ATTENTION UW PHOTOGRAPHERS:

[Ministryofgiraffes]

Oh FFS Mike... it a catch of a quote where one thing is clearly fraud and the other thing is clearly not fraud.

Are you honestly saying you were confused about which aspect was being referenced....

Ok. Let’s put this to bed once and for all....for clarity:

Mike...and everyone. Can we please just confirm that getting pissed off with a ridiculous cashgrab by Mexican immigration is no reason. To commit credit card fraud in retaliation . And to be clear. The ‘credit card fraud’ aspect is reporting your card stolen when it isn’t in fact stolen..it is not disputing a charge...because disputing a charge is a process and not lying, it is not fraudulent. The other is lying and is fraudulent.

 

[kelemvor]

I would suggest waiting until you are back outside the country and have little desire to go back if you go down this path.... wouldn't want to have problems going in the other direction.



If the customs agent is misinterpreting the law it is hardly unethical to seek a refund. Whether through the CC company is the right path (or an effective path) is not clear - but they are the most direct path. Finding an appropriate reason code may be tough but the the CC claims reps can be pretty helpful when it's obvious you've been screwed. You might be able to make a roundabout argument that paying duty you don't actually owe is a counterfeit service...? Don't lie to the CC company - but there is certainly room for some creative reasoning...

(Also, it's then typically up to the merchant to justify the charge - I suspect that Mexican gov't might prefer to just let those ones slide rather than justify their questionable interpretation of their own laws. At the very least they might have to come up with their own creative reasoning....)

You missed it, another poster blatantly suggested fraud: ATTENTION UW PHOTOGRAPHERS:

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

People can contest all they want. It won't work as you did approve the payment at the time. Your CC company will direct you to the courts to settle this matter. Mexican courts. Good luck with that.

 

[Mike Walker]

Oh FFS Mike... it a catch of a quote where one thing is clearly fraud and the other thing is clearly not fraud.

Ok, I think we're in agreement here on the issue - but differ on the meaning of quote structure in forum posts.... I've looked back through - I stand by my choices

You missed it, another poster blatantly suggested fraud: ATTENTION UW PHOTOGRAPHERS:

No, he suggested both - and that's why I cropped it the way I did.

People can contest all they want. It won't work as you did approve the payment at the time.

It's probably not a great 'Plan A' but the couple times I've had to file a chargeback the CC company was very (overly) helpful in finding a reason that worked within their system. If the charge is high enough it might actually be worth a try. (My 2 experiences were straight up counterfeit goods)

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

Agreed, I don’t selectively edit quotes other than shortening them., so I did not remove the aspect that confused you.

 

[Lorenzoid]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Thread moved to Mexico forum

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[btscott]

Back to the topic at hand...

I was invited on a trip to Cabo Pulmo early next year and was going to put it together with Socorro. Not going to happen now. Will not dive in Mexico until this is resolved. Is there a tax for taking photos of hills, food or anything else above water. Why is underwater any different other than it requires a housing.

Plenty of places to dive. Off the list...

 

[HalcyonDaze]

To be fair, I and some of my customers have been getting hassled coming back into Seattle by US agents when we carry a lot of gear. They claim it should all be registered before we leave the US. That doesn't work for me as I carry different gear and setups on almost every trip, as I am testing and trying out new gear and ideas. I would strongly suggest taking a copy of your invoices along with you to prove it was purchased in the US. We are happy to provide .pdfs of any purchase from Optical Ocean Sales to our customers so you can have it on your phone.

I only had that happen to me once coming back from Roatan to Miami, and I felt like I just made the mistake of getting in line with the guy who was really out to earn his donut for the day - I could tell he was giving everyone ahead of me a hard time as well. There I was bearded, dressed in fishing clothes, tired, disheveled, bent over with a mesh backpack of dive gear and a laptop case strapped to me, and towing a couple Pelican cases (as FNG, I wound up carrying all the company camera gear). Got taken into the back room and the guy was pretty disappointed the case had a Gates housing, camcorder, and some other miscellaneous stuff in it rather than ten kilos of White Lady or a cartel payoff. Wound up getting the spiel about invoices but was let go to no ill effect but ribbing from the others.

 

[Mike Walker]

I got the same 'service' in Miami coming back from Grenada. Had regular luggage and only a wet suit; still flagged for some unknown reason. Wasn't in the room with the rubber gloves but I was outside the room with the rubber gloves....

Ever since I've got my Nexus/Global Entry things have been much easier. Much, much easier.
Before that I learned that in the mind of CBSA the only thing that could possibly be carried in a Pelican is a firearm and got flagged every single time.
Now I just walk through.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Before that I learned that in the mind of CBSA the only thing that could possibly be carried in a Pelican is a firearm and got flagged every single time.

I traveled with firearms a lot, they never gave them a second look. They seem more worried about my bags of candy than my pistols.