Lloyds TSB Debit cards and purchasing currency

trbl

I recently purchased currency through Travelex due to a recommendation from this site, they were giving a better rate than Lloyds TSB who I bank with and I used my Lloyds TSB VISA Debit card for the transaction.

Beware! All is not as it seems.....if you purchase currency direct from Lloyds TSB there are no charges, if you purchase currency elsewhere Lloyds charge a Cash Advance fee which they say is added by VISA but it's funny how this charge doesn't get applied if you buy from them!

And if you call Lloyds to dispute the charge they say 'it's all in the T's & C's' ie small print, and they also say that you can't speak to VISA as they don't have contact details, how convenient....?

Travelex have said they only charge a fee if you purchase from them using a Credit Card not a Debit Card, I see this as a way for Lloyds TSB to try and force you to use their currency exchange service instead of others.

J_MacD

This has just happened to me using Marks and Spencer's Bureau de Change using my Alliance Leicester Debit card. Needed Euros in a hurry and they were the only exchange bureau that was convenient at the time. A&L quoted Ts and Cs to me too

We just cannot keep up with all the small print that is around!

Baz_2

Yes its a scam in my opinion.

The funny thing is, if you buy from the PO and use the same chip and pin terminal to withdraw cash and pay using that rather than pay using the debit card, you dont get charged.

Same transaction, same amount, in £, same machine, same card, same pin, same everything. Just they decide to charge for one and not the other.

Where is the justification for that?

As for a cash advance on a debit card? Again nonsense.

Glittermonkey

Travelex have said they only charge a fee if you purchase from them using a Credit Card not a Debit Card

Travelex dont charge you any fee for using a credit or debit card, the fee is imposed by your card issuer.

Nationwide cards and Maestro dont get charged fees (Maestro I know for sure as I use mine there) but AFAIK, the rest of the banks do charge.

wr1ght

i recently purchased $2000 and was paying with my lloyds tsb debit card they wanted to charge me £16 for the privilage, pay by bank transfer its free

JoseChungsDoomsday

HBOS debit cards dont get charged either

conradmum

Yes, banks vary in this. It's important to check with them before whether you'll be charged for a money purchase. I've been caught out like this and now make sure only to use my Nationwide account.

MarkyMarkD

This has been pointed out many times before and it's in Martin's article about foreign currency.

It's not a scam. Obtaining cash using a debit card is a cash advance. It's irrelevant if the cash is in sterling or foreign currency. If you walked into a bank branch (other than your own bank) and asked for cash over the counter, you'd be charged the same fee.

The only way to get cash free is via an ATM and that's because the transaction goes through LINK not VISA.

Travelex do point out on their website that banks may charge. M&S should do at their bureaux and if they don't you should complain to them - it's easy enough to withdraw the cash from an ATM and then buy the foreign exchange for cash.