Crown Paradise Club - Cozumel, Mexico

**** IMPORTANT ****
A Message from the US Consular Agent in Cozumel
February 21, 2001
12:30 PM
Until Further Notice

I regret to say that I will no longer have the time to respond to individual email
messages or phone calls from the 2900 Sol Caribe Vacation Club Members,
but any new information that I have will be posted here.
Be sure to reload the page so you are seeing the latest, not a cached (saved)
edition of the page. Sign up for the "mindit" at the bottom of the page to be
notified when there is a change.

You might also want to join the one-list message site so you can be in
communication with other Sol Caribe timeshare members who are in your
same situation. Once there, please read the messages and visit the links
page to view more resources. From there you can also join the private group
of members who have already retained an attorney.

To join, go to : http://onelist.com/group/sol-caribe-club

From this forum which I had set up back in February 2000, has emerged a
group of over 300 verified contract owners. I have been told that over 450 of
those individuals have registered with the "Sol Caribe Owners Group" and
over 350 have joined and paid to hire legal counsul and have already presented
and prevailed in a trial case before the Court. Hundreds of cases are currently
being filed for the group.

Currently, this group is trying to contact the rest of the Sol Caribe Vacation
Club victims in order to inform them and determine if they have similar interest
in joining the litigation. You may reach this group and register with them at
the following web addresses:

http://www.SolCaribeOwners.com/
or
Email: soneill@SolCaribeOwners.com

Please do not call us about your hotel reservation.
We are not booking agents.

The Hotel has been renamed "Park Royal".
The Hotel operation is not affected by the
problems with the timeshare.

I am not an attorney and the US government cannot act as your legal
representative in a consumer complaint. We cannot provide you with legal
advice concerning your rights under Mexican law. However, we can help by
providing you with information about attorneys who have indicated an interest
in providing legal assistance to American citizens and sharing with you what
we have learned about the situation. (SEE BELOW)

While we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the following information, it is our
understanding that the situation is as follows: The Crown Paradise-Sol Caribe
Resort has been seized by the bankruptcy court of Mexico for debts and an
investigation of allegations of fraud is in process. No CCyG or Tutti Mundi time
share contracts are being honored at this time. All known assets of CC y G
S.A. de C.V. in Mexico have been frozen. Tutti Mundi S.A de C.V. is also
under investigation. All time share contracts sold by these organizations are
presently considered null and void by the present administrators. All regular
hotel reservations booked through travel agents are presently being honored
by the interim property administrators, Cozumel Caribe, S.A. de C.V. The time
share concession is presently being operated by Grupo Costamex, Royal Holiday Club.

As a result of the bankruptcy order, PROFECO is no longer involved in the consumer complaint process, so the form and link to their site has been removed. To recover any of your investment , you must file your contract with the Fed. bankruptcy court of Mexico. Each contract must be examined by the judge to verify your claim, and to determine any fraud on the part of the previous owners.
To file your claim, you can hire your own lawyer in the US, or a private lawyer from a firm in Mexico City, where the case is being tried, or join the suit already initiated at:
http://www.SolCaribeOwners.com/
or
Email: soneill@SolCaribeOwners.com

Only an attorney , who is knowledgeable about Mexican bankruptcy law, can properly advise you of your rights to claim against the old or the new owners.

For a list of attorneys in Mexico City who have registered with the American Embassy, email: attorneys@cozumel.net. The judge in charge of this case (#49/92) is : Lic. Justino A. Montes de Oca Contreras, Juzgado Tercero del lo Concursal in Mexico City. Please check with your attorney on the question of any further payments on your contract..

Please keep in mind that the U.S. Government makes no representations about and assumes no responsibility for the professional ability or integrity on the list of attorneys available by request.

Some buyers have told me that their credit card companies are going to help them to recover any fees that were recently charged to their credit card account. In addition, there have been numerous individuals who have had their respective credit card companies do chargebacks under the provision of "Services Not Rendered". This has been done for people who have purchased contracts as far back as 1997. For information regarding this credit card chargeback, you may find it helpful to contact the previous mentioned group at:
http://www.SolCaribeOwners.com/
or
Email: soneill@SolCaribeOwners.com

If you have non-refundable tickets already purchased, you might check your travel insurance or credit card company or airline to see if they can make an allowance for these circumstances.

Another possibility may be to file a complaint against the time share management operation listed on your contract, in the US, in the state where they are located. For example, some members who bought when VNI was handling the contracts, have already gotten refunds through the Florida State Consumer Protection agency. If you contract was with VNI & you want to file a complaint go to : www.800helpfla.com/

For people interested in filing a complaint against Century-21 TRI-Timeshares, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services website is www.vdacs.state.va.us
The official complaint form is on-line and can be downloaded. You may also want to contact the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulations at 703-912-4165. This is the office that will handle your complaint.

Sincerely,

Anne Harris
US Consular Agent - Cozumel
email: mailto:usca@cozumel.net
ph (011 52 987 245 74)