Has anyone purchased from Vallart Gardens?

I've read where some did get the credit card companies, visa and American express did get their money back because of the fraudulent way they were sold to them. we're going to give that and everything else we can think of we would not be able to enjoy a vacation there, too much bitterness.if we get anywhere this way I will post it thanks for the input. bye for now.

I was frauded into buying with Vallarta Gardens back in May, when I got home from PV and started checking online regarding Vallarta Gardens I got sick to my stomach. I then started trying to contact anyone and everyone that I could think of to find out about VG and I immediately filed a fraud case with American Express! I found out today via mail from AMEX that they did not give me my $ back. I'm a bit mad because I have been a loyal customer of them for many years now; however VG provided them with a scanned copy of the receipt I signed. I'm not sure how many times I have to tell them, I did this because I was told they would do XYZ for me, etc. Dan Sauer is a thief! So is Orlando and all the other guys who work there! Look at google earth photo's from 10 years ago! You will see all the crap they tell you about the work they are doing that will be done in 3 months, it's been like this for 10 YEARS!!!! They are not doing any work! The repairs that need to be made to the properties I'm sure will not be done either as every single penny of funds they collect from each of us SAPS will be padding their pockets! Check with REMAX realty in the United States who has a law suit against VG for making people think they have some sort of relationship, this is a lie, REMAX does not have any Fly/Buy program running, the guys at VG are not part of REMAX realty in Mexico or in the United States, they put that there and wear these badges so that people think that they are dealing with a company that is well know and respected. I feel that if they had not portrayed tehmselves in this way I would not have signed anything with them, but I can tell you I am so glad that I only lost $7k and not $20k. Do not sign the annuity agreement and I was at least able to get that $ back. Also, do not deal with the "property" management company, I'm sure that is a scam as well. If there is anything you can all do to raise awareness of these scam artists the better, let's put them all out of business as quickly as possible! Don't let anyone else get scammed!

Yes, I had the same conversation with my credit card company - Chase. I found it interesting that they held me liable because I signed a contract, even though VG did not, and has, not lived up to anything they wrote in that contract. I really don't understand that logic. I too have been a long and faithful customer at Chase, but it appears in the timeshare business they don't have to hold up their end of the contract - and they know it! And I can pretty much guarantee that in two years I ask them to buy back the property I will get some reason why it's no longer worth anything - probably because the "unit" I bought will never have been built........... You would think that Mexico would have tougher laws for these places scamming the tourists - whose money pretty much supports their economy. It's sad all the way around..........

I am sick to my stomach also since we purchased our property back in July. We already paid over 5 k down payment and are now paying $370 per month for the next 2 years for our 2 bedroom villa. We also paid $1000 for property Management Company to market our 8 weeks for the next 2 years. They said that marketing money will not come to us for 6 months to a year. I contacted my credit card company twice already, but since Vallarta Garden has not done anything wrong yet, I will not be able to dispute our down payment or the monthly fees that we are currently paying. I told my credit card company, if we did not get our marketing money in 6 months, I will contact my credit card and start disputing. What kind of fraud did you experience from Vallarta Gardens? Did they promise you stuff and did not deliver? I want to see what lies they have promised to other people. I would really appreciate if you get back to me on that. Thank you and good luck

I have one more question. What is the annuity agreement? I don't think we have signed it, but what is it and what does it include? Thanks

I had the same issue with my American Express card; so I just contacted them and told them how disappointed I am and that I've been a very long term customer and at the moment have 3 separate American Express Accounts and I'm prepared to cancel them all since they are siding with the scam artists! They immediately asked if they could resubmit the fraud case. Since I have yet to receive one bit of information from the Vallarta Gardens in the mail, no copy of my contract, no time share information, no RCI information, etc. WIth all the other time shares I've purchased by the time I got home from my trip I had a package waiting for me. My sister was on the same trip with me and she upgraded at the MAyan Palace and she got a huge package of the updated information and contract and all within a few days of returning home and I've yet to receive anything in 3 months time. I did get the anuity company to refund my money, and if I signed that contract and the credit card receipt, why did they not say I could not cancel that one, they gave me my $ back, I did have to go back to them twice but they did give me my $1500 back.

