... in response to Language Barrier, posted by littlebhuddha on Oct 10, 2002I have tried to continue to have an open mind about Margareth and LE, but she is really starting to piss me off. And that is a feat all the way from Colombia.
I met my wonderful wife at LE, so it worked for me. But not without some aggrivation and cost. Shirley and the people in that agency are nice people, but Margareth is greedy and needs to learn to keep her fat mouth shut.
After I decided to marry my wife, Margareth tried to force an expensive wedding that she wanted to plan and profit from down our throat. She even went so far as to tell my wife to rent a dress, and then tell me that she bought it, to pocket a little money. She is simply a liar, and should not be trusted.
My wife early on started to think of my money as "our" money and felt there was no reason to waste it. She politely told Margareth that she wanted to plan her own wedding, and Margareth told my wife that she was stealing money out of her pocket and had no right to do this. Margareth thinks of us gringos as her property in Cali... Margareth became increasingly nasty to my wife, and currently is spreading bad rumors about us as a couple.
At one point while I was down there, Margareth tried to get my wife to send her, her daughter, and my wife on a vacation to San Andreas, while I was back in the states getting my documents ready. She implied to my wife that if I didn't agree, I was a cheapskate. Of course my wife wanted to take our honey moon with ME, and not with Margareth and her daughter. Margareth was trying to get me to foot the bill for this whole deal.
So fast forward almost a year to now. I have heard through two different people this week that Margareth is bad mouthing my wife and our marriage to new gringos, and people in the agency. She is telling people that my wife's ex-boyfriend came to our wedding as the notarios assistant and my wife has some evil plot stewing with her ex-boyfriend. I really believe she is using this convaluted lie to try to set the guys up from the beginning to be afraid to let the girl plan her own wedding because of what might happen. If she gets the guy to think that it is safer for him if Margareth plans it, then she won't lose anymore profitable weddings.
And I will say right now, that we would have considered letting Margareth plan our wedding if she would have given us a price on the package. I was afraid to give her a blank check because who knows what kind of bill I would have been handed at the end of the party. I asked for a price break down, and she wouldn't give it because she knows that then the guy can shop it and find out that he is paying the gringo tax.
I really don't give a crap what she says because it doesn't effect us in the least, but I am posting this to give you guys going down an idea about what kind of person you will be dealing with. I know two other guys that have had similar nasty experiences when they refused to let Margareth gouge them on the big wedding.
I was a good customer and stayed at Latin Encounters almost a month. I paid my bill, met my wife, and we are living happily ever after. That is not enough for Margareth because she didn't get every last penney out of me that she could. I have been an advocate for her agency in the past, but man she is making it difficult to be a good customer.
So the bottom line is that even if you meet the right girl at Latin Encounters, you don't know what is going to be said to her in Spanish when you turn around by the staff. If you are not towing the line to her financial agenda, she will not hesitate to sabotage you.
Who needs that crap anyway. Stop by LE, say hi to Shirley, check out the books, and then go over to Luz Amparos place and deal with someone with some integrity.
Oh Yea, I was a newbie and Margareth told me not to stay at the Aparta Rio because it was a favorite for bombings to scare me into not leaving the agency. Lying again to keep her fingers in my wallet. I stayed in that miserable noisy agency for almost a month because I didn't know better. Geeez guys...go stay somewhere nice and relax. Skip the agency accomodations.
Wayne
