Grupo mayan lies to sell timeshare!!

I am writing this to describe what it was a horrible experience with Grupo Mayan. On November 2008 we went on vacations to Puerto Vallarta. Everything was excellent until the day we were approached by Sam. He started offering us free products and tours in exchange for going to a 2 hours (maximum he said) presentation. We told him we are not interested, but he begged to us to attend this presentation and that way he will make some money, so we agreed. We attend this presentation from 9 am. until 2pm. (more than 4 hours). This was the first lie. During this time we met a several high pressure salesmen, they stated this could be a good "investment". I was very clear to them that I am retired and I cannot travel anymore, also I told them that I cannot afford this "investment", we felt quite harrassed and repeatedly said NO. Then, they came back with a special offer and said "NOT TO TELL ANYONE", they assured with this offer, not to worry, because they VERBALLY GUARANTEED they will rent my weeks and with the rental money I can offset the maintenance fees and within 5 years I will recover the money I put in this investment. I asked them if I can cancel this contract and they told me I can do it until I get home, because my contract is not issued in the system. At this time, we were so exhausted that we agreed to sign the contract. (BIG MISTAKE) and after this we thought we could relax and enjoy our vacations. To our dismay, when we got home, all the benefits the sales staff said we would get with this membership were turning out to be untrue. We called them and we tried to cancel this contract, but they just said the cancellation period has passed. Another Lie. We checked the information of Grupo Mayan on the web, and for our surprise, we found many others trying to recover their monies. We now realize, a few months later, that everything we were sold is a LIE, the people from Grupo Mayan has stolen our money, abused our innocence and patience, using NO ETHICAL SALES TACTICS and MISLEADING INFORMATION.

Get in touch with Profeco ..... they are the consumer advocate agency in Mexico .... they have been responsible for getting money back from resorts that have lied to buyers in timeshare presentations and after you've signed a contract. Search forums for more on Profeco and how to get in touch with them.

I wish to retract my previous posting. My complaint has been satisfactorily resolved.

The problem with the above scenario is that no matter what a timeshare salesperson tells you (verbally) in a presentation .... its only what's written in your contract that is legally valid .... all the verbal lies mean nothing in a court of law unless you recorded the conversation.

Many timeshare salespeople (not all) will tell you anything to get you to sign on that dotted line ..... much like upfront fee resale parasite companies.

In presentations, if the original salesperson can't get a prospective client to sign then they bring in the heavy handed artillary to try and convince you ..... it's like a chain presentation.

The people that Profeco mainly helps are the ones that have been forced to waive their 5 day rescission period ..... it's law that you have that option.

You can find horror stories on the Internet for just about every timeshare company in Mexico. We had a good experience dealing with Mayan - other than being there for a longer than expected amount of time. On the other hand, we just had a horrendously bad experience when visiting Velas Vallarta (who was trying to get us to switch from Mayan) and have read many more negative reviews about Velas' deceptive practices than about Mayan (probably about a 3-to-1 ratio). The bottom line is....buyer beware - no matter who you're dealing with.

I'd be interested in hearing from others with bad experiences with either Mayan or Velas as I am trying to warn others via as many forums, boards, etc. as I can. I'm mad as (heck) after reading about people having so many bad experiences - especially with Velas having significantly more complaints.

We have been going to timeshare presentations for a decade plus now. When we really didn't have the money to buy in, it was no great problem to say "NO". Then with retirement we discovered we had time and (oddly) more money, so it was not so easy. We now own with 4 resort chains including Mayan. The rest are U.S. I can't think of ANY presentation that didn't take more than the advertised 90 minutes! Most go for hours. Of course, this is partly our fault because we enjoy discussion timeshares and pick their brains till they bleed. It's cheaper than drinking or playing golf--if you don't weaken. In fact, we get most of our tickets to events free that way! Well, OK, we have paid for them in the long run by various purchases, but we have also had adventures which we would never have had if we had not become involved. We are currently Grand Mayan but will use that level for the first time in November. I'll try to check back in and give you an update. (They will probably be pushing Grand Bliss this time! Lord, give us strength!) MD

adahiscout wrote:

Then with retirement we discovered we had time and (oddly) more money, so it was not so easy. We now own with 4 resort chains including Mayan. The rest are U.S.

Retirements and timesharing. What a combination... sounds like 1/2 of the TUG members. OF course, you may already be a member (don't know your ID).

No, I never got involved with TUG. The discussions here, with the Bluegreen Owners, and now and then with Fairfield/Wyndham are about as much as I can handle! MD

We were also lied to. We were told if we wanted to rent out our week we could call the person listed in a copy of a letter from Resort Rentals Mexico and they would send us a check for the rental no waiting. False!! YOu have to pay $299 to list with them and wait for them to rent.

