Vent/Rant

[Ashley]

Several years ago I went through a phase of accidentally leaving my debit card in ATMs. I always got my replacement sent via priority mail (from the UK) and they would usually arrive just around the 2 week mark. Some postmen, however, would require a signature and if I wasn't in, would leave a little note to contact the postoffice (so I'd check for that before freaking out).
In the meantime, I got my bank in the UK (HSBC) to wire me money to an HSBC branch in Argentina. It was very complicated and costly but it was the only option I had at the time. This was 2005 so I have no idea if they'd do it now...but it might be worth checking out if you're really strapped.

 

[thomasb]

I have had to get ATM cards sent several times to Argentina (and other things).

UK banks will no longer send cards directly to Argentina so you have to get them to send it to relatives or similar that will then send them to you.

In general it's a bit of a hit and miss to mail stuff here, sometimes it comes through just fine (from Europe anywhere between 2 and 6 weeks) - sometimes it just "gets lost". Important thing is to not activate the card before you get it (just in case).

If you need cash quickly western union or moneybookers or similar is a pretty good bet, though expensive - it's quick and safe (I have done it several times).

Hope your card arrives safely!

 

[LostinBA]

Before coming to BsAs I was in Rio for over a year so I'm accustomed to how things move to a different drum and definitely realize that I'm not in the US anymore and have accepted that there's certain things I just must do without.

I've been very patient and accepting.

HOWEVER ... I may be at a breaking point right now.

Waiting on a replacement ATM card, which my darling mother sent Priority Mail which only tracks to a point. I go online to the Correo's site to see if I can track it here with the customs number ...nada. In Brazil, their correo can track this number, but apparently this isn't the case here.

Scrambling to think how I can pay the deposit/rent for my new apartment I have an "AHA" moment and think of Paypal ... Why is it that Lesotho, Qatar and Slovakia have access to Paypal but NOT Argentina. Seriously, where the heck am I living right now? Paypal trusts ALBANIA more than Argentina ...
A L B A N I A!

The envelope was sent from NY on the 29th and should (have) arrive(d) here 6-10 business days later. But I'm doing something I never do, which is freak out and think that the post office is just flinging mail that they don't feel like delivering into a massive pile along the border of Bolivia which at some point they will set ablaze to keep the Bolivians out ... because that is where all the mystery mail MUST be disappearing too. Oh and the mail is being tossed over mates shared harmoniously with the coworkers.

Going to smoke a cigarette and meditate ... not sure of the order or maybe I do a 2for1.

You're actually quite lucky. The card will probably arrive probably soon and hopefully straight to your door.

I say lucky because if your mother had sent it via Fedex or UPS it would be held up at EZE customs whereby AFIP would actually levy 50% duties on declared value+shipping costs and FedEx and UPS would also put additional processing costs on top. Sooo...even if the declared value is zilch but it cost 100 USD to send, AFIP will want 50 USD and UPS will want another 50 or so USD. My credit card cost me well over 100 USD to get UPS to release it to me.

One caveat...you're not going to be so lucky if it gets redirected to Retiro for pickup. If this happens, make sure you arrive there 30-60 minutes before they open so avoid hours waiting in lines.

Welcome to Argentina.

 

[mulderfox]

it takes about 20 days to arrive to your door. how long have you been waiting for?

 

[james p]

this is often a problem here with a lost or stolen debit card. One solution is to have more person on your account, as most banks will issue 1 card per person....say for example you open an account with CitiBank and have your Mother,Father, sister, brother, and friend on the account.....along with you! The bank will then issue 6 cards to that account, all with different numbers. Bring all but one here with you. If one is lost or stolen you simply cancel THAT card and use one of the others.....leave one at home just in case you some day have to help them out!

 

[Crema Americana]

I sent a Christmas card to Argentina that took four months to arrive. The one I sent this past Christmas arrived in about 3 weeks. Mail is incredibly slow here... and yes, things do get lost often. Always FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc important documents.

 

[syngirl]

The envelope was sent from NY on the 29th and should (have) arrive(d) here 6-10 business days later. But I'm doing something I never do, which is freak out and think that the post office is just flinging mail that they don't feel like delivering into a massive pile along the border of Bolivia which at some point they will set ablaze to keep the Bolivians out ... because that is where all the mystery mail MUST be disappearing too. Oh and the mail is being tossed over mates shared harmoniously with the coworkers.

Mail into Argentina and mail out disappears all the time -- my wedding invites obviously got thrown in the bin after they took my money -- the only ones that arrived to North America were the ones that were sent via registered mail.

My mum recently sent a couple of new pacifiers and replacement nipples for my baby's bottles. She just put them in a puffy envelope and sent -- never arrived. All I can think is that some postal worker saw a puffy envelope from Canada and thought "ooh this must contain something good" -- the only thing that makes me happy is to know how disappointed they must have been when they opened it up and it was just replacement parts for a baby bottle brand that doesn't even exist in Argentina. At the same time that pisses me off -- something that is of absolutely NO use to someone else got tossed in the garbage because of some selfish postal worker thinking they were going to find something of value in the envelope.

 

[garygrunson]

My mom sent me a birthday card via regular US mail and received it 1 1/2 months late, she had allowed a few weeks for delivery as well. So if you need it, call your bank and have them send it directly to you here, via FEDEX. Both my banks in the US have done this and did not charge me either.

 

[BednBreakfast]

I received a newborn outfit for my baby when he was over 6 months old, ha ha. At least it got there and was used for the next one...

 

[NoseyParker]

My mum sent me my bank card priority mail from UK exactly two weeks ago by priority mail, it was supposed to take 5 days but because of holidays it arrived today. Sure your package will arrive soon.... My landlady waited an extra week for the money no problem.