John Shrall

For those that are interested I'd like to clarify a couple of points. First, a debit card can serve 2 functions. One, it can be used to withdraw money from an ATM and two, it can be used in place of a credit card for merchant purchases in a Point-of-Sale device. All routing uses the first 6-9 digits of the plastic card where those beginning with 4 belong to the Visa system and 5 use Master Card. There are hundreds of merchant types covering restaurants, department stores, services and many others. Any card that is used in a POS device sends transactions to the authorizing bank using the Visa, Master Card or Maestro networks. A couple of posts back covered how the exchange rates work. These transactions can also cause a currency exchange fee to be assessed. One very odd twist is what they called a dual currency exchange fee. Let's say you're in a touristy part of Puerto Vallarta and you buy something in a store that prices merchandise in dollars. To make it easier on the visitors perhaps. There can be a fee to convert the dollars to pesos and then a second fee to convert pesos back to dollars. Kind of nuts but know to avoid making that type of purchase. A currency exchange fee will appear as a separate line item on your bank statement as it is technically interest. Surcharges do not appear on your statement, only the ATM receipt. One other POS oddity is using a debit card to purchase gas although it works the same for a credit card. Once you swipe your card and maybe enter your zip code the POS device at the pump sends a pre-authorization request for an amount determined by the station. It used to be $100 but it could be more now, but it would be enough to cover a tank of gas. No returns allowed. If you have enough to cover the pre-auth then a hold is placed on your account. When you finish the POS sends what's known as a force post message. The bank cannot deny it. The authorization system also releases the original hold. If the transaction never finishes the hold is released after a certain amount of time passes. While POS devices use the Visa and Master Card networks, ATMs use networks like Plus and Cirrus to complete transactions.

Whichever international network passes the transaction from the host country to the receiving country sets the exchange rate. This could be Plus, Cirrus, Maestro, Visa and possibly some new ones I'm not familiar with. Normally the international switches logos are printed on your debit card. The surcharge is determined by the owner of the ATM. If you let the acquiring bank determine the exchange rate all bets are off.

The land used for this construction used to be part of the 2 clay tennis courts which were part of the yacht club property. It was my understanding, and I could be wrong, that the original plan was approved for 3 stories. Once the building far exceeded the original permitted height it was shut down. For years. It sounds like 5 might have been the compromise between 3 and 7.

And the time difference here will remain the same until November 5. Enjoy the ride.

Take time to follow new listings, sales and pending properties along with associated prices at https://www.chapalamls.net/en/ It's pretty easy to check asking prices for any given area and if you follow it long enough, you'll see price reductions and pending sales.

FWIW, the Mabe/GE Profile technician from Guadalajara that Tio Sam's said could help with my oven came by today. He actually had an ignitor in the car which turned out to be the part causing my oven to fail sporadically over the last 2 years. If you have a problem that the local folks can't seem to diagnose or can't find a part, go to Tio Sam's and make an appointment.

Jalisco will be on Central Standard Time all year and will no longer observe daylight savings time. From March to November we will technically be on Mountain Daylight Time putting us in the same time zone as Denver. Arizona figured this out a long time ago. They are on year-round Mountain Standard time and as such will always be 1 hour behind us.

Same experience and wage as a 15 year old in Detroit in the mid 60's. Eight hours a week minus $5 per month union dues which amounted to 10% of gross wages and of course less social security and taxes. Rode a bus to work too for 25 cents. We had to wear white shirts and a tie and got to gather carts in the snow-covered parking lot when needed. Crappy jobs like that as a young person not only exposes one to associated responsibilities but also make you aware that perhaps there are better jobs available with more effort and education.

Tio Sam's is bringing a technician down from Guadalajara on Thursday. I'm on the list for the guy to check out my 10 year old GE Profile Oven. Gualberto and Carlos can't figure out the problem and the one guess they have requires a part they say is unavailable. Carlos can probably take a look if the problem appears to be simple. 765-5653

There was a big boom I heard around that time. It was definitely a transformer and I thought for a moment it would affect Las Salvias but it wasn't. You can make a report of an outage on the CFE portal or the app. It's a lot easier than dragging out the bill, dialing CFE and presenting the information.

