Complaint Review: GRAND MAYAN

I am sure you all have heardthe exact same story, just different people. I was also stupid enough to buy a timeshare membership from the Mayan Palace and the Grand Mayan. Sales Staff enticed me into purchasing first from the Mayan Palace and when I returned the next day with questions about what I felt was not satisfactory, they sold me a more expensive unit at the Grand Mayan that should have met my concerns but didnt. It is all about the same, the rental income, paying the dues for my other timeshares while selling it for me, the real trading value of their property, etc..

1.   After greeting Kara, she asked me how was I doing, I immediately expressed how sad I was since it was the first trip I made without my husband because he was at a nursing home due to his health condition; SHE KNEW I WAS AN EASY TARGET BECAUSE I WAS VERY SENSITIVE. They took advantage of my current situation and made me believe they were being the nicest people by offering me one of their timeshare memberships and would help me by releasing me from all other timeshares we own;  making it easier for me to handle the payments and other numerous items.

2.   One of the big selling features was that I was told by Kara Moroz and the next day by Joshua Garcia and Andrew Wildenboer, that I WOULD BE ABLE TO RENT THE MAYAN UNITS.  KARA LED ME TO BELIEVE I COULD GET $1600 PER WEEK.  The next day JOSHUA GARCIA ASSURED ME ONCE AGAIN THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO GET THE WEEKS RENTED. Both Kara and Andrew Wildenboer gave me a list of Vacation Ownership Rental and Resale Companies which they endorsed.  Andrew drew our attention to CMV, a Brazilian Company, which was looking to rent to Brazilians as they love to come and golf.  THEN, AFTER THE SALES PITCH ON RENTING, SAID TO INITIAL #6 ON THE CONTACT ANYWAY.  I was not relying on this rental to pay for the timeshare, it would have been very be irresponsible from my part, but was enticed by the idea of making some money.  From my research, rentals through companies like this dont happen.  I was led to believe that it was easy to rent and I could list my weeks for rent right away.

3.   KARA LED ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE MAYAN PALACE HAD A VERY HIGH TRADING VALUE WITH RCI.  She kept throwing around the numbers of 40and 60.  The next day, Joshua said that the Mayan Palace was 18 26 points, but the Grand Mayan was higher.  I have checked online at RCI and the GRAND MAYAN HAS A VALUE OF 9 19 depending on the time of year.  I have a higher value for a studio that I almost traded in. 

4.   I was led to believe that HSI, their vacation network system has access to RCI, and other exchange systems.  When I contacted them, the HSI rep said no, this was not true.

5.   Kara said the HSI would pay the maintenance fee for my other timeshare.  She neglected to say that there was a fee associated with this and that they were selective about the timeshares that they would accept.

6.   Kara wrote down that the price of a breakaway week would be from $199 to $599 depending on the size.  I have since read that the average price is $650.

7.   I was led to believe that 1 bedroom at Mayan Palace would get an upgrade of a 2 or 3 bedroom or a 2 for 1 exchange.  I have the rough notes to support this.

8.   THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS WERE EMAILED. Not having a computer with me, I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GO OVER THE CONTRACT WITHIN THE 5 DAYS ALLOWED IN MEXICO FOR A CANCELLATION AS I WAS GOING TO BE AWAY FOR ANOTHER 3 WEEKS. Kara and Cherilyn did not mention that we had 5 days to get out of the contract. I was under the impression that I had at least a month.

9.   February 28, I was left a message about sending documents for my timeshare at El Cid.  That contract was voided February 24.  I had decided to keep El Cid and trade in 2 other timeshares.  This means that the Mayan does not have accurate bookwork.

10.   I have been contacted by other resale companies I never heard off before attending to their timeshare presentation. That means that MAYAN PALACE AND GRAND MAYAN PUT AT RISK THE PERSONAL INFORMATION OF ITS MEMBERS.

11.  Another big red flag for me is that my credit card information was compromised. While I was in Puerto Vallarta and Nuevo Vallarta, I only used my Visa charge card at the Mayan.  Once at the Grand Mayan to pay my bill and twice to put down a deposit for the new timeshare.  SOMEONE FROM THE MAYAN COMPROMISED MY VISA CARD and it was caught by Visa.  This means that the personnel working there are dishonest.

12.  Looking closely at the Mayan Palace contract, SOME OF THE PAGES WERE NOT SIGNED BY ME.

13.  I have exchanged numerous emails with Joshua Noel Garcia <joshuagarcia@vidasales.com> and I explained that due to my work schedule and husbands health condition I wasnt able to on top of the matter. Today I received an email from him saying that THE GRAND MAYAN WILL CANCEL MY CONTRACT AND RETAIN ALL MONIES PAID TO DATE BECAUSE THEY DID ALL THEY COULD TO SOLVE THIS SITUATION, WHEN THEY MADE ONLY ONE OFFER TO MEA DOWNGRADED MEMBERSHIP that I will end up not using, because the value of the exchange also reduces. And at the end I will have nothing for nearly 7000 out of my pocket. They did nothing to resolve my real concerns; I was tricked into signing up for this membership. THE MAYAN PALACE AND GRAND MAYAN REPRESENTATIVES LIED TO ME IN ORDER TO OBTAIN MY BUSINESS AND THE CORPORATE OFFICERS SIMPLY GAVE UP ON ME BECAUSE I HAVE TO WORK TO SUPPORT MY SELF AND TAKE CARE OF MY ILL HUSBAND; THIS ISN'T ABOUT THE TIME I HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUE, IT IS ABOUT KEEPING MY MONEY. OUR MONEY!

IF YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THIS COMPANY YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT.