Living in Los Cabos: Going to Profeco, Not the Final Fourth

Well, for those who have told me they’re anxious to hear how my experience with Profeco turned out….. we’re not quite there yet. This will be brief, as I don’t want to bore the rest of you.

So, for most of this year Mexico’s cell phone company TelCel has been ripping me off by overcharging my credit card and they haven’t produced the promised new, white iPhone. So finally I went to Profeco, Mexico’s consumer protection agency. So far it’s been a fine experience, except that TelCel is not appearing but having a lawyer from Tijuana call in. He cannot bind the company, which is almost certainly why they’re doing it. And, he is a genius at wasting time and going over and over irrelevant points. So this time he was doing it again when suddenly our mediator got very angry.

Now I’ve been lucky to have Carlos there to help translate, and frankly have only understood about 50% of the conversations. But let me tell you I got 100% --- every word --- of what happened next. She told the lawyer that due to the grave nature of the complaint, and because of the importance of it to the consumer, that this session was over and that we would re-convene on July 14. And he would (finally) produce the records she’s been requesting and that we would not accept any more phone calls. Cabo is a big city, she told him, and TelCel has large offices here. This matter is sufficiently important that it warrants someone from one of them appearing in person. She’s such a sweet lady normally, but in this mode the only word to describe her was formidable.

So, that’s the update. We’ll see what happens next week…. And so on to our next topic: how to golf on some of the world’s best courses FOR FREE.

Carol Billups is Broker/Owner of REALTY EXECUTIVES Los Cabos. A Certified Home Marketing Specialist, she has enjoyed working with both buyers and sellers for over ten years and still thinks hers is the best job on earth. She is also the real estate columnist for Los Cabos Magazine and Chairman of the AMPI Los Cabos Board of Realtors. You can read more of her articles on www.reloscabos.com. You can reach her from the U.S. or Canada at 1-760-481-7694, or in Cabo at 044-624-147-7541.

© 2011 Carol S. Billups