On August 3, 2016, we purchased a membership through EL CID vacation club in Quintana Roo, Mexico. In due time, we learned the points associated with the membership are not of the value presented and it is actually cheaper to book our accommodations through methods that do not require the use of points. We’ve sought out a cancellation in the past, only to be told we must satisfy a $20,000 penalty. We’ve also learned we’d had five days, according to Mexico law, to cancel the contract and have our money returned, without penalty, That detail was not disclosed at any point in time, even when we specifically asked about a termination policy.
There were several people involved in the providing of misinformation, beginning with the first solicitor, in the lobby of the hotel. We’d traveled to Mexico for a family vacation, and were looking forward to seeing our daughters, ages 3 and 1, experience the beaches of the Caribbean Sea. When we arrived at the El Cid Resort, a woman in the lobby approached us before we could even get checked in. She invited us to attend a presentation to learn about the area. We explained that we were very tired and would go the following day.
The very next morning, at 8:00 am sharp, the phone in our suite rang and it was a man insisting that we tell him what time we would be arriving for the presentation. We were not pleased by his aggressive nature, and told him we would be there after we ate breakfast. We hoped that once we sat through this presentation, they would leave us alone. We were also influenced to attend with promises of a voucher for a $200 massage and other gifts. He promised us it would take only one hour of our day, but that was not true at all. Even though we had our two small daughters with us, and even though we said no several times, we were kept there for more than three hours.
We met a salesperson in the lobby after breakfast and I mistakenly accepted when he offered me a drink. I did not know this one drink would turn into three, and that all three would be mixed incredibly strong, I suspect, to help lower my defenses. This man of Indian origin wanted to know how often we go on vacation and some of our habits as they pertain to vacationing. After about 30 minutes, he convinced me to go with him into another area, where he had his computer and paperwork and could provide me with more information.
Two hours later, he had convinced me to purchase the platinum package with 300,000 points he said could be used for flights, cruises, car rentals, and vacation activities, in addition to lodging at all-inclusive resorts worldwide. I asked this man specifically if there was a catch to the scenario, any hidden costs, or any surprises that were waiting on us to try and use the program. He falsely said, "No, Mr. Hidalgo, this is the real deal.” He even talked about his parents being Platinum level members and said they were thrilled at the vacation plan benefits. He then claimed we would save up to $150,000 over the course of the 20-year membership.
To seal the deal, he pulled up a website (www.leisureclubmemer.com) to show me the bonus weeks tab where hotel rooms were priced at $100 for five nights, without the usage of any points. This man failed to mention that after paying the $100, we would owe an additional $100 to $135 per person, per night, for the all-inclusive package at the resort booked. We would also owe continuing fees to El Cid and RCI. My wife heard only bits and pieces of the presentation, as she was in and out of the room, caring for our daughters. I was basically on my own to understand and evaluate the offer, while under the influence of alcohol and being subjected to a series of lies. I asked if the membership included access to hotels in Europe, Argentina, and Hawaii, areas we planned on visiting, and he answered to the affirmative. It took them 2.5 hours, and much persuasion, deception, and information manipulation while making sure I’d consumed enough alcohol to lower my defenses, but this man and his manager talked me into buying the Platinum membership at a price of $48,000. Another man (his manager) arrived to congratulate us, and we were then given several gifts.
They charged a total of $12,000 on two credit cards to cover the down payment and financed the balance at a staggering 18.99% APR with 120 payments of $671.79, for a total payout of $80,615.80, not the $48,000 I’d agreed to pay. When I questioned the high APR, I was told "Mexico doesn’t believe in credit scores”. It was then communicated to me that we could take out a home equity loan to pay off the balance on this "investment”. When it was time to sign the documents, we were moved to a small, noisy room with no ventilation and a notary officer who was obviously sick. She was sneezing and sniffling the entire time we were with her, which motivated us to hurry the signing along and get out of there.
The last thing we wanted was to spend our vacation sick, or worse, for our girls to spend it sick. She explained the terms and conditions very quickly and we could barely keep up with the pace when it came to signing or initialing. She was apparently just as motivated to have us out of the office as we were to be out of there. We did not have time to read much, but one item we did notice was the termination clause that indicated there to be a penalty for early termination. She explained the penalty to be $20,000, but assured us the $12,000 we’d paid that day, plus any payments we made in the meantime, would count toward that amount.
