree with your statement about the lawyers. Even if they can somehow find some small loophole to pursue, the risk and headache are not worth it.
 

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Forgive my ignorance. But exactly WHAT did you buy? Is TLC a broker of resales, or foreclosures, or do they market full retail developer weeks? If they market resales (timeshares that were previously owned by another private party), Nevada Real Estate law gave them a nice little gift. In Nevada, resale timeshares DO NOT have a 'Right of Rescission'. No cooling off period. All sales are final. That's why so many timeshare resale outfits have set up shop there.

But anyway, pray tell us what you bought. As in what resort, what week or season, size of unit, which exchange co. (RCI or II), and for how much are you on the hook?

I still don't think that signing up for ANY upfront fee outfit is wise. Our experience here is that as soon as you pay them, they, along with your money, disappear.

Jim

They call themselves a "vacation club": TLC Resorts Vacation Club an RCI Global Points Affiliate. To my understanding, we purchased points to have access to over 4,000 resorts globally. The membership also includes the Advantage Program which the contract says is a service program and not a real estate or timeshare. They allow conversion of vacation ownerships to Advantage Credits to use on paying the maintenance fee/club fee, redeem credits for travel or cash. The principal sum of my loan at the time of signing was $5689.90, to bear interest at the rate of 19.9%. Annual member dues is $599.00 which can also be paid using Advantage Credits. Another page of the contract says that TLC is an authorized RCI points reseller. The contract gave a 5-day rescission period.

I guess I am out of luck here. Any advice anyone can give on making the most out of this purchase would be greatly appreciated.
 

Passepartout

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I guess I am out of luck here. Any advice anyone can give on making the most out of this purchase would be greatly appreciated.
OK, so $5689 and $599/yr. mf. Any idea how many annual RCI Points this membership translates to? It could honestly be worse. For starters, travel clubs are not well thought of here, as they simply have access to leftovers from- in this case, RCI. Yeah, RCI has something like 4,000 resorts, but believe me, you won't see Disneys or Hiltons, or other top end resorts in the online catalog. You also can't (I don't think) 'reserve in advance' certain better resorts or more desirable weeks.

At this stage, about all you can do is try it. Save the (gulp) 19% by paying it off. This, nor darn near ANY TS has much if any resale value, so that's about a wash. The 'good' news is that if/when you decide it's time to move on, here's no deed, hence no legal ties. It should be easy to simply quit. You'll get some (hopefully) nice vacations and build some great family memories.

Good Luck. I don't know how much experience you'll find here with the travel club, but there might be some like me who have RCI Points experience, though I'm not sure how well it translates.

Best wishes, and we're glad you found us, anyway.

Jim
 

Danica

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Thank you, Jim! You and the others who responded have been so helpful. We will get 20,000 RCI points per year. It says I can use the points on airfare, rental car, cruises, hotels (but would maximize it if used on resorts). I can stay by the night or by the week. The deeds are held by TLC. No escalating HOA dues or Special Assessments, Membership dues are fixed for life of the membership. In addition to RCI points, I get 2 extra vacation bonus weeks (which I guess increases the point value to 40,000?). They told me (at the presentation) that I can keep the points accruing up to 4 years, so I guess if I only do 2 weeks of vacation per year, I can just use the bonus weeks for those. I can book my bonus weeks up to one year in advance based on availability, excluding major holidays. No annual fees related to bonus weeks, only a reserving fee of $249. It also says my reservation is guaranteed. In addition, I can use my points to cover the membership fees by converting the points to advantage credits.

Any here seem unbelievable? Still trying to understand the relationship between RCI and the Advantage Program. Thanks again!
 

Passepartout

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I think the Advantage program is a TLC thing. Nothing to do with RCI. First. 20k is not a big stash of points. It will take 2 year's worth to book a 'better' 1 bedroom for a prime time week. Only use these for vacation stays. They are not worth the MF you pay for them on all that other stuff. Is there any mention of Last Calls? Those are cash paid weeks for under $300/wk. There can be some nice catches if your needs are flexible. If you are tied to a school schedule, not so much.

Best advice to maximize the value will be to travel in off, or shoulder season.

Another question, can you book directly with RCI, or are all bookings through the travel club?

That's about it for now. We wish you'd found us before you spent the money, by that's water under the bridge. Stick around, and read ad re-read the stuff they gave you. If they have phone reps, call and see if you can actually book something, like Hawaii, or Puerto Vallarta then just cancel or tell them you have to clear it with your significant other. That's how you'll find out whether it's useable.
 

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I think the Advantage program is a TLC thing. Nothing to do with RCI. First. 20k is not a big stash of points. It will take 2 year's worth to book a 'better' 1 bedroom for a prime time week. Only use these for vacation stays. They are not worth the MF you pay for them on all that other stuff. Is there any mention of Last Calls? Those are cash paid weeks for under $300/wk. There can be some nice catches if your needs are flexible. If you are tied to a school schedule, not so much.

Best advice to maximize the value will be to travel in off, or shoulder season.

Another question, can you book directly with RCI, or are all bookings through the travel club?

