Vida Vacations & Grand Mayan lies

Just a heads up. My wife and I are pretty good at going to these presentations and walking away with what they promise. The Vida properties gave us $500USD but in Pesos so a little less in USD, taxi and a free breakfast which was awesome. They brought the price of the timeshare down to 9500.00 by the time we walked out of there. The best way is to tell them that you're in a lot of debt and taking new debt at this time can't be done and that it's a matter of timing in your financial life. Tell them you have a baby or something on the way and you need to save everything you can for that event. Weddings for children work well too, even if you don't have kids.

Typically you'll get an invitation to attend from someone which will outline the compensation. When you arrive at the timeshare, someone will copy those items to another paper. Make sure that it is word for word. This will get copied about 2-3 times so make sure it is very specific. I didn't think they were very hard in trying to make the sale but then again, I'm a sales guy and have a pretty good idea of the BS when I hear it.

My wife and I hit 3 presentations while in PV and walked away with $750USD and 3 Vallerta Adventure excursions. You can negotiate with the guys signing you up so make sure you get everything you can out of them. I typically tell the guys signing me up that I'm interested but not for what they are giving. They'll up the ante and you can walk away with some decent stuff.

We had a great time last week and nearly had a free trip while we were there.

Enjoy!

just give them all your information, they have a very complete database on all these hustles. It also depends on Visa's relationship with you. if you have a high limit, always pay on time. They are your best friends.

Vida seems to reach out to unhappy owners that make a stink on one or more websites. They don't want the details spread out on the internet. No one knows what the details of the situations settled to the owners satisfaction because one of the requirements of the deal is confidentiality and deleting all the posts that can be deleted and offering up the simple message that the situation has been dealt with to the satisfaction of the poster and no further info posted.

I have also reached this conclusion and have entered into to dialogue with Vida. Thanks.

The sales pitch at the Mayan was deceitful and a big SCAM and unfortunately, I fell prey to their unethical sales practices. If someone could please give me some sound advice on how to end this contract or fight it, I would greatly appreciate it. These practices cannot continue to happen!!

My story begins by being greeted by an attractive and bright young lady when we arrived at the Mayan. I was invited me to a sales presentation (rather enticed with gifts of half off a massage, $100 credit towards my stay, free breakfast at their all-you-can-eat buffet), and the promise to return the bonus week used while I vacationed there. She brought up the class action suit against RCI and asked if I knew anything about it. I did not and thought this presentation might help me learn about it. As most of you know, the 90 minute presentation turns into a 4-5 hour ordeal. In addition, I did not get that bonus week back as promised.

This is how their strategy plays out: I sat there in the sales presentation room with many other people was told that my current time share in Palm Springs, CA was rated 2 in a category on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest. Not sure who does this rating, but the Mayan was rated in category 5 (the highest and number 3 of all time share resorts). I was given a trade in value for my time share in Palm Springs that was used to offset the cost, I believe they gave me $12,000. They presented me with the most expensive plan in which I couldn't afford (they shoot high) so they came back with a less expensive version, a studio (no kitchen) and then began to re-crunch the numbers. The price dropped but little did I know that the price was so inflated. I was misled to believe that I was getting such a great deal.

They further discuss the issue of maintenance fees and how timeshare owners are burdened with these fees over the years. The salesperson pulled out a chart (in her bag of tricks) to illustrate how much a person is paying over a life-time. They get you to think about how much a person is paying over 20 or 30 years (somewhere in the range of $30,000 or more.) I said, "hmmmm, Yeah, I am paying all that money. That doesn't make sense if the Mayan isn't charging any fees." Yet, they don't point out how the $570 fee to use a week at the Mayan is really a maintenance fee in disguise. If you own at a resort, why do you pay a fee to use your week? In Palm Springs, if I want to stay there, I book my week for free. NO FEE using it since I paid for the week.