Unbeknownst to us, we’d been provided with a five-day period to cancel and have our money returned in full. Although that information was printed in the very next paragraph, the notary did not mention it or otherwise refer to it. She talked only of the cancellation with penalty that applies AFTER the fifth day. Lesly then convinced me to keep the membership by offering 14 bracelets for our next stay.
I verbally accepted, then tried to use the points to book the necessary flight. Lesly informed me the points provide very little discount toward flights and paying for them out of pocket would be a better option. I then told her I wanted to book a cruise and she provided me with the contact information for doing so. After playing phone tag with the vacation coordinator for the cruises, we found that if we used our 300,000 points, our out-of-pocket cost for the 7-day cruise would be $2,400.
I called Royal Caribbean Cruise Line directly and they quoted a price of $2,900 for the identical package, booked directly through them. I forwarded the information over to Lesly and explained my disappointment in the lack of value in the membership points. Her response was that points are most valuable when used for bookings at El Cid and RCI properties. This is yet another detail that had not been disclosed and it proved the points are useless for flights, cruises, and most lodging, although we’d been told otherwise. We were led to believe we would receive amazing benefits by purchasing a membership. As it turns out, the membership is extremely costly and has left us with a high interest loan for ten years, and maintenance fees for the next twenty years.
Everything about the reality of this membership is in direct contradiction to what we were told by the sales representatives at El Cid. We would not have purchased points with so little value, had we understood them to have little value, but through the lies and falsified information, the sales representative and his manager were able to convince us otherwise. He outright lied about the contract not having a catch and assured me it was absolutely not too good to be true, although that is exactly what it is.
After going back and forth with EL CID through PROFECO for several months (Attorney General equivalent) we were able to cancel the contract but EL CID still forwarded a debt of $35,000 to Monterrey Collections Services (4095 Avenida De La Plata, Oceanside CA 92056) who harassed me and my wife for several months with phone calls and letters trying to collect the money that we allegedly owed. Monterrey Collections Services reported this debt in December of 2017 as a collection item in my credit report and my wife’s credit report and now (Dec 2018) the debt has increased to $44,465 due to penalties and interests. We don't wish this nightmare on anyone out there. Please be aware of these scams from these resorts in Mexico.
On May 10, 2009 VLADIMIR JIMENEZ who introduced himself as the chief financial officer of EL CID MARINA RESORT in MAZATLAN, MEXICO baited us in a timeshare presentation with the following:
LIE #1: NO DOWN PAYMENT. Any money down would have been a "deal breaker" for us, so Vladimir repeatedly stated there was "absolutely no down payment" not even the $100 figure he had initially wrote down. When we finally decided to purchase after being told many other lies, he insisted my husband fill out an application for the RCI Elite Rewards MasterCard from Bank of America. Despite our telling him that we did not want or need another credit card, he reassured us this was just a service for new members.
The TRUTH was EXPOSED when we arrived home and opened a new Bank of America statement with a $5,000 balance.
LIE #2: GUARANTEED TO RECEIVE $5,000 EACH YEAR FOR THE NEXT 3 YEARS BY GIVING UP OUR TIMESHARE WEEK. We actually laughed initially at this one, and replied: "So you're going to put that in writing for us?" This he actually did, presenting us with a document that had the name of PHOENIX VACATION PROPERTY MANAGEMENT at the top of the form. That seemed a bit confusing since Vladimir kept stating "we will send you a check" thus implying the monies would come from El Cid. However, since the form had the original signature of an El Cid authorized representative, we figured the company was a subsidiary of El Cid.
The original document which I have states the following under the heading Future Rental:
1 rental weeks for 3 (years) at $5,000 per week or a total of $15,000.
Furthermore, in spite of an email from Alex Stewart of Phoenix Vacation Property Management telling me they are "the licensed rental broker for El Cid members" and stating "I see that you have 1 week for 3 years @ $5,000 per week," when I emailed back the question: "If we give up our rental week at El Cid for the next 3 years, is your firm going to GUARANTEE IN WRITING that we will receive $5,000 U.S. dollars each year for doing so?" Her response was: "no, my company, Phoenix Vacation Property Management, will not guarantee anything in writing." So there we had the TRUTH about Vladimir's LIE #2 exposed.
