Grand Miramar Club and Spa WARNING...

Incidents, either bad or that could be improved in the city.

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ndrichie
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After hiring a lawyer..

Post by ndrichie » Thu Jun 24, 2010 1:01 am

I have learned a few things.

Article 56 of The Consumer Protection Law of Mexico says you have 5 days to cancel any timeshare contract by reasonable means including registered mail, fax, possibly email.

Article 1 says this 5 day right is not waivable (the buyer cannot give it up) and even if the buyer is convinced to sign a document to give it up (waive the right) that waiver is not valid and the buyer still has the 5 day right.

Grand mirarmar is trying to block our cancellation because their contract says we have to do it in person, AND they said we signed a "satisfaction letter" that gave our cancellation right up. Sneaky, slimey aholes :evil: :evil: !!

When they resort to illegal methods in their contract to get people's money, I certainly don't think they will follow through in paying out "guaranteed rental" money or "guaranteed timeshare liquidation". Keep in mind, Grand Miramar and Luxury Vallarta Rentals are seperate companies, and they did that for a reason.

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Follow up...

Post by ndrichie » Mon Jun 28, 2010 3:47 pm

I have some good news to report, Miramar cancelled my contract. They at first tried to say I couldn't cancel because the contract said I had to return to the site to do it and I had waived my right to cancel because I signed the "satisfaction letter". My lawyer sent a demand letter in response and filed a complaint with PROFECO and they have agreed to cancel it.

I could probably wait and see if I will get a full refund, but I have authorized my lawyer (for an additional $750 fee which seems worth it to recover $25,000, payable only when full refund is received) to pursue the full refund of the rental fee, closing costs and down payment and recovery of the promissory note they made us sign. I made the choice to do this because my lawyer seems to think they will try and keep the "closing costs" and only refund the down payment.

So far, extrememly happy that I hired a lawyer!

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Re: Follow up...

Post by JanGor » Mon Jun 28, 2010 5:23 pm

ndrichie wrote:I have some good news to report, Miramar cancelled my contract. They at first tried to say I couldn't cancel because the contract said I had to return to the site to do it and I had waived my right to cancel because I signed the "satisfaction letter". My lawyer sent a demand letter in response and filed a complaint with PROFECO and they have agreed to cancel it.

I could probably wait and see if I will get a full refund, but I have authorized my lawyer (for an additional $750 fee which seems worth it to recover $25,000, payable only when full refund is received) to pursue the full refund of the rental fee, closing costs and down payment and recovery of the promissory note they made us sign. I made the choice to do this because my lawyer seems to think they will try and keep the "closing costs" and only refund the down payment.

So far, extrememly happy that I hired a lawyer!

Hello, I am so happy to hear you are making good progress. We had a call last week from our credit card dispute representative letting us know that they had sided with our case and have reversed the charges, (which the money never was in Miramar's hands). Mirmar has 45 days to dispute this and then it would go to an arbitrator and I guess we would have to go through it all again. If that happens and we lose, then we would hire a lawyer. Hopefully Mirmar has forgotten about us and/or won't want to spend the time on it. We finally got a letter from Miramar after my husband emailed/phoned serveral times for a letter of cancellation. The letter they emailed is dated April 22nd, but we received June 11th. Here it is.

Greetings from Puerto Vallarta, Thursday, April 22, 2010

TO: Mr. & Mrs. Burkholder
TO: PROFECO
Cont. # CM 2E-000206

This is to acknowledge that we received your letter e-mailed on April 22nd. 2010
I would like to take this opportunity to clarify some issues about our membership with you.

1) In the cancelation request document sent by you, does not show a contract number

2) You also mention that the charges were supposed to be made 2 days later after
your purchase, the purchase was on 9th of April, the credit card charges were made
on the 9th, same day as the purchase, the authorization to run the charges was signed
and also the fisical vouchers, on the same day.

3) I am sending you this because we want to work with you, as you know we have a gorgeous
and a fantastic resort for you to use and enjoy. Our quality is unique like our view.

