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[ MERGED ] Michigan family jailed in Mexico over timeshare dispute

daviator said:
You don’t have to have intention to buy to go to a presentation and listen. You get incentives for going to the presentation. That’s all fine. They have their shot at you, that’s all the incentives are for.

It’s also fine to sign a purchase contract and then change your mind within the rescission period, and cancel it according to the rescission terms (in Mexico the rescission period is very short, five days I think… and it’s worth noting that there may be countries in which there is NO rescission period. Be careful what you sign! Personally, I would never recommend signing a contract you intend to rescind. Just don’t sign it in the first place! There is too much risk of something going wrong when rescinding, especially in a foreign country.)

It’s a different thing entirely to sign a purchase contract with the knowledge and intent that you don’t plan to honor it, and then get home and dispute the monthly credit card transactions for the monthly payments, claiming they are unauthorized. That seems to be what this couple did.

It’s a little bit like buying a car on payments, and driving the car around while refusing to make the payments, while bragging to your friends about how you got a free car and they can get one too. You may not like the car any more, but you bought it, and you have to pay for it.
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Legally, if you sign and cancel within the recision period every thing is legal. I'm just saying going to the presentation with no intention of buying follows the same idea these people had.

I wonder if they did cancel in the 5 days . It seems like they thought the mater was settled .

Bill
 
easyrider said:
Legally, if you sign and cancel within the recision period every thing is legal. I'm just saying going to the presentation with no intention of buying follows the same idea these people had.

I wonder if they did cancel in the 5 days . It seems like they thought the mater was settled .

Bill
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From the bits and pieces of timeline I read, they bought whatever they bought in 2021 and did not start disputing credit card charges until some time in 2022. So I don’t think they rescinded. I think they changed their minds long after the rescission period… and then cooked their goose when they apparently made public online statements that imply that they never intended to pay the charges they committed to paying. That’s the fraud which is alleged.

Going to a timeshare presentation but not intending to buy is NOTHING like what these people allegedly did. By that logic, you’re somehow morally culpable if you walk into a store just to look at the merchandise. Obviously that’s silly. (How many people go to a timeshare presentation with the intent of buying? I certainly never have. That hasn’t prevented me from making some purchases despite intending not to do so.)

Going to a presentation is window shopping. What these people did is buy the merchandise and take it home, then disputed the credit card charges for the purchase. Those are very different things.

I hope more details come out, including the alleged Facebook posts.
 
daviator said:
From the bits and pieces of timeline I read, they bought whatever they bought in 2021 and did not start disputing credit card charges until some time in 2022. So I don’t think they rescinded. I think they changed their minds long after the rescission period… and then cooked their goose when they apparently made public online statements that imply that they never intended to pay the charges they committed to paying. That’s the fraud which is alleged.

Going to a timeshare presentation but not intending to buy is NOTHING like what these people allegedly did. By that logic, you’re somehow morally culpable if you walk into a store just to look at the merchandise. Obviously that’s silly. (How many people go to a timeshare presentation with the intent of buying? I certainly never have. That hasn’t prevented me from making some purchases despite intending not to do so.)

Going to a presentation is window shopping. What these people did is buy the merchandise and take it home, then disputed the credit card charges for the purchase. Those are very different things.

I hope more details come out, including the alleged Facebook posts.
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Going to a presentation only to recieve perks knowing full well you are not going to buy anything isn't anything like window shopping nor is it fraud, imo.

My though on this is the Royal Brand is going to be trashed for this even if they are right.

Bill
 
ive heard so many differerent flavors of this story itll take weeks for the actual truth to come out.

the only thing im sure of at this point is this couple wasnt simply "arrested for defaulting on their timeshare"
 
The key issue is that the timeshare was running a promotion where for the highest ownership level for every 2 people you got to sign up for a presentation you got 1 bonus week at the resort and there was no limit. These folks managed to get 150 people to sign up (though not necessarily actually purchase anything, not clear if those 150 people even attended the timeshare presentation, or just signed up and no-showed) and got 75 bonus weeks awarded (a bit of abuse of the program but definitely legal under the terms of the contract they signed). But when they tried to redeem those 75 bonus weeks they were told the program terms had changed : The 2 brothers that owned the timeshare management split into 2 companies and the brother that now owned their resort had changed the terms of the contract, which supposedly is allowed under Mexican law (possibly due to the reorganization). Hence they would not get any of the 75 bonus weeks. That is when they disputed the original timeshare purchase to the credit card company and claimed they did not receive what they purchased and the (US) credit card company (Amex) agreed with them and charged back the entire original $100K+ purchase.

