# Reaching Santander?



## PatrickMurtha (Feb 26, 2011)

My banks, both Banorte and Santander, can be difficult to deal with. And no, I don’t have perfect Spanish 🙂 , but that is not always the problem.

I sent this message to Santander by email just now (because I have tried every other way to get their attention):

Mi nombre es _. Mi número de tarjeta de débito es *___*_.

Se han rechazado dos pagos: _ y *___*_.

Visité la sucursal. La ejecutiva se negó a ayudarme. Ella me dijo que llamara al servicio de atención al cliente.

Llamé al servicio de atención al cliente varias veces. Los agentes se negaron a ayudarme. Uno me dijo que fuera a la sucursal.

No sé qué hacer para recibir ayuda. Nadie parece interesado en ayudarme.

Esta es una mala imagen para su banco. ¡Por favor ayúdame!

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A problem that is not specific to Santander, or Mexico, or banks is this: The multiplicity of “contact methods” actually enables everyone you reach to disclaim responsibility. The branch tells you to call customer service or go to the website. Customer service tells you to go the branch or the website. And so on.

When I call customer service, I do ask for assistance in English because it smooths the communication for me considerably. I must give Banorte credit, they have no problem with this. They addressed the issue a few years ago and even have an English-language option in their automated system. But when I call Santander and make this request, they act as if I am from Mars! Which is ironic because Banorte is a wholly Mexican bank; Santander is international, and one would think…But no, I have got to stop having expectations! 🙂


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

I found the first branch of Banamex I tried to deal with impossible to deal with - they clearly didn't want me as a customer at all. The second branch was light and day, and I've never had to do anything but go there and wait in line to resolve every issue. Never tried any of the other mechanisms (customer service etc) because they've always fixed me up after I wait in their line.

So if you are getting poor results from one branch, maybe try to move your account to another? There seems to be this old-skool banking thing where your account is "at" a particular branch, as if they kept your money in their vault. I don't know what's involved in moving branches, maybe it's not possible short of closing the account and opening another, but I throw this idea out for feedback.


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## PatrickMurtha (Feb 26, 2011)

It is really a crap shoot with Mexican banks! My Santander account is a new one, long story, and because it is at the only convenient branch in Tlaxcala (Centro), I don’t want to give up on them just yet. But it is surely frustrating. My feeling is that if you get to the desk of an executive at a bank branch, they should not let you leave until your problem is resolved. To be told at that point that you have to call the telephone customer service line - and this has happened to me both at Santander and Banorte - is maddening.

Obviously there are many positive exceptions, but frequently one gets the feeling (not only at banks) that they want to be rid of you - the reps in person and on the phone can telegraph this a bit too clearly (just as you describe the situation with your first branch). I don’t want to localize this purely on Mexico, it is a problem all over (although I can say that my customer service experiences when I lived in South Korea were consistently magnificent). Stated in positive terms, I do so appreciate a cheerful, “can do” spirit!


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## MangoTango (Feb 8, 2020)

Banks in Mexico are a lot different than in the US "or anywhere else I've ever lived for that matter".

In Mexico we have had accounts at Santender, HSBC and Banamex. And we are not talking your basic, walk in the door and open an account type relationships. Santender was by far the worst experience. There we had a 'Select" level account. In my life I have never wasted as much time in a bank as Santender (you can only drink so much free coffee). A week after opening the account the same rep was questioning our identities. It got to the point where I approached the branch manager and said "close it now".

At HSBC we were blessed with a rep who was like Sra. HSBC. EVERYONE from the torre in Mexico City to every branch knew this woman. She helped us a ton and she ruled. When Covid struck she at first started working from home and slowly retired, I'll never forget her for taking the time to call my wife and speak to her when my wife was passing. That is above and beyond.

At Banamex I had a rep who not only spoke impeccable English but was extremely intelligent. Oh - if I were 30-40 years younger. But alas - they have now moved her to a position in Mexico City.

Banks do that by the way to keep clients from forming too close a relationship with employees,


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## PatrickMurtha (Feb 26, 2011)

Completely agree about the amount of time spent in Santander! And about the questioning of identity. I am a 10-year customer of Banorte, and when I walked into my new branch in Tlaxcala with two picture IDs (passport and Residente Permanente) and all the original paperwork from the establishment of the account, the executive said my identity could not be verified. I more or less kept my cool, but it was not easy.

Overall and sad to say, my bad experiences with Mexican banks (like the time it took Banorte 10 weeks to reverse a double charge) outnumber my good ones. I have never come across that one executive who could make life easier.

I got spoiled in Korea, where everyone at the Korea Exchange Bank treated me like a prince, and yet I was just another ordinary basic-level customer. It made quite an impression!


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## PatrickMurtha (Feb 26, 2011)

Update: After spending a very frustrating day on the phone and online, I have decided to close my Santander account tomorrow, in person at the Tlaxcala branch. (I hope they will let me do it!) 

After numerous phone calls, emails, Twitter messages, chat exchanges, I am not a bit closer to knowing why I have had charges declined. Probably it is some security block - that has happened to me numerous times at Banorte - but Santander does not even seem capable of communicating this to me or rectifying it.

Clearly, as has happened to my respondents in this thread, they ARE communicating that they are not in the least interested in having my account. One telephone rep told me he could not communicate with me in English for security reasons, which seems pretty far-fetched. Banorte at least has an English-language option in its telephone system (and reps who speak the language very well).

So I honestly could not recommend Santander as a banking option for expats. This experience has put my dealings with Banorte in a better light, not that they are the greatest either, but certainly better than my descent into this Santander abyss. 🙂


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