4) In the "VERIFICATION STATEMENT" clause "S" states in the last paragraph;
Under no circumstance may be canceled if any of the services provided by the
Club have been used by the purchaser.

5) You received $ 12,000 USD as rental income, that activated your membership
immediately, this rental income was credited towards the purchase price.

6) If the outstanding balance of $ 20,669.00 USD is your worry, we can finance this
so it would not be a burden to you, our interest rate if financed over 12 months
is a 2.9% APR through Bank of America.

7) The other option is; if you give us an additional $ 6,889 USD, then the new balance
$ 13,779 is financed over 12 months at 0% interest rate ($ 1,148 per month).

8) Also, keep in mind that with this membership you have FOUR additional weeks
per year through Gold Crown Resorts, these weeks can be used anywhere
and are from $ 298 USD and up.

9) In our contract in clause # 14 under Voluntary cancelation clause "A" last two lines states
"Such cancelation must be made in writing at the place where the operation took place"

10) On behalf of Grand Miramar Resort, we ask you to please reconsider your decision
we can provide you with quality vacations, given the opportunity.

11) Your request to cancel has been denied.

If you should have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

sincerely,

FERNANDO JARAMILLO
Credit & Collections
GRAND Miramar Resort & Spa-
From U.S.A. 1-877 211-5456
www.grandmiramar.com

www.memberservices@grandmiramar.com

What do you think of that? Line 10 they hope we will reconsider our decision to cancel and line 11 says they have denied our decision to cancel. Anyway I have marked off the days on our calendar and will celebrate the 45th day if we don't hear from them.
Regards,
Janet

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Miramar Scam

Post by ndrichie » Mon Jun 28, 2010 6:42 pm

Jangor,

That looks very similar to the letter Mr. Jarmillo sent to us as well. And Shannon Hodges was our sales guy to.

Just curious, 4) imlies you've used the property but you said you left the next day and cancelled almost immediately. And 5) and 6) sounds like they used smoke an mirrors, basically just reduced the sales price by $12,000 if you give up your 4 weeks, then called that rental income, thereby saying you activated your membership. 9) is bogus, you do not have to cancel at the place where the operation took place. The consumer protection law of mexico says any reasonable method of delivery. Miramar is just trying to make it difficult. 10) and 11) - pure gall.

I promise you, you will not get any help from Shannon, Claudia or Mr. Jaramillo. Have you filed a complaint with PROFECO? You should call my lawyer and at least talk to him and see what he can do for you. This is what he specializes in. Even though he is here in Austin, he has clients all over the country because not many lawyer specialize in Mexican law.

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Miramar Scam

Post by ndrichie » Mon Jun 28, 2010 6:45 pm

Jangor,

Oh, just realized the credit card company sided with you, so a lawyer is not needed. That is great!![/quote]

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Grand Miramar Scam - RUN AWAY

Post by jano74 » Mon Jul 12, 2010 6:10 pm

I attended the Timeshare / Fractional ownership presentation for the Grand Miramar. The place was gorgeous. However, I think there is a huge scam going on there.

First, 4 different people wanted to "verify" both my wife's and my credit card. We did not let them handle the card or see it from more than a few feet away. If this is a requirement to "qualify", why do they need to see it more than once. They wanted to take down the numbers and expiry date, but we refused. After reading these posts, good thing we did.

We told them our family (specifically our parents) owned a timeshare in Vegas. My wife and I paid for it and continue to pay the assessments so we consider it ours. However, when they wanted to verify and I refused to let them check (since it is in my parent's name), they started getting nervous. I told them we had more than enough in our accounts to pay a downpayment without selling a timeshare to get there. They showed us the place, but upon finishing the tour, the "manager" had a word with us.

Apparently, we had been asking too many financially pointed questions regarding ROI, down payment, occupancy rates, contracted buyouts, etc. (I am a banker) and did not qualify since we didn't own a timeshare. I pointed out I can easily purchase the fractional ownership. However, they said no and we should leave. When I brought up that I was not happy I was being sent away without my gifts (3,000 pesos) and that I was insulted that just because I didn't own a timeshare, I wasn't considered a viable mark, mmm, I mean client, mywife and I were phsyically threatened.

