Legal Question in Consumer Law in California

We fell for a vacation ownership in Costa Rica. There is a brief statement in the contract that mentions 8 days to rescind unless it's signed on the property. Then there in no rescinding??? Is this legal?


Asked on 9/18/17, 7:30 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Grenville Pridham Law Office of Grenville Pridham

Probably. If your were in Costa Rica when you signed, then Costa Rican law applies, unless they had a choice of law clause that stated somewhere else., I don't know what Costa Rican law says on this issue, but to give yourself maximum potential protection, you need to write letter to company advising them that you are cancelling the contract because (state reasons). Send certified, return receipt requested. If you can allege fraudulent reasons, like resort is not what was represented, details provided to you are not true, etc.; you will stand a better chance of prevailing. Explain how you were misled.

Without knowing more, general thoughts are that you could do a charge back on your credit card. 50-50 chance, unless there is fraud; then it is better.

It seems unlikely they would sue you in states over Costa Rican contract, but one never knows. It also seems unlikely they would sue in Costa Rica because they would have to then domestic the judgment where you live. Long and costly process and you probably have valid defenses.

You may be out what you paid down, but you can stop future payments. If you gave a credit card, only way that is certain, it to cancel the card you gave them. You can ask credit card company for a new account number and to cancel old number. The annual maintenance fees are what usually make these deals so terrible for consumer. That could be an issue for fraud allegations if you were not informed about that .

General rule is that time-shares are bad for consumers because they are overpriced and cost more than an actual vacation might cost. Consumers rarely figure in the cost of the initial downpayment in calculating the overall cost of timeshares. If you invested the $10,000 or 20,000 they want up front, you would be able to pay for all your future vacations and not be stuck in one location. And the annual maintenance fees increase over time. I have seen some that are as much or more than a 5-star hotel would have cost for a week.

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Answered on 9/25/17, 3:12 pm


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