Practices Not Recommended

In January, it's possible to pay your Telecable bill a year in advance. In doing so, you receive 2 months free service. I don't recommend it. We did so at the start of this year. Afterwords, a friend told us you can only do it in January and the free months roll over (I haven't confirmed this). Under those circumstances, you would have to pay in advance for six years, then you would accumulate a years worth of free service. Our problem started the 1st of March. We moved.

After paying a $130 peso transfer charge, we were told we could not get service here (Av. La Christiania). We were told they would refund our money, 10 months of service, plus the $130, but it would take 2 weeks. It has now been close to 2 months and we still haven't received it. We've contacted them several times, but all we get is a run-around and a promise to call us back in a few days. It doesn't do any more good to go to there office either. I'll be surprised if we ever get it back. If we do, I doubt it will be everything they owe us.

Another thing to watch out for; the rental agencies that offer to pay you utility bills for you. After living here for 3 months, we moved to Chapala Haciendas. We used Riberas Rentals, in Riberas Del Pilar. She made the offer to take care of our utility bills, for $25 USD a month. Not being familiar with the bill paying practices, we accepted. We had to put $200 USD in our account, and she would notify us when we needed to replenish it. Out of the $200, she would take her $25. The need to replenish the account seemed to occur more and more frequently, so after a year, we asked for a detailed account of the pay-outs. In reviewing it, we discovered she would take her $25 fee out of the $200, then deposit $175 into our account. The problem was, she gave us a 10% exchange rate. The rate, at that time, was almost 13% (or $13 pesos per $1 USD). As a result, she would deposit $1750 pesos in our account, as opposed to the correct amount of $2275, and put the rest in her pocket. We also noticed, she would record a bill payment twice, or pay someone else's bill from our account. Needless to say, we canceled her service. Paying utility bills is not that tough. You can go to the utility company to pay, or you can pay them at any bank and most convenience stores (OXXO or 7-11).

Take my advice. Don't pay for anything in advance, especially if you rent your home, and take the time to do your own bill paying.

Good advice. Paying one's own bills is easy. Learn to do it yourself. Also, learn to pay your property taxes and your water bill.

You can also pay the bills at Walmart and Sorianna. Ususally go there some time during the pay period anyway.

BTW, Telmex now has a drive-up window! What next?

Lobo, we have an acct. at Bancomer, and hey have been paying our bills for the last 5 years. No charge for the service.

You're referring to a bank, who would give you something close to the current exchange rate. I'm referring to someone who will screw you, the first chance they get.

I started this topic to encourage others to post some of their bad experiences. I expected some comments on mine, but I didn't want to limit it to that. Newbies need advice on what not to do, in order to benefit from our experiences.

Did you know, if you're invited to dinner at a Mexican home, it is customary to arrive 30 to 45 minutes late? Traditionally, it's actually in bad taste to show up on time. I've confirmed this with Mexican friends of ours.

martygraw wrote:Lobo, we have an acct. at Bancomer, and hey have been paying our bills for the last 5 years. No charge for the service.

A friend had his bank pay his utility bills. However, when he needed a CFE bill to show proof of residence they never we able to get on for him. He dropped their service for that reason. I don't recall which bank, but it was not Bancomer. I've heard only positive things about Bancomer.

We live in Jocotepec and our Telmex and CFE bill are del. to the house, allbeit that the Bancomer pays the bill.

Lobo2626 wrote:Did you know, if you're invited to dinner at a Mexican home, it is customary to arrive 30 to 45 minutes late? Traditionally, it's actually in bad taste to show up on time. I've confirmed this with Mexican friends of ours.

To quote a certain senor member: "Pardon me if I don't laugh at your joke. There are a few I haven't heard, and I don't laugh just to be polite."

Lobo2626 wrote:Did you know, if you're invited to dinner at a Mexican home, it is customary to arrive 30 to 45 minutes late? Traditionally, it's actually in bad taste to show up on time. I've confirmed this with Mexican friends of ours.

We tried that once. We got there just in time to lick the bottom of the bowls and missed meeting many of the other guests. The remaining guests however seemed thrilled with our knowledge of the culture.

