Help with the Villa group

[jazzaholic84]

Hello All! Brand new to this site, glad I found it. My wife and I are platinum owners through the Welk (we have 540,000 points/year) and have been vacationing at their resort in Cabo for the past week. We were going to sign up for a cabo tour and ended up at a presentation thinking we just wanted a free tour and $50 cash. But what ended up happening was me questioning whether our Welk resort was a worthwhile investment. After we were close to walking out the door an "expert" on the Welk system was brought in and we ended up buying the smallest option they had after he convinced me our Welk ownership was not a good investment due to increasing maintenance fees. He then promised that their lawyers could get us out of the ownership via transfer to their resort for $695. After we got home I found this website and found a thread from someone else within the last few months that made a similar purchase. Every single reply was to cancel. So naturally now I am having quite a bit of reservations. I have a few questions that I'm hoping the veteranos of the time share system will help and guide me through.

First question is cancellation of the purchase today. I read on the other user's post that there is a 5 day window. I have reviewed the documents and indeed found the cancellation clause that states 5 days. Specifically it says, "The cancellation must be made in writing at the place where the transaction was carried out or at the address of the intermediary or the representative of the company or in the email that the intermediary indicates in the agreement." I am in Cabo for the next 3 days, so it sounds like the easiest method is to simply go back and tell them I want to cancel, correct? Can I simply write out on a piece of paper "I want to cancel this purchase."

Second question pertains to my current ownership at the Welk. I've begun to realize that the yearly maintenance fees will add up and end up being what my cost is every year to go on vacation. In the 5 years of my ownership the maintenance fees have gone up almost $1,000. So I understand that over time they will continue to increase and be quite expensive. So the question is, what is the better alternative? I see people talking about buying memberships on ebay, but can someone break it down for me? Is it simply buying a year from someone? I checked Ebay and I see people offering various ownerships for $1. Any explanation would be greatly appreciated because that will heavily influence whether or not I keep my Welk ownership.

Last question: If I was to decide to get rid of my Welk ownership because I learn the more cost effective route via Ebay, how would I go about getting rid of my ownership? A few pertinent details about my Welk ownership is that we own the points outright, they are paid off. I saw a few threads where people were talking about potentially selling back to the Welk directly and receiving around 2-3K for their points. And that was for 240,000 points, so I would imagine I might be able to get a little more back for the amount we have.

Thank you all in advance, I know this a long post with multiple questions. I appreciate any and all feedback and guidance!

Bob

 

[davidvel]

Step #1. Rescind.Follow all steps to a tee. Others with MX knowledge will give more details.
Step #2, Finish your vacation.
Step #3. Worry about the rest when you're home.

 

[Passepartout]

WRITE a rescission letter. ALL signers of the contract must sign the rescission letter. Due to time constraints, you may have to hand deliver it to the sales office, but BEWARE! They will reduce the price, delay, tell you that you can't rescind, ask for reasons- and are trained to counter any argument. It will be hard, but be strong and say that you are simply exercising your right to rescind and that is that. Period! The alternative is to send it via DHL and get a signature of who accepts the letter. Your call.

I can't help you with your other questions re: Welk, because I don't know their system. I can say that timeshares in general are only worth a small fraction of their purchase price, so brace yourself.

First things first. Get the rescission behind you. Consider contacting your credit card and stopping the charge for your purchase.

Welcome to TUG. Keep us notified of your progress. If there is difficulty, the Mexican Gov't office of Consumer affairs for timeshare sales is called PROFECO and there is an office in Cabo. Contact them if you get in over your head.

Jim

 

[easyrider]

Definitely cancel. Do so in writing with a letter type notice. If you can email as well this will give a time and date that is indisputable regarding cancellation because it electronically shows the date and time of cancellation. Make copies of the written cancellation notice. Call your credit card company to let them know this transaction is cancelled.

