[ 2021 ] How do I get out of maintenance fees from Occidental Vacation Club?

[J mommy]

Hi, so I'm from California. Made a stupid mistake back in 2015, first time vacationing in Mexico and of course, fell for their presentation and pressure, bought the vacation membership. We haven't used it, now we're stuck. We paid everything in full at the time of contract or purchase, now stuck with the maintenance fee which is so darn expensive, it's gone up, and will probably go up again. I recently got a letter from them asking us to pay with the added late fee. How do I get out of this? I read other posts that you can just stop paying? My concern is will it affect my house? Like will they be able to put a lien on my house or sue me if I stop the maintenance fee all together? Please advise as with the pandemic and all we cannot keep up with the fee on top of other expenses.

 

[bogey21]

The consensus on this board seems to be that you immediately stop paying, that they may dun you for a while but that there is really nothing else they can do. You don't own anything, just the right to use the Club and pay MFs. Since you don't use it my advice is just stop paying the fees...

George

 

[J mommy]

The consensus on this board seems to be that you immediately stop paying, that they may dun you for a while but that there is really nothing else they can do. You don't own anything, just the right to use the Club and pay MFs. Since you don't use it my advice is just stop paying the fees...

George

Thank you!!

 

[LannyPC]

I read other posts that you can just stop paying? My concern is will it affect my house? Like will they be able to put a lien on my house or sue me if I stop the maintenance fee all together? Please advise as with the pandemic and all we cannot keep up with the fee on top of other expenses.

Probably not. Peruse some threads on here documenting what has happened to other "owners" like you who stopped paying MFs. Most came away unscathed.

 

[RTVA]

Following immense embarrassment and massively unethical behavior on the part of the resort, we've made the decision to stop paying MFs on our otherwise fully paid, right-to-use Mexican resort. We actually did get a call from Monterey Financial (https://www.montereyfinancial.com/) today as a debt collection effort. They're based in California, so I'm worried they actually could make it to my credit report. Does anyone have experience with them? My biggest concern is that this could, theoretically, be a new collection account for the next 18 years, as I don't pay MFs on any of them?

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Following immense embarrassment and massively unethical behavior on the part of the resort, we've made the decision to stop paying MFs on our otherwise fully paid, right-to-use Mexican resort. We actually did get a call from Monterey Financial (https://www.montereyfinancial.com/) today as a debt collection effort. They're based in California, so I'm worried they actually could make it to my credit report. Does anyone have experience with them? My biggest concern is that this could, theoretically, be a new collection account for the next 18 years, as I don't pay MFs on any of them?

One thing you need to be careful of are Scams. Not saying this is, but do look closely at it before handing money over to anyone......


.

 

[RTVA]

One thing you need to be careful of are Scams. Not saying this is, but do look closely at it before handing money over to anyone......


.

Thanks! At this point, even if it wasn't "technically" a scam (the whole El Cid experience pretty much qualifies as a scam), I still wouldn't pay them anything. I've just been wondering about how much it could potentially affect my credit score. I'll report any results on the forum, for others' FYI.

 

[LannyPC]

I'll report any results on the forum, for others' FYI.

Yes, that's always appreciated here on TUG.

 

[easyrider]

Hi, so I'm from California. Made a stupid mistake back in 2015, first time vacationing in Mexico and of course, fell for their presentation and pressure, bought the vacation membership. We haven't used it, now we're stuck. We paid everything in full at the time of contract or purchase, now stuck with the maintenance fee which is so darn expensive, it's gone up, and will probably go up again. I recently got a letter from them asking us to pay with the added late fee. How do I get out of this? I read other posts that you can just stop paying? My concern is will it affect my house? Like will they be able to put a lien on my house or sue me if I stop the maintenance fee all together? Please advise as with the pandemic and all we cannot keep up with the fee on top of other expenses.

Some resort memberships are easy to give away. What resort is it ? It depends on if the resort membership is Mexican or American. You can buy an American resort membership in Mexico which fall into the rules of the state you reside.

Bill

 

[J mommy]

Some resort memberships are easy to give away. What resort is it ? It depends on if the resort membership is Mexican or American. You can buy an American resort membership in Mexico which fall into the rules of the state you reside.

Bill

Xcaret Occidental in Playa Del Carmen

 

[J mommy]

Following immense embarrassment and massively unethical behavior on the part of the resort, we've made the decision to stop paying MFs on our otherwise fully paid, right-to-use Mexican resort. We actually did get a call from Monterey Financial (https://www.montereyfinancial.com/) today as a debt collection effort. They're based in California, so I'm worried they actually could make it to my credit report. Does anyone have experience with them? My biggest concern is that this could, theoretically, be a new collection account for the next 18 years, as I don't pay MFs on any of them?