Vladimir had really embellished this LIE # 2 by stating several times: "Be responsible." He said others get their checks and go on spending sprees. We stated that we wouldn't be doing that. We were naively believing we would have this purchase paid off in 3 years by means of this. He actually used the word "FREE" in his presentation. We knew it wouldn't exactly be free since we'd be paying interest on the original amount of $15,000, but we figured each year we'd get $5,000 to help us pay it off in 3 years.
LIE # 3: TRADE ALL YOUR POINTS FOR AIRFARE. Vladimir later admitted only 30% can be used for airfare, while Benjamin Goon, an El Cid Member Representative, stated in an email "keep always in mind that the exchange value of your points will always be more powerful when booking reservations at El Cid."
At one point during the presentation, just to see if we "qualified for this deal," Vladimir asked for my husband's credit card. When he brought the card back, he also gave us a credit card slip showing a charge of $250.00. We repeatedly asked him what this was for, and he kept saying, "don't worry, you'll get it back."
Eventually we swallowed Vladimir's lies and agreed to purchase. At one point he shoved a document in front of us that actually had blanks. When I pointed that out, he made up some flimsy excuse about how he had to go "upstairs to the office." thus implying that it would be a big bother for him. I shooed him away and told him we would sign nothing that had blanks.
In hindsight, that's when we should have got up and left. Instead, we went on high alert and reasoned that if we carefully read everything before we signed, things would be O.K. Time would reveal now very wrong that thinking was.
After we had meticulously read and cautiously signed documents for the purchase, we asked Vladimir for copies, but he denied our request stating we would get copies of everything along with our "welcome packet" in a couple of weeks. That way, he continued, we wouldn't have to carry the heavy package back in our suitcases.
To this date, more than 12 weeks since we signed, we have not received our "welcome packet" from El Cid. However we have received 2 invoices for payments due and one "Urgent" past due invoice for the maintenance fee (which we'd never been billed for previously).
When we arrived home after our week in Mazatlan, we started uncovering the lies. Immediately I disputed the $5,000 charge with Bank of America and the $250 charge on our personal Visa with Wells Fargo Bank. I also posted a fraud alert to all 3 credit reporting agencies.
I began sending Vladimir very stern emails demanding that he immediately cancel our membership/purchase, and refund the charges to both Bank of America and Wells Fargo Bank since we considered the contract null and void due to his lies. He phoned a few times to tell us he was not in his office, and repeatedly asked me what the $250 charge on our personal VISA was for, to which I replied: "You tell me. You gave us the charge slip and kept telling us we would get the money back."
On June 29, 2009 in an email from Benjamin Goon, he wrote: "About the 250 of your personal wells fargo, I don't understand what those 250 USD are for if you can explain I will give you an accurate answer."
In a particularly heated phone conversation with Vladimir when I told him that I intended to expose his lies so people would be forewarned about what is happening at his "reputable resort," he threatened me with the words: "If you put anything on the internet, we have many attorneys and they will go after you!"
While both Bank of America and Wells Fargo Bank initially credited us back the respective $5,000 and the $250, we learned recently that Wells Fargo Bank received "new documentation" from VENTAS TIME SHARE MARI (El Cid) supporting the $250 charge and would be rebilling us.
I contacted them and asked them to fax copies this "new documentation" they had been sent. Now in a desperate and incredibly evil attempt to bind us to this contract, VLADIMIR JIMENEZ and/or others at EL CID have now RESORTED TO THE FOLLOWING CRIMINAL TACTICS:
1. ALTERING DOCUMENTS, specifically the "Declarations" page of the contract. The altered contract now shows a down payment of $5,250. This was clearly not the "Declarations" page of the contract we signed. Also on a page entitled: "El Cid Vacations Club New Owner Verification Form," item 2 had been altered to include the clause in parentheses (With VISA $ 250.00 U.S. dollars & MASTERCARD $ 5,000.00 U.S. dollars.) That clause never appeared anywhere in any documents we signed or initialed. There is a 3rd altered document with another inserted clause we had never seen before or read.
2. FABRICATING A COMPLETELY NEW DOCUMENT. This form has the at the top of it in bold lettering: CREDIT CARD ACKNOWLEDGEMENT and it states that we have indeed received goods and services for the amount of $250. This is a form we never had seen before much less signed since we were disputing this charge from the beginning. However since it appears to have my husband's signature on it, it is likely that someone is "cut and pasted" it on this new document.
