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To Paula and any others who have been scammed by Vallarta Gardens go our deepest condolences and commiserations. We, too, wanted to believe what they were selling last July. We suspended our normal skepticism and common sense as we signed the same flurry of papers Paula describes. Dan and Cynthia were among the cast of sleazy characters, but we worked with Jimmy and Orlando as their willing marks. I am sure there are other players in this troupe and it really doesn't matter whether these slimeballs even use their real names. They have all sold their souls and consciences for the perverse kicks and tainted proceeds of their slick sales pitches. It must be some sick sense of power over those of us who are attracted to Mexico's beauties and mostly genuine people. Orlando brought his wife and pictures of his mom and kids to our "celebration" dinner after we signed up. We brought our children and our granddaughter. In retrospect, we know now that we were dealing with a two-faced heartless swindler who later was to call us "the F---ING Ericksons" in an email to Cynthia. Orlando was playing just a bit too fast and loose for his own good. His various reassurances and explanations rang a sour note even while we were still excited with visions of making Vallarta Gardens a base for family gatherings. He ended up being so stupid that he mistakenly sent us an internal email between himself and Cynthia using some of the most foul language imaginable. While that email removed all doubt about his insincerity, we had already given Vallarta Gardens our recision letter and asked American Express not to honor the nearly $14,000 down payment charge. In a fortuitous bit of timing, we got phone calls from Swiss Alliance and Omnicorp (the timeshare resellers) on the day we got back home, asking for credit card numbers to process for their services (not included in our original deal ?!). That started alarm bells going off for us and we finally did the research we should have done before signing. We sent our notice of recision on the evening of the fifth day after signing, supposedly the last possible day allowed. I could continue with the uncomfortable details of our dealings trying to get out of the deals we had made, but I won't. It is actually painful to relive. Until three months later when we finally got the word from AMEX that we had won our dispute to not pay, we had been sitting on pins and needles. Unfortunately, we appear to be the lucky ones. We have read too many stories of people who have not gotten any of their money back and are still facing financial fiascos. Our hearts go out to them in a much different way because we have been through at least some of the same ordeals. If there are any people out there who are considering a purchase at Vallarta Gardens (or many of the other resorts where similar scams are operating), DON'T do it. If you have made the same mistake we made and already signed the papers, DON'T PAY A PESO MORE! I question whether these scammers are really ready to come after you in the U.S. I might be wrong, but the fear factor is likely to be the major factor the scammers have on their side. If a creditable collection agency comes after you in the U.S., then maybe you should pay attention, but until they do, don't continue throwing your money away. My step-daughter had the best comment on this whole affair when she asked my wife, "Mom, didn't you always tell us that if it's too good to be true, it really is too good to be true?" There are other dreams we will be able to share with our family. Thankfully they won't have to go through the nightmare of Vallarta Gardens like we have.