Caught In Mayan Palace SCAM

[Mayan Palace SCAM]

I just want to begin with saying that my loving wife and I exchanged RCI points for a trip to Mayan Palace Riviera this past April. We get there and find the place is stunning and the service is top notch. First day there we commit to the 1.5 hour sales pitch during what they call “buyers week”. Well, in the end it was 5 hours and a majority of the presentation was focused on how these units are investments and that they give you “flexibility” in an extra week to use as a rental. The rental income was presented at $1700 net income after maintenance fees were taken out. We bought into the idea….it sounded great. Upon returning home I researched renting these units and found that they rent for far less than they stated repeatedly in the presentation. I have obtained training material that Mayan employees use explaining in detail how they leverage this with vacationers, then skim over the disclaimer sentence that is listed in the mounds of documents. This fraud has to stop. I would not have entered into this agreement if they had been truthful about this. They describe the rental agencies as partners verbally and that you get your rental check quickly in 60-90 days, which is not true. 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.
There was no mention of any cancellation period during the presentation, so by the time we arrived home and called to cancel our agreement….we were told it was past the 5 days.
I have called and talked with a number of people. To date they have been unwilling to cancel and refund our credit card. A complaint has been filed with the Mexican Government, Profeco and FTC.

If you go to any Mayan Palace resort, PLEASE do not get caught it the misleading sales pitch!!!
Just enjoy the resort....

[Mayan Palace SCAM]

To date I wish to retract all negative comments made regarding Mayan Palace. The matter has been satisfactorily resolved.

[CLM]

Could the person who posted their notes regarding Mayan Palace on June 3, 2008 and then responded on June 17, 2008 that they had settled their claim please let me know how they resolved their claim because my situation is much the same and they have cancelled my contract but have kept my $12,000.00 deposit and will not return it.

Thanks

[intheblue]

We just found this web site www.TimeshareRevealed.com and it is too bad that we did not know about it before we bought our timeshare from Point To Point Destinations. If we knew all the facts instead of listening to their sales presentation, we would never buy it to begin with. We are very disappointed with Point To Point Destinations (West Coast Timeshare or PTP Destinations). We sent them the following letter but there was no reply other than a short phone call telling us that there is nothing they can do about anything.

=======================================

"TO: Point to Point Destinations / RCI

To Whom It May Concern:

Dear Sirs:

I would like to bring to your attention the following points and I would like you to address it to the right person to provide me with a prompt response.

I just returned from a vacation in Hawaii and these are my comments and concerns:

-I used my points to pay for a one bedroom in a “Gold Resort” category, Kahana Falls and to my surprise it was only a “Silver Resort”. I was not notified of the change nor given a refund for the difference in points.

-I paid a fee for the use of the condo at the time of booking.

-I paid membership fee of $118 August 30, 2007.

-I paid my annual maintenance fee or strata fee of $239 for the year, which is supposed to cover maintenance, electricity, power etc.

-Then to my surprise I had to pay another a fee of $114 for electricity on top of the regular charge for the use of the condo electricity at my check out time.

-By the time I was done paying all the fees for the use of one week I would have been better off renting a beach front condo for the same amount and without all the hassle of having to book 1 year in advance.

-January 1/2007 the fee went up from $239 to $276.25 this is a 17% raise.

-January 1/2008 the fee went up again another 12% to $309.

-I bought this points to ensure I could vacation in my old age as a pensioner. In the next 20 years by my retirement date this fees will be up over 320% or more? This is absolutely ridiculous and I would call it a s**m.

-I do not record voting or proxy voting to increase strata fees. Strata fee increases in BC have to be voted on by all owners.

-In August 2007 I booked another short vacation in the Okanagan and to my surprise I was not in a Resort, I was in a “Trailer Park”. There was no beach access and the Trailer park was located in a no-swim lake. This is not my kind of vacation resort.

