Grand Miramar Club and Spa WARNING...

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

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jenner
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Post by jenner » Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:08 pm

well I sure wish I would have searched this website BEFORE being talked into attending the presentation.
does anyone know if Profeco really follows through with the federal law of the five business days to rescind?

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Post by katnsocal » Wed Mar 24, 2010 11:47 pm

You might try posting your questions on this website: http://tugbbs.com/forums/

It is a forum for timeshare owners.

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Post by PVTraveler » Tue Apr 06, 2010 10:19 pm

I have been working with two individuals, Luis Tello and Max Martinez, who have appeared to be very helpful, but I can only reach them through e-mail. Mr. Tello will call me if I request it, but I cannot call him. We learned more about what we had agreed to and signed the contract, but what we thought we were getting was not quite right! Mr. Martinez has agreed to resell our timeshare, but he does not send a contract that he said he would. Earlier I was requested to send a copy of our contract to his office in Laredo TX, but I later learned through the internet the zip code was totally wrong (on his business card). Also I could not fax a copy; I later realized that the phone number has options but no one ever returns your call. The more I invest in this process so I am doing what he says I have to do for him to resell the property, the less I hear from him. The last time he sent the contract by e-mail attachment; now nothing. Mr. Tello calls, says he has sent me e-mails which I receive but he says they have been returned. I have received two e-mails from him today, but the e-mail that included a document that I need/deserve has not reached me. I know they have the "law" on their side since we did not realize the problems until I realized the problems with communication, became very concerned, tried to work through ("If you don't make the right decision, you have to make the decision right.") the situation with apparent support from these two gentlemen, but I think there is really no desire to do what they say they are willing to do...resell the property so I can start getting some sleep at night!

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Post by katnsocal » Wed Apr 07, 2010 3:05 am

What a mess! I hope you find a resolution to your problem soon. Did you ever contact Profeco? If so, what did they say?

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Also scammed by Grand Miramar!!!!

Post by frustratedcanadian » Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:01 pm

We also agreed to purchase time at Grand Miramar in early December, We agreed to purchase 4 weeks in a 2 bedroom with the intention of also being able to sell each week for $2000 to Luxury Vallarta rentals. We were also told that if we purchased a 2 bedroom we would be able to exchange week for week toward cruises and only pay cruise port charges when we did this. At the time I even said to our sales man (Florencio Mayo) this sounds too good to be true. He said...oh yes, it is true, Senora, yes......well being who we are, my husband and purchased the 2 bedroom for four weeks with the understanding that they purchase our timeshare.........and that would pay out the remaining monies that we would owe for their said timeshare.......low and behold.....that has not happened. The payment for our time share was to take place by 1 Feb/2010..and the we were supposed to pay the balance to them by 1 March. What a surprise.....really not......The first indication this was not going to happen was when we found out.....no you cannot exchange week for week toward a cruise.....why I was not surprised....I thought here we go...Well, after much discussion with their manager, my husband was told that they did not know of the FMC Travel Solutions, it was problably Florencio Mayo's doing. But we were still responsible for the debt.
As far as Luxury Vallarta is concerned they too, have not responded with anything for us trying to sell our 4 weeks......(what a surprise!!) not
Well, "Hell will have to freeze over before I pay for this". I feel we were totally scammedl. I think it has left a very poor taste in my mouth of what PV is turning into. They sure were nice to us when we were there, however, I now think they are all in on it together and it is just a front for deceiving people and getting their monies.

We too have looked into our credit card company with complaints toward this company.

thank you ,
frustratedcanadian

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Re: Also scammed by Grand Miramar!!!!

Post by kcowan » Wed Apr 07, 2010 4:05 pm

frustratedcanadian wrote:...I think it has left a very poor taste in my mouth of what PV is turning into. They sure were nice to us when we were there, however, I now think they are all in on it together and it is just a front for deceiving people and getting their monies.

