The Villa Group

Dear Revdex.com, This email response is in regards to MrLeonard [redacted] Villa Group is in direct contact with MrLeonard [redacted] , and as per our member request, we will be waiving and refunding the the resort fees Best Regards, The Villa Group

Here is the email they sent me.
 
Everything was over the phone so there was no explicit contract other than this and the same promise over the phone.
 
Thanks.

Dear Revdex.com,
 
This email response is in regards to...

Mr. Leonard [redacted]. 
Villa Group is in direct contact with Mr. Leonard [redacted], and as per our member request, we will be waiving and refunding the the resort fees.
 
Best Regards,
 
The Villa Group

Review: We decided to upgrade from a suite to a 1bedroom while on vacation. We paid off the exsisting loan, put down money and signed the contract for the for the upgrade. This company has been constantly calling us about we still owe after we've already paid our maintenance fees and every other fee they told us we owed. Now they callin again saying there was a glitch in their system and they have to reconcile our account again after we have gotten the problem resolved last year. Now they are calling saying we owe more money. Our account was already reconciled and no one can answer our questions about our account.Desired Settlement: Our account was already reconciled and we are up to date on our payments. If thos is the end companies fault then they should eat what ever mistake they made. We are tired of the constant phones calls from different agents who have no idea what they are talking about.

Review: Their agent, [redacted], who seems not to be there anymore, offered me a vacation package for $299 with "only $299 total (no taxes/ no hidden fees)! ". I purchased in July, 2013, and had to book before July 2014. When booked on 6/30/2014, I was told I had to pay $20 per day "resort fee" and that the resort fee covered maintenance on the property. I had to book that day, otherwise my $299 purchase would expire!

I pointed out the no hidden fees clause and the rep, Lindsey, said she was "just a solider" and couldn't do anything. [redacted] doesn't appear to work there anymore.Desired Settlement: They should honor the contract they made with me.

Consumer

Response:

Here is the email they sent me.

Review: I hold a Promissory Note for a timeshare purchase that was to be paid-in-full in September 2014. The Villa Group/Universal Vacation Club have added extra money due on the account and refuse my requests to: (1) speak with a supervisor, (2) a complete accounting of my account and (3) failure to assist me with this matter. They continue to harass me with collection calls and sent a Notice of Default for a balance they claim is due of $283.30. As of December 2014, I overpaid on this account $613.51 and they refuse to acknowledge. They claim I have late fees on the account which were never paid - false; that the late fees were deducted from the principal balance - false and yet when you add the principal, interest paid and late fees that were paid, they still owe me money. Also, I paid the same amount as stated by my contract for the last 10 years; they need to honor the Promissory Note and the financial calculations that they set for and I adhered to for this period.Desired Settlement: Refund of my overpayment and confirmation that this has (1) not affected my credit and (2) reinstatement of my timeshare weeks available for booking. They cannot fraudulently hold my PAID timeshare weeks and not allow my usage.

Review: (Account #[redacted]) During a cruise to Mexico, my mother, sister and I were given a sales pitch for a time share from the Villa Group. On January 2, 2013 we signed the contract to purchase it however we were given very limited time to complete several pages of the contract and were never walked through the 24 different points in the contract because we only signed at point #4 and then were hurried back to our cruise ship. Later we read point #16 of the contract that states the rights of cancellation (5 business days) but the verification officer present ([redacted]) verbally stated that we had 30 days to respond to the contract for a full refund. I spoke with [redacted] on 01/20/13 to request a cancellation/refund because my mother became seriously ill and we did not want the time share anymore. I never received any money for a refund and have been fighting this case since then. Since the original purchase date, I have never used the time share or seen any of the travel benefits promised to me with the purchase of their package. I have spoken with numerous employees of The Villa Group over the past 2 years and want to be done with this company once and for all after I receive a refund.Desired Settlement: A refund in the full amount of $5,000 which is the total received by The Villa Group.

Review: My wife received a threatening phone call from [redacted] of Villa Group telling her to get our story off of Facebook. The story we printed was to warn others about our negative experience with this Company. They somehow managed to sell us a studio when this was never brought up in the conversation.Desired Settlement: We want nothing to do with this company. We want our money back.

Business

Response:

The members' main complaint Is that they are unhappy that they purchased a studio unit. In

fact, the members did not purchase a studio unit; they actually purchased what is called a

"points contract," a distinction which the Villa Group believes was made perfectly clea to

them before, during and after the purchase, and which they agreed to with both spouse's

signatures and initials in multiple places. Several unsuccessful attempts have been made by

the Resort to contact the members to review the contract, and instead of a dialogue, members

have resorted to posting inflammatory (and false) remarks on social media. At no time did a

staff member of the resort make a "threatening phone call" to the members as they claim. In

fact, the majority of our good-faith efforts to contact members regarding their concerns have

been met with silence.

A points contract means that the members have purchased points, and not a specific unit type.

While a studio unit is generally considered to be the optimal or "best use" of the points they

have purchased, there are certainly other options available to the members. Upgrades to

different seasons and unit types are available for additional point purchases. These additional

options were discussed at the time of purchase. It is our policy for the agent to review the

contract and its implications with the buyer line-by-line at the point of sale. In the present

case, that review indeed took place and the consumers have even admitted they were happy

with their agent. The members represented their understanding of the terms with their

signatures and initials throughout the Membership Purchase and Security Agreement and the

"Understanding and Acknowledgment of the Villa Preferred Access Membership," among

other documents.

Based on the unique situation at hand, we feel we can resolve this matter amicably, and we do

have a solution in mind which we are confident will please them. We encourage Mr. [redacted] to call

us or write us as his earliest convenience. We want our members to enjoy the vacations they

have purchased and hope this compromise will all them to find a solutions that they believe

is more suitable to their needs.

Sincerely,

The Villa Group Representative

Review: I believe we've all been tricked, scammed, and lied to into signing a timeshare contract with the villa group. I signed a contract with Villa Del Arco (Constructoras Los Arcos, del Cabo S.A. de C.V.) on May 1st, 2015. After being pressured into signing the contract, I read through the details and it was definitely not as proposed by the sellers.

We ended up buying one week of a studio unit and paid a down payment of $5,638.00. We were explicitly told on multiple occasions that we could not back out of the deal once it was signed. To emphasize this they pointed to a 'liquidated damages' clause. They had my partner and I initial specifically at the liquidated damages line, and they stated that that part was the most important part, because once it has been signed, the deposit would now be non-refundable.

I had big time buyers remorse the next day, but we were under the impression that we could not cancel the deal. So I thought maybe if I could just pay it all off, I could be done with it. Once we returned back to the States we reviewed all the documents, including the 'Membership Purchase and Security Agreement'. While reviewing this document I came across a clause for 'cancellation rights'. This was on the backside of the contract, which coincidentally didn’t require a signature, and consequently we were not aware of it. Of course the sales representative and the 'verification officer' repeatedly lied to us that the contract could not be cancelled. They also lied by telling us that we would lose our deposit if we tried to terminate this agreement as specified in the 'Liquidated Damages' clause on the front side of this document.

As it turns out, we had a right to cancel without penalty under Mexican law and that this cannot be waived regardless of what the resort representative said. We then tried to terminate this agreement. Unfortunately we were not able to prevent my credit card company from paying my down payment to Constructora Los Arcos del Cabo.Desired Settlement: I would like to get my deposit back and have my contract cancelled with UVC, villa group, Villa Del Arco, and any other affiliation associated.