Chile Forum

Definitely at some point we might hook up with them and others.

Our problem with getting the big organizations involved at this point is that they are big. Kind of the whole method driving this operation is to stay light on our feet both bureaucratically and logistically. Some one told me that there were several international aid organizations just arriving in the country, and mostly still stuck in Santiago. Those sorts of problem for individuals and companies is the core of our buisness in Chile when the sun is shining, and we understand what that means on the ground for getting setup. It means disorientation and delays. The bigger the operation, the more moving parts to break. Even under the best circumstances, that is a big trick to pull off quickly in Chile. With all the infrastructure smashed, things are even more complicated.

We went through similar problems with the Chaiten volcano (not our first natural disaster) waiting for the government to get organized.
For our previous relief operation: post25736.html

By the way, our doctors live in Futa where the last natural disaster occurred and vince is flying to now. The town has in turn been there to give us all the support we have asked for such as tracking potential missing tourist and so on.

It looks like vince is on the ground. There was some questions about if there was any working cell tower there. He has not checked in, so I am suspecting that was just a rumor. He was going to buz the town (only a few hundred homes). That area on the best days, is really remote. That is why the logistics of dealing with this disaster are very similar to that one. The scale is much larger, but the logistical problems of say 22 hours of driving to get in (why vince had to fly to get them), poor to no cell coverage in almost the entire region, no gas stations, and a lot of other things are similar to this one.

He has been stationary for about 30 mins, there is point 9 behind the 8. He told me has problems with sat coverage that far south.

click to enlarge

Charles, I have friends in the US asking me where they can donate to you as they've seen the thread about the paypal issue. Any luck with another bank account?

I looks like Western Union is our next best bet. Expensive, but it solves a problem of waiting weeks for money to clear. People can as I understand send money online using their credit card. Checking now.

I have lost the PayPal link -- maybe if we have that we can all send them a message vouching for the account and asking to unlock it? I'd certainly hope they'll get a move on under the circumstances.

James.

Guys,

Since the allchile link is not usable I set up one yesterday after getting Dagnys message for my clients and customers in the US that know us.

The link is:


https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?c ... aNonHosted



Once I get a reasonable amount I will transfer it by wire to Charles bank account as I have sent this out to our wine industry distributors, retailers and to some folks in the medical industry I used to work in.

If you have people in the US, you can tell them to send it here and we can take care of it from there. I set this up since it was easier for our contacts that know us in industry here and since the allchile one was rudely blocked by Paypal.

Chris

Yes, but what happens if yours gets blocked as well? I have my own paypal account as well, my friends have offered to send it to me... I asked them to hold off until Charles lets us know how he'd like us to get him the money. I don't think paypal is a good solution to continue with, sadly.

Such a shame that the donation momentum should be interrupted like this.

Quick question: is the original paypal link deactivated or is paypal still letting people donate and just not letting Spencer Global withdraw? Just wondering what people are seeing if they do click on the donate button (the one that went out with the emails)?

Doctors are in Puerto Montt, and the health ministry official is meeting them at the airport.
click to enlarge

Just got my donation refunded from Paypal.

I have issued refunds to everyone that donated through pay pal. Please make sure they give you your money back (nothing pleasant to say about them right now).

Sorry about the problems, and pray that everyone will still stick with us and participate.

Our quickest and fastest way to handle this is to send money through Western Union:

1. Send by Western Union funds to the following recipient by either credit card online at the Western Union site, Phone, or through a Western Union office near you using "Money in Minutes" service http://www.westernunion.com/ :

Send to:
Charles Spencer
Temuco, Chile
Money in Minutes

I will then pick it up at the Western Union office on Monday Morning as they are closed Sunday (I will check late this Saturday afternoon too). We have sufficient funds in Chile until about Wednesday at least for fuel and related expenses. Western Union will solve several problems, as Pay Pal was charging up to 1-3% anyway, and was not going to release the funds at least for another couple weeks if ever (again I was paying this out my own piggy bank in the meantime until those funds cleared) .

Anyone that wishes to send an amount over $1,000 please PM me, and I may have some alternative methods that could reduce cost.

Again, we will be suspending accepting payments through Pay Pal. I have refunded all money sent to us through Pay Pal, as we must get this money cleared ASAP and we do not wish to have Pay Pal hold funds indefinitely while this dispute with them is resolved which can be up to 3 months in some cases. They are unresponsive to all forms of contact in this emergency situation.

2. Again, for those that are in Chile or have accounts in Chile, you can use this account:
Name: Charles David Spencer
RUT number: 21.988.931-3
Bank: Banco Estado
Bank Address: CLARO SOLAR 931, TEMUCO
Account Number: 41961558350
Cuenta de Ahorro banco Estado
Giro Incondicional en Pesos