Beware - credit card rip-off

On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 19:01:02 +0100 Andy Pandy
said...

If I stay in a hotel in Ireland that advertises they accept VISA and I have been
quoted 100 EUR a night, then I will pay 100 EUR a night. I won't pay 70 GBP a
night or 120 USD or anything else. The POS terminal *must* offer the option of
payment in local currency.

I'm sure the POS terminal would offer the option of payment, the issue
seems to be with the retailer or whoever. Possibly poor awareness or
training, more than likely they can't be bothered to offer knowing if
they get questioned "What difference does it make?" they'll end up
charging in local currency as it is financially better for the customer.

It seems to be the way is to be one step ahead of the retailer and ask
whether they apply DCC before handing your card over. If the answer is
"yes" or "don't know" then make it clear your requirements. The more
customers become aware of this and raise it then more then hopefully
retailers will be a little more forthcoming.

--
Phil Richards
London

On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 10:24:24 +0100 Alec
said...

Once they comply with Visa/Master
rules by giving customers a 'choice' of billing currency, then the operation
is entirely legitimate.

Thanks for clarifying this. Presumably then it's not down to the T&C or
agreement the retailer has with their merchant bank who own their POS
terminal? Saying to a retailer it's against their agreement not to be
asked first with Visa or MasterCard might have a bit more ammunition.

--
Phil Richards
London

Phil Richards wrote:
It seems to be the way is to be one step ahead of the retailer and ask
whether they apply DCC before handing your card over. If the answer is
"yes" or "don't know" then make it clear your requirements. The more
customers become aware of this and raise it then more then hopefully
retailers will be a little more forthcoming.

Or sign up for a credit card in a country with an official exchange rate
that differs substantially from the black market rate.

Next time you're in Burma, get a Visa card from SLORC Savings & Loan and
bring it back to Europe. Always request to pay in your home currency, then
buy that currency on the black market to pay your credit card bill. You
could save 90% on everything you buy!

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

In message , Andy Pandy
writes
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!

--
Andy




Oh blimey, now I'm really confused. My family and I are visiting
Australia from the UK this August. We have been planning to take
Nationwide credit & debit cards and a Visa card but very little cash.
The idea was to draw cash off an ATM from the Nationwide account as and
when necessary instead of taking and cashing travellers cheques.
Naturally, we want a convenient way of settling bills without getting
ripped off. Any suggestions on how we should proceed would be gratefully
received.

Cheers,
Simon.

"simon" wrote in message
...
In message , Andy Pandy
writes
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!

--
Andy




Oh blimey, now I'm really confused. My family and I are visiting
Australia from the UK this August. We have been planning to take
Nationwide credit & debit cards and a Visa card but very little cash.
The idea was to draw cash off an ATM from the Nationwide account as and
when necessary instead of taking and cashing travellers cheques.
Naturally, we want a convenient way of settling bills without getting
ripped off. Any suggestions on how we should proceed would be gratefully
received.

Withdraw cash with your Nationwide Flexcard from local ATM. You should not
be charged for this service, and exchange rate used will be close to
wholesale money market rate with little mark-up.
Use credit card for purchases. DCC is in use at some Australian terminals so
it may be worth insisting before your card is swiped that you want to be
billed in Aus$. Or you can just pay cash.

Alec

Oh blimey, now I'm really confused. My family and I are visiting
Australia from the UK this August. We have been planning to take
Nationwide credit & debit cards and a Visa card but very little cash.
The idea was to draw cash off an ATM from the Nationwide account as and
when necessary instead of taking and cashing travellers cheques.
Naturally, we want a convenient way of settling bills without getting
ripped off. Any suggestions on how we should proceed would be gratefully
received.

Withdraw cash with your Nationwide Flexcard from local ATM. You should not
be charged for this service, and exchange rate used will be close to
wholesale money market rate with little mark-up.
Use credit card for purchases. DCC is in use at some Australian terminals so
it may be worth insisting before your card is swiped that you want to be
billed in Aus$. Or you can just pay cash.

Alec

Thanks Alec.

I assume from your response that it's not worth bothering with
travellers cheques?

Simon.

simon wrote:

I assume from your response that it's not worth bothering with
travellers cheques?

I know this is crossposted to other groups, but I think I can safely
say that the travellers' cheques question is just about the only thing
that regulars in rec.travel.europe agree on: they are not worth the
hassle. Use credit cards and ATMs for the best deals. We need now to
add the proviso that you watch which currency your CC transaction is
denominated in.

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED

"simon" wrote in message
...
Oh blimey, now I'm really confused. My family and I are visiting
Australia from the UK this August. We have been planning to take
Nationwide credit & debit cards and a Visa card but very little cash.
The idea was to draw cash off an ATM from the Nationwide account as and
when necessary instead of taking and cashing travellers cheques.
Naturally, we want a convenient way of settling bills without getting
ripped off. Any suggestions on how we should proceed would be
gratefully
received.

Withdraw cash with your Nationwide Flexcard from local ATM. You should
not
be charged for this service, and exchange rate used will be close to
wholesale money market rate with little mark-up.
Use credit card for purchases. DCC is in use at some Australian terminals
so
it may be worth insisting before your card is swiped that you want to be
billed in Aus$. Or you can just pay cash.

Alec

Thanks Alec.

I assume from your response that it's not worth bothering with
travellers cheques?

If you want some readies as an insurance again ATM malfunction etc, take
about £100 worth of Aus$ cash from a larger branch of M&S (no commission,
good rates). Also it's a good idea to take an ATM/cash card linked to
another account in the unlikely event of losing your original card or having
it swallowed by a rogue machine (it can take a while to get a replacement).

Alec

In message , Alec
writes

"simon" wrote in message
...
Oh blimey, now I'm really confused. My family and I are visiting
Australia from the UK this August. We have been planning to take
Nationwide credit & debit cards and a Visa card but very little cash.
The idea was to draw cash off an ATM from the Nationwide account as and
when necessary instead of taking and cashing travellers cheques.
Naturally, we want a convenient way of settling bills without getting
ripped off. Any suggestions on how we should proceed would be
gratefully
received.

Withdraw cash with your Nationwide Flexcard from local ATM. You should
not
be charged for this service, and exchange rate used will be close to
wholesale money market rate with little mark-up.
Use credit card for purchases. DCC is in use at some Australian terminals
so
it may be worth insisting before your card is swiped that you want to be
billed in Aus$. Or you can just pay cash.

Alec

Thanks Alec.

I assume from your response that it's not worth bothering with
travellers cheques?

If you want some readies as an insurance again ATM malfunction etc, take
about £100 worth of Aus$ cash from a larger branch of M&S (no commission,
good rates). Also it's a good idea to take an ATM/cash card linked to
another account in the unlikely event of losing your original card or having
it swallowed by a rogue machine (it can take a while to get a replacement).

Alec


Cheers, Alec.
Simon.

On Wed, 21 Apr 2004 15:51:22 GMT in rec.travel.usa-canada,
"Lester Higgins" wrote:

And finally, it's not simply a matter of a clerk asking for assistance in
many cases. Some POS systems *do not possess* the flexibility to determine
different charge card exchange rates.

that's fine. i'll just take my business somewhere where they DO
have the flexibility, or which doesn't have such rip-off
policies.