Beware - credit card rip-off

All the time, I used my card overseas, never being charged home currency,
always that countries's currencies. When I get my bills at home, yes all the
transactions are into home currency. You will still be charged on the
conversion rate by the bank or cc company for goods charged that appear on
your bills. so...

I experience this problem...I tried to get cash from the ATM. Because of bad
phone line, no cash was dispensed but my accounts was credited. why? simple
explaination...when key in your request...the system confirmed approved for
payment..accounts was charged...but when the signal was transmitted back to
the ATM it got distorted. ATM could not recognised...no cash. It took me two
weeks to get a refund. And this is a GIRO (inter bank) transaction within
the country.
I bet it will take months if the same problem happened in certain foreign
countries.

If you want to cash out on an ATM in a foreign country, it is advisable to
use a ATM that is outside the bank. Not at shopping malls, maybe not even
the airport or those independent ATMs. If your card got stuck in the
machine, you may waste lots of time to trace the bank to get back the card.


"Alec" wrote in message
...

"Andy Pandy" wrote in
message ...
There is a new "facility" you may encounter when paying by credit card
in
a
foreign currency. The POS terminal identifies which country your credit
card is
from and conveniently converts the local currency into your home
currency.
Your
credit card is then billed in your home currency rather than the local
currency.

Might sound helpful, but the catch is that the exchange rate at which
the
conversion is done is almost certainly a lot worse than your bank would
use if
you got billed in the local currency. The retailer usually gets a cut of
the
exchange rate markup so it's in their interest to bill you in your home
currency.

They are supposed to ask you which currency you want to billed in, but
it
practice it doesn't always happen, and the default is to bill you in
your
home
currency. But you are perfectly entitled to insist you are billed in the
local
currency, after all the product or service will have been priced in the
local
currency. Don't let retailers rip you off in this way!

It's called 'Dynamic Currency Conversion' in the trade-speak. It's touted
among retailers and service providers (hotels, car rental firms etc) doing
a
lot of business with foreign visitors, and also on-line dealers. The card
processors entice them with 'customer satisfaction' and 'extra income
stream' (i.e. sharing exchange mark-up).
First developed by the Irish firm Forexco, it's now offered globally and
adopted by leading retailers like Harrods and international hotel groups.
I
now make the point of insisting before my card is swiped that I want to be
charged in the local currency. Visa/Plus and Mastercard/Cirrus regulations
stipulate that customer must be given a choice. If they still put through
the transaction in the card's billing currency, refuse to sign the slip
and
ask them to void it. If they still refuse, tell them you'll ask your card
issuer for a chargeback. Expect a dirty look or take your customs
elsewhere.

Alec

in article , Frank F. Matthews at
wrote on 4/22/04 6:15 PM:

Alan wrote:

snip

Our biggest currency cost came when we arrived home and tried to convert
the left-over cash in US$, euros, czech crowns, Swiss francs, Pounds
Sterling and Singapore dollars back into AU$. That's when they hit us
with fees, and refused to touch the coins at all. Doesn't sound like a
lot, until you realise that a single 2 pound coin is AU$5. So I have
about $150 in "souvenir change".

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Alan

Too late for you but three generic suggestions for reducing left over
currency. First, if you are on a tour or boat where tipping is expected
give the tip in your left over currency. Since guides move thru similar
areas they can usually manage easily. Second, if you are interested on
airline stuff they will manage a purchase in multiple currencies quite
easily. Third, get new money using the left over cash from the last
place. Usually it's easier there and you would be paying some fee to
get money from a home account. Finally there are charities that are
grateful for coins. FFM



If I have any intention of going back to a place (like Australia), I simply
keep it - very useful for layovers and also in case the ATMs on arrival are
down. Gets me into town via shuttle, etc. if necessary. Much better than
taking a bath on the exchange.

No cost is not correct. ATMs, security and bank softwares, machines to do
transmission of data, lease lines, networks.....


"Andy Pandy" wrote in
message ...

"Olivers" wrote in message
...
Given the amounts involved in individual CC transactions, the exchange
rates which I have seen for about eleventy dozen times better than the
"cash" exchange rates provided by either the two banks I worked for and
as
good as many of the commercial transcation rates available to traders
and
large coorporations. CCs have litereally revolutionized foreign
exchange,
with debit/ATM cards following to change even further the "Bad Old
Days".

At least with cash there is the excuse that there are costs involved with
storing, handling and transporting foreign currency. There's virtually no
cost
in doing an electronic conversion from one currency to another, yet these
rip-off merchants want about 3% or more.

--
Andy

Thomas F. Unke wrote:
We'll never forget TCs.

Just remember the good old times: A small bank in Indonesia's
province, changing a TC took about an hour and half, enough time to
get to know all the female workers there.

After the change procedure, you went to the post office to get your
letters from poste restante. Of course, there was no internet at that
time.

When all this was finished, you went for a lukewarm Bintang beer to
see the sunset.

Good old times - busy all day and not boring at all.

Thanks for the post - I remember well spending all day in Indonesia (and
elsewhere) on those very tasks. Fun in a certain way, but I'm not so sure I
miss it.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

Alan wrote:
"Frank F. Matthews" wrote:
Finally there are charities that are grateful for coins.

the local charities in Pottsville Beach wouldn't get any benefit from
coins they can't exchange.

