BajaNomad - Bancomer can go to hell!

Bancomer can go to hell!

Howard - 3-14-2017 at 05:15 PM

Those “thieves” at Bancomer are at it again. I am telling my story so others can be aware of the unscrupulous business ethics.
In November of 2014 I opened a peso account in Loreto and received an ATM card. Orlando (a really nice guy who happened to speak English) told me that I had to carry a 4,000 peso balance to avoid any monthly service charges. I even wrote that information on the check book that I eventually received and verified it with him once again, 4,000 pesos. I opened it with 4,000 pesos and never let it get below that figure. I treated it sort of like a savings account if I ever needed it if my USA bank ATM card didn’t work.
Well, don’t you love it, I went to use the Bancomer ATM card today and it got swallowed up as soon as I inserted it in the machine.
Went to the bank, waited over an hour and was told that the account was closed for having no more funds. It turned out that the new rules are 12,000 pesos and they have been deducted the monthly fee until there was no more money. They would not budge and of course the person I opened it up with is no longer there. So, I lost my 4,000 pesos. It’s not going to ruin my life but it does tick me off and part of it is the principal of the thing.
The moral of the story, I guess I should have been checking my balance every now and then and not to deal with a bank that changes the rules mid-stream. It’s their rules so I just might have to just suck it up and pass this warning along.

[Edited on 3-15-2017 by Howard]

DENNIS - 3-14-2017 at 05:27 PM

Warning appreciated.

Mula - 3-14-2017 at 06:19 PM

Same thing happened to me with Bancomer - Loreto 11 years ago with $300. Changed the rules . . . ate it up in bank fees. Never Again!
. . . Oh, wait - never say never. . . .

aguachico - 3-14-2017 at 07:03 PM

thanks for the info

[Edited on 3-15-2017 by aguachico]

chuckie - 3-14-2017 at 07:16 PM

Me too...Never had a Mexican bank account gain..

BajaBlanca - 3-14-2017 at 07:58 PM

such a rip off !

:fire:

Les says the same thing happened to him BUT (and talk about putting salt on the wound) he had to PAY MORE to cancel the account.

Good grief.

rhintransit - 3-15-2017 at 08:39 AM

So sorry to hear, Howard. Unfortunately a pretty common story and why I've never opened an account anywhere in Mexico in my many years here. ATMs are fairly reliable, I've only had no cash spit out once in over twenty years all told, this in the past month at A Banamex in La Paz. Azteca, our new bank in town, hasn't gotten high reviews as far as ATMs, and I've not heard of anyone trying to open an account there.
ATMs or Wells Fargo Express Send keep me in zapatos and tacos...

Yes, banks change rules. My friendly little Credit Union is now charging me foreign money fees for ATM withdrawals, on top of the machine use charge. No notice, either. But they do speak English

so I can complain at will.

Bob and Susan - 3-15-2017 at 10:44 AM

I checked with bancomer today...I have a peso account

$8000pesos is the min

its been that number for about 3 years

if howard lost 4000pesos he hadn't checked the account for years
if you do that in the usa the govt takes the money for non-activity

BajaMama - 3-15-2017 at 10:48 AM

Cash is king in Mexico - I don't trust the banks or the ATMs. Yes, I pay $7.50 for the shipping charge from my bank and the exchange rate is a tiny bit lower than market, but that is still a lot less to lose than if I lose it to fees, etc.

MitchMan - 3-15-2017 at 11:43 AM

Yes, Bancomer should go straight to hell.

My experience with them is that their lead personnel are nice, but not very knowledgeable. Their lack of knowledge doesn't seem to bother them at all. They make no effort to be current, and, for a bank, that is approaching criminal.

When you open an account, they do not tell you about all the "gotchas" and what is worse, about every few months, they come up with more gotchas on the fly.

If you get preliminary checks that do not have your name on them, but they do have the micr code, Bancomer banks in other cities outside of the one at which you originally opened the account, will not take the checks. They will close your account if there is no activity for a couple of months. They will not clear checks and will refuse to pay on checks that are above the average check amount established in the past few months, and the above average check amount doesn't have to be that much higher than the average.

There are all kinds of stupid things like that. Not worth it.

Professional standards in Baja for all professionals and for government agency personnel are very low. I can tell you that if my Mexican lawyers, real estate agents, accountants (including CPA's) and contractors were in the USA, they would all have lost their licenses at the very least, have been fired, or subject to criminal charges for being grossly negligent and incompetent.

