Anyone used "Travel FX" for exchanging currency?

BoxerfanUK

I used Travelfx only last week to buy some South African Rand. Got the best rate I could find online and way better than going into the local Post ofiice.

You have to order the money and then pay the amount to them via bank transfer. To be honest I was slightly apprehensive about having to transfer money straight into an account and that they didn't accept cards, but I think not taking cards means they can offer a better rate as they have no card charges.

I had no problems at all and money delivered within 2 days so I wouldn't worry they ARE legit.

Like a previous poster I usually use ATM's but wanted some cash up front as our first stop is Cape Town and don't want to use an ATM there until we've got the lay of the land as to what is safe to do.

I'm going to use Travelfx again today to get my daughter some money as well.

fezbop

I had to cancel an order placed with them because they were taking too long and they charged me £25. They are so nice and cheerful on their website and e-mails saying they'll give you the cash the next day, oh they're the best rates,:mad: they can actually take as long as they like because in their puny terms and conditions text they say *subject to stock availability, so if it takes them two weeks to order the currency then you'll just have to wait that long - if you want to cancel then you're liable to a £25 cancellation charge. They're such thieves.

slinga

We've used Travel FX twice in the last 6 months to buy euro.

They had the best rate the missus could find anywhere and the money was delivered exactly on time.

We'd use them again.

fezbop

I am furious with this company - they are a complete rip-off. They have completely bullied me because I didn't realise their 'guaranteed next day delivery' promise came with some really shoddy clauses. Basically it's 'guaranteed next day delivery' when THEY have get their foreign currency in, so actually they can't say it's guaranteed next day delivery at all because sometimes they need to wait for the foreign currency to come in. So I cancelled because it wouldn't arrive in time - not only did they whack a £25 cancellation fee on they, very kindly, also 'SOLD' me back my sterling, money they hadn't even converted so incurred no costs on. I've never know such robbery. :mad:

here's what I wrote on their facebook page:

Dear Travel FX. I am VERY VERY disappointed by the service you've provided. I attempted to use your service in good faith and believed you when you said you would "Deliver the very next day - guaranteed". When I called, you said it wouldn't be the next day but the day after which didn't suit me. When I cancelled the order you not only slapped a £25 'cancellation' fee on the funds I provided but also 'sold' me back my sterling at your 'buy back' rate. I HAVE LOST £75 IN THE COURSE OF JUST ONE DAY. This is theft because you did not ever convert my Sterling into Hong Kong dollars and you've contradicted yourselves by slapping on a 'cancellation' fee of £25 on the one hand and charged me for the 'buy-back' of Hong Kong dollars that I never even saw. This all happened in the course of just a couple of hours because you received my request and my sterling in the morning and I cancelled at lunchtime. YOU REALLY OUGHT NOT TO TREAT PEOPLE IN THIS DISGRACEFUL MANNER STEVE LUCK, IT IS WHOLLY UNPROFESSIONAL AND A CYNICAL AND EXPLOITATIVE WAY OF DOING BUSINESS. RETURN MY FUNDS, THEY DO NOT BELONG TO YOU!

ailuro2

We have used travelFX in the past, no problem.
We usually use the travelmoneymaximiser on here and go with the best rate on the companies that are FSA approved.

We used ICICI this time, never again - Royal Mail decided not to leave a red card, so I had to phone the ICICI number twice before I could get to the bottom of it. IT could have been sorted in the first call if the call handler had been listening to what I was telling him ( repeating tracker number using phonetic alphabet, he agree with everything I repeated back, but tracker # was still wrong)
Second guy helped me rearrange a redelivery, but when asked which box I should tick for type of parcel said "just tick the first one" which is quite funny now I actually HAVE the money, but not funny when you've got $1500 flaoting about God knows where.

I think it's the luck of the draw sometimes - a company is only as good as its customer service though, so that's ICICI off my list. Any saving made was lost when I ended up paying extra to have my money delivered direct to the Post Office.:(

sandvika

Don't allow even 1p of your money to go near these <expletive> sods :mad:

I was on the train going home from a business meeting on Wednesday 11th February, intended to get our Swiss Francs for our skiing holiday either from a travel agent, bank or the Post Office and was looking for the best rate via my phone. This is when I saw Travel FX's advert. I wish I'd never seen it let alone believed it.

"next-day delivery" - How seductive! It was only Wednesday, I didn't need the currency until Friday so this looked absolutely great. I placed my order from my phone, got their email, did the bank transfer right away and all was done whilst I was still on the train. I'd saved myself time and money...... WHAT A SUCKER I WAS :eek:

Needless to say, the money did not turn up on Thursday, nor on Friday. I phoned to find out what the hell was going on and was told it was being sent and would be arriving on Saturday.

So now you know, for Travel FX the "next day" after Wednesday is Saturday.

I asked to cancel the order, I was told I would incur a cancellation fee and buy-back charges. AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE ACCEPTED AN ORDER THEY COULD NOT FULFIL. You might expect this in a third world country but not here in UK!

I asked them to hold the order until we returned from holiday and could arrange re-delivery or decide what to do next.

Instead of paying for our accommodation with the currency I had ordered and paid for, I needed to make an emergency payment via bank transfer at a much worse rate, I needed to visit the post office and buy the few Swiss Francs they had on hand, and needed to get extra cash from an ATM whilst in Switzerland. It has been costly, basically Travel FX denied us the opportunity to make timely alternative arrangements.

At the end of our holiday, I emailed them telling them they could deliver from 24th February. I had decided I would rather use anyone else than Travel FX to resolve the situation, but gave them the opportunity to make amends.

Not only did they completely ignore my complaint but the reply was shocking: "Your order was despatched on 16th February as per the attached confirmation email we sent. According to the Royal Mail website your package was signed for on 17th at 9:19 am."

So they had sent the currency knowing full well that it was too late and they we were already away on holiday. So who signed for and accepted delivery of our holiday money? I had no idea. There was a signature showing online for sure but it had our name against it!

So if you want your holiday money delivered to an unknown neighbour whilst you are away on your holiday, use Travel FX. _pale_

Well, fortunately we have a regular postman and an honest neighbour and we now have the currency. As to what to do with all these Swiss Francs.... it's work in progress....