Scams @ StarBay Resort in Bucerias

[dgr]

Heads up people, don't attend timeshare presentations at StarBar Resort in Bucerias.

20 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta at the StarBay Resort located in Bucerias there is a timeshare/vacation membership operation working under the name of Banderas Bay Vacation Club. They claim to be affiliated with Holiday Systems International. The sales staff of the Banderas Bay Vacation Club have taken timeshare scams to the next level.
Not only do they make the usual scam claims of easy reservations and exchanges, but will claim that they guarantee your reservation at the resort of your choice for the date of your choice. They claim to have 193 resorts that they are affiliated with that they can guarantee this reservation capability with. They could not provide a list of these 193 resorts, the salesman said that they would be on the DVD that is provided by Holiday Systems International. Well those are HSI resorts, how can they guarantee what HSI will deliver? We contacted Holiday Systems International, HSI, and they assured that Banderas Bay Vacation Club was part of the HSI network. I would recommend that HSI also investigate their business associates.
The usual timeshare scam of placing your week in their hands to rent out when you can not use it for a return of more than the going rate is also offered as a benefit to membership.
They claimed to have a website, banderasbayvc.net that members are supposed to be able to access and make vacation requests; the domain name expired on Jan 24, 2008. Now that link will redirect to a site named crownholiday.net. Trying to cover their tracks it would appear by now operating under the name Crown Holiday. The website makes no reference to Banderas Bay Vacation Club, but does highlight StarBay Resort.
They will also claim to be affiliated with a real vacation annuity company, that they will place your membership funds into and at the end of 30 years you will be paid your membership fees in full plus 12.56% interest. They even show you a fake certificate that you will receive. We contacted this company and they said that they have no affiliation with the Banderas Bay Vacation Club.
If you already have a timeshare, they will guarantee that they will purchase it from you for much more than you originally paid for it. They claim to be affiliated with Travel Consultants Ltd. to facilitate the sale and transfer. They have a web site, http://travelconsolidatorsltd.com/home that has a very similar globe icon as Banderas Bay Vacation Club used and the address they provide for their office is not able to be located via any of the more popular street mapping tools available and an 800 number that only goes to Spanish speaking voicemail.

These appear to be clear examples of fraud and I strongly encourage anyone to avoid doing business with anyone that represents themselves as being affiliated with Banderas Bay Vacation Club or Crown Holiday.

I would encourage anyone that is contacted to participate in a timeshare presentation at StarBay to turn it down so you are not exposed to the scams outlined above. If you do go there, do not trust or believe anything they tell you, walk away quickly.