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I recently vacationed in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. In order to get to the resort I was staying at I had to take a plane to Cancun and then a taxi into town. As soon as I stepped off the plane and into the airport, I was approached by a gentleman offering me private shuttle service and 3 tickets to Chichen Itza for less that the cost of a taxi ride into Playa del Carmen. All I had to do was visit the new Tres Rios Hacienda, a self-proclaimed 6 start resort. There would, of course, be someone serving me a sales pitch, but a gourmet breakfast buffet would be included and it would only take an hour of my time.
Against my better judgment, I took them up on their offer figuring the 3 free tickets to Chichen Itza alone would save me over $300, not including the travel arrangements to and from that they would also be providing.
The Tres Rios Riviera Maya resort was spectacular. It was still in the final phases of completion, so when the salesman tried to sell us "property" there, he was offering it at a "discounted rate." One hour, eventually became three and since the group that ran the resort was also providing the transportation back to my hotel, I was, in a sense, stuck listening to a persistent salesman offering various different kinds of packages, throwing in additional vacation weeks to anywhere in the world, while pumping me and my traveling companions full of alcohol.
In the end, the deal sounded so good, I signed on the dotted line.
Unfortunately, the way the contract was explained to us and how it was actually written were quite different and difficult to interpret.
The contract even has a disclaimer at the end that basically states that due to the language barrier, some information may not be expressed clearly and interpretation is at the discretion of the organization.
Having a bad feeling about the deal once I had a couple of days to go over the contract, I tried to have it terminated under the guidelines provided. But, I was given the runaround until the number of days to do so had expired. Then they refused to release me from the contract, claiming that I did not notify them in the allotted amount of time.
After fighting back and forth through my credit card company, I finally conceded and decided to try recouping some of the money by selling my two weeks at the resort. However, I could never reach a representative, only an answering service. The toll-free telephone numbers listed on their official website led to dead-ends: one to a non-functioning line and the other to a U.S. based faucet manufacturer.
None of my phone calls, e-mails, faxes or letters were ever responded to and now I am left fighting to get the charges reversed by my credit card company once again.
I have since written a formal letter to Federal Office of Consumer Affairs in Mexico, but have yet to hear anything.
The ironic thing is that according to the Sunset Group, which manages Tres Rios, the fault is all mine. As they expressed to my credit card company, the miscommunication that ensued was on my end as I was conducting business in a foreign land and because of the language-barrier, I should have been more cautious. However, one of the company's main office is based out of Miami, Florida and the gentleman who sold me the property was from Canada and spoke perfect English.
This is a warning to anyone who is planning to travel to or around the Cancun area. If you are approached by someone offering a cheap taxi ride and free tickets to various different excursions in exchange for visiting the Tres Rios Hacienda, pay the extra money for the cab ride... you'll end up saving more money (and headaches) in the long run.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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Getting into a timeshare can be very easy, getting out, not so much. Many vacationers purchase timeshares with the intention to travel around the world, some others pretend to buy the vacation property as a financial investment (which is actually unwise move), while some of them were practically pushed into it. Whichever the reason is, the truth is that loads of timeshare owners regret their purchases. http://timesharescam.com/
Timeshare scams are very common in Mexico. Another fraudulent company in Playa del Carmen is Royal Elite. Royal Elite has the worst customer service ever known.. a timeshare membership shouldn’t being sold for the purpose of renting it out for a profit. it is not an investment. you should be able to do a research about the company before signing, if you are not allow to take a couple days to consider a purchase as big as a timeshare membership, you shouldn’t purchase it at all.. Here is another blacklist of more complaints made to Royal Elite Timeshare Scams, we are not the only ones.. this needs to stop:
http://www.timesharescam.com/timeshare-complaints-resorts-black-list/6-royal-elite-sandos-timeshare-complaints/
I am glad you posted this warning about Tres Rios. I have friends who stayed there recently and were hounded by the timeshare salespeople to buy, fortunately my friends didn't buy. But PLEASE stop calling the con artist who sold you the property a "gentleman". He is not a gentleman! Refer to him as a creep or a criminal!
The tmeshare industry in Mexico is taking almost a Billion Dollars every year from Americans and Candians. They are taking away their earnest money based on lies and misrepresentation. I have collected evidence to support the claims of thousands of people deceived from this company. Share this info with your general attorney, the Federal Trade Commsision, the Consulate of Canada and USA in Cancún as well as any government agency that you believe might be interested in putting pressure in the Mexican Government to stop these companies from scamming more honest people.
Please visit this website (specially the video section) to know in detail how these companies operate.
www.sunsetscam.com
www.sunsetscam.com
www.sunsetscam.com
www.sunsetscam.com
www.sunsetscam.com
www.sunsetscam.com
went thru the same sales pitch, 90 minutes turned into 3 hours, we had our 9 and 13 yeaqr old with us, , the BS that came out of their mouths, , as the time went by and we asked more questions, the deal came getting better.. they were completely shocked that we would like a couple of days to decide.. we asked for contact info, , they brushed that off then bascally said we don't need your business, you were just here for the free stuff, you can't afford this or anything like this place, , then they said we needed to answer a 7 question interview regarding the, get this, integrity of their sales process, that turned into a another more agressive sales pitch, , , , , JUST ABOUT ASSAULTED the guy doing the pitch, , must have been his intent, , took a breath, stood up, , told everyone we were leaving, , call me a cab, point me to the gate, let me wonder aimlessly in the deseert with my family, , , but this BS is over I would rather have a root canel then spend another moment at the table with this freak;n GREASE ball from Miami... if anyone has more info-news about these folks I would love to here it, ,
did anyone meet Milton ..this one played hockey for some Michigan univercity, , sure he had other convenient back grounds..tall oldish guy in good shape, built like a bouncer?
To all the people that read this complaint, I am a member from the Sunset Group since 1998 and I can tell you by my own experience that is the best I ever had, I upgraded my membership to Tres Rios Resort last december and It is expectacular resort, just to inform to all of you i have two more timesares one in Mayan Palace Riviera Maya and also in Orlando Florida, and the best service I had is from Sunset Group, everytime I go there they treat me like the owner of the place, they make me wish to comeback to the resort, Mayan Palace is very nice but I am only other one and is cold people you are a room number, in sunset they call me by my last name, my two sons love it special the people from concierge, they d everything to please you all the time, the workers are very nice and the food is great. And for all the new members at Sunset or Tres Rios the best time will be when you stay there, remember my words, YOU WILL LOVE IT!
Steve Awrsen
San Diego, Ca