The one very peculiar thing about the Mexican so-called professionals is that their lack of knowledge, lack of curiosity in their own profession's updates, lack of proactivity, and lack of overall performance doesn't bother them in the least, personally. From my point of view, I consider that trait immoral.

One thing that I do now, is not pay for anything in advance, make them sign an agreement that I draft with well defined expected results, specify clearly their liabilities and responsibilities, specified milestones and dead lines with penalties, or I move on...no exceptions.

[Edited on 3-15-2017 by MitchMan]

MitchMan - 3-15-2017 at 11:50 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Bob and Susan

I checked with bancomer today...I have a peso account

$8000pesos is the min

its been that number for about 3 years

if howard lost 4000pesos he hadn't checked the account for years
if you do that in the usa the govt takes the money for non-activity

In the USA, unclaimed property escheats to the state after 7 years. Annual information returns are required by companies that have unclaimed property. The companies have to do good faith efforts to locate you if they have your funds or value. After it escheats and is paid to the state, you can always go to the state to retrieve your funds/value. No 'statute of limitations' on that.

Bob and Susan - 3-15-2017 at 12:34 PM

actually its 3-5 years in the usa...

then... the bank ONLY has to send a letter

then...the state takes the money and the bank account is drained

Barry A. - 3-15-2017 at 02:09 PM

Something similar can happen with Mutual Fund accounts in the USA, also. If you don't initiate any owner-activity within your Mutual Fund acct. (withdrawals or deposits) for several years, they can, and will turn over all the assets to the State where you live as an "account abandoned" situation. They do send you a letter to this affect ( I just got one from Gabelli Mutual Funds), but if you miss it, or ignore it----your assets could be gone to the State and the account closed----poof! We are talking thousands of dollars--------poof, gone!!! It pays to move money around from time to time lest you end up very discouraged and poorer. Getting it back from the State is possible, of course, but a huge hassle, I hear. Beware!!!

Hook - 3-15-2017 at 03:52 PM

The only reason to have any dealings with Bancomer is because you are forced to. It applies to insurance, trusts and banking.

We've given up our Mex bank accounts. Just too many rule changes that lead to fees.

norte - 3-15-2017 at 04:52 PM

I can't believe how many of you guys don't pay attention to your bank accounts. hat is the real problem. why get mad at the bank for your inattention to your own money.

surabi - 3-15-2017 at 11:06 PM

I've had a Bancomer account for about 10 years, and while they did change the minimum balance without notice several years ago, I was only dinged for 1 month's service charge because I actually PAY ATTENTION. Other than that, I've had no problems with them. and their "Libreton" account is still a 4000 peso minimum.

pacificobob - 3-16-2017 at 07:35 AM

i have several bancomer accounts. i don't have a problem understanding how it works. i do understand it is not identical to my banks in the US. like lencho stated, its not kansas.

chuckie - 3-16-2017 at 07:39 AM

We don't have Banks in Kansas, Jesse James done held em all up...

Terry28 - 3-16-2017 at 10:04 AM

Here is my experience. I have had a Bancomer account for 20 years in Rosarito...hardly ever used it. Maybe once every 2-3 years. I went to the Bank in Rosarito last week to close our account as we now have permanent residency and no longer need it...Our account was locked due to inactivity....if your account is not used for 3 months or more they lock it for your protection. I saw a bank exec., got it unlocked and closed it. It held all of $240 USD. It had been unused for 3 years....not closed, money not confiscated and no extra charges....All in all a pleasant experience.....

aguachico - 3-16-2017 at 04:18 PM

My account is good. It's a 10-20k emergency fund. Pulled 5k out last fall. 10k is still there. I got hit by banamex. I watched a guy curse their entire staff when banamex raised the minimum and decimated the accounts with fees.

aguachico - 3-17-2017 at 05:54 AM

Quote: Originally posted by lencho

Quote: Originally posted by aguachico

I watched a guy curse their entire staff when banamex raised the minimum and decimated the accounts with fees.

And what was the end result of that outburst? Was he Mexican?

Yes he was Mexican. The employees, hidden behind their bullet proof glass, just put on their "me vale madre" face. This tactic is not uncommon. I have heard other poor people mention the same thing. Imagine the profit a bank can make with a little data mining.

