Abbey/Santander Zero - no it aint!

andyproc

I've just recently come back from Argentina and Chile and have been charged 11.88 Argentinian Pesos (approx £2) for every withdrawl I made even though all but 1 were at Santander branches.

Phoned them up and they said they have no control over independent ATM's even though I pointed out they were all bar one at Santander branches.

Is there anything I can do about this?:mad:

td_007

ATM charges made by the operator are separate from the foreign exchange charges and hence outside the control of the card issuer. So short answer no!

andyproc

So it isn't a zero card then is it? And these withdrawls were from the issuer of the card as well.

td_007

andyproc wrote: »

So it isn't a zero card then is it? And these withdrawls were from the issuer of the card as well.

It is zero in terms of charges that credit cards normally apply i.e cash withdrawal fees and foreign transaction fees. Though it is the same bank, they are different legal entities and hence would be "different" in different countries.

andyproc

I'm getting your drift now, just confused as I've used it before in france with no problems. So would I have to ask them which cash machines it could be used at fee free?

Many thanks for your time anyway.

withnell

andyproc wrote: »

I've just recently come back from Argentina and Chile and have been charged 11.88 Argentinian Pesos (approx £2) for every withdrawl I made even though all but 1 were at Santander branches.

Phoned them up and they said they have no control over independent ATM's even though I pointed out they were all bar one at Santander branches.

Is there anything I can do about this?:mad:

If you made the same transactions using the majority of credit cards you would have been charged a 3% cash withdrawal fee and a foreign transaction fee, probably abother 2.5%, on top of the amounts quoted

td_007

andyproc wrote: »

I'm getting your drift now, just confused as I've used it before in france with no problems. So would I have to ask them which cash machines it could be used at fee free?

It is best to find out ahead of time as different rules could apply to the Euro regions vs. other countries. For e.g. there no Visa charge for use of Nationwide CC in the Visa Euro regions, but in many other countries you are liable for 1% fees.

Degenerate

td_007 wrote: »

ATM charges made by the operator are separate from the foreign exchange charges and hence outside the control of the card issuer. So short answer no!

You seemed to have missed the fact that these withdrawals were apparently made at the card issuer's own ATMs.

td_007

Degenerate wrote: »

You seemed to have missed the fact that these withdrawals were apparently made at the card issuer's own ATMs.

Read my post #4

chattychappy

A mate of mine is annoyed that when he uses his HSBC card in a particular foreign HSBC machine he is charged a fee AND 2.75%. But when I use Abbey Zero in the same machine I only get charged the fee....

Worse for him is that HSBC promised him that there would be no fees applied cos he's a "premier" customer (or whatever).

Degenerate

td_007 wrote: »

Read my post #4

My mistake, you didn't miss it - I completely disagree with your conclusion though. Santander banks in different countries may be different legal entities, but they are owned and controlled by the same parent entity, which ought to honour its promises regardless of location.