Exchaning Traveller's Cheques after holiday

Gemma23

Sorry, title should say "Exchanging"!!!!!!

Just got back last week from a fab holiday in Thailand. Unfortunately we vastly over estimated the amount of money we needed to take.

Got our T cheques from First Choice in US Dollars. They didn't give us the option of sterling. We brought back $1750 worth and have been today to exchange them back to sterling. Shock, horror when the woman in there told us that they would buy them back and we would only get £751 for them. That's a rate of 2.33 and we would lose £254.

Quite frankly I'm astonished (and disgusted) at this but she said that's how bureaus make their money. She didn't tell us this when we were buying them!

Have looked on the post office website which has an online conversion calculator. Their rate for buying back is 2.0776 and we would get back £842.32 which is a lot better but still wasn't expecting to lose that much, especially with Christmas coming up.

Could we go to an American Express bureau de change (in one of the banks) and exchange them for sterling? Truth is, we're not wanting to sell them back but exchange them.

Or could we go into First Coice and say that we're not selling them back but exchanging them and if they don't accept that, have a massive rant that they should have explained the buy back procedure and that we should have been offered sterling and get off on that technicality?

Or has anyone got any better ideas??????

cleopatra_2

They never expire, so unless you need the cash immediately, just keep them for your next trip.
If they are American Express TCs then yes, they will take them back but dunno about the rate.

cleopatra_2

Just a thought, but I get my TCs free along with currency from my bank. May be worth checking that out next time?

Gemma23

I know they never expire but with Christmas round the corner I kinda need to get them cashed in to pay for presents etc

Not sure if I'll ever get TCs again after this experience! I know they're safe blah blah but this is more costly.

jonesMUFCforever

When you ordered them did you see a rate board with 2 sets of rates.
One is for them to sell to you the other the rate that they buy back.
This is common to all financial institutions.
With the dollar going down against the pound last week it could get worse if you hang on much longer!

Gemma23

No, there was no board in the travel agents which is why I'm annoyed that the travel agent didn't tell us there'd be such a large buy back rate :mad:

Think I'll go to the Post Office - they seem like the best option at the moment. :undecided

Thanks for all the advice anyway.

peterbaker

It's a real pain I agree.

Do you know anyone who has a dollar account - maybe your employer?

I am lucky, I think I can still just pay them into my dollar savings account with Citibank and then transfer the equivalent straight to my sterling current account at the very best exchange rates. No commission, no wild buy-sell spread. Did it a few times a year or three ago!

The daft thing is I hardly ever use Citibank for anything else and my account balances are pretty much zero most of the year (they hate me for that!) and no doubt will find an excuse to dump me after ten years very soon!

Maybe you know someone like me with Citibank facilities? Even if they have no USD account currently, they can probably set one up online alongside their Sterling current account and start using it in a couple of days max.

Calling everyone else: Are there any other banks that offer quick set up USD savings accounts and commission free transfers to sterling accounts?