That's about it for now. We wish you'd found us before you spent the money, by that's water under the bridge. Stick around, and read ad re-read the stuff they gave you. If they have phone reps, call and see if you can actually book something, like Hawaii, or Puerto Vallarta then just cancel or tell them you have to clear it with your significant other. That's how you'll find out whether it's useable.

Jim: Thanks for the tips! I will call their customer care for more info. I haven't received the RCI info in the mail yet. They said it will take 90 days from the time I signed. I'll let you know what happens. Also, my schedule is pretty flexible so I'll definitely take advantage of that. Thanks again!
 

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Hi there,

My parents (who are from Canada) have a timeshare in Mexico through the Sunset Beach Clubs, which supposedly can be used at the Hacienda Tres Rios, Sunset Lagoon or the Royal Sunset in Cancun. After reading over the contract and doing lots of research, it's clear they have become victims of an insanely expensive scam. They made a down payment and have made a few monthly payments to FINCO, as well as paying maintenance fees, but the payments are way more than they realized, especially being that they have to be paid in US funds and the Canadian to US exchange rate has been terrible for the past while. Not only that, they are making the payments on credit cards, which obviously have ridiculous interest. They have missed a couple payments to FINCO and after months of them trying to get money from my parents, the timeshare people are now saying they will not delay the payments any longer and are going to send a collections agency after them.

I contacted a Consulate of Mexico office here in Canada and they gave me the information to get in touch with Profeco, but before I go ahead and do that, I'm hoping that someone here might be able to give us some advice. I need to get my parents out of their contract asap, I'm just not sure what the best way to go about it would be at this point. If anyone has been in a similar situation and/or can shed some light on what to do, as well as if legally they are allowed to send debt collectors being that it's a foreign country, any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
 

Passepartout

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I wouldn't pay them another penny. There is no deed. They might file a derogatory report with a credit agency, but that can be refuted. Your parents will lose what they've paid, but if they paid it off, they would lose that too, as Mexican timeshares have zero value, except in their use and the memories you get from that. They should cancel any credit cards this outfit can debit, and not answer any of their calls. I honestly doubt there is any legitimate claim against them.

As usual, my advice comes with a money back guarantee. It may well be worth what it costs.

Jim
 

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I wouldn't pay them another penny. There is no deed. They might file a derogatory report with a credit agency, but that can be refuted. Your parents will lose what they've paid, but if they paid it off, they would lose that too, as Mexican timeshares have zero value, except in their use and the memories you get from that. They should cancel any credit cards this outfit can debit, and not answer any of their calls. I honestly doubt there is any legitimate claim against them.

As usual, my advice comes with a money back guarantee. It may well be worth what it costs.

Jim

Hi Jim,

Thank you for your advice. I agree that they shouldn't pay anything more. They haven't paid it off, and because they are not current with their payments, they can't even use the timeshare. The maintenance fees alone are between $949-1499 US (they have a flex program for different unit types), as well as the loan fees owing to FINCO which is apparently almost $8500 US, and a total balance owing on the timeshare of $56,000 US, financed over 84 monthly with a 4.9% interest rate. On top of that, there is a mandatory all-inclusive package that they have to pay for, per-person, if they did use any of their weeks. From my perspective, with interest rates and exchange rates and all of these fees, there is no way this timeshare is worth what the resort and timeshare company has "valued" it at. It's heartbreaking to know that they don't actually own anything for which they've poured their hard earned money into, and that they won't be able to recoup any of those funds.

I will be sure to tell them to cancel any credit cards they've given to the timeshare company. Do you think I should contact/get involved with Profeco to help deal with the situation? Or do you think we should contact the resort/timeshare company to firmly state they want their contract cancelled? Or should we just cut off communication with them altogether? My parents aren't good with this stuff, so they haven't taken any steps to deal with the situation. I'm just nervous about what step to take next, as I would hate to see a collections agency actually come after them, or for their credit score to be ruined because of this.

Again, Thank you so much for your input!
 

Passepartout

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I don't think PROFECO can/will do anything since there was no fraud or anything, and your parents are simply deciding that the product is not worth the price and they are defaulting.

I know that people consider their credit very important, but often older folks who have everything paid off, and are secure, actually have no real need for credit. And actually, $56,000 will go a long way towards making them feel better.

I might be tempted to write, or have an attorney write a 'pound sand' letter and tell the finance company to do whatever they want to do, but they won't see another cent. The credit will repair itself in time, and the reporting agencies allow a letter of explanation in their file. Subsequent credit check will probably look more favorably on defaulting a Mexican TS than paying $56,000 on a worthless luxury good.

Jim
 
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LannyPC

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I will add to Passepartout/Jim's good advice. Do not go seeking the assistance of any of these companies or firms that claim they can help your parents cancel their contract and/or loan. There are many out there waiting to pounce on people like those in the situation in which your parents find themselves.

They will charge a large upfront fee and many of them either do nothing or do something that you (or your parents) can do yourself for a lot less money.
 