3. The merchant copy of the credit card slip reflecting the $250 charge has what appears to be a FORGERY of my husband's signature.
On July 27, 2009, I sent a detailed letter to Wells Fargo Bank and requested that due to the aforementioned criminal acts they now advance this case to the FRAUD DEPARTMENT.
On August 2, 2009 I filed a complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, and received back an acknowledgment that it has been entered into an online database available to civil and criminal law enforcement agencies worldwide.
On August 3, 2009 I sent a detailed letter to RCI to advise them of the corruption going on since they send unsuspecting tourists to El Cid. I hope they will act quickly and responsibly to spare others the agony and nightmare we as well as others have been through.
Due to the lies and now criminal tactics used to bind us to a fraudulent contract, we want nothing to do with El Cid. Therefore, I have advised Benjamin Goon of El Cid that in addition to terminating our contract, I am further seeking reimbursement in the amount of $673.75 which is the value of the 4th and final week of the value of an original package we purchased called the "El Cid Dream Vacations Club." Our "dream vacation" really turned into a "nightmare" and unfortunately it's not over yet.
If anyone reading this has had a similar experience, tell your story. We need to get the word out and help protect the public from TIMESHARE PREDATORS who think nothing of weaving lies to entice their victims into a "financial glue trap." Vladimir Jimenez is a criminal who deserves prosecution.
Furthermore, El Cid should step up to relieve anyone who has been defrauded at their resort. Such actions would go a long way to help to restore their name as a "reputable" resort.
In May, 2007, we went to Mazatlan, MX, for a one week stay at El Cid Resort. At the airport we were offered free taxi fare, a city tour and a day at Rock Island if we listened to a 90 minute talk about the El Cid Vacations Club, which was presented at the resort the next morning. The sale representative, JOSE DIAZ SUAREZ, presented a computer program showing the different El Cid Resorts and other resorts that were available.
We explained to him that we were mainly interested in cruises, not resort stays. With that he began to demonstrate, using the computer and a calculator, how purchasing 105,000 points would more than pay for a Mexican Riviera cruise,in a balcony cabin, for two. The net cost of the package for 20 years was $13,400.00, plus an annual fee of $504.00 per year.
After listening to his presentation, we told him that had we not purchased a vacation package through Carnival Cruise Lines, the year before, we probably would purchase the plan. With that, Jose went and spoke with another gentleman, they both came to our table and he was introduced as Jose's manager, RUI VELOSO FERREIRA. Mr. Veloso went right into explaining how we would be able to use the 105,00 points to cruise every year for the next twenty years.
We attempted to have him look up a cruise to Alaska on Holland America with a balcony room, he was unable to locate one, so we had him demonstrate a cruise to the southern Mexican Riviera, once again the cost of the cruise was shown to be covered, in full, by purchasing 105,000 points.
We explained our previous purchase to Mr. Veloso, to which he stated, "It's no accident that you were sent here, we all work together." He went on to say that he could get back $4000.00 from Carnival if we faxed him copies of our certificates. He stated that we would receive a check directly from Carnival within 90 days. This would bring the net cost of the package down to $9,400.00. With that, we agreed to buy into the program and charged $13,400.00 to our credit card.
Shortly after returning to Arizona, we faxed six pages of documents, pertaining to our Carnival vacation package, to Mr. Veloso. A couple of days later, we were online and looking at a cruise vacation and we couldn't get the points to compute as both, Jose Diaz and Rui Veloso did. We began to suspect that we were lied to by both of them and that we had been ripped off.
We then contacted the reservation service and learned that our 105,00 points were equal to only $577.00. E-mails were sent to Rui Veloso and he continued his lies. He stated in an e-mail that we could cancel the contract if we desired to do so. On May 17th, we sent back a reply that we wanted to cancel the contract, to date have heard nothing further.
We contacted Carnival and learned that El Cid Vacations Club is not connected in any way with Carnival and that they would not have authority to redeem Carnival certificates. Further Internet research revealed several other similar complaints for others who had been ripped off and in fact, Rui Veloso was mentioned in one of them as one of the sale people involved. Our presentation was witnessed by two of our relatives, who were smarted than we were, they didn't buy in.
