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Re: Has anyone purchased from Vallart Gardens? (by Randall B.):

We have had a similar experience with Vallarta Gardens. Even though we timely cancelled our contract with them in March 2015, they still put through the charges and contested our claims. When we provided physical evidence and VG did not respond, American Express cancelled the charges and closed the file. Needless to say, that was not the end of it. Earlier this year, VG turned over the account to a collection agency, Resort Recovery Solutions LLC. Resort Recovery Solutions followed standard practice by notifying us by mail and providing 30 days to dispute VG's claim. I did so, provided all the necessary documentation and cc'd our attorney. Not surprisingly, a few weeks later I received a letter in response that it was a 'clerical error' that the debt was placed with them and they had closed the file. End of story, right? Wrong.

A couple weeks ago, my wife was called on her work phone by a collector (purported to be 'Chris Schwabb') who (rudely, I might add) informed her that the debt was with this same Monterey Financial, demanding payment. It should be noted that most reputable collection agencies will not contact the other party prior to providing written notification of the debt and informing them of their right to, within 30 days, dispute the debt. The last time I checked, this is not immediately required (the applicable federal law is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692 et seq.) but is required within 5 days of contacting the debtor. It is notable that we still have not received that written notification from Monterey Financial. Regardless, I sent them the same letter I had earlier sent to Resort Recovery Solutions and have not yet heard back from them.

Needless to say, the advice related to checking credit reports, etc. is good advice. I will keep you all posted as to whether we hear back from this collection agency - it sounds like VG is just 'shopping them' to agencies, probably for pennies on the dollar, and it is then up to the agency to determine whether it is worth the time/effort to seek to collect. Sadly, my guess is this won't be the last time we will have to go through this song and dance.

lilya11 wrote:

Hi Deb, we have communicated vial email in the past. I was contacted by Monterey couple of weeks ago. I emailed the case manager all the complaints people have against VG and my contract with Mercury Management who was supposed to rent our weeks for $2500/week. She basically called me stupid to sign the contract with Mercury and said my contract is with VG and I must pay. I got in an argument with her. I told her I can't believe an American Company is taking their side. To make a long story short, I contacted Consumer Credit today. I talked to a wonderful man who sent me this email: Mexican timeshare companies do not report to U.S. credit bureaus, so don't expect to see them in your files. What you have to keep track of in your credit bureau files is if and when a third party collection shows up in your credit file related to this action. If and when it does report, you will want to file a dispute to keep them from damaging your credit integrity -- Credit Karma offers a free service that tracks changes to your credit reports. Please collect every bit of written correspondence that you have concerning this matter in case you need to send it to the credit bureaus to support your dispute. I believe that this is your best option for resolving your problem without seeking costly and professional help. Also, the next time you speak to the collection company, ask that any future correspondence be communicated via email or regular mail--you want a paper trail and more records that you can send to the credit bureaus to, again, support your allegations of dispute. To prevent any negative comments placed in your credit report, please contact the major credit bureaus to see if they are on your files. If not, then they are not reporting you, and you need do nothing But again, you will want to keep an eye on your file for changes. If they are in your file, you will want to dispute it. The language you will use to file the dispute will be "unfair and deceptive trade practices. " While the item is in dispute, they will not be able, legally, to report any comments into your file. And, hopefully, once the matter is resolved in your favor, the integrity of your credit will be intact.

We bought our timeshare with them in 2013. Back then I disputed the down payment with my credit card and I got my money back. All of a sudden VG is back in our lives. I wish the storm had destroyed their property a few years ago. I hope this information is helpful. Please keep my informed.