Update: The Palace Company is claiming they were willing to honor the 75 bonus weeks, but not for guests, even though the contract says they can be used for guests. Sounds like the Michigan Couple was planning to fund their timeshare (technically a vacation membership, since Mexico does not allowed titled timeshares for non-citizens), by renting out their 75 bonus weeks and had already booked and rented out several of them and Palace Resort cancelled the reservations without notice : : Long discussion in reddit

In addition it looks like the couple was not satisfied with disputing the $100K+, but started posting on a FB group that Palace Company is a scam company that won't honor the contract and urging lots of new buyers to rescind within the 5 day recission period. This caused the Palace Company more in lost sales than the original $100K and is the likely reason Palace Company is being this vindictive (instead of just filing a civil suite for the $100K owed) : Update on couple arrested in Mexico
 
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There has been an ongoing thread for a couple of days in the Mexico forum on this topic.
 
This is a wild story:

www.mirror.co.uk

Couple 'held hostage' in foreign jail after disputing credit card charges abroad

Grandparents Christy and Paul Akeo touched down in Cancun, Mexico, on March 4 - where they were arrested on criminal fraud charges and hauled off to a maximum-security prison
www.mirror.co.uk www.mirror.co.uk

Reading between the lines it sounds like a timeshare purchase that they successfully contested with their credit card (article says they had a "membership" with Palace Resorts). Palace Resorts does seem to sell some timeshare like products / vacation club memberships.
 
So it sounds like they spent $100k, thought they could rent out bonus weeks (probably encouraged by a sales rep, and it was reportedly in the written contract) and when they pushed the limits and it did not work as planned, they rescinded their payment via AMEX and posted negatively on social media.

I don't believe AMEX would have reversed if they hadn't been presented with contracts in writing.

Both sides have issues. Regardless this is a civil matter and jailing still sounds extreme.

Not good optics for Mexico tourism; this will kill all Mexican timeshare sales not just Palace with U.S. tourists.

I have always avoided Mexican timeshare presentations, and this episode - right or wrong - confirms that I will never attend one in the future unless it is sponsored by a US brand name like HGVC or Westin. I will still travel to Mexico though.
 
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When you are in Mexico…you are on your own…completely on your own…I wish the couple good luck.
 
tugbbs.com

Michigan family jailed in Mexico over timeshare dispute

You don’t have to have intention to buy to go to a presentation and listen. You get incentives for going to the presentation. That’s all fine. They have their shot at you, that’s all the incentives are for. It’s also fine to sign a purchase contract and then change your mind within the...
tugbbs.com tugbbs.com
 
CalGalTraveler said:
So it sounds like they spent $100k, thought they could rent out bonus weeks (probably encouraged by a sales rep, and it was reportedly in the written contract) and when they pushed the limits and it did not work as planned, they rescinded their payment via AMEX and posted negatively on social media.

I don't believe AMEX would have reversed if they hadn't been presented with contracts in writing.

Both sides have issues. Regardless this is a civil matter and jailing still sounds extreme.

Not good optics for Mexico tourism; this will kill all Mexican timeshare sales not just Palace with U.S. tourists.

I have always avoided Mexican timeshare presentations, and this episode - right or wrong - confirms that I will never attend one in the future unless it is sponsored by a US brand name like HGVC or Westin. I will still travel to Mexico though.
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Bingo. I too avoid Mexico presentations like the plague because they are not straight up like the US brands and known for shady tactics.

