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A little surprised by Chapala Coppell


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Went to Coppell today to purchase several pairs of shoes for the Kids of my neighbors today for Xmas.

I could not pay with 3 different credit cards. (Yes my bank knows I am here and they work fine everywhere else)

I was told to go to the service desk. They informed me that they do not accept American Cards. ?????

I was not the only one. Another Expat was in line in front of me and he was also told they could not accept his card.

My purchase was near 10,000 pesos (Yes, still cheap for 7 pairs of shoes)

I don't know what the other person was trying to buy but I heard the Cashier say 23,000.

So Coppell in 2 transactions gave up over 33,000 pesos.

I went online and Coppell site says they accept International Cards. They even go so far to say make sure your bank knows your travelling to avoid a decline.

I went into their chat feature and asked why I was told at the Chapala location they don't accept American cards. I even told them they should "Google" Lake Chapala because it is "Gringolandia" and they were giving up a lot of business and that if any location should be taking American Cards it should be the Chapala Location.

They apologized and they gave a vague answer but basically told me that the decision is made locally BUT that I could purchase everything through their app or website and could use any of my American Bank Cards or PayPal etc. etc. I declined as it would not arrive until probably January

Why would the Chapala location do that?

Has anyone else had issues with using cards at Coppell?

I use my cards at Soriana, Bodega Aurora, Liverpool, Chedraui, Fabricas Francia, etc etc etc with no issue.

 

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7 hours ago, gringolokito said:

Went to Coppell today to purchase several pairs of shoes for the Kids of my neighbors today for Xmas.

I could not pay with 3 different credit cards. (Yes my bank knows I am here and they work fine everywhere else)

I was told to go to the service desk. They informed me that they do not accept American Cards. ?????

I was not the only one. Another Expat was in line in front of me and he was also told they could not accept his card.

My purchase was near 10,000 pesos (Yes, still cheap for 7 pairs of shoes)

I don't know what the other person was trying to buy but I heard the Cashier say 23,000.

So Coppell in 2 transactions gave up over 33,000 pesos.

I went online and Coppell site says they accept International Cards. They even go so far to say make sure your bank knows your travelling to avoid a decline.

I went into their chat feature and asked why I was told at the Chapala location they don't accept American cards. I even told them they should "Google" Lake Chapala because it is "Gringolandia" and they were giving up a lot of business and that if any location should be taking American Cards it should be the Chapala Location.

They apologized and they gave a vague answer but basically told me that the decision is made locally BUT that I could purchase everything through their app or website and could use any of my American Bank Cards or PayPal etc. etc. I declined as it would not arrive until probably January

Why would the Chapala location do that?

Has anyone else had issues with using cards at Coppell?

I use my cards at Soriana, Bodega Aurora, Liverpool, Chedraui, Fabricas Francia, etc etc etc with no issue.

 

Crazy

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The problem here is that Copell Chapala does not tell you they don't take USA credit cards, but rather they stick it in the machine and then the card is refused.  I complained to my credit card company and they politely told me that it was the merchant who rejected the transaction.  I was somewhat embarrassed at having accused Mastercard of causing the problem.  

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Simple...if Coppell doesn't need our foreign credit cards, then they don't need our foreign business.

BTW, I had my card rejected at Walmart and thought that my cc company had done another random sweep for fraud. Nope. It was the machine at Walmart. Like Brian, I called my cc company and let them know that it was embarrassing to have the card rejected...only to be told they weren't the problem. I went back and told the girl it wasn't my card and she called her supervisor. No acknowledgement, no apology and the two just chatted back and forth as though I wasn't there (and yes, I did understand them). Of course, the card went through. Meanwhile, I had several folks in the line looking at me like...well, you know the "look" that's given when someone's card is rejected.

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2 hours ago, handfaf said:

Hard for the tax man to follow cash easy when you use plastic.  They ain't rich for nothing. 

Large companies like Coppel prefer plastic over cash for many reasons.. The money is in their bank account instantly..They don’t have to pay a security company to transport it to the bank.  Employees can’t pilfer credit card monies. They don’t get stuck with counterfeit bills. Accounting is much easier with credit cards..  

They don’t mind paying the fees, for a large company like Coppell it’s probably only  1 or 1 1/2 % maybe even less.

 

 

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2 hours ago, mudgirl said:

Sure you've got those numbers right? 1428 pesos/pair is by no means cheap for kids' shoes.

That's what I was thinking. The most expensive shoes I have seen there are usually 699 pesos or so. When I buy for kids I go to the many shoe stores in the area.

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Some businesses don't care for the idea that the customer can dispute the charge on a US card and hold the money transfer.  Especially prevalent in tourist areas like PV where some restaurant patrons get liquored up, run up huge tabs, and when they get home decide to say the restaurant inflated the charge and they didn't notice it. They can usually win but the hassle of responding and fighting with the CC company has just turned some off. Shouldn't be an issue in Lake Chapala but since each store can make their own rules, perhaps it has been.

