Rancho rip off
Fairmont Rancho Banderas is owned by a bunch of crooks who will rip you off if you ppurchase anything from them. Collin Knight, Brian Knight, Mark Redwine and Timo Stychin are the owners, operators and shystersof this resort. Just type in complaints and rancho banderas into Google and see what comes up! Don't be fooled by these con-artist they will rip you off and not think twice about it. It is mine and other owners wishes that these people are brought up on criminal charges and spend the rest of their pathetic lives in jail!
Thomas N.
I am feeling the same was as of today. I purchased my timeshare 5 years ago and it was told that if I followed the directions perfectly, I would receive all my money back with the cashback redemption program. So, it was time to mail everything back to get my money. 5 day window of time it had to be certified mail. Well, today it arrives back in my hands, certified! The company had moved!!!! No forwarding address and the number is disconnected. Great!!! But, it is not over. I left a message for Ken Csokonay at 403-228-6859 and my voice will be heard!!! If you need help suing these people, let me know. Sara
Sara H.
thank you for all the informations, it look it's hopeless....If any of you is suing...let me know, I can join...I don't want to loose like that $16000 !!!!!my email is claire_bb@hotmail.com, I live in California and am for Belgium...thank you for your help....Claire
Claire B.
I purchased a time share in Mexico in 2001 at:
Fairmont Rancho Banderas Carretera de Punta de Mita Km. 8.3, Playa Destiladeras Bahia de Banderas, Nayarit CP 63732 Mexico Local 52-329-291-7000 contactus@ranchobanderas.com http://www.ranchobanderas.com/ From a company:
Fairmont Resort Properties LTD: (Formerly known as Resorts West Management) 5799 - 3rd Street SECalgary Alberta,T2H 1K1 Local: (403) 451-1151 Fax: (403) 450-0495 contact@fairmontcanada.com
http://www.fairmontcanada.com/
Rancho Banderas –Fairmont Resort Properties LTD is the largest Canadian-owned developer and marketer of interval vacation ownership condominiums. 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. We will be seeking to file charges, including criminal, against the company as well as individuals involved.
The History:
I purchased a time share in 2000 in Mexico from Resorts West Management. I was told by a smooth talking salesman (Tomas West) that my contract would be fully protected by Resorts West Management Group Ltd, 5799 - 3 Street S.E. Suite B Calgary, Alberta T2H 1K1 Canada (403) 451-1242 assessments@ranchobanderas.com. So I would not be purchasing a time share from Mexico, but instead through Canada. If you go to Fairmont Resort Properties web site, they list Rancho Banderas under an owned property (http://www.fairmontcanada.com/owned.html). The salesmen working at the resort are all sharks looking to feast on the tender flesh of the unseasoned tourist. The salesmen offered the moon and used high pressured tactics to con unprepared tourist into buying a time share contract that was not worth the money it was printed on. I was told my cost would be the price of the time share $6,806.85 and a annual assessment that started at $93.60 (that according to the contract cannot be raised by more than 15% annually) and the cost of joining an exchange company (Interval International) at a cost of $89.00 a year. I bought this property because I travel frequently and was told it would be a great asset for me and that I could trade at anytime for a comparable one bedroom unit, any where around the world and at that price I considered this a fair deal and signed a legal contract.
After being swindled into purchasing a one bedroom unit I was looking forward to taking advantage of all the benefits I was promised. The time share I bought into is run on a point system. This system is convoluted and I believe set up to confuse the owner into not knowing what they own or when they own it. I own a one bedroom for one week out of every year, or 240 points. I was told by the salesman that I would have no trouble trading this week because I had bought in at the gold level that could be used to trade whenever I wanted.
After returning home to Chicago I was ready to put to use my new ownership privileges. I called and asked Rancho Banderas to deposit my annual week into Interval International so I could trade it and use my week somewhere else. The Rancho Banderas representative told me I had to call between May 1st and June 30th to have these 240 points deposited into Interval. So I call on the 1st of May and the Rancho Banderas representative tells me that there are no trade weeks available and that I will have to try again next month. I have seen numerous complaints from owners who try to deposit a week or book a week at the resort and are told they are booked up or sold out. So if you are unable to use your week you eventually lose your week rental and all the fees you have paid and then Rancho Banderas resells at a 100% profit. I have had to fight tooth and nail to get my trades completed and it has been a nightmare to say the least.
Here is an email I received recently when I tried to deposit a week:
Dear Thomas Nisivaco, Thank you for contacting Fairmont Rancho Banderas! We currently do not have availability for two 1 bedrooms within our value season for 240 points each. We can offer you instead two 1 bdrm units for 270 points each. As we explained several times before, you need to make your request in May or early June in order to assure you the usage of 240 points only. At this point we can deposit 1 for 270 points, and once May 2009 hits, we will deposit another week for 240 points, however, you will have to send another request by then, as we do not hold your requests. Please keep ion mind that, you will be short on points for the May 2009 deposit, however, the difference can be purchased at $78.90 usd. Please let us know at your earliest convenience your decision in order to confirm all tasks.
