Did we get hosed?

[DeniseM]

Sally - Now that I'm 100% sure who you are - I am banning you again.

Let me make this clear, since historically, you have a problem understanding the TUG posting rules:

When you are banned from TUG, you may NOT create another user name to circumvent the fact that you were banned.

 

[brucecz]

talk about the MO of beating an old dead horse??:hysterical: I guess only SOME tuggers are created more equally then others.(to quote a famous farm book)

but really...It IS true that one can pickup lesser properties at 1 cent bargains,only if one would like a ball and chain strapped to themselves,and REALLY regret the contract that they entered into.

As far as owning a Vida (top tier investment)...you will NOT be able to resale at 1 cent!

with transfer fees(amounting to thousands) and loss of (perks)(VERY IMPORTANT)these Vida resales come up wanting.

The option to NOT pay a M-fee ,if you do not use your week, is just one of these coveted perks..free golf,front line booking ,ect.

You will NOT get this with your resale of Vida property.

You will pay less..yes,(certainly NOT a penny)but for our situation,the extra $$$ spent buying retail will pay for itself and also allow us to vacation when WE want to!(very important to this family)


max

Did anyone mention the wireless in unit internet fees?

It is such a easy exchange or rental for a very nice resort if you like huge resorts.

As far as owning a Vida :rofl: and thinking :hysterical: it is a top :rofl: tier "investment".:hysterical:

Some of the smaller older PV resorts with fixed weeks have far better returns $ for $ when sold. Go to ebay and look under completed auctions. But a lot of those ownerships do not make it to ebay as they are grabbed by friends and realitives.


Bruce

 

[stucandu]

Issue Satisfactorily Resolved

I'm happy to report that all issues with Vida Vacations and Mayan Palace have been resolved to my complete satisfaction.
​

 

[pjrose]

I'm happy to report that all issues with Vida Vacations and Mayan Palace have been resolved to my complete satisfaction.
​

Glad to hear that, but does this post mean that you are not to post anything more about them?

Can you at least give others a bit of help by pointing them in the right direction to solve their issues?

 

[Passepartout]

What this means is that the condition for resolution is for him to retract all the complaints he's posted against them. We've seen it over and over. I'd be surprised if he hasn't PM'd TugBrian to delete the rest.

Jim

 

[pjrose]

What this means is that the condition for resolution is for him to retract all the complaints he's posted against them. We've seen it over and over. I'd be surprised if he hasn't PM'd TugBrian to delete the rest.

Jim

Likely correct, Jim, especially given the language of the post.

I hope he posts back with some help for others....I would think a positive post like "Senor xyz in the abc department was very helpful," and "We were able to negotiate a more satisfactory financial arrangement for fewer weeks" or whatever.

C'mon OP, we've tried to help, now can you help future TUGgers with a bit of positive advice?

 

[Passepartout]

Stu may reappear under a different username and explain in a 'what if' sort of way. Hint, hint, wink, wink. You never know who's watching. Or not.

Jim

 

[mikenk]

Likely correct, Jim, especially given the language of the post.

I hope he posts back with some help for others....I would think a positive post like "Senor xyz in the abc department was very helpful," and "We were able to negotiate a more satisfactory financial arrangement for fewer weeks" or whatever.

C'mon OP, we've tried to help, now can you help future TUGgers with a bit of positive advice?

I believe that you can assume that he contacted the GV member services that Greg (Aliikai2) suggested; they listened and acted on his complaint; there is no doubt the "squeaky wheel gets the oil" syndrome was in play to some extent. What more advice do you need?

That said, I have also carried issues I have had to Member Services concerning my contract and they have resolved it to my satisfaction. I have never had the inclination to share my complaints or my resolution with others. No situation is ever exactly the same. Like it or not, the GM contracts are generally very customized due to timing, many available options, and negotiating skills.

Mike

 

[pjrose]

I believe that you can assume that he contacted the GV member services that Greg (Aliikai2) suggested; they listened and acted on his complaint; there is no doubt the "squeaky wheel gets the oil" syndrome was in play to some extent. What more advice do you need?

That said, I have also carried issues I have had to Member Services concerning my contract and they have resolved it to my satisfaction. I have never had the inclination to share my complaints or my resolution with others. No situation is ever exactly the same. Like it or not, the GM contracts are generally very customized due to timing, many available options, and negotiating skills.

Mike

I don't need any - but the people like the OP who come on here with problems do For their sake, it's good to know from the OP and you that issues can be resolved.

 

[mikenk]

I don't need any - but the people like the OP who come on here with problems do For their sake, it's good to know from the OP and you that issues can be resolved.