I tried that way, I even provided them all this information off of redweek. I have letters from ReMax realty in the United States saying they did not have any "deal" with Vallarta Gardens and they have a law suit against VG, all that information to American Express and still I was denied. They are re-opening my case because I threatened to cancel my cards, I have received nothing from VG except headache's, heartache and heartburn :( You should keep pushing to get it, there are also some companies out there, probably get kick backs from the time share communities down there but are supposed to help you get out of the deals. Never again will I go to any time share presentations in Mexico, I don't care what they offer, and I most likely will not attend any further time share presentations in the U.S. Just a huge waste of my time and if I saved the $ I spend in yearly maintenance costs I could still have a decent vacation each year.

Why are you paying the monthly charge? Did you take out a personal loan? Who is carrying the loan? If it's an Mexican company, just stop paying them! Go right away to one of the places that help you to get out of the fraudulent deals in Mexico, who knew, but there are a ton of them. I guess everyone in Mexico including their presidents and governors, mayors, etc. are all scam artists and thieves! Anyway, after I get back then my good friend tells me, never stop going thru the airport, just walk until you get out to the street and catch a cab! Don't talk to anyone, no-one can be trusted. That would have been great advice to give me B4 I went to Mexico, right! Also she has been scammed as well, but is also the proud owner for many years of an older time share that she loves and goes back to year after year... so there used to be some honest folks down there, just not so much now. And what is even more disturbing is these are American's living in Mexico and stealing $ from their fellow citizens, it just makes it a bit harder to take. But my friend said don't give them one more dime! Publish as much as you can anywhere and every where. She actually found that her scam was tied to a company in the United States and basically she with all her investigations and all ran them out of business, and they had at the time a high rating with the better business bureau. Seems that all these American's start these companies in the U.S. and some how attach them either virtually or something with these Mexican time shares and make people feel better about buying from them, and then that is how they get you over. Good luck, and just stop paying the bill if it's a Mexican company holding the note, from what my friend said they did and they aren't contacted any more and it's not having any impact on their credit rating. As well she said on their taxes they were able to write it off as a bad debt.

Dear lisaa550, I talked to my credit card company and they asked me if Vallarta Gardens has lied to me or has done anything wrong. I told them not yet to me, but they have lied to tens of people who are complaining about them on line. The biggest promise they made us was to market our weeks when we told them we cannot afford the property because my husband is unemployed and a full time student and we have a 6 year old son. With one salary, there is no way I can take care of my son, pay for my husband’s education and pay for the property. Then they said they have a marketing contract with Mercury Property Management and they will market our weeks for the next 2 years and the money we will get within a year will pay for the property. Unfortunately, we took the deal and signed the papers. It seems like we cannot dispute our down payment and the monthly payments until a year from now if Mercury Property does not pay us. I feel trapped with my hands behind my back in this scam because I have nothing to tell my credit card company yet. I just feel so stupid falling for their lies. Unfortunately, like everybody else, we didn’t realize the company is a scam until we got back to the US and start doing research on Vallarta Gardens. What did they promise you? Did they promise they will buy back your timeshare from someone else or do you have a similar case like us? What is the annuity that you mentioned in your previous response? I would love to talk to you off line. Here is my email address if you like to email me: lansari@amgen.com. One more thing, a few times I talked to Lorraine Chavez from VG and she seemed very helpful. I sent her an email yesterday and I received an email that she left VG for personal growth. Now I don’t even know who to contact.

So now Lorraine is gone.....she probably couldn't take the nasty calls, emails anymore. She was always very polite and I felt bad for her. Why did you say to your credit card company Vallarta Gardens didn't lie to you--then of course they will say you have to wait....they did lie ....why are you waiting a year for Mercury Mgmt to come thru--they are just another company to scam for your money. Vancom only lasted 6 months so let's see how long Mercury lasts??? Sorry Lilya--you need to try to get out of your contract and do NOT give anyne anymore money. Pam **We got our money back from Visa and we appealed American Express' "No" decision and they have now re-opened it for us. And Lorraine actually sent me an email last week saying we would get a cancelled contract after the dispute is over. But she was probably just saying that and now she is gone--so sad.

You, Jonathan, seem to be the only one that wasn't scammed by Vallarta Gardens, very strange.

