anyone been to this resort?

A total rip off! I am a total idiot to buy from these crooks. Cindy Kidd.......CARMA!

I DON'T WORK FOR ANYONE....I WAS RIPPED OFF!

IM HAPPY BECAUSE I HAD A WONDERFULL TIME THERE THATS ALL. BUT IF YOU OR ANYONE NEED INFORMATION I WILL POST THE INFORMATION IN MY CONTRACT.. I WORK FOR CAN AM DILERSHIP IN CANADA BUT I WILL MOVE TO COSTARICA IN THE FUTURE. . HAVE A GREAT DAY

I will try I’m going to visit this weekend and we will post our experience so that everyone will know, thanks

will.mack.

Hello, I am following your post. We recently returned home after purchasing a similar deal. After returning home I started doing research and was thinking it was all to good to be true. We are now outside the 8 day window to cancel. Would you recommend that I go straight to my credit card company to dispute the transaction? When you disputed the charges, did Visa need to see that you tried to handle with them first? Please help.

sergior19 wrote:

We made a claim dispute with the credit card company and we could cancel our transaction. The result of the claim is that the company in the US never respond the phone calls. So it was easy. I should be getting the confirmation letter this week and I'm canceling the credit card after that. Fortunately they didn't get one cent from us, the down payment was through the said credit card. They keep calling us and leaving messages but we don't respond. We also filed a complaint with the Attorney General of the State and they accept the complaint so now we are just waiting for them take us to court (we don't think it's going to happen). I create a Facebook page, please join us and keep it rolling.

First of all sorry for not being following this messages. Also, I closed the Facebook page (nobody was joining, it made me think who is real or not) answering your question: we did file a complaint because we couldn't have any answer trying to cancel the transaction from the number in the cc statement. The company couldn't find our contract number (it's their excuse). So when I called Visa I explained the situation and ask them to cancel the transaction. They did. They also couldn't have any answer from the number, I asked them to cancel my cc and issue a new one with new number. Luckily I didn't give any down payment or gave any other cc info. I filed a complaint with the attorney general of the state to cancel the contract. So far we believe they will not bother any more. Why would they? They get money from others and they will not spend money with one isolated case.

did you ever hire a lawyer?

I didn't need it (yet)...

jeffp,

I'm in the same boat as you. I bought in July and have been talking with my credit card company since then. They denied my first claim, saying that the merchant claimed to be providing me services. I re-opened the case and it's been pending since beginning of December. I haven't heard from the company since the beginning of August.

To Jeff and all of you working with your credit card companies, You are lucky to start on this early. We bought Dec. of 2011 and because we paid for the (scam) rental program, (Which didn't start until year two) we didn't find out that the rental group skipped town for 15 months. By that time, we couldn't get anything back from our cc because they ran it all through Mexico and we were told it was too late. Work fast and keep calling them. Master Card originally said they could work with me and months later I was denied. Jinger

I'm at Bahia Turquesa right now, halfway through a delightful week. I was upgraded to a "recently renovated" 2BR unit because I expressed interest in the 90-minute presentation. In return for attending, we were granted free access all week to the Playa Club beach and the comfortable beach chairs they have. That's important because Costa Rican beaches have no chairs unless you rent one or bring your own.

The unit's furnishings are as cheap as they come. Knives with handles that fall off; closets with Ikea-style junky drawers that don't fit; a door lock system that cannot be opened from the inside without a key (great if there's a fire--you have to throw a chair through a window to escape); the poorest excuse for a coffeemaker I ever saw; etc. etc. On a very hot Day One we went for a morning swim and detected a vile odor right outside our door. I found a sewage overflow right under our deck. That's right: pee-pee, poop and paper bubbling out of some sort of concrete septic reservoir. On Day Two, the water stopped running for about 3 hours. Today, Day Three, we attended the fractional ownership 90-minute sales pitch and of course did not get snookered.

So why am I saying this is delightful? Well, the mgmt team addressed the septic leak immediately and totally cleaned up the spill, offered to move us, and deodorized our unit. This on a Sunday (election day in Cost Rica, a national holiday). I was impressed. The water shutoff on Day Two was due to the local water authority's periodic habit of shutting it down without warning. Nothing the BT mgmt can do about that. When we travel to Cost Rica, we set our expectations properly so these issues are something we simply know will occur. Probably not at the Hilton Papagayo, but I didn't want to pay those prices.

Now about the Las Palmas frac ownership, prepaid vacation, or whatever the program is. We always attend these things. I find it to be an interesting battle of wits to outsmart the presenters at their own game. I enjoy the challenge of seeing through their obviously impossible claims and making them squirm when I start asking tough questions. In the case of the Las Palmas guys, it was pretty easy.

There really are only two things you need to know when dealing with an offshore timeshare sales pitch:

1. What legal jurisdiction will hear your complaint if you feel you got scammed?

2. What is the right-of-rescission law in the country you're in (in other words, how many days do you have to discover you made a mistake and undo the transaction)?

The Las Palmas offer flunked both tests immediately:

1. They could not, or would not, divulge what legal jurisdiction would hear any challenges.

2. Costa Rica has a law requiring an 8-day opt-out period for real estate transactions. However, the Las Palmas guys claim that they provide "material consideration" to basically buy their way out of that requirement when they offered to buy back my two timeshare weeks at US resorts at wildly-inflated prices (which was really just their transparent attempt to lop off about $30,000 from their ridiculously high price tag). So there is no rescission period to protect the buyer in this case, and we walked.

No matter where you are, if either of these conditions can't be met, you're just throwing your money away if you sign up for the program. I doubt that your credit card company, the FTC, your representative in Congress, or anyone else on US soil will be able to help you if you fall into this trap.