And that is what is important - that the issues got resolved, not the specific details that are basically irrelevant.

As all here know, the Grupo Vidanta system has probably the most aggressive sales force in the industry; from my experience, they don't tell different lies from all timeshare salespeople, they just tell them more aggressively, to more people by far, and are very successful doing so.

What is not well known is their Member Services Department, not related to sales at all, is very responsive to resolving owner issues. Realistically, the vast majority of retail buyers have no clue as to the real value of their purchase and happily use their ownership for many years of vacations. The ones that do complain (from my experience) do get issues resolved.

Regardless of one's perspective, the reality is that the purchaser of timeshares need to start taking more personal responsibility for the contracts that they sign. Every timeshare buyer in Mexico has five days to cancel; it is clearly written in the contract - including all the GV contracts. I believe too many tuggers spend too much time condemning the sellers than scolding the buyers.

Just my opinion,
Mike

 

[pjrose]

Mike, I completely agree with you except for one part - not ALL timeshare salespeople lie.

That is simply not part of the presentation for some companies, who give the prospective buyer a simple contract at the outset, go over it, tell them to take it back and think about it, and even tell them about TUG!

Otherwise, well put, especially your last paragraph.

PJ

 

[mikenk]

Mike, I completely agree with you except for one part - not ALL timeshare salespeople lie.

PJ

Touche. "All" is too encompassing a word; I should have used "in general".

In reality, any timeshare salesperson that is selling a retail contract that he or she knows as largely worthless is being dishonest. Any implication that rentals will bring income to cover the MF is being dishonest.

I just imagine any sales person delivering this message. "for 20k, you can buy this timeshare from me, or you can go to this website and get it for free." or "For 20K, you can pay this MF forever to use it, or you can pay me nothing, go to these rental sites, and rent the same thing for less than the MF."

In reality, the retail part of this industry (in general) has to use deceit to survive. The irony is that everyone on TUG is enjoying the fruits of this deceit as new construction depends on it. (NOTE: Sally is probably smiling at that last statement.")

Mike

 

[pjrose]

In reality, any timeshare salesperson that is selling a retail contract that he or she knows as largely worthless is being dishonest. Any implication that rentals will bring income to cover the MF is being dishonest.

First part, true. Second part, we have always rented our TS weeks for more than the MF; in this market it's between a few hundred more and double, and in previous years it's been between double and triple, sometimes three-and-a-half times MF. Really! A FEW times in recent years we didn't get a renter, but then we deposited with II and pulled out equivalent or better locations at our resort, or went elsewhere.

I just imagine any sales person delivering this message. "for 20k, you can buy this timeshare from me, or you can go to this website and get it for free." or "For 20K, you can pay this MF forever to use it, or you can pay me nothing, go to these rental sites, and rent the same thing for less than the MF."

ok, that extreme of someone saying it could be free is imaginary - but I heard, many times, "For 20K (or whatever K) you can buy this timeshare from me and be guaranteed the week and location you want. Or you may be able to find it for less on eBay or TUG and let's check the internet to see what's available (really!), though you may not find the week and location you want. Let's also go check our resale listings from owner defaults and see what's available. And we'll finance it at no interest for four years, and it doesn't matter if you buy at the original price or resale, all contracts are the same." I also heard "You can rent it to others directly through our rental pool or on sites like TUG; let's see what they're asking. You can also rent someone else's week, you can trade it internally or with II, you can sell it through us or you can sell it privately." And you know what? We have done ALL of that - and it ALL worked as described.

Oh yeah - and at the end of our RTU period, when the resort is sold, we will get back at least part of the original purchase price (that's the original purchaser's purchase price), possibly all, depending on what the real estate market brings, minus legal, taxes, etc. Or maybe, they'll renew the whole thing for another 30 years and we can buy in for less than market price.

Some differences between our experience and experiences at other resorts is that the developers were committed to using honest sales tactics, the contract is extremely short and simple and right out there in front of us as they talk, and I think having fixed week / fixed unit lets buyers get exactly what they want so they know whether they'll be able to rent or sell a prime week or not. (But with trading flexibility, they can still move elsewhere or to a different time, if available.)

Now a few things that I envy about some of the contracts you've described are the negotiable perks and the no-MF if you don't go and no-MF for those over a certain age, but what I don't envy is having to hit the phone a year ahead to hope for the week I want, and not knowing the location till I'm down there.

Anyway, I'm absolutely not trying to argue here, just pointing that there are a few resort chains that do not play the same deceitful games that many other places do.

