Resorts International Marketing Scam

[djaco99]

I purchased an "investment" timeshare from Sunset Lagoon in Cancun Mexico (yes, I now know the Sunset Group is notorious for timeshare fraud - but that's another topic) and I was told that I must pay Resorts International $549 to market it as a rental in order to receive guaranteed $6800 rental income for '05 and '06 and $10,000 for the sale of my current timeshare. This money was to be paid to me by Resorts International.

I paid Resorts International $549 on 10/11/05 and received a contract to sign on 11/23/05. The date on the contract was 11/17 and it says I had 21 days (until 12/14) to cancel and receive a refund. By 11/23 I learned that I had been scammed by Sunset Lagoon and Resorts International as both companies refused to honor the "guarantee".

I requested cancellation and refund from Resorts International on 11/27 and they did not respond. I have since made 9 additional requests via phone, fax and email with no success. They give all kinds of excuses, and some reps get very irate. Their President Phaedra Almstead as General Manager Diane Peterson do not return calls and Customer Service reps refuse to give their real names. One obvious Mexican rep said his name was "Leroy Johnson".

Resorts International Marketing (website: vacationweeks.com) is a US partner in Mexican timeshare fraud and this company needs to be exposed for the crooks they are.

 

[Dave M]

If you paid by credit card, dispute the charge. As support, send the credit card company a copy of the contract with the cancellation provision highlighted, along with proof of cancellation - copies of e-mails, your fax and, particularly, any post office receipts you might have for mailings to them.

 

[djaco99]

If you paid by credit card, dispute the charge. As support, send the credit card company a copy of the contract with the cancellation provision highlighted, along with proof of cancellation - copies of e-mails, your fax and, particularly, any post office receipts you might have for mailings to them.

I paid with Discover card, and according to terms posted on their website I can only dispute for 60 days following the charge. It has now been about 90 days, but I'm going to send them a dispute anyway. If Resorts International hadn't strung me along for a month (telling me over the phone "no problem with a refund" and then when I call to check the status they say "management has to discuss it" or "we cannot find your request", etc...), I would have gotten the dispute in on time. They're clever thieves - by sending the contract way after the money is paid (nearly 8 weeks before I got it), they eat up credit card dispute time. Thanks for mentioning this - I will call Discover today!

 

[Dave M]

Although it's unlikely, you might still have a chance to fit within Discover's dispute timing guidelines. The actual rule, as required by federal law is that you have until 60 days from the date Discover mailed your statement to you to dispute the charge.

Assume the charge on 10/11 actually went through to Discover on that date, but it might not have. Also assume, in a perfect world, that the charge hit your card one day after your statement date of 10/10. Thus, if your next statement date, with this charge on it, was as of 11/10, it likely would have been mailed to you on or about 11/17. You would have 60 days after that mailing date, until 1/16/06, to dispute the charge. Your letter must be in Discover's hands by that date to take advantage of the federal protection.

So get busy and look at all of the dates, just in case. You might not be able to tell exactly when your statement was mailed, but you can make a good guess.

 

[djaco99]

Thanks for the information. The charge did appear on Nov statement, and I think they mail statements around the 9th. I went ahead and sent them a letter to formally dispute the charge right after I read your 1st reply. I think I may have just squeaked by with the date thing. Regardless, I explained why I couldn't dispute earlier (because I didn't even receive the contract from RIMC until Nov 23, and have been playing their "waiting game" ever since). Hopefully, they will understand and help me out.

I really appreciate your reply to my post. Thanks so much for the advice

 

[djaco99]

Resorts International Latest Correspondence

I received an email from Resorts International yesterday, in response to one of my many requests to check the status of my refund request (sent Jan 2). They are saying that they cannot refund my money because I didn't request cancellation/refund before the cancellation date of Dec 8. Although I started requesting cancellation on Nov 27, they don't bother to acknowledge this. They also say that they are aggressively marketing my timeshare now (even though I never signed the contract), even though I have told them many times (beginning 11/27) that I have pending complaints of fraud against Sunset Lagoon and have no desire to market it through RIMC.

Since I have gotten no where with this scumbag company, I have sent formal complaints to the FTC, Broward County Consumer Affairs, the BBB of Southern FL, the NC Attorney General's Office and FL Attorney General's Office. The BBB has assigned a caseworker and they have sent my complaint on to Resorts International. I also sent a dispute to my credit card company.

Is there anything else I can do to get my money back from this company? I think since I paid them on 10/11/05 and they didn't even show me a contract until 11/27/05, that they illegally charged me for something that I didn't have. Isn't there a law that says you cannot be charged for an item until it ships?

 

[rickandcindy23]

Yes, I would write an article to Timesharing Today and shame them into a refund.

Timesharing Today will publish the article if you can be specific about the promises that they made to you and the problems you have had with them. I have seen companies change their stance via TST articles. It is worth a shot. I think embarrassing a company is a good way to get even, so if they don't give back the money, at least others have been warned.

You could contact a news station that helps consumers as well. We have a few local resources for that in Denver.

Good luck. Sorry that this happened to you.

 

[california-bighorn]

djaco99, was any of this writing? If so, I would think PROFECTO (or something like that) would take up take up your case.
We almost got into a situation like yours with Mayan Palace. They were going to guarantee rentals at an outragous amount and give us $10,000 in trade for a timeshare we paid $350 for. All this was on the "work sheet" that we initialed. When the typed contract come out for our signatures, these provisions were omitted. When we pointed that out, they said that was normal and to just trust them. They tried to enforce the sell by saying our initials on the work sheet were legal and binding. By this time they already had my credit card and charged a down-payment to the card. They refused to give us a copy of the work sheet. After contacting their member services department and the credit card company everything was refunded.
Hope you too have a satisfactory resolution.
Marty

 

[djaco99]

Fighting against Timeshare Fraud

Thanks Cindy and Marty for your advice and information. Yes, all of this is in writing and I will certainly contact Timesharing Today ASAP. I really appreciate this information - I didn't know about them.

