While on holiday in Mexico, Pete and Sue High of Auburn, USA, were approached during a shopping trip in town by a man offering to pay them $450 to attend a 90-minute
presentation at the timeshare resort Puerto Bahia Villas and Spa. The 90-minute presentation actually turned into eight hours of relentless salespeople pressuring them.
Once CBS Sacramento heard about this they sent their reporter to investigate, who in turn spoke with the couple and was informed that Mrs High was given a glass of red wine and Mr High was handed an already open can of beer without even being asked if they wanted anything. They claim they drank them because they were thirsty, by this point they had already been sitting there for six hours. Soon after, they say they began to feel funny with Mrs High feeling sick and describing her husband as being in a trance and lethargic.
They went on to explain that the next thing they knew they were initialling pages of documents agreeing to costs totalling $21,900. The next morning they decided to look through the paperwork and claim that it didn’t include everything that they were verbally promised and that it appeared that someone had changed the figures on their credit application to show that Mrs High had a higher salary than she actually earned.
Upon further investigation, CBS Sacramento found more people who claim they were plied with alcohol during the presentation as well as customers who had attended presentations at other resorts claiming they were served drinks that had been drugged.
CBS tracked down a former Puerto Bahia employee, who said they were instructed to do whatever they needed to do to close the sale, and confirmed that alcohol was regularly used during the negotiation. “They purposefully use alcohol to get people to the point they can’t think straight any more,” he said. “They’re tired. They’re exhausted and can’t think straight. That’s when you zero in like a vulture and take advantage of them.” The couple went to Mexico’s consumer protection agency for assistance, they were able to write them a cancellation letter in Spanish within the five-day cooling off period that timeshare buyers have to change their minds. The couple claims that once they got home they started receiving collection calls threatening legal action if they didn’t pay. It appeared that although they sent the cancellation letter, the agreement wasn’t cancelled correctly. After a battle of almost 2 years, Mr and Mrs High did eventually receive a refund but only with the intervention of CBS Sacramento and their reporter. Remember if you do decide to buy timeshare, there is a ‘cooling off’ period. If after signing up for
Remember if you do decide to buy a timeshare, there is a ‘cooling off’ period. If after signing up for timeshare, you walk away and have changed your mind, you are able to cancel the transaction.
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