Krystal International Vacation Club, Rafel Septien Krystal Cancun and Rafael Septien are still scamming vacationers Cancun, Mexico Nationwide

I would like to report that Krystal International Vacation Club and their sales staff, specifically Rafael Septien, former Dalllas Cowboys football player, are deliberately and maliciously providing inaccurate, misleading information in an effort to defraud consumers into buying timeshare packages. I found out that they were scamming vacationers for years. I am sure there are hundreds of people who were scammed, got in deep debts, and ashamed to share their stories with anybody else. I ask your help in making your audience be aware of the scam and stop this fraudulent business. 

On February 12, my husband and arrived in the Cancun airport to spend our 7 day vacation. We were walking out of customs and before we could get to the exit door we were approached by a man asking if we needed a taxi. We replied that we did and a man said he could give us discounts for a shuttle van and vacation excursions. He said everything was legitimate because it was part of the Mexico Better Business Bureau.  He even pointed to a camera in the ceiling and showed his badge. We purchased round way shuttle tickets and two excursions with a good discount. We got receipts and been asked to pick up our tickets at the Krystal Resort in the next morning. We were also offered a free breakfast, a bottle of tequila and Kahlua, a hat, and a voucher for a free dinner at the local restaurant if we attend a 90 min presentation. (According to the Mexican laws, it is illegal to offer gifts in exchange to any services). Well, I thought we could spend some of our time in exchange of those gifts. We ended up wasting a whole day and $10,900 US. 

In the next morning, we went through the presentation and then a guide took us upstairs to a conference room to meet a former Dalllas Cowboys football player Rafael Septien with a criminal past (in 1987, he was accused of having sex with a 10-year-old girl and fled the US). Rafael started a high pressure sale tactic to sell us a once in a lifetime opportunity time share. He said that it would pay for itself.  I was not interesting in a timeshare but Rafel continued to press on about how this was a different type of timeshare/vacation club. The difference was that you did not own a specific week, but 25 flex weeks that you could rent in advance with the assistance of their brokers under a program called accelerated rentals. Maintenance fees were only paid at time of use, so if we rented the units through the broker, we would never have to worry about paying the fees. For an investment of $10,900, we could buy 13 weeks of a one bedroom unit. To further sweeten the deal, he would throw in 25 Krystal Plus weeks, which we could also rent under the accelerated rental program. Rafael insisted that this was a great investment opportunity, and his broker, for only $850, could help us easily rent these units plus the broker could also sell our existing time-share which could bring us $7,000 every year.

Since we have owned other property, which we rent through VRBO agency with success, I considered the investment. Based on these expectations, I decided to sign the documents. By that time, I was really tired and hungry, I felt that my blood sugar probably got very low, because I felt very week and dizzy. I just wanted to get it over with, so I did not notice some changes in numbers and conditions on the contract. It is very easy to fall victim to scams like this when you are very tired after many hours of travelling from your hometown to a strange place.

The next morning we had a 12-hour trip to Chichen Itza. My husband had to wear his new Krystal International Vacation Club (KIVC) hat on. There was a man who started to laugh at him saying, “Hey, you’ve got scammed by Krystal Resort!!! Come here, we can fool you around too!!!”. Since that moment, our vacation was ruined.

We returned back to the hotel and tried to browse the Internet about the Krystal Cancun Resort Vacation Club. The first 5 minutes brought me the shocking results--- IT IS SCAM. There were dozens travelers on Travelosity.com and Ripoffreport.com complaining about being scammed. They spent thousands of dollars and never been able to use their time share or money back. A few of them mentioned Rafael Septien name too.  

I called my bank and tried to explain that the transaction for $3,900 down payment was fraudulent and dispute it. I also ask them to cancel my credit card in order to stop payment until further investigation.

Upon our return to the US, I was contacted by Wells Fargo bank and been asked to clarify the situation. I was recommended to fax or email to KIVC in order to nullify the contract. On February,26, I emailed and faxed my letter to Martha Gonzalez and Silvia Gonzalez at the Sale Office and Quality Assurance office but didn't hear anything from them. Their contact information below;

Tel. 998-848-9800 ext 731

sgonzalez@kivc.com  

 I also ask help at Federal Attorney's Office of Consumers (PROFECO) web site in Mexico, but from their long respond I understood that I missed a 5-day deadline to nullify the contract and now I am on my own. However, I think, they forwarded my letter to KIVC because I had a call from Mexico recently too. Silvia Gonzalez notified me that I have to pay 40% (or $4360) of my contract to terminate it or ,as a Good Will Gesture, they offer to reduce my payments from $196 to $143. I would rather loose $4360 then all money. According to TripAdviser.com travelers' reviews and photos, this place needs some serious TLC and I beleive, it is impossible to get any profit from renting this timeshare. A broker tried to contact me almost every day to activate their services ($850 fee) but I didnt want to go this way at all. It is another scam.

I was also contacted by ConcordServicing to collect a payment and The Maintenance Fee!! The fee is Bi-annual!!

 Please, inform your audience about still ongoing scam in Cancun Mexico.

Thank you for your time,

Sinserely,

Cancun Vacationer

PS. Bellow you will find some quotes from TripAdvisor.com. I agree, the scam starts at the airport. It is sad that the Governmnet knows about this and doesnt do anything to stop this unethical business. 

“Beware of being scammed! 

NEW

We were in Mexico last November,2013. We are now paying off 8,000.00 worth of debt because of their presentation and free breakfast! They grab you at the airport and promise you a free ride; please don't be fooled. We found out they have been scamming vacationers since 2005. If it rains you will have towels placed all over your room and hotel. The water comes thru light fixtures, but they don't seem to care of the danger!!!!

Room Tip: Go elsewhere

         Stayed November 2013, traveled as a couple                                               

Ask ykatydid about Krystal Cancun

Sewell, New Jersey, from TripAdvisor

Reviewed January 25, 2012

“Avoid the time share”

Reviewed January 1, 2012 via mobile

The location was nice and as you leave the cancun airport there is a group of people in blue shirt saying they can get u deal on excursions but you have to sit through a 90 min presentation. Its not 90 min its more like 6 hours do not buy. Search Google for Rafael Septen and Krystal scam. You'll have to say no about a dozen times they'll make it seem like a no brainier to invest don't do it get your excursion tickets and leave. Its starts in the airport so the government must know about it which is a shame.

         Stayed December 2011