Real Club, or The Real Club Playa Resorts, is a resort company whose properties and timeshares are primarily located in Mexico. They have several destinations across Mexico, and a few in Jamaica. Real Club is owned by RCI, the biggest timeshare company in the world.
If you are seeking to get out of Real Club timeshare, it could be for one of many reasons. Maybe you’ve turned out to not use your timeshare nearly as often as you hoped, or the property was different than you thought it would be — and not for the better. When we looked into this resort, we found a number of major complaints. Here are just a few of them.
From a Timeshare Forums post:
- “The real issue lies in the fact that they lied to us about rates and switched schedules in the contract on us. … We were told that we could sell up to 5 weeks per year for $1000 per week or more, it seemed like a good idea. We could use the money to pay for the plan and save for our next trip. When I called yesterday, I was told to call a person at Global Research. I was told by her that we had to pay a fee of $600 up front in order to sell. It was then I started to research and found out all the complaints. There are warnings against Global Research but to do with Secret Shoppers and paying people with phony cheques. The whole thing smelled bad. In light of the troubles we have had so far with Real Club, I’m not taking the chance of paying any more money up front. I’ve since heard that it’s not likely you’ll get back what you’ve paid for the week. … Now every time I call there, I get put on hold and eventually transferred to a message asking me to leave a voice mail. Also, Mr. Vallado provided my wife with a false e-mail address when she wanted to file a complaint and cancel the agreement. This is not how a respectable enterprise operates.”
From a TripAdvisor post:
- “Quite a good hotel BUT DO NOT BUY a Real Club Membership. It’s a SCAM. Basically, you end up paying TWICE for your stay when you can get great deals online instead like we did and save tens of thousands of dollars (which is what you’d pay if you got hooked into their very subtle and intense membership sell).”
From ComplaintsBoard:
- “A few weeks after the purchased [sic] we realized that we were scammed by Real Club, we called the Hotel and tried to cancel but our efforts were useless. We called thousands of times asking for … the person in charge of the cancellations but she never was available. We just gave up when a guy just told us that: “[Her] job is to not answer the phone calls; in order to avoid any cancellation request”. It’s undeniable that the personnel of Real Club has a lack of honesty and an excess of cynicism. We have been in contact with Yessica Altamirano from Real Club we told her that we spoke with a PROFECO representative and he told us that this kind of dishonest practices are very common in the timeshare industry specially with American and Canadian people; but due to the tourism crisis that mexico is experiencing the hotels are lying to Mexicans as well. So far it’s very clear that she is not willing to help us. Our advice is do not even think of purchasing with Real Club.”
In other words, the main issues people have with this resort resulting in their wanting to get rid of Real Club timeshare are bait-and-switch practices, unexpected charges and fees, and little to no help from customer service.
While Real Club does not have a BBB rating or an aggregate on ComplaintsBoard, these reviews certainly speak to the nature of the resort’s timeshare program. Whatever your complaints or reasons for wanting to get out, you should know that it is possible to cancel Real Club timeshare.
Real Club Exit Program
We were not able to figure out if Real Club has an official timeshare exit program. It’s not possible to access the Real Club Resorts website without a user login, so it appears to be more of a guest or customer portal. That said, most resorts and timeshare companies have some form of customer service landing page that is a good place to start for sorting out your cancellation options.
Avoiding Timeshare and Timeshare Exit Scams
The sad reality is that Real Club’s lack of accessibility online is just another red flag on top of its numerous complaints. Like many timeshare companies, we have to evaluate Real Club as a fraudulent operation.
In the future it’s important to keep these and other red flags in mind to avoid being scammed by a company like this or even a timeshare exit company. On this website, we are cautious about which companies we recommend because, just as with timeshares in general, there are plenty of scams in the timeshare exit industry. Many timeshare exit companies promise timeshare owners that they’ll cancel their timeshare with a money-back guarantee, but never deliver on their promises and keep the money that they were paid.
To avoid scams in the future, make sure you pay attention to the following:
- Resist pressure to act fast or pay for a service right away. A reputable company will never pressure you into working with them before you are ready to get started. High-pressure sales tactics and hounding potential clients are major warning signs, and point to a business you want to avoid.
- Ask about licensing, insurance, and identification with all local businesses. It’s generally wise to work with a local business, but to get even more clear about which of those are trustworthy, it’s also a good call to ask about their licenses and insurance. Checking IDs is smart as well, especially with any business that will be dealing with your money and personal information.
- Check the fine print and don’t believe everything you read. Many fraudulent companies rely upon using common industry phrases, but only use them in a shallow way, and do not have information to back up their exaggerated claims. A responsible company will provide you with details on their services and not come across as outlandish in doing so.
Watch out for high upfront payments and nontraditional payment methods. Requests to pay via wire transfers or prepaid money cards are common red flags, but so are requests for upfront fees that do not use escrow, as well as agreements that do not have legitimate contracts. There is no money-back guarantee or amount of lip service that is enough to promise that you’ll get a refund if a service doesn’t work as promised.
Cancel Real Club Timeshare with a Reputable Exit Company
As noted above, you do have several options to cancel Real Club timeshare, including resale on your own or hiring a broker. But depending on your situation, especially if you do not have an active mortgage, working with a timeshare exit company could be a great option. Timeshare exit companies do not usually try to sell your timeshare. Instead, they prefer working directly with timeshare developers and resorts in order to encourage them to take the timeshare back and cancel any remaining fees.
Working with a timeshare exit company to get out of Real Club timeshare is something you should only do with a legitimate company. We typically only recommend timeshare exit companies who use escrow for payment, so you don’t have to invest in upfront fees and risk another fraudulent experience. You can learn more about why escrow is important here. And you can explore some of the companies that we recommend on this page.
Summary
While it’s difficult to get rid of Real Club timeshare, it’s not impossible. Getting in touch with a reputable timeshare exit company can help you get started on releasing yourself from this weighty and fee-laden situation.
If you still have questions about our recommended companies, or anything else related to cancelling your timeshare, please feel free to get in touch to learn more. You can contact us using the contact form on the right side of the page, initiate the live chat, or give us a call at 833-416-8796.