My boyfriend and I recently stayed at the Lifestyle Resort on Cofresi Beach in the Dominican Republic. During our stay we were offered the opportunity to become VIP members by bulk buying weeks to use at a number of their resorts worldwide. We were wary of the heavy sales pitch but as the area of the resort that we were staying in as non VIP members was so appallingly run down we were probably more curious about the possibility of an upgrade to a decent room with better food and facilities than we might have been otherwise. We were brought endless alcoholic drinks while they were doing their sales pitch and the rep kept assuring us that if we signed up and then changed our minds we would be able to take advantage of a 14 day cooling off period with our credit card company to cancel the package. We eventually buckled and paid 1600.00 as a deposit for a 25 week package, at the time we were both simply relieved to have found a solution to getting out of the awful hotel we had been put in and were hopeful that the VIP experience might salvage the remains of our holiday. Sadly, VIP World itself was an absolute disappointment, to the point where we checked out and flew home three days early. As soon as we got home we called our credit card company to cancel the payment, they told us that the payment had been taken and there was nothing we could do other than contact the resort. None of the correspondence we have received from the resort have acknowledged the fact that they are promising a cooling off period that does not exist, they have made countless references to our contract being signed in the presence of a "Verification Officer" who would have explained to us that we could not cancel the contract, which is completely untrue. The only assistance they've offered us is the opportunity to re-sell the package through their Resale Program. Throughout the duration of our stay we were constantly accosted by sales reps trying to flog these packages to us and every day there were more unsuspecting holiday makers being pushed to buy these packages with lies about cooling off periods and the option to cancel. Having investigated this matter further I am finding countless people out there who have also become victims of this scam, some having paid far more than we did.
I am not inclined to let them get away with this but having already recieved a threatening email from the resort manager I suspect a lot of people decide to back off rather than fight them.
Mpmm
Godalming
United Kingdom
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