Grupo Mayan - Desarrollo Marina Vallarta Unethically preying on American & Canadian tourists Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico
Beware, this company is out to take your money and will lie to get it! They want to SELL, SELL, SELL at any cost, and they make statements and promises they deny making once you sign their contract.
My 74 year old parents owned two weeks in a nice room at the Mayan Palace in Mazatlan, Mexico. They started having money problems, so they asked about possibly renting the room out for one of the weeks each year. They were immediately directed to a tour that would "help them learn how to rent the unit out".
The company's "solution" was that my parents needed to pay $8,000 USD to upgrade their place from a one bedroom to a two bedroom unit. This way the unit is "guaranteed" to be rented each year.
Unfortunately, my parents fell for this "solution" and signed a contract. They said that their sales representative (Michael Matthews) was so friendly and wonderful and made it sound like such a great deal, that they had paid $10,900 USD before they knew it. It turns out that the $8k did not include taxes or the $1,400 USD "closing costs".
This took place in December 2007, and as of August 2008 not one person has asked to rent my parent's unit. When we telephoned the company a few days ago, we were told that there was nothing they could do to help us. We asked about possibly cancelling the contract and were passed around to so many people and had to make so many calls that it took us three hours to finally talk to James Nolan, the "person in charge" of the contract.
James told us, in so many words, that the company has a policy of not changing or cancelling any contracts for any reason. He said they only honor such a request if it is within five days of the signing of the contract, which turns out to be required by Mexican law. My parents said they were never told about the five day grace period.
So in the end, my aging and struggling parents are out $10,900 USD with no rental income in sight. They now dislike and distrust Grupo Mayan so much that they want to sell their unit but can only get a small percentage of the money that they have put into the place.
My parents own timeshares with two other resorts in Mazatlan and have loved their experience with them for almost 20 years now. Sadly, Grupo Mayan is giving the timeshare business a bad reputation and its shady business dealings and practices should be stopped before too many other innocent people loose their money!
Jill
Belmont, California
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Brad304
San Diego,California,
Mayan Palace Timeshare Scam
#3General Comment
Mon, June 10, 2013
How a repugnant company! I recently stayed at Mayan Palace for a few days, the timeshare hassle was HORRIBLE, this people have NO no qualms about selling timeshares. I have to admit the resort is beautiful, but there's no way that I ever stay there again. You should read this article from Mexican Timeshare Solutions about Mayan Palace and how to proceed legally against a scam committed by them: Mayan Palace Timeshare Scam
Jdee
San Diego,California,
U.S.A.
Grupo Mayan Contract, Mayan Palace, The Grand Mayan, READ CONTRACT CAREFULLY, BE A HAPPY OWNER
#3Consumer Suggestion
Thu, October 09, 2008
By reading several reports I see online about Grupo Mayan Fraud, Grupo Mayan Scam, etc I have come to realize that 99% of the people complaining about the product they bought did not READ THE CONTRACT. My husband and I have been very happy owners of Grupo Mayan and proudly recommend it. We know several other members that are very happy with the product. It all comes down to EXPECTATIONS vs REALITY.
Obviously salesmen make the product sound amazing, and it is...if you know what is real and what is not. The contract that I have from Grupo Mayan is very clear to state something along the lines of DO NOT PURCHASE FOR RENTAL OR INVESTMENT PURPOSES. It also says GRUPO MAYAN does not represent the rental market, or encourages rentals in anyway.
If you read the contract and still buy, you know you did it because Grupo Mayan has the most spectacular resorts in Latin America and its a great product. However, if you buy thinking this will make you rich, you are dead wrong. In any sale, for any product, it doesn't matter what the sales staff says. It all comes down to what is written down in the contract.
Grupo Mayan is an amazing company. Please do not keep posting hoaxes and lies. There are so many of them..."I am a cancer patient FORCED to buy" "I have healthy problems and I was FORCED to buy". We have seen those all over the internet, and us proud owners just get upset at people blogging to damage the reputation of a world class company, and our friends the hard workering staff of the resorts we visit every year.
Finally, call Grupo Mayan customer service. They can help with anything gladly.