Reservations Center
When I tell them that the salesman who sold me the time share, said I could trade it at anytime and with no hassle, they laughed and said they are not responsible for what their salesman promise.
Every time I have tried to deposit a week into Interval International, Rancho Banderas starts speaking in points. “We don’t have 240”; “you need to buy more points”. What? I just want to trade the one bedroom unit I bought for the same type off unit…is this so hard? They will tell you all they have available is a 2 bedroom and that will cost more points and so on and so on. I just want what I paid for and I want to trade or book a week at my resort like they told me I could when I bought this thing. I have had two experiences where I have been charged extra points that have cost me vacation time and money, because this company had not been honest in their transactions. You are responsible to keep track of your points, but this is no easy task.
Trying to figure out how many points you have or don’t have can be frustrating. I spoke with the General Manager of Rancho Banderas, Timo Stychin, and asked him why there was no way to check your point balance on-line and he said that they do not have those capabilities. I questioned this answer because they already have a website and you can pay your assessment bill on line, so why can’t they incorporate this into their system? Why don’t they mail you a point statement? Mr. Stychin says they are working on it. This is just all hogwash because Rancho Banderas would like you to forget about transparency and instead just focusing on writing them an inflated assessment check every year with no real account of where the money ends up.
The Cash Back America Scam:
In 2002 I was sent my assessment bill from Rancho Banderas. In this same envelope is an offer from the management company Resorts West in association with Cash Back America. This company was to offer me a 50% rebate if I paid my assessments in a lump sum for the next five years.
The rebate requirements, spelled out in a rather lengthy contract, were very stringent, and ultimately required that I return a number of original documents to a specific address by certified mail within a 30-day period, 54 months after the date of the sale. I was informed from a Resorts West Management letter that most people forget one thing or another which was why they continued to offer such rebates.
As I approached the 30-day period, which began at the end of October, 2007, I contacted the phone number listed several times to verify that I was doing everything properly; including sending to the correct, updated address. The office manager answered all my questions pretty thoroughly each time, and I was confident that we had everything we needed.
I sent in the completed materials and received back the receipt from the Post Office a week later. The original terms indicated that I would hear from them within six to eight weeks, which would have been by the first week of January.
When I did not receive any response at that time, I tried calling their office again. I got a busy signal all week. The following week there was a recording saying that the phone number was no longer in service, with no further information. I finally found out that the company changed their address. I resent the information and was denied the rebate due to a large number of persons request.
Rancho Banderas response is that they are not responsible for anything that has to do with Cash back America and please do not bother them with this. Why did Rancho Banderas send me the Cash Back America offer in their envelope? Why did Rancho Banderas include a letter on their letterhead detailing the program? What did Rancho Banderas receive for conducting this offer? Why is Resorts West Management still listed as the assessment fee contact on the Rancho Banderas web-site (http://www.ranchobanderas.com/contact.html)? These are all questions that have gone unanswered.
It turns out that Cash Back America was duping thousands of people and through Rancho Banderas I and many others were ripped off. Cash Back America has gone out of business and is being investigated by several local and federal authorities and surprisingly enough as you will read later Resorts West Management was sold soon after. (http://www.cashbackamericasucks.com/) So I was cheated out of $396.00 that Cash Back America and Resorts West Management had promised me.
The Breach of Contract:
In 2007 I received my assessment bill and was shocked to see that my assessment went for $148.00 to $427.20. I called the assessment office in Calgary to find out what the problem was. They informed me that the assessments had been raised to cover cost of running the resort. I told them that my contract clearly states that they are not able to raise assessments by more than 15% annually and the only way they could do this was by contacting all owners in writing and having a vote. Well no one received written notice and no vote was ever held. Me, and judging after a search of the internet, many others were furious at this clear breach of our contract. I contacted Timo Sychin the General Manager at Rancho Banderas. I contacted Mr. Stychin through email and during one of the exchanges Mr. Stychin replied to all (a mistake I am sure he did not want to make) and in this email he complained about me and how it is always the people with the lowest amount of ownership who make the most problems for them. After he was busted he responded by saying “I do apologize for the misinterpretation of my remark which was misunderstood”. It is kind of hard to misinterpret blantant disrespect. Mr. Stychin agreed that the company raised assessments over the contract agreement and he told me that there was nothing I could do about it and if I wanted to sue them I could try, but I would never succeed. Mr. Stychin stated that they were untouchable and there money was in Barbados. I was also informed that the resort was sold in 2007 and Mr. Stychin stated that I probably did not receive the letter because they forgot to send them to everyone. I now have that letter and it really does not explain anything.
