TRYING TO GET OUT OF MEXICO TIMESHARE

I just received an email from what appears to be a legitimate US collections agency regarding a Mexican membership / timeshare purchased in 2022 in Mexico. I am very anxious. What do you recommend doing?

We purchased a timeshare at Grand Solmar, Lands End in Cabo San Lucas. We paid and used it for a few years then stopped paying over COVID. They turned it over to a collections agency based out of San Diego, Resort Recovery. They have since reported the debt to Transunion (no other agency so far). I disputed it on Transunion's website but haven't heard back. I don't know if this is legal and can only really find out if I hire a lawyer I guess. So keep this in mind...

jonathans213 wrote:

We purchased a timeshare at Grand Solmar, Lands End in Cabo San Lucas. We paid and used it for a few years then stopped paying over COVID. They turned it over to a collections agency based out of San Diego, Resort Recovery. They have since reported the debt to Transunion (no other agency so far). I disputed it on Transunion's website but haven't heard back. I don't know if this is legal and can only really find out if I hire a lawyer I guess. So keep this in mind...

If a Mexican operation also has a business presence here in the U.S. (few do) they can (and they might, as you have now learned), enlist the "services" of a collection agency and / or report the loan default to the credit reporting agencies here in the U.S.. Both actions are certainly "legal", since you defaulted, so there would be no point in paying money to an attorney just to tell you so.

The bad news is that the negative TransUnion report will likely also appear with both Experian and Equifax (the other two U.S. credit reporting bureaus) in the near future. The good news is that the Mexican operation can do nothing more beyond initiating that (entirely valid, by your own admission) negative credit report for your having defaulted on a loan. All they can do is terminate your RTU (right to use) in Mexico, which is really nothing more than a "membership", with no ownership of anything anyhow.

Collection agencies have no legal authority; they rely upon trying to scare / shame / harass people into paying (for a percentage of any money collected). Ignore them. You can also instruct them not to ever call you and they must (by U.S. law) comply. They may still send you toothless letters trying to appear menacing, but have no fear of toothless paper tigers. Eventually, they will give up and go away once it becomes clear to them that you have no intentions of paying anything more toward an abandoned RTU contract that was executed in Mexico. However, the negative credit report can (and likely will) still remain in place for up to 7 years.

Hello- we bought a timeshare this weekend and tried to cancel yesterday (within the 5 day cancellation period). We got hung up on by the sales office and sent an e-mail to the membership office. We also sent certified mail out yesterday and it's postmarked for yesterday. Will this work? We only paid the initial fee but haven't paid the down payment. I can't find out how else to cancel and they aren't being responsive. This was at Grand Solmar Resorts in Cabo. Please help!

katiej106 wrote:

Hello- we bought a timeshare this weekend and tried to cancel yesterday (within the 5 day cancellation period). We got hung up on by the sales office and sent an e-mail to the membership office. We also sent certified mail out yesterday and it's postmarked for yesterday. Will this work? We only paid the initial fee but haven't paid the down payment. I can't find out how else to cancel and they aren't being responsive. This was at Grand Solmar Resorts in Cabo. Please help!

You should have received with your owner's package instructions for how to rescind your purchase. It likely includes instructions how and where to send your rescission letter. Usually, it's by certified mail. Please read your package very carefully. Time is ticking away.

do you have any issues once back in mexico with unpaid debts / walking away ?

trying to get out of my tafer loan. really isn’t a bad timeshare, just way overpriced and high pressure me into it. Would definitely lose a good chunk but trying to stop the bleeding as previously mentioned.

I know tafer is Mexico. But when you call resort com, they are based in Nevada. Does this mean that they also have presence in the United States? Or is this the same concept that they really can’t do much if I just stop paying since the company is based in Mexico?

also, will this create future issues if I travel to Mexico again, even if going to a different resort?

nicholasd159 wrote:

trying to get out of my tafer loan. really isn’t a bad timeshare, just way overpriced and high pressure me into it. Would definitely lose a good chunk but trying to stop the bleeding as previously mentioned.

I know tafer is Mexico. But when you call resort com, they are based in Nevada. Does this mean that they also have presence in the United States? Or is this the same concept that they really can’t do much if I just stop paying since the company is based in Mexico?

also, will this create future issues if I travel to Mexico again, even if going to a different resort?

Not enough information provided to definitively answer the first part of your question. I do not know what "resort com" is nor what your call to "resort com" revealed. It could be that whoever you contacted (and who you apprently believe is located in Nevada) could be nothing more than a third party marketing or advertising entity or a call center, perhaps working under contract for Tafer but maybe not actually being a part of Tafer Residence Club (which is their actual full name, unless I am mistaken). You need to do some research to determine whether Tafer itself has a physical business presence here in the U.S.. Personally, I have no idea.

Your issue with Tafer, no matter how you handle it, will have no future impact on your travels to Mexico, other than your possibly being unwelcome at (and maybe unable to stay at) any Tafer properties or affiliates (if they have affiliates) if / after you default on a loan obtained from or through Tafer.

much thanks! looks like resort com is just a timeshare financial service software. tafer has call center based out of vegas. have to find out what that means as far as ownership too. thanks