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Reasons to buy timeshare | Reasons
NOT to buy timeshare | What to do if you feel you have been defrauded in
Mexico | The 5-Day Right to Rescind Your Purchase | The
Rental Scam
Please note that there are many excellent timeshare resorts/companies in Mexico that do not practice fraud
and deception to sell their product, and that you should not be afraid to purchase timeshare in Mexico. Having
said that, we are obligated to report on instances of fraud that ARE perpetrated, in Mexico and elsewhere.
This section is designed to serve as an additional lesson to anyone who might be considering a purchase in Mexico,
or anywhere else where the "phony table buy-back", rental pitch, investment pitch and other fraudulent
sales techniques are practiced.
A few good reasons to purchase timeshare:
- You really like the resort itself and would like the opportunity to return to it often and enjoy the
superior accommodations and amenities it provides for your vacations.
- See # 1 !
- You like the idea of being able to trade your vacation time at any of thousands of other places throughout
the world by using a timeshare exchange company such as RCI, Interval International or one of the smaller independent
exchange companies.
A few good reasons NOT to purchase timeshare:
- You have been told it is a good financial investment
- You have been told you can make a lot of money by renting it out
- You have been told that if you get tired of it you can easily resell it and even make a profit
on it
- You have been told that X company will buy your old timeshare from you for a considerable amount
of money (perhaps more than you paid for it) and that amount will be deducted from the purchase price of a new
timeshare or applied as the down payment
- The above 4 reasons are usually lies. If you are presented with any of those
scenarios, get it in writing, make sure it is noted in the contract signed by you and the company representative
and MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A COPY of it before you leave the property. If they are unwilling to do this, walk
away.
If you have found yourself a victim of fraud in Mexico
- The process of getting wrongs against you addressed can be
initiated at any Profeco
office, embassy, or consulate.
- See this primer
from Profeco on buying timeshare: http://www.profeco.gob.mx/revista/publicaciones/...pdf
- To file a formal complaint with Mexico's
consumer protection department (Profeco) - which has
a whole governmental section for lodging, timeshare and transportation complaints, you can go to http://www.profeco.gob.mx Under the heading at the top that says "Consumidores" you will see a link that says "Atencion
al Extranjero" ["Attention to Foreigner"].
Click on that and it will give you the info you need. Or go straight to http://www.profeco.gob.mx/consumidor/denuncias1.asp#extranjeros and scroll down for the English version.
For your convenience, here is what it says in English:
Attention for foreign residents
Profeco is part of the administrative branch of the federal government of Mexico. Seeks to strengthen the citizen's
power and enforces the law to achieve equity on consumption relations.
The Department of Conciliation Services to Foreign Residents (Departamento de Conciliacion a Residentes en el Extranjero
C.A.R.E.) provides assistance towards solving controversies arisen between foreign or Mexican citizens living abroad
that acquire any product or service from a legally established Mexican supplier and are not satisfied with it.
C.A.R.E. assists the parties within free of charge mediation/conciliation procedures, based upon the terms of the
contract that consumer supplies.
To start the conciliation/mediation procedure C.A.R.E. must analyze the documentation submitted by the consumer
related to the following information:
1. Complaint letter stating the following:
* Consumer: name, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail.
* Supplier: name and address as stated on the receipt or contract.
* Brief description of the complaint, including the date of purchase, cost of the goods or service, and claimed
amounts.
2. Completed complaint form
3. Copy of ID (Passport or Driver's License)
4. Copy of contract, invoice payment, bills, credit slips or receipts, as evidence of payment.
5. Copy of additional documents available to support the complaint.
The above information must be e-mailed to: extranjeros@profeco.gob.mx
Or sent by regular mail to:
Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor,
Dirección General de Quejas y Conciliación,
Av. Jose Vasconcélos no. 208, 6º. Piso,
Col. Condesa. Del. Cuauhtémoc,
C.P. 06140, México, D.F.
It is important to stress that all personal and confidential information colleted by Profeco, C.A.R.E., will be
considered as non disclosed and protected by our federal laws.
For further information, do not hesitate to contact us at: (+52) 55 5211-1723 or (+52) 55 5625-6633, or write to:
extranjeros@profeco.gob.mx
- File a complaint with http://www.econsumer.gov , a joint effort of 13 countries to address cross-border fraud.
- Make a formal complaint to your
credit card company (it may be too late to fight the
charges, but you can put it on the record anyway);
- Make a formal complaint to your
State Attorney General's office
- Make a formal complaint to the
State Attorney General in the USA where the timeshare company has offices.
- A complaint to the US
Department of Justice wouldn't hurt, either. AND write
to your Senators and Congressmen. Reference this section of The Timeshare Beat as evidence that yours is not an
isolated case.
- Think about contacting others who have been similarly defrauded.
There is strength in numbers.
* If you are asked to sign a note that you are waiving
the 5-day rescission (cancellation) period granted by Mexico (in case you change
your mind about the purchase) that waiver is a fraud. That waiver will not be included in your new-owner
package or your contracts and you will never see it again-- because it is illegal, it is invalid,
it is just a way to get you to believe that you cannot cancel the contract. If you are asked to sign such a waiver
at any resort for any reason, get up and walk out because the chances are good that if they have lied about that
they have lied about other things as well.
In addition, according to Profeco if you rescind within the legal time limit you are entitled to receive
ALL of your money back, including the deposit. You should rescind, ask for your money back, and if you don't
get it-- or if the deposit is withheld-- you should contact Profeco and they will take care of it for you.
According to the Web site http://www.mexicolaw.com,
maintained by VERNON PENNER, Attorney at Law in Mexico:
- Cancellation Period
There exists a five (5) day period of cancellation, during which the contract does not become perfected, for sales
that are described as "at domicile, mediate or indirect". This indicates those sales that are proposed
or carried out, outside the local or establishment of the provider, including the rental of chattels and the rendering
of services. This also applies to the selling of timeshare rights.
This 5 day right of cancellation is not waivable (the buyer cannot give it up) and even if the buyer is convinced
to sign a document to give it up (waive the right) that waiver is not valid and the buyer still have (sic) the
5 day right.
http://www.mexicolaw.com/LawInfo24.htm#Cancellation
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The Rental Scam:
While some Mexican timeshare companies have been taking it on the chin about unscrupulous sales tactics, we shouldn't
forget about companies which allegedly aid and abet. The company we specifically hear about most often is Vacation
Network Inc, aka: the Vacation Network Advertising Corporation, aka: Global Resort Services,
aka: VNAC, etc. The names of the people associated with this company that we hear most often are Peter
Dunne and Laurie Peck. Another company we hear complaints about is eCondomania, owned by Vincent
Kahn.
For an upfront fee of several hundreds of dollars, VNAC et al will allegedly assist timeshare salespersons to convince
you, the consumer, that the timeshare you are about to purchase will rent for lots of money and that you can count
on this money to pay for the down payment or the full purchase of the Timeshare or Vacation Membership. They will
even go so far as to talk to you on the phone while you are still in the sales room in Mexico and fax you a document
guaranteeing that rental. This is a complete and utter lie of course, and no consumer we have spoken to has ever
received so much as a phone call from them (let alone any rental money) after they paid for the service. Nor is
that faxed letter likely to be included in the documents you take home, and often the document with any such promises
written in will mysteriously not be included either.
This show for the closing table has been going on for years, especially in Mexico. Says one inside source: "All
that is needed is a cellular phone and Peter Dunn on the other line in Florida, promising the Customer lots of
rental income to cover costs, due to the high demand of whichever resort is currently using the service!"
Bottom line: Beware of any promises made to you about rental or resale value. They are almost always lies. |