Can companies take more money than i have authorised?

ccotaxc

Hi,

The other day I exchanged some money through thomsons, and ended up paying £253.79 which i authorised by chip and pin, that is what it says on my receipt. However when i checked my bank statement, they actually took £257.60 from my account!! surely that is not legal?? Does any one know if i can claim those few quid back? where do i stand?
cheers

pcombo

You should probably contact Thomson before you start going down the dispute route.

Make-it-3

I had this happen to me once, same scenario - doing a currency exchange at the airport - there was an extra fee that Barclays added on. I complained but didn't get anywhere. I agree, its a scandal, you should pay what it says on the receipt, any additional charge should be added in there and then not afterwards.

I wonder if it's one that Martin could take up?

Hintza

Simple mistake?

ccotaxc

No its def not a mistake, as a charge appears on my bank statement under the same transaction! but surely if you authorise an amount to come out of your account then they cant take any more than what you have authorised!! isnt that theft?

Quentin

As already posted, maybe it is a charge imposed by your bank - check with them if they impose a fee for this type of transaction (other banks sometimes do).

The amount extra is exactly 1.5% on top of your transaction, so this may be the bank's fee for this type of transaction (sounds possible)

If that is the case then you will have authorised it when accepting the card's ts + cs.

(Alternatively, could it be a keying error somewhere down the line?)

ccotaxc

I dont think so, I bank with Natwest so maybe they do the same, however the charge the money is going to thomson not Natwest, as its under the same transaction. I will visit my bank and ask.

david39

Most banks it seems do charge for this type of transaction.

We recently bought some foreign currency at the Post Office with a debit card and the counter-clerk kindly told us to use the debit card to draw cash (over the PO counter) and then pay him with that cash, thereby avoiding the charge.

Quentin

Natwest do charge 1.5% for cash withdrawals over the counter (away from their branches).

This transaction is counted as a cash withdrawal.

To avoid it you should get the cash from a machine then go into the currency exchange and hand over the cash rather than your card.

Zandoni

Phone Thompsons and ask them why first.

Quentin

Thompsons don't impose the 1.5% charge, Natwest does!