My husband and I attended a "different" kind of residental coop type sales presentation at Mango's on the beach in Puerto Vallarte. Gerry Drexler was our salesperson. John Monte was his boss. John Monte represented that he as President of Continental Resources he would liquidate our Grand Luxxe for $129,000 within 60 days if we agreed to purchase a foreclosure at the Grand Miramar for 8 weeks with WLD and they would guarantee the rental of 4 of the 8 weeks for the first 5 years and 1 - 8 weeks thereafter at $1500 a week. We were also provided a VIP membership which entited us to 2 free airline tickets anywhere in the world every year and free spa services, tennis and golf. They also represented that we could use our credit card as a temporary charge while they got the paperwork from the Grand Luxxe to complete the liquidation, and close within 60 days. (They had everything they needed from us from Day 3.)
The first red flag was the charge of $33,880 on our BofA credit card instead of the temporary charge. We informed Bank of America that we suspected fraud. They told us that we had two billing cycles to refute the charge, if they did not fulfill the deal.
We agreed to allow the process to continue knowing that we had the two months to dispute the charge if things didn't go according to the written agreements.
We had contact with James Brooks from Continental from the second day of the agreement. Since we had our Grand Luxxe paperwork with us, we were able to prove our ownership right there in Mexico. We gave them to Gerry Drexler who supposedly faxed them to James Brooks of Continental Resources. When we returned home, (Day 3 of the contract) we spoke to James Brooks who said he would take care of the liquidation as soon as possible but was having trouble with the Mexican lawyers. (lots of paperwork like Power of Attorney letters etc). I asked him if I should call the Grand Luxxe and facilitate the process since he had proof that we were indeed the owners and that if he had a buyer lined up it could be completed within a few days. He said NO, he didn't want me talking to the Grand Luxxe since they didn't like to see their members leave. He said they had the "first right of refusal" and could counter the offer. I told him that I didn't believe they would beat $129,800 so nothing should hold up the closing.
Just around the time of the agreement due date, we got an offer for $139,800 for the Grand Luxxe and $52,000 for the 20 rental weeks at the Grand Miramar ($2500 per week, 4 weeks a year for 5 years) from World Property Connections. The closing company was Advantage Trust International. The entire deal to us was $212,800 minus 8% commission and closing costs, which would be reimbursed to us AFTER we wired $21,800 to a Mexican account.
We were contacted by Rose from Advantage Trust International and instructed to wire the money to an account in Mexico, THEN we would receive the proceeds and then we would pay then 8% commission to Emma Parker, the sales rep from World Properties Connection.
We knew it was a scam (who wires money to an unknown account in Mexico?) when we contacted Peter Jackson from the FBI (a name we found on the internet regarding timeshare sales fraud). He asked us to identify voices he had on record. We recognized the voices and identified them as "James Brooks" and "Rose". He told us they identified themselves as "Steve" and "Kelly" from another so called timeshare marketing firm and trust company.
Also, the websites of World Property Connections (the "selling agents") and Advantage Trust International (the "closing" company) both went live around the same time in December; were hosted by the same company/person AND neither address on their website was in fact an actual address. (We called the property managers of the buildings listed on each website and both property manager said World Property Collections or Advantage Trust International were not tenants at the buildings listed on their website.)
We disputed the charge and Bank of America credited our account. World Luxury Destinations is fighting back, claiming that Continental Resources is a "third party" and has nothing to do with our World Luxury Destinations contract.
My response was, IF that is true, why were we denied access to the website when we had PAID IN FULL?
How come they told me we could not access the website until the deal closed?
Why did they not respond to my queries about our supposed VIP membership?
If it was true that the two contracts had nothing to do with each other, why did john monte sign both agreements as continental resources president and wld representative?
Since they denied access to the website and did not fulfill the other services stated in the contract, they broke the deal. The so called "5 day rule" that they hide behind does not apply when the seller fails to fulfill the contract.
Thus far, Bank of America is siding with us and has credited our account. As of this past week, WLD was still trying to get the charge reinstated.
When I told the Dispute manager from BofA that "beside the fact that Continental Resources WAS NOT THIRD PARTY, my complaint was that they denied access to the website and services from FROM THE BEGINNING. If they never honored the contract from Day 1, why would I expect them to honor it down the road? What if we went through with the deal and down the road they didn't honor the agreement?" Her answer to me was "You won't have to be concerned with that since you have been credited back the money effectively cancelling the agreement."
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