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?
I contacted the Calgary office and they all towed the company line. I called the main office (403-804-0139) were this supposed Collin Knight is and asked to speak with him. I was told he was not in (I have called several times and he is never there, but I suspect he is and that there is a mob of people who would love to get a piece of him), and was given to Mark Readwin the new president of Fairmont properties. Mr. Readwin listened to my story and said he was disturbed and appalled by these actions. Mr. Readwin told me he would call Mr. Stychin and get to the bottom of this.
I called Mr. Readwin the next day and asked him what he was going to do about the situation. Mr. Readwin’s character suddenly was abrupt and cold, much different from yesterdays warm, understanding demeanor and as he rudely chomped on food he told me he could do nothing and don’t call him again. I was surprised at this and wondered why the sudden turn around. What kind of sham were they operating under? I called this office once and they answered it as a law firm. I guess they need to have lawyers on site considering all the laws they are breaking. I ask really wonder why the feds are not busting down their door and closing up this illegal operation?
I recently received my assessment fees for this year was: $578.45 plus the Interval International membership at $89.00. So I am paying $667.45. On http://www.ranchobanderas.com they are offering a one bedroom unit for $450.00 for a week that is 217.45 less than what I am paying. Does this make sense to anyone? I and all owners are being publically ripped off. So what is being done?
I have been trying to reach Collin Knight repeatedly and have been contacting him at (250)-345-6556 (Fairmont Hot Springs, BC). The secretary tells me that he is not in, but this is where he is located. She also tells me that he is not the owner of the company. This is the biggest line of bull I have heard. This company will need to address all these falsies in the future and there are many people who are looking forward to that judgement day.
The Real Crime:
After many years of investigation we have uncovered a slew of facts that will allow us to go after individuals and not just the company’s assets. I am not at liberty to disclose these facts at this juncture.
What’s Being Done:
If you visit any complaint boards and type in Rancho Banderas or Fairmont you will be bombarded with blogs of dissatisfied, disgruntled owners. Rancho Banderas and all its associates will blatantly lie and abuse you to your face when confronted with anything having to do with the Rancho Banderas property. People have been trying for years now to bring the assessments back down or get a refund on their time share purchase, but no one to my knowledge has succeeded. There have been message boards started and exhaustive searches done to find a lawyer to represent the owners, but to date nothing has transpired. The contract stipulates that any grievance must be taken care of through the Mexican legal system and Fairmont Properties will tell you that they are not the owners of the property. I have spoken with a lawyer who has told me that putting in a clause stating you need to take care of legal matters in a certain place is not enforceable and when the company was sold the rules changed. This group has made it impossible for anyone to claim anything against them. They are ripping people off in public and blatantly spitting in their faces.
In the contract it states that owners are able to change the management company if they have a vote and it is passed. I have called and wrote Fairmont Properties several times and requested to have this vote, but they will not furnish the owners names or conduct this vote themselves. What good is a contract if it is not enforceable? If you do have a internal problem Rancho Banderas, like getting booking a reservation for your week, Fairmont will tell you that you have signed a contract and according to the contract…screw you. So the contract is only enforceable when it is against the owner not against the management company?
I recently received a call from Murray Moore, Fairmont properties Chief Restructuring Officer and former or maybe present CFO, who told me to quit hassling his employees. It seems it is alright for their company to hassle its owners, but when you seek answers from them they cannot handle it. Mr. Moore told me he would get his lawyers after me if I did not cease and desist. It is not me who should be worried about lawyers Mr. Moore.
I spoke with Mr. Murray on 09/17/09 and I clearly caught him off guard as his voice cracked and his heartbeat rose. Mr. Murray asked me what my problem was and I shared first my story of the outrages assessment increase. Mr. Murray’s response was that “it needed to be done”. I gave Mr. Murray my increase assessment numbers and he told me “you should go back to school to learn how to do math” I hold several degrees and I have the hard numbers on Rancho Banderas assessment bills to prove that he is lying. Mr. Murray was very flustered by the truth as he searched to refute my facts with lies. Mr. Murray agreed that there was an increase, but denied it was done criminally. I asked him that if he had a mortgage contract and one day the bank decided to double his payments how would he react? He said “it would be wrong and he would fight it in court”. I asked him how this was different from what his company had done to its owners and he just couldn’t come to terms with the analogy. Mr. Murray said as owners we had two options to let the place fall apart or to fix it up and make it better. I told Mr. Murray that we had a contract that stated they could not raise the assessments by more than 15% without a vote from all owners and that we never got a vote. He did not care. I told him that we might have agreed to a one time bailout if asked, but we were not asked. He said now they are only assessing the property at 9% a year and I said that was on top of the outrageous increase so now I am paying more than it would cost for me to get a place on the open market. He told me I could do so and I told him not before I get justice! If I was sold this price when I originally signed the contract…I would have never bought into this time share. I bought the time share at the time because I thought the price was right and I never thought they would raise the price unlawfully. I told him that we were never informed that this assessment was to take place and he said that there was a letter sent out. I told him that I received a letter almost two years later and not once in that letter is it said that they would enact an excessive increase in our assessments. He did not have a rebuttal to this fact. There were other startling things that also arose from this conversation.
