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[ 2021 ] Conned into buying Fiesta Americana Vacation Club

bjones9942

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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.
 

dioxide45

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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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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

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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.




.
 

Jxbee

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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
 

dioxide45

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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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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.
 

dioxide45

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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.
 

TheTimeTraveler

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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!



.
 

Jxbee

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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

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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.
 

Jxbee

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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!
 

Ima Timesharer

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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.

Any advice regarding my situation would be greatly appreciated.

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.
 

hawkwood

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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.
 

Jxbee

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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.
 

gdstuart

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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.
 

Mphraider80

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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.

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.
 

Passepartout

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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.
 

Sparta Chris

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Whatever happened with this story as I find myself in the same situation...
did they ever cancel your membership??
 

vvalenzuela

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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.
Hello, I am going through a similar situation. Thankfully I sent the cancellation via certified mail and email within the 5 business days; however, I want to prepare if I don’t hear back from them because I can’t get ahold of anyone. All the phone numbers they have provided do not work. Would there be a way for you to send or post the letter you write to the PROFECO?
 

vvalenzuela

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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.
Hello, do you have the phone number you called? All the numbers they have provided do not work
 

TheTimeTraveler

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Hello, I am going through a similar situation. Thankfully I sent the cancellation via certified mail and email within the 5 business days; however, I want to prepare if I don’t hear back from them because I can’t get ahold of anyone. All the phone numbers they have provided do not work. Would there be a way for you to send or post the letter you write to the PROFECO?


Not sure where you actually mailed your cancellation letter from but you certainly didn't use "Certified Mail" as that service does not exist in Mexico, nor does it exist in the USA for mail destined to Mexico. Chances are really good that this letter could be returned to you undelivered. Now if you mailed it REGISTERED MAIL (which you should have) then that is a different story. What does your REGISTERED MAIL tracking number tell you when you look it up? Does it show that it entered the mail stream within five days? Does it show the status as of today?

You can't rescind via a telephone call, and they likely won't give you any assistance even if you do get in contact with them. Their operation is geared to make it as difficult as possible to reach them to discourage or delay rescissions beyond the five day time limit.

Welcome to TUG and best of luck with your rescission.





.
 

Pear

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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.
I would love to know what you wrote in your letter. I have a similar situation and have already spent so much time trying to cancel with the company.
 
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