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This is to inform anyone considering buying a so called private residence club at the bell air in Puerto Vallarta Mexico that it is a scam, a fraud, and a conspiracy being misrepresented and lied about. Starting at the front chain of the tiny property, with a short drive up to the small sales center, housing an exquisite show suit, what you see and can touch is all that is real. And who knows if ¨T¨ (T is for owner) even owns that. The promises made about building the suites will never be followed though on because there are no intentions of even building! Sell then run away! They will guarantee rental and the resale in writing which is just lies on paper. The licenses they show, bonds, building permits, projected completion, and opening dates - it’s all fabricated.
Bell Air resort in marina Puerto Vallarta is a complete fraud, rip off and money laundering operation! It’s designed to be short-term, and then run. If you have purchased a private residence membership from Anthony Copella or anyone else at this resort you money has been stolen. No construction of condos has been started after more than a year of selling. The building permits are false, as are the licenses. The salespeople have been sworn to that everything is as represented, but after finding out the truth and confronting Anthony with concerns they are fired and no commission owed are paid, even when faced with legal recourse. To try to recuperate your money you can contact profeco at http://www.profeco.gob.mx/ and [protected] also (+[protected] and here [protected]@profeco. gob. mx.
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I purchased in 2008. It was called a fractional ownership. We only pay when we use it. I’ve only used it three times and not since 2011. They’re now asking for a restoration assessment fee of 900.
Are others in the same position?
Yes there are! We purchased a studio in 2007. We were told we only had to pay maintenance when we used/traded the unit. We successfully traded the unit for years, mostly thru DAE and Trading Places, but have not returned to Nueva Vallarta since we purchased. Now DAE has told us they will no longer accept trades from this company. Not sure about Trading Places yet.
We are very interested in being part of a class action lawsuit. We have no intention of paying the
special assessment. We would rather simply walk away than throw more $$$ away. Is there an owners
organization that we can contact?
There is one and hopefully someone on this forum will know of it. I used the exchanged once. Economically, timeshares or in this case, fractional ownerships don't make sense in comparing an all-inclusive that includes air fare. You can practically find so many deals for under 1500/pp. Regardless, sometimes we get caught up at the moment and open our wallets on emotion rather than common sense. I went through my contract and I don't see any clauses where its stipulated that additional payments could or would be expected for "Special Assessment". I'm going to ignore their statement as its a request without any financial data to substantiate the request.
We would also like to be kept in the loop if anyone begins legal action against the Bel Air Collection folks. We purchased in 2008 at the Playa Del Sol in Cabo. It appears we have a worthless contract. Now another name change...Reflect Krystal Grand Los Cabos. We have never received any documents since our purchase regarding financials, ownership change, etc. The only communication we receive are requests for money. We believe whoever is running this scam is acting fraudulently. We have also found that anyone can book into the resort (i.e. Hotels.com) and receive the amenities at a lower rate than our membership dues. Anyone who is able to obtain member documentation with changes, please communicate. We have asked Bel Air Collection for documentation (registered mail) and total silence.
It takes some coordination to do a Class Action. The biggest issue is to understand what the class action entails. It could only be for Assessment Fees if these were paid and there was a belief that improvements didn't occur. We can't Class Action for paying a set amount, some paid as low as $9k while others paid over $30k. We took on that cost to receive a week or two at one of the given resorts. It never stipulated that eventually the cost yearly cost would be more than what it would cost to the general public.
Best approach is not to pay. They would have a heck of time taking the membership to court. This Group should have made enough through their regular high season rentals to have an improvement fund to update the facilities during the low periods. The membership cannot be expected to pay for their incompetence.
Ian
I sent this email to Bel Air with no response (relacionepublicas@belairownerscircle.com):
Please explain to me why this is Extraordinary Fee is due outside of saying it falls under Section 9.C., because it DOES NOT.
