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Fraud at Bancomer


Taaffe

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Floridude - We've had an account with Multiva for over five years and have never had any sort of problem.  We also have an account at Bancomer.  Multiva takes three weeks to process a check for deposit from the US, so we often deposit into Bancomer and four days later write a Bancomer check to deposit into Multiva.  A bit complicated, but works for us.  I really like the people who work at Multiva - same ones for over five years which says a lot.  I also like the the ATM which is away from traffic and more private than Bancomer.

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17 hours ago, gringal said:

I'd like to say that's a good idea because I'd like to see more fair treatment from our banks, BUT  I fear that the unintended consequence would just bolster the bad publicity the U.S. media likes to promulgate about Mexico in general.  Scare tactics, biased reporting of incidents, etc...........anything to discourage U. S. citizens from retiring (with their money) to Mexico.  Money is a big deal to potential retirees, since they know they won't be making more of it overseas and scaring them about the banking system  would be just one more detriment.  Just one opinion there......YMMV, as always.

There is truth in what you state, however, one cannot deny that some of these issues are real, and have extremely detrimental effects on the lives of those affected. Your absolutely right, " Money is a big deal to potential retirees, since they know they won't be making more of it...", and this is all the more reason to ensure that something be done to protect their hard earned money. The bad publicity may be a means to correct a bad situation, however unfortunately I don't think they care enough to even matter.

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But if the banking system is fraudulent...and it is, scaring potential retirees is a service.  Losing  money, and having no recourse with a favourable outcome? 

And as far as biased reporting goes...there is a lot more stuff, that goes on here than the expat population has any idea of. The above...case in point.

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3 hours ago, Saturn said:

But if the banking system is fraudulent...and it is, scaring potential retirees is a service.  Losing  money, and having no recourse with a favourable outcome? 

And as far as biased reporting goes...there is a lot more stuff, that goes on here than the expat population has any idea of. The above...case in point.

If people come here and are not cautious enough to even inquire about insurance on their account (none), then they probably aren't making well thought decisions about money in general.  I think threads like this one, recounting experiences, are a better way to let newbies know they need to "watch their assets" here....or stay in the states where they know what's what and can feel more secure.

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I called again today to the UNE department of Bancomer because they were supposed to send me an acknowedgement to my email describing the fraud.  The man I talked to said ¨mañana" I should get an answer acknowledging receipt.  

I also asked him why they wouldn´t tell me to whom my money went. Here is  the lie : he said they didn´t know, and when I told him that of course they know, he said he couldn´t tell me.  So it seems fishy to me that they won´t even tell me where they sent the money.  The employee at the local branch gave me a sheet with the transfer being made from the Ajijic branch to an individual account at Azteca Bank in Chapala with the last 4 digits and no name.

Could it be that someone at the local branch sent it to him or herself?  That´s why they won´t tell me who got my money?  It sounds crazy, but there seems to be a cover-up.

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I believe the difference is that in a poor country theft, robbery, etc. are taken as a given; one protects oneself and home and is aware of the dangers.  When the robbery is perpetrated by an institution, and one that is expected to be safe and honest and reliable, then the helplessness and impotence (especially if you don´t read and write and speak Spanish) is dumbfounding.

If you keep your money under the mattress, well, it´s your risk; if you carefully deposit in a bank, well....shouldn´t it be safe? I joke with my Mexican friends that I am now offically a Mexican, I have been robbed by an istitution, just like them with elections, pensions, police.......

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I was at Bancomer today - getting a copy of  my latest statement for immigration.  Unfortunately... despite giving my passport and my preferred customer card - when I looked at the documents they were from someone else's account.  And there it was in black and white ... all the personal financial details of someone named Jan.  The bank manager asked me to be sure it was not my account  (I already was as the name was different) but I obliged and read through the first few lines of her statement - the first being a Netflix charge - which I assured the bank was not mine as I don't have it deducted from my Mexico acct. 

Now I know Jan and Fran sound alike but honestly ... he never even looked - just printed it out and handed me her statement and it was up to me to spot the error.  VERY SCARY.  Tomorrow I will see about opening up a Santander Acct ... I no longer have any kind of faith in Bancomer.  This was way, way, too easy to get my hands on someone else's financial records.   So Jan, if you happen to get Fran's info next time you are at the bank ... let's swap.  I am assuming our account numbers are very, very similar baring one mistyped number or so.

 

 

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Her point was well taken, but "screwing up" is, sadly, not limited to Mexican banks.   If you haven't had a heart attack level scare in a banking situation in the U.S., then you're just plain lucky.  I'm speaking of things like getting ready to close an escrow on a house and finding that a "clerical error" has emptied your funds into someone else's account.  Granted, they did get it fixed, but..........OMG!!

If anyone is telling others that they should come on down because this is Paradise.......either (1) they haven't been here long or (2) they want to make their own move be the Right One.  I'm not counting plain old lying.  It can be a good place to live out your retirement years, but only if you are careful and don't expect miracles, like a totally honest bureaucracy, police force or general dealings with merchants.  Stuff happens.  Let's not pretend it doesn't.