For all these reasons I would like to have someone contact me as soon as possible to discuss the back purchase of my points or to sell them since I am not happy with the RCI system and is not going to be useful to me in the future. I am very disappointed."

[carpedediem]

If you have been involved in a timeshare scam in Mexico, check out these websites:
http://www.mescam.com/FightingBack.htm
http://www.mexicantimesharefraud.com/

Also, post a complaint at:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/
It's a free complaint forum that warns consumers of rip-offs. The Mayan has 7 complaints of timeshare fraud listed, and the El Cid Resort has 9.

[mjtinker]

How did you resolve your issue? Need help with ours. Thanks.

[KeyVacationRentals.com]

That is ridiculous I'm so sorry that happened to all of you, Thank you for letting the travel community know about it at least your maybe stopping some other individuals from the same scam. I hope everything gets cleared up with all of you.

[mjtinker]

How did you negotiate your settlement - wish I had checked the web before we left and got sucked into the same situation but in Los Cabos!!!

[halthesweep]

My wife and I have attended 6 Myan presentations in Puerto Vallarta over the years and have not bought in. I agree with the many other people that most of the info is lies or misrepresentations. We do the talks for the money, usually $300 dollars. The breakfast is nice, the resort is nice, both the Nuevo site and the marina site, and we just say no many times and take the money. Do the math...the studio unit was about $9500 this year (business was really down because of the swine flu and US recession) with $750 maintenance fee. But their is also a 1 1/2 times the maintenance fee every five years, so add an additional $200 to make it $950 maintenance. If you put the $9500 hundred in the bank and earned 3%, that would be $285.00 a year. Say no to the membership, put the $950 true maintnance fee with the $285 and you have $1235 for a resort vacation, then find one on the net from "For Rent By Owner" We have also done the presentation at Playa Del Sol, Vellas Vallarta, Flamingos, and some others I forget the names. Three years ago we did 5 in 5 days, always back to our hotel bu 12, and made 1250 dollars. No kidding!! Just say no!!! Also, we are members at Paradise Village in Neuvo Vallarta for the past 13 years and love it. We also are members at Bahia Del Sol in Nuevo. If you do buy, buy to use it and not to rent. You will never find anyone to rent your time for the unreal amount they claim, plus you have to pay upfront to even list your time with a so-called broker. More lost money. We have had friends and relatives use our time at Paradise, and 2 have also bought in. We think our original purchase of a timeshare has been the best thing we ever did, because we use it. The rooms we get at Paradise would be beyound our financial reach without the membership. This year, I told the timeshare guy in town I wanted the money up front in the cab, then I told the Mayan I was promised a fishing trip. Worked great. Looking forward to next year and another fun-filled morning at the Mayan, and $300 in my pocket. Just say "so sorry, I cannot buy into this place. No thank you...I must be going...thanks but no thanks....yes I know I am turning down much pesos in guaranteed rent, but I must say no...bye bye" etc etc. Do not feel guilty. Just think how you would feel if someone tried to get you to invest 15 to 50 thousand dollars here in the U.S. , after a couple hours of verbal yadda yadda and a bunch of words and pictures on a yellow pad...rediculous. But I would also add in closing that we have friends who own at the Grand Mayan in Neuvo Vallarta and have been satisfied. Remember, buy to use, do the math, say no lots of times even if you are thinking o buying to get a lower price.

[Valerie09]

Thank you for the heads up. My relatives are planning a trip there in Mayan, I will let them know everything regarding this issue. Thanks a bunch!

