Universal Vacation Club And Constructora Los Arcos Del Cabo, Highly unethical sales tactics San Diego California

We visited Puerto Vallarta on July of 2008 and initially stayed at Rancho Banderas, a resort obtained in exchange for one of our two time share weeks with Marriott. It was a very mediocre resort. There was simply nothing to do. Following a pitch from an American who approached us at a supermarket, we ended up having breakfast at the Villa del Palmar Resort the following morning. The promise was that we could stay the day there after hearing a 1 hour presentation about a new type of vacation plan.

It was the same time share program that everybody offers now a days, but much more versatile than our Marriott weeks. We are not happy with these weeks, but we can't sell them either. We told that to the salesman (Israel Curi), explaining why we weren't happy and said that we had no intention of acquiring another week. He suggested that they, (whatever company was at the selling end), could probably receive our weeks in exchange for the week that they were offering.

Israel brought in another salesman, Jimmy Muoz, and they asked all there is to know about our weeks: Price, in what resort, and what specific weeks. There was a 5 to 10 minute break in our conversation (Jimmy went off, somewhere) after which he came back and said that they would keep our weeks in exchange for theirs.

I would buy theirs and they would buy mine. They threw in some other things: spending the remainder of the week at Villa del Palmar; a free visit to their spa; a free fishing trip; another free breakfast; and they would obtain a first exchange of our new week for a week at a particular resort in Cartagena, Colombia. Difficult to obtain; but they said that for them, it would be a synch.

It was very clear to them that the only reason that we were getting in to this was because we were getting out of the other two weeks. None the less, at closing, they did not present any papers regarding their commitment to buy our weeks. They said that within two weeks, we would receive the documents in the mail. A different company called Regal would take charge. They seemed professional and honest. They had been very accommodating and we took their word. (I should have known better.)

A couple of weeks later, I received a call from Regal asking for some data regarding my Marriott weeks. They asked for a credit card number to guarantee closing costs. And a week later, I received some papers saying that my two weeks had been listed with them for sale and that they would keep me informed. Six hundred and sixty one dollars had been charged to my credit card. I called Regal and complained. There had to be a mistake!

Israel said he didn't understand what was happening. The Regal people also said the same. They explained that they were brokers, not buyers. Eventually, after a month and many calls and some apologies from Israel, I got my $661 back. They were supposed to buy it, not list it. But I never received any commitment papers from anybody.

I called and emailed Israel many times. I got a hold of Jimmy once and he said right off that he had never promised to buy my weeks. Israel apologized and kept the conversation going for another two months. He insisted that there was nothing fishy; that they were a serious company; that I shouldn't worry. The papers never came. Eventually, he stopped taking my calls and answering my e-mails. He even rigged his phone so that when he receives a call from mine, I get an operator saying that the circuits are busy.

Kinkin
Boca Raton, Florida
U.S.A.