They used scratch paper to show you the money you would make renting these units and how fast they would pay for themselves, which was untrue. That was the hook that made me believe that I could afford paying for this purchase and that they could rent out a unit for $1,000 each year and I could use this to pay for the balance of my loan (or any way I chose). I wasn’t given any guarantee in the final contract about that fact that it was a guarantee to rent. To add to the confusion, I was told that I have one week to use for 10 years and could not use it immediately (for 2 years) because they were going to rent it to the high-rolling golf clients. That darn class-action suit was brought up about RCI. Was this another deceitful tactic to lure people into a sales presentation and learn about something that has NOTHING to do with buying a room at the Mayan? I think so. How would this knowledge really help me? Again, another LIE. The ironic thing is that they gave me an RCI free-year contact huh?

I get back home and a few weeks later GOLF NETWORK calls me to pay them $399 a year to have them list and rent out this unit. WHAT???? I was very hesitant and then offer me $399 for a lifetime instead. I received a call a week from Equity Acquisition who is supposed to help me trade the timeshare in and remove the deed/maintenance fees off my back. I was quoted $749. Again, hesitant….. He further explains that my time share as a “First Right of Refusal” which means that I can keep the time share if I pay them $1,800 to do so. So, I pay them $1800 and I can keep it?? This makes NO sense and red flags are popping up everywhere. This is where I start searching for SCAMS at the MAYAN PALACE. And believe me, I have never seen so many sites with people being ripped off and screwed. Oh no, I am now another one??!!

I have been reading other complaints from various websites about people who can’t get their units rented out and are stuck with the inventory and NO money to help pay for the financing.

So much information was being thrown at me and I was trying to understand and process it in a limited time. Plus, I was tired of being there for over 5 1/2 hours. YES, YOU HEARD ME RIGHT. When I was told them that I needed a day to think about it, they said, oh no we can't do this. I was having a difficult time understanding buying one week for 10 years, and then 2 more units for another 100 years? Then add in the rental and easy money that I could make to help pay the balance of the purchase? Yikes!

And finally, the issue of rescission was never brought up by the salesperson. Funny that this should happen that you don’t get to place your initial by some very important piece of information. They so conveniently bury it deep within the contract so you can’t notice it right away. When I buy real estate in the US or any big purchase, they disclose this information in plain sight for me to view and understand. By that time of the end of the presentation, I couldn’t think clearly. I felt so worn out that I really didn't know I had that option. Why did I let the pressure get the best of me? Why didn’t I just get up and walk away? When something sounds too good to be true, it isn't. I should have trusted my gut. All of this should have been a BIG red flag.

I am venting because I need others to know that the MAYAN PALACE and all of its affiliates are frauds, cheats, and have unethical business practices. They do not practice honest sales and should be sued for all the harm they have done to many other countless people. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO BUSINESS WITH ANY MAYAN PALACE GROUPS.

I am in current negotiations with The Vida Vacation Club and Grand Mayan. I would like to thank Eridany James and her team for providing excellent customer service. They have resolved my issue and as a result, I would like to retract my earlier post. Thank you.

Ventas Rivera Maya - has satisfactorily resolved any issues.

Thank you! 7/30/14.

Go to:

http://tugbbs.com/forums/ This is free to post messages in the forums.

Look for the Mexico thread. Now go to this topic: Beware Of The Mayan Palace. Beware Of Their Time Share Scam!!

and post your story and they will help you.

They helped me.

Same thing happened to us! And then we got you HAVE to pay maintenance fees for life!

It is a beautiful place, but so dishonest! We did not get money back. Have been contacted by people who said they buy them from you, but do not know who to trust! So here we are!

And now you cannot tell us how, right?

linb9 wrote:

Have been contacted by people who said they buy them from you, but do not know who to trust!

Did these people contact you unexpectedly out of the blue? Was it an offer that's too good to be true? Then it is probably a scam.

It seems to happen lots with owners of Mexican timeshares. Remember, most Mexican timeshares are worth very close to zero dollars. So, if someone contacts you unexpectedly claiming that he wants to buy (or has found someone who wants to buy) your unit for tens of thousands of dollars, then you know it's a scam.

They'll claim that they do not require an upfront fee. But then they will say that the buyer is all ready with his funds and you just have to pay.... You get the point.

