My wife and I are writing to report that we believe that were intentionally misled (swindled actually) by the sales staff at the Hacienda del Mar resort in Cabo San Lucas. We signed a contract last August for a one bedroom timeshare with the understanding that we had purchased an every-year program. However, when we returned this past January to stay at the resort for the first time under the contract that we had signed, we were astounded when we heard the sales person say when reviewing our contract with us that we had actually purchased an every-other-year program.
We exchanged from one of our timeshares to stay at the Hacienda del Mar resort last August because we had heard that it was a lovely resort. We went to the sales meeting and the sales person went through several different every-year options for various sized rooms - none of which were attractive to us. The sales person then laid out one more option which did interest us, basically because the sales price was about half the amount described earlier for the same room. The sales agent said that it was a resale and he called the program "every other year maintenance fees." We asked if this meant that we would be able to use one room each and every year and, of course pay the maintenance fees when we used the resort, but if we did not use the resort that we would only be required to pay the maintenance fee every other year (required maintenance fees are a big deal in case you cannot use the resort in any year). The sales person said yes, indicating to us that we would be signing onto an every-year program at about half the price of the previous deals that had been described to us. At no time that we could recall did the sales person say that it was an every-other-year program or in any way state that we would only have access to the resort every other year. Even the guy who went through the contract with us at closing did not state that it was an every-other-year program. He used the same terminology as the sales agent, which is that the program was "every other year maintenance fees."
On another issue we eventually learned that the sales person was telling us lies. The principal sales agent promised us that we would receive a "40 percent discount at the restaurants and bars.” We asked if that meant that we would receive that discount each time we returned, and he said yes and they had been offering this discount since the resort had been opened. We tried to get the discount at a restaurant that night, but they did not know what we were talking about. The first thing next day we went back and spoke to that sales agent who then modified his story to say that the 40% discounts are only obtainable through the sales office, but he confirmed that we would receive the discount each time we returned (another lie). We did receive several 40% off discounts from the sales office last August. However, when we returned this past January as members for our first stay at the Hacienda del Mar resort, we went to the sales office and asked for the 40% off coupons. The sales agent we dealt with for the purchase the time before said that they were not offering the discounts anymore (another lie). However, we spoke to another member of the sales office and she said that the discounts we were asking about are only available the week of a new purchase and are not offered to members for return visits. We then realized that we were duped about the restaurant and bar discounts.
We have one more issue about the practices of the Hacienda del Mar sales office. They readily hand out (push) alcohol drinks during the sales meetings. When we were in the sales meeting last August, the waiter asked whether we wanted a drink of some champagne. We said no (more than once actually), but the sales agent insisted that the waiter pour us each a glass of champagne anyways. This indicates to us a sales staff which attempts to get you tipsy so that they can get their sale – this is a pathetic practice for making sales. At our follow up sales meeting earlier this year, the sales person also asked whether we would like some alcohol drinks. Although at least this time when we declined, they did not try to push the drinks on us. Of course, that may only have been because we reacted early on in the meeting to what program we had purchased.
We documented these lies and deception in a letter which we sent to Hacienda del Mar and to the Sheraton. The Hacienda del Mar response did not even acknowledge that we stated that we were lied to - they said that because it was after 5 days, the contract was fixed. They also tried to sell us more time at the resort!! The Sheraton complaint person said that they have no control over the Hacienda del Mar sales staff. The thing is, if the multi-billion dollar Sheraton Hotel chain really wanted to lean on Hacienda del Mar, Hacienda del Mar would respond. I am very disappointed in the Sheraton.
Here is an update. We have filed a complaint with Profeco and considering that there is some bad language in the contract, we are hopeful that we can get our money back. We shall see.
Good Job, those guys should be able to help. Good Luck!
This is what we put in the complaint letter to Profeco, but after a couple of e-mail exchanges, we have not heard anything for three weeks. I think that Profeco will not do anything.
Our first complaint is that the Hacienda del Mar sales staff lied to us stating that we would receive 40% off of restaurant and bar bills. They also deceived us into thinking that we had purchased an every-year program, but were actually trying to sell us an every-other-year program (what transpired at the sales meeting is documented in a letter we forwarded to Profeco). However, the contract is unclear about what program we actually purchased, so we are requesting that ALL of the money that we have paid to date (see above - month dependent) be returned to us. The text below describes the wording issues in the contract, the scanned documents of which were forwarded to you in an e-mail:
The key language in the contract is the room type, and our use of the room per year and in what season. As you can see in the contract document, the text says:
Unit type 1 LUXURY SUITE one weekly interval per year in RED EVEN YEARS season first year use year 2010.
First, this text is nonsensical – it makes no good sense in English.
The most literal meaning of the text is that the contract is that we have use of 1 LUXURY SUITE one week per year, and we can use the resort in RED seasons in EVEN YEARS, but not in RED seasons in ODD years, starting in 2010.
Another document says:
"I have entered into a binding contract to purchase the right of use of the Hacienda del Mar Condo Share Interval(s) 1 LUXURY EVEN RED RED SEASON and I have fully ..."
What does 1 LUXURY EVEN RED RED SEASON mean????? Clearly, this text is nonsensical.
One document does say that it is an every-other-year program, both at the top of the page and below in the text, but this document conflicts with the contract. The contract is both nonsensical and self-conflicting. For these reasons, the contract should be voided and the money we paid returned to us.
I received an e-mail from Profeco saying that they will intercede on our behalf. The first meeting that they will have with Hacienda del Mar is in mid-July. We hope that we can put this very bad experience behind us.