Timeshare scam

ComplaintsHotelsMayan Palace

Complaint

0
Deborah
Country: United States
When we arrived at the airport in Cozumel a man approached us and said he was a "Tourist Advisory". He gave us some pointers about what to see while we are there, and then offered a good deal on a car rental. We agreed to rent a car from him and he gave us an invoice with signatures saying it was paid in full. The man also invited us to visit a newly built Mayan Palace and listen to a one-hour presentation on timeshares.

We didn't know if we would have time to do it and we said so.

When we were at the airport a week later getting ready to register for our flight home, the same man approached us and said we owe him a balance of $200 because we didn't listen to his presentation. He then showed us our invoice with fine print that said in order to get the car rental rate we received we would need to listen to the presentation. He then threatened us with police.

We paid the money with our credit card and now I have requested my bank to  cancel that transaction.

Do not get caught in this scam! It's a well played game. Do not get caught in it.

Comments

  • 0
    scotty
    The Puerto Penasco Mayan con is just as slick. RUN!
    Very unprofessional if you hold your ground and say no - ie - Lying JERKS
  • 0
    Orion
    I used to work for Myan Palace in the Riviera Maya (near Cancun) in timeshare sales.  About 70 % of the sales pitch is pure fabricated BS.

    It is specifically taught to new salespeople.  All timeshares are not fraudulent, there are very good ones but Mayan Palace has probably the worst rep. in Latin America.
  • 0
    Jeffrey
    | 2 replies
    People claiming to have worked for Mayan Palace are always lying con men. They are competitors trying to hurt the Mayan business because they simply can not compete with such a reputable company with such amazing resorts. Just look at all other competitor resorts an you will see why it is to easy to be jealous of the Mayan properties, they are the most amazing in latin america. See them yourself before you make any decisions. The world will always be full of scumbags trying to hurt those who do well.
    • 0
      Jenifer replies to Jeffrey
      People come here they all r agree Mayan resorts are so beautiful ,but it is sale presentation ,there is no trick ,sure they want to do business we all do in our profession ,don't we? Lots of people visit that resort just like us and they like it and buy it ,I think the ones who don't have money and can't afford it they talk bad about Mayan ,Mayan is a nice ,big ,well organized resort in all over mexico with excellent repotayion .they offer the best service for who have the money to spend for their family in their vacation ,u like quality there is a price for that .
    • 0
      peggy replies to Jeffrey
      I was scammed and told outright lies to sign up. I found out later that it was all lies.There defense is that I should have read the contract before signing, which is true, shame on me. But shame on the Mayan sales reps for lying to me to get me to close the deal. Don't even try to pretend this is a legitimate business practice. How do you people sleep at night knowing that you scam people out of their hard earned money. Best I can tell no one at Mayan has a conscience.
  • 0
    Mike
    Orion,

    Don't be a hater just because they fired you because you couldn't sell anything.
  • 0
    rsteven
    | 3 replies
    We went to a Mayan timeshare presentation in Mazatlan.
    After turning down the initial offer of $55,000 for a 2 bedroom 2 bath floating one week. They asked what it would take.

    We told them that we had two timeshares already and the we weren't interested in taking on another week, since we only had limited vacation time.

    They offered us a resell unit at $35,000.  That there was $5,000 already on deposit, so we were only looking at $30,000.  That they would take both our timeshares in trade, then we would sell back the week in 2009 & 2010 for $1,700 each week so we would basically not have any cost.

    They took our Luna Palace timeshare right there on the spot for $8,800 and the balance of $21,120 would be placed on a new Bank of America Credit Card.  That since the other timeshare was a deeded in Las Vegas, that the paperwork would be sent to us.  The minimum value was $16,400 and we could see an average of $18,900 for our timeshare in Las Vegas.

    Also that the new Credit Card with Bank of America was to be no interest and no payments for six months.

    We get home from vacation and find a bill from Bank of America for the $21,120 with a minimum due. They didn't charge us any interest.

    After two weeks and not hearing anything from the timeshare transfer company I called them, they wanted a $349 fee for processing the transfer.  We paid and they sent us the paperwork, when it arrived it was for reselling the Las Vegas timeshare and not the trade in for the minimum price of $16,400.

    Called the Mayan Resort in Mazatlan and was told that wasn't the deal they had signed with us.  That we still owned the Luna Palace and Las Vegas timeshares and we had no recourse to get out of the contract.

    But they were willing to take the Las Vegas timeshare ( with a $445 fee ) and downsize us from a 2 bedroom to a 1 bedroom and credit the credit card $5,000.  Then they had the balls to say they were in customer service and were only offering the above deal to us to make us happy.