Pescador - 3-17-2017 at 10:29 AM

I hear a lot of rhetoric about Mexicans that immigrate to the US and then do not seem to 'Assimilate" to becoming American. I am sure that never happens with Americans moving to Mexico and "Assimilating".

chuckie - 3-17-2017 at 11:26 AM

You might be missing the point, Admiral....???

redmesa - 3-17-2017 at 11:52 AM

This is true. Bancomer took 5000 pesos from my account over a 6 month period when unknown to me they changed the rules (they said I should have known) I no longer would put any money in that bank.

pacificobob - 3-17-2017 at 12:09 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Pescador

I hear a lot of rhetoric about Mexicans that immigrate to the US and then do not seem to 'Assimilate" to becoming American. I am sure that never happens with Americans moving to Mexico and "Assimilating".

BINGO!

JZ - 3-17-2017 at 07:54 PM

Crying about losing $200 when not checking the account for a long stretch of period? Get out of here with that silliness.

elfbrewery - 3-17-2017 at 08:42 PM

This kind of thing happened to us in Spain when we bought a house in 1995. We needed an account to make the deal and we left some money in it to keep it alive, but less than one year later it was gone due to fees and they wanted us to pay the residual. Good grief. Remember, BBVA and Santander are European banks and the others may well be, too.
Life is always interesting.

pacificobob - 3-18-2017 at 11:21 AM

one should avoid financial activities the do not understand.

Gulliver - 3-18-2017 at 04:42 PM

O.K. Here's the latest from those stinking crooks at Bancomer here in Mulege.

Two days ago I went to use the ATM and my card was refused by the machine. The entire event was witnessed by the bank employee who hangs out near the machine to help with issues. When I got home later I found that my account in the states had been charged for the amount. I went back to the bank and had them look at their online record and it showed that there had been no charge to my U.S. bank. I went back to the house and called my bank and they are having me submit a form requesting a refund.

Today my partner tried the machine and her card was refused. On checking her bank not only had she been charged but it had been taken from the savings account instead of the checking account as requested at the machine.

It's Saturday and Bancomer is closed. We will submit another form to our bank.

I will be driving to Santa Rosalia to use a machine at some other institution.

As far as I can tell Bancomer is guilty of theft.

[Edited on 3-18-2017 by Gulliver]

chuckie - 3-18-2017 at 05:00 PM

Yup, it gets pretty frustrating, I have had similar problems in Mulege, and getting the "Mexican Shrug" when you attempt to deal with the bank employees is not helpful...I honestly don't think they have a clue as to what to do when stuff like that happens...

Gulliver - 3-18-2017 at 05:12 PM

Mulege is so small that there is only the one bank. It's the better part of an hour to get to any alternative ATM machine. I'll ride my bike to keep the gas costs down but with a typical limit of 6-7000 pesos per withdrawal and sometimes a significant delay between allowed withdrawals this will start to significantly impact how much we spend here.

I don't know about other towns but the gringos here amount to a very significant part of the cash flow. Not just store purchases but hired labor and car repairs and all of that. Having bank troubles is just one more nail in the coffin after all the publicity about crime

Lack of competition. Same old, same old.

chuckie - 3-18-2017 at 05:15 PM

One of the many reasons I wont be coming back...

chuckie - 3-18-2017 at 09:40 PM

Dang Russians!

Gulliver - 3-18-2017 at 09:56 PM

What I mean my refused is that I got as far as entering my pin and specifying the amount. Then it spit out my card and said that it had been refused by my bank.

Not only has the money been taken out of my account in the states, the amount taken is the amount I specified at the ATM.

I doubt that the local staff is at fault but I have little problem suspecting that there is a glitch that is making money for Bancomer and they are in no hurry to deal with it.

A: I'll start riding to Santa Rosalia to do business at another institution.
B: If I don't get my money back I will spend a fair amount of energy bad mouthing Bancomer by simply telling the truth. I did nothing wrong. They took my money.

mtgoat666 - 3-19-2017 at 07:23 AM

Carry cash! Skip the hassle of ATM cards.

Back in the days travelers checks worked. Maybe time to bo back to the old ways, eh?

Gulliver - 3-19-2017 at 10:07 AM

I would love to carry cash but I live in Mulege for six months at a time and I would have to tow an extra trailer for the wad of pesos that would mean. Not to mention cleaning out all of the cambios in Tecate in November.

