wongjoh
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- Joined
- Oct 12, 2013
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Just wanted to post my recent Xoom experience in case it helps others in this forum.
Xoom ran a promotion where they were not charging commission fees (coupon: XOOMNEWYEAR) , so I decided to give them a try on a trip to Colonia. In summary, I would not do it again due to the uncertainty of obtaining USDs, as it seems hit and miss.
Details:
- I did 2 transfers (one for $3K and another for $1.5K) to myself for pickup in Uruguay
- Process wise, it was rather annoying: Xoom verifies your phone number listed in your profile and, since I had a Skype number, they had to run all sorts of additional verifications on me. For the 1st transfer, I had to answer identifying questions (like the ones they ask you when doing a credit check -- which addresses you've lived on, which counties, which mortgages, which loans, which people you know). For the 2nd transfer, they had to repeat the whole process, but this time they asked me to send scan of 2 IDs and recent bank statement (from the bank I am using to send the $$). Both processings took longer than I'd expect due to the manual verification handling, with the 2nd transfer taking 2-3 days (I'd have expected to be even faster, since I was already a "known entity")
- Anyhow, once XOOM *confirmed* that the funds were available to pick up. I thought I was set for my trip to Colonia -- took the Colonia express on a Friday and headed to one of their locations, a RapiPagos on Flores 350 (not too far from the port). RapiPagos is where XOOM directs you to get your $$ in Uruguay
- To my chagrin, at first, they did not know what XOOM was. After some fiddling, it turns out that, on their end, it is done through something called "Giros MORE".
- However, they told me they only had enough cash for the 1st transfer and told me to come in the afternoon for the 2nd. I asked what time, and they said 2-3pm. No problem. I signed for the 3K USDs and then headed to do some other business
- I came back later, and the lady that received me, expressed surprise: "Did you call ahead of time to make sure we had that money?" (oh my my, for $1.5K!!). I said I was there earlier and that they asked me to come back in the afternoon. Asking around, she acknowledged it, and after checking with her manager, told me that they did not have any more USDs for the day -- 4pm on a Friday (they close at 7pm). They could pay in me in ARS (yeah, right)
- I headed to the other location near the port, the Omnibus Terminal location. Did the same thing (explain what XOOM is, telling them about Giros More, etc.) and they finally also say that they do not have USDs. I said forget it and called XOOM to cancel this 2nd transaction.
At least, XOOM had not yet taken $ from my account, so there was nothing to refund which made it acceptable for me to try Xoom in the future at another location. But it seems that for Uruguay and in the current economic conditions, I will not do XOOM again.
Anyhow, hope this helps!
Xoom ran a promotion where they were not charging commission fees (coupon: XOOMNEWYEAR) , so I decided to give them a try on a trip to Colonia. In summary, I would not do it again due to the uncertainty of obtaining USDs, as it seems hit and miss.
Details:
- I did 2 transfers (one for $3K and another for $1.5K) to myself for pickup in Uruguay
- Process wise, it was rather annoying: Xoom verifies your phone number listed in your profile and, since I had a Skype number, they had to run all sorts of additional verifications on me. For the 1st transfer, I had to answer identifying questions (like the ones they ask you when doing a credit check -- which addresses you've lived on, which counties, which mortgages, which loans, which people you know). For the 2nd transfer, they had to repeat the whole process, but this time they asked me to send scan of 2 IDs and recent bank statement (from the bank I am using to send the $$). Both processings took longer than I'd expect due to the manual verification handling, with the 2nd transfer taking 2-3 days (I'd have expected to be even faster, since I was already a "known entity")
- Anyhow, once XOOM *confirmed* that the funds were available to pick up. I thought I was set for my trip to Colonia -- took the Colonia express on a Friday and headed to one of their locations, a RapiPagos on Flores 350 (not too far from the port). RapiPagos is where XOOM directs you to get your $$ in Uruguay
- To my chagrin, at first, they did not know what XOOM was. After some fiddling, it turns out that, on their end, it is done through something called "Giros MORE".
- However, they told me they only had enough cash for the 1st transfer and told me to come in the afternoon for the 2nd. I asked what time, and they said 2-3pm. No problem. I signed for the 3K USDs and then headed to do some other business
- I came back later, and the lady that received me, expressed surprise: "Did you call ahead of time to make sure we had that money?" (oh my my, for $1.5K!!). I said I was there earlier and that they asked me to come back in the afternoon. Asking around, she acknowledged it, and after checking with her manager, told me that they did not have any more USDs for the day -- 4pm on a Friday (they close at 7pm). They could pay in me in ARS (yeah, right)
- I headed to the other location near the port, the Omnibus Terminal location. Did the same thing (explain what XOOM is, telling them about Giros More, etc.) and they finally also say that they do not have USDs. I said forget it and called XOOM to cancel this 2nd transaction.
At least, XOOM had not yet taken $ from my account, so there was nothing to refund which made it acceptable for me to try Xoom in the future at another location. But it seems that for Uruguay and in the current economic conditions, I will not do XOOM again.
Anyhow, hope this helps!