Vida Vacations & Grand Mayan lies

Good for you! What credit card company? Since we got taken years ago there is probably nothing we can do. If anyone hears of an attorney in Mexico that is willing to take them on, let us know!

larab36 wrote:

WE WON BACK OUR MONEY!!!!!!!!!

I just wanted to let you know, we won our dispute against VIDA, and this is how we did it. We had already put our deposit down and were 1 month into our fees (about 3 months into our contract). We started a dispute with our credit card company and blocked any further charges from VIDA. We lost the initial dispute because they provided our signed contract. But then the credit card company gave us an opportunity to CONTEST THE CHARGES AFTER LOSING THE DISPUTE. We wrote in an-depth response of how fraudulent VIDA is, citing the number of websites/forums talking about how scam-worthy they are and our experience with not being able to travel outside of Mexico, not being able to use our VIDA dollars for travel as promised, how they would turn off the recording every time we asked a question, etc. And OUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY REFUNDED ALL OF OUR MONEY!!!! No joke. Every last dime. The kicker is that our credit card company is the one that took the hit, since VIDA still got to keep our deposit. However, I am hoping this put a major red flag on Vida's name for any one else using our credit card company!!

Lance C., I have read several of your posts so feel I can pose the direct question: If you bought into a Vidanta contract for lodging and services, what happens if you just stop paying on the outstanding cash balance? I am willing to lose my down payment to just get out of the mistake I made. Can this default (since it was a loan of sorts from what looks like a Mexican bank) affect your credit in the US? Any idea what you would run in to if you travel to Mexico again? No offense, but how do you know for sure (is it related to the RTU contract really not being for property?)?

I appreciate all the input about not using a third party to 'sell' an existing timeshare. Vidanta pointed us to TRM. Contract language is confusing and of course they want a lot of money up front. Also, the TRM person said they had a contract with Vidanta to sell timeshares, which is of course NOT what we were told (though it doesn't really matter). There have been a number of inconsistencies with what we were told AND given on paper verses what our experience has been.

Thanks!

Joe G., did you ever find out for sure what the result of discontinuing payment would be?

national, international and state timeshare laws and strict regulations are not easily found. THEY ARE ESSENTIAL TO STOP THE FRAUD AND THIEVERY OF VERY MANY TIMESHARES COMPANIES. CONTACT YOUR STATE AND NATIONAL LEGISLATORS AND DEMAND THAT STRINGENT TIMESHARE LAWS MUST BE ENACTED AND STRICTLY ENFORCED.

CHECK THE MANHATTAN CLUB LAWSUIT FORUM ON REDWEEK.COM. I OWN AT THIS FRAUDULENT TIMESHARE, THE MANHATTAN FRAUD CLUB.

ALL DEFRAUDED TIMESHARE OWNERS CERTAINLY NEED LEGAL REPRESENTATION, BUT UNLESS STRINGENT LAWS ARE ENACTED AND ENFORCED, WE OWNERS OF FRAUDULENT TIMESHARE COMPANY ACTIONS ARE STUCK AS ARE MOST ATTORNEYS WHO TRY SO DILIGENTLY TO LITIGATE IN OWNERS' FAVORS. THEIR HANDS ARE TIED BY LACK OF TIMESHARE LEGISLATION. ACT NOW IN OUR OWN BEHALF:

CONTACT YOUR APPROPRIATE LEGISLATORS. THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE TIMESHARE INDUSTRY IS IN DIRE NEED OF DEEP CLEANSING. LET'S ELIMINATE THE SCUM, AND ALL THE NECESSARY COMPLAINTS LODGED AGAINST THESE UNSCRUPULOUS TIMESHARE ENTITIES. MANY OF THEIR PRINCIPALS BELONG BEHIND BARS. PROPER AND ENFORCED LEGISLATION CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN.

jce4 wrote:

Lance C....what happens if you just stop paying on the outstanding cash balance? I am willing to lose my down payment to just get out of the mistake I made. Can this default (since it was a loan of sorts from what looks like a Mexican bank) affect your credit in the US? Any idea what you would run in to if you travel to Mexico again?

It would not affect your travel to Mexico. Since most of these are Right-to-uses (RTU), you would likely just lose the down payments you have already put into it. If you stop paying, you will likely face a bunch of collection calls and letters but you can probably just ignore them.

I do not know exactly what would happen to your credit rating in the US.

Thanks!!