At many (most?) international airports there are receptables (often pretty
small and hard to spot) put up by worthy local charities, precisely for
depositing miscellaneous coins, which they somehow manage to turn into
money.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 08:24:29 +0800, "Alan"
wrote:


If you want to cash out on an ATM in a foreign country, it is advisable to
use a ATM that is outside the bank. Not at shopping malls, maybe not even
the airport or those independent ATMs. If your card got stuck in the
machine, you may waste lots of time to trace the bank to get back the card.

Good advice.

Just dropping in to show that there's two of us :-)

Where's com.my? Malaysia?

Cheers, Alan
--

Raffi Balmanoukian wrote:
in article , Frank F. Matthews at
wrote on 4/22/04 6:15 PM:


Alan wrote:

snip


Our biggest currency cost came when we arrived home and tried to convert
the left-over cash in US$, euros, czech crowns, Swiss francs, Pounds
Sterling and Singapore dollars back into AU$. That's when they hit us
with fees, and refused to touch the coins at all. Doesn't sound like a
lot, until you realise that a single 2 pound coin is AU$5. So I have
about $150 in "souvenir change".

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Alan

Too late for you but three generic suggestions for reducing left over
currency. First, if you are on a tour or boat where tipping is expected
give the tip in your left over currency. Since guides move thru similar
areas they can usually manage easily. Second, if you are interested on
airline stuff they will manage a purchase in multiple currencies quite
easily. Third, get new money using the left over cash from the last
place. Usually it's easier there and you would be paying some fee to
get money from a home account. Finally there are charities that are
grateful for coins. FFM

If I have any intention of going back to a place (like Australia), I simply
keep it - very useful for layovers and also in case the ATMs on arrival are
down. Gets me into town via shuttle, etc. if necessary. Much better than
taking a bath on the exchange.

I forgot another use for coins. If you know any children they usually
find strange coins fascinating. FFM

Too late for you but three generic suggestions for reducing left over
currency.

I was rather happy to find that some shops in airports can take their
national currency and give you back change in another currency.

I generally do not buy anything in airports, but last summer in Denmark
we had some crowns left (one banknote), so I decided to buy some food.
The cashier asked me whether I wanted change in crowns or euro, and I
was obviously quite happy to take euro.

--
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Frank F. Matthews wrote:

Alan wrote:

snip

Our biggest currency cost came when we arrived home and tried to convert
the left-over cash in US$, euros, czech crowns, Swiss francs, Pounds
Sterling and Singapore dollars back into AU$. That's when they hit us
with fees, and refused to touch the coins at all. Doesn't sound like a
lot, until you realise that a single 2 pound coin is AU$5. So I have
about $150 in "souvenir change".

Too late for you but three generic suggestions for reducing left over
currency. First, if you are on a tour or boat where tipping is expected
give the tip in your left over currency. Since guides move thru similar
areas they can usually manage easily. Second, if you are interested on
airline stuff they will manage a purchase in multiple currencies quite
easily. Third, get new money using the left over cash from the last
place. Usually it's easier there and you would be paying some fee to
get money from a home account. Finally there are charities that are
grateful for coins. FFM

Use it to pay your final hotel bill. Hold back enough to get to the
airport (if not pre-paid), then hand over the rest to the hotel clerk,
and say you want to use that to pay your bill and then your credit card
for the remaining balance. They see this a lot.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
Separate is not equal. The right time to do the right thing
is always now. Those who say "wait" usually mean "never."
--Bonnie Tinker and The Rev. Cecil Prescod

Alan muttered....



Our biggest currency cost came when we arrived home and tried to
convert the left-over cash in US$, euros, czech crowns, Swiss francs,
Pounds Sterling and Singapore dollars back into AU$. That's when they
hit us with fees, and refused to touch the coins at all. Doesn't sound
like a lot, until you realise that a single 2 pound coin is AU$5. So I
have about $150 in "souvenir change".


Your tale reminded me of an annual event at our oldest daughter's
elementary school's "May Fete" back in the mid70s. One of the booths,
always manned by a couple of us who were frequent travelers and preferred
it to "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" or the "Ducking Booth" was the "Foreign
Money Store". Several weekes before the May Fete, the school would send
homea note with each child soliciting contributions of foreign coins (or
currency) brought home unused from trips (especially in UK coinage).
Amazing amounts would be brought in by little nippers whose parents were
travelers and supportive of an easy, painless fund-raiser.


Come May Fete day, I'd take off at Noon and join a friend to separate and
count the take. We'd chalk our version of acceptable conversion rates for
each major country's cash for prospective buyers on a chalkboard beside the
booth (and note possession of strange money to be bargained for). Then at
the opening bell, we would be busy for an hour of two with folks planning
foreign vacations or business travel. With the entire take going to the
school, we could be generous, however there always arguments over what to
do with old devalued coins and currency and the occasional contribution in
Occupation Marks or Yen. Something interesting like a Maria Theresa thaler
would always show up, and a couple of coin collectors would always show up
to paw through the remains.

Any unsaleable "leftovers" could be saved for future years, and the
strange, unsaleable coins - often those big iron Chinese sort with the
square holes - could go to classroom use. The booth always made "big" money
for the school, when compared to more fun-oriented activities. Even today,
such a scheme might work at a Charity Fair, although those Uropeens have
certainly spoiled the broth, leaving all those assorted old coins and
nowhere to spend'em.

TMO