Bel Air Vacation Club

Just say NO NO NO NO NO NO NO....or consider any money you pay to be gone and nothing will be done. Again...say NO!!!

I get it.

I am just curious as to whether anyone has had any success negotiating with Bel Air on taking back the property. My experience a year ago was that they wanted my mother to pay off any past due amounts before they would take the property back. Secondly, I am curious as to whether anyone is knowledgeable about whether Bel Air has tried to collect ortherwise enforce the contract against anyone in the US?

We did, filed a claim with PROFECO, they cut the fees and dropped our membership.

We are long time owners at Bel Air and have stayed a number of times and enjoyed our time there, mostly. Limited chairs around the pool, goofy hot tubs that occasionally look kinda dirty, not much to do in the immediate area....but not too bad overall. But...we refuse to pay the ridiculous special assessment. They keep sending late notices and I return with a letter saying, as our contract states, we must receive a "detailed report" showing how every penny is for "unforeseen and unforeseeable" expenses. Check out the negative reviews and complaints on the net. We have rights concerning a charge like this and will not pay. If and when it goes to collections, if it does, doubtful. we will fight it there as well. A simple question, how do we know where the money will go...maybe into managements pocket. Use the internet to search your rights in a situation like this, and how to handle a collections demand.

And, do not fall for any of the companies promising to get you out of your contract for only $3000 to $5000....and nothing will happen. And trying to sell a Bel Air membership is a waste of time. Right now, memberships are for sale for one dollar, no kidding, with the seller paying the transfer charge and other other charges...and no buyers.

Thats my take on this whole mess. Not legal advice, just misc info. Anyone have any additional info???

Hi Eirinn,

Can you go into more info about what you did?

I would love to have my membership dropped and be done with Bel Air and my TS.

Thanks,

Jeremy

HI Tim,

It's been a while since I asked, but when I did, they said that would not. Hence, I've tried selling it through Redweek. As others have stated, Bel Air is so bad, it's not selling.

I haven't heard anything about them enforcing the collections here in the USA, so I'm curious to hear what others have to say about it.

Jeremy

Jeremy-Thanks for the response. Yes, we’ve also tried to sell for years with no success. I also am curious about the PROFECO route. I do feel the consumers like my mom and many others have been defrauded. I’ll be very interested to see what Eirinn did.

Thanks to this thread we stopped paying a few years ago. It hasn’t affected our credit score and we recently re-fi our mortgage.

How long did it take with PROFECO to get rid of the TS?

How did you do that?

Regarding the special assessment, I suffered the same treatment. How did you resolve this?

We are currently fighting the special assessment which we will not pay. We inquired about giving back our time to the Bel Air and were told it would cost at least $5000, and even then maybe wouldn't be allowed.

One response, refuse to pay as I have done.

Ignore, as I have done.

Hal I was told the same thing i.e., "Pay the assessment and then we will take it back." We did not do that. When I get a minute I am going to look into the PROFECO thing that the user above mentioned.

We went through PROFCO. Took a year, but they dropped the contract and we are not having to pay the maintenance fee or the special assessment.

Eirinn, Could you share the letter you wrote to Profeco With all your personal information removed? It would help us all out.

Here is our original complaint Profeco AV. Jose Vasconcelos No. 208, 6 Piso, Col. Condesa, C.P 06140 Mexico D.

RE; Complaint filed against Bel Air Vacation Club Carolina Rodriguez Director de Club Vacacional BAC, S.A. de C.V. Avenida Morelos # 20-05 Colonia Arcos Vallarta C.P. 44130 Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico Email; clubdirector@belairownerscircle.com

We originally purchase a membership in Playa Del Sol in Nuevo Vallarta for a Studio Biennial for $ US dollars in November 2008, this was upgraded to Bel Air Vacation Club for the same Studio Biennial in November 2013 for an additional cost of $ . We are claiming the full amount paid to-date less amount of current years use for a total of $ US dollars plus cancelation of our Membership. We were very happy in past visits with both Playa Del Sol and Bel Air, until earlier this year we when we visited the resort in February of 2019. During this visit we found that Bel Air Vacation Club had partnered with Krystal Grand and turned the club into an all-inclusive club and expanded the resort by adding 225 rooms making these and many of the existing rooms strictly for their all-inclusive customers for which they now cater to; adding pools for the added expected guests and a restaurants for the all-inclusive resort guests. Thus, we were place in a room that was lacking the basic items (towels, dish soap, pots & pans, adequate refrigerator and stove-top) provided in past visits. Then in August we received a Special Assessment from Bel Air Vacation Club for completion of supposed improvements in the amount of $922.50, which we find are also for expansion of their resorts which do not benefit our use of the resort. When we contacted the resort we were told they charge this amount based on their “Club Regulations” however we were not provided a copy of these Club Regulation during the signing of our contract and were only recently emailed a copy, with no originality date. Also in the provided rules and regulation it is stated that the resort will provide any special assessments through “Detailed Report” which was not and has not been provided. Today we have only an email response on September 9, 2019 which provided a list of supposed items and improvements that were added or replaced which I have provided as an attachment in my email to you along with additional information.

