TRYING TO GET OUT OF MEXICO TIMESHARE

They cannot turn you over to collections for several reasons:

1) Mexico does not sell timeshares, but vacation club memberships. You own nothing and neither do the timeshare companies. 2) Mexico timeshare contracts are unenforceable outside of Mexico. 3) Mexico timeshare companies cannot affect your credit because Mexico timeshare companies do not have access to U.S. or Canada credit reporting agencies. 4) People are getting out of their Mexico timeshares every day without hiring anyone.

Mexico does not sell timeshares but vacation clubs, and there is no deed. In fact, the timeshare companies own nothing, not even the rooms. The resorts are owned by separate companies. They will sell the papers to a U.S. company who works with the collection agencies who will attempt to collect the debt. This is illegal on several counts. A Mexico lawyer will lie to you and make money.

We just received a letter from a company called trinity resort services regarding past due payments for a prestige traveler by karisma vacation club. The letter originates from the US. We stopped paying over a year ago and just considered what we had paid already a loss. Are you saying this letter is just a scare tactic to get us to resume payments? No legal action can or will be taken?

kylof wrote:

Are you saying this letter is just a scare tactic to get us to resume payments? No legal action can or will be taken?

It likely is just a scare tactic. They can take legal action but probably will not. It's not worth their time and effort to try to collect.

Correct. Ignore it. It's just, like people keep saying, a tactic to get money out of you. Don't lose any sleep over this.

I signed a vacation club membership at the hotel in Mexico with Bell Air Vacation club but they told me it was not a timeshare. After doing research when I got back to the US turns out it is basically a timeshare and it’s all bull. When signing they told us we would be able to cancel any time with just a phone call and maybe a cancelation fee of $350 but after trying to cancel we found out the sales guy lied to us and we can never cancel or get out of it. We paid 1,200 down payment at the hotel and are now suspicious of sending any more money. We are worried that they will report to the credit bureaus here in the US and this will be in collections on our credit. Should we send our next payment or not pay at all ? Really don’t want this on my credit

The first thing to warn you about is to not use any of these companies or law firms that claim they can get you out of your predicament. They might have fancy-sounding words in their names such as cancel, exit, or relief, etc. These are usually scams.

You said that you already paid $1200 into this. You have to decide for yourself whether you want to, or if it's worth it for you, to pay this off and keep it or just let it go along with the $1200.

If you decide to "let it go", then the worst you will probably face in the USA is a bunch of annoying collection calls and letters. Chances are slim that this will affect your credit rating or score. Many have come on boards like this (see also Timeshare Users Group, aka "TUG"; tugbbs.com) with similar situations like yours and have stopped paying. Most have said that they just faced collection calls and letters but no serious mark on their credit score.

I live in Canada and I got suckered into buying a timeshare with Tafer Residence Club when I was in Cabo San Lucas. I have paid them my initial deposit, and 2 monthly payments so far. I've sent them a registered mail to request to cancel my membership however they replied by email stating I can't cancel it until I paid the remainder of $12,000 USD that is still outstanding.

does anyone know if I could just walk away from this and not having to worry about them sending it to collection and ruin my credit scores? Thank you.

The contract rescission (cancellation) period is 5 days under what passes for “law” in Mexico, so they are certainly under no obligation to honor any cancellation request submitted several months after you signed the contract.

I have never heard of any instance of a Mexican RTU contract breach resulting in any action beyond maybe a few toothless collection letters, nor do I believe that they can or will file a negative credit report for a U.S. or Canadian citizen. This is just a personal observation, offered after closely following timeshare matters for several decades now and my input is not offered as legal advice or any form of substitute for obtaining your own professional legal advice. It is a personal observation — no more, no less.

In any scenario, you will forfeit any deposit paid and all payments made since then. If they have any of your credit card information already, you should consider promptly cancelling that card and getting a new one with a different account number, in order to prevent any possibility of unauthorized charges being made to your credit card by the involved party / parties in Mexico.

Pay attention to what KC just posted. It's good, sound advice. That's right. You won't get your "buy-in" money back. That's gone. Any maintenance fees paid up to now. Also gone. What you're trying to do now is "stop the bleeding". Just stop paying any maintenance fees going forward. Personally, I let my resort know I was doing this. They simply said okay, thanks for everything, see ya. If they do have your credit card on file, follow the previous advice. Cancel it, get a new one. Sleep well.

Thank you KC and Dano33 !

I’m in the same boat. I stopped paying 3 months ago and I’ve been getting emails that if I miss 1 more payment, they would turn it into collections and will likely ruin my credit. I paid $7,000 already but I still owe $7,000. I stopped paying because it was presented as an “investment” at the time we signed, which I know now there’s no such a thing. I haven’t used the resort at all and have not gotten any penny back. I’m contemplating if I should just keep paying my monthly payments for 3 more years to avoid ruining my credit or just stop the bleeding.

Anyone here actually stopped paying? Did it really ruin your credit? Or is it all scare tactics?

christineu18 wrote:

I’m in the same boat. I stopped paying 3 months ago and I’ve been getting emails that if I miss 1 more payment, they would turn it into collections and will likely ruin my credit. I paid $7,000 already but I still owe $7,000. I stopped paying because it was presented as an “investment” at the time we signed, which I know now there’s no such a thing. I haven’t used the resort at all and have not gotten any penny back. I’m contemplating if I should just keep paying my monthly payments for 3 more years to avoid ruining my credit or just stop the bleeding.

