Banamex froze our account!!

[Luvnevrymin 1]

My husband (a Mexican citizen) and I spent 2 weeks vacationing in Mexico recently. We have decided to buy a house and land sometime in the future to retire there and thought it would be a good idea to open a bank account where I can deposit money monthly toward that goal. He is living there while waiting on his visa, I am living in the U.S. The bank would only allow me to be an authorized user of the account, he is the account holder, because I did not have a visa (not required for such a short stay). We deposited $1000 USD and we thought everything was good. The week after I returned (after 2 return trips to the bank for various reasons), the bank froze the account. They say I cannot have a bank account there because I was there illegally. I went to the Mex consulate here (in the US), they said that is not true. The only reason I would have had to get a visa for such a short stay is if I was going to do business there, such as trading, buying & selling, etc. I had every right legally to create a bank account. However, the account is not in my name, it's in my husbands. I only deposited the money and they gave me an ATM card as an authorized user. They charged me without telling me for converting my $ to pesos, and now, to take my money back out, they want to charge me an arm and a leg for giving it back to me in USDs. I am losing over $100. Furthermore, they won't let us touch it until my husband brings them the paperwork from when we opened the account (which I have with me in the States). Is this legal for them to freeze the account? Is it common practice? Do I have any rights to have my money back as it was deposited without having to pay the bank? I would think the most they could have done was block my card and my access as an authorized user, but they have frozen the account completely so that even my husband cannot access the funds.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Mexican financial institutions are subject to much more legal supervision than in the US. Not only Banamex has rules like this one for foreigners. No, they are not breaking any laws. Send in the paperwork they are asking for via Fedex to your husband.