Why I don't rely on people

jackquontee

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May 20, 2005
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I've recently purchased a home in POP. What I am interested in is a company that can pay my bills in my absence, i.e. utilities, night watchman, etc. I am not interested in Property Management as I am not interested in renting my home. I am aware of Amber Guardian in Sosua. However, is there not a similar company available in POP?

And, though I might get some offers from individuals, and I appreciate it, I'd rather work with a company to whom I can provide a credit card. Dealing with people is why I'm in the mess I'm in now. Thanks in advance.
 

Mirador

On Permanent Vacation!
Apr 15, 2004
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jackquontee said:
I've recently purchased a home in POP. What I am interested in is a company that can pay my bills in my absence, i.e. utilities, night watchman, etc. I am not interested in Property Management as I am not interested in renting my home. I am aware of Amber Guardian in Sosua. However, is there not a similar company available in POP?

And, though I might get some offers from individuals, and I appreciate it, I'd rather work with a company to whom I can provide a credit card. Dealing with people is why I'm in the mess I'm in now. Thanks in advance.


Welcome to the club! you love mankind, it's people you hate ;-)

Check with a bank, I'm sure many can provide this service.


-
 

RP23

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Jul 15, 2005
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Jackquontee I really feel sorry for you. I hope your mess clears out and everything goes well. Good Luck!
 

jackquontee

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Mirador, no I don't hate people. I might not particularly like what they do, but you've really got to give me a damned good reason to hate you.

Thanks for the tip on the banks; another option I'll look into.

RP23, thanks for the empathy. I'm sure things will work out. I'm just a bit upset with myself for not having dealt with it personally as I had originally intended to. No problem.
 

carina

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Mar 13, 2005
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I think you shall do as you thought of, contact the company you found and see what they are and what they offer.
Your bank only pays the invoices such as phone, electricity etc and that you can do online anyway. They are not going to hand over money to the guard, cleaning lady etc.

Don?t rely on the neighbor.. they come and go... as you noticed..:)
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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yahoomail.com
I Provide Those Kind Of "Services" For An American Who

Owns property,and has bills to pay here in Santo Domingo.He gives me signed blank checks,I cash them as needed,and pay what is due.He tried having "Dominican Family" do the same.Checks got cashed,Beer got drunk,bills NEVER got paid!:bandit: :bandit: :bandit:
You need someone like ME!
"Oh,did I mention that we met in highschool 45 years ago? Or that we have been "Best Friends" eversince??..That helps!!!!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
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now if I can use your beautiful house for my weekend adventures, maybe I can be your best friend too and provide you with Cc's services. But you don't know me so too bad for both of us.
Good luck.
AZB
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
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Apart from joke, jack I have met you and i think you have a good head on your shoulders. If I had lived in the north coast, I would help you out without any benefit to me. But if you need any help in santiago, feel free to call on me. I don't know about your hardship in POP but I can assure you, there are many good people in this country who will not rip you off. Good luck
AZB
 

british bulldog

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Jan 21, 2006
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You can credit your utility bills in advance,thats no problem,your problem is your house while your away,i have the same problem ,if people know your away its a target,got done twice last year,this time im letting one room to military man ,he stays rent free,but pays electric ect ect,security at its best ;but then i live in st dmgo;lots of miltaria gente,here
 

jackquontee

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AZB said:
Apart from joke, jack I have met you and i think you have a good head on your shoulders. AZB
And, apart from joke, I sincerely appreciate the comment.

If I had lived in the north coast, I would help you out without any benefit to me. But if you need any help in santiago, feel free to call on me.
I might very well call you on this some day. As time goes by and I begin to stay for longer periods of time during my trips, I intend to get down to Santiago. So, we might very well have an opportunity to get to know each other better.