Anyone here actually stopped paying? Did it really ruin your credit? Or is it all scare tactics?

Your post does not overtly indicate whether this purchase was in the U.S. or in Mexico. If it was in Mexico, rest assured that they are not going to do anything thing beyond gratefully keeping your $7k deposit and then ultimately forgetting all about you. Their email threats are toothless and meaningless. They have absolutely no collection leverage here in the U.S., unless there is also a physical business presence of that same developer here in the U.S. --- which is highly unlikely --- and they have no leverage (or any intentions) to try to affect your credit rating in the U.S. (or Canada), despite any empty threats indicating otherwise.

I have never heard of anyone ever enduring any negative consequences from just walking away from a Mexican RTU (right to use) contract (which is really nothing more than a overpriced membership --- you actually own NOTHING). The $7k you paid already is gone forever, but that's no reason to voluntarily lose another $7k by sending it off to those deceitful parasites. In my opinion, that would just be a waste of (more) money, unless it is your intention to ever use that RTU contract in the future.

christineu18 wrote:

...but I still owe $7,000....I’m contemplating if I should just keep paying my monthly payments for 3 more years to avoid ruining my credit or just stop the bleeding...... Or is it all scare tactics?

Well, that's a decision you have to make for yourself? Is it worth it for you to pay $7000 in order to protect your credit score that might be affected. The rest of us here can't make that decision for you. Besides, everyone's situation here is different. For some, the protection of a credit score might be worth paying $7000. For others, it would not be worth it. Only you know your situation and what would be best.

And BTW, usually it is just scare tactics. That's all they really can do.

Have stopped receiving bills from timeshare. I guess they finally gave up on trying to get payment for maintenance fees. GOOD!

THAT'S WHAT DID ....DON'T RECEIVE ANY BILLS NOW

Just started sending bills again. I was sending them back and now they started sending them again. I have not paid anything for over 10 years. I just wish they would stop. A timeshare person I talked to in Mexico told me to just ignore the bills so that is what I am doing.

IT TOOK YEARS BUT THEY DON'T BOTHER ME NOW. I JUST KEPT SENDING BILLS BACK TO THEM UNOPENED. THEY PROBABLY THINK I AM DEAD

HELLO, RECENTLY PURCHASED A VACATION MEMBERSHIP IN MEXICO. AFTER MUCH RESEARCH, WE NOW KNOW IT'S A SCAM. "BENEFITS" ARE DEFINITELY NOT WORTH THE MONEY WE WILL BE PAYING. THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE ALL OF OUR CONTACT INFORMATION, BUT WE WERE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO ALSO PROVIDE THEM WITH OUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. QUESTION IS: IF WE STOP PAYING, CAN THEY DO ANYTHING MORE THAN JUST SEND THREATENING EMAILS?

julieg693 wrote:

HELLO, RECENTLY PURCHASED A VACATION MEMBERSHIP IN MEXICO. AFTER MUCH RESEARCH, WE NOW KNOW IT'S A SCAM. "BENEFITS" ARE DEFINITELY NOT WORTH THE MONEY WE WILL BE PAYING. THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE ALL OF OUR CONTACT INFORMATION, BUT WE WERE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO ALSO PROVIDE THEM WITH OUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. QUESTION IS: IF WE STOP PAYING, CAN THEY DO ANYTHING MORE THAN JUST SEND THREATENING EMAILS?

Not a "scam", just a relatively worthless product that you voluntarily chose to purchase of your own free will and for entirely too much money. That's not a "scam"; that is just a poor financial decision on your part and one that you understandably now regret. We all make mistakes; some of those mistakes are costly.

To answer your question, no there really isn't much of anything they can do beyond terminating your (nearly worthless anyhow) RTU "membership" and possibly denying you future access to the property. Besides some toothless emails, you could possibly also get phone calls if they decide to utilize a collection agency. Collection agencies, although annoying, are also completely toothless and they are seldom used by Mexican timeshare operations anyhow.

Walk away, pay them not another penny and just regard this experience as an unfortunate and expensive "life lesson".

P.S. There isn't anything you can do now about having (unnecessarily) given those parasites your social security number. However, if you also gave them any credit card information, cancel those cards immediately and get new ones with a different account number. Likewise for any bank account information they might possess. You don't want them to be able to have any access to any of your credit card(s) or bank account(s) where they could possibly attempt to make any unauthorized charges or withdrawals.

That's right. When I cancelled my membership, or whatever you want to call it, I called MasterCard and asked for a new credit card. No problem. The resort didn't have any banking or Social Security information. (Social Insurance here in Canada), so, that was it. Unfortunately, others at my place of work, also in the same boat as me, followed my lead and did everything I did, except they didn't cancel their credit card. Two of them got charged a maintenance fee, even though the resort had cancelled their membership. They got that money back, but it was a headache. The resort basically said "oops" poor communication between departments. Hmm....maybe. Best to cancel that card.