Thank you for attention to this matter.

And here is one of the Bel Air response's and our counter response. Hi Patrict, I have replied below to the Attorney’s statements.

(STAEMENT) In none of the hotels that are managed for services to the Club (Los Cabos and Nuevo Vallarta), they are obliged to pay the all-inclusive, for all the members it is still optional. In case a member wishes to take or hire the all-inclusive package, which we reiterate is optional, it is provided at a special member's rate, which is a benefit for the members and not a detriment. (RESPONSE) This is true club members can buy all inclusive package, but no mention was made of the special rate. Also, by not paying for the all-inclusive, a club member is not able to purchase or obtain food or drink onsite while enjoying the pools or beach and must prepare food in a room hardly equipped for cooking breakfast or dinner or must go off site for meals.

(STATEMENT) As for the inventory/availability of rooms, it remains the same as always, there are no problems to book; reservations can be made from 1 year before arrival date to 1 month before requested arrival date. So much so that the Consumer has been using his weeks, without any particular problems. (RESPONSE)  This is not true, there are fewer rooms available for Bel Air Club Members and it is difficult to get the requested rooms.

(STATEMENT) The type of accommodation offered is for both hotel and club members, the new tower that is intended exclusively for hotel, certainly does not have a kitchen as large as the units intended for club members, since guests who do not belong to the club do not require these, as they have the all-inclusive packages, however all club members are located in units that have equipped kitchens and all necessary services, as if it were a residential apartment; there is enough inventory for complete units for members, if by some internal error of the personnel, of which we do not know that it has happened, it is possible to locate a member of the club in a room of the exclusive tower for hotel that is not complete, the member can demand that he is located in any of the units that have complete equipment. (RESPONSE) Again we disagree. The club member rooms are no where near equipped as a residential apartment. The kitchens are now poorly equipped with poor working and limited space appliances.

(STATEMENT) Consumers were aware that extraordinary fees could be established, so much so that consumers themselves contributed to the file the information that proves it in point number 12 of the document signed by consumers called "Verification Statement" dated November 13, 2013, states that he has read and understood the rules of the Club "Club Regulations", same that the consumer accompanies, so it is clearly inappropriate the statement that he did not know that document at the time of signing the contract; As we stated in our response to the complaint, point 8 of that document establishes the club's power to set the extraordinary fee, and the same consumer showed a letter explaining and advising him of the extraordinary fee and the reasons why it had been set. 

(RESPONSE) Extraordinary fees were to be for unfroseen repairs and to come with a breakdown of what was needed and done. The fee charged was for expansion and to purchase furnishings for the expanded resort for all inclusive guests and did not come with a break down of what was needed.

(STATEMENT) The consumer's request to cancel the membership with my represented company is inadmissible since he has not demonstrated that my represented company has not complied with its obligations. In order to reconcile his complaint, my represented company offers him a 20% discount on the extraordinary fee, for which he would only pay the amount of $738.00 USD (seven hundred and thirty-eight 00/100 U.S. dollars).

(RESPONSE) I feel we have demonstrated that the company has not complied with obligations and that the company has completely changed the type of resort that club members were sold into and have expanded the resort well beyond what was sold with the addition of the all inclusive guests and the allowance of guests who only come for the day to utilize the facilities, thus completely overcrowding the resort. The company has also charged and Extaordaniary fee that was not supported with documentation nor was it in copliance with the type of repairs noted in the company documents.

(STATEMENT) It is worth mentioning that the establishment of the extraordinary fee is due to a substantial improvement in the real estate and the furniture and equipment of the entire complex and the rooms, which raised the level of comfort and luxury, which can now be considered within the category of a grand tourism resort, so the extraordinary fee is minimal compared to the benefits received by the members.. ” (RESPONSE) The fee is for substantial improvement/ Expansion of the small resort area to the benefit of the company by allowing the all-inclusive and daily guests; but  to no benefit of the club members and makes the site crowded, service and chairs hard to obtain: and the fee is not for unexpected and needed improvements that benefit the club members. Thus we are requesting the company cancel our membership and refund the unused portion of our club membership we paid in full.

Thank you so much for this Eirinn!

I will continue to not pay the assessment. Have not received a payment due letter in a few months.