[timesharereturn]

Hi There, I made the mistake of buying a timeshare from Point to Point Destinations in Vancouver and I am very disappointed. It has turned out to be nothing that they claimed it would be. I have joined a group of others that are currently suing them. If you or someone that you know have also purchased a timeshare from Point to Point Destinations (West coast Timeshare) and are not happy with what they sold you or the way that they sold it to you I would like to help you to get your money back. Please email me anytime I will give you the information. timesharereturn@gmail.com

We just found this web site www.TimeshareRevealed.com and it is too bad that we did not know about it before we bought our timeshare from Point To Point Destinations. If we knew all the facts instead of listening to their sales presentation, we would never buy it to begin with. We are very disappointed with Point To Point Destinations (West Coast Timeshare or PTP Destinations). We sent them the following letter but there was no reply other than a short phone call telling us that there is nothing they can do about anything.

=======================================

"TO: Point to Point Destinations / RCI

To Whom It May Concern:

Dear Sirs:

I would like to bring to your attention the following points and I would like you to address it to the right person to provide me with a prompt response.

I just returned from a vacation in Hawaii and these are my comments and concerns:

-I used my points to pay for a one bedroom in a “Gold Resort” category, Kahana Falls and to my surprise it was only a “Silver Resort”. I was not notified of the change nor given a refund for the difference in points.

-I paid a fee for the use of the condo at the time of booking.

-I paid membership fee of $118 August 30, 2007.

-I paid my annual maintenance fee or strata fee of $239 for the year, which is supposed to cover maintenance, electricity, power etc.

-Then to my surprise I had to pay another a fee of $114 for electricity on top of the regular charge for the use of the condo electricity at my check out time.

-By the time I was done paying all the fees for the use of one week I would have been better off renting a beach front condo for the same amount and without all the hassle of having to book 1 year in advance.

-January 1/2007 the fee went up from $239 to $276.25 this is a 17% raise.

-January 1/2008 the fee went up again another 12% to $309.

-I bought this points to ensure I could vacation in my old age as a pensioner. In the next 20 years by my retirement date this fees will be up over 320% or more? This is absolutely ridiculous and I would call it a s**m.

-I do not record voting or proxy voting to increase strata fees. Strata fee increases in BC have to be voted on by all owners.

-In August 2007 I booked another short vacation in the Okanagan and to my surprise I was not in a Resort, I was in a “Trailer Park”. There was no beach access and the Trailer park was located in a no-swim lake. This is not my kind of vacation resort.

For all these reasons I would like to have someone contact me as soon as possible to discuss the back purchase of my points or to sell them since I am not happy with the RCI system and is not going to be useful to me in the future. I am very disappointed."

[cwatty]

Could the person who posted their notes regarding Mayan Palace on June 3, 2008 and then responded on June 17, 2008 that they had settled their claim please let me know how they resolved their claim because my situation is much the same and they have cancelled my contract but have kept my $12,000.00 deposit and will not return it.

Thanks

Can you share how you resolved this matter? We're going through the exact same thing. We were lied to over and over. We've tried to cancel, but no luck so far. We have a lawyer in Mexico working on it now, but it will cost us 30%. Thank you for any help you can give us!

[caribbeanlover]

Unfortunately, timeshare sales in Mexico are in its majority a huge scam. The OPC, the one on the street inviting you makes $250-$350 per couple...so be sure he tells you any lie there is. Timeshare sales people are rotating from place to place and mostly alcoholics that look for their 8% comission. We were surprised how they work, like sharks, and some are really good showing numbers, benefits, etc...If i did not know, i probably would have bought. Be careful and NEVER make a decision the same day!! They love this, just tell them that you need to think about and they will throw in all they have..that is the sign that someting is not quite right...

[Erika111]

Please Help ME!!
I just got back from Mexico and made a payment to them on my credit card for 2,000 dollars, now of course after reading all I want to cancel this, can you be so kind and tell me how you got to cancel your contract??
Thank you very much

[cwatty]

We hired an attorney.

