Post office exchange rates??

mikejay

hi can anyone tell me if the exchange rate is different on the post office website than in store? on the site it is 1.2205 but in the post office itself it is 1.1825 for sterling to euro is this right as it is very confuseing as i wanted to buy 250euros that on the website should have cost me £205 and i would have got 250.20 euros for that.But it costed me in the store £211.42 for 250euro how can this be right as if i put in £211.42 on the web converter i should have got 258.04 euros so in all by going direct to the post office i have lost 8.04euros is this correct that there website shows a different exchange rate than the postoffices? as this is very confuseing when doing a web comparison?

Thanks Mike

BenL

To get the internet rate you will have to complete the transaction through the internet and then go pick up the euros.

I was going through the process and then saw that to do an internet order you have to change £350 worth as a minimum.

The post office website advises that the in branch rate "may" be different to the internet rate.

I now use www.chequecentre.com and the in branch rates are the same as the internet lists - usually one of the best around as I can't go to the branch in london off Martins article and my most commonly used airport Manchester has no travelex.

benjus

The Post Office have put a lot of effort into getting people to believe that they offer good exchange rates. In fact, their in-branch rates are lousy and their online rates are reasonable at best.

If you can't make use of any of the recommended providers from this site(Thomas Exchange Global, TravelEx online order, etc) it is likely to be cheaper for you to withdraw cash abroad using a UK debit card. If you don't have a debit card, a pre-pay currency card offers similar rates & fees to a standard UK debit card.

The best way, as any regular of this site knows, is to withdraw cash abroad using a Nationwide Flexaccount debit card.

mikejay

Nice 1 thanks yes got a flexi card and used it last year over in france will again this year just wanted a couple of euros in me pocket beforehand ohh well i know now how the post office rip us off and confuse the hell out of us.

Mike

Engadine

Noticed today while in my local Tesco that their rate was 1.226 a lot better than the post office. I am off to Spain a week on Wednesday so will use Tesco for some currency then use my Nationwide flex account while out there

ince_mon

Do you have to spend a specific amount to get that rate.?

Engadine

That rate in Tesco was the rate regardless of how much you spend, haven't changed money in Tesco yet so not sure if they give a better rate depending on how much you are spending. My local Tesco has only been doing currency for a month

Biggles

mikejay wrote: »

Nice 1 thanks yes got a flexi card and used it last year over in france will again this year just wanted a couple of euros in me pocket beforehand ohh well i know now how the post office rip us off and confuse the hell out of us.

Moral: always keep back some Euros at the end of your trip so you have a few for out-of-pocket expenses at the beginning of the next one. At the moment, I have €100 (rather more than usual) in a bag in my desk drawer ready to go.

But, to be honest, ATMs are so widespread in the Euro-zone that I've never had trouble getting some before needing the first taxi/bus/train or whatever.

tom0407

The checky !!!!!!s have just ripped me off on this. I thought I could trust the post office, apparently not. Very disappointed in them.

Also I just checked with my bank and Barclays charge between 2%-4.75% on transactions plus I'm sure give you a dodgy conversion rate, so avoid them too!

dzug1

tom0407 wrote: »

The checky !!!!!!s have just ripped me off on this. I thought I could trust the post office, apparently not. Very disappointed in them.

Also I just checked with my bank and Barclays charge between 2%-4.75% on transactions plus I'm sure give you a dodgy conversion rate, so avoid them too!

No they (Barclays) give you the best conversion rate - they make their money on the 2 - 4.75% charges

The PO may well have 4 different rates - online for home delivery, online to pick up instore, pick up in store and order in store to pick up next day

Given that all those methods have a different cost base, it's not necessarily a bad thing.