You are one of the lucky people that still have the option to cancel. Do the cancellation first. Become a Tug member and post in the Western States area regarding your Welks Resort problem where I'm certain some tugger will know what you should do.

Bill

 

[jazzaholic84]

Thank you all for the replies, your help is much appreciated. I've reviewed the contract multiple times and it sounds like I will need to go back tomorrow (day 3 of window to rescind) and write it out in person with my wife there. The following sentence is from the contract: "The cancellation must be made in writing at the place where the transaction was carried out or at the address of the intermediary or the representative of the company or in the email that the intermediary indicates in the agreement."

I was never given any email in the contract. I know the above recs were to send an email as well as certified mail, but they left the email portion empty, and I'm not entirely sure about sending certified mail down here. I could probably figure it out, but it seems like the easiest method is to go in person and just tell them in person and write it out like Jim said. Has anyone done this before?

 

[Passepartout]

Lots of people have rescinded, but they will make it difficult. JUST BE FIRM! The Mexican Correo (Post Office) can't be trusted. DHL is the only delivery service in Mexico that I would trust. So at this late date, you have no choice but to present your rescission letter, all signed and get a person of authority to sign a receipt for it. Have your wife snap a picture of the letter in their hand.

Good Luck!

Jim

 

[easyrider]

Thank you all for the replies, your help is much appreciated. I've reviewed the contract multiple times and it sounds like I will need to go back tomorrow (day 3 of window to rescind) and write it out in person with my wife there. The following sentence is from the contract: "The cancellation must be made in writing at the place where the transaction was carried out or at the address of the intermediary or the representative of the company or in the email that the intermediary indicates in the agreement."

I was never given any email in the contract. I know the above recs were to send an email as well as certified mail, but they left the email portion empty, and I'm not entirely sure about sending certified mail down here. I could probably figure it out, but it seems like the easiest method is to go in person and just tell them in person and write it out like Jim said. Has anyone done this before?

I went to the sales area in person to cancel my first contract and was told that I needed to speak to Mr Gonzolos. Mr Gonzolos was never anywhere to be found. Anyway, I did go back each day as they had given me $300 resort credits for the restaurants and each day Mr Gonzolos was not there. The other funny thing was the sales person that sold the contract I was canceling came out and told me that I had signed a no cancellation agreement, which I did, to receive extra perks, which I enjoyed. I did offer to give back what was left but no one would talk to me. I emailed the resort general email, hand delivered a notice that I was canceling, disputed the credit card hold and when I got home I sent another letter and email.

I never heard back from them. No charges for the timeshare purchase were on my credit card. I ended up keeping all their stuff which included a three year RCI membership, two extra bonus vacations, resort credit and other stuff.

The law says all you need to do is notify the resort. The rules the resorts put in place really do not superseded the Mexican consumer laws which says all you need to do is notify the resort within 5 days. Weekends and Holidays do not count.

I would email the resort and hand the sales people a notification of cancellation. Be sure to contact your credit card company to dispute any hold the resort may have placed on your card regarding this sale.

Bill

 

[geist1223]

When we rescinded years ago in Cabo we typed it up where we were staying (they had computers for guests to use) and both signed with a Mexican Notary. I hand delivered the Recission. Patti stayed back at the other Resort. I made sure I took no Credit Cards with me.

Sunday does not count as one of the business days but Saturday does count.

 

[jazzaholic84]

Okay, so we wrote up a letter to rescind, both signed it and went straight to the desk in the sales room where the boss sits. I had also emailed it to the manager of the hotel and attached a picture of the letter. I gave it to the guy and he wanted me to go into a room at the side. I told him I had a tour to catch and didn't have time for games. He had the official person who signed off all of our documents come ask a few questions about whether or not we had gone to any other presentations and whether we had disputed the charge. I told her we did dispute it (we couldn't yet, it hadn't posted) and she immediately accused us of fraud and said they had 15 days to refund us. She then threatened a lawsuit and said we wouldn't get the full money back, and that only partial would be refunded after 3-4 months. I told her that we hadn't actually disputed and then she gave us the cancellation paperwork to fill out. Then they made one last attempt for another "deeply discounted" offer, which I promptly refused. They processed our cancellation paperwork, took back all of our old documents and we were on our way. Took about 20 minutes total, wasn't too bad. I received an official paper showing we cancelled. Thank you guys all for you assistance. I really appreciate the time you guys took to help us out!!!