El Cid Vacations Club Reviews
On August 3, 2016, we purchased a membership through EL CID vacation club in Quintana Roo, Mexico. In due time, we learned the points associated with the membership are not of the value presented and it is actually cheaper to book our accommodations through methods that do not require the use of points. We’ve sought out a cancellation in the past, only to be told we must satisfy a $20,000 penalty. We’ve also learned we’d had five days, according to Mexico law, to cancel the contract and have our money returned, without penalty, That detail was not disclosed at any point in time, even when we specifically asked about a termination policy.
There were several people involved in the providing of misinformation, beginning with the first solicitor, in the lobby of the hotel. We’d traveled to Mexico for a family vacation, and were looking forward to seeing our daughters, ages 3 and 1, experience the beaches of the Caribbean Sea. When we arrived at the El Cid Resort, a woman in the lobby approached us before we could even get checked in. She invited us to attend a presentation to learn about the area. We explained that we were very tired and would go the following day.
The very next morning, at 8:00 am sharp, the phone in our suite rang and it was a man insisting that we tell him what time we would be arriving for the presentation. We were not pleased by his aggressive nature, and told him we would be there after we ate breakfast. We hoped that once we sat through this presentation, they would leave us alone. We were also influenced to attend with promises of a voucher for a $200 massage and other gifts. He promised us it would take only one hour of our day, but that was not true at all. Even though we had our two small daughters with us, and even though we said no several times, we were kept there for more than three hours.
We met a salesperson in the lobby after breakfast and I mistakenly accepted when he offered me a drink. I did not know this one drink would turn into three, and that all three would be mixed incredibly strong, I suspect, to help lower my defenses. This man of Indian origin wanted to know how often we go on vacation and some of our habits as they pertain to vacationing. After about 30 minutes, he convinced me to go with him into another area, where he had his computer and paperwork and could provide me with more information.
Two hours later, he had convinced me to purchase the platinum package with 300,000 points he said could be used for flights, cruises, car rentals, and vacation activities, in addition to lodging at all-inclusive resorts worldwide. I asked this man specifically if there was a catch to the scenario, any hidden costs, or any surprises that were waiting on us to try and use the program. He falsely said, "No, Mr. Hidalgo, this is the real deal.” He even talked about his parents being Platinum level members and said they were thrilled at the vacation plan benefits. He then claimed we would save up to $150,000 over the course of the 20-year membership.
To seal the deal, he pulled up a website (www.leisureclubmemer.com) to show me the bonus weeks tab where hotel rooms were priced at $100 for five nights, without the usage of any points. This man failed to mention that after paying the $100, we would owe an additional $100 to $135 per person, per night, for the all-inclusive package at the resort booked. We would also owe continuing fees to El Cid and RCI. My wife heard only bits and pieces of the presentation, as she was in and out of the room, caring for our daughters. I was basically on my own to understand and evaluate the offer, while under the influence of alcohol and being subjected to a series of lies. I asked if the membership included access to hotels in Europe, Argentina, and Hawaii, areas we planned on visiting, and he answered to the affirmative. It took them 2.5 hours, and much persuasion, deception, and information manipulation while making sure I’d consumed enough alcohol to lower my defenses, but this man and his manager talked me into buying the Platinum membership at a price of $48,000. Another man (his manager) arrived to congratulate us, and we were then given several gifts.
They charged a total of $12,000 on two credit cards to cover the down payment and financed the balance at a staggering 18.99% APR with 120 payments of $671.79, for a total payout of $80,615.80, not the $48,000 I’d agreed to pay. When I questioned the high APR, I was told "Mexico doesn’t believe in credit scores”. It was then communicated to me that we could take out a home equity loan to pay off the balance on this "investment”. When it was time to sign the documents, we were moved to a small, noisy room with no ventilation and a notary officer who was obviously sick. She was sneezing and sniffling the entire time we were with her, which motivated us to hurry the signing along and get out of there.
The last thing we wanted was to spend our vacation sick, or worse, for our girls to spend it sick. She explained the terms and conditions very quickly and we could barely keep up with the pace when it came to signing or initialing. She was apparently just as motivated to have us out of the office as we were to be out of there. We did not have time to read much, but one item we did notice was the termination clause that indicated there to be a penalty for early termination. She explained the penalty to be $20,000, but assured us the $12,000 we’d paid that day, plus any payments we made in the meantime, would count toward that amount.
