banks that rob

[gary]

Like more than just a few who live in Mexico, I receive Social Security money every month and fight to hold on to every cent of it to make ends meet. Not too long ago, Mexican banks charged nothing to use their automatic tellers, and so it seemed wise to have Social Security automatically deposit proceeds into a U.S. bank account, then use a bank card (debit card in my case) here in Mexico to receive funds. Visa's exchange rates have always been fair. Recently, however, Mexican banks have become greedy: they not only ask for a fee at the time money is withdrawn, but an additional fee (usually $1.50 dollars) shows up on the bank statement as "ATM fee." Then, suddenly, another fee ("conversion fee" whatever the heck THAT is!) popped up on some but not all transactions. And now, the latest scam (from Banamex): they ask, when you insert your card into the machine, if it's O.K. if they charge 29.00 pesos for the transaction. O.K., that's reasonable. Today, however, my email statement from my U.S. bank says that Banamex charged, in addition to the 29 pesos approved, an additional fee of $6.40! Now, I've figured with the initial withdrawl fee, conversion fee, ATM fee, plus scam fee, it has cost me over 2 percent of what I withdrew just for the leeches that lurch in the shadows of the auto teller machines. Sure, some will say, 2% ain't much...but it's a lot more than I wish to pay. I need as much as I can get! One percent is fair, but more than that is ridiculous. Does anyone have any war stories they wish to share, or good advice/experiences they wish to impart ??