I asked Mr. Murray if he had ever seen the blogs and complaints about Rancho Banderas on the internet. He said “I never bother with that”. I told him to type in Rancho Banderas and “fraud” or “scam” to see the hundreds of complaints. He told me he did not care and what did this prove. I told him it proved that there are a lot of people who feel cheated by this company. I also told Mr. Murray that I have received emails from people who have witnessed first hand that money from assessment payments has not gone to fixing up the property according to the yearly un-detailed financial report. He told me to try and prove it. I told him I have been contacted by a contractor who was hired by Rancho Banderas who has confirmed that money from assessments was being used to fund new construction and I told him this is illegal. Mr. Murray was furious and told me again to try and prove it and I told him I have the proof and this made him more hostile. I asked Mr. Murray how we could proceed at a vote to change the management company, this really upset him and he said they could be of no help.
Mr. Murray then went on a tirade and told me to stop bothering his employees and that he was going to call my work to tell them what kind of person I was. Mr. Murray said he was going to sick his lawyers on me if I did not quite hassling him. Mr. Murray, without letting me get a word in, rambled on and then hung up the phone. Mr. Murray did mention that things needed to go through the proper channels and seeing as no one in that company is willing to discuss the crimes; the only proper channels would be the police and the courts. Mr. Murray got noticeably flustered as I hurled factual charges at him and in my perception was at a loss to defend any of the charges reasonably. I cannot wait till the day justice is served and if I owned a company Mr. Murray is one of the last people I would allow as my CRO.
After Googling Mr. Moore I found the legal hole that Fairmont Resort Properties is buried in. It seems that they are subject to creditor protection under the Companies Creditor’s Arrangement Act “(CCAA”). You can read at in detail the mess that they are in at the provided link: http://documentcentre.eycan.com/Pages/Main.aspx?SID=107
People have become frustrated and have decided not to pay these blotted assessments and the result is a nasty correspondence from Fairmont Properties telling them their credit will be ruined. Then Fairmont tells them their time share has been forfeited and they resell it again to another unsuspecting person. So Rancho Banderas is profiting twice or however many times they have pulled this scam, by selling the same share over and over. This is illegal.
I recently spoke to a former owner who told me that he was down at the resort and he was talking to other disgruntled members at the pool who also could not believe what has been happening with the finances and ownership of Rancho Banderas. Later that night Timo Stychin showed up unannounced to the unit of this gentleman and told him that he would be thrown out of Rancho Banderas if he was caught talking negatively to any more people about the resort. Does Mr. Stychin think he is in the mafia? We are owners of this place and we will speak to whom ever we choose. I am planning a trip shortly to Rancho Banderas and will be looking forward to seeing Mr. Stychin and confronting him about his behavior and the criminal actions he has been committing. I would love to see him try and throw me out of a place I am an owner of.
The Future:
I receive emails daily asking to join a lawsuit against this company. We have a couple of law firms interested in the case and are working out the details before we file this case. We will be filing charges in Mexico, Barbados and in Canada. The cronies at the top will tell you they are not owned by Fairmont, but that is ok because we are filing charges against the individual(s) for their fraudulent actions, not just the corporation. We have corroborated facts of illegal actions and proof that this resort has been operating out side of the law. We will also be sending word out to the media to get the word out so no one else falls victim to the crimes of this company. This company owns many time shares and I would not be surprised if their fraudulent dealings run deeper then Rancho Banderas. During this time of economic hardship it is unconscionable that a company would steal money from hardworking people. I am still baffled that this type of company is allowed to go on ripping people off. Everyone knows they are breaking the law, but nothing has been done.
JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED!