We too have looked into our credit card company with complaints toward this company.

thank you ,
frustratedcanadian
The sales process for timeshare leaves much to be desired. However, it has nothing to do with PV. If you go on TUG, you will find misrepresentations in the sales process everywhere. It is an extreme case of "buyer beware" and is much worse in jurisdictions where there is no consumer protection.

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Post by katnsocal » Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:01 pm

I don't know what "exchange company" they indicated you would be with for exchanging your weeks for a cruise but it IS possible to do that through Interval International. I can exchange my weeks for a cruise (subject to passenger availability on that particular cruise). That is not something that sounds too good to be true, because it happens all the time.

I liken timeshare sales people to pushy car salesman, they get you in the "office" and they bring in everyone but the guy holding the "BIG SALE" sign on the street to convince you to buy. I WON'T buy a car that way or anything else that is a big purchase when someone is trying to push me into it. That is how alot of people get in trouble buying a timeshare. The property is beautiful, the setting is beautiful and it is one of those "Oh yeah, I can see myself coming here all the time moments."

Timeshares are meant to be vacation accomodations (unless you buy into one that actually allows you to purchase outright a unit for "condo" ownership. They always put forth, as a way to get you to buy, the fact that you can rent out your weeks if you can't use them, or if you want you can pay for the place by renting it out. If you purchase a timeshare for anything other than a place for you to go each year or exchange for other destinations, you are buying for the wrong reasons, they never were intended to be rental property for one to make money off of.

I have no doubt in my mind this place is a big time scam just from the number of people that have posted on this one forum that are having problems with the contracts not being what they said they were. I do find it rather surprising that someone who already "owns" a timeshare would fall for their sales pitch on actually being able to rent it out and make money off of it.

As kcowan said, it is very much a buyer beware industry - worldwide- and it does not have anything to do with PV. It is the company/resort Grand Miramar that scammed you NOT Puerto Vallarta.

I wish all of you involved luck in resolving the issues you are having. The one thing I would have done (if it was me) and I stood to lose the amount of money you guys are looking at losing, my happy Arse would be back on a plane and standing in their sales office raising hell, not messing around with the incorrect phone #'s and fax #'s, unreturned phone calls, etc. Then my next stop would be Profeco's office. It's easy for them to ignore you when all they have to do is not answer a phone call or give you a wrong fax #. They can play those games with you from now until they decide to leave that company and go work somewhere else.

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Post by accorn55 » Thu Apr 08, 2010 10:59 pm

We are still waiting for our timeshare "SALE" to be consumated. The Grand Miramar promised/guaranteed that Luxury Vallarta would pay us $15K for our timeshare in Whistler if we purchased the Grand Miramar. We were told that we would recieve our payment by February 2010... (signed papers in November 2009)... we made initial contact with Luxury Vallarta in November to find our what the needed... emailed and certified mailed it to them and then kept calling and emailing weekly, with no response for weeks. I think it was January before we finally found someone to talk to... they said they needed the whole Whistler contract... so again I sent that certified and via email... when we called the next time, they said they needed some release form, so again filled out that, mailed it and emailed it.... no one calls back... Next time we called (Max Martinez is his name) Max said we would receive it "next week".... then next time we called he "would have to get back to us" and so on and on... now it is April. We have done everything required of us, NO MONEY! We called Grand Miramar and they were trying to get us to make monthly payments for the $10K we owe them. The original deal was that we get paid from the sale of Whistler first, then we pay them the balance on Miramar. At this point, we will not pay another cent toward Grand Miramar... throwing good money after bad it would be for certain! Wish we had cancelled the deal at the start, I had a "feeling" but there was no bad press at that time (we looked) and they were great at keeping us busy the entire 3 day cancellation period. At this point we call them, they promise to call back...never do... both Miramar and Luxury Vallarta.... I wonder if it would be possible to file a class action suit against Luxury Vallarta?... not that they have any money to pay out >:-?