[iamdz]

We also hired an attorney. They really helped us out! Good luck. First thing though call your credit card company and send info to dispute charge.
Carlos Hernandez-Ojeda, LL.M.
Hernandez-Ojeda, LLC
Foreign Legal Advisors
Austin - Mexico
The Capitol Center
919 Congress Ave. Suite 900
Austin TX 78701
P: (512) 539.0599
F: (512) 623.6256
Mexico City: (55) 84-21-25-01
www.HernandezOjeda.com

[KCH]

While on an 18-day visit to Playa del Carmen Mexico, we were approached at a store on 5th Avenue by what appeared to be a worker in the store asking where we were staying. When we told him, he asked if we would be interested in taking a tour of the nearby MayanPalace, Mexican Riviera located between Playa and Cancun. We told him that we had no interest in time shares. He said that they only wanted us to visit the resort, which could offer a lower rate than where we were currently staying, so we would consider staying there on our next visit. For attending, he offered a tour for 2 to Chichen Itza, 2 round trip tickets on the water taxi from Playa to Cozumel, 2 Mexican blankets, a bottle of Taquila, a bottle of Kahlua, a $100 gift certificate to Diamonds International, and a free shuttle back to the airport at the end of our stay. So reconfirming that this was not a time share sales pitch tour, we booked the tour with them.

We were picked up at our hotel by a MayanPalace shuttle van and driven to the resort. Once we arrived, Bridgette was our designated "tour guide"...a friendly woman in her late twenties who said she was previously a nurse in the states. Once we completed our complementary breakfast and a tour (we must admit that the place is beautiful!), the pitch began. It seems that the MayanPalace (and probably other similar resorts) have taken time shares to a whole new level, called fractured ownership. So while technically the sales person in Playa didn't lie, the truth was bent almost to the breaking point. Apparently the difference between a time share and fractured ownership is that with the former, you buy certain weeks and unit sizes, and with the latter, you only buy a number of weeks and unit sizes. That is the only difference with the MayanPalace fractured ownership scheme.

The supposed 90-minute tour turned into a total of 5 hours of our time. Bridgette was training a new "tour guide" (salesperson), so she was sharp as a tack, drawing her multi-layered boxes of unit sizes and weeks, along with the associated prices. By the time she finished, she was trying to get us to buy four two-bedroom weeks and they would give us four weeks additionally...all for a mere $149,000 US (not including annual maintenance fees). Of course, they had obtained info from us up front about how many weeks we usually vacation each year and how much we spend annually on vacations, so she was crunching numbers to show us how we were actually going to save money on our "investment" with the Grand Mayan/Mayan Palace. Trust me, there was no money to be saved. Once we refused to buy, she started re-working the numbers and the boxes, showing us how if we did not use our weeks, they would pay us annually $1700 for each unit. So they were actually going to offset our investment costs. To good to be true? You bet!

So after multiple refusals to buy, Bridgette and her trainee left the table and they were replaced by a gentleman who reviewed what we had been presented by Bridgette, and then proceeded to tell us that they only had one shot at us, and that was while we were there. Visions of past time share sales pitches came ringing loud and clear in our heads. He went on to draw yet more boxes and figures, until he had us down to $9680 for a studio for 2 weeks (and they would give us an additional 2 weeks "free"), and they would pay us $700 a year per unit per week if we gauranteed that we would not use the weeks. He explained that the sell to about 50% of those who come for the free tour, and that the Mexican regulations governing what they do allow them to rent out of give away free stays in their units only if the units have owners.

He said in those cases, their sales rate is much higher. He said that while we looked like nice people, their goal was to sell us weeks and never see our faces again so they could use our purchased units to have others stay there so they could sell to them. I only wish I worked for the goverment regulators as he detailed to us how they could circumvent the law if we would buy the units! Not wanting to be part of such a scheme (scam), we refused continually as he kept redrawing his boxes and recomputing new numbers. He was getting visibly and verbally frustrated and irritated with us. Finally he got up and told us to go to the other side of a wall separating the big sales room to a much smaller one where we were greeted by yet another person who said that she was not a salesperson, but rather someone who had an entirely different role from the marketing team.