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I had a withdrawal from my Santander account that was for "insurance" for which I never applied. This went on for 6 months even after I notified the local branch.   I wrote a letter to the bank and gave it to the customer rep as she instructed.  After two years, I've heard nothing and am still out my money.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update:

I finally got the answer to my complaint about the 24,700 peso unauthorized transfer (theft) and it was rejected because "only I have my username and password and only I am responsible for its use, therefore I am responsible for this money and not the bank."

 

I called the help line and asked them what I needed in order to transfer funds via the internet and she told me (I recorded the girl and got her name and number) that I had to go to my branch and get a token, which is like a pager, signed out by the employee to receive special security codes.  When I asked her if I could transfer money without this, she told me no that I couldn´t.  I never had this ¨token¨ and the bank knows it.  So next week I go to the agency that oversees banks, CONDUSEF, with all my documents to hand them in with my complaint. 

Bancomer has the most complaints for fraud on credit and debit cards and most of the time rejects the customer´s claims.  From my experience, their policy is to stonewall people until they give up.  The manager of the Ajijic branch is very nice, but isn´t able to do anything, although several people have withdrawn their money due to their lack of security or worse.....

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This happened two years ago.  I have a friend that lost over 90,000usd at Bancomer.  Hired a lawyer , & went to the proper agencies.

End result was that Bancomer fired the employee and it was my friends responsibility to prosecute & recover

Recently Banamex charged for car insurance and following month charged again.   Took 3 months and a lot of paper work and phone calls

before receiving money

I donnot know if the Account insurance in these banks cover fraud or the bank closing/not having funds. ???

 

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Shocking stories about Bancomer. I have an account at HSBC in San Antonio but usually keep less than 100,000 pesos there. Most of my money is in HSBC in Canada where it is secure. Occasionally I think about having more money in a Mexican bank but these reports here confirm I shouldn't. 

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The banks are included in the reforms Nieto announced his government would make. I applaud those reforms. They are desperately needed for Mexico's future growth and cannot come fast enough. Until the system changes, and then are well tested by time, DO NOT keep anything more than you are prepared to lose in Mexico. This posters story is a drop in the bucket and every bank has been affected, not just Bancomer.  Banamex- Citibank, Scotiabank etc etc have all been touched.

Google bank fraud in Mexico to find out more.

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On ‎14‎/‎03‎/‎2016 at 5:41 PM, Taaffe said:

I called again today to the UNE department of Bancomer because they were supposed to send me an acknowedgement to my email describing the fraud.  The man I talked to said ¨mañana" I should get an answer acknowledging receipt.  

I also asked him why they wouldn´t tell me to whom my money went. Here is  the lie : he said they didn´t know, and when I told him that of course they know, he said he couldn´t tell me.  So it seems fishy to me that they won´t even tell me where they sent the money.  The employee at the local branch gave me a sheet with the transfer being made from the Ajijic branch to an individual account at Azteca Bank in Chapala with the last 4 digits and no name.

Could it be that someone at the local branch sent it to him or herself?  That´s why they won´t tell me who got my money?  It sounds crazy, but there seems to be a cover-up.

Banco Azteco is not a reference of good standing, many people get frauded through their services.

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I keep two accounts at bancomer.  The larger account has no debit card so the only way I can get pesos out is to transfer them to the smaller account tied a debit card, and this I do when the amount of the smaller account get close to the minimum or If I intend to make an ATM withdrawal that would bring the account below the minimum.  Works for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I went to the federal banking oversight office this week to hand in my complaint about Bancomer.  The place was packed and during my hour´s wait to see someone I spoke to several lawyers who were there for their clients.  They told me that Bancomer has the most complaints against them for fraud and refusal to repay customers who were either hacked or robbed.  They said that the bank with the least complaints is HSBC.  I can´t verify this, just passing on what I heard.

They took my complaint (written in legalese and 15 pages long with copies of proof that I did not make the transfer) and they said they would contact me in about 2 months for a sit-down with Bancomer.  That ought to be fun.  I am not confident of getting my money back, but I also feel that it´s necessary to let Bancomer know that especially in Ajijic, where we are used to a better standard of ethics and service from our banks in the US, Canada, and Europe, that they should stop preying on us.

I´ll keep posting.

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Mexican Banks have very poor reputations, their employees are threatened by management to lie, bend the truth and sell investments and other financial products which they have little or no training for, they lie to customers regularly and many lose money.  Employees many times have little education.  We have had complaints from all major banks in the area, best way to not get scammed is to keep a small amount in, under $20,000 pesos. 

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1 hour ago, Intercasa said:

Mexican Banks have very poor reputations, their employees are threatened by management to lie, band the truth and sell investments and other financial products which they have little or no training for, they lie to customers regularly and many lose money.  Employees many times have little education.  

Sounds like BoA...,20000+ complaints in the last couple of years.

"BoA tops customer complaints",Huffington Post.

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Thx to Taaffe's post, we went down to Bancomer Ajijic to check our account. We found they had made unauthorized transfers and we immediately reported them and asked for our money back. BUT we have to wait 28 days for them to respond. We will pursue other options.

We would recommend every one with a Bancomer account go down to their branch and ask for a free report. Don't just trust the online info - ask for a free account report and check it.

We immediately transferred most of our money out of the account and are looking for a better bank. .

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