Landlady demands "clean" US bills for deposit

[DonPiter]

I partially agree with gouchobob. The lack of transparency and clear standars as to what a "good bill" is, gives room for abuse and scams. I guess this can happen in any country but certain areas low on the ethics scale can be more prone.
My landlady also temporarily accepted the bills at 90% value, on the condition that i would bring "clean bills" next time to replace those... this just seemed odd and this is why i came here asking around.

Im still a bit stressed thinking about what the standars for clean bills are, what keeps her from rejecting other bills on arbitrary personal judgement? and maybe is not really her but her bank as she claims. It's unbelievable banks are allowed to operate like that without oversight.

Of course the problem of informality goes beyond this, i have always wondered why argentines like so much to have cash as opposed to a bank transfer and the obvious answer is the crash they had and a second clear answer is that they like avoiding taxes, a common thing in south america.

I am just an traveller and my opinion doesn't matter to the locals, but for what is worth, argentines should realize that all this constant "under the table" dealing just bites them in the ass

informality bring grounds for abuse.

 

[oxente!]

When I go to pay my rent they photocopy the USD bills in the event they find a counterfeit one ! The first time they did it and I was really confused.

I too have had problems with stained or marked bills. We also had trouble once with Ecuadorian dollars which are still USD but sometimes they will not accept them...

 

[SaraSara]

I get angry at all the dollar-bill nitpicking, too. But really, Argentine legal tender is the PESO. People are under no obligation to accept payment in dollars.

Also, there are lots of counterfeit bills in circulation, and most locals have been burned at least once.

 

[DonPiter]

If PESO is the legal tender, how about the apartment market would be payed in PESO!!! I have no problem with paying in PESO , i would gladly pay in peso! is it THEM who insist that is in dollars so they can deal under the table. This is why this needs oversight of some sort.

Seriously, this wouldn't upset me so much if there was a disclaimer beforehand warning about the requirements of the dollar bills. Otherwise i feel like im being "trapped" into a situation i can't get out of. I only find out about this special requirements when i have dollars in hand and there is no turning back.

 

[SaraSara]

Perhaps rents could be priced in dollars but paid in pesos, at the day's median exchange rate. That's what Uruguayans do.

 

[DonPiter]

Yeah, that sounds reasonable. Reasonable is not compatible with Argentina for the most part. I know some people are able to pay in pesos after negotiation, it's worth a try.

 

[perry]

Yeah, that sounds reasonable. Reasonable is not compatible with Argentina for the most part. I know some people are able to pay in pesos after negotiation, it's worth a try.

Your comments seem a bit harsh as there are many reasonable people in Argentina and actual fact many do accept pesos for rental converted from the dollar amount of the day. I have done this myself many times and it is no problem for many . Of course you have difficult people but to judge a whole society for that is unfair .

Taxidrivers normally will give you a discount if the fair is 30 centavos more and most shops as well in business transactions. This is far more reasonable than many foreign countries I have lived in including Europe and Australia.

 

[BKK to BA]

exchanging usd in Thailand is the same,if the bill is marked,torn,or even too old and faded they will refuse it

 

[bookgirl531]

I had this problem in Peru and Bolivia not only with bills with slight rips or tears in them, but also with "ink stained" bills that had been straight from the bank (I think the bank actually uses the ink to verify that the bills are real). The worst case of this problem occurred when they wouldn't accept our fresh-from-the-bank bills at the Bolivian border crossing and I actually had to leave my boyfriend as collateral at the border to go get "cleaner" money.

If you take it to any bank they will exchange it for "clean" money, and you can also take torn or ripped bills to any bank to be exchanged.

 

[AlexfromLA]

It's the same all over the world. The Dollar and Euro are usually seen as the most stable currency. So many high ticket items around the world are priced in dollars ie real estate, automobiles and tourist rentals.

That doesn't mean the sellers or renters have to accept old worn out currency.

It's very simple DonPiter. Pay your rent with brand new crisp $ 100 dollar bills every time. Is that really so hard or is it easier to complain about the fact that you can't seem to obtain a months rent worth of clean crisp unmarked bills ?

I have done real estate deals all over the world and all over the world people like being brought Clean brand new unmarked bills when making a transaction, it shows a level of respect also.

No one wants to be presented with your old worn out bills especially in a country where the legal currency isn't the dollar and they may have problems at banks.

Maybe in Colombia you can pay your short term tourist rental in old worn out stained and marked dollar bills, but here you will have problems. It is what it is, complaining about it or specifically targeting Argentinians as unreasonable because of it isn't going to get you anywhere. Especially when this happens ALL over the world, not just Argentina.

Whenever I make a formal transaction I always bring crisp bills, just simple business etiquette.

If PESO is the legal tender, how about the apartment market would be payed in PESO!!! I have no problem with paying in PESO , i would gladly pay in peso! is it THEM who insist that is in dollars so they can deal under the table. This is why this needs oversight of some sort.

Seriously, this wouldn't upset me so much if there was a disclaimer beforehand warning about the requirements of the dollar bills. Otherwise i feel like im being "trapped" into a situation i can't get out of. I only find out about this special requirements when i have dollars in hand and there is no turning back.