Villa Group Timeshare Scam

SCAM !!! They will claim that there is no upfront fee but I will guarantee they will come up with a " fee " that has to be paid before they can complete the transaction. They send shills in the forum pretending to be satisfied customers to get you to go after the bait. They lead you along until they have you in their web then they tell you they need a " fee " to finish their work. It's just a SCAM to get your money. Don't fall for this old trick. Once they get your money they put you on the " sucker list " and someone will contact you claiming they can get back the money you lost to these scammers. Don't get involved with these people and keep your hard earned money. You've lost enough already if you're desperate enough to fall for this SCAM.

Check them out and you find that anyone can create a website and use a drop box for their office. There is no legitimate business just a phony website and a mail drop box. Demand their actual location and use the internet to find out that there is no office just a website.

This Villa Group is absolutely scam. Beware of any company that relies on grabbing passengers that just landed at the airport and promising them free excursions for word of mouth promotion (no sales pitch, promise). Then 6 hours later you’ve been held hostage at a location offsite where they wear you down during timeshare presentations and promise 5 diamond accommodations. Once you actually get internet service and read through the 100 page contract they give you after signing, you will realize much of what they sold you is a lie. Even worse is trying to get out of it after you realize the scam and directly need the money for a personal emergency.

They also charge more through their convoluted point system than actually booking it outright yourself. Even if you run into financial hardship, like we did directly upon arriving home, they will screw you over and keep your initial investment of $5k-$80k regardless of your personal situations.

I’ve got voice recordings that don’t match the contract they gave us and also documented via pictures their prices/packages. I will be filing a class action lawsuit. Please let me know if you are interested. I’ve got 23 people so far. Email me at: WWG1WGA182@yahoo.com

I am a former timeshare sales and marketing executive and have worked for The Villa Group at the Villas Del Palmar in Cabo San Lucas and Cancun, and the Villas Del Arco in Cabo San Lucas. I purchased two timeshares from The Villa Group and they work just fine. I never converted to points as it is a complete scam.

Consider your initial investment gone. They have stated in sales meetings that they will not give people their money back.

I helped a couple recoup their $33,000, but they were on vacation in Mexico and the resort gave them a studio when they paid for a one bedroom. I told them to mention Profecco to the sales manager and they gave them their money back. But, this is because they violated the contract.

The resorts will recoup that money with an hour in sales presentations. In Cancun, they were generating over $200,000 daily in sales.

You can simply walk away. You do not own anything, and there is nothing they can to to do legally from Mexico as the property is in Mexico.

The airport is the most profitable marketing tool that they have. This is why they use it and only the best OPCs get to work at the airport.

Foreigners arrive and have no idea what to do, where to go, and the OPCs are lined up to get you on a sales presentation - regardless of the means - transportation, excursions, gifts or cash, for those who know how to negotiate.

When you show up, they get paid depending on your qualifications. They get paid more for white couples from the U.S. and white females and gays. Blacks, Indians, Jews and other minorities pay much less. Yes, qualifications are based on race. They have a schedule in writing.

When you purchase, they get a commission of 1%.

The new resorts in the Cancun area beautiful, but the point systems are worthless. The resorts can sell as many points as they desire because they are not attached to any specific inventory. With points, you need to pay every time you use your points. More money for them.

Hello - you seem to know a lot.

My now ex husband and I totally fell for a time share, then we had a hardship with me being laid off and we fell behind in payments right around Christmas. Every time they would call, we would try to call back and there would be an odd answering service, or they shut our payment system down online to where we couldn't make payments. We fell so far behind and now in default. I'm trying to get out of this or try to get back on top on this and I called the collection agency and they told me to take out a loan to pay it off..... Do you have any recommendations?

Just walk away and ignore them . Better yet tell them not to contact you . If they contact you after you put them on notice you can turn around and sue them .

donp196 wrote:

Just walk away and ignore them .

