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Beware of Vacation Class S.A. de C.V. (advertising The Bliss Resorts, Bliss Vacation Club, Grand Mayan, Vida Vacations, VidaSales and more).
My mother and I traveled to Mexico to celebrate my graduation from college. After about seven hours traveling we were met at the airport in Cancun by some saleswoman misrepresenting her intention. The next day we were at their Grand Mayan where we were subjected to five hours of high-pressure sales tactics before we relented signing an English-only document purporting to be selling "lodging rights and services."
After getting away, we learned more about whom we had been picked up by from websites like tripadvisor, timesharescam, complaintsboard, scam, mescam, pissedconsumer, independenttraveler, and fodors, to name a few (all ending dot com). We notified the sales office that we cancel and asked for our downpayment back. They pretend to be confused and refuse.
We learned that Mexican law protects consumers under PROFECO; that all contracts regarding property in Mexico, including timeshares, must be in Spanish and bear certification by a Notario--neither of which was true for us; and that we can file a complaint in at any Mexican Consulate.
Our lawyer is putting together copies of their responses to share with you the names (and taunting words) of these sales people and the additional aliases they use. We hope that this post reaches you before you travel to Mexico, so you know to stay away from these people when they try to get you at the airport.
My mother and I have received an "offer of settlement" (viewable at this link http://tinyurl.com/k3mggkf) that would obligate us to lie about our experience with these people who have identified themselves to us as Bliss Resorts, Bliss Vacation Club, Vida Vacation Club International Sales, Grupo Vida Vacation, Mayan Resorts, Riviera Maya, et al.
First, this offer purports to create a contractual relationship between us and another company, to wit: Premium International Vacations S.A. de C.V. We are trying to sever ties with the authors of this unpleasant chapter of our lives, not expand the list of characters.
Second, this offer purports to have us surrender our free speech rights, and goes further by obliging us to participate in marketing activities, such as posting positive comments, on behalf of the Premium International Vacations S.A. de C.V. and its unidentified "Affiliates, " for no consideration other than the return of our own money.
Third, this offer demands our silence, requiring us to keep these terms a secret, and never to speak about it, under threat. Meanwhile, we are suppose to trust that the "Person Offering Settlement" noted on this offer with an office at the Riviera Maya (a) has the authority to make this offer, and (b) will eventually refund our downpayment.
Who are these people? And why would any reputable hotel or resort allow them on their property to take our money? More importantly, why hasn't any of THESE hotels and resorts contacted us to resolve this?
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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Dear Readers,
We are pleased to report this matter has been taken care of.
Resolution is best handled by speaking with each other as it enables us to continue working towards an even clearer communication of the terms and conditions associated with the purchase of our products.
We value and respect both our members and non-members and we take pride in hosting at our resorts thousands of happy clients that can safely attest to our dedication to our members and guests. Our goal is to address all of our clients’ concerns to preserve top customer service.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
The Customer Support Team
Telephone: [protected]
Email: grupomayanblog@grupovidanta.com
This sounds very familiar! We are senior citizens and in 2007 we were foolish to attend a sales presentation at the Grand Mayan hotel where we were put under immense pressure until we gave in and purchased a membership. I am eighty years old and made mistakes in my life although the only mistake I truly regret is having spent our retirement money with the Grand Mayan. We went back to the sales center the very next day requesting to cancel the contract and Carlo, the person we met with showed us a clause in the contract stipulating the contract may only be cancelled if we forfeited our down payment! I know today that the right to cancel a contract cannot be waived if the request was placed within five days. I am so bitter and sour about the whole experience I would never go back, I have never even used their membership and still they refuse to give my money back. I have been fighting with the Grand Mayan for years, they say I have no proof I have requested to cancel my contract within five days! Miraculously the person who attended us back then does not work there anymore. Neither does our sales person or his manager. Indeed we were told the sales manager was sent to jail after raping a girl, same as he raped our trust! This gives you an idea what kind of people work in this place. I have talked to an army of people. Once a customer service girl at the Grand Mayan even screamed at me, telling me I was plain stupid to have signed the contract. I have a PhD and I am far from stupid, but I sure was naive to trust these people who looked me in the eye and not even blinking while presenting their lies. We were made endless promises, all of them unfulfilled. We purchased this membership as an investment package, not as a vacation plan. Our sales man and his manager promised a weekly rental guarantee of 2500$, they even went as far as saying they don't want us to come back to their resort because if we rented our weeks they could have prospective new clients who to sell new memberships to. We sent money to three different brokers recommended by the Grand Mayan, who took our money and disappeared. The Grand Mayan responded their contract stipulates they do not offer rentals. Well, WHY would 90% of their presentation appear to be about investments? We were also told new resorts were to open soon in Costa Rica, Orlando and Hawaii. Years later of course this never turned our to be true either. The list goes on and on and on. I wonder if the owner knows what is going on in his resorts. If he does, shame on him. If he doesn't also shame on him. I think we need to make this scam public to a wide audience and fight back, from what it seems thousands of innocent tourists fell into the same trap. Scam scam scam! Shame on you!
We were also scammed with a Mayan Palace Timeshare. They claim they don't misrepresent themselves. Yet the promises and the drinks ease you into signing. Once you've done that, you are screwed. Through all the other initials on your contract, you realize you initialled, that they don't misrepresent themselves. Now you are up the creek. We had 2 timeshares they claimed that Alliance marketing would sell for us in 3 months max. We would recoup the money we paid at the Grand Luxxe and would net out ahead of the game. Well 15 months later, I am out $30k and I still have the original timeshares. I have also not heard a word from Alliance marketing in several months. Plus I found out they are a marketing group, thus not legally allowed to sell. I have had to take a 2nd mortgage out on my house. All the answers I have seen from the Mayan on various websites show they are not at all interested in helping out. Do they not have a concious? You should read this article on how most of the mayan palace timeshare scams are being committed:
http://www.timesharescam.com/blog/51-mayan-palace-timeshare-scam/
El Tiempo Compartido es bueno para 8 de cada 10 Propietarios, los 2 restantes que no logran ajustarse a las Políticas de Uso de sus respectivos Clubes se encuentran en alguna de las siguientes situaciones:
Uno de ellos tratará de Vender; Rentar; Regalar y en última instancia Cancelar su Membresía negociando con su Club, no podrá hacerlo y seguramente seguirá pagando su membresía Use o NO Use el servicio.
El segundo ya trató de Vender; Rentar; Regalar y en última instancia Cancelar su Membresía negociando con su Club; no pudo hacerlo y decidió que no deseaba seguir malgastando su dinero; nos llamó y en 45 días hables en promedio su Contrato de Membresía quedo C A N C E L A D O.
Línea 24/7: CDMX: [protected] * México: [protected] * World Wide: +[protected] * WhatsApp / LINE: [protected]
My husband and I were recently subjected to seven hours of EXTREME pressured sales pitches that turned out to be entirely false when compared to the contract that we were not able to read until we got home. I was so nervous and sick to my stomach during the whole sales pitch I could not see or think straight. It was like they had me in a trance. My husband told me he felt the same way. We are usually people who can stand firm on our beliefs and had no intention of signing anything, although we did. When we read everything we had signed, we were stunned. Nothing in the paperwork aligned with what we were told. Since we talked to them on our first day, by the time we got home it was past the five days of being able to cancel. At this point, we are willing to give up our down payment to get out of the contract, but am not sure if this is the best way to handle it. Before we contact them, we need some advice. Any help you can give us will be greatly appreciated.