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El Cid is a pure rip off scam! They are a one way service. You pay and they take. The help desk will not return any complaint calls.
I find it incredible that a large company would embark on such a conspiracy of not responding to complaints nor acknowledging their written promises. I hope anyone considering buying anything from El Cid Vacations Club will learn from my and numerous other people's experience, and avoid these people.
We paid the upfront deposit and were dutifully paying the monthly payments and annual fee.
We were especially interested in the relationship with RCI and were told we could use it the same as El Cid. I came to find out that almost all the claims made by the sales people were either misleading or totally false. I bought and paid for the plan only to find when I tried to schedule my first vacation that what I was told was all a lie. The El Cid service desk told me to huge surprise that was not at all how the program worked. Also, the point exchange fees were all a lie. I would have to pay to roll over my points to the next year. Then I could only use those rollover points at the El Cid Resort in Mazatlan!
I plan on contacting PROFECO The Department of Conciliation Services to Foreign residents. They were recommended to me by RCI, who has had numerous other complaints regarding El Cid. PROFECO’s mission is to try and help travelers like myself who have been scammed by companies such as the El Cid chain.
They are crooks!
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We are on the same boat, we got scammed by ELCID Vacatio Club.
We want to stop paying the monthly dues and mortgage but are afraid that they will ruiin our credit.
Any suggestions. We felt victimized. There's got to be a way for these thugs to pay for their crime.
Please help!
It´s a shame that this type of situations happens. Before signing your contract, assure you to read and understand all and each one of the points written in the contract. DO NOT sign your contract if you don’t find any of the verbal promises offered by the salesman. ASSURE you find all of them in written in your contract.
I recommend you to read this article, hope this helps.
http://www.timesharescam.com/timeshare-cancel/
I, Bill Maxwell posted a compliant against El Cid Vacation Club. It has now been satisfactorily resolved.
I wish I found this site before we were scammed. We were dead set on NO! We were with the sales agent for hours. Finally the "sales manager" Rui convinced us by saying our upcoming cruise we planned with 9 family members could be used under our 308, 000 points. Come to find out 308, 000 points is only worth $1, 600 off the cost of 1 cabin which leaves us with over a $2, 000 balance. We were promised free upgrades on the cruise and all our vacations... not! We were told the credit card was defered for 6 month for the down deposit... We came home and 3 days later we found a bill for our first credit card payment, not to mention if we deposit our 2 timeshare weeks they will give us a check for $6, 000 to pay toward the deposit. Doubt that's would happen. Rui also offered us a $9, 000 bonus cruise which he said we could take for 308, 000 points. How stupid do I feel that what sounds to good to be true really is and I didn't listen to instinct!
Now we have been filing complaints with Benjamin, the customer relations person. He can't even pick up the phone, he has to talk on speaker! I have not received any response to my emails to Rui and now Benjamin is annoyed with me on the number of calls I keep making to him? He says this takes time? well it took less than 24 hours for the paperwork to come to sign, why is this taking weeks to resolve what you promised us?
Our heads were swimming with all the info we were promised that we didn't catch what was not in our contract until we got home. Now Benjamin says he can help us cancel but no refunds... worse is paying the deposit on the credit card... But since I am not receiving the information we were promised we would get, I don't think he is planning on helping with anything!
Do not do business with El Cid... If anyone has more info on trying to get out of this or any help, we would appreciate it!
we were stupid enough to sign a paper & did not get any kind of contract! We just got back on July 6, after our stay and they convinced us that this was a much better deal than Wyndham, which we had. Now I'm at a loss as to how to proceed to cancel?
If they won't take phone calls, how do we get in touch to cancel. Any help is appreciated.
Jeanne & Joe
They are VERY misleading! We were subjected to hours and hours of presentations and promises. We were not told that the right to rescind was only 5 days. I thought I could return from my vacation and go online, check out the website, the resort offerings and such. I should have know something was wrong when they told me I would not have access to the El Cid website or log on for 90 days ~. We had no idea how many points we would need to stay anywhere. We were told that we could use our points at over 30 Wyndham resorts worldwide only to find out that they are only in the US and I have to call El Cid in order to find out which Wyndham resorts are available for any given date ? I could be on the phone for hours... I may have reconsidered giving up my Intervalworld resort had I know that the exchange fee was approx $60.00 more per exchange. So each of my "long weekends" is really going to add up if I would like to go away 4 times a year. As for the "trade points for cruises" I have not found any great deals. A cruise to Bermuda would cost me 50k in point to save less than $50.00 per person. The airfare benefit a joke. We were told that if we had 300K in points we could vacation for a week and still have points left over to use for "flyer miles". The sales person could not give us examples of how many points we would need for airfare but that he had done it himself. Now here is the story: you give them 98K in points per person along with $70.00 per person and you get $340. in airfare credits. Not a deal. The points for car rental program is no longer available. I gave up a deeded for life timeshare for this...how stupid of me. I could go on and on.