    BE VERY CAREFULL WHEN DEALING WITH THESE PEOPLE
    • 0
      Guillermo H replies to rsteven
      There is a way of recovering your money and getting out of the contract you signed with mayan palace. enter our web site, i am sure we can help you, because we have dealt with Mayan Palace before with great outcomes. our website is: http://www.hernandezojeda.com/
    • 0
      mzmar replies to rsteven
      I need help with palce resorts at moon palce, Any ideas? ripped off
    • 0
      peggy replies to rsteven
      Yes I too was told we could sell back our unit each year for $1700. When we tried to do that they acted like I was crazy. What a scam.
  • 0
    FactFinder101
    | 3 replies
    Rocy Point/Puerto Penasco Mayan Palace 02/08/2009

    The resort itself seems very nice, the sales pitch, however, is pure high-pressure sales. The sales people are snakes, their only motive is greed. They have no concern for what is ethical and will “brow beat” you to make their money. It was not worth the free breakfast and $50.00 dinner coupon. When I finally got up to walk away from the table, Luis got in my face and began to argue with me, telling me I couldn’t leave until he said the presentation was over. I continued to walk away as I raised my voice at him. You would think that that would be the end of it, but they will continue to pass you to the next person for a “survey” which turns into another sales pitch…these people are shameless. If you agree to attend the 90 minute presentation you will regret it.Search online for Mayan Palace Scams for other “horror stories”.
    • 0
      simone replies to FactFinder101
      | 2 replies
      I sold time share for years. You agreed to complete the presentation. Instead you caused a scene.
      No one handcuffed you to get you in.
      • 0
        Sylvia Garcia replies to simone
        No one handcuffed anyone, but you sure lie about how it's easy to rent the property and make money on it.

        People out there be careful.
      • 0
        peggy replies to simone
        handcuffs no, but outright lies, Yes! What a bunch of thieves. But hey, you made your money so who cares that you lied.
  • 0
    FactFinder101
    I assure you, the only scum bags are the sales people that work for Mayan Palace. One only needs to search online to fine a plethora of corroborating testimonies.
  • 0
    Yolanda Gonzalez
    | 2 replies
    We went to a Mayan timeshare presentation in Mazatlan.
    After turning down the initial offer of $55,000 We told them that we had two timeshares already and the we weren't interested in taking on another week, since we only had limited vacation time.

    They offered to buy both timeshares for $45.000 and the remaining $10.000 they would rent 4 of our weeks at $2500 each so it would basically be a wash out.

    They took our Cancun Palace and El Cid timeshare right there on the spot for $45.000 and the balance of $10.000 was to be placed on a new Bank of America Credit Card.

    Also that the new Credit Card with Bank of America was to be no interest and no payments for six months.

    We got home from vacation and found a bill from Bank of America for the $10.000 with a minimum due of $100 They didn't charge us any interest.

    two weeks later we were charged the maintenance of Pälace Resort. We contacted Mayan Palace and were told they couldn´t buy them. we were on our own.

    We can´t afford another timeshare and we know by now the weeks we were supposed to rent are not goint to turn into reality. We are asked $299 per listed week.

    We were told we can cancel but will loose the $10.000 we put on the bank of america card wich we haven´t even paid.

    A nice vacation for my wife and I turn into a hole of deception.
    Be very carefull when dealing with this company.
    • 0
      John Maryland replies to Yolanda Gonzalez
      All you need to do is call douglas saunders or Valentino and threaten them with publicity serious publicity and they will cancel and you want lose anything....
    • 0
      Guillermo H replies to Yolanda Gonzalez
      There is a way of recovering your money and getting out of the contract you signed with mayan palace. enter our web site, i am sure we can help you, because we have dealt with Mayan Palace before with great outcomes. our website is: http://www.hernandezojeda.com/
  • 0
    Linda Covert
    We spoke to www.gonzalezgonzalezlawfirm.com With a similar problem.
    Ask for Cindy.  they took care of everything in less than a 15 days. we got our downpayment and our peace of mind back. hope this info will be useful for you.
  • 0
    Amber Taylor
    Just like you, my husband and I took a vacation to Mexico. what appeared to be a relaxing trip, turned in to a nightmare on the second day when we were  invited to a ¨Free Breakfast¨ for ninty minutes. We purchased $36.000 with the same rental pitch hoping to use our weeks to pay it off.When we got back and realized we couln´t afford this purchase, we tried to cancel, no one from Mayan Palace accepted our Cancelation petition. We contacted a Lawyer who specializes in timeshare fraud and within 15 days we were able to get our Dowm payment back. the link is www.GonzalezGonzalezLawFirm.com 
    Ask for Cindy. She was very proffessional and empathetic. Hope they can help you with your issues.

    Best Regards!!!!
    Amber Taylor

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