hi, you might want to check this out:

http://www.pinoymoneytalk.com/2007/10/15/problems-with-bpi/#more-613

i’ve read about the second one in a separate forum also

Hello,

I know this post was a year ago, but yes I am having the same problem. what happened to your money? was it ever credited? do let me know because I am in a similar situation. BPI have claimed also that they have no record of of the remittance. it has been 2 weeks and they have not given any response that would explain why they don;t have a record of it.

Wow. That's scary, Toni. My money did show, in something less than the five-day period they said it would take to investigate.

There's a transaction reference (forgot what it's called, it may not be “transaction”) you can get from the sending bank. You may want try getting that and giving it to BPI - but maybe you already have.

i am having the same experience too, nick. i actually have already given them the reference number/tracking number (or whatever they call it) but they said they have no record of that transaction. i already have 2 pending remittances with them, and it's been nearly a month but still no results. i blogged about it, and was surprised to see a number of people sharing the same experience. bpi sucks. i can't wait to end my ties with them.

Kaye - Now I think you have a case with the Sending institution. Maybe they gave you a fictitious transaction reference number? I would tend to contact them and tell them what BPI said put pressure on them to defend themselves against BPI. That may move them to take it up directly with BPI, because now they are at risk of fraud unless they can prove they sent the wire to BPI.

there are many people experienced this, including me

I have been fighting with BPI since October 2008 trying to get $1k I sent my wife. I got the best proof I could and she is going back for the umpteenth time with a lawyer. I wonder if anyone has had success suing them over this fraud?

This is astounding. I can't believe the number of people that are having BPI keep their money. I expect only a fraction come through this comment list.

Part of the problem is that this is not publicly transparent. BPI knows how many customers are complaining of this - but we have no way of aggregating complainants. The internet will, one day, solve that problem. Corporations won't be able to hide from important problems.

It may be a scam. Or it may just be incompetence. How do we know? One thing seems apparent - BPI doesn't seem to show that it cares and are willing to sacrifice peoples savings just because they haven't been proven legally liable. How's that for customer service? If they would just re-direct some of their annual advertising expenditures to covering some of these questionable lost transfers, the ROI returns to their image would be hugely higher, I would think.

I know perfectly well they have it and I can probably get proof eventually but JP Morgan is just as bad and I went through them. Its very difficult to get info from them. But they told me over the phone BPI admitted to having the money but the people at the bank tell my wife they don't.

When I first sent the money BPI sent back for confirmation of the details and we sent it again. That is proof that they had it. They just wont give it.

I have no proof but I suspect it is a scheme to get money from gullible women who are sent money from men. How many would report this if they were also scamming? We all know how common that is. The only hole I see in that is you say you have been with them for years and they are doing this to you too.

Well, personally, I've never had them keep my money from an international wire transfer for more than a week or so while they go look for it. But even that I didn't like. If I give them a transaction number from remitting bank, they should act within 24 hours. My fear was that it was intentional to scrape off the interest earnings while I waited.

I understand your point scamming women. Especially undereducated, provincial women. They are such easy targets for corporate (and government agency) bullying. My wife gets this at the BPI branch in Malaybalay, Bukidnon if the ATM fails to deliver the cash yet our bank account gets docked. Their position is always: not our problem. So my wife tends to just eat the P1000 or whatever. THIS is highly likely a scam - albeit at the local level.

We gave them tracking numbers several times I don't remember how many now at least 4. The first within a week of the problem. No dice. I can't see it as anything but a scam.

i send a remittance to my son and in half month till now theres no money received yet.the services is very poor.ive been dealing with metrobank and i never encounter such problem in fifteen years.dont believed in their advertisement that you will get fast your remittance.i will never ever send remittance with this bank anymore and i will inform all my friends here abroad what is my experience in this bank.

My last four wires in a row, from U.S. to BPI account in Manila, have executed overnight (i.e. within 12 hours). BPI has modified something in their process. It's faster. It's been more reliable.