We bought in 2006 and my Club Regulations under Section 9.C. say Extraordinary Fees are fees for "UNFORESEEN EXPENSES that were not included in the budget and whose purpose is to pay for UNFORESEEABLE expenses concerning the operation and maintenance of the Resort... that are URGENT, necessary and indispensable for their total or partial preservation... ( this is talking about something like a hurricane that was UNFORESEEN - not expansion of several resorts).
This billing DOES NOT fall under an Extraordinary Fee. This was a planned expansion of the resort for the financial benefit of the actually owners of the resort at the expense of the "club members", not something UNFORESEEABLE and URGENT. It is an expansion expense, not operational or maintenance, and SHOULD NOT be passed on to the owners as an Extraordinary Fee. Our annual fee is supposed to cover the operation and maintenance of the property. This fee was $389 when we bought in 2006 and us now $1, 100, it has gone up significantly to cover such costs.
Further, this supposed Extraordinary Fee is to come with a "detailed report directed to the Members". I DO NOT consider the billing letter and little brochure you sent listing all the expansions you did a detailed report of why this Extraordinary Fee for expansion of all of your properties in Mexico was so urgently and unexpectedly needed and not a foreseeable expense? We need a report of the actual damages to the resort, the cost to repair, etc. if this was an ACTUAL unforeseeable expense and extra contribution to repair needed from the Members.
Further, it does not seem right that I am being charged fees for ALL your Mexico properties when I bought it was connected to one property (Playa Del Sol Grande) - not the operation and maintenance of your 3+ Mexico properties.
I also contacted the consumer protection in Mexico yesterday http://telefonodelconsumidor.gob.mx/. To file a formal complaint with them, you need to send via Email in English and Spanish (google translate is ok):
1. Copy of your contract.
2. Copy of driver's license of signors to the contract.
3. Statement of your complaint.
I do not hold much faith in this process, but if a bunch of us file with them then maybe.
I also posted much of what I posted above on the Bel Air Vacation Club Facebook page. There only response was to "contact us to discuss". When we contacted them, they don't really care what your contract says and spout of irrelevant references and pretty much laughed when told they were going to be reported. They know the amount they are charging is too low for anyone to really want to pay a Mexico attorney or to spend a lot of their time fighting about it, that is how they get away with it. People just cave and pay the fee. Since they also have an office in Las Vegas, not sure if there is a way to file a formal complaint in the USA.
The first 3 notices I received said it was a late fee charge even though I paid my maintenance fee early. When I called each time they said to ignore it. 4th notice now they call it a special assessment. Is anyone paying this bill? The notice says a late fee will be incurred if not paid. My original purchase was thru Playa, is it now void since Bel Air is changing terms of original contract?
My wife and I refused to pay the special assessment fee being charged by the Bel Air Vacation Club. We filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. We posted a summary of our complaint, including the back and forth we had with the resort, on the Red Week website at the following web address:
https://www.redweek.com/forums/messages?thread_id=23454&page=last
By the way, I forced the resort to create a "detailed report" for the special assessment as part of their response to my complaint. I posted the text contained in the "detailed report" on that website.
The beginning of this string of posts was about Belaire Golf and Spa, a failed timeshare build, and then transitioned over to Bel Air Vacation Club, which was formerly Playa del Sol.
My husband and I are in Puerto Vallarte Krystal Grande at this moment. We have paid 10's of thousands of dollars over the last 20 years for this nasty timeshare. We are current on all fees and even paid a dishonest extra assessment fee for upgrades. We were looking forward to relaxing in a new room with drinks and food by the pool, as we have not been able to come here for 10 years. However, when we arrived we were informed ALL TIMESHARE OWNERS MUST STAY IN THE OLDEST TOWER WITH ABSOLUTELY NO UPGRADES THAT WE PAID FOR. The room is gross, old and broken and creepy. Additionally, unless we buy the all inclusive package for an extra $1050.00 dollars, we are not allowed to purchase any food or drink poolside.
We complained and were told to buy food at the local "Circle K" (OXXO). It's time for us to take legal action.