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I have read with interest the ABC story and comments regarding Royal Holiday scams (Mexico). We have been living a nightmare since February 2007 and have spent hundreds if not thousands of hours trying to resolve it. Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club listed Royal Holiday as their 'sister resort' so I think my story applies also.
We visited Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club in February 2007, taking my brother and sister-in-law and my husband's brother and sister-in-law, through an RCI timeshare trade, paying an all-inclusive fee of $799 per night or almost $6000. We were in a three bedroom villa, beautiful pool, gardens, with daily maid service including in-villa breakfast cooking, etc. Restaurants were fairly good, particularly the VIP room.
We have been timeshare owners since the late 80's and had not been 'suckered' into any other deals. We have never been disappointed with a 'trade' though it did get harder each year. Because of the increased trading difficulty, we started doing all-inclusives. Even though more expensive, we have had good experiences in Mexico and considered that we were just getting a reduced rate rather than the good deals over the years.
When we got to LHVC, we truly loved the villa experience and through a sales presentation which took most of the morning, decided to purchase a Platinum package costing $47,000 which started out at $80,000. The opportunity of sister resorts, easier trades, unlimited time, and concierge treatment was very appealing as trading had become more difficult. The sales rep assured us we could finance completely through a Bank of America RCI Visa card. The end result was that we charged a portion through BofA RCI Visa with the bulk remainder on American Express. My husband did ask for a cancellation clause to which they quickly agreed and inserted the clause into our contract.
When we returned, I immediately sent an email to their customer service department and received a welcome. Again I immediately sent an email requesting several vacations. Needless to say this was the end of the 'concierge treatment' promised. We were never able to get a trade even when I suggested that I could plan a year or two out - no response. After six weeks of no responses, we sent an email requesting cancellation as indicated in our agreement; again no response.
We contacted the credit card companies. We had paid AMEX in full while BofA was offering a '0' interest so it was not paid in full. BofA called and had a discussion with my husband. They issued a full credit and I wonder if the RCI Visa is aware of this shoddy scam.
AMEX was another story. At first they indicated that if LHVC did not respond, it was their policy to credit our account. Then they rejected the claim. They indicated that they could not interfere with companies outside the US. (Why did they let us charge outside the US if this was the case?)
We spent countless hours back and forth with AMEX via email and phone through September. One representative was helpful in getting LHVC to agree that the contract had been put into their re-sale pool as of September 5, 2007. She forwarded us a copy of the email verifying this.
American Express continued to reject the claim because of the foreign involvement. I then contacted their Vice President of the Open Business Division. Finally in September when they threatened to report our credit negatively, we gave up. Our credit rating is in the 800s so we are never delinquent.
We have continued to contact LHVC customer service. According to their representation we should receive our money back no later than September 5, 2008. LHVC's last response by email was November 7, 2007 when Jackie Bramhill (head of LHVC customer service) acknowledged that they are aware of the details of our membership package and the membership is in their resale program.
Since May 12, 2008, we have sent numerous emails to their registered agent Jesus Garcia (who appears to be their attorney) both at an email address he provided in the deed documentation, to him via the customer service email address and also by registered mail to the British Virgin Islands and to Puerto Plata DR.
If anyone has any suggestions that may help us, we would certainly appreciate it.
We visited Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club in February 2007, taking my brother and sister-in-law and my husband's brother and sister-in-law, through an RCI timeshare trade, paying an all-inclusive fee of $799 per night or almost $6000. We were in a three bedroom villa, beautiful pool, gardens, with daily maid service including in-villa breakfast cooking, etc. Restaurants were fairly good, particularly the VIP room.
We have been timeshare owners since the late 80's and had not been 'suckered' into any other deals. We have never been disappointed with a 'trade' though it did get harder each year. Because of the increased trading difficulty, we started doing all-inclusives. Even though more expensive, we have had good experiences in Mexico and considered that we were just getting a reduced rate rather than the good deals over the years.
When we got to LHVC, we truly loved the villa experience and through a sales presentation which took most of the morning, decided to purchase a Platinum package costing $47,000 which started out at $80,000. The opportunity of sister resorts, easier trades, unlimited time, and concierge treatment was very appealing as trading had become more difficult. The sales rep assured us we could finance completely through a Bank of America RCI Visa card. The end result was that we charged a portion through BofA RCI Visa with the bulk remainder on American Express. My husband did ask for a cancellation clause to which they quickly agreed and inserted the clause into our contract.
When we returned, I immediately sent an email to their customer service department and received a welcome. Again I immediately sent an email requesting several vacations. Needless to say this was the end of the 'concierge treatment' promised. We were never able to get a trade even when I suggested that I could plan a year or two out - no response. After six weeks of no responses, we sent an email requesting cancellation as indicated in our agreement; again no response.
We contacted the credit card companies. We had paid AMEX in full while BofA was offering a '0' interest so it was not paid in full. BofA called and had a discussion with my husband. They issued a full credit and I wonder if the RCI Visa is aware of this shoddy scam.
AMEX was another story. At first they indicated that if LHVC did not respond, it was their policy to credit our account. Then they rejected the claim. They indicated that they could not interfere with companies outside the US. (Why did they let us charge outside the US if this was the case?)
We spent countless hours back and forth with AMEX via email and phone through September. One representative was helpful in getting LHVC to agree that the contract had been put into their re-sale pool as of September 5, 2007. She forwarded us a copy of the email verifying this.
American Express continued to reject the claim because of the foreign involvement. I then contacted their Vice President of the Open Business Division. Finally in September when they threatened to report our credit negatively, we gave up. Our credit rating is in the 800s so we are never delinquent.
We have continued to contact LHVC customer service. According to their representation we should receive our money back no later than September 5, 2008. LHVC's last response by email was November 7, 2007 when Jackie Bramhill (head of LHVC customer service) acknowledged that they are aware of the details of our membership package and the membership is in their resale program.
Since May 12, 2008, we have sent numerous emails to their registered agent Jesus Garcia (who appears to be their attorney) both at an email address he provided in the deed documentation, to him via the customer service email address and also by registered mail to the British Virgin Islands and to Puerto Plata DR.
If anyone has any suggestions that may help us, we would certainly appreciate it.
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