Vida Vacations & Grand Mayan lies

I am also a Grand Mayan member waiting to see the Grand Mayan open at Puerto Penasco. My question is simple.

WHEN WILL I BE ABLE TO RESERVE MY 2 BEDROOM GRAND MAYAN UNIT AT PUERTO PENASCO?

Don't hold your breath. Penasco is low on the Mayan food chain. They're spending all the money in Puerto Vallarta and Cancun. Penasco is a spectacular property but I don't think it generates much so it's just maintained.

wallaced8 wrote:

I am also a Grand Mayan member waiting to see the Grand Mayan open at Puerto Penasco. My question is simple.

WHEN WILL I BE ABLE TO RESERVE MY 2 BEDROOM GRAND MAYAN UNIT AT PUERTO PENASCO?

My friend and I bought last year in Cancun, plain and simple we got screwed! We kept saying no, no, no. We already had a program at Palladium and were still paying on it. They were relentless, kept going on and on about a guaranteed rental program. Eventually they put us on the phone with one of brokers from a list they have, we spoke to a person at Global Golf and they assured us of the huge rental demand for Mayan weeks, he said we would have a check within the first three weeks of Jan. 2014. Then he went on to assure us that they would have absolutely no trouble selling our Palladium program. Because of these assurances we decided to go ahead and spend $13,500, this was the price after the phony credit they gave us for our Palladium program and rental credit.

Another part of the deception was the opening price was $50,000, turns out this was an inflated price. The scam is they discounted the price and gave us rental credit, giving the false impression that there is a huge demand for rental weeks (this really helped convince us) then they gave equity credit for the Palladium, there were some other credits which we can't remember but in the end we paid $13,500. I repeat we would have kept saying no, but having an "independent broker" begging us for weeks he so desperately needed was the tipping point for us. When we got back to our room and the broker called us anxious to sign us up which made us feel like there was a genuine need for rental weeks and we signed up.

We have tried to settle this offline but the Mayan refuses because we have decided to use a third party. After what they did to us can anyone blame us. They are masters of deception and we need someone who has more knowledge of the situation. BTW there is nothing in the contract that states we cannot retain assistance. They rely on the contract when we complain about the bogus rental/resale scam, they say you shouldn't have bought for rental/resale even though they put us on the phone with a broker......astonishing. We understand that if we take it upon ourselves and seek out rental brokers and get no results that's our fault. But the Mayan colludes with brokers as we mentioned then they stand there with their hands up saying they have no responsibility here.

We have the absolute legal right to seek assistance, they are accustomed to taking advantage of unsuspecting consumers and we are just trying to level the playing field and get someone who know what they're talking about.

We will continue to spread our story until this situation is resolved.

Deb & Sara

There are NO brokers!!

Exactly, there are no brokers, there never was, it was just a list of companies disguised as brokers all they did was collect sign up fees and never rented anything. So I guess your right Dave. Do you think they did away with the list because it was successful? The list went away because it was a big scam, it NEVER worked. It was simply there to enable the investment pitch.

It was there when we bought, it's all they talked about.....put us on the phone with one of them. The internet is full of people who are expecting results from the list. I can post our copy of it if you would like?

If they don't use that broker list on us there's no way we would have bought. We trusted them and they screwed us, plain and simple. And putting us on the phone with the broker was a real dirty trick.

Not sure where you're coming from Dave? If Vida is cleaning up their pitch going forward, that's great, they have a world class use product. My problem is I really couldn't afford it still can't. It has caused a real hardship, they deceived us big time.

Let me know if you need to see the broker list, I'll be happy to post it.

Deb

davep210 wrote:

There are NO brokers!!

Of course the brokers were in on the scam. The brokers attend the morning sales meetings and offer the reps a cash award for referrals. Total cahoots.

Unsuspecting consumers don't have a chance. The sales manages would design the pitch and the brokers would do as they were told to support the pitch. Then after the Member figures out its all BS the 5 days is long past, and Vida Corp. Mgmt. claims no responsibility. Their position is, you were stupid enough to believe their sales team then you get what you deserve.