Tina C
Very troubling information I am reading. We are just returning from a vacation at El Cid in Cancun area. We signed up for there vacation program. We have been home only a few days, and I am trying to cancel everything. And now after reading all of this, I really want out now. We signed up less than a week ago(maybe 6 days now).
Anyone having any success? Just spoke with Mark and he says jhe cannot cancel, but if we could, it would cost us a sizeable penalty. I am having a tough time believing anything he has told us now. He said he cannot cancel, and that the legal personnel was sitting right beside him(ok, sure), but that they could amend the program to make it fit for us. I want out totally!
Has anyone had any luck getting out of this? if so, how? What a nightmare!
Salespeople offer clients false promises of discounts on airfares, cruises, car rentals etc.
Salespeople claim that the points have more value than they actually do for exchange purposes.
Clients are sent the full contract on a CD to their home address. They do not receive a full copy to review and decide whether or not they want to cancel within the 5 day rescission period allowed by Mexican Law.
Salespeople offer to resell a previously owned timeshare or take it over in trade so that the client is only responsible for the maintenance fees for the new timeshare. This never happens. http://www.timesharescam.com/
I have been a timeshare owner with El Cid for 20 years now and we love the program. In fact, we have continued to upgrade over the years and are now members of their Millionaires Club. Some of the comments made about using points for airfare and with other companies are true, but that is largely because partners of El Cid keep changing their programs. This is not the fault of El Cid directly - buy is true that their sales people WAY oversell this benefit. Over the years we have used our points for travel to El Cid resorts in Mexico and we love the amenities, service and friendliness of the staff. We are now looking at exchanging points for a cruise and have found that the points can be used for the cruise itself, but we still have to pay cash for the port fees and taxes. That is totally reasonable to me. If people want a timeshare, and use or trade the timeshare, they will be very happy. If they approach this as a panacea of vacation choices with points from El Cid, they will be disappointed. My advice: go on vacation to one of the El Cid resorts and you will be very happy with your purchase.
Perhaps I am not using the timeshare properly? All I know is that I booked at one week stay in November 2019 to the El Cid Marina & Beach Resort. Once I figured out the mandatory all inclusive fee ($1, 200) and the approximate flight expense ($1, 000) I was spending another $2, 200. My friends can get the identical trip on Bookit for the same price. Where did I go wrong?
We are in the same situation as many others, we where the in Oct. for a family vacation and listened to there presentation with all intentions of saying no, they kept telling us of all the new restaurants going in and how much our all inclusive fees would go up and also about being able to use RCI for in the US so we decided to do the upgrade costing about $18, 000 which we really cannot afford, it took almost a month for our account to be changed and now that is has we tried to book something using RCI and could not tried to call RCI and did not get ahold of them so sent an email but again they did not help. I have emailed PROFECO but have not heard back, also contacted www.timesharescam.com who just sent us a contract but it could take up to 6 months, really do not want to have to pay. Has anyone had any luck using anything else?
We are in the same situation! We were there in March 2014 and they were supposed to buy our Wyndham Timeshare and we bought $105, 000 points which they told us would be about 4 weeks vacation. Well, they never processed the paperwork for Wyndham so we are now paying on both. Also, these points don't even get us one week in Mazatlan this year! Can we not all get together with a class action suit against El Cid? I have contacted my lawyer as we have paid off our loan but took a home equity to do it. Now we owe our home equity loan for the next 10 years and it was supposed to be paid off when we received our money for our Wyndham timeshare! RIP OFF! DO NOT BUY FROM EL CID! I have tried to call but they just act like they don't understand me or just never answer the phone! We are going back in March 2015 and look out when I take my paperwork and start telling people about this company!
Well...I was scammed by the masterminds of El Cid Cancun. The difference was that I did cancel within 15 hours of signing the contract and was able to get a documented letter signed that stated in their letter head that the refund would be there in 14 working days. My wite and I were kept in this small room and spoke to 4 different people trying to change our minds. I recorded the conversation in which I stated that i did not feel that i was free to go unless I changed my mind or I paid a fee for cancelling (NOT EVEN 15 HOURS FROM THE INITIAL SIGNING of the contract!) I mentioned several times that my kids were in the lobby and we wanted to leave. I asked several times, "are we being kidnapped?" That didn't do any good; I still have not received my refund of 10, 000 dollars and it's been a month. Very frustrating and lesson learned. People out there. tell your friends and family...DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH "EL CID".