My issue with Grupo Mayan has been satisfactorily resolved.

sl108 wrote:

I am writing this to describe what it was a horrible experience with Grupo Mayan. On November 2008 we went on vacations to Puerto Vallarta. Everything was excellent until the day we were approached by Sam. He started offering us free products and tours in exchange for going to a 2 hours (maximum he said) presentation. We told him we are not interested, but he begged to us to attend this presentation and that way he will make some money, so we agreed. We attend this presentation from 9 am. until 2pm. (more than 4 hours). This was the first lie. During this time we met a several high pressure salesmen, they stated this could be a good "investment". I was very clear to them that I am retired and I cannot travel anymore, also I told them that I cannot afford this "investment", we felt quite harrassed and repeatedly said NO. Then, they came back with a special offer and said "NOT TO TELL ANYONE", they assured with this offer, not to worry, because they VERBALLY GUARANTEED they will rent my weeks and with the rental money I can offset the maintenance fees and within 5 years I will recover the money I put in this investment. I asked them if I can cancel this contract and they told me I can do it until I get home, because my contract is not issued in the system. At this time, we were so exhausted that we agreed to sign the contract. (BIG MISTAKE) and after this we thought we could relax and enjoy our vacations. To our dismay, when we got home, all the benefits the sales staff said we would get with this membership were turning out to be untrue. We called them and we tried to cancel this contract, but they just said the cancellation period has passed. Another Lie. We checked the information of Grupo Mayan on the web, and for our surprise, we found many others trying to recover their monies. We now realize, a few months later, that everything we were sold is a LIE, the people from Grupo Mayan has stolen our money, abused our innocence and patience, using NO ETHICAL SALES TACTICS and MISLEADING INFORMATION.

HOW ARE THEY ALLOWED TO GET AWAY WITH ALL OF THIS? IT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS!!! THEY FISH PEOPLE OUT AT THE CANCUN AIRPORT. IT IS NOTHING BUT DAYLIGHT ROBBERY! PEOPLE SHOULD BE WARNED ABOUT THE MAYAN "LYIN'" , AS THEY ARE BETTER KNOWN BY THIS NAME AMONG THE "CONNED COMMUNITY."

Mayan (and others) have high pressure salespeople. No doubt about that. They also really have offered a plan which lets us pay no maintenance fees if we don't use or rent our time at---was that 72?--and pay no MF if we DO use it ourselves at 75--or was that 77? We've passed both marks anyhow so we don't care. We only pay if we rent the time to someone else. And Yes, this has really worked. MD

YES THEY DO AND THEY HAVE LIED TO ME CONSISTENLY FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS!!!! I AM STILL WAITING FOR THE RETURN OF MY MONEY FROM THEM FOR THE PURCHASE OF A STUDIO. THE CONTRACT HAS BEEN CANCELLED BY THEM AND THEY ARE STILL HANGING ONTO THE MONEY. THEY SAY NOW THAT THEY HAVE CHANGED AND BECOME "TRANSPARENT".

THE PROOF WILL BE EVIDENT BY NEXT TUESDAY 15 MARCH. KEEP POSTED. HAPPY WEEK END!!!

Did you get your money back? We are in the same boat.

Thanks,

Frank de anda

I would like to help you with any legal information you may need, I have worked in the ts industry for many years and I may be able to provide reliable information. Samuel.

samuelc38 wrote:

I would like to help you with any legal information you may need, I have worked in the ts industry for many years and I may be able to provide reliable information. Samuel.

And how much do YOU charge upfront ?????

I have information regarding dealing with Grupo Mayan if your contract was misrepresented. I do so on a regular basis and I charge nothing up front. I would love to help if I can.

I had a very similar experience just as recently as Aug 2011. I find it deceitful and misleading that there was never a discussion on the right of rescission, and when I returned home and called to cancel the timeshare services, the company refused to work with me, even when I asked if there was a cancellation fee, which the representative brought up herself, she corrected herself and said there was no cancellation fee. I am now in what could be a lengthy process with my credit card company to dispute the charges to proceed with cancellation of the unused services. The time share representatives were so focused on telling how great the property was and how many "bonus weeks" they were throwing in (even though they still cost over $400 per week of used time), that they failed to discuss or even list and highlight the right of rescission in a checklist of things that you had to initial and sign off in the final paperwork process.

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matthews170 wrote:

I have information regarding dealing with Grupo Mayan if your contract was misrepresented. I do so on a regular basis and I charge nothing up front. I would love to help if I can.

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samuelc38 wrote:

I would like to help you with any legal information you may need, I have worked in the ts industry for many years and I may be able to provide reliable information. Samuel.