Unbeknownst to us, we’d been provided with a five-day period to cancel and have our money returned in full. Although that information was printed in the very next paragraph, the notary did not mention it or otherwise refer to it. She talked only of the cancellation with penalty that applies AFTER the fifth day. Lesly then convinced me to keep the membership by offering 14 bracelets for our next stay.
I verbally accepted, then tried to use the points to book the necessary flight. Lesly informed me the points provide very little discount toward flights and paying for them out of pocket would be a better option. I then told her I wanted to book a cruise and she provided me with the contact information for doing so. After playing phone tag with the vacation coordinator for the cruises, we found that if we used our 300,000 points, our out-of-pocket cost for the 7-day cruise would be $2,400.
I called Royal Caribbean Cruise Line directly and they quoted a price of $2,900 for the identical package, booked directly through them. I forwarded the information over to Lesly and explained my disappointment in the lack of value in the membership points. Her response was that points are most valuable when used for bookings at El Cid and RCI properties. This is yet another detail that had not been disclosed and it proved the points are useless for flights, cruises, and most lodging, although we’d been told otherwise. We were led to believe we would receive amazing benefits by purchasing a membership. As it turns out, the membership is extremely costly and has left us with a high interest loan for ten years, and maintenance fees for the next twenty years.
Everything about the reality of this membership is in direct contradiction to what we were told by the sales representatives at El Cid. We would not have purchased points with so little value, had we understood them to have little value, but through the lies and falsified information, the sales representative and his manager were able to convince us otherwise. He outright lied about the contract not having a catch and assured me it was absolutely not too good to be true, although that is exactly what it is.
After going back and forth with EL CID through PROFECO for several months (Attorney General equivalent) we were able to cancel the contract but EL CID still forwarded a debt of $35,000 to Monterrey Collections Services (4095 Avenida De La Plata, Oceanside CA 92056) who harassed me and my wife for several months with phone calls and letters trying to collect the money that we allegedly owed. Monterrey Collections Services reported this debt in December of 2017 as a collection item in my credit report and my wife’s credit report and now (Dec 2018) the debt has increased to $44,465 due to penalties and interests. We don't wish this nightmare on anyone out there. Please be aware of these scams from these resorts in Mexico.
On May 10, 2009 VLADIMIR JIMENEZ who introduced himself as the chief financial officer of EL CID MARINA RESORT in MAZATLAN, MEXICO baited us in a timeshare presentation with the following:
LIE #1: NO DOWN PAYMENT. Any money down would have been a "deal breaker" for us, so Vladimir repeatedly stated there was "absolutely no down payment" not even the $100 figure he had initially wrote down. When we finally decided to purchase after being told many other lies, he insisted my husband fill out an application for the RCI Elite Rewards MasterCard from Bank of America. Despite our telling him that we did not want or need another credit card, he reassured us this was just a service for new members.
The TRUTH was EXPOSED when we arrived home and opened a new Bank of America statement with a $5,000 balance.
LIE #2: GUARANTEED TO RECEIVE $5,000 EACH YEAR FOR THE NEXT 3 YEARS BY GIVING UP OUR TIMESHARE WEEK. We actually laughed initially at this one, and replied: "So you're going to put that in writing for us?" This he actually did, presenting us with a document that had the name of PHOENIX VACATION PROPERTY MANAGEMENT at the top of the form. That seemed a bit confusing since Vladimir kept stating "we will send you a check" thus implying the monies would come from El Cid. However, since the form had the original signature of an El Cid authorized representative, we figured the company was a subsidiary of El Cid.
The original document which I have states the following under the heading Future Rental:
1 rental weeks for 3 (years) at $5,000 per week or a total of $15,000.
Furthermore, in spite of an email from Alex Stewart of Phoenix Vacation Property Management telling me they are "the licensed rental broker for El Cid members" and stating "I see that you have 1 week for 3 years @ $5,000 per week," when I emailed back the question: "If we give up our rental week at El Cid for the next 3 years, is your firm going to GUARANTEE IN WRITING that we will receive $5,000 U.S. dollars each year for doing so?" Her response was: "no, my company, Phoenix Vacation Property Management, will not guarantee anything in writing." So there we had the TRUTH about Vladimir's LIE #2 exposed.
