We needed a recent vital record from the municipality of Vicente López.
After reading Splinter 's stellar review of his experience with the DMV of Vicente López, I suggested my husband to save a trip 'up north' and instead use the online service. I had to translate some of those online records so I know they are issued and accepted, so why not?
I paid with my credit card about 5-6 USD - the stated wait time is 5 to 10 working days. Since the document is two years old and we provided all the details to retrieve it (we have a copy, just not an official copy), I was pretty confident this would come in 5 rather than 10 days.
34 days passed, and nothing has arrived.
Contacting the Registro Civil was painful because since they moved to digital, they have a unique number (148) for anything related to your civic life. Except that you cannot call 148 from outside Vicente López. I started googling for phone numbers, and the people were always elusive and the wrong ones to call.
Finally, my husband got ahold of someone telling the truth: they had been on strike for over a month, and people worked one week per month, at most. And anyway the service never took 5 to 10 days, but that was a reasonable amount of time that would keep people happy reading it.
My husband got mad at me.... really?! I suggested it with the best intentions... which was not to chase a phone number to get an answer, we attempted that on three different days. I told him to forget the 5 USD and go there in person, but on the phone we were told that it is not clear where that specific registry is, whether in Munro o in Olivos, and anyway they don't release records on the spot, you have to come back again in a few days (how many?) to check (!!!).
Yesterday, my husband went there with all the printout of our online transaction. He said there are 35 teller booths but only 4 employees (all very nice, he added) serving a multitude of people.
He patiently waited and he was told that 1) you cannot use that payment to solicit a paper one 2) you cannot get the online transaction reimbursed (not even if you aren't getting the service you paid for! )... then the poor man got pity of my husband when he told him he was the one who married us in 2008 , and did it for free on the spot 'even if it is not allowed', trying not be seen by other people waiting to be attended.
He left home at 9 AM and got back at 2PM. So much for the online vital records!