Belaire Vacation Club/Puerto Vallarta

Has anyone been contacted by U Hotel Golf Resort and Marina about buying back timeshares of Belaire Vacation Club? Is it legit? We were just contacted. First, we must pay a 10% transfer fee. They're offering a nice amount of bucks but we're suspicious. Paul and Karen IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFO received from another Belaire owner: Paul, in my dealings with Belaire and all the BS that I have been through with them this whole thing smells just like another scheme designed by Copela (Belaire owner) to bilk more money from his already bilked clientele. He will stoop to any depth to rip people off. I believe he is a mobster and this latest ruse is likely a way of getting legal consent by his past disgruntled members to gain the original contracts so he can resell them. Even dumb people can figure out that once he has sold out the first tower and that tower isn't even close to completion no one would be stupid enough to buy into a second tower that they haven't even got room to excavate a foundation site. He is simply milking what he has for all it's worth and this so called buy-back program is his way of fulfilling his promise to us of this big May the 5th event that was supposed to make him commercial and the first two floors would be completed etc is about to take place albeit under another company name. He has concocted another cover-up of what is actually happening and that is more slimy business dealing. I contacted U Resorts and Marina once again yesterday and told him I was interested in the buy-back program and to send me the documentation. He did and upon reviewing it, it was as I suspected, another vague document that has no real substance. Just the use of legal jargon, no end dates and empty promises.

i was contacted by a lawyer in las vegas offering a nice profit to buy back mine as well. 10% must go to escrow first to pay all the transfer fees. more crap no doubt. does anyone ever think this will be built or should i just considere myself screwed the price of a new car? anyone know how to check with prefeco to see if this was indeed a real sale from beleaire to U? i would like to be able to have all of the facts.

thanks, karen

I am considering hiring a firm to help me get my Belaire money back. Check them out: Timeshare Advocacy International -TAI at www.timeshareaide.com. They seem legit, offer a 100% money back guarantee and know the Perfecto folks and how to work with them. Paul

hi paul, did you ever try to contact profeco to try and get your money back?? or know of anyobne? do they have a website?

thanks, karen

www.profeco.gob.mx/english

We have spoken to the representative at U Hotel and he says it is a new ownership. Profeco however says it is just a name change. U Hotel now wants $5,000.00 to tranfer the Belaire contracts over. It definately feels wrong. Mario, says he is the manager, and Belaire went bankrupt. Any further help for us? Nothing is being done at all. Lani

hi paul, did you ever try to contact anyone to help your money back? we are going to puerto vallarta in march and plan to check on things.

karen

Contact Profeco .... this seems to be a fraud operation, however if Belaire did in fact go bankrupt, I don't know if there is any way to get your money back .... you need professional help than an internet forum cannot give you.

My wife and I had a "members" update at Hotel U on Jan 17. They (Mario Seg) told us that our Belaire membership was worthless but for $7000 we could convert that contract to Hotel U and either keep it, or resale it through IES (International Excrow Services) for an additional $799. They gave us a one page "guarantee of sale" from IES for an amount substantally larger than our initial buy. We were skeptical and asked for some contact directly from IES once we returned home. (we did give them the money in hopes we could recover our inital outlay). Well, the call from IES never came (3 days late now) in spite of my repeated attempts to contact them by phone, fax and email via their website. I have the sinking feeling we have been had again. If we don't hear by the end of this week, we plan to contact our credit card company and have them reverse the payment. (hope this works!!). By the way, absolutely no construction has taken place since our last visit a year ago. Mario claimed the letters we received from Hotel U were not sent by them and some of the information in it was not true and other info was omitted (like needing to convert the contract to Hotel U for a fee. We would love to hear from others and their experience and suggestions.

Thank you for your entry. We went to a presentation today and was told the same stuff that you heard. Mario is very good and convincing. We were told that we could decide tonight and complete the paperwork and payment tomorrow if we want to continue. My wife wants to take the chance of receiving over $100,000 for the $8,000 title change. I'm concerned that the deal is too good to be true. That's why I'm checking the internet as to anyone that has received payment. While at the U-Resort, Mario said that several people had flown in to PVR to pick up their check. There were also several other people waiting to sign up. Please keep us posted as to your situation. Good luck.

genem16 wrote:

Thank you for your entry. We went to a presentation today and was told the same stuff that you heard. Mario is very good and convincing. We were told that we could decide tonight and complete the paperwork and payment tomorrow if we want to continue. My wife wants to take the chance of receiving over $100,000 for the $8,000 title change. I'm concerned that the deal is too good to be true. That's why I'm checking the internet as to anyone that has received payment. While at the U-Resort, Mario said that several people had flown in to PVR to pick up their check. There were also several other people waiting to sign up. Please keep us posted as to your situation. Good luck.

$100,000 and $8000 title change ..... there's no such legitimate numbers relating to timeshares .... run away while you can .... scammers are very good at what they do .... they've had plenty of practice.

Another word of advice .... never attend a presentation.