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Post by kcowan » Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:46 pm

I am in PV and I would not offer to help because these guys never intended to buy your Whistler timeshare. This is a part of their scam. They will say anything to get you to commit. I have a friend who worked for a couple of months and quit because he said they demand that you lie and say yes to outrageous demands. Anything to make the sale.

We have another friend (a businessman from Wisconsin) who went to a TS pitch at the Mayan in Nuevo. He could not get a straight answer about what golf privileges came with the TS. He had purchased a fulltime unit beachfront at PDS Grande and made $400k on it so he was open to an investment to get some golf privileges. These guys talk in circles.

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Grand Miramar and Luxury Vallarta SCAM

Post by accorn55 » Sat Apr 10, 2010 8:25 pm

We have come to that same conclusion... just sorry we had to be among the first to be scammed by these #$%#$%s -- we actually looked online within the 3 days/5 day period and found nothing on them. I'm afraid that they may just change their names every so often. We know better now,this is a scam, but this Luxury Vallarta appears to be an american (US) company, at least they are located in Texas. Don't know if we have any recourse within the states or not, but I will be looking into it.[/b]

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Post by katnsocal » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:52 pm

I have a feeling you are going to find that Luxury Vallarta is just a rental agency and has nothing to do with the purchase or contracts that you enter into with Grand Miramar. Grand Miramar simply says you can list your unit for rent through Luxury Vallarta but listing a unit does not carry a guarantee that someone will want to rent it for the particular time you want to rent out.

I am sure you will find that your contract is with Grand Miramar and everything referred in it regarding "purchase/ownership" refers to Grand Miramar as the company you did business with.

This is just the feeling I have after looking at Luxury Vallarta's website. They simply rent out "Luxury" properties. My timeshare contract states I can rent out my weeks too, either through their rental pool or on my own. BUT if I deposit my week into the rental pool and no one rents it, then I have lost that week, there is no getting it back because it didn't rent. The same with their promise that Luxury Vallarta would pay you XXX amount of $$$ for your room (provided they had someone who wanted to rent it for that time). If they don't then they tell you so sorry. Again Luxury Vallarta is a separate entity, a rental agency and they are not going to hand out money on units that are vacant that they have not rented. That was their (Grand Miramar's) gimmick/enticement to you....you could not go wrong....well not unless what they told you was a total fabrication of the truth.

I don't think you will have any recourse with Luxury Vallarta since you didn't sign the contract with them you signed it with Grand Miramar.

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Post by lakeoedo » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:07 am

I think you hit it on the head... the contract for buying is made only with Miramar. The contract with the rental company is completely separate. Miramar's "out" will always be that your contact for being paid to rent your weeks, and the buy-back "guarantte" of 60% of current value after 5 years is between you and the rental agency (not between you and Miramar). And how do you know the reputation of the rental agency??? You don't. When I tried calling them, only a recorded message was ever available. Numberous emails went unanswered. And I never could find a fax number for them ....

We were close to buying, but something kept ringing in my ears, "if it's too good to be true, it probably is". The amount Miramar tells you they will pay for your timeshares is way more than they are worth ... "too good to be true". I also didn't believe that they could guarantee the $2,000/week that they were saying they would pay for any unused weeks.

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NEVER sit through another TS presentation

Post by mpasse » Mon Apr 12, 2010 8:35 pm

Wow, having been scammed by these people and all the other stories I've read on TUG I'd never give one of these people another minute of my life. If only it were so easy to get on a plane and go stand in their offices. Most of us are probably our $7k-$12k USD for the deposits. Again yes too good to be true should have won over...seems like they don't honor the 5 day Mexican period anyhow, many folks have sent their notice with no avail. And it seems their scam deepens by telling you rental money will come in 60-90 days so you are way beyond the period expecting $$ that you will never see. These people are nothing more than white collar bandits in my opinion.

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Post by kcowan » Fri Apr 16, 2010 8:42 pm

We found that Los Tules rented our unused time and did not reimburse us for it.

