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#41
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Watch out for Credit Card fees when travelling to Canada
On Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:52:46 -0400, pltrgyst
wrote: On Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:40:52 -0700, "Mimi" wrote: I'm surprised you found hotels in Europe that cashed travelers' checks. I didn't. But they accepted them for the hotel bill. I can't help wondering what exchange rate they gave.... -- ************* DAVE HATUNEN ) ************* * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps * |
#42
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Watch out for Credit Card fees when travelling to Canada
Credit card fees are inevitable and they charge a fee either way you make
the exchange. Last December I was accidentally charged $1,300(usd) for a conference that I was attending in Vancouver BC. (I am Canadian, and so was the MasterCard company just not the event organizer). Well the MasterCard company charged the 1,300, the applicable exchange rate and of course their fee. I should not have been charged at all so I contacted MasterCard to have the charge removed, and since the event organizer agreed this wasn't an issue. Skip ahead to the end of the month, on my MasterCard invoice I noticed that they removed the $1,300, but since the exchange rate fluctuated and they always charge a fee on currency conversions I still ended up owing $65.00 in exchange/fees.. It was quite a fight, and since I didn't give a dam I issued the ultimatum that I did not authorize the charge so I wasn't paying a cent to have it removed and they could take me to court or collections to recover it... and I was going to drop their card if I had to spend another minute discussing it over the phone with the multitude of people that didn't know or care what they were talking about. I won, but the lady on the phone snottily said next time have the company do a void on the transaction so this wouldn't happen again. If I knew they were going to do it, I would have stopped it at the instant it happened not the next month when I noticed it on my invoice. Banks/Lawyers/Insurance Companies and the Oil Companies all have one thing in common... and it has something to do with bending people over. DR "Rtavi" wrote in message ... We just got back from a 2 month trip to East Coast and Canada.-- Beautiful and loved it despite $1.59/Liter for diesel! I have always been told to use a credit card when out of the US since you get the benefit of paying in Canada Dollars which are running at about $.95 US then the credit card company converts your charge to $US. As far as this goes, it is true and I saved about $25 when the transactions were posted. What I was not aware of was that CITI card charges a "Foreign Transaction Fee" on every purchase. This totaled up to a charge of over $100 US. It's my fault for not reading all the fine print but this didn't happen 7 years ago when I was using an ATT card in Canada. I just wanted to let you guys to be aware of this. I should have done what I did with some of my cash on hand which was to go to a Royal Bank of Canada and have them change $100 US to Canadian for a $3 fee so that I would have pocket money.(btw Canadian money is pretty) that would have been cheaper . Anyway we had a great trip and I wanted to save you guys some cash. Don't be a dummy like me! |
#43
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Watch out for Credit Card fees when travelling to Canada
"Dash Riprock" wrote:
Credit card fees are inevitable and they charge a fee either way you make the exchange. Last December I was accidentally charged $1,300(usd) for a conference that I was attending in Vancouver BC. (I am Canadian, and so was the MasterCard company just not the event organizer). Well the MasterCard company charged the 1,300, the applicable exchange rate and of course their fee. I should not have been charged at all so I contacted MasterCard to have the charge removed, and since the event organizer agreed this wasn't an issue. ... I won, but the lady on the phone snottily said next time have the company do a void on the transaction so this wouldn't happen again. If I knew they were going to do it, I would have stopped it at the instant it happened not the next month when I noticed it on my invoice. ----------------- You made a good point about the transaction fee, but I also wonder if or why you did not contact the vendor about reversing charge. To me, that's a quicker and more certain solution than waiting for the CC issuer to consider your dispute. Recently, I was accidentally double-charged by a local restaurant. I simply called the manager, gave him the date + transaction #'s, and a few days later received a credit for the second charge. |
#44
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Watch out for Credit Card fees when travelling to Canada
Rog' wrote:
Recently, I was accidentally double-charged by a local restaurant. I simply called the manager, gave him the date + transaction #'s, and a few days later received a credit for the second charge. You're lucky. It must have been an accident and they corrected it. I once got a Visa statement and there were two charges for a restaurant where I had used my Visa card, one for the day we ate there and one for two days later. I called Visa right away. They called the restaurant and they said they would credit my account. They didn't. I called again, Visa said they would ask the restaurant for a hard copy and if they didn't get it I would not be liable for the charge. Still didn't get it. It went on for 5 or 6 months, until I happened to be going by the place and went it (in uniform|) and demanded payment. They gave me a cheque and I cashed it immediately. A few days later someone from Visa called and asked if the problem had been resolved. I told her about the cheque, and she said that was good because...... after so much time had passed there wasn't much they could do.. The *******s!!! I had contacted them as soon as I got the statement and saw the fraudulent charge. If they had contacted the restaurant and demanded a hard copy and didn't get on within the specified time, Visa should have credited my account and gone after the restaurant. |
#45
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Watch out for Credit Card fees when travelling to Canada
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#46
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Watch out for Credit Card fees when travelling to Canada
"MI" wrote:
I once had the same thing happen [double charged]. I phoned MasterCard and they checked, saw what had happened and just charged it back to the restaurant. From the sounds of things around here, I was lucky. Once, a waiter changed a digit on my charge slip to increase their tip. The restaurant, of course, had no idea what I was talking about. The CC issuer sent me a copy of their slip and asked if I had a copy that showed anything different. As luck would have it, I had saved my carbon copy. OTOH, some CC issuers are pro-consumer. Chase has called me about questionable charges B4 I saw them (and they were right!), they have been quick to credit disputed charges when my claim was subjective, and once accidentally gave me double credit (which I called to correct). |
#47
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Watch out for Credit Card fees when travelling to Canada
I live in Canada, and I visit the USA often.
What the Canadian banks do is to manipulate the rate. That is, if the "prime" exchange rate posted is that $1 US dollar is worth $1.10, then what the bank states is that they will "buy" US$ from you for $1.05 or they will "Sell" US$ to you for $1.15. In essense, the fee is burried in the point spread between "buy" and "sell" around prime rate. When I visit the USA and use my credit card, the exchange rate spead is quite good, but there is small fee added to every transaction. Still, it does not work out too badly. On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 20:34:26 -0400, "Tom J" wrote: Hatunen wrote: On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:46:05 -0400, "Tom J" wrote: I don't think you can get a credit card from anyone anymore that doesn't charge a fee for Foreign exchange. Also, the next time you visit Canada, ask if there is a fee before exchanging cash. I have never paid a fee to exchange cash in Canada. I have walked out the door of a few banks and gone down the street to another bank. Do be prepated with the current "real" exchange rate from a source like Oanda. Many exchange desks and companies don't charge a fee, but they get you with a bad exchange rate. I do know what the official exchange rate is before I walk into a bank when in Canada. Haven't been the last 2 years, but in 15 trips with the RV & over 30 with an 18 wheeler, I never paid a bank a fee above the standard exchange, even when it was $1.00 US to $1.56 Canadian. There was a time in the early 90's that the 5th Wheel Truck Stops would even pay a premium for US cash. Tom J |
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