I saw Mr. Peter Zipper of Caye Bank International in Belize give a nice presentation at a Live and Invest Overseas Conference held in Quito, Ecuador in February 2013. I opened an account with Mr. Zipper's bank later that year after returning home to California.
I never put a lot of money in the personal checking account that I opened with Mr. Zipper's bank--I opened the account, for example, with nine thousand US dollars (US$9000). That is the maximum that I ever held at the bank.
My last withdrawal was in the Fall of 2013, at which time I withdrew some three thousand US dollars (US$3000).
Owing to the inactivity on my account, the bank put my account in dormant accounts. They did this without contacting me by phone, email or snail mail.
I am now trying to close my account. I have been corresponding with each of Mmes. Hazel Gutierrez and Mariela Marin. Since Caye Bank has a new correspondent bank, it is apparently taking some time--this is the bank's explanation, in any case,--to close accounts.
I am not sure if that is the full explanation since I have been trying since early December 2018 to close my account, which now only has eight hundred and seventy-five US dollars (US $875) in it. In the past four months, the bank has asked for numerous documents from me to close my account--some of which it was already in possession of from 2015. Since I moved, for example, the bank asked for a utility bill from my new address.
I have had a lot of trouble having emails and phone calls returned regarding the closure of my account, even though I have diligently responded to the increasingly onerous requests for more and more information. I should note that owing to how my household was packed and moved--by my then and current housemate, and not by me--some of my account information--mainly my account password--was lost. Also, the email address that I used in 2013 to open the account has been shut down. That should not, however, to my mind necessitate almost a third of a year--almost a full four months--to close a small personal checking account.
In a way, I am not surprised. I had considerable customer service issues opening the account and had to get Live and Invest Overseas's Lief Simon and Kathleen Peddicord involved to get my account opened.
I have never done any foreign investment transactions, held money in a foreign currency or had any sort of transactions with the bank that would be considered remotely complicated. Rather, I simply held a relatively small amount of money in US dollars.
Can you tell me if there are any government officials that I should involve--I have written the Belize Consulate here in the US, but have not heard back--and what I should do?
If I ever decide to do any offshore banking in Belize again, can you recommend a bank that has better customer service?
I have never received an explanation as to why I can't get a direct wire from Caye Bank to a personal checking account with a US bank to close my Caye Bank checking account--i.e. why even use an intermediary bank?
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