If this happened to you contact: info@mexicantimeshare.com

Vida Vacations is playing dirty, dirty tricks to screw people out of their hard earned money. It's such a well orchestrated scam it's no wonder they have such a notorious reputation. They scammed me out of $8,500!

I already owned a timeshare at The Marriott in FL and told them I couldn't use two. They offered me $19,800 credit to take the Marriott off my hands, I kept telling the no. Then a manager comes over and offers to give back the Marriott and still apply the $19,800 credit. I should have smelled a rat right there. The manager goes on to say that I could sell the Marriott and then the Vida weeks would "be a wash" (his words). I told him I had already tried to sell it and the resale market was terrible.

He said the brokers they use for rental and resale could easily sell it because they sell them to Mexican families trying to get US travel visas. With deeded US property they would be assured to be approved for a travel visa. I still wouldn't buy. That's when the manager put me on the phone with one of the brokers on the list.

The broker guaranteed to sell the Marriott in no more then 90 days repeating the story about the travel visas, in fact he said he had people waiting for central FL properties because it is close to Disney.

The story made a lot of sense and I bought....turns out it was non-sense! I just never thought that this huge company who touts their partnerships with Cirque du Soleil, Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman would need to sell like that or be allowed to sell like that. Based on reading the reviews (which I should have done beforehand), its condoned by ownership....it has to be, its been going on for years.

I will be contacting the US Embassy in Mexico and Washington to inform them of this scheme. As well as sending my experience to the three "partners" mention.

I have never used any weeks and the broker still hasn't sold my Marriott or rented the weeks they also promised to rent. The broker recently called to upsell into a premium plan...this after they did absolutely nothing they promised. Thanks for the recommendation Vida!

I want a REFUND!!!

Nadine

dear Nadianet 14: just chalk this up to 1 more really super hustle, PT Barnum was right in saying a sucker is born every minute. All you can do is keep on being a pain in there side. It will give you some relief.

You Bet! I may not get a refund but I guarantee brining the story of their dirty tricks to public awareness will cost them at least $8,500. If you've ever been to any of their resorts they have spent soooo much money, it really never occurred to me it was all part of the scam. They are absolute professionals at deception.

Nadine

Here's an update with the Mayan Empire: They are now telling us with whom we may associate with. First they tell us a bucket full of lies, the two recommendations they gave us from the rental list ($1,100 in fees) were just backing up their lies. So we find someone who IS telling us the truth and NOT charging ANYTHING until they produce and they refuse to deal with them.

So the moral of the Mayan story is listen to their lies or anyone whom they recommend and you'll be fine. But if you challenge their deceptive sales practice WITH PROOF they just babble about how you need to learn to enjoy a product they had to lie about to get you to buy. And if you decide to tell the world about what they did to you they threaten you with defamation. If we were lying we would be concerned.

I know they have many happy owners who bought for the right reasons. We bought for the wrong reasons because we were lied to. Should we have realized they were taking advantage of our trust? I don't think so, with the level of collusion they employ they deceive masses of unsuspecting consumers, its an unfair advantage .Especially when they incorporate partnerships with Cirque du Soleil, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman and put rental brokers on the phone to further their scam.

They reply to us touting their legitimacy, well legitimacy is not subjective. You can't claim to be legitimate when you allow your sales teams to do what they do or have done. You can't have it both ways, you can't just tell the truth some of the time and claim to be legit. If you allow your sales teams to lie and upon discovery you do nothing, or worse cover it up, your claim of legitimacy is yet another lie. Its a vicious circle and we are stuck in the middle.

Deb & Sara

My husband, myself, sister and my brother in-law were deceived into buying something we can't use. All four of us took the presentation at the Grand Mayan in Cabo we made it clear we always vacation together and needed a 2 bedroom with a kitchen.