It may come to that. Of course crossing borders with more than a couple of quarters in your pocket is now illegal these days.

JoeJustJoe - 3-19-2017 at 10:10 AM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ

Crying about losing $200 when not checking the account for a long stretch of period? Get out of here with that silliness.

This is about the only post here that makes any sense.

Well it's true most banks including banks in the US don't treat their customers with small amounts in their accounts very well, it's still the job of the customer to monitor your monthly statements at the very least, and if you have substantial money in your account you should monitor it more closely.

This appears to be a case of someone just parking the bare minimum in case they might need the bank account in the future, which is costly to the banks to service nearly dead account with a few dollars or pesos in the accounts.

Changes to bank accounts, and credit cards happen all the time, but the notice is usually in the bank statement in very small print, warning you of upcoming changes, while allows you to pull your money, and if you miss the notice, you should notice something when you are reviewing your monthly statement.

Crying? Read the bold! Just pasing it on.

Howard - 3-19-2017 at 10:53 AM

Those “thieves” at Bancomer are at it again. I am telling my story so others can be aware of the unscrupulous business ethics.
In November of 2014 I opened a peso account in Loreto and received an ATM card. Orlando (a really nice guy who happened to speak English) told me that I had to carry a 4,000 peso balance to avoid any monthly service charges. I even wrote that information on the check book that I eventually received and verified it with him once again, 4,000 pesos. I opened it with 4,000 pesos and never let it get below that figure. I treated it sort of like a savings account if I ever needed it if my USA bank ATM card didn’t work.
Well, don’t you love it, I went to use the Bancomer ATM card today and it got swallowed up as soon as I inserted it in the machine.
Went to the bank, waited over an hour and was told that the account was closed for having no more funds. It turned out that the new rules are 12,000 pesos and they have been deducted the monthly fee until there was no more money. They would not budge and of course the person I opened it up with is no longer there. So, I lost my 4,000 pesos. It’s not going to ruin my life but it does tick me off and part of it is the principal of the thing.
The moral of the story, I guess I should have been checking my balance every now and then and not to deal with a bank that changes the rules mid-stream. It’s their rules so I just might have to just suck it up and pass this warning along.

RnR - 3-19-2017 at 12:42 PM

While it is fun to bash Bancomer, (and most other large banks), they are usually highly regulated and must follow certain rules.

Here is a document that explicitly details all of Bancomer's fees and tariffs for all of their products:

Bancomer's Account Guidelines

The information for savings accounts are on pages 3 and 4.

In summary, there are eight different types of bank accounts. Some with checking and some without. Details vary.

Reqd deposit to open - Varies from $0 to $20,000 pesos.
Monthly minimums - Varies from $0 to $12,000 pesos.
Monthly penalties - Varies from $0 to 390 pesos.
Monthly fees - Varies from $0 to $270 pesos.

You need to select the account that best fits your situation and understand the requirements that go along with it.

I have had a Bancomer Libreton account for almost twenty years. Paid a few monthly penalties over the years but have had no really unexpected issues.

Bancomer's fees have always matched their published Account Guidelines. It is all there in writing on page 3 and 4 of the above referenced document.

bajabuddha - 3-19-2017 at 03:03 PM

It's not just Bancomer or Mexican banks.... one must keep up with the bovine feces in U.S. banking as well. You can't turn your back for a minute on the shysters. Used-to-was, unless buying a house you could take out a simple interest loan for X amount, and the principal and interest were constant. Now any loan is amortized, making it extremely difficult to pay off early as well as funding ALL the bank's major profits up front. Also savings was a few points below loan value so you could actually accrue money on your money; not much, but better than one-hundredth of one percent like today. This rings true for unregulated banking which damned near destroyed our economy under Dubya's watch, and that now is being de-regulated right under our collective noses.

I will not leave any money in my bank to pay for the CEO's luxury get-away condo in Cabo. I keep up on the 'rules' they set to keep free checking, online banking, and when my balance gets above a certain (very low) point I withdraw and put in a safety deposit box, so all they get from me is about $2 per month worth of fees, period.

Banks, like insurance companies are not built on benevolence. To take one for granted is folly. Organized Crime syndicates made a fortune on shylocking loans at exorbitant rates and charging a 'Vig' on late payments. Banks are no different to me; they just have to keep it at a lower key.

