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Mom came home from Mexcio absolutely beside herself.

Nomadic

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My apologies, if I had a clue as to what to search for. ..

Mom came home hopping mad about 28k VIDA wants before selling her timeshare. They are calling it closing costs that they want from her credit card in monthly installments until.. I have no idea when. I have not seen the contact as yet, I am without much information... still in a effort to calm my 89 year old mother.. has anyone sold their time share through Vida, is the sort of sale legitimate or are those guys so aggressive they have taken advantage of my mother.

Thank you for any information you share.
 

RX8

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Don’t own Vida but my opinion is your mom is getting scammed. The timeshare is likely not worth anything at all so their promise to sell it with your mom paying monthly fees to them until sold gives them no incentive to even try to sell it.

Here is a TUG thread that might help.

 

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This is exactly my concern but she signed a contact... what now?
 

dioxide45

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You need to see the contract.
 

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Yes, thanks..

I was hoping... but you are right.. I will get my hands on the contact and go from there.
 

hcarman

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I don't own either but I did go to one of their presentations in Mexico - and yes, they are very aggressive. They offer to buy your existing timeshares, etc. It was a nice property but you have to be very careful in Mexico as they have lots of tactics up their sleeves (more so than in the U.S. I have heard).
 

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My apologies, if I had a clue as to what to search for. ..

Mom came home hopping mad about 28k VIDA wants before selling her timeshare. They are calling it closing costs that they want from her credit card in monthly installments until.. I have no idea when. I have not seen the contact as yet, I am without much information... still in a effort to calm my 89 year old mother.. has anyone sold their time share through Vida, is the sort of sale legitimate or are those guys so aggressive they have taken advantage of my mother.

Thank you for any information you share.

Cancel anything from Vidanta and dispute everything with the credit card as soon as you can. This is what gives these guys such a bad rep and they know it.

Bill
 

Passepartout

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Mom came home hopping mad about 28k VIDA wants before selling her timeshare.
Thank you for any information you share.
Waitaminuit! I thought Vida was about selling (overpriced) RTU timeshares, not buying them! If they offered the owner cash for their TS, let them take any 'taxes' and 'closing costs' out of the settlement. If they won't, then walk.

If you (or Mom) don't get satisfaction, spread their shame all over Tripadvisor, TUG, Redweek, Yelp, Twitter, etc. etc. They will capitulate and settle- with the stipulation that the negative reports are taken down.

They know the power of social media.

Jim
 

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Cancel anything from Vidanta and dispute everything with the credit card as soon as you can. This is what gives these guys such a bad rep and they know it.

Bill

Unfortunately the frist 3k was taken directly out of her husbands account via debit card. When I found out what was going on today I cancelled the credit card she had given them and my step sister cancelled his debit card. So, at this point that have no way of getting anymore money.

The contact is what scares me the most. I really have to get my hands on it.
 

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Waitaminuit! I thought Vida was about selling (overpriced) RTU timeshares, not buying them! If they offered the owner cash for their TS, let them take any 'taxes' and 'closing costs' out of the settlement. If they won't, then walk.

If you (or Mom) don't get satisfaction, spread their shame all over Tripadvisor, TUG, Redweek, Yelp, Twitter, etc. etc. They will capitulate and settle- with the stipulation that the negative reports are taken down.

They know the power of social media.

Jim
The story is complicated, I am only get bits and parts slowly as I ask the correct question to get my mother to answer me. As I undertand it he offered to sell it for her, she said yes, signed the contact, her husband gave him 3k from a debit card. Then three days later Mom thought about it and told him to take the closing cost out of the sale, whichis how things are done here. I asked her how much he thought the could get for her four weeks, she said he was waving a paper in her face something about 120k. My respond was a naughty word. Mom is feeling pretty stupid, and that upsets her.. alot. I don't want to make her feel any worse than she already does.
 

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I don't own either but I did go to one of their presentations in Mexico - and yes, they are very aggressive. They offer to buy your existing timeshares, etc. It was a nice property but you have to be very careful in Mexico as they have lots of tactics up their sleeves (more so than in the U.S. I have heard).

The whole thing is reminding me of my experince buying a new car... those guys are tricky with thier tactic and will straight up lie to you about the numbers.. ya really gotta watch them. It will be intersing to see how it all pans out and if I can get my mother out of a contact she signed.
 

Tacoma

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Your Mom is 89. Does she even need a good credit score anymore? You've cancelled all the cards associated with this deal, seems to me the worst they can do to her is threaten her credit. I'm sure that would bother her as she is likely a person who takes her responsibility seriously but they can't really do much.
 

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Your Mom is 89. Does she even need a good credit score anymore? You've cancelled all the cards associated with this deal, seems to me the worst they can do to her is threaten her credit. I'm sure that would bother her as she is likely a person who takes her responsibility seriously but they can't really do much.

Indeed you are right.. if that is the only tact they can take.
I am responsible for all her money and power of attorney.
Crappy credit would bother her being who she is but, as you say she doesn't really need it any more.

I am hoping I can get the company to do the right thing. She told me this morning that she tried to get the sales guy to understand she wanted the contract voided within the 5 day window.. he failed to listen pushed harder and Mom caved.
 

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I am responsible for all her money and power of attorney.
If you have durable POA, then you can probably argue with PROFECO that your mother is not competent to enter into an agreement, and so the contract is void. That might be another option.

But I think it's fine to just cancel all the cards and ignore it.
 

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Good Day,

I wanted to take a moment to update you on Mom's situation.