What we wound up with was a hotel unit and 50 HSI breakaway weeks. You can see by the floor plan attached how they deceived us.

When they made the circle their exact word were "this is what you get".

After we finished paying our downpayment I called to make a reservation that's when I was told I would have to use breakaway weeks to get a 2 bedroom, but I could not use breakaways at any Grand Mayan we would have to exchange to another resort. We bought it to use there!!

Trying to make the best of it we remembered the Vida sales rep making a big deal on how easy it is to rent out the weeks through brokers that their members use. I couldn't find the list in my paperwork so I called back customer service and they sent me a list of brokers.

As you can see there are four on the list, so I wanted to see who was the best. Upon looking them up online, one was worse then the other.

Knowing I was feeling ripped off they send me a list of scammers. Unbelievable!!! Obviously I didn't use them so now I'm stuck and The Grand Mayan says there's nothing can do.

I urge The Grand Mayan to do the right thing.

Mary M

We're back.....sorry to bother you all with our sad story but we won't let Vida do what they did and just say ....too bad, so sad.

The bottom-line here is we kept saying no. Then they put us on the phone with a Rental Broker from a list they provide who proceeds to tell us he has tons people waiting to rent the type of unit they we're trying to sell us (how convenient) .....the broker literally begged us to buy so we could list weeks with them. He also guaranteed to resell our other timeshare. We believed and trusted what we were hearing based on the magnitude of the project, we couldn't imagine whoever built it would allow such deception. We were wrong!

Yes we know we are way past the 5 days. That's the beauty of their scam....you don't realize until it too late. What's even better Ownership/Corporate Mgmt backs up the pitch.

I almost forgot, after a year of not renting any weeks or reselling our other timeshare the broker who we listed with had the nerve to call us and ask for more money....this really happened!! They said "oh...you don't have our premium plan if you really want it taken care of give us another $150". We didn't find this broker on our own, as I said they were working hand-in-hand with Vida sales.

I am I the only one this has happened to? I doubt it!

Deb & Sara

Whatever you do don't fall for the phony attorney scam. There's a scammer in the forum claiming a law firm he knows can get you out of your timeshare in Mexico. I went to battle with him exposing his scam but he continues to hawk his scam. NEVER pay anyone money upfront that claims they can get you out of your timeshare. You will just end up losing more money to the scammers.

Oh yeah, no more upfront fee for us. We actually found someone who's guiding us and providing invaluable help. They work on contingency so we won't get screwed again. We spent over $1,000 on brokers from Vida's list. And all they can do is bad mouth the service I'm using. They don't dispute what they say, they just don't like how they say it.

If you use the Vida provided list and lose money they're ok with that. But if you try and get unscrewed....oh no, no, no.

They're trying to clean up but, like what's happening to Bill Cosby.....the skeletons eventually will come out.

Thanks for your comment, Deb

donp196 wrote:

Whatever you do don't fall for the phony attorney scam. There's a scammer in the forum claiming a law firm he knows can get you out of your timeshare in Mexico. I went to battle with him exposing his scam but he continues to hawk his scam. NEVER pay anyone money upfront that claims they can get you out of your timeshare. You will just end up losing more money to the scammers.

It's been over a month and Vida is just giving me the run around. I have proof I was lied to and they ignore facts.

I'm telling the truth and will testify that I was lied to. You're punishing me for the lies your sales rep told me.

I have been told to learn to use the product but I intended to use it as the salesman sold it......rental. I can't travel and I knew it then. If I knew I could only use and not rent it I would not have purchased in the first place. It's not fair, I trusted you.

Christie R

Deb and Sara:

Did you find an rental agent that charges commission only when the property is rented? Any positive results? Are you willing to share their business contact information?

I , like many others here have not found any reliable rental agent.

Thanks for your consideration.

debh151 wrote:

Here's an update with the Mayan Empire: They are now telling us with whom we may associate with. First they tell us a bucket full of lies, the two recommendations they gave us from the rental list ($1,100 in fees) were just backing up their lies. So we find someone who IS telling us the truth and NOT charging ANYTHING until they produce and they refuse to deal with them.

