playa grande resort mexico

[dundee65]

Beware .. our very first time to Mexico turned into a nightmare. We were escorted at the airport to someone we thought was with our Welk Resort .We ended up going to a presentation to get our money she scammed from us and were offered a lot of incentives and new time share only to find out most of it was a lie. We went back to talk and they would not let us past the gate. The second time we went we told the security officer we were there for a presentation. Once we got in we demanded to see someone. They told us more lies. When we got home I contacted a third party they set us up with only to find out what we had been told is not true. My bank cancelled my credit card.. They did an investigation. The resort told them we were very happy with timeshare! Really! The bank returned the charge back to us.
I thought banks in the US were supposed to protect their customers, not the timeshare scams in Mexico. Any advice?

 

[DeniseM]

Advice: Don't go to timeshare presentations - the ones in Mexico are infamous for fraud, and US law does not have jurisdiction in Mexico.

It sounds like your bank gave you a refund - was there something else that you wanted them to do?

 

[rpennisi]

It's a bit confusing, but it seems the bank put the TS charge back on the OP, after being told that the OP was happy with the timeshare. That's probably why the OP says, "I thought banks in the US were supposed to protect their customers, not the timeshare scams in Mexico."

My question is why did they sign to buy the timeshare? What was the scam?

 

[DeniseM]

The bank returned the charge back to us.

So you think the OP means the the bank returned the charge back to the timeshare? Because they wrote, "to us."

 

[Passepartout]

I think that dundee65 is a new timeshare owner who got bamboozled on the way into Mexico at the airport by a body snatcher. It's pretty clear that they thought they were dealing with ethical people, and mistakenly went back to that sales room. (How many mistakes can one couple make?) Then they didn't read the contract- especially the part about rescinding by mail within 10 days. Then they thought their credit card would simply reverse the charges, and they'd be free and clear. That didn't happen. Welk(Mexico) has only to show(the c.c. bank) the happy signatures showing that they in good faith make this purchase and agree to it's terms.

I'm afraid that the only advice we can give them is to join TUG and learn to use what they bought, or to kiss the down payment goodbye, default on the loan and maintenance bills, and suffer whatever the consequences are, including being hounded by collections, a credit hit, and ultimately foreclosure.

Welk might (maybe) forgive the debt, and in Mexico there is no deed to foreclose, if they can convince Well corporate that they are indeed a hardship case who simply cannot afford this debt, but since they were captured at an airport in a foreign country on vacation, that might be difficult to provoke.

Meanwhile, Welcome to TUG. In a recent poll, just about half of us bought our first TS from the developer, and most have bought more timeshares. It's a pain we take on willingly.

Jim

 

[MuranoJo]

So you think the OP means the the bank returned the charge back to the timeshare? Because they wrote, "to us."

My read is that they're saying the bank charged them once again after hearing from the t/s sales ripoffs.

Not sure why the bank would side with the sales jerks who said the new owners just loved t/s. But I'd certainly press them some more on this.

Yep, body snatchers at airport disguising themselves as legitimate rides from a resort. Always something to watch out for if you're new to MX.

 

[Karen G]

My bank cancelled my credit card.. They did an investigation. The resort told them we were very happy with timeshare! Really! The bank returned the charge back to us.
I thought banks in the US were supposed to protect their customers, not the timeshare scams in Mexico. Any advice?

Was this credit card issued by Chase by any chance? If so, let me know and I can give you the name & number of a lady at Chase who might be able to help.

 

[dundee65]

Playa Grand Scam

Yes, we were caught by the bodysnatchers at the airport who posed to be from our Home Timeshare Welk, when they were actually from Playa Grande. They gave us a cab voucher and told us not to say anything to Welk. We were to get in the cab the next morning and tell the driver where to go. When we got to the presentation, we just wanted our 150.00 back that she took at the airport. No way..had to go to the presentation. We told them we were not interested. Then they brought in Paul Windish offered all sorts of great incentives. We were told we should not be in a lifetime contract from Welk because it will be a burden on our kids and they will go after them. We were paying too much in maintenance fees etc. We were a little nervous at this point. Okay, we signed big mistake. Nothing was mentioned at the closing about the 5 day cancellation.
I took the contract out at the hotel and started looking at it. We went back to Playa Grande and they would not let us past the gate and said the salesman were gone for the day. the next time we took a cab and said we were there for a presentation. Once we got in they told us no one was there. I demanded we see someone. They let us talk to a secretary and she confirmed what we were told in the closing was true. When we got home I called a third party company and asked questions, this is where they made the contract too good to refuse. We thought we had one week every odd year with Playa Grande with 830 maintenance fees and 3 weeks with Lifestyle Collections, with no maintenance fees. Lifestyle would put in 850 in an account for us which would offset the maintenance fees from Playa Grande. When I questioned Paul about this he said: What is it that you are not understanding! Paul also gave us a 3000 gift card to go anywhere in the next year. When I called Lifestyle Collections they told me the $$ was only points you could use towards a vacation. I called my bank and cancelled the transaction. I talked to Mauricio Pinasoria at Playa Grande and he said the sales people will be fired!! He would help me and call me back on Monday. That was three months ago. I wrote a letter to cancel my timeshare. I filed a complaint with Perfeco, my Attorney General, FTC and Resort Owners.
My bank US Bank returned our money. After an investigation and the lies from Playa Grande it is back on our credit card. They are doing another investigation. Should hear soon. This was only our second time traveling with Welk. I just joined TUG. Thank you for your help.