This is a list of all the people form Rancho Banderas and Fairmont properties that should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law (I am sure there are more, but these are the only ones I have dealt with):
Bryon Knight (Owner of Resorts West Management) No known information (currently he is in Mexico)
Collin Knight (Owner of Fairmont properties Ltd.) Office in Canada 403-451-1151 Office in Hot Springs, BC 250-345-6556 Email: collin@fairmontcanada.com or roadwarrior@gmail.com
Douglas T. Morcom (RRP: Vice President) No information (In Canada)
Timo Stychin (General Manager-Rancho Banderas) Rancho Banderas México 011-52-329-291-7005 ext 1015 Email: gm@ranchobanderas.com
Murray Moore (Chief Restructuring Officer) Office in Canada 403-451-1158 Email: mmoore@fairmontcanada.com
Mark Readwin (President Fairmont Properties) Office in Canada 403-451-1151 Cell Phone: 403-804-0139 Email: mreadwin@fairmontcanada.com
Eleanor Fornataro (Director of Customer Relations) Fairmont Resort Properties Ltd. T: 403-451-1254 C: 403-608-7672 Email: efornataro@fairmontcanada.com
Leo Gonzales (Reservation Administrator) Rancho Banderas México 011-52-329-291-7005 Email: leonidasg@ranchobanderas.com
Darci Hunter (Resort Manager) Office in Mexico 011-52-329-921-7000 Email” darcih@ranchobanderas.com
Edith Monroy (Resort Assistant) Office in Mexico 011-52-329-921-7000 Email” edithm@ranchobanderas.com
Babs Burell (Accounts Administrator) Office in Canada (403) 451-1164 Email: bburell@fairmontcanada.com
Leanne Tucker (Accounts Administrator) Office in Canada (403) 451-4212 Email: LTucker@fairmontcanada.com
Attached here are just a select few correspondences I have received regarding Rancho Banderas and Fairmont properties:
Dec 23,2009 "Sharon3254" has sent you a message on ComplaintsBoard.com:
Tom: I am currently residing in Manitoba Canada and currently on vacation at Rancho. There is a HUGE cash scheme here and a Forensic audit NEEDS TO BE DONE. There is a circle of 5 (I have confirmed 3 of them) who are selling day passes at 200 pescos/adults 100/child (cash only). There were 40 here on a daily basis all week. Charging cash for the meals/beverages. Staff have told me on the QT that they MUST cater to this group. Our maintenance fees are up to about 5,000/week for staff food/training/transportation, however the staff are not getting fed/trained/or provided transportation. These funds are being depleted against the day pass people and then written off against the staff account, cash is then pocketed. Also all of the AC units were replaced and this group of 5 took all of the copper piping, sold it for scrap, and kept the cash. This was money was NOT given back for maintence. WE NEED TO SET up an AUDIT and send these crooks to JAIL
___________________________________________________________________ Thank you for taking the time to help with the ongoing issues at Rancho Banderas. The issues with Rancho Banderas didn't start with the cashback program - they started much earlier. My husband has been an owner since 1999 when assessments were under fifty cents a point and there was no resort, just a beautiful beach. The points we started with were guaranteed to provide one week a year - now the same amount of points only provide for six days every two years. The resort is so heavily overbooked by hotel guests; we lost our 2006 points because there were no rooms available. My husband paid the extra fee to stay at Rancho Banderas last week and found some very interesting facts. The villas Rancho Banderas were selling never came to fruition. The complete room renovations disclosed in the 2007 annual maintenance fee summary are fraudulent - the exact same furnishings were in the room when we last vacationed there in 2002. Also, Fairmont Resorts GAVE 20 ROOMS to terminated Fairmont employees, free of charge, as part of their compensation package from Fairmont's' layoffs. They were all at the resort the same time my husband was vacationing, April 18-25, 2009, and all enjoyed free rooms at our (owners) expense. We can't book a room with our points, but they have enough room for hotel guests and employee compensation packages? Our dues are not benefiting owners and we just want out of our contract. We'll cut our losses with the initial payment - just to move on and be free from this fraud. I've emailed Rancho Banderas four or five times in the last week and they were RUDE and finally stopped emailing altogether. I appreciate your time spent organizing owners and feel free to contact me at kris_l_hansen@hotmail.com. Best Regards, Kris _______________________________________________________
We have had several issues w/ Rancho, including the latest which is them not giving us access to our banked points to utilize. They are just "gone", even though the exorbitant maintenance fees have always been paid immediately. Thank you for any information you might lend on any pending litigation against Rancho, et seq. Lee Bertoncella Member since 1999 aeon@jdv.net
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Hello - My husband and I are (unfortunately) timeshare holders with Rancho Banderas. To my disappointment, I am coming to realize we made a HUGE mistake in dealing with this resort. We purchased our timeshare in November of 2004 after our first - and only - visit following my husband's return from Iraq. We were vulnerable to say the least, but were persuaded based on the "refund" we would receive in 54 months. This month is our "54th month". We were preparing our paperwork when I decided I should investigate whether others had run into any problems in receiving their refunds. Much to our dismay it appears to be the scam I feared. After reading about some who have received at least a small percentage of their refund, I am tempted to continue to send in our paperwork and see what happens - figuring we have nothing to lose at this point since we are paid in assessment fees until January 2010. We would very much like to join in a class action suit as well as get some advice on how we get out of our timeshare contract. We paid in full in 2005 and I would be happy to get out of paying the outrageous assessment fees every year. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.