The manager was in my face and my wife's face chest bumping us and stated "this is Mexico. You don't speak the language. What are you going to do?" They made us leave out the back entrance. That sealed the deal on this place. It is obviously a scam that over promises and never delivers. Good thing I am 6'3, 265 and can handle myself pretty well or it could have been very intimidating.

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Followed the adise fromcounsal2008 & got $ back

Post by NWTraveler » Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:31 am

Just a note to thank counsal2008 for posting a solution to get your $ back.
We followed it on our resetn July 2010 trip and recieved refunds on two credit cards for a total of over $15K in less than a week.

However, we made the mistake of staying at the hotel one night and were charged $495 plus credit card fees, and a $100 dinner. The total was $1188 but we were happy to cancel.

They were certain that another hotel had coached us. Thanks again to all of you for taking the time to help others. Good luck!!

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Grand Miramar Scam Update

Post by ndrichie » Fri Jul 30, 2010 1:37 am

I have submitted all the cancellation documentation to Bank of America (the card they opened in my name to make the purchase) and after talking to BoA I don't anticipate any problems disputing the charges.

I was also told by my lawyer that Mr. Tello (with Miramar) requested until the 14th of August to return the funds because they have been with "slow" sales and low in cash flow.

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Whew!!

Post by JanGor » Wed Aug 18, 2010 12:09 am

Just wanted to let you know that Miramar did not dispute our case and the 45 days are up for them to do anything now. Hope we have learned our lesson.
Janet

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Grand Miramar Scam!!!!

Post by Muskoka » Mon Aug 23, 2010 9:07 pm

I, too, purchased at GMiramar last March. I, however, could not find any discussion re scams with GM online and therefore did NOT cancel
.
I have had the same difficulties with the other company Luxury Vallarta - no response to any request for sale or rent of my other timeshares.

Although LV and GM are different companies, the agreement of the Luxury Vallarta to sell/rent my other timeshares was, I guess like everyone else, was what sealed the deal for me. Now this other company (LV) which the GM were representing has not fulfilled their contract. I am devastated and would appreciate any advice anyone could share with me.

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Post by katnsocal » Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:52 am

Muskoka,
Sorry to hear about your involvement too. Reading through the posts I think everyone has pretty much given all the info they have on what they have gone through, who they have contacted and the outcomes. I fear that you have probably waited too long to be able to dispute anything. Everyone else seems to have jumped on it immediately when they realized something did not feel right. Read all the posts and gleen whatever information you can and go from there. Profeco might be a place to start given the number of complaints they have received on the property but timewise, I don't think help is going to be on your side. Good Luck and keep us posted on what you are doing and the outcome!

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Re: Grand Miramar Scam!!!!

Post by ndrichie » Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:02 pm

Muskoka wrote:I, too, purchased at GMiramar last March. I, however, could not find any discussion re scams with GM online and therefore did NOT cancel
.
I have had the same difficulties with the other company Luxury Vallarta - no response to any request for sale or rent of my other timeshares.

Although LV and GM are different companies, the agreement of the Luxury Vallarta to sell/rent my other timeshares was, I guess like everyone else, was what sealed the deal for me. Now this other company (LV) which the GM were representing has not fulfilled their contract. I am devastated and would appreciate any advice anyone could share with me.
Your best bet is to at least call a lawyer and talk about options. I recommend mine - www.hernandezojeda.com. We have since gotten our contract cancelled and Bank of America had refunded all of our money. Miramar is also supposed to refund all the money back to Bank of America today, but we'll see if they actually do. They were "slow on funds" the last time they were supposed to refund the money.

We contacted www.timesharescam.com as well about our Grand Mayan contract that we have had 2 years now. At this point I am not recommending them because we just started down this path, but they don't require any payment unless they recover funds for you and then I think it's like 30%, but that's better than nothing. If I have any luck with them, I will post back.