CETE rates still climbing with another interest rate hike forecast for March. The current interest rate for Mexico now stands at 11% with an expected bump to 11.25%. These rates are available on Cetes Direct but banks/investment houses like Multiva will have CEDES near these numbers. Too bad the exchange rate is in the tank.

Just so you know, you don't need a receipt to dispute a transaction. If you log into your checking account using online banking you'll see the transaction with the name and location of the ATM. I'll have to assume the banks wrote internal programs as I did that allows someone to look up all the details of the ATM transaction. Not only where and when but audit numbers, trace numbers, the details about the physical ATM that performed the transaction. They will see the amount you requested in local currency, the exchange rate, the amount in the bank's currency and dozens of other bits of information that are transmitted with the transaction. All of this exists on paper reports too which of course are no longer on paper. I wrote ATM authorization programs for the better part of 25 years and each year things got more and more complicated to the point where I'm amazed they work as well as they do. The HSBC problems would appear to be the fault of the local bank which might have a not so stable communications system set up.

Generally, but not necessarily. When ATMs first came out, there were no networks. Each bank drove ATMs that could be used only by their customers. The posting sequence started with the ATM requesting authorization for the withdrawal amount and if dispensed successfully, the ATM sent a completion message saying how much you received. If you got nothing there was no completion meaning no account debit. As networks came into being and transaction volumes increased accounts were debited upon authorization. If the ATM had a problem and could not dispense the amount requested it sent a reversal, either total or partial. Your account showed money out followed by a full or partial credit. If the ATM didn't receive the authorization from the bank within a certain amount of time, the transaction would time out. It wouldn't send a reversal because it didn't know the transaction was authorized. Similarly, if the ATM couldn't dispense after receiving the OK and the reversal didn't make it back, your account was charged but you got no money. Banks are supposed to give you a provisional credit if you make a claim you didn't receive the cash you requested. With the transaction information someone at the bank has to contact the network to research the transaction. Obviously the ATM is out of balance as it has more money in the canisters than it's supposed to.

At the bottom of the recharge page under prepay it says you can deposit $200 to $2,000 with the max card balance being $3,000.

Oxxo, BBVA and other locations. https://www.pase.com.mx/formas-de-pago/

Appointment: https://citastransporte.jalisco.gob.mx/transporte/client/newAppointment?eiid=102&lid=13 Payment: https://gobiernoenlinea1.jalisco.gob.mx/multiTramites/licencias

While I'm glad you all switched to Totalplay, my question was about ILOX. No additional Totalplay comments are needed.

Is there anyone using ILOX internet that is also using their VOIP telephone service and is happy with it? I switched back to Telmex several years ago due to constant problems but Telmex is down quite frequently so perhaps it's time to switch back.

I would first try to pry the broken handle off. If possible and you can locate an identical new part, pry off the new handle and attach it to the valve. You could also just leave it and use pliers to assist when you need to close or open it.

Now that the account is set up all that is visible is last year's bill with a zero balance due. It has a pay online button but at least as of today there is nothing to pay. One step closer but it appears the payment process is still in person only, unless you want to call to get the amount due, pay that amount to their account at BBVA and then scan and email the receipt hoping they match the payment to your account.

In the first year Chapala started using Google Earth and Street View our taxes almost doubled. It was all due to a large increase in the taxable square meters. I went to Catrasto and talked to the man in the back that was mentioned in this discussion. He pointed out the Google Earth image saying that our house was 2 stories not one. I told him we had 5 meter ceilings in a 1 story. In the end they came out to see for themselves but while there they discovered a gazebo had been built since someone last looked so the square meters went up a bit but not doubled. The taxable square meters of construction and land are listed on the receipts and so is easy to compare to prior years.

The discount is for citizens on the first $800,000 or $1 million pesos of valuation not the whole tax bill (unless of course is under that amount). However, I was told when trying to claim the discount, Predial allows either the 15% early discount or the $50% partial discount, not both.

Edge and Chrome both work on Windows 11.

BBVA credit card. Life is a lot easier with plastic from Mexican banks.

URL to make car registration payment https://gobiernoenlinea1.jalisco.gob.mx/serviciosVehiculares/adeudos?