Gulliver - 3-19-2017 at 03:40 PM

And what all this has to do with them taking money out of my U.S. bank account without giving me any cash here in Mulege is a mystery.

All pretty much a set of fairy tales as far as I can see.

Pescador - 3-19-2017 at 07:08 PM

Well Gulliver, I am sorry you are having difficulties. I have lived here full time for 10 years or so, Maintain an account with Bancomer, and do not try to do the ATM thingy. When I need pesos, I go to the bank, give them my card, whether Mulege or Santa Rosalia, they give me the pesos, and we have a great relationship. I can check my balances on the internet, pay some bills directly on the internet through my banking account, Pay for gas, groceries, and other purchases with my debit card, and wire money from my US account when things get low.

wiltonh - 3-19-2017 at 07:25 PM

We have had issues with several banks in the states so I went looking for a solution that does not require me to check each bank account every few weeks.

I ended up with a service that monitors all my accounts and sends me an email if the bank charges me a fee. They also allow you to do budgets and other things. You give them access to read your accounts but they do not have the ability to change the accounts. The company web site is as follows: www.mint.com

They are now owned by Intuit. I have caught several unknown or unplanned fees this way and the bank often seems surprised that they got caught so soon.

Gulliver - 3-19-2017 at 11:18 PM

I've been assuming that using an ATM would be the simplest thing for us given that we are here for only half of the year.

I don't remember the details now but we ran into some problem when we talked with Bancomer about opening an account. Seemed like they thought we were moving drug money around or some such.

We'll give this some further thought. Of course now that the skid in the dollar/peso exchange rate is going the other way I'm not excited about leaving money in pesos. In two months the amount I've had to pay for 6000p has gone from $280 to $316. Significant.

RnR - 3-20-2017 at 07:50 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Gulliver

Of course now that the skid in the dollar/peso exchange rate is going the other way I'm not excited about leaving money in pesos. In two months the amount I've had to pay for 6000p has gone from $280 to $316. Significant.

Actually, this is the time to leave your money in pesos. You are making money when the dollar falls against the peso.

But, you have to convert the pesos back to dollars to realize the gain.

Using your numbers -

Two months ago it cost you $280 USD to buy 6,000 pesos.

Change that same 6,000 pesos back to dollars today and you now receive $316 USD.

That is a gain of 13% in only two months. Or an annualized return of 78%.

Of course, there are some conversion fees going in both directions but that is offset some by the interest earned while the money is in the Mexican bank account.

That being said, I am not planning on investing in Mexican currency. But, a falling dollar is not an issue IF your money is already in Mexico.

Language

yumawill - 3-20-2017 at 09:24 AM

There is no sense of "Wonderment" in the Spanish language. Like "I wonder if?"It just doesn't exist. But "Entitlement", Oh yea!

Gulliver - 3-20-2017 at 07:44 PM

Update:

Rode my bike to Santa Rosalia to try my luck at another town. No luck. The Banamex machine kicked my card back after accepting my PIN and withdrawal amount. The Bancomer machines across the street, all three of them, wouldn't even accept anyones card. Sigh. Ninety miles of hot road and no joy in mudville.

Anything official, like banks, was shut down for the holliday. I spaced out on that.

On arriving Back in Mulege after having a flat tire right in front of Cereso I found that my filing a dispute form with my credit union was effective. I now have my 300 bucks back from Bancomer.

Of course I have hardly any pesos so I'm keeping a low 'retail profile' until this all gets sorted out. Barbara will be back from her mule ride in a few days and will laugh at me and be full of ideas.

Gulliver - 3-24-2017 at 01:19 PM

Still no operating ATM in Mulege.

Besides being a pain, to say the least, this means that I'm not spending any money here. Do banks not care about the merchants here?

Kgryfon - 3-25-2017 at 12:05 AM

Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha

Used-to-was, unless buying a house you could take out a simple interest loan for X amount, and the principal and interest were constant. Now any loan is amortized, making it extremely difficult to pay off early as well as funding ALL the bank's major profits up front.

Everything you have said here about how loans work is wrong, and you have it exactly backwards. The division between principal and interest on a simple interest loan is never constant. The next month's interest is based on the lower principal amount that is determined after deducting the prior month's principal, so the interest portion goes down each month and the principal portion goes up each month. This is a fair way to calculate a repayment plan. It's calculated on actual days in the month between your payments, as well as the actual number of days in the year. Totally fair.