We have been members of El Cid Vacation Club for 10 years and we have many other friends we met at El Cid. All I can say is
We HAVE NOT HAVE THE PROBLEMS these people are talking about, nor have our friends we have met there who have the
timeshare. We have used our points for a 3 week Mediteranian Cruise, Caribbean several times, used the Cancun El Cid resort, although
we bought our time share in Mazatlan. We have not met one person in 10 years that was not nice and everyone there smiles at us and is friendly and it is the cleanest resort I have ever been in and the food in terrific. By the way, we have a million points and have bought in several times
to get to the million. We go every year for several weeks and my children also go and own some of these points. What is the matter with
all of you? You are just not talking to the right people. But if those things are true experiences, I feel very sorry for you, so now go there
with your points and just enjoy it all. You can if you have the right attitude. It is a wonderful time share and we are very happy with it. But just
don't use it for the airlines. And it is the best deal in Time Share, for sure. Carolyn Nierman
Our experience is June 2014 in Mazatlan. We were sold an El Cid TIMESHARE.
We were to receive $27, 000 for our exsisting Festival time share,
. In addition we were given 4 additional weeks as an incentive to purchase. These were guaranted rentals for which we would receive $5000.00 each one in December of 2014 and the second at Easter time in 2015. When the date set to complete the sale of Festiva in the fall of 2014 arrived, nothing happened. Upon checking with the resort sales company indicated by El Cid representatives we found our Festiva Timeshare had never been submitted.
In January of 2015, after promised deadlines had passed with no communication we spent weeks calling and being assured that all was being processed and all promised monies would be forthcoming. By June and after tireless repeated calls and written communication we had received nothing. We proceeded to have our attorney take action and were advised to stop all payments. Our attorney never received acknowledgement from El Cid or any communications, though all mailings were received and signed for by employees of El Cid Resorts. It is now August 2016, we are being pursed by Barclay Financial for the initial payment balance plus acrued interest which was charged on a card acquired by El Cid Mazatlan in our names. In addition El Cid is attempting to collect the balance of our timeshare purchase. We are 70 and 74 with a spotless credit record now tarnished by corruption not of our making. We would be happy to participate in any and all class action suits. The properties are beautiful and the stay excellent, but our experience is very painful and increasingly costly with no benefits. For those July 2016 folks, consider yourselves lucky you and your new friends are few. Those of us who have been cheated are many.
Tom George
I am soooo upset that Inpurchase this timeshare. I should have known better. They only have resorrs in Mexico and one or two in Europe. Every year i have to transfef my points to RCI at a cost. Then when I try to book a vacation nothing is ever available. Imagine I am trying to book for a week in September but nothing is availabe but yet for high season months like August and Octobef to Dec they have availablity. I have nevef regretted a decision so much as this one.
Have you had any luck with RCI to help you get out of this?
We sat thru their presentation and said "No". Then they sent in Arturo. Virtually everything he iold us was false. A very polished, blatantly deceitful presentation.
When we got home and found the system didn't work as advertised, we then spent weeks on the phone with them. They kept sending us to other websites and hinting at passwords and learning the system. We tried everything and nothing was as they said.
Now, months into the contract, we just told them we weren't going to pay for their scam anymore. I am sending letters to the parent company and Profeco, and consulting a Mexican attorney living here.
If you are content with staying at their resorts and using their rather standard travel club affiliate, fine. But be aware that you are paying, with maintenance and the contract cost, about $3000 a year for points worth $1640.
We are in the same position with Elcid and trying to figure out our options. Were you able to get out of this if so can you let me kow what steps you took? Thank you
I have been a member with El Cid for 6 years now and originally bought at Maya Riviera. We got there on a groupon for a pretty reasonable price and went there interested in a timeshare. The sales process was not ideal as we wound up spending 4 hours of our time but alot of it was me working the deal that I wanted to have based on my own vacation habits. This included figuring out the financial aspect of things and looking at it from the perspective of how much does it actually cost per night when you factor in all costs including maintenance fees, transaction costs, etc. I can tell you that you will make out much cheaper with the timeshare.
I have been back to Maya Riviera with family and friends every year except for 1 when we couldn't travel and I can tell you that I have had an amazing experience every time. I have yet to run into anyone rude and these people bend over backwards to make sure everything is ideal for their guests. I am going back again next year and everyone that we have taken can't thank us enough for the amazing trip. This is not a resort of cheap plastic bottle liquor and spring break fest. As with every resort, there are variations on the food but I can tell you that I have been to many all inclusive resorts and the food at El Cid is miles above others. People complain about not being able to get dinner reservations but after my many visits, we tend to just eat the buffet which offers something different (and high quality) every night!