We have sent formal complaints to Profeco, econsumer.gov, the BBB of Southern FL (RIMC), Broward County Consumer Affairs (RIMC), Dade County Consumer Affairs (Sunset), Atty Gen of FL and NC (for both companies), and some online complaint sites. Someone who posted to another thread I started suggested I post to thesqueakywheel.com. This company creates a web page for each complaint and every time someone views it, an email is sent to the company. My postings are here: Sunset Lagoon and
Resorts International Marketing.

In addition, I have started a blog to tell my story and (hopefully) help other victims as well - Sunset Lagoon Ripoff

 

[LynnW]

This would not be the same company as Resort Systems International would it? They were working with Playa del Sol Grand in NV and were promising that they could sell any other timeshares you own for much inflated prices if you bought at Playa del Sol Grand. We knew it was a scam as soon as they told us the prices they could sell them for.

Lynn

 

[Jestjoan]

The Resorts International Marketing link isn't working but the other two are.

Good luck.

 

[djaco99]

Fixed Link - Resorts International

Thanks for your replies. I have fixed the links to my Resorts International Marketing complaint.

I don't know if RIMC used to be known under another name. From what I can tell, they have not been in business under this name for very long. I found a complaints and an investigation by FTC for a company called Resorts International Unlimited - VA. I don't know if this is the same company or not, but I have my suspicions. Resorts International Unlimited was under investigation by the FTC for participating in timeshare fraud and is no longer in business. I have a feeling they changed their name and moved to FL, although I cannot confirm this. Either way, they are BAD NEWS!

 

[Carolinian]

You might also want to write this up for www.crimeshare.org

 

[LynnW]

Sounds like it might be the same company. The salesman at Playa del Sol Grand told us that Resort Systems International was located in Virginia Beach.

Lynn

 

[tugmeup]

VacationWeeks Scammers on the loose...

I too was pressured into paying $549 for Resorts International Marketing Corp. to advertise 3 weeks on their vacationweeks.com site and in magazines.

The contract arrived late and the 2-week refund date had long passed. They also misrepresented the size of the property. Larry Peters the sales guru for RIMC said I would get $3000 for each week. Yeah right!

I talked to those maggots at RIMC for months and finally blew up and filed a complaint against them with the Better Business Bureau and the Flordida Attorney General's office. RIMC sent a letter telling the BBB that my refund was being processed.

Since then they lie, stall, and hang up on me. The Attorney General sent a letter saying they closed the case as "unfavorable by RIMC". Great! Wheres my money?

Sheesh.

 

[WHATASCAM]

Phaedra Operating Under New Name!!!

http://www.luxuryresortmanagement.com/

THIS IS HER NEW COMPANY WITH HER MOTHER BARBARA MCVAY!!!!

RESORT ADVERTISING NETWORK, LLC

http://www.sunbiz.org/scripts/corde...t_princ_comp_name=MCVAYBARBAR&ret_princ_type=

 

[judy23]

I used Pheadra when it was resorts international on the reccomendation of the sales people at the Grand Mayan for a rental and it turned out to be friutless. Resorts international was their number 1 pick at the time.MMMMMMMMMMM

 

[gorevs9]

I used Pheadra when it was resorts international on the reccomendation of the sales people at the Grand Mayan for a rental and it turned out to be friutless. Resorts international was their number 1 pick at the time.MMMMMMMMMMM

I'm don't know of any details, but this person has also posted the info in several threads on the Redweek forum.

 

[WHATASCAM]

Press Release Everyone Should Know About!!!

http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200904/1240990915.html

The scam needs to end... There needs to be some justice!

 

[judy23]

gorevs9,
I have never posted in a redweek forum,but what's your point?? I am sharing my experience just like everyone else here. The Grand Mayan sales people told us they had a relationship with resorts international, specifically Pheadra. They gave me her name and number to call.

 

[WHATASCAM]

Mayan Palace IN ON THE DEAL

This is how it works:

Mayan Palace sales people/managers can pick any Rental Company they want. Phaedra and her mother Barbara McVay and the Almstead family have relationships with people all over the Mexican Timeshare Scam Industry. Sunset Group, Mayan Palace, and more. Phaedra Almstead and Larry Peters (many aliases), make deals with the individual salespeople at the Mayan Palace to give them a kick back on the fee that a client pays to Phaedra.

So when someone is buying at the Mayan Palace, and the salesperson tells this unsuspecting victim that there purchase will be an "INVESTMENT" if they list it with a rental company, the are only giving them the name of Phaedras company, now luxury resort management, formerly resorts international marketing, they are making money off the deal.

EVERYONE involved knows that there is absolutely NO rental market, the weeks will never get rented.. EVERYONE IS LYING!!!!!

 

[gorevs9]

gorevs9,
I have never posted in a redweek forum,but what's your point?? I am sharing my experience just like everyone else here. The Grand Mayan sales people told us they had a relationship with resorts international, specifically Pheadra. They gave me her name and number to call.

Sorry Judy, I "quoted" the wrong poster. I wanted to quote the original poster and since the OP posted it a few times in different threads on the RedWeek site I wanted to direct anyone there in case there was any amplifying information. I aplogize for the confusion.

 

[xiaoy6]

I had the same experience. Can you let me know their email address? I sent email to customerservice@vacationweeks.com but can't be delivered.

Thanks a lot