Gouged by ATM in Cozumel!

[underthedeepblue]

Just back from Cozumel where I stayed in a hotel on 6th Street and used the ATM on the street corner three timess to withdraw $200 (twice) and $300 (once)

Imagine my surprise when I return home and aside from the 3% Citibank fee - my bank - which I expected - the local ATM has gouged me ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY DOLLARS in fees!

Called my bank - absolutely nothing they can do. Is this good for tourism?

Why don't the powers-that-be in Coz clamp down on this daylight robbery cos it's a joke.

How can one differentiate between OK ATMs and the Daylight Robbery ATMs?

Anyone else had any experiences like this?

There was nothing on the instructions or the booth that indicated such a huge fee.

 

[DandyDon]

No way, some mistake there. Not true. You need more answers...!!

 

[underthedeepblue]

It is true! IT HAPPENED.

both times I asked for $200 I got exactly that in cash and my online account showed a withdrawal of $240

When I withdrew $300 from same ATM I got exactly that amount and my online account showed a deduction of $350 approx

Citibank has confirmed this by phone though they can't do anything - or won't. They suggested it is a privately owned ATM charging exorbitant fees on Cozumel.

I don't have my account open in front of me online at this second but I do have the name of the ATM company obviously as it is listed in my transactions so I'll take it up with them. I am going to be persistent about it because that fee is ridiculous.

 

[DandyDon]

Nah, I think the fees there are like 50c. Your bank will charge you 3% conversion plus a less than market rate exchange, but nothing like that. There is a mistake somewhere. Keep digging and dispute the charges with someone higher up at your bank.

 

[BTravlin]

Never had that kind of problem with ATM's owned by the main banks like Santander, Scotia or HSBC. Must be a private ATM for that kind of crap. The big banks just charge usually about $8 Pesos as a service fee and they ask you up front to okay that before proceeding with the transaction. Did this ATM ask you to authorize any service fees?

 

[Craig66]

I have always been suspicious of those ATM's that stand forlorn and alone on a street corner or in a hotel lobby somewhere - this is true both in Coz and state side. I have withdrawn multiple times from the bank owned machines at the Mega and have never had an issue. I agree with BTravlin and is possible that without knowing you agreed to something that allowed this huge surcharge. As DD suggested you should dig deeper but it might come down to a Live-and-learn experience - sorry

Craig

 

[scubafanatic]

If you're cheated in a foreign country, I doubt you can do anything about it, consumer protection laws we take for granted in the US usually don't apply overseas. I'm kinda old fashioned and never use ATM's for cash, I just pre pay as much as I can of my trip expenses before I even leave home, and bring as much cash as I'll be needing for tips, and other assorted small incidental expenses. I'm just trying to reduce my exposure to fraud (ATM's are famous for criminals installing secret electronic devices on them to steal your data) plus the poor currency exchange rates, and the 3% conversion fees, etc.

 

[deeper thoughts]

yikes.

 

[judydivescoz]

Did you withdraw dollars? That is never a good idea. Dollars are much more expensive to get than pesos. You pay twice for the exchange fee, pesos to dollars locally then pesos to dollars at your bank in the US. In any country, it is better to get the local currency from the ATMs. Its alway better to use a bank ATM. We use the Santander ATM on 10. With our Bank of America account the fees are waived.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

I personally have been ripped off for hundreds of dollars by the HSBC ATM in the Mega Store. After going through the info and PIN the ATM said "unable to dispense cash at this time".Then the same thing with the Scotia Bank ATM. When I reviewed my account one of those attempts charged my account three times for 3000 pesos, and once 2 times.

Wells Fargo says they cannot do anything about it--never will I again use any ATM in Cozumel, not even the "safe" ones.


In Cozumel it is much safer to bring a lot of cash with you, much less likely to be ripped off.


This ought to be big news.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers