Corpocrat Blog » Money & Finance

Taxi ripoffs in Budapest

pbu — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:29:37 +0000

I was traveler to Budapest for the first time and i am sharing my experience of the ripoff i had in Budapest. I was on Deak Ferenz ter (Vorosmarty market) and there were many taxis parked and hired one of these guys to Heroes square and i was surprised to see my taxi fare to 9300 forints and the actual price is supposed to be about 1200 forints or so. The guy spoke very good english had a nice alluring chat but ripped me off.

So be careful hiring taxis in Budapest where there are popular destinations. The best is to call a taxi to hire and in that way you dont give any chance to ripoffs.

Besides this, be sure to avoid blacklisted places, announced by US embassy for Budapest. The Ferihegy international airport has been recently renamed as “List Fernc International airport”.

http://hungary.usembassy.gov/tourist_advisory.html

Hope you be careful when you travel to budapest next time.

Indian paypal users are forced to autowithdraw daily!

pbu — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:39:53 +0000

Today, Paypal has sent an email to all indian users saying that from now on payments received through paypal will be autowithdrawn daily. The 7 day withdrawal limit previously announced by paypal has been changed to and instead daily withdrawals apply. The bank accounts are automatically set to daily auto withdrawal and the reason given was to comply with RBI regulations. The only relief is that there is no paypal fee charged for auto withdrawals. Hmmm!

For latest updates see: http://paypal-apac.com/india/

The Problems with Paypal for Indians

All Indian users were forced to give PAN, Purpose code and Bank account with Paypal. Even by complying with all regulations by giving PAN, Purpose code, Credit card etc.. the problems with paypal arent going away.

1. Indian paypal users were not allowed to send money if no credit card connected to paypal account.

2. Indians cannot pay another Indian paypal account, even if credit card is attached.

3. Indians are not allowed to send money from paypal balance.

4. Sending Mass payments disabled for Indian users.

5. Now, Indians are forced to auto withdraw daily. More indians are worried about refunds and chargebacks related to non keeping of paypal balance. Many prefer to keep atleast $100 to $200 to cover for paypal disputes, refunds and chargebacks.

Take a look at the new explanations by paypal with regard to new rules…

Quick and easy way to to find currency exchange rate!

pbu — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:17:09 +0000

Very often, if you are receiving payments in foreign currency, you will be in a hurry to find latest exchange rate and its values. Well the easiest way to to do it, go to firefox or safari search bar or directly in google,

100 EUR to USD

The first should have a number, then originating currency, then to and destination currency. You just need to know the 3 letter words for the world currencies.

Thats it google will you instant currency conversion value

I never liked visiting other third party websites to find out exchange rates, when such an easy to find out from google. Hope this tip comes handy for you.

Going Abroad? Dont violate Forex norms!

pbu — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:59:15 +0000

If you are a frequent travelor going abroad or travelling outside india, be careful that you dont violate Forex (foreign exchange) rules in India. Most people prefer to take money with them either as travellers check or Prepaid travel card in foreign currency, but there are limits and regulations for everything. Keep in mind that most banks insist doing foreign transactions from current account.

Here are quick summary of forex rules in India:

1. If you are travelling as tourist, you are allowed to take maximum USD 10,000 (equivalent of 4.5 lacs) combined for whole single year. You can take any currency EUR, JPY, GBP but the maximum is 10k USD.

2. If you are travelling for business, you are allowed to take a maximum of USD 25,000 per trip.

3. If you are going abroad for studies, medical purpose or immigration to another country, you are allowed to take maximum of USD 100,000 (approx 45 lacs) in a financial year.

5. If you are buying a property abroad, sending gifts or donations to charities you can you can avail benefit from Liberalized Remittance Scheme, which allows you to take maximum of USD 200,000 (approx 90 lacs) in a financial year.

6. You cannot take more than Rs. 7,500 in indian currency notes when going abroad.

7. While coming from abroad, if you have foreign currency or travellers cheques with value above USD 5,000 you must declare that with customs authorities at airport.

For more information in detail for foreign exchange transactions, please visit RBI website

You may be asked to fill up certain forms depending on the reason why you are going abroad and the most important form is A2 form.

Please visit the official bank websites to download such forms

ICICI bank – Download forms

HDFC Bank – Download forms

Note: The above is a general information and please consult a lawyer or accountant in India for any legal information.

Smart cards – A new technology for Internet banking

pbu — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 05:44:43 +0000

I was fascinated by smart cards used to authenticate internet banking logins used by many banks in europe. Recently i was sent by a smart card and reader by post by our bank, and it was difficult to be to use smart cards, as we have never seen smart cards used in our side of the world. Initially i struggled to configure the smart card and certificates, finally was able to login to internet banking.

This is how you have to login to internet banking…

First go to internet banking website of your bank, the internet explorer will prompt for PIN of your smart card, key in and then you will be taken to a secure https part of same bank website. Just login with your bank username and password, and you are accessing your bank account online.

i felt secure to login but the downside was, it only works in internet explorer and not in other major browsers. This also means that you are restricted to windows xp and vista OS.

Firefox problems with smart card reader PIN prompt

pbu — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 05:35:16 +0000

Recently, our bank ING bank informed us from now on we have to use smart card to login to internet banking . The smart card PIN based authentication is latest used by most banks in european countries. I was given a gemalto active client toolbox software along with the smart card reader and smart card issued by bank. I read and followed the instructions carefully but had some issues with firefox browser.

I had no problems with internet explorer 7 and as soon as i plugged the smart card reader to USB port, it prompted for secure PIN, but it isnt happening with firefox. Usually firefox is supposed to recognize smart card reader and ask for PIN along and it take to secure internet site through https. It never happened all i am getting is certificate invalid.

For instructions and configuration of smart card reader and certificates, please see this page (pdf) with instructions

I searched in vain for additional plugins but never found one.

Too many paypal chargebacks may hurt your business!

pbu — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 10:15:29 +0000

It has been a most humble day in my life. i have been long time premium verified paypal seller and have never received any chargebacks. One day out of the blue, i received about 20 chargebacks in a singleday as “unauthorized”, all from a single customer. I received paypal case notifications coming all day from paypal that the buyer filed for dispute with their bank and the bank reversed all the payments done for whole months of July and August. The guy paid all payments using credit card, i found out later. The buyer bought $25 express submission and though i did approve and publish all the submissions in my website, yet got chargebacked. The chargeback reason code paypal sent me was 177.

All these notifications and chargebacks, kind of freaked me out because not only i will be paying $10 for each chargback plus the refund amount, it really hurts my reputation as a seller. i really fear that paypal one day might think that my account has high risk because of chargebacks and may possibly limit my account. Without paypal, i am screwed and my business is screwed.

Worse yet, all these paypal notifications landed up on my gmail spam. I initially thought it was spam, but later when i logged in to my account, i found out it was genuine.

I know its impossible to fight chargebacks because of intangible products, i did my level best to provide paypal screenshots of email correspondence and the buyers submissions etc. i spent the whole day uploading screenshots to paypal for all the 20 chargebacks.

Case received: Case ID: PP-001-xxx-xxx - A-A001

Dear Michael,

We were recently notified that one of your buyers filed a chargeback and
asked the credit card issuer to reverse a payment made to you on
29-Jul-2011.

The buyer claims that this purchase was made without authorisation to use
the credit card. Their credit card issuer needs additional information from
you about this transaction.

——————————
Transaction Details

———————————–
Buyer’s Name: xxxxx
Buyer’s Email:
Buyer’s Transaction ID: 7MH29xxxxxxxxxxTransaction Date:29-Jul-2011
Transaction Amount:-$25.00 USD
Case No.:PP-001-xxxxxxxx
Your Transaction ID: 5A839xxxxxxxxxx———————————–
What to Do Next
———————————–Please respond within 10 days so that we can help resolve this chargeback.
To respond, log in to your PayPal account and go to the Resolution Centre
to provide information about this transaction.The credit card issuer decides if the buyer’s claim is legitimate. Once the
credit card issuer receives your information, it may take up to 75 days to
make a final decision.Because the credit card issuer has reversed the charge for this
transaction, we’ve placed a temporary hold on the funds associated with
this transaction until the case is resolved. Our user agreement explains
our policies on holding funds.

You can learn more about chargebacks in the Resolution Centre tutorials.
———————————–
Other Details
———————————–

There are no other details regarding this transaction at the moment.

Yours sincerely,

PayPal
Chargeback Department

Apostille and Attestation of Documents in India

pbu — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 03:30:51 +0000

Apostille and attestation of Documents.

Ministry of External Affairs is responsible for attestation of documents for use in countries abroad. This service is now being performed by its offices located at the following places.

1. Delhi : Attestation cell, CPV Division, MEA,

Patiala house annexe, Tilak Marg, New

Delhi – 110 011

Telefax: 011 – 23387931

Email: sooi(att)mea.gov.in

usexio(att)mea.gov.in

2. Chennai : MEA Branch Secretariat

E.V.K Sampath Maaligai – 7^th floor,

68, college Road, Chennai – 6

Ph: 044 – 28251323 / 28272200

Fax: 044 – 28251034

Email: usbs.chennai(att)mea.gov.in

3. Hyderabad : MEA Branch secretariat

Old reception Hall, Near Old Gate,

Andhra Pradesh Secretariat,

Hyderabad – 22

Ph: 040 – 23456051 Fax: 040 – 23451244

Email: raviaisola(att)hotmail.com

4. Kolkata : MEA Branch Secretariat

2, Ballygunge, Park Road

Kolkata – 700 019 Ph: 033 – 22879701

Fax: 033 – 22879703

Email: meacal(att)dataone.in

5. Guwahati : MEA Branch Secretariat

House No.307, Beltola, Basistha Road,

Guwahati – 781028. Ph: 0361 – 2229155

Fax: 0361 – 2229157

Email: hobs.guwahati(att)mea.gov.in

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING ATTESTATION OF DOCUMENTS.