IF the timeshare operation is outside of the U.S. and the "customer" is in the U.S. (or Canada), this is good advice.

Quote:

Better yet tell them not to contact you . If they contact you after you put them on notice you can turn around and sue them.

This is true and accurate only if the offending entity and the complainant are both located in the U.S. If the offending entity is outside of the U.S. (e.g., in Mexico), then that entity couldn't care less about any empty threat of legal action against them, since they are not subject to (or within the jurisdiction of) applicable U.S. law --- and they certainly know that.

I purchased a timeshare at villa del palmar, why u said points are scams? I am new at timeshare, I paid the timeshare in full and got 2000 points for 9600.00, fees of 495 every other year, the main reason I purchased this was to get To getsways rates from interval international. Any recommendation to get the best out of my timeshare? Book or tricks to learn when exchanging my points etc?

andya106 wrote:

I purchased a timeshare at villa del palmar, why u said points are scams? I am new at timeshare, I paid the timeshare in full and got 2000 points for 9600.00, fees of 495 every other year, the main reason I purchased this was to get To getsways rates from interval international. Any recommendation to get the best out of my timeshare? Book or tricks to learn when exchanging my points etc?

When did you purchase this? If it was within the last five days, you still have time to rescind your purchase.

If you have passed your rescission period, then I don't have very good knowledge of how to use points at Villa Del Palmar. What I would caution you about is to watch out for scam phone calls telling you they have renters or buyers for your timeshare or points. This is a very common scam aimed at owners of timeshares in Mexico.

Hi! I have a timeshare from 2017 I've put over 8,000 into it. If I stop making payments, will they come after me?

savannam3 wrote:

I have a timeshare from 2017 I've put over 8,000 into it. If I stop making payments, will they come after me?

You will probably face a bunch of collection calls and letters but those are usually just bark and no bite. The other down side is that you might face a ding on your credit rating or score.

And now for a contrary view: My in-laws have purchased 1000s of points from Villa Group and never had a problem using them in Cabo, Puerto Vallarta or Cancun. Keep in mind that they reserve well in advance and tend to use them in low or medium season, i.e. summer in Cabo, October/November in PV, and early January in Cancun. But they use 6-8 weeks a year and Villa allows you to "take points off the back end" so they sometimes use points from year 30 etc. if they don't have enough for the current year. I visit these properties almost annually and I found Villa service and amenities to be superior to Marriott, Westin (aka SPG aka Marriott) and Hilton. For example Villa provides 2x daily house cleaning and refresh - at the others you get one cleaning per week. The Villa rooms are also much larger.

Now I am not advocating that anyone purchase a timeshare as the cost is generally higher than renting a week and the restrictions are significant. Nor can I comment on Villa Group sales and marketing tactics. But I would not slam Villa group properties, reservations or the point system.

Correct. Timeshares, even in Mexico, can be good for an owner if the owner has done his research and has the means and liberty to use them. Unfortunately for many owners, they buy at those sales presentations (in other words, not doing enough research) and then, when they find out that owning a timeshare there doesn't fit in with their travel needs, preferences, and circumstances, they go slagging the whole timeshare industry.

Any info on resales? Having a hard time with resale of our two timeshares through Villa Group.

catherineo44 wrote:

Any info on resales? Having a hard time with resale of our two timeshares through Villa Group.

You're "Having a hard time with resale of [your] two timeshares through Villa Group" because they are worth about zero dollars on the resale market. What are you doing to try to sell them? How much are you listing them for?

The big thing to remember is to never pay anyone a large, upfront fee to sell or rent out your timeshare. Those are scams.

Has anyone tried to rent their timeshare points out to make their payments and maintenance fees?

conniew263 wrote:

Has anyone tried to rent their timeshare points out to make their payments and maintenance fees?

Lots of people have. Just remember that it's not an easy process. And never ever pay anyone or company an upfront fee to do so on your behalf.