I cant get my money from Scotiabank Sosua

Ladybird · May 10, 2004

For the second time in a few days I cant get my US $ from this bank. Today I transferred in quite a lot as I have done a few times before w.o. problems to another bank but Scotiabank have decided today that they are holding onto my dosh until I produce a letter proving where the money has come from. Even though it is by legal transfer from my home bank just as all the other occasions, with confirmation paperwork. Even when this is produced they say there will be a further delay releasing my funds. Any help anyone??

or should I just contact Jim Meek,, President in Canada. Someone told me all these branches can do what they like as they are individually owned/operated, the other day SB in Santiago were giving 49 pesos to $ and SB Sosua giving 40!! so this looks true..help. I had informed them last week these funds would be arriving and to have my dollars ready, they never once told me of these new rules, until the money arrived. :ermm:

Ladybird · May 11, 2004

conspiracy

Ive tried again today to get my money in any form and still they refuse, now I understand after reading Golos posting :tired: now Im skint any donations gratefully received.

gman · May 11, 2004

i don't know what you could do to get your money, but can you give an approx amount as to how much money are you talking about, just so we can prepare for problems if we should have to transfer... 1000, 5000, 10000, 25000...

thx

simpson Homer · May 11, 2004

Bank

**they are holding onto my dosh until I produce a letter proving where the money has come from. Even though it is by legal transfer from my home bank ****

Well if you have the prove where is the money come from I don't think you will have a problem, You can get a work letter saying how much money you get also if that you parents or whatever sending that money to support you they can make a letter saying where do they work and that they supporting you. They are trying to make sure that is not money laundry.
It's made sound stupid but maybe can work if not hire a lawyer to get your money back.

I went to open an Bank acount with Scotiabank joined with my girlfriend then they give me a hard time in Santiago saying that she has to have Dominican ID.

Homer

suarezn · May 11, 2004

Darn Internet wireless connection...Had written a repply and before I posted it crapped out.

Anyhow, what I said was that by law if you send in more than 10,000 USD at once or in a day, they must hold your money until you can explain the origin of the funds. You may also get charged a percentage if you try to withdraw the funds in USD or Euros before they have been deposited for at least a month in the bank. This happened to me at Banco Popular. If you must wire money into The DR, make sure not to send in more than 9900.00 USD/day. Notice I said a day, because if you send in several wires of less than 10,000, but they do add up to 10,000 your money will still be held up. If you're in The DR, just go to the main office and wirte a letter explaining the origin of the funds. If you're not down there, then fedex them a letter (not a fax) and this should take care of your problem. Hope it all works out for you. Keep us informed of what ends up happenning...

gerd · May 11, 2004

Funny, one of the employees from Scotiabank Sosua called me about two weeks ago and invited me to deposit my money there. :laugh: Are they in desperate need of cash?
She remembered me being a client when it was Baninter. Luckily I pulled out there about a month before the trouble started.

And I will definitely not keep more than US$200 in any dominican bank, Scotiabank included, until I see drastic changes happening.

Ladybird · May 11, 2004

Thank you all very much, I live here and am aware of the regulations, so this was all done before as I regularly transfer, my lawyer Guido also has an account with them and they know damn well where these funds have come from as Im a regular, this is the first time this has happened and as its a lot of dosh I can guess why, they've stopped me exchanging at that higher rate as Golo has pointed out on his thread. My bank sent them another fax at 8.30am this morning and still nothing, Ive now sent the "heavies" in, :dead: :dead: :dead: so I'll keep everyone posted. Does anyone have a cheap safe to sell??, although I would never keep money on my premises, I know a much safer place to keep it than the bank.

Adrian Bye · May 11, 2004

Before we go too far into the conspiracy theories, can you please share exactly how much money it is that the bank is withholding?

Conchman · May 11, 2004

It must be over US$10,000, but thats just a guess.

Robert · May 11, 2004

I don't think the amount is important, but as Conchman says, it must be over US$10k.
What's important is making people aware of the hoops and jumps someone has to go through to get their money.

You really need to know how things work here before you start playing with big numbers, especially in US$. Also make sure you have a very good relationship with someone at the bank that can actually make a decision and get things done on your behalf. Actually this is maybe the most important aspect!

Touch wood we have had no problems in dealing with US$, including US$10k+ in and out bound transactions, but we also go out of our way to make sure we know the people that are handling our money.

Adrian Bye · May 11, 2004

I think the amount is extremely important. Because if its over US$10k, then I think the bank is doing the right thing. They should make her verify where the money came from. And if the source is easily verifiable this should be a non issue.

This part of the world has a bad reputation for money laundering, and I'm glad to see at least some steps are being taken to clean it up. Did you know that the bank managers are personally liable and can be jailed if they have accounts which are used for money laundering?

