Vida Vacations & Grand Mayan lies

lindat623 wrote:

Am I wasting my time trying to send registered letter to rescind 2 days late?

It's worth a try. You can also file a dispute with your credit card.

Yes. Thank you. It said I would lose 30%. It is so wrong if they do that for one day. But from what I have read here it wouldn’t surprise me.

Boy there is not enough time to tell my story. In short bought in Grand Mayan 2 yes ago and the a year later pressured into upgrading to The Grand Luxxe, thinking it was a great deal.

I have not done my research, they told me Grand Mayan was going to be tore down. The sales people like you said how can they stand lying for a living. I also have tried to sell my unit, but hot scammed out of a great some of money. It really is a shame since the place is really beautiful.

I just want to sell my unit and stay as far away from there as I can . Sorry to say I have learned a big lesson at very costly price.

It does say much about the Mexico resort, with the grand Luxxe, the bliss , the Grand Mayan etc. I called to see if they would by it back, but they say the do not do that, but would help with transfer.

raemaried wrote:

Boy there is not enough time to tell my story. In short bought in Grand Mayan 2 yes ago and the a year later pressured into upgrading to The Grand Luxxe, thinking it was a great deal.

I have not done my research, they told me Grand Mayan was going to be tore down. The sales people like you said how can they stand lying for a living. I also have tried to sell my unit, but hot scammed out of a great some of money. It really is a shame since the place is really beautiful.

I just want to sell my unit and stay as far away from there as I can . Sorry to say I have learned a big lesson at very costly price.

It does say much about the Mexico resort, with the grand Luxxe, the bliss , the Grand Mayan etc. I called to see if they would by it back, but they say the do not do that, but would help with transfer.

If know anyone who wants yo buy without going thru there sales, send them my way.

Sorry, but from everything I have learned, there is no way to sell with out it costing you more money. Do you have to pay a maintenance fee annually or do you have a use only contract? We also lost a huge chunk of our retirement money, based on all our upgrades & the fact we were told that we could use 60% of our investment to buy a "real" property. We even went to Puerto Penesco to try to do so, only to find out that they have stopped all construction on that part of the property. I am still hoping that some how we can start a class action law suit against these crooks.

File a dispute with your credit card company! In most cases, Vindanta will not want to get into a battle with a US credit card reputable company. State that your reason is FRAUD, which is true. They lie about everything. Also do not pay for the membership to Vida Lifestyles, it is of no value. You can get the same prices on travel directly with the hotels & resorts that they have on their site.

Class action law suit would be awesome. I did put it it up for sale through a timeshare place and had to pay $12k and then found out most are scams as well. No maintenance fee thank goodness, but you pay if you want to use, on top of the fact I bought it. Feel like an idiot, but the pressure is unbelievable when they are trying to sell you. My girlfriend was trying to talk me out if it, so they separated us in different rooms. Less learned too late in my life.

Can we file with credit card companies?? We signed a contract,, how to we stand legally?? Plus they recorded us!! We are right there with you. They talked us into buying again, after telling us they sold us something to begin with that could not be sold!! After 8 hours,, we caved😡

We also were sold another contract, saying the first one they sold us was unsellable! After an 8 hour ordeal we signed. We paid the deposit on January 14 and this month we had to pay the balance. It has put us in a bind, something we should have never done. My question is, if we dispute with the credit card company,, what happens legally to you, since I signed a Mexican contract?? I do not want to go to jail!!

How did you rescind at the resort???? It was after the 5 day, 3 month time frame.

You can't actually rescind with the resort after the 5 day period. Did you just pay something recently? Now sure how far back the credit card company will let you dispute the charge. If you can dispute the January charge & the most recent charge, would you lose something you had previously given them? You could give it a try. You wont go to jail. The only ones that should go to jail are the Vidanta sales people!

Just cuz you can't afford a membership does not mean you should bad mouth any company...las vegas and Florida amongst other u.s. Cities di same and live of timeshare

robertd617 wrote:

Short version: promised 90 minutes and $300, received OVER 4 hours and $0.

Longer version: Having read reviews from people who have lost their money, I should begin by saying all we lost was a half day of our vacation, but we are still mad a week later. We were convinced by Efrin Fitch, who the timeshare people themselves refer to as a "body snatcher" at the Advantage Car Rental that a pleasant 90 minutes would earn us $300 CASH "green money". At the 3 hour mark, after Nick (and Ian, and others) had used every ridiculous combination of numbers possible to make buying at Grand Mayan seem like it made sense, we told him no thanks and ask for our gift. After 30 more minutes of "survey" with Rafael and such questions as: "describe in one word why you are not taking advantage of this wonderful offer", we again ask politely for our money. After over 30 more minutes of stalling us and handing us back and forth between different people, each of whom was supposedly going to help us, we finally gave up and left in disgust, just as like several other vacationers ahead of us had done.

The icing on the cake was when we ran into Nick at the Walmart in Cabo that same afternoon. He tried unsuccessfully to avoid my family, and when I ask him (in front of his girlfriend) if he was proud to lie for a living, he acted as if he had no idea why I was upset and suggested that I go back to the Grand Mayan and "just ask for my money".

As I told my ordeal to every tourist who would listen all week in Cabo, I heard more and more similar complaints about Vida Vacations in Los Cabos, as well as complaints from people actually staying at the Grand Mayan, a subsidiary I think of Grupo Maya. My motto now: No Gracias.

We were talked out of our fears in the first few days after signing by the salesman, and tried to rescind after 6 business days. Since Mexico does not count Good Friday as holiday, they calked it 6 business days. We gave up trying to get a refund or negotiating a lower price after 2 months. We have disputed our down payment with our credit card. I am putting what we have learned from that experience in hopes of helping others.