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theo

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Do you think I should contact/get involved with Profeco to help deal with the situation? Or do you think we should contact the resort/timeshare company to firmly state they want their contract cancelled? Or should we just cut off communication with them altogether?

As already noted, Profeco can't / won't help them. Profeco would only be of any use or assistance if there had been actionable impropriety in the contract execution --- and likely only then if assistance had been promptly sought within a brief time period after the contract was initially executed. Frankly, their best bet now is to simply and immediately cease any and all future payments (and communications). Their "membership" will ultimately be terminated and they will have no further access to the property. So what? :shrug: Seems smarter than continuing to pump good money into something of literally zero resale value.

Frankly, I wouldn't worry about collection efforts being initiated in Canada for a worthless RTU contract in Mexico. There is no actual ownership of anything anyhow and the Mexican operation knows that plenty of other willing gringos are right around the corner ready to "sign up". The Mexicans will simply keep whatever money they have collected so far and just move on. Don't let your parents be intimidated by empty, meaningless threats emanating from Mexico.
 
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Jim, Lanny and Theo,
Thank you all so much for your advice! It's been very helpful and has eased a bit of the anxiety that we've been dealing with.

I've stumbled upon a contract and promissory note with the financing company that perhaps you could help me with?
FINCONPRO (FINCO), the company with which they have the outstanding loan amount that went toward part of the down payment, seems to be affiliated with Sunset Group, but I'm not sure if it's a completely separate company or just in the finance department of Sunset. On the contract with FINCO, there is a section that reads:
"Loan Guarantee - The recipient agrees that if the Credit Line is not paid on the payment due date, the recipient authorizes the RESORT and FINCO to add FINCONPRO S.A. de C.V.'s name and/or its assigns as principal owner(s) to the contract # xxxx being purchased from the RESORT, giving FINCO and/or its assigns the right to cancel the above mentioned contract without notice." "Special Consideration - The recipient of the credit line authorizes the RESORT that, in the case of a cancelation of the contract, for any reason, to return directly to FINCO the full amount of the credit line."
"Note Acceptance - ....Recipient of credit line agrees that, in the event legal action arises in connection with this credit line, the successful party shall recover from the other, responsible and actual legal costs and attorney fees, as governed by the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico."

I'm not sure if I'm reading that correctly, but it sounds to me like if the payments are in default, FINCO has the authority to cancel the contract and take the full amount of the loan back from the resort? If that's the case, I'm guessing the only reason why the people from the resort/sunset are threatening my parents would be because they would lose that down payment? Please correct me if I have misinterpreted that information.

At this point, I think my only concerns are:
-If FINCO is a separate company from Sunset, then I would be more concerned about the threat of collections.
-If my parents continue to cease all payments and communication, and basically avoid the whole situation, would it potentially affect their future ability to vacation in Mexico? Theo, I know you had mentioned about not being able to use the specific resort, which would be fine. I would just hate to see them book a vacation at a different resort in the future and they get flagged or something as soon as they enter the country.

Thanks again everyone!
 

Passepartout

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At this point, I think my only concerns are:
-If FINCO is a separate company from Sunset, then I would be more concerned about the threat of collections.
-If my parents continue to cease all payments and communication, and basically avoid the whole situation, would it potentially affect their future ability to vacation in Mexico? Theo, I know you had mentioned about not being able to use the specific resort, which would be fine. I would just hate to see them book a vacation at a different resort in the future and they get flagged or something as soon as they enter the country.
There will be noises made about legal ramifications, but (in my opinion and nothing more than that) I don't think they can bring suit in any American court, and the only leverage they have is to cancel the membership- which is what your parents want anyway.

There will be NOTHING that flags your parents from entering Mexico, or staying at the resort next door to where they default. Nobody checks your (or their or anybody else's) credit rating before stamping a visa into a passport.

As I may have mentioned in this thread, your parents (or a friendly lawyer) might want to write whoever holds this promissory note that they are welcome to whatever collateral is the surety of this loan, but that they have paid ALL they are paying, and they are not paying a single cent more.
 

famy27

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There will be noises made about legal ramifications, but (in my opinion and nothing more than that) I don't think they can bring suit in any American court, and the only leverage they have is to cancel the membership- which is what your parents want anyway.

From what Dani said about the exchange rate, I'm gathering they are Canadian. I suspect that the chances of FINCO bringing suit in a Canadian court are even lower.
 
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Good day danny my name is karl and i live in canada.. i have the same situation with your parents however i am only 30 years old and i have 2 kids.. How did your parents escape sunset group and finco?
 

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Good day danny my name is karl and i live in canada.. i have the same situation with your parents however i am only 30 years old and i have 2 kids.. How did your parents escape sunset group and finco?
Sadly we fell for the same scam in December 2019. They promised we would have equity of $150,000 in 5 years. we just hired a lawyer (in B.C.) to get us out of the contract. This has been a costly mistake for us.
Did your situation get resolved?
 

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What exactly did you buy and for how much? If you give a few more details, we might be able to help you avoid further costly mistakes.

Do you really think that a lawyer is going to get you out of your contract?
 
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