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Post by Knowlton » Wed Oct 06, 2010 5:20 pm

Does anyone have the name, address, e-mail, etc of any person or office in PV that a person can complain to about Grand Miramar? Can articles be written to the local English newspaper to warn people about this organization? What can we do to help others avoid what we have done. Any ideas? Knowlton

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Post by katnsocal » Thu Oct 07, 2010 3:39 am

There are four (4) pages on here of recommendations/different situations on here. People have given very detailed information on what they have done. Read through the entire thread and I think you will find your answers.

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grand miramar

Post by CAROLSTEPH » Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:29 pm

hi to all...we should have posted sooner that we finally received our $12K credit from Chase...it took many phone calls, faxes, time, etc but it all worked out in the end...senior tello at miramar was our contact...we didn't have to hire an lawyer...took 3 months...

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Grand Miramar Scam

Post by jorobo45 » Wed Nov 17, 2010 2:57 am

I have also been duped out of a substantial amount of money from The Grand Miramar scam.

I have retained a very reputable lawyer who knows Mexican law and deals with timeshare scams quite regularly. He believes strongly that criminal charges should be laid against these individuals in order to get funds returned.

He has suggested that it would be beneficial to create a group of individuals to join together to share the costs of the action. This would be regardless of the amount of funds that you are looking to recover.

If you have an interest in helping to create a group, please contact me for further information.

I looking forward to hearing from you.

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Post by ronald » Thu Nov 18, 2010 6:18 am

I have retained a very reputable lawyer
How do you know he's reputable?

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Post by jorobo45 » Sat Nov 20, 2010 2:13 am

The included post in your reply of 'Don't tell everything you know' is very 'apropos' to this situation as this is a public media for all to read. I can only filter the replies and refer them on to my lawyer.

The lawyer that I have retained has 'bailed' others out of The Grand Miramar ($2000 - 25,000.) as well as other timeshare scams. He presently has other clients attempting to recover funds scammed from G. Miramar.

I can tell you that I will pursue these bandits until they refund my money. However, when and if my funds are returned to me, I will cease this lawsuit.

I am on my way to Mexico early tomorrow am. (NOT to Grand Miramar for sure!!! but to a special place that we love). I will be checking emails while I am away.

Cheers!

jorobo45

P.S. I have purchased many timeshares before, but this is the first time that I have been scammed. My lawyer's 'bon voyage' message was 'don't buy any timeshares'!!

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delete

Post by Janet Mitchell » Sun Dec 12, 2010 5:31 pm

delte

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We Fought The Crooks...and We Won...DON'T GIVE UP HOPE

Post by Rasputin » Sat Feb 19, 2011 4:24 am

Myself and my wife fell victim last August to the ruthless scum that run Grand Miramar, and can identify with all of the negative experiences described on these posts. I am writing this as an encouragement to let anyone who's still entangled in this nasty web know that there is hope...keep trying. We were duped for three main reasons: 1) Michael Gardea, our salesman, was as smooth as a Visitor sporting human skin; 2) I figured that if Bank of America was involved, this process was legit; 3) We didn't find this site or others that warned against this place before we signed a deal with the devil. The realization that we were in deep trouble couldn't have come at a worse time. I was (and still am) facing and impending layoff from my job of 17 years. I was actually trying to improve our financial situation, trading our two rarely-used timeshares for an upscale unit we really liked. To make a very long story short, what got me through was prayer, pure and simple. Even if you're not believing me, try it; it works. I was led to ask assistance from a source that was 100 percent effective, getting us cut loose from a bogus $70K debt in just a few days. And it cost us...nothing. I approached my local MEXICO TOURISM office with my story, showing them my thick stack of documents, emails, etc. (Tip: keep EVERYthing related to the experience). These folks were not only sympathetic, but very apologetic for this type of business, which makes the whole country look bad. They are my heroes. I did the same thing with Bank of America, and it was a lot of work, but even after initial skepticism on the bank's part and months of waiting, we are free and clear of this nightmare. The moral of this story is: Keep praying and fighting for what you believe is right; there ARE good people out there who will help you.

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