Banking Banks and phones plans!

[NeloUnamed]

Does anyone have any thoughts on which banks would be best to use while here - I'm getting a masters so i'll be here for long enough to warrant opening an account but don't see myself staying long enough or having enough income to worry about saving abroad in dollars as is (perhaps justifiably) the fad right now. Just wondering if anyone has any advice/experience with the banks down here. AND if anyone is so awesome as to help me out with another question, what do you all think about cell phone plans - claro, personal or movistar - or is it just not worth it and better to stick with my pay-as-you-go tarjeta that never ever has any credit?

 

[earlyretirement]

Even if a storm is approaching, it's always nice to have a local account to pay bills and recharge your cellphone credits without having to go stand in line.

You don't have to keep too much in it but they make it easy to pay bills with the pagomiscuentas which I think all of the major banks like HSBC, Banco Santander Rio, etc. use.

Also, it's nice to be able to be out and about sometimes and use the ATM machines and also many times in grocery stores or other stores they have big discounted rates or promotions if you use your card vs. cash (I know it sounds strange).

My advice would be to go with a big bank with lots of locations. My Santander seems to have more promotions vs. my HSBC.

 

[Chesse]

I second Santander. Very happy with them.

 

[TrevorOD]

Third Santander, cant complain too much.

 

[CarliNeces]

Do you think taking a cell phone post paid a/c will come "under the radar scrutiny" when the sh*t storm comes?

 

[Chesse]

Do you mean a contract, like with Personal?

I have a plan from Personal, can't remember the name (I saw in the thread about roaming/long distance the comment about the Black plan - can't remember if that's what mine's called) but I pay 199 pesos a month, well under the radar, a I understand it. I have 500 minutes free, 500 mb of data, 200 SMS, etc. My wife has the same plan and my sister-in-law has a Blackberry plan with about the same limits, same cost.

Never tried to call international - Vonage is too cheap for the States and I have a land line we use to call Paraguay. Although, I probably ought to compare prices between my land line international and Personal - land line international is expensive. (Really, I need to get the family in Paraguay on internet [they finally have it available where they live] and get them a computer so we can talk via Skype - much cheaper overall!).

I've heard that AFIP starts looking at 3000 pesos a month movement, but can't confirm that. I've also read (and has been posted I believe) that they are going to start looking at monthly payments of over 2000 pesos, but I don't think that's been passed yet, or I haven't heard anything more anyway.

 

[AmirJacks]

I'm not a foreigner.
Some horror stories I experienced over the years.
Banco Buen Ayre (merged into some other bank a long while ago). Oay all pending balances and fees and closed my account. They draw a debt free statement. They started sending me threatening notes because they claimed I owed them like 57cts. They would not listen to me (I had all the proper paperwork, issued by them). Spent a lot of time coming and going to their office and trying to get them to piss off. Eventually payed them 60cts or so. Later received yet another balance sheet where they stated they owed me $10+. So I went to collect them. They said they could not give the money to me since I was no longer a customer and had no account. Wankers!
Banco Francés: Had an account for many years opened at the Avda. Alvear branch office (close to home) but operating from the Almagro branch office, right accross my office. Postal address worked efficiently like a charm for many years and no glitches. The day the bank has something to tell me they send the mail to my former home address and choose to disregard the postal address they asked me for and used monthly. Small problem is left unnoticed to rot and turns to more threatening letters. Alvear claims I should solve it with Almagro, Almagro says they have no issue with me. Had to go to the Main office where no one seemed to care.
Another bank whose name I can't remember: No Customer service to unsolve the fuckup they created. The internet says talk to the account officer, the account officer says talk to the phone, phone says talk to the ATM, ATM says talk to the officer, officer says has no computer access rights. Bernoulli, Murphy and Darwin all are rolling in their graves, laughing tears out of their empty eye sockets. FUBARed. Thank you very much.
Citi takes the Grand Prize. When the 2001 crisis hit us all, I was working outside BA (Pilar) and the Provincia was using Patacones (funny money) mostly not accepted within CABA limits. So they payed me with a pesos check that I could cash here. Operating in U$D, a practice encouraged under previous policies, became outlawed. I deposited my pesos check in my pesos account and it never got credited. when I asked the bank, Citi told me the balance was in my dollars account. I have no dollars account I say. You do now, they reply. Then move the pesos back to where they belong i demand. "You can not operate the dollars account, sir" they summarise for me. "Well, f#ck me rigid!" I thank them.

If you can pull it off, stay clear of them. We're experiencing a different type of "Corralito" but this is a lot more serious one. Beware!

 

[earlyretirement]

I'm not a foreigner.
Some horror stories I experienced over the years.
Banco Buen Ayre (merged into some other bank a long while ago). Oay all pending balances and fees and closed my account. They draw a debt free statement. They started sending me threatening notes because they claimed I owed them like 57cts. They would not listen to me (I had all the proper paperwork, issued by them). Spent a lot of time coming and going to their office and trying to get them to piss off. Eventually payed them 60cts or so. Later received yet another balance sheet where they stated they owed me $10+. So I went to collect them. They said they could not give the money to me since I was no longer a customer and had no account. Wankers!
Banco Francés: Had an account for many years opened at the Avda. Alvear branch office (close to home) but operating from the Almagro branch office, right accross my office. Postal address worked efficiently like a charm for many years and no glitches. The day the bank has something to tell me they send the mail to my former home address and choose to disregard the postal address they asked me for and used monthly. Small problem is left unnoticed to rot and turns to more threatening letters. Alvear claims I should solve it with Almagro, Almagro says they have no issue with me. Had to go to the Main office where no one seemed to care.
Another bank whose name I can't remember: No Customer service to unsolve the fuckup they created. The internet says talk to the account officer, the account officer says talk to the phone, phone says talk to the ATM, ATM says talk to the officer, officer says has no computer access rights. Bernoulli, Murphy and Darwin all are rolling in their graves, laughing tears out of their empty eye sockets. FUBARed. Thank you very much.
Citi takes the Grand Prize. When the 2001 crisis hit us all, I was working outside BA (Pilar) and the Provincia was using Patacones (funny money) mostly not accepted within CABA limits. So they payed me with a pesos check that I could cash here. Operating in U$D, a practice encouraged under previous policies, became outlawed. I deposited my pesos check in my pesos account and it never got credited. when I asked the bank, Citi told me the balance was in my dollars account. I have no dollars account I say. You do now, they reply. Then move the pesos back to where they belong i demand. "You can not operate the dollars account, sir" they summarise for me. "Well, f#ck me rigid!" I thank them.

If you can pull it off, stay clear of them. We're experiencing a different type of "Corralito" but this is a lot more serious one. Beware!

ALL banks are pretty bad in Argentina compared to any first world country. I've had simple problems with closing accounts or attempting to close accounts. One of my S.A. (corporations) was inactive so I tried closing the account. I went to HSBC and went to close the account with my DNI. So they tell me I can't close the account without the articles of incorporation. So I bring those to close it. They tell me that their system is down and they can't close the account. That happened twice.

Just minor things like changing your address on your account can be a nightmare. I've gone down to change my address a few times and every time they confirm that it has been changed yet on the statement it's still printing my address from like 5 years ago. I just get my statements sent via email PDF but still it's annoying they can't simply fix an address change even though I've personally gone in 3 or 4 times and they keep saying they fixed it.

The key thing to remember in Argentina is banks there shouldn't be looked at as a place to save any sizable amount of money. Just to use for convenience and paying bills. But nothing else. They are horrible there for the most part.