I don't know about your hardship in POP but I can assure you, there are many good people in this country who will not rip you off. Good luck
I agree that there are many good people there. I think I've already met a few, but it will just take a bit of time to determine who the rest happen to be.
 

jackquontee

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british bulldog said:
You can credit your utility bills in advance,thats no problem,your problem is your house while your away,i have the same problem ,if people know your away its a target,got done twice last year,this time im letting one room to military man ,he stays rent free,but pays electric ect ect,security at its best ;but then i live in st dmgo;lots of miltaria gente,here

After having found out that Amber Guardian doesn't service the POP area, I think my next step will be to establish electronic payments for my utilities. I'll just need to figure out how to pay my watchman.

When I first purchased the home I had received an offer from someone to live in my home while I am away, and had actually considered it. I just am not too comfortable with having a virtual stranger staying in my home. I do recall some posts on this forum about dealing with people who, in effect, become "squatters" on a property and the difficulty one has in removing them should they decide not to leave. I also noticed that after I took possession of the house and was there for a few days there were a couple of times when it appeared some folks came by looking long and hard at the place as if they were scoping it out. I may have to reconsider allowing someone to occupy the place while I'm gone. Just some more to think about.
 

HOWMAR

Silver
Jan 28, 2004
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Jack,
Part of the difficulty in finding someone who can take your credit card to receive money to pay bills may lie in the fact that the government now deducts 16% from all credit card payments to companies subject to collecting the ITBIS tax. Even though this transfer isn't subject to the tax, it may be a bookkeeping nightmare. You might want to open a seperate bank account in the US and give your perspective bill payor a debit card.
 

POP Bad Boy

Bronze
Jun 27, 2004
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If this helps....................

.........I have 6 people I have to pay on a weekly basis........3 watchmen, 1 cook, 1 gardener, 1 household "all around" .

I have 3 systems set up so that I never need to worry about carrying around cash or paying them at any time.

1. Banco Republic: I have 8 accounts with cash cards (all in my name) and keep $$$ in the main account. Each of them has a "card" which is "theirs" and I use online banking to transfer money into each account every Saturday or whenever I need to..... (NO TRANSFER FEES SINCE ALL ACCOUNTS ARE IN MY NAME) I USE THIS AS MY MAIN METHOD OF PAYMENT.

2. Banco Popular....... Keep money in one account to pay VERIZON online each month.

3. Banco Reserva......... Everyone has an account IN THEIR OWN NAME...... This online service lets you transfer money from your account to another person's account (Transfer fee tax applies). (Banco Popular now allows you to pay others too that have their "own" account but it is more complicated to setup). No setup required at Banco Reserva............you just need to know their account number.......and once you put it in, it shows you the name on the account so you know it is correct...

Haven't had a problem in years doing things this way........I use RESERVA as the backup in case the online banking at Republic is down, or if someone happens to lose their Republic ATM card until it is replaced.

I get my CDE bills online via "email" each month and if I am not around to print it out, I call one employee, transfer the $$$ to his card and he goes and pays it........with the Contract Number.......

The money is always in my account UNTIL I want to give it out.............
 

jackquontee

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May 20, 2005
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Howmar, POP Bad Boy,

Gentlemen, thank you for your advice. I have always been a believer in taking the shortest and simplest route. It seems, for me anyways, that the best solution is to pay my own bills online, to the extent that I'll be able to. I'll work on that the next time I'm down.

Someone who I do consider a good friend there has offered to take care of the watchman for me. Problem solved.

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to offer your advice and opinions.
 

KateP

Silver
May 28, 2004
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To add on to what POP Bad Boy just posted, Progreso also has online transfers available. I transfer to my account in Republic Bank to pay my credit card and also pay bills to some of my suppliers who have accounts in other banks (not electricity or water but purchases).... very useful up to now.
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
12,290
519
113
the electric company (edenorte) can e mail you your monthly electric bill right to your hotmail. this way you would always receive your bill on time and know exactly what you will be paying. The phone bill can also be varified through internet.
AZB