BANK ACCOUNT CLOSURE
 

Well, I've been reading bits about this happening occasionally but when it happens to us....
I just wired a large deposit to fund our account at BCR. Everything was fine for about a week and then I went to pay the ICE electric bill online and found that my account had been closed! This just happened and hopefully we can get it straightened out soon.
Thanks to the terrorists we have to take our shoes off at the airport. Thanks to the drug cartels the banks are holding bank account assets with any questionable activity.
We just want to experience Pura Vida---Por Favor.

Just venting. To tie this in to a travel forum, CR is still a magical place to vist.

And you post this only minutes after I have just completed my first online wire transfer to Banco Nacional! Egads, gives me the heebie jeebies!

Things like that can sure deflate the Pura Vida right out of a person, can't they?

On the other hand, my bank here in the good ole U.S. lost $500 of my money in a simple account transfer a couple of years ago. Took a month to get it straightened out, and I had to end up calling someone in an executive office in our state capitol.

I guess if we live a lifetime and it only happens once or twice that isn't so bad. Good luck on getting everything back on track--hope you will let us know how it works out!

For me Visa CC paypal always best...

little to no recourse if bank wires go south...

one poor guy last week lost over $10K on a SA trip wiring

to a US Bank and still lost it all...

Had to repay his whole trip with his credit card.

Very sad so Caveat Emptor...

www.insuremytrip.com www.quotewright.com

always wise if doing this especially large sums...

This is really a travel forum and not the right place for this kind of discussion, I think. You would be better off to discuss this somewhere like the ARCR forum.

hsmither: Looks like it did generate some discussion. I did post on the ARCR forum and got excellent advise which is what I was looking for on that forum. Here, I just thought that since many on this board also have homes & do extensive travel in CR that they might be interested. Please excuse the post if it was inappropriate.

Not really inappropriate - just not really travel related. Glad you got some good answers on the ARCR forum.

Shillmac, just wanted to let you know that 2 emails later (and a lot of prayer) and our account has been re-opened! I love Costa Rica!

Thanks for letting me know, and glad that was easily solved! My $$ has left my account, and I'll be glad when it shows up at BNCR! I have a short trip scheduled for next month--getting very anxious! Hoping we have a foundation to inspect by that time! Where is your property?

All of our wires have gone from our US bank to BCR within 2days. except once. In that case the funds were finally found at the main bank in San Jose instead of making its way to Atenas (which is where our house is by the way)
Good luck with your house. I've been hoping the best for you as I read little bits and pieces on here. We bought a standing home but did a lot of remodeling. You'll have interesting stories to tell and a great place to live once you're done.

crash, glad things worked out. I do think it's interesting to read things from folks who actually live in CR.

Shillmac - Where are you building?

1bhcrashman and shillmac, keep us posted on your experiences and progress!

OK - here goes.

Thanks to some portions of the Patriot Act and the recent CAFTA treaty, US citizens who have bank accounts in Costa Rica have to provide various kinds of information to their banks so that the banks can have this information available to the US government. (Note that there is a "new" question from the IRS as to whether you have a foreign bank account.) The Banco de Costa Rica mails out forms that request this information but if a US citizen doesn't have a good mailing address in Costa Rica, they won't get the notice. After a certain amount of time, the account is frozen. It is not difficult to provide the information and have the account unfrozen.

Banks in Costa Rica have been fined for not providing this information so if you are looking for someone to blame for this inconvenience, look to Washington, DC.

hsmithcr, we are with BN. Can you be more specific about what the "various types" of information are? We just opened our account a couple of months ago. I am curious as to what information so I can try to remember if we provided it or not! Perhaps I should check with our accountant--he should know about the new IRS question and what it involves. Thanks for the heads up! I don't like frozen stuff, particularly money!

mom, we are building near Tuis, which is about 25 minutes out of Turrialba, Caribbean lowlands.

shillmac, we updated our information with the bank when we were down in July so in our case, I think it was the large deposit that set off a red flag. I was pleasently surprised when it was so simple to resolve. I know I will be visiting the bank in person when we go down next month to ask how I can prevent this in the future.

hsmither, I guess I shouldn't have blamed drug cartels and money launderers for the reason the US is asking other countries to moniter their depositers. This is how the clerk at BCR explained it to me when we had to provide so much information in order to open our account in the first place. Also, it wasn't so much an "inconvenience" as it was a concern that I wouldn't be able to get it straightend out before my bills were due.

Well, I'm breathing easier this afternoon!

Good news, shillmac!

Shillmac: I have accounts at both BCR and BN. I needed to provide a whole wad of information at BCR and even had to have my SS benefit annual statement certified by an accountant. (In lieu of traveling to the US Embassy.) However, when I asked at the BN office what they wanted, they said they were still working on their plan to get this information. Go figure. If things change with the BN, I will let you know.

It has been my experience that answers to questions vary from branch to branch of any bank and it really depends on who you are talking to.

1bh: I think that both of us are right. The Costa Rican government has been pressured into these actions from the US government because of terrorism and drug money. So it all goes together. I think there is another thing going on with people who are trying to "hide" money in foreign accounts. The IRS is getting more pro-active about this, forcing various governments or foreign banks to turn over or have available information on their depositors who are US citizens. And yes, if your transfer was more than $10,000, you would definitely get their attention!

hsnither, you are so right about the branch to branch differences.
It's just like in the US. No matter what entity you are calling, if you don't like one answer...Hang up and call back to get another person. I'm just glad it's resolved for now!