The other loan you mention, although not by name, is based on a principal called the "rule of 78s." You can look it up if you care to. Too complicated to explain here. This is the type of loan where the interest amount over the life of the loan is front-loaded, and is therefore a bad deal for the consumer if you pay the loan off early. Loans you get from car dealers may be calculated on this basis. I believe they are pretty much the only ones who still do loans like this, and for the most part they don't even do this type of loan anymore because people caught on to it.

Real estate loans used to use a 360 day year, rather than a 365 (or actual day) year, and a standard 30 day month to calculate the interest. This was also a rip-off to the customer and has gone pretty much to the wayside.

Pretty much, you want a simple interest loan, every time.

All loans are amortized so your use of the term is not appropriate in this context. Different loan types use different amortization methods. No loan is called an "amortization loan." It is in your best interest (see what I did there?) to learn the different amortization methods and make sure the loan you sign up for is the best one for you.

How do I know this? I've been a banker for 40 years. Before there were computers doing all these calculations, at one time I used to sit at a calculator with big ole account cards and hand calculate all the loan payments, distributions, etc. for every single loan held at the bank I worked for.

Furthermore, if you let money sit in an account for years and never checked your statements, well I guess you got what you deserved. It's not like they took all of your money in one day. You had plenty of time (years!) to see what was happening and take action. You wrote down what the guy said on your checkbook and thought that was good enough? No. When would that ever be enough, in any situation? If you had a copy of their own brochure that spelled out the conditions on your account at the time you opened it, ok, you *might* have a leg to stand on. But I could write down anything in the world on my checkbook and that doesn't make it true, or enforceable. And I'm sure that the changes to the rules of your account were sent to you in your statements. You just didn't bother to read them and now you are b-tching.

The ATM stuff you are dealing with is total BS, though. I'll give you that. But the rest is on you.

Having said all that, God, I will be glad to retire. I never wanted to be banker in the first place. I just wanted to wear nice clothes to work instead of a fast-food uniform and have weekends off. Oh, so close! Then it's off to Mexico! Counting down...

Barry A. - 3-25-2017 at 03:24 AM

Kgryfon----------Excellent!!! Many thanks for that great explanation, and here is hoping that your retirement comes very soon---------I, having been retired for 21 years, can vouch for it-------seldom a bad day in retirement. LOL

Gulliver - 3-25-2017 at 10:48 AM

Still no joy at the Mulege ATM. Not just me. Every Gringo I've met or talked to is having the same experience.

Barbara was in Loreto yesterday and the same situation seems to exist there. Also, there doesn't seem to be any tourist retail activity. This has got to be hitting the small businesses that sell to gringos hard.

Howard - 3-25-2017 at 11:38 AM

It's hit and miss in Loreto.

The ATM's at Lays are not reliable and same with the ATM at the Santa Fe hotel

Last week I did go to the ATM at the Bancomer and was able to w/d 10,000 pesos 2 times in a row. Didn't try for a 3rd time. Felt I was lucky so that's why I went for 2 large w/d. Now I don't have to worry about it for awhile.

There is a new bank in town and I will ask around about it.

Gulliver - 3-25-2017 at 01:45 PM

Appreciate it. It's a long ways to drive form Mulege but it will be interesting to see how this sorts itself out.

We are still able to get cash back at some grocery stores with a credit card but the overhead is significant.

Gulliver - 3-25-2017 at 04:10 PM

I am seeing stuff on Facebook that the problem is much wider. All the way from one end of the peninsula to the other the machines are not taking U.S. ATM cards.

The Mulege ATM takes credit cards. Much larger ATM fee and a fixed each time charge of $7.00 U.S. for each transaction as it shows up as a cash advance on the card account. And I need to go online and pay it off right away so I don't get nailed interest by the tooth fairies at VISA.

It would be interesting to find out what set this all off.

Bajaboy - 3-25-2017 at 08:03 PM

We had to cancel a four day mule trip to the cave paintings yesterday. Went to withdraw money from Vizcaino Bancomer with no luck. Drove up to GN and no luck. I feel bad for our guide who lost out on $9000 pesos of business. Headed back to San Diego instead of chilling in the canyon.

mtgoat666 - 3-25-2017 at 08:38 PM

The dollar is being devalued relative to the peso. Perhaps mex banks don't want to be holding USA dollars that are losing value.
I suspect with the trump admin imploding, USA stock market is about to tank, and dollar fall further, as investors bail on a USA economy about to be gridlocked by the implosion of an incompetent con man.

