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With spring vacation nearing, I would like to warn all American who are traveling to Mexico to stay away from the Mexican Timeshare scam. In our last vacation in the Moon Palace in Cancun Mexico, April 2006, we felt the room was too small. We approach someone at the information desks and asked about the tours and if we could change our room to a suite. She said it is too late to change the room. But, she can show us how a Suite looks like. She was supposed to meet us but passed us to a person that we later found out was a Finance Manager of Palace. A simple showing turned into a four-six hour sales pitch. We signed the contract that at time seemed to be a fair. Later, when we came back to US and tried to make reservation for our next vacation, we were told that we have pay thousands of dollars for the preferential rate of the room. The rate is the same as the rates that we could get at any travel agency. Our nightmares started then. We immediately contacted Palace and asked them to cancel our contract. They did not respond. We immediately contacted our credit card company by phone and requested not to honor any of the charges from them. Since then, we have been researching about our situation through internet and now we realize that we, like many others have been a victim of a complicated scam. Palace is in the top three most complained about and has the most claims against it in the vacation industry. Now we are having a problem with our credit card company. We charged half of the total price $28,000 by credit cart and rest by monthly payment. When we got the bill for the $28,000, we did pay it in full. Later the credit card co. approved our case and refunded all the money. Few weeks later they said that their international department won’t accept the case. I am assuming that the resort is not giving the credit card company the money back and now they are after us. So far we rejected paying the money back. In their last letter they said they will report us to collection agency. We have a credit score of above 800. I really like to inform consumer about all timeshare companies, so they do not have to go through what we are going through. I really want to start a campaign to inform everyone that is traveling to Mexico to stay away from falling into the scam.
In December,2003, I purchased 70 weeks and was told by the representative that the only thing that I should be paying is for the airline tickets. Since this includes hotel stays, meals & entertainment. I paid in full $12,500.00 for the 70 weeks. Today, I found out that I need to pay additional money for a one week stay.
I feel that Moon Palace is scamming the U.S. consumers. How can I get some help to fight these crooks?
We bought 100 use weeks from Palace Resorts. It is not a Scam and I have zero business relationship with them and aren't defending them.
Palace operates on a different (BETTER) model of Timesharing than what is found in the US. Firstly, in the US, timeshares are sold from $7,500 to $100,000 per week, annual or bi-annual usages and every single year you must pay maintenance fees of between $600 to $3,000 per week, annually, depending upon the property and time of year of ownership.
At Palace Resorts, you but the use weeks at really discounted prices but the biggest difference in their model is that when you use a week, yes you than pay the members discounted fee of $2,400 to $6,000 per week (in effect, this is the maintenance fee that you'd be paying every year back in the US). The difference here though is that if you don't use a week for 5 years, when you do use it and have to pay the $5,000 for the room type and week you want, you're in effect than paying $1000 a year amortized per year. Since it's all-inclusive to food and drink (and alcohol) and the US Timesharing doesn't offer such a thing . . . it really is a Great deal ($2400 to $6000 per stay). In addition, as an owner, you're gifted $1500 in off property activities such as horseback riding, jet boating, segway tour, atv'ing, boating, etc.
The Palace initial buy-in is really a great deal and is really a Club Membership versus traditional US timeshare ownership of club points or a worthless deed you can't do much with, regardless of weeks owned.
Thanks for sharing this information. I appreciate you sharing your experience with this resort as I was thinking about staying there and maybe purchasing a timeshare.