But Ladybird gave a very different reason in her post for the money being withheld:

"this is the first time this has happened and as its a lot of dosh I can guess why, they've stopped me exchanging at that higher rate as Golo has pointed out on his thread"

For some people here "a lot of dosh" is US$200, so I think the amount is very relevant.

Ladybird · May 11, 2004

over $10000

As I have already said I have done these transfers before w.o. problem and this time my bank has given them 2 more faxes with everything they asked for, they still wont release the funds, my bank in England contacted someone high up and they told our bank they agreed to release the funds. As of 20mins ago, they have again refused to release, their latest excuse is that they have lost the original fax!!!, my Banks' international dept in UK is now closed for the day, they have wasted and delayed yet another day to give me my money. My husband has just quoted a Dylan song, Everything is broken,, the line is "people bending broken rules", wouldnt you start to get suspicious?? We had contacted the Canadian President Jim Meeks and Ronald Valdez North Coast before we opened these accounts to ensure there would be no problems Robert and I do have a friend at the bank, she stayed well out of the way. and the local manager went out....???

Escott · May 11, 2004

While I certainly feel sorry you have to go through these problems I can't help but remember a fellow say that since he withdrew 1500 US Dollars from Banco Popular he inferred that the banks were safe places to keep your money. This story just lends more credence to my thoughts that much over 200 US dollars in a bank here is hazardous to your financial well being.

I can hardly wait till after the elections to see what happens here. Not long to wait now, that's for sure.

Good luck,
Scott

Ladybird · May 11, 2004

Dumb

Thank you Scott, I thought Id done everything right, but I'll learn about yr $200 rule.

Gringo · May 11, 2004

Just transfer to a scotia safty deposit box...

Ladybird said:
As I have already said I have done these transfers before w.o. problem and this time my bank has given them 2 more faxes with everything they asked for, they still wont release the funds, my bank in England contacted someone high up and they told our bank they agreed to release the funds. As of 20mins ago, they have again refused to release, their latest excuse is that they have lost the original fax!!!, my Banks' international dept in UK is now closed for the day, they have wasted and delayed yet another day to give me my money. My husband has just quoted a Dylan song, Everything is broken,, the line is "people bending broken rules", wouldnt you start to get suspicious?? We had contacted the Canadian President Jim Meeks and Ronald Valdez North Coast before we opened these accounts to ensure there would be no problems Robert and I do have a friend at the bank, she stayed well out of the way. and the local manager went out....???

When your money comes through why don't you just rent a safety depoit box at Scotia Bank and come and go with your money as you please? ( No questions asked)

Good Luck

Gringo

jcrue20 · May 11, 2004

anywhere in the world has its own BUREAUCRATS and sad to say that they have a bad bureaucracy here. its not your fault if they lose the fax from the bank of origin its just that DOMINICAN PEOPLE are F****** lazy and CHOPOS. you should have your money in your hands now since the bank of origin already faxed the required documents.

Island Treats · May 11, 2004

Gringo said:
When your money comes through why don't you just rent a safety depoit box at Scotia Bank and come and go with your money as you please? ( No questions asked)

Good Luck

Gringo

Gringo good idea. This is what I've done after being denied dollars from my US dollar account at Banco Popular. I was told there weren't any dollars available at the time BUT I could withdraw pesos by exchanging my dollars via a bank check converted to pesos. It's difficult for me to comprehend how a large bank didn't have the dollars I gave them one day and not having them available the next day!!! Kind of remind me of my Uncle Ned's tactic.

Ladybird · May 11, 2004

Brainwave

Thanks so much Gringo, I didnt know they were available, thats exactly what I will do, I finally got a dollar cheque out of them to pay the garage the balance for my newish car, would you believe it they made an error on the cheque for payment which I didnt realise, but the garage owner didnt stand for their little ruse as he realised what they'd done and he found a way round it. Tomorrow they're in for a shock when I tell them Im closing the account I just wonder how long :cross-eye it'll take for me to get all my dollars.

gringo in dr · May 11, 2004

Ladybird said:
Thanks so much Gringo, I didnt know they were available, thats exactly what I will do, I finally got a dollar cheque out of them to pay the garage the balance for my newish car, would you believe it they made an error on the cheque for payment which I didnt realise, but the garage owner didnt stand for their little ruse as he realised what they'd done and he found a way round it. Tomorrow they're in for a shock when I tell them Im closing the account I just wonder how long :cross-eye it'll take for me to get all my dollars.

Here in La la land, anything is possible.

I wouldn't go in looking for a fight if I was you. They might just put your account under investigation for an indefinate length of time.

Ben · May 12, 2004

It sounds like banking in the DR is loaded with problems. Until reading this thread I would have thought Nova Scotia would be one of the better ones!

I need to open accounts next month (both USD and RD$) in Sosua. Among the bad, is there any one bank that stands out as better than the others? Or does it all depend on personal relationships and luck?

Ben

I cant get my money from Scotiabank Sosua

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