Jc E, My wife and I did a ton of googling and we found a lot of opinions out there and some, what seems to be, good information. Our own conclusion is that there isn’t anything they can do. They could report to the 3 credit agencies if they were registered but registration is not an easy process. Much like if I lent you $50 and you didn’t pay me I can’t go to Trans Union and report you. There is a process they would need to go through. Nothing says that they haven’t so it is a risk I am taking but if it does hit my report then I’ll use a credit repair firm to clear it. This is a good site where I found some info that is comforting. Some people put their rude comments in there but if you can read past that then you might find some comfort.

https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/is-ones-credit-rating-affected-by-defaulting-on-a-mexican-timeshare-purchase.273714/page-2

My biggest concern with the right to use was that my current time share didn’t sell like they adamantly proposed that they would. I know it was through a different company but as I sat there I believed it would work out. I wish I hadn’t been so gullible. Super disappointed that I let so much money go to waste.

jce4 wrote:

Joe G., did you ever find out for sure what the result of discontinuing payment would be?

I would be very interested in joining in on any effort to cancel our Vida contract & get our money back. There were so many things they liked about & continue to do so. Please advise

national, international and state timeshare laws and strict regulations are not easily found. THEY ARE ESSENTIAL TO STOP THE FRAUD AND THIEVERY OF VERY MANY TIMESHARES COMPANIES. CONTACT YOUR STATE AND NATIONAL LEGISLATORS AND DEMAND THAT STRINGENT TIMESHARE LAWS MUST BE ENACTED AND STRICTLY ENFORCED.

CHECK THE MANHATTAN CLUB LAWSUIT FORUM ON REDWEEK.COM. I OWN AT THIS FRAUDULENT TIMESHARE, THE MANHATTAN FRAUD CLUB.

ALL DEFRAUDED TIMESHARE OWNERS CERTAINLY NEED LEGAL REPRESENTATION, BUT UNLESS STRINGENT LAWS ARE ENACTED AND ENFORCED, WE OWNERS OF FRAUDULENT TIMESHARE COMPANY ACTIONS ARE STUCK AS ARE MOST ATTORNEYS WHO TRY SO DILIGENTLY TO LITIGATE IN OWNERS' FAVORS. THEIR HANDS ARE TIED BY LACK OF TIMESHARE LEGISLATION. ACT NOW IN OUR OWN BEHALF:

CONTACT YOUR APPROPRIATE LEGISLATORS.

laurab848 wrote:

I would be very interested in joining in on any effort to cancel our Vida contract & get our money back.

If you have passed your rescission period, then chances are very slim that you will get any money back. With Mexican contracts, most people "cancel" by just stopping any further payments. If you do that, you will probably face a bunch of annoying collection calls and letters but those can usually just be ignored.

The one thing you might have to worry about if you do that is reports to credit agencies and effects on your credit rating. I'm not saying it will happen, but it might. Just watch out for these sharks that claim to help timeshare owners or travel club members supposedly sue the resorts trying to get money back. They usually just take your money and accomplish little to nothing.

I was contacted yesterday by a (law firm?) I think. The gentleman told me that his firm is forming a class action lawsuit against Vidanta, and that they are trying to collect timeshare owners to sign on, so to speak. He said they were going after Vida for not protecting the privacy of the timeshare owners, and that's why so many people are contacted by scammers. I was obviously suspicious to the person to whom I was speaking and would not give him any information, but asked for the name of the law firm to google search. There indeed seams to be such a firm(s), but it seems broad, and in multiple Latin countries, still trying to investigate. Anyway, the man said that he's had trouble contacting us, the only e-mail they had is an old deleted one, that their firm found in documents found in a boiler-room scam bust. The authorities bust scammers and turn over all the leaked private information to local law firms, Mexico has privacy laws too is what he said? At this point all he wants from me is a current e-mail address so that he can send me the litigation documents to look over, he kept saying they are subpoenaing all affected Vidanta members. FYI.....Torres y Garcia Abogados is the firm name he gave me, and the e-mail he gave me to contact him was....contact@Torresygarcia.com.mx Looking for any pertinent feed back?

Did he give you a phone # or do you have the number he called from? In the US you can look up to see if there is an actual address associated with the phone #. Or maybe we could ask for their firm's address? It seems like it should be on the paperwork.

It probably wouldn't hurt to look at the paperwork? Obviously if they are looking for money upfront it is another scam. My thought is that the next time we are in Mexico, it might be worth making an appointment with an actual attorney & see if there is anyone who might go after Vida. Probably not as they are such a big employer.

Laura B. is a SCAMMER !!! She's posting her fake story to lure you to a SCAM site . If you are dumb enough to contact these people be prepared to have your identity or credit card information stolen or even worse . These SCAMMERS come into the forums posting fake stories to lure you away from the forum . Once they isolate you they set the trap and wave a carrot in front of you to get you to take the bait . Don't be foolish enough to fall for this SCAM !!!

NEVER pay anyone money upfront that claims they can get you out of your contract especially a phony lawyer SCAM !!!

PS: If it's a Mexican timeshare just walk away and stop paying .

This thread is a little confusing, I guess I should have posted under a new heading, don't know why my heading was "Forced to upgrade", changing it now.