Perhaps she had a different role, but her job was the same...to sell us weeks. We suffered through yet another round of box drawing and number crunching, this time with a price tage of $9680, multiple payments to us each year for not using the units, 10 years enrollment into their exchange partner agency, and increasing irritation at our continued refusals, which became more forceful because of our lack of desire not to be involved with their scheme to circumvent the law by using our weeks to draw more victims...excuse me, potential customers... into the resort.
Finally they gave up and sent us to another building to obtain our "gifts", which were hardly worth the 5 hours that we spend with them. Now to the gifts...the $100 gift certificate to Diamonds International that was "good as cash" could not be used with other promotions. We went to 3 different DI locations, and they mark down literally everything, so you can't use the certificate. If you asked to use it without the "promotional price" they give on everything, you end up paying more. The DI salesperson complained about the MayanPalace and their use of the certificates to promote the tours, but admitted that DI did provide the certificates to them for that use.

The tickets, liquor, and blankets were as promised. We were told to go back to the salesperson at the store who hooked us into the tour to book the shuttle to the airport. We talked with them on Tuesday to arrange for the Thursday morning departure. Our original person had disappeared and the new person (Miguel) said they hadn't seen him in days. We went back on Wednesday evening just to make sure the shuttle was arranged for a 10am pickup. Miguel said "Don't worry my friend, it's all arranged." So we made arrangements for me to meet him there at 9:30am and the shuttle would pick up my wife and our bags and go to the airport.

I arrived at 9:15am to the store, which was closed. It opened at 9:35, but no Miguel. A person who spoke English showed up at 9:40, and said Miguel would arrive at 10am, which means that we likely would miss our plane, since I was envisioning problems once he arrived. 9:50am, another MayanPalace salesperson showed up, saying that he would call Miguel once I explained what we were told. He walked away and out of sight. He returned about 10 minutes later saying that there was no transportation today. I told him that it had supposedly been arranged two days prior, and he offered to give me Miguel's address and a baseball bat to hit him with. After a verbal exchange with this new person, I had to leave so we could arrange alternate tranasportation so we didn't miss our flight. His parting words were for me to open the window of the plane on the way back.

So the long and short of it is, beware of any "non time share tours" with the Grand Mayan/Mayan Palace. It is not what it seems, and not worth the time. Don't get sucked in by the beauty of the resort and the initial friendliness of the "tour guides" there. They are only looking, by their own admission, to skirt the law to their advantage. You will just be a tool for them to do this.

[Grupo Mayan]

Dear KCH,

Monitoring the entire internet is an impossible task for anyone. However, we are lucky enough to have our satisfied and happy members alert us of any information posted that might be misleading to internet readers containing uncharacteristic claims about our company.

We are glad we have found your posts. Please accept our sincere apology for what allegedly is a failure on our part to clearly communicate the terms and conditions associated with accepting an invitation to our sales presentation. Although the information is clear in the signed documents, we continue to work towards an even clearer communication. Your feedback is very important to us and we appreciate your kind words regarding the property. As one of the most reputable vacation club sellers and top beach resort developers in the world, we do not accept any dissatisfaction even from non members. We would like to continue this dialogue by having you email us at customerservice@grupomayan.com so that we can work on improving the sales process.

Our goal is to address all concerns, as our focus is to preserve top customer service.

Sincerely,
Karen de la Rosa
Customer Support Representative

[travelmex]

