gone

I owe 480 points at RB since 4 years, I went twice. I paid cash and I suppose to have cashback in January 2010...What can I expect ?????? nothing...shall I paid the management fees ???what will be the consequences for not paying ??? please answer me..

I was never able to go as they subltely misguided me so I never got my reservation in correctly. I have owned for 6 years. I stopped paying this year and they keep sending registered letters which I don't pick up. I never got my rebate money as the company-Cashbackamerica-went down in flames. They were set up fraudulently and you can look them up online.

I've been going to RB for a few years on a DAY PASS that I pay and then get to enjoy the wonderful facilities.

I went today Feb 8 2010 with 8 friends and were refused at the gate saying they did not do day passes anymore.

We were 9 of us with a lot of money to spend at the bar and the restaurant but they seemed like they didn't need any of our business!!!!

After reading all these posts now I know why. They scammed enough people into thousands of $$$$ (and surely are ongoing) that they do not need my "spare change".

I do have pitty for all that got scamed.....

They repossessed my time and will most probably re-sell it to someone. This is all they did and I haven't checked my credit since..........

I don't think they are expected to contact you about cashback. You are supposed to contact them WITHOUT REMINDERS from anyone. As I recall, that was in the contract--which we did not buy. MY note is not a reminder, of course, since you, claireb49, made the initial statement about when the refund was due.. They clearly hope lots of owners forget! So contact the resort, not us. Good luck. MD

I thought there were no cashback refunds being honored anymore? It was just a selling scam to get people to buy. Owners that I have talked to say they got nothing back. Are they actually giving refunds like they are suppose to or is it a waste of time trying? Has anyone out there actually received any money back?

There are no refunds! The company is now defunct and it was a scam. Many of us bought into it and recieved absolutely nothing. The Florida authorities were contacted and the company just evaporated. The owners, however, went out and started a different business. you can look it up under "CashBackAmericaSucks" on the internet......Annette

Just got back from a wonderful week an FRB. Read a lot about the scamming going on there and went down not expecting too much. Had a great time at a fabulous resort, met a lot of wonderful folks and found out that there are a lot of II traders that are dying to buy into the resort. I could have sold two on the spot. So for you "don't wanters", I suggest you book a week, go down there and peddle your points at the resort. I don't think you will have much of a problem selling but you have to "show off what you have to offer." BTW, yes we are owners, just bought from a previous owner and can't wait to get back.

P.B. Virginia

Glad to hear you are happy with Rancho. I also "was" an owner. You are right, it is a beautiful resort. It's to bad the owners had to resort to lying about cashback refunds to get people to buy in. Also, when I purchased my time the maintanance fees were only about $130 a year. After they were sold out they raised them to $700 a year. This after they said they could only go up a certain percentage per year. They are liars and scammers. And as for it being easy to resell your time that is a crock. I sold mine for the $700 maintanance fee just to get out of it. That is a $12,300 loss for one trip there. Timeshares in general are a bad investment. Before anyone is stupid enough to buy one they need to talk to people who have them or go online and check out sites like this one to check reviews. You can vacation a lot of different places for the same or less money that what Rancho costs!

The guy above who wrote about how great everything at the resort is…obviously works or is associated with the resort. The owners of Rancho Banderas are liars and crooks and will pay for their crimes shortly. Don’t listen to any BS that the resort is doing well and that people are clamoring to get in…this is nonsense. Nice try Rancho Banderas, Fairmont Resort Properties spies.

Well then, you should be happy that you sold out. OK, so you took it in the shorts regarding the "cash back " thing. Get over it, life is too short. As for the maintenance fees, check what others are paying in other five star resorts, FRB is not out of line. You get what you pay for.

BTW, sorry to disappoint your other anonymous friend but our only association with the resort is we own 600 points. Kind of hard to work for the resort living in Virginia, don't you think?