To the person that responded, the call came at a hectic dinner time, I took down the info and told them I'd look into it, never thought to check the incoming number in that moment. After your suggestion, I did scrolled through several days of incoming calls and don't see anything that looks like it was from Mx. Still feeling very cautious, but a may take a chance and e-mail the contact to see what they send, I have no intention of sending anyone a penny. :/

PS.....If Don P is referring to me as a scammer, I have no clue why, that makes no sense?

This is a copy of my original post from above:

11/17/2018 I was contacted yesterday by a (law firm?) I think. The gentleman told me that his firm is forming a class action lawsuit against Vidanta, and that they are trying to collect timeshare owners to sign on, so to speak. He said they were going after Vida for not protecting the privacy of the timeshare owners, and that's why so many people are contacted by scammers. I was obviously suspicious of the person to whom I was speaking and would not give him any information, but asked for the name of the law firm to google search. There indeed seams to be such a firm(s), but it seems broad, and in multiple Latin countries, still trying to investigate. Anyway, the man said that he's had trouble contacting us, the only e-mail they had is an old deleted one, that their firm found in documents found in a boiler-room scam bust. The authorities bust scammers and turn over all the leaked private information to local law firms, Mexico has privacy laws too is what he said? At this point all he wants from me is a current e-mail address so that he can send me the litigation documents to look over, he kept saying they are subpoenaing all affected Vidanta members. FYI.....Torres y Garcia Abogados is the firm name he gave me, and the e-mail he gave me to contact him was....contact@Torresygarcia.com.mx Looking for any pertinent feed back?

She is a SCAMMER !!! Anyone dumb enough to contact anyone she solicits in here deserves to lose their hard earned money .

IT'S A SCAM !!!!!!!

I am not a scammer. Where are you getting that from? I am a Grand Luxxe owner who has given Vidanta way too much money. Promised we could take our "equity" and apply it to a "real property". We actually visited Puerto Penesco to look at their single family homes to find out that they have stopped all construction. I am just trying to find some way to get back at these crooks. I was responding to the person who had heard from a possible attorney. It would not seem to be out of the question that an actual Mexican attorney might take on a class action lawsuit since there are so many of us who have been scammed by Vidanta.

You're a SCAMMER trying to lure victims to a phony attorney SCAM !!!

BE WARNED if you contact this scam attorney that she is trying to promote you could be subject to credit card fraud and identity theft or worse .

Don P. you seem to have a bee in your bonnet. Shouldn't have anything to do with Laura B....what gives you the idea she's a scammer - that's rather absurd from what I have read. Some of the companies may turn accounts over to a collection agency, but if your cause is justified, don't worry about it. Monitor your reports at the credit bureaus over time, and submit a dispute if Vida or the like file anything. Most will write off debts in MX; haven't seen many timeshare victims (owners) sued. The credit bureaus are aware of all the issues with timeshare; they will even provide you with a form for you to explain your dispute. Walking away is the best solution. Class action lawsuits are rare in MX and it would likely cost you something in the end. And resale timeshares have little or no value. Laura B, didn't realize Vida was still selling real property. Where else do they offer it? Depending on who financed the purchase, owners may want to consider an exchange into Vida if you have other timeshares you can use for an exchange. I exchange there, but paid for my purchase.

An issue with some of the timeshare companies who commit fraud on a regular basis is that Visa and other c/c entities have been aiding and abetting the fraudsters by accepting credit cards from victims to pay the deposits. Vallarta Gardens in La Cruz has been guilty of this practice for in excess of 11 or 12 years as far was we can tell, with Visa the primary culprit. It's a good idea to always contact your state Attorney General with regard to any issues that don't pass the smell test, and the FBI, and other policing authorities. A good source of information on illegal activity and news of prosecutions and convictions is www.insidethegate.com.

I'm so tired of the SCAMMERS trying to use the forums to search for victims. Laura B, Is a SCAMMER and I have strong suspicions as to why you are defending her . It is possible that you and Laura are one in the same . The SCAMMERS use multiple names and work in teams . There is no reason for anyone to post the contact information of an attorney or any company other than to steer them to that SCAM site . I will continue to expose SCAMMERS and SCAMS in here until I can't type anymore .

Have you actually read my posts? From the beginning? What makes you think I'm a scammer? You are way off base. Would you like to see a copy of my Vida sales contract? Are you working for Vidanta?

donp196 wrote:

I'm so tired of the SCAMMERS trying to use the forums to search for victims. Laura B, Is a SCAMMER and I have strong suspicions as to why you are defending her . It is possible that you and Laura are one in the same . The SCAMMERS use multiple names and work in teams . There is no reason for anyone to post the contact information of an attorney or any company other than to steer them to that SCAM site . I will continue to expose SCAMMERS and SCAMS in here until I can't type anymore .