My husband and in-laws got scammed not once, but three times by this timeshare group. We initially purchased 8 weeks, agreeing to only use 4 for the first four years. We were assured that our membership in the yacht club was included in the 8 wk pkg, that any weeks we chose not to use would be sold and the funds would come to us, and that we would be able to get any week we wished.

Right. We were stupid. After we my husband signed the contract and it was being passed to me, they mentioned that we had to pay the maintenance fee whether or not we used the condo. Then after I signed, they mentioned that, "Oh, no, no, there are blackout weeks at Christmas, Easter, spring break, etc." We were starting to feel a bit queasy but they had already run my father-in-law's AmEx for $11K. They saw our concerned faces and gave us the keys to an unused, 3 bedroom suite for the remainder of our vacation (3 or 4 days, I don't recall exactly.)

After a year we discovered that two of our family members had terminal cancer and we called to ask if we could downgrade to 4 weeks, or preferable to whatever number of weeks would be paid in full at that point. They said no, but they would allow us to forgo payments for a year. Within 5 months, we were receiving collection calls. They finally sent us a contract stating the downgrade and the additional amount necessary for closing. We paid via check, they cashed it, and the collection calls kept right on coming.

Ten days ago, we received email stating that if we'd pay them $6k, we could have our contract back and they'd call it square. Sounds great, right? Except that they won't send us a contract stating that we'll be paid in full, nor will they send one stating how many weeks we'll have in exchange for that $6k. The salesperson, or collection agent, whatever she might be in reality, insisted that they were acting in good faith and would send us a contract as soon as we sent them the money.

What's wrong with this picture? Now our credit is ruined, they claim we owe them $28, 000 USD, and that check we sent last time? Well, that just went toward what we owed them, not for the closing costs as was stipulated.

I'm sick, disgusted and more than that, this has ruined our families' feelings for the Yucatan, where we have been vacationing for a very, very long time.