How to Cancel a Vidanta Timeshare Contract: Five-Day Revocation and PROFECO

To cancel a Vidanta timeshare, you have five Mexican business days from signing (or from the day you got access to the property, whichever is later) to send a written revocation under Article 56 of Mexico’s Federal Consumer Protection Law. The developer cannot charge you a penalty, cannot enforce any contract clause claiming you waived the right, and must refund everything you paid.¹ The window is short and the proof requirements are strict, so the work is in doing it correctly before the clock runs out.

Your Five Business Days to Revoke

Article 56 says the contract is not legally “perfected” until five business days pass from signing or from your first access to the property, whichever comes later. During that window you can revoke your consent for any reason or no reason, and the law requires a full refund of every peso paid.² If a sales rep told you the deal was “final today” or pointed to fine print waiving the cooling-off period, ignore it. Article 1 of the same law makes its protections non-waivable, so any contrary clause is void.³ The rule applies across every Vidanta brand, including Grand Mayan, Grand Luxxe, and Mayan Palace.

Counting the Days Correctly

The count uses Mexican business days. Weekends don’t count, and neither do official federal holidays. Sign on a Friday and your first day is Monday, which usually gives you close to a full calendar week to act.

If the fifth day lands on one of Mexico’s 2026 bank holidays, it rolls forward to the next working day. Those holidays are:⁴

January 1 (New Year’s Day)
First Monday of February (Constitution Day)
Third Monday of March (Benito Juárez’s Birthday)
April 2 and 3 (Holy Thursday and Good Friday)
May 1 (Labor Day)
September 16 (Independence Day)
November 2 (Day of the Dead)
Third Monday of November (Revolution Day)
December 12 (Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe)
December 25 (Christmas Day)

Count carefully. A single miscalculation can turn a clean revocation into a binding contract.

What the Cancellation Letter Must Say

Pull out the signed contract folder you received at the sales presentation and write a letter that leaves no room for the developer to claim confusion. Include:

The full legal name of every person who signed, spelled exactly as on the signature page
The contract number printed on the agreement
The exact date you signed
A direct statement revoking your consent and requesting a full refund of all payments, citing Article 56 of the Federal Consumer Protection Law

You also need the developer’s official legal address, which Mexican contracts label the “Domicilio.” It appears in the opening paragraphs or near the final signature block. Send the letter to the wrong address and you create a delivery dispute that could push you past the deadline, so verify every character. Prepare the letter well before the last day of the window so you aren’t rushing it on day five.

Sending It So Delivery Is Provable

Article 56 lets you revoke by personal delivery, certified or registered mail, or any method that gives reliable proof of delivery.¹ Most buyers use an international courier such as FedEx, UPS, or DHL because the tracking number and signature receipt become your proof the letter arrived inside the five-day window. Keep that receipt.

Send a digital copy by email to Vidanta member services or the legal department as well. The physical letter is what the statute requires, but the email creates a timestamped backup. Attach a scan of the signed letter and paste the courier tracking number into the body of the email. If the resort later claims your letter arrived late or never arrived, you’ll have both records.

If you’re still at the resort, hand-delivering the letter is the fastest option. Ask for a written receipt confirming they received it, and record the interaction on your phone if you’re able to. The Mexican Consulate in New York specifically recommends keeping proof of delivery such as receipts or recordings.⁵

What Vidanta Owes You After a Valid Cancellation

Once a valid cancellation sent within the window reaches the developer, the transaction is null. Vidanta must refund everything you paid, including the down payment, administrative fees, and taxes, within 15 business days and without any penalty.² The only cost you may bear under Article 56 is return shipping of physical goods, which rarely applies to a membership.

Watch your bank and credit card statements closely during those 15 days. If the refund doesn’t post, or if new charges appear, you have grounds to escalate. Expect retention calls offering upgrades, discounts, or “VIP status” to pull you back in. You have no obligation to engage, and accepting a counter-offer can muddy a cancellation that was already complete.

If Vidanta Doesn’t Comply: File With PROFECO

The Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor (PROFECO) enforces Mexico’s consumer protection law. If Vidanta ignores your cancellation, refuses to refund, or keeps charging your card, PROFECO is the escalation point. Its department for foreign consumers accepts complaints from outside Mexico by email at extranjeros@profeco.gob.mx. Include:⁵

Your name, address, phone number, and email
The developer’s name and address exactly as shown on your contract
A brief account of what happened, when you purchased, and how much you paid
Copies of the contract, your cancellation letter, courier delivery confirmation, your passport, and any credit card statements showing the charges

Complaints also go to turista@profeco.gob.mx or by postal mail.⁶ PROFECO can mediate and impose administrative fines on developers who violate the law. Thorough documentation makes the case straightforward.

Disputing the Charge With Your U.S. Credit Card Issuer

If you paid with a U.S. credit card and the refund never materializes, the Fair Credit Billing Act gives you a parallel route. You can dispute a billing error in writing within 60 days of the statement date that first showed the charge, identifying your account, describing the error, and explaining why the charge is wrong.⁷ The issuer must acknowledge within 30 days and resolve within two billing cycles, up to 90 days. During the investigation, the issuer cannot try to collect the disputed amount or report it delinquent. The 60-day clock starts when the charge first appears, not when you notice the problem, so move quickly.

If the Five Days Have Already Passed

Once the window closes, the contract is legally binding and there is no automatic right to cancel. The remaining options are slower and none are guaranteed.

You can ask Vidanta directly for a release. Some owners have negotiated partial exits in cases of documented medical or financial hardship, though the company is not required to agree and more often pushes an upgrade or trade-in. Putting the request in writing to member services at least creates a record.

A lawyer experienced in Mexican consumer law may be able to challenge the contract if the sales team made material misrepresentations, such as guaranteeing rental income, promising exchange availability that doesn’t exist, or misrepresenting maintenance fee increases. Fraudulent inducement can void a contract under Mexican civil law, but this route requires representation in Mexico and is neither fast nor cheap.

Resale is largely a dead end. Vidanta memberships are right-to-use contracts rather than deeded real estate, so there is no title to transfer, and most listings attract no buyers even at steep discounts. Renting out your allotted weeks can offset maintenance fees, but Vidanta’s policies restrict how and where you can list. Donating or gifting the contract also requires Vidanta’s approval, which it rarely grants.

Watch Out for Timeshare Exit Scams

An industry of fraudulent “exit companies” targets owners who feel trapped. The FTC warns that scammers use public records to find timeshare owners and then cold-call or email with promises to get them out. The warning signs are consistent:⁸

They contacted you first
They guarantee they can cancel your contract
They demand thousands of dollars upfront
They tell you to stop paying maintenance or mortgage fees, which wrecks your credit without actually canceling anything

The U.S. Treasury Department has identified Mexico-based call centers, some with cartel connections, running these schemes against American timeshare owners. If you consider hiring help, research the company carefully and get every promise in writing. Everything above, from writing the letter to filing with PROFECO, you can do yourself for the cost of postage and about an hour of your time.

1
Cámara de Diputados. Ley Federal de Proteccion al Consumidor – LFPC Ref29
2
Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor. Consumer Information on Vacation Ownership in Mexico
3
Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor. Federal Consumer Protection Law
4
Banco de México. 2026 Bank Holidays
5
Consulate General of Mexico in New York. Timeshare Information
6
Consulado General de México en Montreal. Consumer Protection
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 – 1666
8
Federal Trade Commission. Timeshares, Vacation Clubs, and Related Scams