Well I could share my story like the rest but it is all the same. Vida has lied in the sales pitch and the contract state..... I would advise anyone who is thinking about buying a Vida Group unit to RUN AWAY! Or if you really must have a unit I will gladly sell you mine.

Grand Mayan/ Vida is a scam time share company. I am a business man of 0ver 30 year; I am so disappointed that a company is willing to practice such blatant deception, lies and thievery. I purchased 4 registered with 4 vacation fair weeks in the master suits of the Grand Mayan in 2006 for $148,000.00. this was promised to be the best of the best. I purchased the weeks to use for employee bonuses and rewards, while vacationing at a luxury resort in Cancun we were approached by a sales person representing the Grand Mayan resorts, Telling us “come play golf at our Jack Nicolas designed golf course for free, and visit our beautiful resort” While there, I was given a sales pitch about all the wonderful Mayan properties locations. I am from California and have a Factory in Mexico, The Puerto Penasco resort was only 3 hours from my Mexico factory, so wow this will be great for my employees to use. The resort in Riviera Maya where I signed the contract was beautiful, and the sales man said that because Puerto Penasco resort was so close to Arizona and California the plans were to spend over 50 million to make it the best of all the resorts because Americans could drive to the resort. I was told the resort had a 18 hole championship golf course, with plans to build 2 more; indoor pools, spas, restaurants with massive acres of property that were going to be built into the paradise of Mexico. It was going to be so big that they were building their own airport. So I paid for the very best, I wanted only the best ocean view only, any time of the year availability. My wife and I decided to check out the resort, before sending our employees. We purchased special splitting rights, not only splitting the suite into a single room and a Mimi suit, but splitting the week into 4 day, and 3 day vacations. This was going to be perfect for our workers. Drive 3 hours and spend 3 or 4 days at a luxury resort. Doing the math I could split the vacations up and give my employees 64 vacation per year, I was also give 4 Maza packs this was 4 additional weeks a year, I could send my workers to Mazatlán sea garden resort as well. My wife and I drove the 7 hours from Southern California to stay at our newly purchase Luxury Grand Mayan Resort. We were Shocked upon are arrival, the Grand Mayan In Riviera Mayan has large flowing pools, lavish gardens, lovely manicured golf course, many elegant restaurants, large entertainment room, activity’s galore. Lie one, Puerto Penasco was a Grand Resort, My wife and I had just arrived in hell. It was February, the grounds were dead, no green, the golf course was brown all the grass was dead. No heating in the rooms, only the lobby had makeshift patio heaters set up. Barely enough to get warm by. We were hungry, there was no nice restraint only a sandwich shop. The rooms were nothing like the elegant room were sold, the bathrooms had cheap fiberglass shower/tub stalls. The rooms we were shown had travertine showers, large 2 person Jacuzzi, privet dipping pool on the balcony. Not Here, This was a cheap no heat, low class no class dump. The pool was covered with a plastic dome that was all fogged up, you were trapped in a cloud and could not see more than 15 feet, no ocean view here. After waiting what seemed an eternity, we final spoke with a resort manager, explain our horror of the condition of the resort. He mater a factly said “ This is a Mayan Palace, not a Grand Mayan; Our Grand Mayan will be finished in September. I began to let him know very strongly, we drove 7 hours to this hell whole, nothing in you literature or reservation personnel informed us of this. How they could call this a resort is flabbergasting. This was unbelievable; I could not believe I had been coned. But what a slick outfit, they have truly perfected the art of lies and deceit. My wife and I drove home the next day.

