Payment stopped now I'm out of pocket

cheekymole

Just wondered if anyone can help me

I authorised a payment to New Zealand but the fraud team at Tesco Finance stopped the payment thinking it could be fraudulent.
They tried once to contact us by phone then posted a snail mail letter.
I phone to confirm it was a genuine transaction and the payment was then authorised the only problem being that the exchange rate has dropped and I am now £120 out of pocket.
My qualm is that they tried to phone a mobile number once then, instead of trying my home number put a letter in the post which took 4 days to arrive.

Do I have any kind of comeback on this?

normanmark

Nope you've got no come back unfortunately, as exchange rates change every 30 secs it could go up or down, thats the risk of buying abroad.

NickX

normanmark wrote: »

Nope you've got no come back unfortunately, as exchange rates change every 30 secs it could go up or down, thats the risk of buying abroad.

Hmmm I once had a refund on my account from a foreign hotel and because of the difference in exchange rates I was £15 out of pocket. Once I explained the situation to the card provider they refunded the difference as a gesture of goodwill. IMO its worth speaking to them and explaining the situation as you have done here.

cheekymole

Thank you

I have explained and they won't budge but again my qualm is the fact they didn't call me but sent a letter as if they had called ( as it states on their Fraudsafe webpage) I could have confirmed there and then so the exchange rate would be a good one

skintandscared_2

cheekymole wrote: »

Thank you

I have explained and they won't budge but again my qualm is the fact they didn't call me but sent a letter as if they had called ( as it states on their Fraudsafe webpage) I could have confirmed there and then so the exchange rate would be a good one

But they DID call you. You just didn't take the call!

cheekymole

They had 3 numbers surely if you don't get an answer from one you try another and surely calling a home number if it's a fraud issue would be best?

skintandscared_2

You think they have time to ring three different numbers for every transaction and every customer?! In this day and age, I would always assume that the best number to contact anyone on - at any time - would be their mobile. It would be the only one I'd try.

nzseries1

I'm going to make a large payment to new zealand soon and I'm worried about this exact scenario - I make a payment at a particular time and then through no fault of my own the provider delays the payment.

The best option I think is to use somebody like HiFX to transfer money there, as they give you a guaranteed exchange rate.

skintandscared_2

Wouldn't the best thing be to ring the provider before you do the transfer and say that it is you and not a fraudulent transaction? I always phoned my credit card provider before going on holiday so they'd know I was in a certain country for a certain period of time and never had a problem using my card.

gastroboy

skintandscared wrote: »

Wouldn't the best thing be to ring the provider before you do the transfer and say that it is you and not a fraudulent transaction? I always phoned my credit card provider before going on holiday so they'd know I was in a certain country for a certain period of time and never had a problem using my card.

exactly. If you don't want any surpises just give them a call and let them know you will be using your card in {x} country soon. Don't give them precise dates because you might get someone dodgy who will then go a rob your house while you are away (like the criminals in the post office :mad:- never redirect your mail or do holiday holding)

jonesMUFCforever

I would be grateful that the bank had stopped the payment to ask whether it was genuine or not BEFORE sending.
I can see the OP on here now whining that he is hundreds out of pocket as the nasty bank made no effort to contact him LOL