Kim Weller" weller@hamilton.net
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My husband and I have been one of the victims of the Cash Back Fraud with Rancho Banderas. In 2005, we purchased our timeshare and part of the agreement was that we wait 4 yrs to do our rebate. We followed all the rules and this year we were suppose to cash in our rebate in Sept. After some research we found out that Cashback America is no longer in business and is under investigation. I have attempted to contact Fairmont Properties in Canada and Rancho Banderas in Mexico. I have only received the same email saying that they are not responsible for any transactions from the previous owners. Also, I have made phone calls to all the phone numbers I have and no response. I also called Merchant Law Group to speak with Michael Bauer 1-866-653-7777 but he said he is no longer on that case and had me call Nicholas Robinson 306-359-7777 but I have not had a response. We were really hoping for the rebate money because I have been out of work and we are expecting a baby. The money could have given us some financial relief. It is really sad how people could take advantage of others like this. I just don't understand how Fairmont Properties could just say they are not responsible for previous transactions of owners when they acquired the resort. At this point I am not sure who is more liable Cashback America (who is out of business) or Fairmont Properties (who claims no responsibility). I plan to file a Complaint Form with the Attorney General's Office in Florida regarding Cashback America. Should I still attempt to file my rebate even though Cashback America is out of business? Have you heard of anyone getting their money back? Can I sell my property any get my money back that way? Is there anything else I could do or am I just wasting my time? I would really appreciate any help or advice you can give us. Thanks for your time. Leslie Semana" lesliesemana@yahoo.com
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Tom, We were interested to see you report on the RipOff Report. We have been subject to the ripp off of Rancho Banderas recently we tried to pay our assessment fees had not received any notifications but realized they were due. We were told that our membership had been suspended and we would be put on the reinstatement waitlist, they told us they had sent a registered letter, not received by us so not signed for. They said it was our postal services responsibility not theirs and they would not answer any more correspondence on the matter. We spent $27,000 for 960 points. We would be interested in your class action suit. Thanks so much. Raymond & Rhonda Valverde
Aug 15th 2009 The posts that I see about Rancho Banderas are out dated. I see nothing posted for the year 2008 or 2009. The note posted by Patsy24 re letter that all owners received date July 4, 2007 , all owners received. That's if their Infromation on there data base was up-to-date. What has happened since that date. From the information that I was able to get through my contacts is That Collin H. Knight (President of Fairmont Resort Properties LTd. bought out his brother Bryon Knight due too fact of miss Management of the Property, plus many other factors! We were at Rancho on Feb. 26,2007 when there was a meeting held in Relaxo Restaurant --- Bryon Knight and Tim Stychin and Darci Hunter attend. Bryon Knight answered some the owners questions. Tim (Timo) Stychin on the other hand was rude very hostile and flatly refused to answer the owners questions. This is man who is head of or In Charge of the management company that looks after look's after Rancho Banderas. Now as Owners, plus Guests that attended this meeting how would you feel after a response like that to Owners, plus all the people who work there???????????
Below is a news article about the financial state of Fairmont Resort properties Ltd: Press release — Fairmont Resort Properties Ltd. – On March 30, 2009, Fairmont Resort Properties Ltd. was made subject to creditor protection under the Companies Creditor’s Arrangement Act “(CCAA”). This process allows the Company the opportunity to present a plan to restructure its obligations to the benefit of all stakeholders including secured and unsecured creditors, employees and customers. Fairmont time share owners are not affected by this plan of arrangement and continue with the rights their acquired at the time of their purchase. The management of the facility, Fairmont Vacation Villas, is operated by Columbia Villa Management and is also not subject to the CCAA order. It operates independently of Fairmont Resort Properties Ltd. Pursuant to the court order for the plan of arrangement, new management was appointed with Mr. Collin Knight and Mr. Doug Morcom not involved in the management at this time. All debts of the Company at the date of the application were stayed awaiting court approval of Fairmont’s restructuring plan. All goods and services supplied by the Company’s customers since the date of the application are acquired and dealt with in the normal course of business. Notwithstanding the situation of Fairmont Resort Properties Ltd., all timeshare owners will enjoy their vacation at Fairmont Vacation Villas this year and in the future without interruption. _______________________________________________________
Below are links to blogs and complaints for rancho Banderas and Fairmont Resort Properties Ltd.:
Trip Advisor Here you can look at over 16 pages of complaints:
http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowTopic-g150793-i46-k986861-Rancho_Banderas-Puerto_Vallarta_Pacific_Coast.html
Red Week it is a complaint board:
http://www.redweek.com/forums/messages?thread_id=14694&page=last&utm_source=forum-alert&utm_medium=email&utm_content=topic
Complaint Board There are several pages of complaints:
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/rancho-banderas-c3151.html
TuggBBs blogs:
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40332
Time Share Blog:
http://timesharerealestate.blogspot.com/2006/09/timeshare-ownership-comes-with.html
Below is the financial contact info from Rancho Banderas home page:
http://www.ranchobanderas.com/index.html
Assessment:
check payable to: Resorts West Management Group Ltd. mail to: Accounts Administrator c/o Rancho Banderas. 5799 - 3 Street S.E. Suite B Calgary, Alberta T2H 1K1 Canada Business Hours: Monday to Friday, 8 am to 4 pm Mountain Standard Time Telephone: (403) 451-1242 Toll Free Phone: 1-877-451-1241 Fax: (403) 451-1163 Toll Free Fax: 1-877-451-1239 E-mail: assessments@ranchobanderas.com
Finance: check payable to: Fairmont Funding Inc. mail to: 5799 - 3 Street S.E. Suite B Calgary, Alberta T2H 1K1 Canada Telephone: (403) 451-1164 Toll Free Phone: 1-877-451-1164 Fax: (403) 451-1163 E-mail: ffi@fairmontcanada.com
This is their offshore account information:
Resorts West Management Group LTD. Whitepark House, White Park Road Bridgetown, Barbados, West
Thomas N.
