debit card charges when buying currency in the uk

vonni_2

Hi I am new to this but wanted to find out if other people have been charged for using their debit cards in travel shops/post office etc when getting currency. I was charged £4 for £200 worth of euros when using my debit card. I complained to barclays and they gave various reasons at first. 1. it was for currency exchange..... well no, I paid in pounds. 2. it was commission... well no I paid in pounds. 3. it was for foreign payments....well no, I paid in pounds. They couldn't give me a reason. I told them that it shouldn't matter what I buy in this country using my debit card, whether it is potatoes, a coat or euros I am still paying in pounds and it is coming straight out of my account. I can understand if I use my card abroad or I am paying in euros, then I know I will have to pay a charge. This is a ridiculous charge and they must be making millions from it. well not from me as they refunded it and even the supervisor had no answers to give me and just hummed in agreement. There must be a campaign against these charges but I couldn't find one.

zppp

vonni wrote: »

Hi I am new to this but wanted to find out if other people have been charged for using their debit cards in travel shops/post office etc when getting currency. I was charged £4 for £200 worth of euros when using my debit card. I complained to barclays and they gave various reasons at first. 1. it was for currency exchange..... well no, I paid in pounds. 2. it was commission... well no I paid in pounds. 3. it was for foreign payments....well no, I paid in pounds. They couldn't give me a reason. I told them that it shouldn't matter what I buy in this country using my debit card, whether it is potatoes, a coat or euros I am still paying in pounds and it is coming straight out of my account. I can understand if I use my card abroad or I am paying in euros, then I know I will have to pay a charge. This is a ridiculous charge and they must be making millions from it. well not from me as they refunded it and even the supervisor had no answers to give me and just hummed in agreement. There must be a campaign against these charges but I couldn't find one.

There are many posts about this on this site. It is for using a Visa debit card in another Bank/Post Office/Bureau de Change for foreign currency only.

Easiest thing to do is to get cash out to exchange to avoid the fee. There are also some banks that do not pass on these charges to customers.

Roger1

Read MSE's http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money - scroll down to 'Getting the cheapest foreign cash'.

The rest is good, too.

vonni_2

yes I know how to get currency! I just assumed that I was buying a product, which just happened to be money, and as I was paying in pounds would not be charged, as the banks are not actually doing anything. My brother went to the post office to do the same thing as me but was told he would be charged so he withdrew the money from the post office using the hand held machine on the counter and paid in cash. this is the same machine that he would have used for the same amount to pay for his euros in pounds. Having spoken to someone in banking today they told me it is because they can do it and it is money for doing nothing. I now know about this and will withdraw the money first. I used to use my nationwide debit card abroard until they stopped everyone using them so will just transfer a lump some to my spanish bank account and use that when I am there.

Roger1

If you read the link I posted above and scroll down to 'Getting the cheapest foreign cash' as suggested, you will find this:

MSE wrote:

Sadly, buying currency from a bureau de change in the UK on a credit or debit card isn’t always treated as a UK transaction. All credit cards and some debit cards charge an additional fee on top of what you pay the bureau de change. See a full list of cards that charge.

Clicking on that further link produces a list of debit cards which DO and which DON'T charge extra when buying foreign cash. This will explain that Barclays is among the banks that DO charge extra.

Martin's advice is:

• use a different card
• withdraw cash (£££) and use the cash to buy currency

or spend on the card itself, though read the article to see if other charges are assessed.

You mention your Nationwide debit card. Using that card in the UK to buy currency is still surcharge-free, as pointed out in the article I referenced.

vonni_2

yes roger1 I understand what you are saying and I now know barclays do charge but the point is what are they charging for? They do not have to do anything with the transaction. The payments go through the same as when you purchase any other product. Because it is foreign currency they are using it as an excuse to charge people and it is wrong. I do not mind paying for a service but with this I am paying for them to do nothing.

Roger1

They need all the help they can get to pay Bob Diamond's salary.

ironlady2022

It's money buying money essentially (as in exchanging) and this type of transaction is usually chargeable. What they should have told you beforehand is you were going to be charged.

dzug1

mayling03 wrote: »

It's money buying money essentially (as in exchanging) and this type of transaction is usually chargeable. What they should have told you beforehand is you were going to be charged.

Barclays do tell you in their T&C

The BdeC cannot tell you - they don't know who charges and who doesn't. They should tell you that you might be charged and the ones with better trained staff do

dzug1

vonni wrote: »

yes roger1 I understand what you are saying and I now know barclays do charge but the point is what are they charging for? They do not have to do anything with the transaction. The payments go through the same as when you purchase any other product. Because it is foreign currency they are using it as an excuse to charge people and it is wrong. I do not mind paying for a service but with this I am paying for them to do nothing.

If they did nothing, nothing would happen - you are paying them for the service of processing the transaction.

You pay for other transactions in other ways - mostly in forgone interest on the money in your account.

Yes it's an oddity, an anomaly - but I can't see anything intrinsically wrong with it. If it really bugs you change to a bank that doen't charge.

meer53

You do pay a transaction fee when you buy goods on your debit card, it's just included in the retailers total price. Retailers pay a fee for each transaction they process, they don't get it done for free !!