Hi I wanted to follow up and see how you are doing. Did you continue to call you? I've been getting letters and calls, very agressively now, in addition, they added late fees as well. I'm starting to panic.

 

[RTVA]

Hi I wanted to follow up and see how you are doing. Did you continue to call you? I've been getting letters and calls, very agressively now, in addition, they added late fees as well. I'm starting to panic.

Yes, they kept calling. It showed up on our credit and knocked about 100 points. We initially decided: That's OK, we don't need to use credit for a few years, but I worried about the (very unlikely) potential of them suing us eventually. Also, one of us is going through a job search now, and we really don't need this sht in case a prospective employer pulls the report. We finally decided to just eat it and pay and actually use the vacation club; it turns out that the points offer some pretty options for some domestic trips. We're still getting ripped off a bit, but I can sleep. I also reserved a website domain and will put a legally well-vetted blog of my experiences up shortly, and try to encourage others to stay away from this hideous industry.

My best guess is that you would be OK, other than the credit score hit. I don't think you would get sued. I *think* the credit score drop and the harassment will be the worst of it. You can send them a letter telling them they cannot call, and then they can't, they can only send letters. Another post on the TUG site indicates 2 lawsuits out of 95 defaults, one with extenuating circumstances I doubt you have. You may want to find a consumer protection lawyer who will give you a free review of the realistic risks. Write a terse summary of your situation and the sales scam in advance. I saw a few online, and that was going to be my next step before deciding to just eat it. Stay away from the ones who specialize in timeshares; so far they seem like they're part of the cabal, to me anyway.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. Sending you good vibes for peace and closure on this.

 

[J mommy]

Yes, they kept calling. It showed up on our credit and knocked about 100 points. We initially decided: That's OK, we don't need to use credit for a few years, but I worried about the (very unlikely) potential of them suing us eventually. Also, one of us is going through a job search now, and we really don't need this sht in case a prospective employer pulls the report. We finally decided to just eat it and pay and actually use the vacation club; it turns out that the points offer some pretty options for some domestic trips. We're still getting ripped off a bit, but I can sleep. I also reserved a website domain and will put a legally well-vetted blog of my experiences up shortly, and try to encourage others to stay away from this hideous industry.

My best guess is that you would be OK, other than the credit score hit. I don't think you would get sued. I *think* the credit score drop and the harassment will be the worst of it. You can send them a letter telling them they cannot call, and then they can't, they can only send letters. Another post on the TUG site indicates 2 lawsuits out of 95 defaults, one with extenuating circumstances I doubt you have. You may want to find a consumer protection lawyer who will give you a free review of the realistic risks. Write a terse summary of your situation and the sales scam in advance. I saw a few online, and that was going to be my next step before deciding to just eat it. Stay away from the ones who specialize in timeshares; so far they seem like they're part of the cabal, to me anyway.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. Sending you good vibes for peace and closure on this.

Ok thank you!! Our credit score actually went down. They kept calling and sending letters too. Looks like our MF is going up , originally i thought that it’s the same rate every other year which is not too bad. But it increases, I will need to read the contract again.

 

[boomer815]

Following immense embarrassment and massively unethical behavior on the part of the resort, we've made the decision to stop paying MFs on our otherwise fully paid, right-to-use Mexican resort. We actually did get a call from Monterey Financial (https://www.montereyfinancial.com/) today as a debt collection effort. They're based in California, so I'm worried they actually could make it to my credit report. Does anyone have experience with them? My biggest concern is that this could, theoretically, be a new collection account for the next 18 years, as I don't pay MFs on any of them?

Dear RTVA,

Monterey Financial is for real. It's their collection agency. My OVC was paid off in 2008 and I haven't used it since 2012. I want out of the maintenance fees as well. Monterey had me in collection which killed my credit standing. I just wanna surrender this dern thing back to them. Good luck

 

[RTVA]

Dear RTVA,

Monterey Financial is for real. It's their collection agency. My OVC was paid off in 2008 and I haven't used it since 2012. I want out of the maintenance fees as well. Monterey had me in collection which killed my credit standing. I just wanna surrender this dern thing back to them. Good luck

I just noticed this. Yeah, I've learned they're for real. It's amazing their whole schtick is legal, really. Anyway: You must be coming up on 20 years and will be able to get out of it, right? For my part, I've found that the exchange points are a "reasonably good deal"-- not great, just reasonably good--in exchange for the maintenance fee. So our plan is to just ride this turkey for the next 13 years or whatnot and just tell everyone who will listen: Please in the name of all things sacred, please do not buy a timeshare.

 

[pedro47]

Wow, this thread was first posted on June 21, 2021 and reopen on February 24,2024. Please review the numbers of messages count by the posters on this thread ???? Strange message count numbers.