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Merchants who display the VISA or Mastercard logos that decline to accept your card may be in violation of their agreements with the cc company.  Here is link to VISA merchant complaints including those located outside the US.   Statement below is from here, https://www.visa.ie/contact-us.html

Quote

 What do I do if a merchant will not accept my Visa card?
Your payment experience is incredibly important to us. Merchants who display the Visa logo are not permitted to choose whether or not to accept a Visa card for payment if the customer is acting in good faith.

From this website, https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/travel-support.html

Quote

If you have experienced a merchant violation of Visa rules at a merchant location not in the U.S. that accepts Visa, you can take action.

You can report merchant violations here:   https://usa.visa.com/Forms/visa-rules.html

 

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13 hours ago, happyjillin said:

I pay cash.

 

Always?? I do not pay cash when I buy airline tickets, when I rent a car and many other instances..  I recently bought a recliner, the store  does not accept cards so I transferred the money to their account, I rarely pay cash.

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7 hours ago, bmh said:

Always?? I do not pay cash when I buy airline tickets, when I rent a car and many other instances..  I recently bought a recliner, the store  does not accept cards so I transferred the money to their account, I rarely pay cash.

Always yes except to hospitals. Cash for airline tickets yes. Never rent cars and absolutely never use a card in retail stores. My doctors accept cheques but mostly I pay cash to them too.

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5 hours ago, cedros said:

I use my CC for larger purchases from reputable companies as I get a lower price-a 2% rebate plus travel points. Cash has it's virtues but....

Yes I pay no foreign transaction fees and get 5 percent in cash back so I would have received about (equivalent in dollars but converted) 500 pesos more or less back on that transaction

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On 12/23/2020 at 7:30 AM, Brian Dalziel said:

The problem here is that Copell Chapala does not tell you they don't take USA credit cards, but rather they stick it in the machine and then the card is refused.  I complained to my credit card company and they politely told me that it was the merchant who rejected the transaction.  I was somewhat embarrassed at having accused Mastercard of causing the problem.  

YES the cashier did exactly that and asked if I could go get cash. After the 3rd card I asked to see the screen and it was saying "Error"not declined as cashier was saying. I was eventually, after asking for a supervisor, sent to the service desk where the "Don't Take American Cards" was explained. And again The Coppell Website states they take foreign cards and go to lengths to say make sure your banks know your travelling. I kind of understand the local decision thing. Maybe some areas have large fraud claims or they are franchised or something. But Chapala of all Coppell not American Cards? That is what makes it more crazy to me. Lots of friends I have here use their cards for everything they can. They pay all the bills online to save trips to pay, don't want to carry large sums of cash etc

By the way is there a way to ask for a manager or boss other than "Jefe". I always get a don't understand when I use that word?

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On 12/23/2020 at 7:48 AM, Tingting said:

Simple...if Coppell doesn't need our foreign credit cards, then they don't need our foreign business.

BTW, I had my card rejected at Walmart and thought that my cc company had done another random sweep for fraud. Nope. It was the machine at Walmart. Like Brian, I called my cc company and let them know that it was embarrassing to have the card rejected...only to be told they weren't the problem. I went back and told the girl it wasn't my card and she called her supervisor. No acknowledgement, no apology and the two just chatted back and forth as though I wasn't there (and yes, I did understand them). Of course, the card went through. Meanwhile, I had several folks in the line looking at me like...well, you know the "look" that's given when someone's card is rejected.

Oh God, you know it is or was Christmas time. Long lines, few cashier's, yes I was embarrassed. But I've had problems before where the communication between countries was the problem. That's why I asked to see what it was saying on her terminal and saw ERROR in bold black type

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On 12/23/2020 at 8:02 AM, TelsZ4 said:

This must be a recent thing because I have used my Canadian CC many times at Coppel, the last time was last August..

Well I would agree but I was specifically told "American Cards". The person in front of me at service was told the same thing. Maybe they mean all International or maybe really just American. Don't know? And again I talked to Coppell through chat and email. They only apologized, Said I could buy everything online with even options to pay such PayPal and that it was a "Local" decision.

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On 12/23/2020 at 10:59 AM, oregontochapala said:

If they have recently been subject to charge backs on purchases where stolen or cloned international cards were used, they may well have a very good reason for declining the two cards mentioned.

Large purchases, especially this time of year, send up red flags.

Years ago everytime I used a card in Mexico they asked for ID. Recently I was at Liverpool and they ask for an ID, compared the signature and copied it. (I know some people won't allow people to copy their ID but I don't mind) I asked why and They said to prevent a charge back. I though the new chips were to prevent that issue but apparently they can hack those also.

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