 

[Passepartout]

It looks like you dodged the bullet, just watch your cc statements and contest it the minute you see a charge posted from them.

Glad to be of help.

Jim

 

[TravelTime]

I am glad you rescinded and got out of this contract. It makes me sad to hear how much time folks end up spending on their vacations in Mexico at presentations and then having to go back to rescind. It has happened to me. It took up 2 full days of a 7 day vacation, not to mention the stress of worrying about it. I am grateful to TUG but I certainly wish I and others weren’t susceptible to the TS developer sales presentations in the first place. I think I have learned my lesson but I try to avoid developer presentations now because those guys are very convincing, even when you think you are prepared to resist.

 

[wrobinson]

I used to work at VDP Villa Group and know their program and contract very well. Get out.

You can get out of ANY contract in Mexico. Just walk away. Yes, after rescission you lose all your money down, but no more hassles. If you want to get some of your money back, call or write to profecco, https://www.profeco.gob.mx/english.htm, this is the Mexican government consumer protection org. Cancel your debit or credit card. there is absolutely nothing they can do.

Bob[/QUOTE]

Hello All! Brand new to this site, glad I found it. My wife and I are platinum owners through the Welk (we have 540,000 points/year) and have been vacationing at their resort in Cabo for the past week. We were going to sign up for a cabo tour and ended up at a presentation thinking we just wanted a free tour and $50 cash. But what ended up happening was me questioning whether our Welk resort was a worthwhile investment. After we were close to walking out the door an "expert" on the Welk system was brought in and we ended up buying the smallest option they had after he convinced me our Welk ownership was not a good investment due to increasing maintenance fees. He then promised that their lawyers could get us out of the ownership via transfer to their resort for $695. After we got home I found this website and found a thread from someone else within the last few months that made a similar purchase. Every single reply was to cancel. So naturally now I am having quite a bit of reservations. I have a few questions that I'm hoping the veteranos of the time share system will help and guide me through.

First question is cancellation of the purchase today. I read on the other user's post that there is a 5 day window. I have reviewed the documents and indeed found the cancellation clause that states 5 days. Specifically it says, "The cancellation must be made in writing at the place where the transaction was carried out or at the address of the intermediary or the representative of the company or in the email that the intermediary indicates in the agreement." I am in Cabo for the next 3 days, so it sounds like the easiest method is to simply go back and tell them I want to cancel, correct? Can I simply write out on a piece of paper "I want to cancel this purchase."

Second question pertains to my current ownership at the Welk. I've begun to realize that the yearly maintenance fees will add up and end up being what my cost is every year to go on vacation. In the 5 years of my ownership the maintenance fees have gone up almost $1,000. So I understand that over time they will continue to increase and be quite expensive. So the question is, what is the better alternative? I see people talking about buying memberships on ebay, but can someone break it down for me? Is it simply buying a year from someone? I checked Ebay and I see people offering various ownerships for $1. Any explanation would be greatly appreciated because that will heavily influence whether or not I keep my Welk ownership.

Last question: If I was to decide to get rid of my Welk ownership because I learn the more cost effective route via Ebay, how would I go about getting rid of my ownership? A few pertinent details about my Welk ownership is that we own the points outright, they are paid off. I saw a few threads where people were talking about potentially selling back to the Welk directly and receiving around 2-3K for their points. And that was for 240,000 points, so I would imagine I might be able to get a little more back for the amount we have.

Thank you all in advance, I know this a long post with multiple questions. I appreciate any and all feedback and guidance!

Bob