My wife and I have attended 6 Myan presentations in Puerto Vallarta over the years and have not bought in. I agree with the many other people that most of the info is lies or misrepresentations. We do the talks for the money, usually $300 dollars. The breakfast is nice, the resort is nice, both the Nuevo site and the marina site, and we just say no many times and take the money. Do the math...the studio unit was about $9500 this year (business was really down because of the swine flu and US recession) with $750 maintenance fee. But their is also a 1 1/2 times the maintenance fee every five years, so add an additional $200 to make it $950 maintenance. If you put the $9500 hundred in the bank and earned 3%, that would be $285.00 a year. Say no to the membership, put the $950 true maintnance fee with the $285 and you have $1235 for a resort vacation, then find one on the net from "For Rent By Owner" We have also done the presentation at Playa Del Sol, Vellas Vallarta, Flamingos, and some others I forget the names. Three years ago we did 5 in 5 days, always back to our hotel bu 12, and made 1250 dollars. No kidding!! Just say no!!! Also, we are members at Paradise Village in Neuvo Vallarta for the past 13 years and love it. We also are members at Bahia Del Sol in Nuevo. If you do buy, buy to use it and not to rent. You will never find anyone to rent your time for the unreal amount they claim, plus you have to pay upfront to even list your time with a so-called broker. More lost money. We have had friends and relatives use our time at Paradise, and 2 have also bought in. We think our original purchase of a timeshare has been the best thing we ever did, because we use it. The rooms we get at Paradise would be beyound our financial reach without the membership. This year, I told the timeshare guy in town I wanted the money up front in the cab, then I told the Mayan I was promised a fishing trip. Worked great. Looking forward to next year and another fun-filled morning at the Mayan, and $300 in my pocket. Just say "so sorry, I cannot buy into this place. No thank you...I must be going...thanks but no thanks....yes I know I am turning down much pesos in guaranteed rent, but I must say no...bye bye" etc etc. Do not feel guilty. Just think how you would feel if someone tried to get you to invest 15 to 50 thousand dollars here in the U.S. , after a couple hours of verbal yadda yadda and a bunch of words and pictures on a yellow pad...rediculous. But I would also add in closing that we have friends who own at the Grand Mayan in Neuvo Vallarta and have been satisfied. Remember, buy to use, do the math, say no lots of times even if you are thinking o buying to get a lower price.

I don't get it. Why would you want to spend 5 days of your vacation on a timeshare presentation? Even if they are half days? You made $1250, but you also spent money on that vacation and those days are all a waste. Are you really that much further ahead?

I completely agree that there is a lot of deception that goes on in timeshare sales. Why do the sales people lie? My guess is that it is to ensure a sale and make money. Going on timeshare presentations professionaly to make money is the other side of that coin. While I think the tactics used by sales people are dispicable, I also don't think that it should be a game for the vacationers to take advantage of.

No, I do not work for the Mayan. I did work for a competitor resort for a short time, but found that it was not for me. That is why I know that lying about a gift will mean that the person who brought you there has to take the cost of that gift of their income. Although there are some people who make a lot of money selling timeshare, there are many many more who do not.

[travelinbob]

My wife and I just got back from Mexico and had the same experience, with a different resort. Stay away fro El Cid, They're a scam. We got sucked into a free cab ride and a promised 60-min presentation with NO obligation to buy anything. I must admit the resort is beautiful.

While sitting at the table and listening to the sales pitches coming from all angels, and seeing that the only paperwork being done was on scratch paper I knew they were not getting any money.

One salesman left and another one came. The old used car salesman game with high pressure sales. I told my wife that two things are true and we should listen to them; 1- If it sounds to good to be true it is and 2- If it's not on paper and you don't get to read the fine print you're screwed.

When we turned them down we were treated as unwelcomed guests and quickly escorted out the door.

My advice is to stay away, far far away from El Cid and their sales people. Its nothing but a scam to get your cash.

[BCJade]

I, too, succumbed to the high pressure sales pitch and ended up with a worthless timeshare in the Grupo Mayan bottom end resort line (Sea Garden). The sales rep knew the only reason I was buying was to vacation with my brother and sister-in-law, also at the presentation with me ... they bought into Mayan Palace. The sales rep never mentioned that what he was selling me was an entirely different resort; never mentioned that we'd never see each other because there's no cross-visiting even when the buildings are all in the same vicinity. Very deceptive and disappointing. The sales people really take advantage of the fact that Canadians and Americans are generally brought up to be polite ... you need to be really rude to get away from them otherwise they'll wear you down.
Now, the Grand Mayan resorts are VERY NICE and I've had the pleasure of staying at both the one in Nuevo Vallarta and the one in Playa del Carmen ... and each has its own special features.
... I'm just "older and wiser", as they say, about the timeshare business.