Vladimir had really embellished this LIE # 2 by stating several times: "Be responsible." He said others get their checks and go on spending sprees. We stated that we wouldn't be doing that. We were naively believing we would have this purchase paid off in 3 years by means of this. He actually used the word "FREE" in his presentation. We knew it wouldn't exactly be free since we'd be paying interest on the original amount of $15,000, but we figured each year we'd get $5,000 to help us pay it off in 3 years.
LIE # 3: TRADE ALL YOUR POINTS FOR AIRFARE. Vladimir later admitted only 30% can be used for airfare, while Benjamin Goon, an El Cid Member Representative, stated in an email "keep always in mind that the exchange value of your points will always be more powerful when booking reservations at El Cid."
At one point during the presentation, just to see if we "qualified for this deal," Vladimir asked for my husband's credit card. When he brought the card back, he also gave us a credit card slip showing a charge of $250.00. We repeatedly asked him what this was for, and he kept saying, "don't worry, you'll get it back."
Eventually we swallowed Vladimir's lies and agreed to purchase. At one point he shoved a document in front of us that actually had blanks. When I pointed that out, he made up some flimsy excuse about how he had to go "upstairs to the office." thus implying that it would be a big bother for him. I shooed him away and told him we would sign nothing that had blanks.
In hindsight, that's when we should have got up and left. Instead, we went on high alert and reasoned that if we carefully read everything before we signed, things would be O.K. Time would reveal now very wrong that thinking was.
After we had meticulously read and cautiously signed documents for the purchase, we asked Vladimir for copies, but he denied our request stating we would get copies of everything along with our "welcome packet" in a couple of weeks. That way, he continued, we wouldn't have to carry the heavy package back in our suitcases.
To this date, more than 12 weeks since we signed, we have not received our "welcome packet" from El Cid. However we have received 2 invoices for payments due and one "Urgent" past due invoice for the maintenance fee (which we'd never been billed for previously).
When we arrived home after our week in Mazatlan, we started uncovering the lies. Immediately I disputed the $5,000 charge with Bank of America and the $250 charge on our personal Visa with Wells Fargo Bank. I also posted a fraud alert to all 3 credit reporting agencies.
I began sending Vladimir very stern emails demanding that he immediately cancel our membership/purchase, and refund the charges to both Bank of America and Wells Fargo Bank since we considered the contract null and void due to his lies. He phoned a few times to tell us he was not in his office, and repeatedly asked me what the $250 charge on our personal VISA was for, to which I replied: "You tell me. You gave us the charge slip and kept telling us we would get the money back."
On June 29, 2009 in an email from Benjamin Goon, he wrote: "About the 250 of your personal wells fargo, I don't understand what those 250 USD are for if you can explain I will give you an accurate answer."
In a particularly heated phone conversation with Vladimir when I told him that I intended to expose his lies so people would be forewarned about what is happening at his "reputable resort," he threatened me with the words: "If you put anything on the internet, we have many attorneys and they will go after you!"
While both Bank of America and Wells Fargo Bank initially credited us back the respective $5,000 and the $250, we learned recently that Wells Fargo Bank received "new documentation" from VENTAS TIME SHARE MARI (El Cid) supporting the $250 charge and would be rebilling us.
I contacted them and asked them to fax copies this "new documentation" they had been sent. Now in a desperate and incredibly evil attempt to bind us to this contract, VLADIMIR JIMENEZ and/or others at EL CID have now RESORTED TO THE FOLLOWING CRIMINAL TACTICS:
1. ALTERING DOCUMENTS, specifically the "Declarations" page of the contract. The altered contract now shows a down payment of $5,250. This was clearly not the "Declarations" page of the contract we signed. Also on a page entitled: "El Cid Vacations Club New Owner Verification Form," item 2 had been altered to include the clause in parentheses (With VISA $ 250.00 U.S. dollars & MASTERCARD $ 5,000.00 U.S. dollars.) That clause never appeared anywhere in any documents we signed or initialed. There is a 3rd altered document with another inserted clause we had never seen before or read.
2. FABRICATING A COMPLETELY NEW DOCUMENT. This form has the at the top of it in bold lettering: CREDIT CARD ACKNOWLEDGEMENT and it states that we have indeed received goods and services for the amount of $250. This is a form we never had seen before much less signed since we were disputing this charge from the beginning. However since it appears to have my husband's signature on it, it is likely that someone is "cut and pasted" it on this new document.