I think people are looking at this El Cid timeshare as a means to do whatever you want and go wherever you want. The main benefits are when you stay on the El Cid properties. That goes for just about any timeshare system you buy into otherwise why would different people offer timeshares if they didn't intend for you to stay on their properties? One of the huge perks we get is the Yacht discount. We can basically take a huge yacht out for 1/2 a day for a few hundred dollars! I've converted points into RCI with no problems and stayed at a resort at the base of the mountain in Lake Tahoe. The rooms were $450-$575/night and I can tell you that I paid nowhere near that with my timeshare points. But again, this is not the intention of this timeshare. If you are wanting a timeshare that you can go anywhere you want with no charges then this is not the one for you. But then again, I don't know of any timeshare that is like that. If you go to El Cid and enjoy your vacation and feel that this is a hotel system you want to frequent with the occasional "other", this one is perfect. It has been for us anyway.
Has anyone had any luck with getting out of Elcid?
Hello RJ,
Any luck canceling it?
I’m in the process of trying to get out of my contract, which is paid in full. We purchase an El Cids timeshare in Cozumel in 2004. Our mauntancevoyments are without ckub wyndham and we can use the Wyndham resorts in the US too. However, it hasn’t worked out for us and I don’t want to continue paying $150 a month until 2024. I tried Wyndham but they were no help. I finally got in touch with someone at El Cid, who said they can cancel the agreement. They sent me a document but I’ve asked them to revise it to include the El Cid letterhead and assurance I won’t be paying monthly maintenance to Wyndam. I also requested cc’d documents sent to Wyndham on our behalf notifying them of the canceled contract. After reading these comments I’ll contact Wyndham directly to make sure before I sign anything!
Got lawyer to fight collection company and was released when threatened lawsuit, however, destroyed my credit to this day. Fraud from the start. Guy named Brandon screwed us so bad. Any lawsuit I would be interested. paulfundir@aol.com
I would join a class action suit against El CID.
Hi Patrick,
Any luck canceling it?
I would like to join a lawsuit.
Hello everyone,
My name is Pedro. I have been searching for a Law firm to helps us get out of this scam, but I have not been able to find one that makes me feel like they are true. The ones I have found seem to be another scam.
I would love if we can get together for one big lawsuit. My email is: pedro.e.rivero @ Hotmail .com
If anyone knows someone that has used one fo those law firms please let me know.
Thanks,
Pedro
We are in the same situation and now contemplating of not paying elcid a dime no longer. Anyone here decided to voluntary forclosed their timeshare? If so what was your experience? I cannot no longer afford to pay the Timeshare. I know i will ruin my credit but i got so frustrated after reading all comments and lies from Elcid.
I would like to join you to find a way to get out el Cid maintenance fee. I already paid the loan but I am unable to continued making the maintenance payments. Ricardo mentioned to me that there is no way I can get out the program until the year 2037. Imagine how much money they are stealing. Please Help
Please count me in on this lawsuit. I have been scammed by El Cid. I was held hostage with no food all day until we agreed to buy timeshare. Now have quit paying and have been turned over to collections. Credit has been ruined
I would like to be counted in also. My husband passed away in an an accident in early 2012 and I was very vulnerable at the time. They trapped me and my young children when we visitied Mexico in 2015 and was scammed to say the least. I payed thousands of dollars for this timeshare and is a total rip off! I put a deposit of $3000 back in 2015 and pay almost $300 a month towards nothing. We try to use RCI and usually there are no reservations open. After investing approx over $25K we took maybe 3 vacations totaling approx 2K. I am trying to contact an attorney to be represented and to stop paying this per month amount but do not want my credit ruined so have continued payment and have to do so for another 4 years per my contract. Please advise ayone! divellol@yahoo.com
Me too it was crazy
It is very easy to cancel with El Cid whether you owe them or not. Learn how. Visit the website: Everything About Timeshares, or visit the YouTube page Everything About Timeshares that explains everything you need to cancel any Mexico timeshare. Hope this helps.
Yes this is ridiculous. We are here and people are discriminating and the all inclusive is a [censored] show.
EL CID is a rip-off company that lies EL CID to get you signed up. El CID doesn't give you a copy of the contract that you signed. EL CID tells you that you will get an email the next day. EL CID didn't get us a copy until your five days are up. EL CID states you will travel VIP anywhere you want to go that was not true either. STAY AWAY THEY LIE ABOUT EVERYTHING. STAY AWAY
Has anyone found a lawyer that is willing to help us?
When I contacted El Cid re how awful it is. They allowed me to cancel my membership in leu of legal reprocessing. I declined canceling as I have a ton of u dude points and plan on using it for one last trip. Then def going to take them up on the offer to cancel. What a COMPLETE waste of money. It’s almost a joke it’s SO bad.
All timeshares in Mexico can be cancelled whether you owe them or not. They ARE NOT timeshares, but vacation club memberships with a right to use. I used to work at El Cid. I quit because of their illegal activities. Learn how to cancel on your own without affecting your credit score.