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Beware! I also experienced this unconscionable timeshare scam at Velas Vallarta. The sales representative, Ken Waller, told me that Velas would take a trade-in of a timeshare I owned at a different resort to offset the purchase of a Velas upgrade from a studio unit to a one bedroom. He was essentially offering me the same amount for my other timeshare that I would be spending on the upgrade and closing costs. Mr. Waller referred me to Sierra Rentals and Resales for the closing services.
When I sat down to sign the upgrade documents, I could find no mention of the trade-in in the documents. I asked Mr. Waller why the trade-in was not in the documents and he told me that it would be on a separate document and that I would receive the confirmation of the purchase before I left. He said he expected the fax very shortly. I told him that my purchase of an upgrade was based on the trade-in and I would not be doing it otherwise. After signing the contract, I was ushered downstairs into the lobby. Mr. Waller came into the lobby with what he told me was my trade-in/purchase confirmation from Sierra and put it in my sales folder.
When I looked at this document after returning home, it stated the trade-in timeshare was being accepted into a listing inventory. The forms Sierra Rentals e-mailed were also not the closing documents I expected and appeared to be for the purpose of listing the timeshare for resale or rental. There had been absolutely no mention of listing the other timeshare for resale or rental in our discussion. Any discussion was solely about the trade-in to Velas. I did not sign these documents and requested the correct closing documents from Sierra Rentals and Resales. Sierra was unresponsive to e-mails and the customer service person from Velas acted as if Velas knew nothing about the trade-in. He stated that the issue was with Sierra. They said they had no copy of the fax from Sierra in their file. That was when I realized this was all a fraud!
When I asked Mr. Waller about a cancellation period before signing the documents, he told me that no cancellations were allowed on upgrades. This was an outright lie as I later found that Mexican law requires a 5 day cancellation period. This also applies to upgrades.
Velas Vallarta started calling about monthly payments for the timeshare and I refused to pay any more to the resort when they were not acknowledging the trade-in. I gave Velas ample opportunity to follow through with either their purchase of my other timeshare or the cancellation of my membership upgrade and the refund of my deposit which amounted to over $7000. They have not done so. Velas recently notified me that my contract was being cancelled.
Please do not do business with this company. Their lies and deceptive practices are plausible enough to believe. The resort appears to be upstanding on the surface and it can be very deceiving. Stay away!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Our experience was quite different from the one described above. We were also interested in selling an existing timeshare and replacing it with the Velas Vallarta plan. All of the rather convoluted but at the same time appealing details of the plan where people rent out your room at Velas Vallarta for the chance for you to stay at resorts all over was intriguing. Our agent Arturo Montaño made it very clear that renting out your timeshare was not strictly guaranteed nor was there a set price. He made it very clear that the timeshare we wanted to trade in would be handled by another agency and that selling would probably be easy but was not guaranteed. We signed all of the paper work for one of the plans and paid $7, 000. After we got back to the hotel we did some internet research and based on complaints like the one above we decided to cancel. The five-day cancellation policy is clearly stated on the contract. It also states that you must go in person to the place where you signed the contract and that they have two weeks to return your money. When we showed up Arturo was very gracious and made no attempt to dissuade us. He simply said it was no longer in his hands and we waited to see Monica Dallegrave. In the meantime Arturo even offered us breakfast or beverages and made sure we were comfortable. We were taken into the inner sanctum where we met with Ms. Dallegrave. She did ask us what our reasons for changing our mind were and even tried to get us to agree to a less expensive plan. When we insisted we just wanted out she put up no more resistance and we cancelled the contract and left. The money was refunded on time as was the fee for reselling our other timeshare. Believe me I understand that some agents may be unscrupulous and that the benefits may be exaggerated. At the same time the people staying at Velas Vallarta itself seemed to be really enjoying themselves and I have to say the service is next to none and the food excellent. The moral of the story is this —don't sign up for one of these timeshares if you are going to be leaving the country in the next day or two. That way, if you change your mind you only need to go back and cancel. Once you are back home you won't have a lot of options.
I DISAGREE WITH THIS COMMENT. VELAS VALLARTA IS ONE OF THE BEST TIMESHARE YOU CAN GET. NOW A DAYS THERE ARE A LOT OF LAWS FOR THIS COMPANIES TO FOLLOW AND THERE ARE NOT FRAUDS.
THE PERSON THAT PLACE THE COMPLAIN DID NOT PUT HIS NAME. WHICH MEANS HE DID NOT PUT ENOUGH ATTENTION DURING THE PRESENTATION. THEY ARE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THE TERMS, AND YOU TALK TO DIFERENTTE PEOPLE IN THE OFFICE SO THERE ARE NO MISSUNDESTOODS.
I HAVE A LOT OF FAMILY MEMEBERS, FRIENDS WITH THIS MEMBERSHIP THAT KEN WALLER OFFER AND THEY ARE VERY HAPPY.
IT'S A TIMESHARE! What in the hell did you expect was going to happen. All timeshares are scams.
CRIME SHARE with Waller at the helm... that is guaranteed bad news. Crook disrespectful outright bad person. treats people in a horrid way only concern is taking money with no regard to what it takes.