- WARNING. VIDANTA (VIVDA VACATIONS -TIMESHARE) - If you have bought from Vidanta, and it is still less than 5 business days since you signed, read this NOW. - Fraudulent sales tactics deceive you into believing you have bought a good product. The resort is beautiful, so, if you only want to visit a Vidanta resort using your Right To Use timeshare contract, enjoy it. But remember you spent $20,000 or higher up front, and still have to pay your usage fee plus exchange fee just to use a week at Vidanta. Plus the extra usage fee every 10 years for maintenance. When you add that up and compare to trades or ads on the internet, you would do better to rent from another source when you want to go there, unless you want to go to a Vidanta resort every year for 20 years to get the value.

- If you also want to use Vidanta to trade elsewhere, that is where the costs get out of sight.

- WHAT WE WERE TOLD BY THE SALESMAN VERSUS REALITY

- We were told that usage fees would rise a minimal amount, and that some have even been lowered. - REALITY The contract says usage fees may rise by as much as 5% per year. Customer Service later told us that fees will rise approximately 2.8-4.8% per year.

- We were told that we would be able to get 2 weeks for 1 deposit of our Vidanta week when trading. When we questioned if we really could get two weeks for one, we were assured that this is true, and we might even get 3 weeks for 1. - REALITY - The company gives you Gold level for life and upgrades you to Diamond level with SFX exchange company for the first year only. You CANNOT GET A SECOND WEEK at all unless you are at the diamond level. SO 2 WEEKS FOR ONE deposit only works the first year unless you pay to join Diamond. In April 2019, the Diamond level costs you $698 for a two year membership. You can get a 10 year Diamond membership for a lot cheaper, but it is still an extra up front cost. - Also, SFX charges $149 for the first of the two weeks. For second week, the charge is between $169 (for booking a studio less than 30 days ahead) and $899 ( for booking a 2-3 bedroom at least 90 days ahead). SFX recommends that you book at least 9 months ahead if want to be sure to get the place you want, and the longer ahead you book, the higher the price. - Generally, trading at the Gold level is very limited and expensive compared to Diamond level. - Google SFX reviews on RedWeek for more information.

- The salesman told us that we could get a multi-year membership for Vida Lifestyles for between $29-39 per year - REALITY - As of April 2019 the contract states that the membership is $798 for 2 years. Gold membership is free for the first 2 years. Then, to avoid paying $798 , you have to buy a multi year membership or a lifetime membership for a LARGE up front fee plus annual fee of at least $49.

- The salesman told us that we could sell our timeshare back to Vidanta in 10 years for $65% of the value that they put on it when we bought it, which was much higher than the what we paid for it. Too good to be true? Yup! - REALITY - They will only buy your timeshare for 65% of the value if you buy another full ownership product from them . And your trade-in value cannot be worth more than 20% of the new product.

- For more information, google Vidanta reviews. If you feel you have been scammed, get advice through TUG at tugbbs.com and Facebook group called VIDA Vacation SCAMS. You can find them by searching Facebook and they will answer your questions individually through messenger.

The funny thing is even though I successfully rescinded my offer, I get random calls from people saying they can rent/sell my week of ownership at the location there. I got everything refunded and my credit is good, nothing to worry about, correct?

NO, there isn't anything to worry about. We get calls on a continuous basis even after selling a Vida (Mayan Palace) timeshare probably 15 years ago. Owner lists presumably get stolen and circulated. They never quit, seem to move from MX to US.

Credit card entities (especially Visa) are aiding and abetting in the creation of fraudulent contracts. That is a fact, we have been there, along with others. C/cards will usually refund deposits or payments made if fraud can be demonstrated. Submissions of complaints to them can be made within a reasonable time period following the fraud. When doing so, never give up, and ride the hell out of the c/card entities. During the process, ignore the timeshare resorts (and there are many, not just Vidanta) unless they are refunding your payments. Give them all the documentation you can. Review what you write, and do it in a business like fashion, with help if you need it. Advise your c/card issuer that you will terminate their card if they do not act. Do it anyway if they were party to the fraud. And presumably they were. Also register your complaints with all of the policing and regulatory agencies you can, including state attorneys general, FBI, etc...anyone dealing with fraud. Visa has been aware of the fraudulent activities in the timeshare industry in MX and US for at least 15 years, probably considerably longer. Yet they continue to provide their credit card services to fraudulent companies "selling" timeshares (in one form or another). Cancel the respective c/card you used (for several reasons, including depriving the resort of your card #) , and go to social media to tell your story. Sad but true that it's doubtful the c/card companies will ever be prosecuted.

We have paid the down payment and them we read the stories. I had been distressed for 2 months that we signed the contract in Mexico. But the web site gave us hope and we wrote, called, emailed Vida vacation that this was fraud, "fraud requires an out right lie, or substantial failure to state a material fact about an important part of the contract. Fraud will invalidate a contract" We were lied to about the resale process, buy back policy and never told about the 5 day cooling off period in Mexico. Now Vida wants us to pay the rest of the contract. NEVER! We want to thank all those who have gone before us to give us courage. We are sad so many people have and will be going through this nightmare. Is there a law suit? We would like to be apart of it. Lynette 7/13/19

There is no law suit. No attorney to date in Mexico will go up against Vidanta

You may still be able to dispute the charge with your credit card company. You have up to 3 months to dispute charges. If you claim Fraud your CC company will have to reach out to Vidanta & they would have to respond. Its worth a try........

As Laura B says, there will never be a lawsuit. Fraud can be verbal, but more difficult to convince a c/c entity of that than fraud in writing. If fraud can be demonstrated within your contract, reference those clauses and present them to the c/c entity. Be very aggressive (read these posts) and never quit!

What happened with your situation. We are in the same boat.