Rebeca Monzo, 29 May 2018 — An older woman, whose son opened a bank account and got an ATM card to make her life easier, went to the Water and Soap store on La Rambla in Havana’s Vedado area to buy some cleaning supplies. When she handed the card to the cashier, she was informed that the “little machine” had rejected it and that, therefore, she had to pay in cash. The woman did this but, upon leaving the store, decided to check her bank balance at a nearby ATM. It indicated, to her surprise, that the purchase amount had been deducted from her account.
She returned to the store, went to the cashier and told her what had happened. The cashier replied that she was sorry but that she could not give her a cash refund, that the woman would have to go to Fincimex in Miramar and explain her problem. The woman went there and the employee waiting on her informed her that they did not handle problems like these and that she should contact the CIMEX Corporation. The woman went there and was informed that she must write a letter explaining the problem and deliver it to the management at Water and Soap. So the woman did this and, after her long ordeal, was finally refunded the money.
Having solved that problem, she decided to go the nearby ATM to get some cash in order to buy some things without having to use the card. But just as she was about to receive the money, there was a power failure. The automatic teller returned her card but did not give her the cash. To resolve this new problem, she had to go to the bank that services the ATM and make the necessary arrangements there. That’s how easy things are on my planet!