[LadyLuvsTravl]

Hopefully you can get something resolved, like it seems the OP did.

[Borntotravel2]

To our dismay, my wife and I became the victims of the Mayan Palace Timeshare SCAM on April 25, 2009. We traded our annual timeshare week to stay at the Mayan Palace. On April 25 we met with our assigned sales representative (Alexi). One of the first things we told him was that we weren't looking to purchase a timeshare again. We explained to him we already own a red floating 2 bedroom (timeshare) week at the Grandview at Las Vegas and couldn't afford to own another timeshare. What the Sales Rep told us next was where we became the victim of this SCAM, ultimately costing us well over $21,000. The Sales Rep told us he could offer us a red floating 2 bedroom master suite (timeshare) week at the Mayan Palace as an even exchange for our Grandview at Las Vegas timeshare. The Sales Rep further explained that Mayan Palace uses HSI (instead of RCI which we were currently using for the Las Vegas timeshare) as their trading company. The Sales Rep said the Mayan Palace has tremendous trading power through HSI. The Sales Rep showed us a pamphlete which indicated that the Mayan Palace was rated number 3 in trading power (with 1 being the best rating); whereas, our Grandview at Las Vegas timeshare was rated worse than 1000, which essentially means it has little trading power.

The Sales Representatives (some whom identified themselves as managers) deceitfully explained to us how the even timeshare exchange would work. Through their explanation, we were led to believe our existing timeshare would be signed over to them in exchange for our new Mayan Palace Timeshare. This agreement was referred to as an Equity Exchange Agreement; however, after it was signed, they VOIDED it and gave it back to us. At this point, they told us they could not actually complete the trade in this manner. Instead, our Las Vegas timeshare would be registered with their broker and sold within 60 to 90 days. The Mayan timeshare week we would purchase would cost us $21,200, and we would receive $21,000 for the sale of our Las Vegas timeshare. So, basically, we were going to break even to exchange our Las Vegas timeshare week for a Mayan Palace timeshare week.

When we were told this, we became skeptical. We reiterated we were not looking to purchase a timeshare without our current Las Vegas timeshare being sold. My wife and I met with the head Sales Representative several times throughout the day. The Sales Rep promised me the maximum time it would take to sell the timeshare would be 60 to 90 days; which was the worst case scenario. The Sales Rep said these types of timeshares are used as a marketing tool or extra incentive for those purchasing expensive homes or businesses and are often purchased by Mexican citizens to assist them in obtaining legal United States citizenship by showing US timeshare ownership. And Las Vegas was one of the prime destinations Mexican Nationals wanted to travel to so there would be no trouble selling it to one of them.

During the entire sales pitch, the ‘no maintenance fee’ was used as a big selling point. Several sales representatives we spoke with told us Mayan Palace facilitates a rental program for its members whereby the Mayan Palace would buyback weeks from members through an affiliated broker for $1,700 per week (per bedroom). If we would take advantage of this program, we could earn over $1000 annually ($1700 rental - $625 weekly rental rate)(per bedroom). This was the minimum value we would expect to see as these weeks aften would sell for more than that. Actually wandering by the front desk one night we saw that the nightly room charge for a Mayan Palace/Grand Mayan guest was something like $800 so we didn't dispute that. The Sales Representatives outlined on scratch paper the return we would make from selling our annual weeks back to the Mayan Palace and how quickly we would recover the cost of our investment, which was an outright lie. The Sales Rep told us the rental program was established by Mayan Palace to draw more visitors to experience their resorts giving them more opportunity to sell more memberships to their Mayan Palace vacation club.

