During a well-earned break in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, Carlos and his wife Maria purchased a timeshare which cost $58,000 dollars at a timeshare resort named Club Regina. The purchase allowed them one week per year with a yearly maintenance fee of $1,400.
Unfortunately for the couple, they have used their week once in past 17 years. Carlos admits he got carried away with the sales pitch believing it to be the deal of the century. However, having not learned from his first mistake here comes the second blow, the infamous call of ‘we have a buyer for your timeshare’.
The call came from a “Matthew J. Simon,” informing Carlos that he was a real estate agent and CEO of New York Based Capital Real Estate Solutions, LLC and that they had a buyer for their timeshare. “You paid $58,000 but it will sell for $61,000, less a $3,800 commission, so you will break even. Sound like a deal?”
As any consumer wishing to depose of their timeshare knows that this call would have been like buying a winning lottery ticket. However, without doing any ground work and looking for proof this company was legal he asked for the sale documents to be sent to him immediately. Having received the documents, the very next day the couple signed and returned them, expecting a healthy cheque to arrive from the proceeds of the sale. The moment they signed the documents they had taken the bait.
Several days after the couple had returned the signed paperwork “Mr. Simon called, stating that sellers of Mexican time shares are required to have a permit which costs $4,250 but when the transaction closes, the buyer will reimburse you” Carlos transferred the money without a moment’s hesitation having complete faith in Mr. Simon.
The following week “Mr. Simon again phoned, and stated that a new law had just come into effect in Baja California requiring the seller to pay a 16 percent tax ($9,800) which needed to be sent at once.” The penny seemed to finally drop and Carlos contacted a reputable law firm whom in turn had a very interesting chat on a speakerphone with “Mr. Simon. Less than one minute into the conversation it was evident that Carlos was the victim of a Mexican timeshare resale scam.
There have been many warnings over the past several years from, Attorney General Offices of many states issuing warnings about Mexican Timeshare resales and fraud which classically begins just the way it did with Carlos. Duping unfortunate victims to believe that they have a buyer for their Mexican timeshare.
Previously, the California Department of Real Estate has issued several warnings:
- “Timeshare owners must be vigilant, be aware of and look for revealing signs of fraud. The most significant is a request for the sending of money in connection with timeshare resales, rentals or other services. Once funds are sent, there is virtually no chance of recovering the money as the scammer usually disappears.
- “A number of the scammers have engaged in identity theft, representing themselves as having real estate licenses. The criminals will use an actual real estate broker’s name and license number in an attempt to legitimize the transaction. If and when the timeshare owner victim calls the broker’s number, which has been provided via email, phone call, postal mail, or on the website that has been created to complete the fraud, the voice of the supposed broker is actually the voice of the scammer.”
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk