Charge for using a debit card?

Birdy12

If this is in the wrong section, apologies and please let me know.

I bought a month's subscription to a child's website for my DS and paid by Visa debit card. I have purchased this subscription in the past and paid by Paypal and Visa debit card before.

This time, however, I received a charge of £1.25 in addition to the monthly charge. Having spoken to my bank (Natwest) they have confirmed that the company have assumed I have paid by a credit card as opposed to a debit card because the card contains the word 'Visa'. It used to be a Maestro before.

Has anyone also had charges applied to things because they paid by Visa Debit card? I have now emailed the company and am waiting a response from them. It's only £1.25 so it's hardly breaking the bank but I'm loathe to pay for a subscription again (even though DS loves it!) and receive the same charge.

FYI - it's a Canadian company, however, it gives you the option to pay in US$, CAN$ or GBP. I definitely paid in £ as I have the confirmation email.

Cheers, Birdy

seeya23

natwest are doing it a lot with paypal even when you buy with paypal in the uk

EarthBoy

Quite a lot of places charge for using debit cards. Sometimes, the fee is less than for using a credit card.

td_007

Many retailers charge a flat rate fee for debit cards and a percentage on credit cards - so first have a look at the charging structure of the retailer in question.

Birdy12

At the point of making the purchase, no mention was made of any extra charge should you pay by debit and/or credit card. I would've appreciated that bit of information prior to paying, ie. wouldn't have paid with that particular card had I known!

Ah well, I'll wait to see what the company come back to me with...

simongregson

The charge is from natwest, they have applied a foreign transaction charge because PayPal are based in Luxembourg now even though you are paying in pounds sterling Natwest now treat this as a foreign payment unlike a lot of other banks.

Best to use a different card for all paypal transactions, most credit cards do not charge for these transactions.

jonesMUFCforever

Birdy12 wrote: »

If this is in the wrong section, apologies and please let me know.

I bought a month's subscription to a child's website for my DS and paid by Visa debit card. I have purchased this subscription in the past and paid by Paypal and Visa debit card before.

This time, however, I received a charge of £1.25 in addition to the monthly charge. Having spoken to my bank (Natwest) they have confirmed that the company have assumed I have paid by a credit card as opposed to a debit card because the card contains the word 'Visa'. It used to be a Maestro before.

Has anyone also had charges applied to things because they paid by Visa Debit card? I have now emailed the company and am waiting a response from them. It's only £1.25 so it's hardly breaking the bank but I'm loathe to pay for a subscription again (even though DS loves it!) and receive the same charge.

FYI - it's a Canadian company, however, it gives you the option to pay in US$, CAN$ or GBP. I definitely paid in £ as I have the confirmation email.

Cheers, Birdy

Its the last paragraph that confirms that this is indeed a foreign exchange fee for using the card outside the UK.
The company is based abroad and the charge will apply even if you pay in sterling.
As another poster said the only way to avoid this is to pay by credit card.