Also, there may be some banking shenanigans coming out of trump people, making dollar/peso exchange even more difficult.

The world and USA economy is about to be rocked by downfall of trump. There seems to be panic in washington D.C. as GOP4rs abandon manafort, Flynn, and the many others that were colluding with Russians... not sure if trump can escape this treasonous story.

LancairDriver - 3-25-2017 at 09:37 PM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666

The dollar is being devalued relative to the peso. Perhaps mex banks don't want to be holding USA dollars that are losing value.
I suspect with the trump admin imploding, USA stock market is about to tank, and dollar fall further, as investors bail on a USA economy about to be gridlocked by the implosion of an incompetent con man.

Also, there may be some banking shenanigans coming out of trump people, making dollar/peso exchange even more difficult.

The world and USA economy is about to be rocked by downfall of trump. There seems to be panic in washington D.C. as GOP4rs abandon manafort, Flynn, and the many others that were colluding with Russians... not sure if trump can escape this treasonous story.

Goat, since you're forecasting the market tanking, do you recommend shorting stocks and the dollar?

mtgoat666 - 3-25-2017 at 10:29 PM

Quote: Originally posted by LancairDriver

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666

Goat, since you're forecasting the market tanking, do you recommend shorting stocks and the dollar?

I never recommend market timing, currency speculation, or irrational betting like shorting. Stick to low cost index funds. rebalance on schedule, but also rebalance when things get crazy, like after irrational run ups like last few months, and after big dips like you'll see soon. I recently rebalanced, took advantage of profits gained last 6 months, and decreased stock funds, shifted a bit to bond funds, as it is apparent that market is a bit irrationally bullish on trump, and trump is an incompetent con man unlikely to accomplish his BS. Still 65% stocks, but not expecting under trump the great gains realized under Obama - wow, Obama years were great, weren't they?

Rossman - 3-26-2017 at 05:39 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Bajaboy

We had to cancel a four day mule trip to the cave paintings yesterday. Went to withdraw money from Vizcaino Bancomer with no luck. Drove up to GN and no luck. I feel bad for our guide who lost out on $9000 pesos of business. Headed back to San Diego instead of chilling in the canyon.

That is interesting. Yesterday was the first time in 5 attempts since the first of the tear that the Viz Bancomer would give me more than 1k pesos. Stopped at 9k but probably would give more. Wells Fargo debit.

Santiago - 3-26-2017 at 05:56 AM

I had no problema getting $7k NP at the BBVA ATM inside the San Yisidro crossing building next to the first bank window. Received at 18.73 after all fees.

chavycha - 3-27-2017 at 12:44 PM

Yeah, eff the Vizcaino Bancomer. No rhyme or reason on whether it will work with US cards. Worked for us once in late January (6k), then didn't in work at all the whole month of February (requiring two trips to Guerrero), despite trying both Wells Fargo and BofA cards.

Wasn't a money shortage as plenty of locals were getting cash as we were there. Oh well.

Gulliver - 3-27-2017 at 01:21 PM

Some bank bureaucrat has a bright idea and then is 'surprised' by the fallout and consequences.

Free enterprise is the best system around but it does need regulating. The larger retailers will feel this too and b-tch to their representative and suddenly it will all go away. Meanwhile the local rug seller goes hungry. The rolling merchants servicing the playas aren't making enough to pay for the gas. Consequences.

Gulliver - 3-27-2017 at 02:44 PM

I'm as paranoid as anyone and that's one of the scenarios I've considered. Of course numero uno has been that it's is all directed at ME!

(Loud laughter from the distaff side.)

A conderation in my musings has been that we've had no problem getting cash back from local merchants on our regular credit card. Of course they charge 30p per 1000p and our bank nails us $7.00 each time. And we transfer funds to keep the card balance at zero within the hour. But it does stave off starvation and night sweats.

Kgryfon - 3-28-2017 at 10:02 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Barry A.

Kgryfon----------Excellent!!! Many thanks for that great explanation, and here is hoping that your retirement comes very soon---------I, having been retired for 21 years, can vouch for it-------seldom a bad day in retirement. LOL

Thanks, Barry! I'm hoping the same, and am glad you are enjoying yours!