So I was told by Vallarta Gardens 2 days ago that Mercury Property Management (the company that markets the weeks) went out of business. I contacted Mercury yesterday and they said NO, we are still in business and still with Vallarta Gardens. I don’t know who the hell is lying to me. I called Vallarta Gardens again today and they told me they found another company that can market the weeks. They no longer work with Mercury. I told Vallarta Gardens that I am sick of their lies and I want out of the contract. They said, you are out of luck because if you want out, you have to pay 50% of the price of the property. They also said I cannot dispute the charges because they have no affiliation with Mercury so I can't do anything. Are they really right? In the contract that we have with Vallarta Gardens, there is nothing indicating that they work with Mercury and that Mercury will market our weeks. We have a contract with Mercury and the name of Vallarta Gardens is on that contract. Any advice from anyone?

Yes Vallarta Gardens is right on that one--Mercury Mgmt is separate just like Vancom who we dealt with was separate. We paid Vancom $927 to market our weeks and that we cannot get back. But what we are appealing is our contract with Vallarta Gardens for the six weeks of "Private Residence Club" that we bought. All you can do now is try to get out of your contract with Vallarta Gardens. In the very beginning I suggested you NOT give any money to Mercury....that was a scam just like Vancom and Swiss Alliance and whoever else Vallarta worked with. I think Vallarta Gardens is just working with whoever at the moment will work with them and then when they figure out Vallarta Gardens is not being honest they drop them. Good Luck Lilya. Pam

These people have no conscious. I keep asking myself, how can they sleep at nights? They have kids and family of their own. How can they do this to other families who have kids? I just don’t get it. I’ve tried my entire life to be honest and help people and it hurts when I don’t get the same treatment from others. I am disputing the payment with Mercury. My credit card company was very understanding and supportive. I just hope they can help. We are also trying to get out of our contract, but the last time I talked to Vallarta Gardens, they said we have to pay 50% of the price in order to get out of the contract. They should be out of their mind. I received an email from Danira Dueñas. The email was sent out to all the members of Vallarta Gardens. He/she sends out regular emails to the members regarding financial stuff. There are hundreds of emails on his distribution list. I am thinking to reply to all in his latest email and explain our situation and the scam so all the members know what they are dealing with. I am curious to see their response. Good luck to all of us. That company should go down. Besides Profeco, is there any other company in Mexico that we can contact? If anyone has any additional information, please share. We will contact Profeco and will give an update.

Yes, we also have been scammed by V.G. and would love to join in on you investigation. Larry and Teresa Miller. larrydavidmiller@gmail.com. Contact us for any info. you need. Thank You, The Millers

I have been scammed by another one of these things. DO NOT wait the 6 months. Scammers give you the 6 month return on your money because they know the credit cards will not investigate the fraud as the time limit will be up. If you are going to dispute it, do it now. I've been trying to get our $10K back for over a year and now have an atty. involved and our state Atty. General's office as well as the Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer protection. Notify you state Atty. Gen. office so they can see there is yet another one of these scams going on.

lilya11 wrote:

I am sick to my stomach also since we purchased our property back in July. We already paid over 5 k down payment and are now paying $370 per month for the next 2 years for our 2 bedroom villa. We also paid $1000 for property Management Company to market our 8 weeks for the next 2 years. They said that marketing money will not come to us for 6 months to a year. I contacted my credit card company twice already, but since Vallarta Garden has not done anything wrong yet, I will not be able to dispute our down payment or the monthly fees that we are currently paying. I told my credit card company, if we did not get our marketing money in 6 months, I will contact my credit card and start disputing. What kind of fraud did you experience from Vallarta Gardens? Did they promise you stuff and did not deliver? I want to see what lies they have promised to other people. I would really appreciate if you get back to me on that. Thank you and good luck

We, too, are recent victims of Vallarta Gardens. Your suggestion of contacting Mexican Timeshare Solutions is a welcomed avenue, but, we wonder if you have any contact info, or ideas about how to get in touch with them. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated, as our loss to Vallarta Gardens (And, the bogus Annuity) was quite substantial and will postpone our Retirement for some years to come. Thank you in advance for whatever assistance you can provide.

natalieg64 wrote:

Contact Mexican timeshare solutions, maybe they can help. Good luck.