So the moral of the Mayan story is listen to their lies or anyone whom they recommend and you'll be fine. But if you challenge their deceptive sales practice WITH PROOF they just babble about how you need to learn to enjoy a product they had to lie about to get you to buy. And if you decide to tell the world about what they did to you they threaten you with defamation. If we were lying we would be concerned.

I know they have many happy owners who bought for the right reasons. We bought for the wrong reasons because we were lied to. Should we have realized they were taking advantage of our trust? I don't think so, with the level of collusion they employ they deceive masses of unsuspecting consumers, its an unfair advantage .Especially when they incorporate partnerships with Cirque du Soleil, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman and put rental brokers on the phone to further their scam.

They reply to us touting their legitimacy, well legitimacy is not subjective. You can't claim to be legitimate when you allow your sales teams to do what they do or have done. You can't have it both ways, you can't just tell the truth some of the time and claim to be legit. If you allow your sales teams to lie and upon discovery you do nothing, or worse cover it up, your claim of legitimacy is yet another lie. Its a vicious circle and we are stuck in the middle.

Deb & Sara

I am not trying to post any add in your Forum. I was tryiung to exchange information with other users of legitimate and honest business.

Is your Forum dedicated only to unveil Thieves?.

Hi Conrad, No sadly we like many other have discovered that the rental The Mayan promised was a fantasy.....just a pack of lies to induce us, and many, many others. TOTAL SCAM!

We've stopped wasting our time chasing the rental benefit...what we did was decide to call the Mayan to task for their duplicitous tactics and attempt to cancel our contract. We found mexicantimeshare.com and they work with us to encourage the Mayan to act consistently with the brand they are trying to communicate. These guys really know their stuff, the Mayans position is to ignore us but we will make sure the Mayan receives the negative attention for allowing this to go on and do nothing to rectify an obvious wrong. And they work on a contingency basis. Deb

conradod wrote:

I am not trying to post any add in your Forum. I was tryiung to exchange information with other users of legitimate and honest business.

Is your Forum dedicated only to unveil Thieves?.

Well if the shoe fits.....but we're just trying to get the Mayan to do the right thing and this is a powerful tool. Just excising free speech and these forums cast a large net.

Renting timeshare in Mexico is an uphill battle, way too much inventory available those who are lucky enough to rent find hit hard to break even on the m/f's. Look at the Mayan properties......hands down the most complete resorts in Mexico, but they sold rental for years now there's a huge glut of inventory .....basic economics.

The Deed: If you think you own a deeded interval of time with Vida Vacations you're sadly mistaken.

What they explain is that you can upgrade to their PRC program, which has a deed...perpetuity, whatever they may say. The deed recording sales shows in Recitals (Company declares) is in fact deeded to the developer, who then divides that deed into one week intervals and packages them. Make no mistake that is the developer’s deed....not yours! You will never receive an actual deed as you would in the US. If it was deeded you would have visited a Public Notary, and sign "the book" which is law in Mexico with all deeded property.

Vida Vacations sells "right-to-use" (RTU), unless you actually purchase a condo outright. Clause 1 of recitals explains this clearly. You may trade-in the RTU contract to purchase a deeded property, which means you need to spend a lot more money, the RTU equity that you would use to buy a condo cannot exceed 20% of the purchase price. Which means you'll pay 80% of the asking price. If you have a $150,000 RTU equity and you want to buy a $400,000 condo you would only be able to apply $80,000 of your equity.

But there's a chance sales will inflate the sticker price as they do with the timeshare, in which case you will pay close to full price for the condo and effectively receive little or nothing for what you trade in.

This is done with full knowledge of Corporate Management as well as Ownership. It is viewed as creative selling, although those who are on the receiving end of the scheme don’t see it that way.

If you bought and none of what I mention were factors you have a great product.

Ms. Rose I urge you to reconsider.

JW