Funny you say that, because I just won my appeal with my credit card as of yesterday. My credit company, Citi, found that I wasn't getting any services I was promised and awarded me every dollar I put on my credit card. Luckily, like Sergio, I now just wait to see if they bring me to court, however I truly doubt it will ever come to that, especially with Citi arguing in my favor. For those of you contacting your credit company, be specific as possible and send them any information you had. My initial request was denied, however after providing emails with the company that went unanswered and other bits of information, it seems like my efforts paid off. Good luck.

Hi My Wife and i bought a Time Share ...or as they sell it now ..a Fractional from a woman named Caroline, on our trip to Playa de Coco ,Costa Rica last week. she had a British accent, and ,said she was from York. After coming home and reading all of these Post's ,I realize we were Screwed. according to Costa Rica Law you have to cancel 8 days in person at the place you bought the timeshare. But im back home and can't fly back by tomorrow.

JOEL: URGENT: 1. Nothing says you need to cancel in person. Send an email immediately, call them today (call the person in the billing department, not Caroline) and follow with an overnight letter (send FedEx or other, for overnight delivery). Demand cancellation, through reference to the 8 day rescission. They may say you've used their services (gotten a "free meal," or an upgrade). If so, then offer to pay for that, but get the rest back as a refund. There is nothing in the law that requires you to be there, and nothing that says if you use any services it invalidates the law -- even though they may try this tack. Don't let them get away with this. 2. Cancel any credit card charges. Immediately notify your cc company of the fraud that has taken place, and cancel. They all give you at least 30 days to rescind purchases. Many give more days. Refer to this forum for all the proof you need for your claim of fraud. If that doesn't get them, then there are several of us who have much additional proof of all the illegal activities going on at Coco/Bahia. Ask for this proof in a further post, providing an email address. 3. Don't be deterred by their threats. NO ONE has ever been sued by these jokers. Just as it works against us that they are in Costa Rica, and therefore can buy the CR legal system (and obviously have), it deters them that we are outside that crooked jurisdiction and can easily expose them if they choose to pursue a case here.

Joel,

Follow Patrick's advice. We were charged over $16,000 on our Amex card even though we did not sign the contract. Went back the next day and they reversed it. .."administrative error". I truly wonder if there are any happy customers out there.

Addendum posted Feb. 21, 2014: They still have not reversed the charge. I guess we will have to let the dispute run its course. I sent two emails to the administrative contact chantal@playasdelaspalmas.com and of course have received no reply.

Advice to the people who read this and still go to the presentation: DO NOT give them your credit card and driver's license unless you are totally, 150% sure you want to go through with this. We gave them our Amex card and they rang up the charge even though we did not sign the charge voucher.

Donald,

How long ago did you buy into the crazy program? I went through hoops and even sent copies of what I sent to the Illinois States Attorney (since one of the scam companies said they had an office in Springfield, IL which didn't exist.) - They didn't help either. I got no where with my credit card companies because it was out of the country. I'm always up for a re-match.

Jinger

I bought this past July, and put in for a credit review about 3 weeks after the actual purchase date. (after seeing these posts) The purchase was for their travel network, so even though I purchased in Costa Rica, the credit rang up to Las Palmas in California with some phone number after it. The amount I put on my Citi card wasn't as much as some others have initially paid, but it was still a large amount. In my fight, I sent copies of the contract I signed, the emails I sent requesting cancellation that were not responded to, and the secondary contract with a marketing company that was supposed to "guarantee"me money. (that was never signed, because I found out they were bogus before I signed it) My claim was that I was not receiving services outlined in the contract (both contracts) and that I tried to ask questions and resolve issues, but those requests went unfulfilled. I was initially denied my claim, but I reopened at the beginning of December with basically the same argument. They were claiming that Las Palmas told them I was receiving services and that I did not request to cancel in time. I pointed out that in my contract there was nothing noting the date to cancel, and that I was never informed in our meeting when I could cancel. I also provided emails that showed a neglect to answer my questions. I also told them I haven't heard from either company since the beginning of August, which would be a major neglect in services and communication. My second request was granted in my favor last week, and I didn't have to pay a cent. I have not gotten a call or email since the beginning of August from this company/resort, sans for the occasional "check out what were doing here", and I doubt I will. Citi really went to bat for me here.

Hi Patrick,

I am happy to see that you are still helping people get out of the grips of these low-life scam artists and thieves. Good work.

Has anyone been contacted by the Mexican Fraud Investigation Unit in Guadalajara mx about this timeshare fraud? About 2 weeks after pestering Omnicorp I find out about payments etc I conveniently was contacted from the above. Are they all a part of the scam?

Yes, they are frauds, too. Please, when spending so much of your hard-earned money, take the time to review ALL these posts -- you'll find numerous methods the crooks are using to sound real. This is one of the better ones. Sometimes they used a "widow" on the phone, describing how she just wanted to share how these nice people had helped her. Other times, it's a sincere-sounding young man saying that he's working in the prosecutor's office going down a list of purchasers these now-arrested crooks had ripped-off. Oh, he sounds so eager to help, and on your side! He just needs a few facts to verify that he has the right person -- facts such as your bank account, social security number, etc. And then: why do they inevitably come back, sometimes weeks afterwards, and describe the "one last-second hang-up" preventing you from your refund? (Usually the "problem" is presented as the local authorities needing to get paid for overdue property taxes; but in that case, why should you be responsible, as any taxes should have been part of your maintenance fee -- and when you push back suddenly the "fraud team" no longer answers your calls?) Again, "if it sounds too good to be true -- it undoubtedly is!"