PB Virginia

When we visited in 2001, there wasn't much to maintain, since it was very much under construction and "to be announced". We did swim in the infinity pool. Sounds like there actually are buildings and landscaping and lots of common areas to maintain now. The cashback deal was highly suspect, but the MF may not really be out of line. We pay something similar at Mayan Palace. MD

This company has breached its contract, in 2007 with owners, by raising assessments by nearly 200% even though the owners have contracts that state assessments may not be raised by more than 15%. The company has sold hundreds of time shares to people from all over the world. Fairmont property uses high pressure sales tactics and lies to coerce buyers into purchasing ownership. The company has scammed owners out of rental weeks and resold units that persons have forfeited. Fairmont Resort Properties is being accused of using assessment money to fund new construction projects. The company has also distributed falsified and fraudulent operation cost. The company has been unresponsive to any request to solve these problems and continues to rip-off its owners.

I have just filed a complaint with the BBB in Canada. The company is difinitely not comsumer friendly and they are completely unresponsive to calls. Each complaint individually is not that big a deal.....Put them all together in a package and it amounts to a practice of keeping the customer from getting what they paid for. They expect owners to adhere to the contract and do nothing to help them understand it. They do not adhere to thier end of the contract. I stopped paying and lost all of my money.

I may be mistaken but I think your beef is with Resorts West Management Group LLC. As I understand it, they were the original developers of Rancho Banderas and they were the group that got into bed with Cash Back America. Fairmont just picked up the management of the resort two years ago and is trying to get it back on the financial track. I don't quite understand the current relationship between Fairmont and Resorts West, and why Resorts West is still collecting the fees. I would appreciate it if someone could fill in this blank for me. However, Resorts West is the guilty party here as far as I understand it. They are the party that you should be going after with litigation.

P.B. Virginia

Resorts West Management owned by Bryon Knight was sold in 2007 to Fairmont Properties LTD owned by Collin Knight. These two owners are brothers and the business was conveniently sold after the Cash Back America debacle. When I call Rancho Banderas or Fairmont properties they are quick to say we do not have anything to do with Resorts West Management and any issues you have with them are not our concern, even though they are still listed on their website and as the payee account for the assessments. If you call Fairmont properties and ask for Bryon Knight they will tell you to call him in Mexico, because he is working on the new Rancho Banderas property. Is this all a coincidence? No! These brothers have been planning this crime since Rancho Banderas began. These two brothers are classic scam artists.

Good information....thanks. Does anybody know how this will affect my complaint?

We bought into Rancho Banderas back in 2003. Would like to find out what is the latest update on them. Were people able to stop paying their maintenance fees and not have it affect their credit? Especially since they are in breach of their own contract with the owners who purchased a timeshare there. Any info you have would be greatly appreciated.

We purchased in September 2005, and the only reason we bought was because of the cash back rebate. I just filed for our cash back April 24, 2010. But from what I read sounds like we are SOL. $10,000 means a lot to us especially in this economy. I wrote RB about the assessment fees in 2007 and what our contract said. (for some reason I can no longer open the email they sent back to me on this. But they had some kind of excuse about the fees being higher on the improvements. It is a RTX file) So on March 21, 2007 I wrote our sales man Don Keefe in regards to the assessment fee. I asked him if our contract mean anything. If they can brake it than so can we. He never responded back to us. We would have left RB then if it wasn't for the cash back rebate. I have had issued with them on banking points also, but they have offered to sale them back to me. We have never been back to RB but we have had friend use it and love their time there. What they have done is WRONG they are in breach of their own contracts and we need to do something about it. There has to be some type of legal ground for us.

Type in "FAIRMONT VACATION VILLAS" on Facebook and add any CONCERNS - YOU CAN VOICE ALL CONCERNS!

Should we also be worried about FRAUD at FAIRMONT VACATION VILLAS?

Thank-you for this alert. I have been trying to book our reservation at the above Resort, and once they have your money they do not allow you to book.