I have other experience with BPI customer service. It really piss me off whenever I see their advertisement for convenience banking.

Yesterday, since sa galleria kami napunta ng friend ko at nung sister nya, we decided to open a bank account for her sister.
Her sister is studying sa U.S. and we are thinking of a business and since me and my friend we already have a BPI account (which is tied to our payroll) sabi namin BPI na lang din para easier yung fund transfer.

So eto na, since biglaan and nandito lang din sila for a vacation and dala nya lang is yung student ID nya sa US. So sabi namin if pwede yung ID na yun.
Ang sabi di daw pwede kasi dapat philippines issued IDs lang ang tinatanggap nila. Nakipag argument kami na bakit di pwede mag open ng account eh syempre wala pa nman siya ibang ID na issued dito since sa US nga siya nakabase for her studies. So kami pa nag suggest na if mabigay namin passport eh pwede. Mejo naiirita na kami kasi napaka unfriendly, di man lang magbigay ng help or ideas pano kami matulungan para makapag open ng account. Sabi pa nung bank officer, “ah student pala siya”, “a o sige yung passport”, mga ganun lang sinsabi. Next namin sinabi, since na nandito na lang din nman kami baka nman na pwede iaccept yung yung student ID nya pra makpag open na siya tapos isunod na lang namin yung passport next visit and pag bigay na lang nung passport saka n lng namin kunin yung atm. Di daw talaga pwede ang reply nila. So mejo naiirita na kami kasi parang sobra naman kami pinahihirapan mag open ng account, naisip nga namin siguro dahil naka slippers lang kami kaya ganun trato nila sa amin.

Pakiusap pa din kami. Sabi namin na isang ID na lang nman kailangan na ibibigay naman agad namin. Ang next scene, bigla lapit si manager ang sabi with matching iritadong voice. [i]Pag walang passport di ko din iapprove[/i] so sabi namin wag mo nga iapprove release ng atm unless we provide the passport copy and if babalik kami eh taga san pedro laguna pa kami. Nung narinig ni manager na taga san pedro laguna kami, ang reply nya “taga san pedro kayo?, eh bakit kayo dito nag oopen.” nag init talaga ulo ko. Sabi ko, bakit dito ko gusto dahil near sa work at open pag weekend. pagkasabi ko nun, biglang nag walkout at tumalikod. Super bastos talaga.

I mean I know there are rules, pero di ba nila kya maging accomodating and at least help us kung pano maayos na magkaron ng bank account dito yung sister ng friend ko. Sabi nga namin, kala namin convenience banking pag BPI eh puro uncoveniences ang binibigay nyo. And the way they talked. Sobrang proud na ang dating eh wala kayong magagwa kasi di ko din iapproved yan. hay….

May mali ba sa point namin?

Ang sabi pa nga nila kya ayaw nila kasi pano daw pag naging dormant ang account tapos nandun sa US eh macharge daw ng 200pesos yung account. Sabi namin, we understand yung point na yun kaya nga mag proceed pa din kami because we know our responsibility sa part na yun and umuuwi nman sila every year. But ayaw pa din nila.

To add to these problems/inconvenience that BPI gives their depositors, here is my story:

I had a cheque of 190k deposit to my account. It was subjected for clearing and got cleared. So I drew my funds to pay off things which on the first place is non of their business.

BPI called me very late in the afternoon saying they have to debit my account because the chque that cleared bounce. WTF??? How lousy are they? It's none of my business coz as far as i know, it cleared.

They have never showed me the cheque involved.

They are pressuring me to pay for the cheque. DUH???? Was I the issuing person???

They then freeze all my accounts with them. (this really pisses me off, they have violated my rights on this)

BPI have forgotten the fact probably that the bank is a debtor to it's depositors. They make us pay penalties for our failure to maintain balances and when they make mistakes, they just can bare to maneuver it responsibly. Oh, the staff of the branch involved are REALLY unprofessional, to think one of them is a BPI scholar. Pathetic.

I will sue them in the near future. They sure are incompetent.