We did not purchase at Vallarta Gardens, but we did purchase down road at Puerto Bahia. We had the very same experience with the. Our salesman was Todd Dehn and he promised that we would have a great sum of money from two properties in a Equity Exchange and that through Mercury Property Management of St. Louis we would get 8 weeks of rental for 7 years at $2600.00 per week.........NONE OF IT IS TRUE. They charged one credit card without permission. We contacted the salesman and said we wanted to cancel that very evening. We went back out to the office. They would not let us in. I called the salesman that evening at his home. He told us to meet him at the XXOX next to our hotel. We told him we wanted to cancel and had the cancellation letter in our hands. They picked us up, drove us out to Puerto Bahia..... and would not let us go into the office. Instead they took us to their sales office and gave us a "what they called" better deal. The increased our rental weeks to 10 weeks per year for 7years with no up front rental fees. All the time telling us this would pay of the payments on the 2 bedroom Esmoralda model that we purchased. They told us we would go through Mercury Property Management in St. Louis.... we sent all the proper paperwork. Was assigned an agent and was told that it would only take 60-120 days because of the large sum of money. I noticed on the letterhead (and after I googled it) that their address was a vacant lot. And they did not belong to the BBB. I called our Salesmand and our agent. They said the printer had made a mistake on the printing and BBB was too expensive to belong to. My agent was told me specifically that our transactions would be complete in 60-120 days because they were in perfect order. He also became very rude when I wanted it in writing and told me not to call that the transaction would be complete between June-August of 2013. The last week of August I called Mercury and they told me that my agent didn't work there any more, the second call they told me that he had been promoted, but on April 26, 2012 he pulled all the contracts and they were non-existent. I asked for Customer Service and was told they didn't have a telephone number only email. After several email I did receive a confirmation that the contracts were non-existent and we would receive no money. I believe that Mercury and Platinum are call centers and don't really even exist.

Mercury Property Management in St. Louis is part of the scam.... we know...... we used Mercury also.

I purchased at Krystal International based on the fact that my unit would be rented back to be used for marketing ton units for people coming to view the new Hilton units next door. That was the only reason I purchased since the would be rented out at a profit through Vancom who was a part of the new condo units which were fractional year timeshares selling for over 100.000. The needed a place for the people who were coming down to view them and ReMax was their US connection. I was to receive half the money in December of 2013. I purchased March 2013. I looked up the company at the time of purchase and no complaints. Today I decide to call as I had a few questions and found out that the number is disconnected. I will contact the attorney general in Texas.

paulah171 wrote:

I would hire a Mexican Attorney immediately. If you read the above postings, pay close attention to how many outside related organizations that Vallarta Gardens is linked to......actually their side related companies have changed several times...i.e. the ones who do different things related things for VG. VG also processes sales differently with different clients - i.e. above as stated by one customer....."They purchased 3 of my 5 weeks for the next five years UPFRONT, and I only had to pay the remainder for the unit"....They sure didn't purchase any of my weeks even though the sales pitch implied they would. What did happen was that VanCom contacted me weeks later (they were calling from Texas) and informed me that for Approx $1400 (this payment of fees would be good for 10 years) Van Com would 'rent out' my VG Timeshare...thereby helping me to use the funds obtained through the rentals for payment of the VG time share. Only thing, they couldn't actually promise me they could unconditionally rent my unit . Why would anyone pay upfront $1400 to a company who promised to rent out a VG timeshare ...if they could?

Trade in of previously owned timeshare ---- I have just started receiving within the last two weeks calls from a company in Texas that claims to be the company that is to handle the transfer of a time share I have owned for several years. This supposedly was to be exchanged for monetary value on down payment for VG timeshares (at the time of purchase). Since October 2012, this was ignored. I have since paid maintenance fees and property taxes on my previously purchased and owned timeshare. So, I have additional funds invested in the old ownership. I have decided that since the trade-in was not documented in the original VG contract; since I have dealt with this old established company for over ten years; since Orlando Ramirez refused to acknowledge the trade-in was supposed to have cancelled out a percentage of my fees for VG; since the old company at least has several 800 numbers I can call anytime I have questions to be answered.........I have decided I had rather have the 'tried and true' than 'pie in the sky'.

At some time in the (possibly near) future, what is currently being parlayed by the VG sales staff into sales tactics is going to backfire. I would doubt any of us could even call the paper the VG contract was printed on ours at that time.

VG will once again go into bankruptcy and we all will be out of any investment we have made. Good luck to all of us.