I would surely like to join that law suit. Would you send me the information? I was never able to use my points for the same reasons cited. I lost the timeshare ownership when they would not deal with me. I let it go back to them thinking I had no choice.
Annette R.
I have read with interest this topic and others online and will add my experience for whatever it is worth.
My wife and I purchased 360 points at Rancho Banderas for $7,600 in 1999 when the resort was in its construction phase and consisted of the pool, restaurant and oceanfront models. Much was promised. 360 points entitles us to one summer week in a one bedroom unit. (This has not changed since we purchased.)
My family of 5 spent our first week at RB at Easter 2000 in Unit 104 (by using bonus points and borrowing points from the next year), the prime 3 bedroom ocean front unit with the private spa. We were pleased with the experience. My children commented that it was the best place we'd ever stayed.
Most years we have exchanged our RB use week with Interval International. The week has always traded very well.
In early 2002, we received an offer from RB to prepay 10 years worth of maintenance fees and the Cash Back America offer for a 100% rebate in 4 1/2 years, so we accepted the offer. We dutifully followed all the Cash Back America instructions to the letter and submitted the final paperwork in September 2006. Our rebate claim was rejected due to the company's claim that we failed to submit a credit card receipt for payment of the maintenance fees. While I dispute that this was indeed required, I did not pursue the issue further because I deemed it to be a lost cause. The Cash Back America program was, clearly, a fraudulent scheme. Interestingly, though, our payment of 10 years of maintenance fees in advance in 2002 has insulated us from the increases in the maintenance fees to date. I don't look forward to our maintenance fee bill in 2012.
In Spring 2002, I attempted to reserve 3 days of use in late July 2002. No time was available. During the next year, I speculated that RB had been underbuilt and oversold.
We were able to reserve 3 days of use in the Summer of 2003. We attended a sales presentation at which we were offered an additional 120 points for about $10,000 with the Cash Back America scheme offered to include both the additional $10,000 and the original $7,600 purchase price. Not knowing how the Cash Back America offer would work out with regards to our prepaid maintenance fees, we rejected the offer and made the comment that RB was the most difficult of our multiple timeshare ownerships to manage because it appeared the resort was oversold and underbuilt. The salesman quietly agreed with us and indicated that groundbreaking was to occur the next week for an additional 200 units. The only additional unit which has been constructed since that time is the one penthouse unit.
The only other time we have stayed at RB was for a week in late August 2009. The resort was much the same as it had always been including the furnishings and kitchen which needed some updating. Overall, we enjoyed our stay. Selling at RB appeared to have stopped.
My son and his wife stayed at RB in 2008 on an Interval International exchange and enjoyed their week.
RB is a unique experience, on the bluff overlooking the Bay of Banderas. It is beautiful and is on the best beach on the Bay. The resort's isolation makes for a relaxing stay, but also makes you subject to the resort's quirks.
We own timeshare weeks with 5 different companies, perhaps because of our equivalent of a "midlife crisis." Timesharing is not an investment, but has opened our horizons to some wonderful vacations. Maintenance fees everywhere we own have gone way up over the years. RB's maintenance fees started out the lowest of any resort we owned.
Rancho Banderas clearly has its problems. The slick developer has clearly overpromised and underdelivered. As RB timeshare owners, we have probably been defrauded to one extent or another. However, with the resort in Mexico, the developer in Canada and most of us in the US, it is likely unrealistic to think we could achieve legal justice.
If I might speculate, the more than doubling of maintenance fees in 2007 was likely the result of being a bit low to begin with and having more owners default, than purchased, thereby spreading the maintenace costs among fewer owners, with some fraud and mismanagement mixed in.