Once we returned home to Canada a few days later, I spoke with Brooke from Alliance Integrated Marketing Systems (AIMS) over the telephone. The AIMS group was the Top Rated group on the list of Rental and Resale companies provided to us. Regal was the second rated group. The Regal name has come up a number of times in these forums. Brooke said the Las Vegas timeshare would be sold within 30 to 90 days. She also told me we must pay $349 to list our timeshare for sale; conveniently, we had not been told of this charge by of the Sales Representatives at Mayan. During the next 90 days we received a couple of emails saying that our timeshare was being actively marketed and a sale was emminent. So today, almost exactly one year later to the day, it still has not been sold!!!! I'm pretty sure if I kept sending them emails daily they'd say that a sale was emminent.

The Las Vegas timeshare will likely never sell and we were forced to pay the $21,200 balance of the Mayan Palace timeshare on another credit card.

We spacebanked our 2010 Mayan Palace 2 bedroom week with the AIMS group as well last fall. They promised to have rented our week by the start of April 2010 at the latest and that we would have a check for a minimum of $3400 at that time. That has not happened and likely never will.

Through online research, we were not surprised to learn the deception practiced by the Mayan Palace Timeshare Sales Representatives has been a pattern for years now. All the postings of other Mayan Palace Timeshare victims describe the same deceptive sales pitch we received. We have located and reviewed several current class action suits against the Mayan Palace for this same type of thing. We even discovered a CURRENT federal class action lawsuit filed against several employees of the Mayan Palace and associated entities. The federal class action lawsuit explains US Citizens have been defrauded hundreds of millions of dollars through the use of high pressure fraudulent sales tactics at the Mayan Palace. The complaint indicates the Sales Representatives millions of dollars annually through the use of sales presentations and documents by intentionally misrepresenting the value of the timeshares they are selling. The Sales Representatives also mislead the purchasers, which in this case was my wife and I, as to our rights under Mexican law.

It is now blatantly obvious the sales tactics of the Mayan Palace were purposely deceitful in our case. False representations were promised to us just to make a sale and these false representations violated our right to receive sufficient and truthful information in accordance with Articles 32, 33 and 34 of the Mexican Federal Consumer Protection Law.

We were required to sign Section 12 of the "New Member’s Verification Statement" which specifically states "If I cancel an active agreement for any reason I will not receive a refund of any monies paid." We now know it is illegal for a company to require a buyer to waive his/her rights to receive a refund of monies because Article 56 of the Mexican Federal Consumer Protection Law provides the buyer the right to rescind an agreement within five business days and obtain a full refund of monies. In addition to this, Article 1 of the Mexican Federal Consumer Protection Law indicates that consumer protection rights cannot be waived.

After much research and through looking at postings on various websites such as this one, we discovered we are the same victims as those listed in the class action lawsuit.

The Sales Manager knew the only reason we agreed to the Mayan Palace Timeshare purchase was because we believed we were guaranteed the sale of our Las Vegas Timeshare. Secondly we believed that we'd actually be able to spacebank our weeks and receive rental income from them. Neither of these has come true and likely never will.

Given the foregoing information, we will request a full reimbursement from the Mayan Group for the purchase of the Mayan Palace week, which cost us $21,200.

If only we had found this website prior to our visit to the Mayan Palace.

Thanks go to other forum members who have previously provided some of the information retold in this post. I have tailored this accounting to our own specific story.

[leosmith678]

I liked this place. After grasping this discussion i would say that the fact is Mayan Palace is actually very good but little more expensive. Otherwise the subjects and objects are wonderful there. But staying there is not good so one should not stay there.

[BCJade]

The Grand Mayan resorts are VERY NICE ... it's the timeshare salespeople that are aggressive in their practices and you can't take everything they say as a guarantee or promise.