3. The merchant copy of the credit card slip reflecting the $250 charge has what appears to be a FORGERY of my husband's signature.
On July 27, 2009, I sent a detailed letter to Wells Fargo Bank and requested that due to the aforementioned criminal acts they now advance this case to the FRAUD DEPARTMENT.
On August 2, 2009 I filed a complaint online with the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, and received back an acknowledgment that it has been entered into an online database available to civil and criminal law enforcement agencies worldwide.
On August 3, 2009 I sent a detailed letter to RCI to advise them of the corruption going on since they send unsuspecting tourists to El Cid. I hope they will act quickly and responsibly to spare others the agony and nightmare we as well as others have been through.
Due to the lies and now criminal tactics used to bind us to a fraudulent contract, we want nothing to do with El Cid. Therefore, I have advised Benjamin Goon of El Cid that in addition to terminating our contract, I am further seeking reimbursement in the amount of $673.75 which is the value of the 4th and final week of the value of an original package we purchased called the "El Cid Dream Vacations Club." Our "dream vacation" really turned into a "nightmare" and unfortunately it's not over yet.
If anyone reading this has had a similar experience, tell your story. We need to get the word out and help protect the public from TIMESHARE PREDATORS who think nothing of weaving lies to entice their victims into a "financial glue trap." Vladimir Jimenez is a criminal who deserves prosecution.
Furthermore, El Cid should step up to relieve anyone who has been defrauded at their resort. Such actions would go a long way to help to restore their name as a "reputable" resort.
In May, 2007, we went to Mazatlan, MX, for a one week stay at El Cid Resort. At the airport we were offered free taxi fare, a city tour and a day at Rock Island if we listened to a 90 minute talk about the El Cid Vacations Club, which was presented at the resort the next morning. The sale representative, JOSE DIAZ SUAREZ, presented a computer program showing the different El Cid Resorts and other resorts that were available.
We explained to him that we were mainly interested in cruises, not resort stays. With that he began to demonstrate, using the computer and a calculator, how purchasing 105,000 points would more than pay for a Mexican Riviera cruise,in a balcony cabin, for two. The net cost of the package for 20 years was $13,400.00, plus an annual fee of $504.00 per year.
After listening to his presentation, we told him that had we not purchased a vacation package through Carnival Cruise Lines, the year before, we probably would purchase the plan. With that, Jose went and spoke with another gentleman, they both came to our table and he was introduced as Jose's manager, RUI VELOSO FERREIRA. Mr. Veloso went right into explaining how we would be able to use the 105,00 points to cruise every year for the next twenty years.
We attempted to have him look up a cruise to Alaska on Holland America with a balcony room, he was unable to locate one, so we had him demonstrate a cruise to the southern Mexican Riviera, once again the cost of the cruise was shown to be covered, in full, by purchasing 105,000 points.
We explained our previous purchase to Mr. Veloso, to which he stated, "It's no accident that you were sent here, we all work together." He went on to say that he could get back $4000.00 from Carnival if we faxed him copies of our certificates. He stated that we would receive a check directly from Carnival within 90 days. This would bring the net cost of the package down to $9,400.00. With that, we agreed to buy into the program and charged $13,400.00 to our credit card.
Shortly after returning to Arizona, we faxed six pages of documents, pertaining to our Carnival vacation package, to Mr. Veloso. A couple of days later, we were online and looking at a cruise vacation and we couldn't get the points to compute as both, Jose Diaz and Rui Veloso did. We began to suspect that we were lied to by both of them and that we had been ripped off.
We then contacted the reservation service and learned that our 105,00 points were equal to only $577.00. E-mails were sent to Rui Veloso and he continued his lies. He stated in an e-mail that we could cancel the contract if we desired to do so. On May 17th, we sent back a reply that we wanted to cancel the contract, to date have heard nothing further.
We contacted Carnival and learned that El Cid Vacations Club is not connected in any way with Carnival and that they would not have authority to redeem Carnival certificates. Further Internet research revealed several other similar complaints for others who had been ripped off and in fact, Rui Veloso was mentioned in one of them as one of the sale people involved. Our presentation was witnessed by two of our relatives, who were smarted than we were, they didn't buy in.