I strongly suggest that you reserve time at RB early in your use year or trade your time with an exchange service. If you don't think the maintenace fees are worth it, let it go. Buyer's remorse is common in the timeshare business. You are not going to get your money back. For those of us defrauded in the Cash Back America scheme, we should remember that if it looks too good to be true, it likely is. My wife and I own time at RB until 2047. We will enjoy it as long as we can afford it and not worry about things we cannot control.
Terry W.
My wife and I have had the same experiences as you. Inability to use our points for weeks because units not available, even though we called in early May. Year after year... Also were victims of the Cash Back scam, even though we were diligent about the weeks, strict requirements, etc.
I would love to join any class action or other legal action against these crooks as well. Some day, some way, they will get their judgement - I would just enjoy being able to partake in it and possibly get some $$$ back too. I doubt they will leave any funds remaining when everything gets settled though.
Please add us to any lists of owners you have compiled and keep us informed of developments.
Thanks, Matt mtwellers@yahoo.com
M W.
I have been an owner since June of 2000. I purchased 240 points for $3571.00. I must agree that the increase in assessment fees has gotten out of hand. I have tried to sell my timeshare and have yet to be successful. At this point I am ready to cut my losses and let it go. I am going to make a last attempt to redeem a week there this year and if they cannot accommodate me, then I will stop going all together.
I would be very interested in joining a lawsuit against them if the plan is still in the works. Please feel free to contact me at rivycastillo@gmail.com
Thanks, Roberta
Thanks, Roberta
Roberta A.
I have not heard of any such legal proceedings.
Rancho Banderas is now owned by Marival. Over the years, the resort has had so many ownership changes that it would be nearly impossible to hold anyone responsible for prior issues. The resort in is Mexico, the former ownership in Canada and most owners in the U.S. I give it zero chance that any legal action would be successful. My wife and I are going to Rancho Banderas this summer and expect to enjoy our time there despite the problems.
Terry W.
Charter Members since 1999. Originally bought 480 pts, then bought another 240 through Timo because of the promise of the benefits of the Cash Back scam. Not unhappy with the place - it's remote and beautiful. Not at all thrilled with how things have changed over the years. We are currently on site and are 'not allowed' to use the beach in front of the 200 building - that is for Innovacation owners only, VIP access. The customer service for those of us on the RB side sucks. The units are still not all renovated (17 YEARS later?!?), the A/C had gone out and we had to move to another unit that also had A/C problems. They offered to move us again - BACK to the unit we were first assigned. The front desk clerk was shocked when I asked if the A/C had been fixed before sending up the belldesk crew to move our luggage back to that room. I have had to pester the Concierge and Front Desk staff every day to replace light bulbs in the bathroom and living room area. Apparently, there was only one bulb in all of Puerto Vallarta, because only one light has been fixed. I also have asked for basic kitchen utensils to no avail. We drove to Walmart and bought our own. Bartenders, servers, and housekeeping staff are wonderful - for the most part. As RB owners, we are on the "European plan" and wear tan bracelets. If you use a travel site or agent and book the all-inclusive hotel side, you are given green bracelets. If you own on the hotel side, you are given blue bracelets - but ONLY if you use the all-inclusive hotel package. Timo talked us out of our 720 points and some cash to buy into the hotel side, (allegedly giving us all rights on both sides). We found out that none of what Timo told us was true and were advised by members of the hotel sales side to contact Marival and cancel that contract and return our points and status. Still waiting to for them to respond to my email. So much more I could post here, but I really am trying to enjoy my vacation and DO NOT WANT these b@stards to steal any more of my joy. I know Vidanta is currently facing a class action lawsuit. It might be wise for us to contact that attorney and see if we also have a case.
Scott S.
Hi Sara. I havebeen a rancho member a very long time too. I got same info about a $10,000 refund from cash america. My husband & I WERE TOLD SAME THING AND NEVER RECEIVED A DIME. I STILL HAVE ALL MY PAPERS COMPLETED AND DI EVERYTHING AT ALL THE TIMES NEEDED. I REALLY LIKE RANCHO AND STILL ENJOY THE FACILITIES. BUT LIKE YOU WE WERE RIPPED OFF BY THERE LIES. HELEN MOORE. 209-602-4711. If you are pursuing this let me know. Its a calif phone#. Thankyou. 8/26/24
Helen M.
helenm332 wrote:Hi Sara. I havebeen a rancho member a very long time too. I got same info about a $10,000 refund from cash america. My husband & I WERE TOLD SAME THING AND NEVER RECEIVED A DIME. I STILL HAVE ALL MY PAPERS COMPLETED AND DI EVERYTHING AT ALL THE TIMES NEEDED. I REALLY LIKE RANCHO AND STILL ENJOY THE FACILITIES. BUT LIKE YOU WE WERE RIPPED OFF BY THERE LIES. HELEN MOORE. 209-602-4711. If you are pursuing this let me know. Its a calif phone#. Thankyou. 8/26/24
Helen M.