Please go to the concerned Regional Authentication Centre for initial attestation. see below the list of centres..
Thereafter, please bring the following documents to the branch secretariat.
- Original documents along with a copy thereof (back to back)
- Photo identity proof i.e. passport copy of the person bringing the documents.
- Letter of authorization in case the certificate holder cannot come in person, along with photo identity proof of the representative.
- Note: The service is rendered free of charge.

APOSTILLE ATTESTATION.

The requirements are the same as for general attestation.
The prescribed fee of Rs. 50/- per sticker may please be paid by bank draft in favour of “PAO, MEA, NEW DELHI”.

Note: For more than one document the fee should be paid through a single DD only. Eg. If there are 5 documents, a single DD for Rs. 250/- may be presented.

Attestation/Apostille documents should be free from lamination. If already laminated, the lamination may be removed in such a way that a minimum are of 12cm x 13cm is left free for both Apostille sticker and attestation seals.
Applicants are advised to ensure that the demand drafts submitted are in order. The following points may please be noted.
- Date of draft to be correctly mentioned.
- The draft is to be made payable to “PAO, MEA, New Delhi”.
- Prescribed fee and amount in draft are the same.
- Signature of authorized signatory of bank is affixed.

Attestation Timings: 09.30 – 12.30 Pm

Documents Delivery Timings: 04.00 – 05.00 Pm

Regional Authentication Centre for Authentication of Educational Documents/General Documents.

1. Tamil Nadu : Under Secretary to Govt. public

(Foreigners) dept, Govt. of Tamil Nadu,

Chennai – 9 Ph: 044 – 25670324

2. Karnataka : Under Secretary, Home Dept. Passport&

Foreigners Room no 224 II nd floor,

Vidhana Soudha, Govt. of Karnataka,

Bangalore – 560 001

Ph: 080 – 22033371

3. Kerala : Regional Authentication officers, Lotus

Villa, Sasthamangalam, Govt of Kerala,

Thiruvanathapuram.

Ph: 0471 – 5575212

4. Puducherry : Home dept, Chief Secretariat,

Puducherry. Ph: 0413 – 2333271 / 75

For more information, please visit the official govt website

Austria Citizenship for the Wealthy & Superrich Investors

pbu — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 06:37:19 +0000

Austria (not Australia), is the only country in Europe which “officially” offer citizenship for those who invest substantially large sum of money in the economy of the country. Austria is a aesthetically beautiful country, conveniently located near Switzerland and often people refer to Austria as “swiss alternative” in terms of living costs and expenses which is quite affordable for many people.

The citizenship-by-investment program is possible for only ‘wealthy’ foreign nationals who invest substantial amount of minimum EUR 2-3 million in Austria, for example contribution to the public charity. Passive investments in government bonds, listed shares, real estate, etc. do not qualify as in the provisions of the law. There there are no residence requirements for this.

It is the expensive yet fastest way, for getting a European citizenship and you can get your citizenship within 12 months. There will be additional expenses of EUR 400’000 in addition to the investment amount. The process takes about 12 months of processing time.

For an investors looking to get citizenship in a EU country, Austria, of course the best option, even taking into consideration the substantial costs and fees. It gives you full citizenship and a passport from a neutral EU-country with great reputation and without prior residence requirements. Austrian passport holders enjoy the most extensive visa-free travel.

We know a company who can assist you with the procedure in Austria. This is the only company who we know assists clients with residence and citizenship in Austria. For more information, please directly contact through their website

Citizenship-by-investment available only in 3 countries

pbu — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:37:20 +0000

If you are interested in getting a quick direct citizenship in another country….then read this.

At present there are only 3 countries in the World which “officially and legally” offer citizenship or passport to investors

Austria
Dominica
St.Kitts & Nevis

and be sure that you have enough money in your pocket, because these countries only offer citizenship to wealthy persons, who make a substantial investment in their country.

Austria requires minimum EUR 2-3 million
Dominica requires USD 75’000 as minimum investment with personal visit.
St.Kitts requires USD 200’000 as minimum investment with no personal visit.

You can directly obtain citizenship (or second passport) in these countries and then passport within 6-12 months and there are no residence requirements for this.

Besides these 3 countries, there are currently no legal citizenship programs anywhere in Europe Asia, Africa, Central or South America. Any information to the contrary in this regard that you may be fraudulent or a scam.

Getting a Citizenship or Passport by “legal” means is no easy task and it certainly doesnt come cheap, besides there is a long list of government formalities and paperwork need to worked out! The Governments are making sure such citizenship-by-investment programs are only available for wealthy or high net worth investors who are capable to making a substantial contribution to economy of the country and who are able to support themselves financially.

If you are interested in citizenship program in Austria, St Kitts or in Dominica, we ask you contact this website, who work with a with various law forms and residence experts in Europe and Carribean