Sarah Lane
newbie
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2021
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 6
- Resorts Owned
- Vidanta Mayan Palace
Please help, I'm still hoping that there is some way to get myself out of this financial mess.
I recently visited Vidanta Riviera Maya for the first time with my mother for her birthday in August. We had previously gone to the Puerto Vallarta location through her membership with RCI and she decided to trade in her older timeshares to buy into the Mayan Palace (we did not have a significant out of pocket expense due to trade over). During this recent trip, they pressured us for an "update" presentation and informed us that we would be able to upgrade from a studio to a 1bd for a 2014 price since we apparently got a "founding member contract" in our initial purchase.
We spent over 6 hours there with a fast talking and high pressure salesmen who ended up offering a deal for us to get a 2bd at a 1bd price with equity under a Grand Luxxe contract while keeping our original Mayan Palace contract. The cost for this ended up landing at close to $135K after starting out at close to $400K (our original Mayan Palace contract also gave us equity which we used against this albeit a small amount). He also threw in the "expensive perk package" for existing and future parks, etc for free.
I'm a young person who knows nothing about these dealings but my mother was convinced it was a good deal and we decided to move ahead with the intention that this would be an investment -- the salesperson also pushed that narrative showing us various screenshots on VRBO and Airbnb sharing stories of people generating additional income with ease. I was very clear with him about my finances being tight (I'm in my late 20s, live in a major city, and have hefty school loans) with a recent significant loss in the family and funeral expenses. He continued to quell my fears stating that I would be able to look into a vacation ownership program via Capital One (my home bank) which his clients had had success with as well as have the option to get a 30 year mortgage (again I know nothing about mortgages). He also signed me up for a Barclays card. We decided to move forward albeit with a lot of hesitation on 8/30/2021 with the expectation that I would be able to get financing that would allow me to have a low monthly payment and extended payback period. It was only upon returning home that I contacted the supposed program at Capital One that I discovered it was not in existence AND that most banks don't offer fractional mortgages! Hence, I'm locked in to Vidanta's terrible financing.
We were never told anything about the 5-day cancelation policy and truthfully I am still searching for it in my contract. I contacted Member Services this week to tell them I wanted to rescind and they were firm and clear that is stated in our contract and we were recorded saying that we understood everything in our contract. Member Services basically told me that I'm past the window to rescind and that I'm legally responsible for the downpayment (I paid around $4K out of my savings there and but $8K on a credit card which is now almost at it's limit!) which I still owe around $20K on and VCM - their financing company is already reaching out about auto deducting payments upwards of a thousand dollars starting next week! According to them, I'm also legally responsible for paying up to 70% of the cover page value of the contract which is to the tune of over $84K! I begged and pleaded that this is not something I cannot afford and he is going to "speak to the office" to see what can be done. The salesperson, who I contacted around the same time, is conveniently forgetting who my mother and I are after promising to be a resource for us upon getting home and is denying ever having the mortgage conversation with me. He's also supposedly seeing we the office can do. Both are saying it's out of their hands.
This is an absolute NIGHTMARE. I have so much anxiety and stress and not sure what I can do now, I'm honestly on the verge of a breakdown. My credit score has dropped significantly due my high credit card balance thanks to some of the down payment and now it looks like I'm locked in with no idea how to pay. Does anyone have any advice on how I can get out of this with the least amount of financial responsibility or resources that could help me?
I recently visited Vidanta Riviera Maya for the first time with my mother for her birthday in August. We had previously gone to the Puerto Vallarta location through her membership with RCI and she decided to trade in her older timeshares to buy into the Mayan Palace (we did not have a significant out of pocket expense due to trade over). During this recent trip, they pressured us for an "update" presentation and informed us that we would be able to upgrade from a studio to a 1bd for a 2014 price since we apparently got a "founding member contract" in our initial purchase.
We spent over 6 hours there with a fast talking and high pressure salesmen who ended up offering a deal for us to get a 2bd at a 1bd price with equity under a Grand Luxxe contract while keeping our original Mayan Palace contract. The cost for this ended up landing at close to $135K after starting out at close to $400K (our original Mayan Palace contract also gave us equity which we used against this albeit a small amount). He also threw in the "expensive perk package" for existing and future parks, etc for free.
I'm a young person who knows nothing about these dealings but my mother was convinced it was a good deal and we decided to move ahead with the intention that this would be an investment -- the salesperson also pushed that narrative showing us various screenshots on VRBO and Airbnb sharing stories of people generating additional income with ease. I was very clear with him about my finances being tight (I'm in my late 20s, live in a major city, and have hefty school loans) with a recent significant loss in the family and funeral expenses. He continued to quell my fears stating that I would be able to look into a vacation ownership program via Capital One (my home bank) which his clients had had success with as well as have the option to get a 30 year mortgage (again I know nothing about mortgages). He also signed me up for a Barclays card. We decided to move forward albeit with a lot of hesitation on 8/30/2021 with the expectation that I would be able to get financing that would allow me to have a low monthly payment and extended payback period. It was only upon returning home that I contacted the supposed program at Capital One that I discovered it was not in existence AND that most banks don't offer fractional mortgages! Hence, I'm locked in to Vidanta's terrible financing.
We were never told anything about the 5-day cancelation policy and truthfully I am still searching for it in my contract. I contacted Member Services this week to tell them I wanted to rescind and they were firm and clear that is stated in our contract and we were recorded saying that we understood everything in our contract. Member Services basically told me that I'm past the window to rescind and that I'm legally responsible for the downpayment (I paid around $4K out of my savings there and but $8K on a credit card which is now almost at it's limit!) which I still owe around $20K on and VCM - their financing company is already reaching out about auto deducting payments upwards of a thousand dollars starting next week! According to them, I'm also legally responsible for paying up to 70% of the cover page value of the contract which is to the tune of over $84K! I begged and pleaded that this is not something I cannot afford and he is going to "speak to the office" to see what can be done. The salesperson, who I contacted around the same time, is conveniently forgetting who my mother and I are after promising to be a resource for us upon getting home and is denying ever having the mortgage conversation with me. He's also supposedly seeing we the office can do. Both are saying it's out of their hands.
This is an absolute NIGHTMARE. I have so much anxiety and stress and not sure what I can do now, I'm honestly on the verge of a breakdown. My credit score has dropped significantly due my high credit card balance thanks to some of the down payment and now it looks like I'm locked in with no idea how to pay. Does anyone have any advice on how I can get out of this with the least amount of financial responsibility or resources that could help me?