When I returned home, I wrote a long letter to Grand myna. I called the customer service number explain my horror, and told them I wanted them to return my money and cancel my contract; they gave me the runaround and told me to send them a letter. I did, No response was ever given. I called again a month later. Same runaround, be patent, the company is not a fraud, they have great resorts and are a strong company. My wife and I decided we needed to do something fast, so we booked a week at the Mayan resort we purchased from in Rivera Mayan. We went there and told the manage about our experience and we wanted out, he said he could not do that that he could only give us credit, for time in CRI exchange. That is what was in the contract I signed. Yes I said but, your company lied about what I was building. No he said they are building what I was sold. 8 years later, lots of money stolen. No Grand Mayan in Puerto Penasco. Now I am forced to spend more money in legal expenses trying to get justice from the Mexican courts. Warning. Warning. Warning. Do not do business with Mayan Resorts, Vida Vacations, or whatever name this criminal enterprise choses to use in the future. It will be the biggest mistake of your life. Hopefully this letter will protect innocent people form this company Richard R. Wheeler

Post this on TUG. In the Mexico forum

Dear richardr638,

We have been informed about your comments. We appreciate the opportunity given to us to clarify your concerns, as we are pleased to provide a clear vision of the current reality of our Puerto Peñasco development.

We are glad to inform you that currently The Grand Mayan Puerto Peñasco is under construction. As you may know, development projects involve many variables some of which may be beyond our control which can delay their completion; but we are certain the end result will be the vacation resort of your dreams as our expansion plans continue in this area. We have built our solid reputation by pioneering the development of luxury vacation destinations - evident at our resorts; and continuing in that tradition, this year we celebrate 40 years in the industry!

Moreover, our highly regarded 18-hole par 72 course Jack Nicklaus Legacy golf course is over 7,100 yards in length with splendid fairways and abounds with native desert vegetation. Almost every hole has marvelous wind-swept views and the most impressing ones are the nine holes located along the ocean side overlooking the breathtaking Sea of Cortés and the natural estuary; as well as hole number three which is the Nicklaus signature hole of this course. It has been considered one of the most challenging holes on the course; but we invite you all to work your way down the fairway to experience our uniquely challenging Peninsula course. As you can see, this can only be achieved by constantly taking care of the greens and fairways, as well as maintaining in great conditions all the other details that make this one of the best and most fascinating golf courses in northern Mexico.

Also note these are some of the other facilities you can already enjoy at this one of a kind location: an exclusive boutique, our relaxing Bio Spa, our fully equipped fitness center, tennis courts, for the winter time a covered swimming pool and chimneys on several areas around our grounds, local and international on-site food options… and this is just to mention some of them.

We are also proud to confirm that the Mar de Cortés International Airport is the first fully privately funded airport in Mexico built by us and was inaugurated on November 5 of 2009. The airport is officially open to the public.

We make a huge effort to provide the most spectacular vacations at the best resorts in Latin America. We encourage you to visit Puerto Peñasco again to rediscover its beauty. We also trust you will continue using your membership as you have done every year since we had the pleasure to welcome you to our vacation club; your home away from home.

We appreciate your time and hope to continue helping you make the most out of the benefits acquired with your membership with us.

Sincerely, The Customer Support Team Telephone: 1-800-292-9446 Email: grupomayanblog@grupovidanta.com

Sounds like the promises they make to get you to sign a contract. READ the contract and you will see that there are no guarantees that you can book a room. All the stipulations in the contract benefit the developer not the customer. READ the posts from the owners and make your own decission based on an educated choice. I believe the owners not the puffed up sales pitches by high pressure sales people.

Issues resolved.

Read back to the previous page. There are plenty of hints.

pageb2 wrote:

How did you get them to hear you? My husband and I are getting the run around from our credit card company and I would like to get our money back. Also, we have emailed our salesperson who has ignored our emails. I would like to know all of the websites that I can post complaints on. I am also going to contact the mexican attorney general.

pageb2 wrote:

We paid with our credit card and we are still screwed.

What did you pay for? A timeshare or one of those resale scams?

So this is essentially just a vacation club. You still might have the opportunity to rescind. Check your contract.

If you're past your rescission period, then the best thing to do is to try to make use of what you purchased. Actually, you can (kind of) count your blessings. Many people come on these boards complaining that they spent $9000 and upwards for these type of club memberships.

Oh, and by the way, watch out for the many resale scams out there. You might start getting phone calls from scam artists claiming they can sell your membership for double what you paid. You just have to send some sort of fee to complete the deal.