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Grand Miramar Scam

Post by Runmast56 » Tue Apr 20, 2010 6:41 pm

Sounds like my wife and I are in the same boat as others with regards to cancellation and trying to get our refund back. We were there on March 9th, cancelled on March 15th, and a month later, still no refund. Our sales person was Shannon Hodges, and he's been good to respond to our emails saying, "your refund is on the way..." I've just spoken with Luis Tello today and he's checking with the Acctng. Dept. I've also emailed Profeco with out complaint. As one person suggested... I will be returning to PV and going to the Grand Miramar (hopefully with a Profeco rep) to get my $5,700+ back.

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Post by katnsocal » Wed Apr 21, 2010 7:18 pm

Do post back and let us know how things played out when you showed up in their office (hopefully with Profeco at your side).

As I posted before, the cost of a quick trip down there vs. what everyone is losing on these contracts would be well worth the price, IMHO.

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Grand Miramar & Profeco

Post by Runmast56 » Thu Apr 22, 2010 5:53 pm

Have not heard back yet on my email to Profeco. Does anyone have a good phone number to call them from the U.S? I'm not getting through on the number they list on their website. I'm looking to return to PV the 4th or 5th weekend of May (5/22 or 5/29) Anyone interested in joining me? I'll be staying at the Casa Corozon just down the hill from Grand Miramar.

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Post by katnsocal » Thu Apr 22, 2010 6:58 pm

I know Profeco in PV was operating out of a trailer for a while. I am not sure if they have moved into their new office or not. From what I have heard all complaints from Americans are handled out of their English speaking Mexico City office. The website below has a phone # listed in English that is a Mx. City number.

http://www.profeco.gob.mx/formas/f_3i_quejas.htm

If all else fails you could see about slipping a couple of those guys with the big guns some pesos to come with you, only kidding of course, but it would be fun to see the look on the faces of the people in the Sales Office.

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Thanks!

Post by Runmast56 » Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:50 pm

Thanks! Will check it out...

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Our experience and hopefully some helpful advice . . . .

Post by counsla2008 » Tue Apr 27, 2010 3:15 am

Unfortunately, we did not have a good experience with these people either. We purchased in late March, cancelled our contract within 4 days while we were still in PV on vacation and are still waiting for resolution of our dispute. We were fortunate to have read the post of other Grand Miramar buyers the day after we signed our contract and left deposits in excess of $13K US, so we feel compelled to return the favor to the next unsuspecting traveller.

We immediately drafted a notice of cancellation and contacted the Profeco office. There is an office located in the Fluvia area (near the Costco downtown) and there is an English speaking representative on staff that can help (they were awesome and very professional and helpful). We took copies of our termination letter to Profeco and filed a complaint with them BEFORE we went to to the resort to cancel in person. We filed a copy of our termination letter with Profeco (along with a copy of our passport, purchase agreements, and credit card receipts) and then Profeco gave us a termination letter to give to Grand Miramar which requires Grand Miramar to return all amounts we gave them.

We physically delivered both the termiantion letter we drafted and the Profeco letter to the Grand Miramar and received a confirmation of termination letter from one of the managers. We returned to the Profeco office the next day and filed a copy of the confirmation of termiantion letter with them. We also sent a notice of termination to Luxury Vallarta on the same day to the e-mail address indicated on the Luxury Vallarta letterhead we had in our documentation.

Make sure you make copies of all documents before you terminate the contract as Grand Miramar will require all of their original documents back before issuing a notice of termination letter. Also, be careful about taking advantage of any "perks" they give you for purchasing as Grand Miramar (i.e. restaurant certificates, free stays in the hotel, etc) as they will ask you to reimburse them for the value of these items when you terminate.

The letter of termination we received from Grand Miramar committed to returning all monies we paid in support of the transaction within 15 days of the letter. I'm sure its no surprise to anyone reading this post that that never happened. So, on day 15, we contacted our credit card company and initiated a dispute, which is still in process. Hopefully this information will help someone out there. Good luck!

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