On Monday, Jan 31, I had still no contact from my repeated messages via email, fax, and tel. I called again and got a message that the tel number I was calling was "temporarily suspended". So, I assumed the worst and send a fax (still working number) stating that I must have contact within 24 hrs or would cancel the credit card charges. I also sent a similar message to Mario via email. I never heard from Mario, but did get a tel call from IES, man named Allen Dale. I told not to worry, everything was on track, etc. Very convincing, however, he would not provide me with a physical address and did not have IES business license number, being just a worker, not a high level manager. He told me that Phillip Green was a supervisor at IES and was very busy closing deals, business meetings with legal, notaries, etc. and that phillip would contact met. He gave me a number at which I could reach him (Allen) which is a different number from the one suspended. I recognized this number from a call several months ago when we were all first contacted regarding possible resale. Then, I got a solicitous message from Phillip Green, apologizing for lack of contact, said thngs are rolling along OK, and please do not do this to him (cancel cr crd.) I now have his email address, and responded with thanks for the contact. He responded immediately (both emails were from his iphone). Said he was in Guadalajara closing on 7 Hotel U contracts. Oh, Allen Dale told me that they sent out 30 checks in December, and 22 checks in January. All of this we are required to accept on trust. So, although somewhat reassured, it will not be known for sure until the sale is completed and the check is in the bank. I will keep you posted. (estimates as to closure range from 30 to 60 to 90 days)

We had a meeting with Hotel U's Mario Seg last Thursday. Simply put, it is all bullshit. To give you an idea of how corrupt the situation is: I proposed that they or he personally put up $8000 with the written understanding that they would pay us back our original payment of $30,000 and that they could keep the balance of about $85,000. Quite a deal, you say? So why didn't he take it?.... To give you another idea of the absurdity of the situation, I summarized what Mario told me, ie. that we needed to pay him $8000 that day in order to get $115000 within six months. He said "no" that we didn't have to pay him anything; that we could put the money on a credit card.... just a small example of how stupid they think we are. So, we have concluded that all is lost but we refuse to lose more! We did register, for what it's worth, our situation to Profecto and asked them to confirm/deny that Belaire is out of business and that we have no recourse.

Accept your losses and move on unless you can afford to lose more. We can't.

Paul and Karen

Hi, we are going to pvr in march and will be swinging by the belaire, U, whatever their name will be then. we are also planning to go to prefeco and see what they have to say. people down there have told us to tell any cab driver we want to go to prefeco and they will know where it is. isn't that scary? will keep everyone posted. we lost $40,000 and we have made peace with it. if some $$ come from all this, i will feel like we hit the lottery. "ringers" have probably gotten their money back? or should i say, say they have gotten their money back. when U is completed, then i may think of giving them money, NOT BEFORE!!!

karen and steve from snowy rhode island

We share you point of view about Belaire/U but don't believe it will EVER be built. You will learn from Profeco that it's best to file a complaint by email. They indicated that they get back to you with 3-4 days if you scan your contract and case to them. If you file a claim in Mexico, you must then appear for a hearing months later in Mexico. Email: extranjeros@profeco.gob.mex Paul Arfin Long Island NY

thanks for the address of profeco. does anyone know how they work to get money back from a defunct/bankrupt/out of business company? i think that we are all screwed. can anyone guess what their haul was?

karen and steve

We received a call and paperwork today for our Diamond Membership, quoting we pay the fee of $9600 to change the title over and we would receive $106,000 in 120 days or less.

Has anyone actually been paid or been able to find any legitimate information on this company IES?

My husband wants to take the risk, but I am hesitant. I too, wonder why they won't pay the transfer fee upfront and take it off the cheque we would receive....

Still sounds too good to be true...

curtism34 wrote:

On Monday, Jan 31, I had still no contact from my repeated messages via email, fax, and tel. I called again and got a message that the tel number I was calling was "temporarily suspended". So, I assumed the worst and send a fax (still working number) stating that I must have contact within 24 hrs or would cancel the credit card charges. I also sent a similar message to Mario via email. I never heard from Mario, but did get a tel call from IES, man named Allen Dale. I told not to worry, everything was on track, etc. Very convincing, however, he would not provide me with a physical address and did not have IES business license number, being just a worker, not a high level manager. He told me that Phillip Green was a supervisor at IES and was very busy closing deals, business meetings with legal, notaries, etc. and that phillip would contact met. He gave me a number at which I could reach him (Allen) which is a different number from the one suspended. I recognized this number from a call several months ago when we were all first contacted regarding possible resale. Then, I got a solicitous message from Phillip Green, apologizing for lack of contact, said thngs are rolling along OK, and please do not do this to him (cancel cr crd.) I now have his email address, and responded with thanks for the contact. He responded immediately (both emails were from his iphone). Said he was in Guadalajara closing on 7 Hotel U contracts. Oh, Allen Dale told me that they sent out 30 checks in December, and 22 checks in January. All of this we are required to accept on trust. So, although somewhat reassured, it will not be known for sure until the sale is completed and the check is in the bank. I will keep you posted. (estimates as to closure range from 30 to 60 to 90 days)

I forgot to mention that they said they only had 15 days for this process of contract buy backs direct, or they have to sign an exclusive re-sale with Belair which then the customer would only receive their initial investment back, not the $100,00 or whatever you are offered.

Does anyone know the answer to this question: If you bought from Belaire and decide not to a buy back from U Resort now, will U Resort buy your timeshare if and when the first tower is complete? When they tried to get us to pay $8K in January, they made it sound like we were giving up our rights to the property. PMA