Just saw this on VFTW. Hopefully this will be flagged for the next newsletter as relevant to the topic of cancelling contracts. I think most of us are aware of the financial dangers of purchasing timeshares. But I never envisioned that someone could be arrested and thrown into a 3rd world jail indefinitely for backing out of a timeshare. Of course if they bragged on facebook that they defrauded the company then they are getting what they deserve. I'd like to see that facebook page before I render judgement.

Palace resorts are well known for brutal tactics at the presentations which often go for hours. I guess they apply the same tactics to people who cancel and post reviews. Not to smart on the part of the Palace owners - I personally plan to go after them on social media and hopefully decimate their business. They clearly wanted to punish the couple and did not consider how much this will cost their resorts in lost revenue.

to be fair not all Mexico brands are bad. My inlaws are 5* owners in the Villa Group and maximize their usage every year with no problems. The Villa also took good care of them (and us) when hurricanes hit PV and Cabo.
 
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@boraxo We also have friends who own Villa and Fiesta Americana who are happy owners. We have had several nice stays at FA via HGVC.

Even though these companies are not at fault, they will be negatively affected by this devastating news caused by Palace. I never knew anything about Palace until now but based on this report, I will avoid even staying there.
 
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FYI...I never heard of Palace Resorts so here is a table from Co-Pilot. YMMV this is AI. I see these often in exchanges but avoided because many had mandatory AI which added significantly to the cost.

1743016900368.png
 
daviator said:
The hyperbole and inflammatory language in this post just makes me more suspicious. I think it’s very unlikely that this couple are being held in a “maximum security prison,” for example. I am pretty sure this is one very slanted side of a story which definitely has two sides. I’m sure all of this is horrible for the folks involved, but I doubt that they are merely innocent victims.

Mexico is not a two-bit banana republic, they are a country of laws, and I’m pretty confident those laws will be upheld.
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Tell me you've never dealt directly with the criminal system without telling me you've never dealt directly with the criminal system. :ROFLMAO: I mean, generally, we all have a high opinion of the US Legal System, but individually, well, it's not always by the book. sheesh.

I did have a loved one years ago who had a questionable experience with the MX LE.
Still, I agree the whole "maximum security prison" sounds a bit nuts.
 
easyrider said:
Legally, if you sign and cancel within the recision period every thing is legal. I'm just saying going to the presentation with no intention of buying follows the same idea these people had.

I wonder if they did cancel in the 5 days . It seems like they thought the mater was settled .

Bill
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:rolleyes: oh come on, they literally tell you over and over again that they will give you a gift at the end of the presentation just for attending.
 
The law is THE LAW. Defrauding any government...and then posting he was a police man &*^&$#@:? he should know better! Then posting what they did.... Maybe they should stay there a little longer, and have Father Brown (PBS) visit them. We purchased from Palace Resorts, did our research checking...they were on the up and up and a fine company to purchased thru. That was 28+ years ago and have been VERY HAPPY & PLEASED with our purchase. Never went to an update unless we had an idea to upgrade.
 
pierrepierre said:
The law is THE LAW. Defrauding any government...and then posting he was a police man &*^&$#@:? he should know better! Then posting what they did.... Maybe they should stay there a little longer, and have Father Brown (PBS) visit them. We purchased from Palace Resorts, did our research checking...they were on the up and up and a fine company to purchased thru. That was 28+ years ago and have been VERY HAPPY & PLEASED with our purchase. Never went to an update unless we had an idea to upgrade.
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Government? This is a timeshare company. But I agree that posting/ bragging was a stupid move.
 
This has been discussed at length in the Mexican section. Perhaps the 2 threads should be merged?

~Diane
 
PigsDad said:
There has been an ongoing thread for a couple of days in the Mexico forum on this topic.
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and another one started in the Buying, selling renting section. Perhaps they could all be merged?

~Diane
 
CalGalTraveler said:
Regardless this is a civil matter and jailing still sounds extreme.
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Yeah, charging them criminally seems really problematic and I suspect is going to bite this resort in the derriere. “Timeshare Resort gets couple thrown in jail for cancelling timeshare” is a headline that’s going to really damage them, even if the reality is more nuanced.
 
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