I was contacted about an inexpensive vacation from Summerbay Reorts. For around $500.00 I was to receive several days at two different Florida resorts, a cruise to the Bahamas, 4 nights in Mexico, and a trip of my choice. When I declined they dropped the price to $249 and I accepted, but I agreed to attend a 90 minute presentation. Later they called me because I hadn't booked a trip and finally I booked the trip to Mexico and I had to pay a few more fees, but it wasn't that much more.
To make a long story short, my wife and I ended up signing a contract to stay at three of the Sunset facilities in Quintana Roo. This was amazing to me because we have always made good decisions and our credit rating is over 755. We really didn't want this deal and it wan't our kind of place, although we have traveled in Mexico before and loved it. I must say their sales staff has this down to a science. They actually intimidate you with kindness and complements. There were at least 20 to 25 other couples in room with us and I didn't see even one get up and leave without signing. Every couple minutes a champagne cork would pop and everyone would applaud when someone signed.
The whole time my gut was telling me not to sign, but I signed anyway.
When we got home we had buyers remorse and decided to do a little research on the internet, we found the same or similar packages for sale, pages of them, from $5000 to $16,000 for the same resorts as well as for many other resorts. Our package had started out at $87,500, but to get us to sign they had dropped the price to $47,000. They kept telling us that if we ever got tired of the package they would buy it back no questions asked. We were told that the memberships appreciated 10% to 15% a year. We also found tons of unhappy customers for a variety of reasons.
The good thing we found on the internet was a Mexican law guaranteeing a 5 day right of recision. When I called the sales manager, Manuel Novelo, he turned from this wonderful person with a delightful sense of humor into an angry man who told us we had signed away our right of recision, and said he would take $25,000 from us and that he would destroy our credit. When we checked our contract, sure enough, we had signed away our rights. Within an salesperson, Rabah Taright, called and also threatened our credit.
They followed through and we now have a $25,000 charge on our credit card even though it is illegal to have someone sign away the right of recision.
My wife now crys alot and we both have a hard time sleeping. We feel stupid and humiliated that we let ourselves be taken advantage of this way.
They use your best human qualities against you. Their tactics are subtle, but calculated and totally unscrupulous. Beware!
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