Bancolombia, is your money safe ??????

[mudd]

friends girlfriend just found out that $ 5000 was electronically taken from her account at bancolombia. of course the bank is saying she wired the money to a different account, which she does not have another account, and has not bought  anything that would even requite that amount of money. basically, the bank is saying, since you waited a month to notice it, its not our problem.

from what my friend says, the banks figure the Colombians will just accept it and not fight for it, but since she is dating a gringo, he is pretty pissed off that the bank is not doing anything about it. so when he gets back, he is going to go down there and demand they look into it, what account the money was wired into and so forth. will it help, who knows, but don't keep any sizeably amount in any bank in Colombia.

[Ray]

In most countries you can find Swiss, American, or Japanese banks and that's where I would recommend keeping your money.

[bigstew33]

Good idea Ray.  I don't remember seeing any American banks in Barranquilla.  Well I wasn't really looking either.  How about Bogota? 

[mudd]

i know citibank sems to be popping up everywhere in colombia, but somebody told me they are all locally owned, dont know if that is true.

[fathertime]

I am curious.  Is there an American bank in Cali?

Fathertime!

[Calipro]

friends girlfriend just found out that $ 5000 was electronically taken from her account at bancolombia. of course the bank is saying she wired the money to a different account, which she does not have another account, and has not bought  anything that would even requite that amount of money. basically, the bank is saying, since you waited a month to notice it, its not our problem.

from what my friend says, the banks figure the Colombians will just accept it and not fight for it, but since she is dating a gringo, he is pretty pissed off that the bank is not doing anything about it. so when he gets back, he is going to go down there and demand they look into it, what account the money was wired into and so forth. will it help, who knows, but don't keep any sizeably amount in any bank in Colombia.

Mudd

I have keep 20 grand in BanColombia for some time and never had a problem. It has been my experience that it's not all that easy to wire money from my own account at BanColombia let alone try and do it with someone else's. hehehe !!!

I'll bet a dollar and a donut that the guy finds out his girl took that money.

[bundy_138]

The only American bank I found in Cali is Citibank.  Your account is good here and there.  I saw a BancoPopular in Cali, bit they are not affiliated with the ones here in Florida.  Same sinage, same colors, same everything.....but not the same!? 

Bundy

[mudd]

(Mudd

I have keep 20 grand in BanColombia for some time and never had a problem. It has been my experience that it's not all that easy to wire money from my own account at BanColombia let alone try and do it with someone else's. hehehe !!!

I'll bet a dollar and a donut that the guy finds out his girl took that money)



well Wayne, it was her money and her bank account, not his, you owe me a buck and a donut, (chocolate with nuts please )ja ja ja  so i would think she would remember wiring $ 5000 out of her own account.  she is a pretty smart girl, not an airhead and comes for a good family, so my friend does not see why she would be dishonest about it. and the  bank still hasn't said to what or who's account the money went into.

[Calipro]

well Wayne, it was her money and her bank account, not his, you owe me a buck and a donut, (chocolate with nuts please )ja ja ja  so i would think she would remember wiring $ 5000 out of her own account.  she is a pretty smart girl, not an airhead and comes for a good family, so my friend does not see why she would be dishonest about it. and the  bank still hasn't said to what or who's account the money went into.

Well if that's the case I don't think there is much point in your friend going to the bank to demand answers.

If his name isn't on the account they aren't even going talk to him at all about the problem.

It is possible to transfer money from one BanColombia account to another BanColombia account without wiring the monies. You can do that at any BanColombia ATM.

I suggest that your friend go to this BanColombia webpage:

http://www.grupobancolombia.com/personal/trans/p-transseg.asp#

And click on the top option (Sucursal Virtual Personas)

Type in the number of her cedula and the four digit code she uses to withdraw money using her ATM card and it will pull up all of her transactions during the last month.

[mudd]

i will pass it on to them, but here is the  stupid part, she wasn't going to do anything about it, just accept it, thats when he got pissed, that the bank wasn't looking into it. so, hopefully with a pissed off gringo yelling at them, they actually might do something about it. we both know, if that happened up here, somebody would be going to jail and getting fired over it.

[JamesDonut]

i will pass it on to them, but here is the  stupid part, she wasn't going to do anything about it, just accept it

That's a major red flag right there, don't you think?  $5000 just don't disappear and people (sane people) don't write it off and decide it's bad luck.  Just my 2 cents.   

[soltero]

That's a major red flag right there, don't you think?  $5000 just don't disappear and people (sane people) don't write it off and decide it's bad luck.  Just my 2 cents.   

You would be surprised what Latins in South and Central America would "write off". "Si Dios Quiere" is a very popular phrase in Latin America.

[David]

You would be surprised what Latins in South and Central America would "write off". "Si Dios Quiere" is a very popular phrase in Latin America.

I guess I'm just going to have to be surprised. Even if you believe "Si Dio Quiere," if you don't have a voice going off in your head saying "someone else took it," then I would question being with that person. Basically if you don't take a look at all aspects, and just make an assumption, that person has poor judgement, religion or not.

[Ray]

mudd,

Why not suggest to your friend that he simply replace the missing five grand from his own funds. Isn't that what she is hinting at anyway? 

[mudd]

oh nooooooo, he would never do that, and she knows it. she has her own money, so does her family, she is very "book" smart, but street smart???  not much there. i think either she just didn't really care all that much, or she figured that whatever she did, wasn't going to get her money back.hell, i don't even know if she closed her account yet, i will have to ask.

[soltero]

I guess I'm just going to have to be surprised. Even if you believe "Si Dio Quiere," if you don't have a voice going off in your head saying "someone else took it," then I would question being with that person. Basically if you don't take a look at all aspects, and just make an assumption, that person has poor judgement, religion or not.

You do not live in a place where asking questions can get you killed (more often than not). I know mudd is very excited about his friend going down there and making some noise, but there IS a reason most Colombians don't react that way. The reason is that if you attract the attention of, or draw attention to the wrong person or people, you will die, and probably die as painfully as possible. If they can't get you, they will go after your family. The possibility of that being part of the scenario, especially when money is involved is not out of the question.

Not trying to scare anybody, but you really have to be realistic about all of this.

[mudd]

i have seen Colombians order things, furnature, appliances, cars, ect, ask for a specific style or color, but when its delivered, its not even close to what they ordered or wanted, but 80% of the time, they just accept it and take it. why, i have no firkin idea, because you  know Americans sure wouldn't.  one told me, " well, its better than nothing, and i will have to wait another 3 months to get it straightened out, so just take it"   oh well!!!!!!