JHH
newbie
At the end of October 2011, my husband and I attended a timeshare presentation at La Jolla Residence Club in Mazatlan. Our intention for attending was to help out the street hustler and his family so he would receive fifty dollars as payment for taking us there. We had no interest in buying, yet like so many unsuspecting tourists, we were victimized by the fraudulent and unscrupulous sales tactics La Jolla and their sales staff employ to sell their timeshares. They have the unconscionable art of lying, withholding key information, and giving misinformation down to a science.
We were told by the Senior Sales Manager, Mr. Manuel Altamirano and Karen, the Junior Salesperson, that of the purchase price of $10,000.00 U.S., we would receive fractional ownership of La Jolla, giving us 2 weeks a year to stay a La Jolla during any season and in any unit. We would also receive 600,000 points for unlimited travel and airfare, the option to receive 95% back of the cost of the contract within 5 years. Most importantly, the promise of receiving a cheque for $6,000.00 U.S. within 5 to 6 weeks for the rental of the extra 4 weeks Manuel gave us.
We questioned this and were reassured by Manuel several times that we would be contacted to what method of payment we preferred and he would personally guarantee that we would receive our money. If we had any problems I could contact him on his cell phone, the number of which he copied on his business card and showed it on his cell phone display.
During this whole transaction, there was no mention about SWAP Vacations or their role as a rental agency for La Jolla, or the $6,000.00 U.S. we believed we would be receiving was dependent upon SWAP Vacations renting our 4 extra weeks. That kernel of knowledge would have been useful to know. We were also told by Karen that the years we didn’t stay at La Jolla we would receive that rent in return. She also said “We’re happy if you don’t stay with us”. Boy, she wasn’t lying that time.
Karen misinformed, basically lied to us, that through HSI, we could use our points as payment for any type of holiday accommodation we preferred even if it wasn’t listed in their catalogue. We questioned this and were told both by Karen and Manuel that this was true. Karen also told us that we could redeem our points for airfare with numerous airlines but failed to mention that they needed to be redeemed through HSI and not directly with the airline.
We were told repeatedly by Karen, that after 5 years if we were not happy, we had the option to sell back our timeshare at 95% of the original payment. Yet again, when we opened our package, we found an included addendum which we were not shown: that the seller has first right to buy back said program for the market value minus 5% commission. The said program must be paid in full and members can exercise this right after 5 years of the execution date. There are no details whether we can sell back if we have redeemed any points or stayed at La Jolla.
We were told by Karen that La Jolla had sister vacation accommodations in Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and Playa de Carmen that we could stay at. Yet there was no information in our package about these properties or on the La Jolla website.
Yet again, we were not told if one does not use their allotted points within a year, those points are gone. We were also told that we could use our 2 weeks at La Jolla to trade for other time share destinations through HSI. What she said was another lie.
We were told by Manuel and Karen that we have two weeks at La Jolla, for any season to us this was a big selling point. Nowhere in the paperwork does it state this.
We were not given the time or opportunity to read and examine the contract. If we had been given the time and opportunity to read it, we would not be having this correspondence now. Unfortunately, we signed the contract based on the information we were told. Based on years of holidaying in Mexico, we had no reason to doubt the truthfulness or honesty of the Mexican people.
After countless phone calls to Manuel and Karen and Mr. Francisco Kelly, plus e-mails addressing the above content, we have received nada except the attitude “too bad stupid gringos, read your contract, you don’t have a hope, you signed the contract in Mexico.” It’s fractional ownership alright, you get a fraction of what you believed you purchased.
We were told by the Senior Sales Manager, Mr. Manuel Altamirano and Karen, the Junior Salesperson, that of the purchase price of $10,000.00 U.S., we would receive fractional ownership of La Jolla, giving us 2 weeks a year to stay a La Jolla during any season and in any unit. We would also receive 600,000 points for unlimited travel and airfare, the option to receive 95% back of the cost of the contract within 5 years. Most importantly, the promise of receiving a cheque for $6,000.00 U.S. within 5 to 6 weeks for the rental of the extra 4 weeks Manuel gave us.
We questioned this and were reassured by Manuel several times that we would be contacted to what method of payment we preferred and he would personally guarantee that we would receive our money. If we had any problems I could contact him on his cell phone, the number of which he copied on his business card and showed it on his cell phone display.
During this whole transaction, there was no mention about SWAP Vacations or their role as a rental agency for La Jolla, or the $6,000.00 U.S. we believed we would be receiving was dependent upon SWAP Vacations renting our 4 extra weeks. That kernel of knowledge would have been useful to know. We were also told by Karen that the years we didn’t stay at La Jolla we would receive that rent in return. She also said “We’re happy if you don’t stay with us”. Boy, she wasn’t lying that time.
Karen misinformed, basically lied to us, that through HSI, we could use our points as payment for any type of holiday accommodation we preferred even if it wasn’t listed in their catalogue. We questioned this and were told both by Karen and Manuel that this was true. Karen also told us that we could redeem our points for airfare with numerous airlines but failed to mention that they needed to be redeemed through HSI and not directly with the airline.
We were told repeatedly by Karen, that after 5 years if we were not happy, we had the option to sell back our timeshare at 95% of the original payment. Yet again, when we opened our package, we found an included addendum which we were not shown: that the seller has first right to buy back said program for the market value minus 5% commission. The said program must be paid in full and members can exercise this right after 5 years of the execution date. There are no details whether we can sell back if we have redeemed any points or stayed at La Jolla.
We were told by Karen that La Jolla had sister vacation accommodations in Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and Playa de Carmen that we could stay at. Yet there was no information in our package about these properties or on the La Jolla website.
Yet again, we were not told if one does not use their allotted points within a year, those points are gone. We were also told that we could use our 2 weeks at La Jolla to trade for other time share destinations through HSI. What she said was another lie.
We were told by Manuel and Karen that we have two weeks at La Jolla, for any season to us this was a big selling point. Nowhere in the paperwork does it state this.
We were not given the time or opportunity to read and examine the contract. If we had been given the time and opportunity to read it, we would not be having this correspondence now. Unfortunately, we signed the contract based on the information we were told. Based on years of holidaying in Mexico, we had no reason to doubt the truthfulness or honesty of the Mexican people.
After countless phone calls to Manuel and Karen and Mr. Francisco Kelly, plus e-mails addressing the above content, we have received nada except the attitude “too bad stupid gringos, read your contract, you don’t have a hope, you signed the contract in Mexico.” It’s fractional ownership alright, you get a fraction of what you believed you purchased.