After she asked me to take over communications with Vida, she became ill and was sure it was because Vida did her wrong. In her sleepless, anxious state, she emailed both the sales guy and his superior. The superior said he would get back to her but that since the 5 days had lapsed....

Three days later she received an email that said, we will honor your request to dissolve the contract, and when you contest the charges to your credit card we will honor that as well. She was pretty over the moon about this outcome. Unfortunately, the original down payment (3k) was on her husband's debit card, not a credit card and not hers. It was unclear to me if debt charges could be reversed. To my great relief, her husband's daughter called the bank and made it happen.

So, in the end, Vida didn't take a dime of Mom's money and they severed the contract after the deadline.

I will tell you, my parents have been going to MX for years, maybe 15/20. They will not be returning.

Thank you so very much for the advice!
 

SmithOp

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Happy to learn there was a good outcome to this dilemma, I hate to hear about any salesperson taking advantage of seniors. Someone of her age has no reason to buy a timeshare that would take years of usage to get any value out of the expenditure.

I volunteer at Senior Centers and all too often hear stories of elder financial abuse.

@Grammarhero $3k saved, possibly even $28k if she didn't have someone looking out for her financial well being.

Kudos.
 

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If I’m upstanding this thread correctly the woman was not buying she was paying the company to sell the 4 weeks she already owed.
Those sales never happen. If anyone has had a good experience trading in a timeshare and getting real money value on it please post. Unusually the salesman would take the same amount off the price without you trading in yoir timeshare. People bite on it because they no longer want to own the resort they have. Most of the time the new timeshare gives you paperwork to contact a reseller company and then you have to pay that company to sell the timeshare. You end up still having the resort in your name.

I agree it is embarrassing to get taken by a timeshare company. That is another thing the sales force counts on. It’s better to be embarrassed with your money back then let them keep your money and still be embarrassed and mad at yourself for not doing anything.
 

MOXJO7282

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I know Mexico is nice but with the violence and the sales scammers its a wonder anyone still wants to go there. I know I would never.
 

PigsDad

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I know Mexico is nice but with the violence and the sales scammers its a wonder anyone still wants to go there. I know I would never.
It just makes more room for those of us not taken in by the hype. :whooopie: Personally, I've never seen any type of crime when visiting MX, and since I never go on the sales presentations, that is not an issue either. Stay in known safe areas, don't do stupid stuff, and you are as safe as anywhere else.

Kurt
 

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Not to get off topic, but I’ve been going to Mexico for 47 years. The only problems I have ever had were my own fault and usually revolved around rental vehicles.
I know there is a lot of crime there, but there is also a lot of crime in New Orleans and I keep going there also.

I agree with Kurt stay where you belong and don’t do stupid things.
 

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If I’m upstanding this thread correctly the woman was not buying she was paying the company to sell the 4 weeks she already owed.
Those sales never happen. If anyone has had a good experience trading in a timeshare and getting real money value on it please post. Unusually the salesman would take the same amount off the price without you trading in yoir timeshare. People bite on it because they no longer want to own the resort they have. Most of the time the new timeshare gives you paperwork to contact a reseller company and then you have to pay that company to sell the timeshare. You end up still having the resort in your name.

I agree it is embarrassing to get taken by a timeshare company. That is another thing the sales force counts on. It’s better to be embarrassed with your money back then let them keep your money and still be embarrassed and mad at yourself for not doing anything.

Mom is not only embarresed but still ill from the experience. I keep telling her they have a list of tactics and anyone could have gotten confused because that is the sales guys whole goal, to confuse you out of your money. Car salesmen do the same thing.

The further away from it mother gets, the more infomation she gives me. Yes, she wanted to sell, the saleman said sure I can do that and this will be the closing cost. Then the story changed to sure I can to that but you have to buy this other place so we can then sell yours. It all gets fuzzy after that. Mom thought she had it fairly well sorted until she got an mail last friday confirming her membership to Puerto Pensaco at $927 a month for six months and a interest rate of 22 fu**ing pecent. I emailed the saleaman's boss, he said he would take care of it, and he did. He sent me the cancel docs for my parents to sign and I sent them back. In the end, we got every dime the saleman scammed out of my parents both via credit card and debit card. And it was fairly painless I didn't have to get agressive with anyone.

My concern and I hope people are listening, Mom wanted to sell instead she ended up buying a unit at Puerto Pensaco plus a new membership fee. It is compeletly wrong on seven levels. She thought he was going to sell 4 of her 8 weeks, instead... mom still has 8 weeks available but she says she will never return to MX.

Anywho, it is all sorted now. I appreate everyone's advice and support.
 
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Nomadic

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It just makes more room for those of us not taken in by the hype. :whooopie: Personally, I've never seen any type of crime when visiting MX, and since I never go on the sales presentations, that is not an issue either. Stay in known safe areas, don't do stupid stuff, and you are as safe as anywhere else.

Kurt

Wait, the sale pitch is not mandatory? Cause mom sure thinks it is.

Also, she drove down. She was hit from behind at the border on the way back which was two days before the most recent kidnappings. The guy was trying really hard to scare her into NOT calling the cops and to pay her $400. Mom is pretty tough but golly that would scare the pants off anyone. In the end she gave them all the MX money she had wish was 104us.

I am a solo female traveler, my advantures run 6/8 weeks of independant wandering. I have been to some fair dodgy places, think Syria, and I have not had any trouble BUT I also don't look or bahave like a prime target. Mom at 89, no matter what she does is going to look like a target.
 
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