Where do I begin with this nightmare. We stayed at the El Cid in Cozumel in January. We went to the timeshare demonstration to get a free jeep rental. Mistake #1. We finished the the tour and sat with a woman named Dorothy (snake oil salesman) She put on her southern charm. (she was from the states) and we took the hook.
She told us the RCI Credit Card was a point reward system where whatever you spent on the card (dollar for dollar) could be used towards your monthy fees. This was lie #1. Later on when i got home i found out you had to spend close to $1000 to receive a $25 credit.
Anyway I opened up an RCI Bank of America card for the down payment of $2780. Finished up the paper work and headed back to my hotel room. I started reading over all the paper work I was given and found a clause about exchange fees. These were fees you had to pay to RCI if you wanted to stay at a non-El Cid hotel. Seeing this I rushed down to confront Dorothy and she promised me up and down that this fee was for their timeshare program not their Vacation Club. Lies #2. I still wasnt buying her answer so i asked it to be in writing. She actually did put it in writing as an exchange fee waiver. You'll read later that it meant nothing.
When I got back home i received a call from El Cid welcoming me to the club. I immediately asked here the question about the exchange fees. She replied that there is always an exchange fee for hotels outside of the El Cid chain. I told her i had an Exchange Fee Waiver signed to waive the fees. She told me that she had never heard of an El Cid employee signing such a waiver and that its not their policy to do that. She told me I had to contact their main office in Mazatlain. So here we go. Endless calls and emails to Dorothy in Cozumel. Her email told me she would call me (NO RESPONSE OF COURSE). Endless calls and emails to the main office with no response. THIS WENT ON FOR 12 WEEKS!!!
I finally had enough and disputed the RCI charge through Bank of America. They were great and I got back my $2780 down payment. Along with the few months of maintenance fees. Im still in the process of getting my two monthly payments of $203 back. I also received a letter from El Cid stating im officially done with the vacation club. I feel lucky after reading what you other folks are still going through.
I have all documentation, emails etc. On my attempt to get refunded. If i can help anyone in anyway please feel free to contact me. Good Luck All.
Dave
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.
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