In reality, the retail part of this industry (in general) has to use deceit to survive. The irony is that everyone on TUG is enjoying the fruits of this deceit as new construction depends on it. (NOTE: Sally is probably smiling at that last statement.")

Mike

True, and likely True as well!

 

[momeason]

Mike, I completely agree with you except for one part - not ALL timeshare salespeople lie.

That is simply not part of the presentation for some companies, who give the prospective buyer a simple contract at the outset, go over it, tell them to take it back and think about it, and even tell them about TUG!

Otherwise, well put, especially your last paragraph.

PJ

What timeshare company tells you to think about it and to visit TUG?

 

[mikenk]

What timeshare company tells you to think about it and to visit TUG?

I assume it is the Royal resorts that seem to approach 'sainthood' when it comes to retail sales. I have not experienced this approach at other timeshares, but maybe there are others.

Mike

 

[pjrose]

What timeshare company tells you to think about it and to visit TUG?

The Royal Resorts. That's how I learned about TUG. And their salespeople told me us that we could use eBay and other online sources. They didn't have to worry about whether I bought through them or not, because they knew others would.

I assume it is the Royal resorts that seem to approach 'sainthood' when it comes to retail sales. I have not experienced this approach at other timeshares, but maybe there are others.

Mike

Well, I have had a few overenthusiastic salespeople at the Royals .... maybe two who were a bit pushy.....but never any lies or any promises that went beyond the contract. And never any pressure. They really do understand "no thanks." Nothing at all like other places. One difference may be that the contracts are "one size fits all," and the price list is pre-printed, so there's no wheeling and dealing, nothing extra thrown in, etc.

I've heard that Marriotts are also more straightforward with their sales.

 

[buceo]

What timeshare company tells you to think about it and to visit TUG?

I can second that. My salesman at the Royal Resorts. When I wasn't sure about a purchase & I asked how long I had to rescind if I did buy, said; "if you're not sure think about it instead of buying and rescinding."

 

[nazclk]

Hose em Hose em

To the original OP yup you got hosed.

 

[robj]

dream on about renting.

Ok, way past the rescind day, so have to make the best of it.
Thing is, I think there's a lot of different ways to determine how much is paid for a timeshare, ie, $250 per timeshare, but what does that include?
I crunched the numbers a bit and the membership, over 25 years , results in a premium of $265 over the usage fee (currently $629) so that the 3 weeks we have cost us about $900/ea. If we rent out 2 of those weeks for $1350/week we recoup $900, which pays for the 1 week that we would regularly want to use each year.
Is this rosey thinking or realistic?

Don't budget in renting. I've placed weeks with an agency "suggested" by Mayan beginning in 2009 and each year since and haven't rented a single week. So don't use rental income in budget. The only way to come out is to use it. I do hope you got a contract where you DON'T have to pay the maintenance fee if you don't use the week(s)

 

[pjrose]

. . . If we rent out 2 of those weeks for $1350/week we recoup $900, which pays for the 1 week that we would regularly want to use each year.
Is this rosey thinking or realistic?

That's a very big "If." Check asking prices for rentals on TUG and Redweek.com, and then you'll have a better idea....but keep in mind that the actual rentals will probably be a hundred or so lower than the asking price, and the highest priced ones may not rent at all.

 

[PStreet1]

A major point you don't seem to be understanding is that you can't rent those weeks for anything like the prices you are hoping for. Check on Redweek.com and see what people have weeks listed for----more importantly, are any of those weeks disappearing from the listings indicating they have been rented?

It's easy, with a capital E, to find cheap rental weeks at very, very nice timeshares in Mexico--look on www.skyauction.com. RCI and II rent out weeks for a couple of hundred dollars plus the bid price, and the bid price is often really, really low--sometimes a dollar or two.

You need to listen to the people on this forum who are telling you they didn't rent their weeks. They didn't rent them because there isn't a market, not because they weren't clever enough to get the job done.

 

[stucandu]

Deposit refunded in whole.
Very thankful to all who gave constructive advice.
Basically, the squeaky wheel get's the grease principle is what worked here. The internet affords plenty of 'squeak' potential, so even just the threat of using that is what turned the trick. :whoopie:
Thanks again

 

[Passepartout]

Deposit refunded in whole.

Great! Thanks for posting the whole litany along with step-by-step progress so others can benefit from your experience.

Hope it hasn't scared you off from timeshare entirely, just presentations. TS is still a great way to vacation.

Jim

 

[pjrose]

Yay, that's great!

And as Jim says, go to timeshares, just stay away from the presentations!