Thanks for the bill paying advice, Lobo. It's much appreciated.

I think only a newbee in town, not ready to use Spanish, would enlist a private bill paying service. Just not necessary

OXXO also charges like 7 pesos to pay bills but banks don't

sparks wrote:I think only a newbee in town, not ready to use Spanish, would enlist a private bill paying service. Just not necessary

OXXO also charges like 7 pesos to pay bills but banks don't

Neither does Sorianna or Walmart.

Lobo2626 wrote:Did you know, if you're invited to dinner at a Mexican home, it is customary to arrive 30 to 45 minutes late? Traditionally, it's actually in bad taste to show up on time. I've confirmed this with Mexican friends of ours.

I believe that and it explains a lot of the service people I have dealt with. What I do now is to make sure I have the individual's cell phone number and 15 minutes late, I call to see what is going on. Usually, but not always, works in getting them here. Zoey

Hope I am replying to Lobo's topic, as that is my intent. Five years of living here, I find it difficult to come up with a bad experience, but there is one that I think was my worst. Here goes. A few months ago, I got a CFE bill that was more than double it's usual rate. I went in and filed a complaint and was told not to pay my bill, that they would send someone out to check my meter and to come back in exactly two weeks. I thought this was great. Five days before I was to go back to CFE in Chapala, to find out the problem, I was cut off. I was in Chapala within the hour, talked to the same person that told me to come back intwo weeks and she looked me square in the eye and said, but senor you did not pay your bill, that is why we cut you off. Are you still with me? I paid the outrageous bill and she said I would be turned on the next day. Not. Took me five days of going into CFE. Bought a 100 foot extension cord for TV, Computer and refrigerator, hooked it up with my neighbor and spent some money on candles. Do not mess with CFE. These folks are heartless. Zoey

I just LOVE CFE
When we lived in our rental, CFE sent us a bill for a meter that was for a swimming pool. Problem was, the pool was cracked, empty, and hadn't been used in 7 years. The wires connected to the meter had been removed. Previous residents claimed that the landlord had CFE take the meter/account out of service (finiquito) and that they never got any bills for it while they lived there. So we had to pay another "finiquito" to avoid being stuck with a $$$$$ peso bill for a non-functioning pool that had a 7-year-old balance just "appear" out of nowhere...(the landlord had long since thrown away the paperwork confirming the finiquito)... Advice: with CFE, don't throw anything away and save everything where you can find it again, "just in case"!

Gee, that's almost as much fun as having to deal with the phone company here in Colorado. Lawdy.... the blood pressure! And don't get me started on the cable company. They're without conscience!
In México, it looks like more of the same ol', same ol' thing. Predatory practices... you just can't get away from it.
Makes full time RVing look a whole lot more agreeable. Lizzy

We made the mistake of giving too large a deposit for a small job. We thought it would cover all the material and then a bit. Big mistake. Never saw the worker again. It wasn't a large sum so it was a "cheap" lesson.

OUCH! good thing it wasn't too much $$$!

Understanding "house help hiring"...
There's quite a bit of legal obligation if you hire full time household help... we had a friend who hired a cleaning helper for what was originally intended as a one-week stint while said friend was recovering from a broken arm and couldn't clean house herself. Friend got "spoiled", the helper is coming thrice weekly, full day's work (nice to have a spotless home, laundry, light cooking, a little gardening here and there...) and now helper falls into the "employee category"... with all the responsibilities and obligations required of employer...Friend did not realize this, and now has to legally and tactfully, get herself out of "said situation", since she now realizes she really can't afford the extra stuff and can now do it herself...whoops! Caveat emptor...

Our lawyer unscrewed us from a similar situation a few years ago for less $$ than we had thought. You might want to give his office a call for an estimate. His name is Luis Camerana and his office number in Ajijic is 766-5123. There is a right and a wrong way to terminate an employee and best to get it right the first time.

R-Bob, any lawyer who un-screws you is worth his weight in gold, since far too many are primarily known for doing the opposite. Congratulations on a great find. Lizzy