Example of Membership Cancellation Letter
This is the letter I sent to my Mayan palace timeshare that made it possible for me to back out of my contract - even after the 5 day limit. - - I will replace the name of the timeshare with "my Mayan palace".
04/07/04
Membership Services
Desarrollo Marina Village
dba xxxxx Resorts
PO Box 27701-464
Houston TX 77227
We are hereby requesting cancellation of my Mayan palace Vacation Club Agreement CRP xxxx since it was based on illegal sales practices and fraudulent information.
We arrived at my Mayan palace in the Riviera Maya on XXX 27th, 2004 through an RCI exchange and attended a timeshare sales presentation on Sunday XXX 28th.
We previously owned two weeks of time each year at the Casa Maya in Cancun purchased in 1995, and one week each year at Morritt’s Tortuga in the Grand Caymans purchased in 1997. We have had wonderful experiences with these two timeshares and I have been to Mexico each year since 1995. But, we explained to our Mayan Palace sales representative, Troy Bolden, we actually had more timeshare weeks than vacation. Troy showed us how owning at the Mayan Palace was actually good financial investment. We purchased.
I am hereby requesting you to rescind our contract since it was based on illegal sales practices and fraudulent information:
1) I was told I had to waive my right to rescind to take advantage of an Equity Exchange. In fact, I discovered that by Mexican law, this right can not be waived.
We actually sold our Casa Maya timeshare to the Mayan Palace for 9,700 and then was allowed to purchase the time share back for $1. The Mayan Palace could then take could take the loss on their taxes, and it would reduce of cost on my Mayan palace timeshare.
Because of this "Equity Exchange Agreement" we had to waive our right to any cancellation or cool down periods. I even said "why don’t I get the normal 3-5 days" and Troy Bolden explained to me we must waive this right due to our great "Exchange Agreement" and using that agreement was not under the same rules. We were asked to initial section 12, General Provisions, of the Recitals page stating we were told we waived our cancellation period; I would like to point out that the other 11 items on the Recital pages did not require initials. My husband and I also recall signing a separate waiver agreement, but a copy of that page was not in our documentation package.
At the end of our visit when we were given copies of all of our documents by Members Services Representative, Kathy Kingsley, who again repeated that we have waived our cancellation period because that was not an option with our "Equity Agreement". Troy Bolden even stated again that when I walk out of the sales office, my account will become active and I cannot cancel the agreement.
And although I had a few sleepless Mexican nights in the days that followed worrying that I could trust what I was told in the presentation, it was stated very clearly by both Troy and Kathy that I could not cancel. If I thought I had the right to cancel I would have done some internet research from Mexico and if what I was told in the sales presentation on value and rental prices was not accurate, I would have cancelled.
When I returned home from vacation and reviewed my documents (7 days after signing the agreement) I noticed I did not have the waiver, and just had initials next to number 12 on the Recital that says I did have 5 days to cancel. That seamed odd. Then upon doing some research, I discovered on www.teimesharebeat.com/mex-fraud.htm that the cancellation rights can not be waived according to Mexican law. I was intentionally lied to, to make me believe I could not cancel this contract, (thus my actual rescission period would expire).
This item alone is reason to grant a cancellation of the agreement. This practice is illegal. I am also in contact with several other people that have been placed in the same or similar situations.
2) I was told that a one week rental of a 2 bedroom unit was renting for $2500. Splitting the units would result to the same amount. Actually, weeks like this are renting for $500 at the Time Share User Group website, and Ebay has units for $650. (Maintenance fees alone are $569 plus one maintenance fee each five years for new furniture making it a loss basis just on maintenance fees.)
http://www.tug1.org/tugads/1-8dname2.html#ad28022.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3257&item=2235921005&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
Troy also said that members were getting great rental prices out of Resorts Int’l Marketing which was on their list of referrals. I was even given a discount off of the timeshare base purchase price of 12,500 if I sold my next 5 years of Value Fair weeks back to my Mayan palace. (But now it seams odd that my contract does not mention selling the weeks back to my Mayan palace). RCI has bonus weeks offered to my Mayan palace that is less cost than my maintenance fees. I am rechecking, but in the past I have been told these are developer weeks. If this is the case, my Mayan palace would be renting units at my cost.
3) I was told that the two Mazatlan weeks could be rented for $1700 each. Timeshare User group have these weeks listed for as little as $500 and you still need to pay maintenance, http://www.tug1.org/tugads/1-8dname2.html#ad26709
4) We were concerned with resale value and Troy said the value increases because of the new resorts that are being built. He also stated that to control prices you must use the my Mayan palace broker when selling your time share. I discovered this is false and your account only as to be paid up and in good standing. I also discovered an assignment fee of 10% of purchase price to transfer assignment that was never mentioned. Ebay recently sold a two bedroom unit for less than $6500, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15897&item=2389925191&rd=1
5) We purchased red weeks but it excluded Christmas, New Years, Easter, and Holy Week. It was never discussed that the two weeks in Mazatlan also excluded the months of February and March.
6) Even though we do not golf, Troy threw in the Golf package saying "it would be hard to rent a timeshare without the 20% off golf package." He failed to inform us that the Mazatlan resort does not even have a golf coarse.
7) Troy never mentioned that once I became a Mayan palace owner I can not trade into my Mayan palace and Grand Mayan palace resorts through RCI as I previously could. my Mayan palace resort has placed restrictions that current owners cannot exchange, even if I use weeks from my other timeshares.
Excerpt from RCI listing: A MAXIMUM OF TWO UNITS PER WEEK ALLOWED PER MEMBER ACCOUNT IN 4 YEARS *** NO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS ALLOWED*** 2ND UNIT MUST HAVE A GUEST CERTIFICATE *** CAN NOT CONFIRM SPACE TO MY MAYAN PALACE OR XXX XXXXXX MEMBERS **EXCEPTIONS TO THESE RULES CAN BE CANCELLED** ]RESORT ENFORCES 1/4 YR RULE]
My Mayan palace Resorts had a great reputation and I was very excited to make my first stay with you at the Riviera Maya resort. Your resort is beautiful and according to reviews, so are some of your other locations. I believe you have the most impressive pool I have ever seen.
I am sure you are working on all of the recent complaints I have seen about your sales tactics, I know you have settled some of them, and I hope you can straiten out the remaining complaints very soon. But after the outright fraudulent lie about the cancellation period, other lies, half truths and omissions - your sales practices reflect on your entire chain as being "questionable" to put it mildly.
Please grant my request to cancel agreement CRPxxxx and send me verification of cancellation. Also please credit the $6872.00 down payment. I will then return any original documents you so request. I will be sending this document through the mail and carbon copy the addresses below.
I feel it is my duty to tell you I have started a Dispute with my Visa card, and have started a claim with the Wisconsin Attorney General Consumer Protection Agency who will be contacting you directly in the next few weeks.
I will also be filing a case with Profeco, Texas Attorney General, US Dept of Justice, and the Federal Trade Commission, RCI, Travelocity, Delta, ASTA, and a few others in the next few weeks or so.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation. I hope this unpleasant situation will be resolved in the next few weeks.
Cc
Administrative Center
Attn International Sales
Desarrollo Marina Vallarta S.S. DE C.V
Ave Lazaro Cardenas 3422, 2 Piso
Col. Chapalita C.P. 45040
Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico
Cc
International Sales
My Mayan palace
Carretera Cancun – Playa Del Carmen
KM 48 Municipio Solidaridad
Q, Roo Mexico C.P. 77710
