MyTravelCash Warning

piedy

Hi All,

We justed wanted to warn others about the MyTravelCash US Dollar currency card. In particular, its claim that there are "no ATM fees when you withdraw cash".

Having just returned from the US, this is technically not true. Whilst myTravelCash do not themselves charge any fee to withdraw cash in the US, all the ATM operators i.e. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc, treat the card as a credit card and hence will charge you when you go to withdraw cash (5% fee was not unusual).

We may have been naive in believing that "no ATM fees when you withdraw cash" meant exactly that i.e. no ATM fees, but just wanted to flag this up when people are deciding the best way to get hold of cash abroad i.e. debit, card, credit card, etc., as it came as a bit of a shock to us when we first went to get some cash that we had already preloaded onto the card.

We're currently persuing this with the ASA.

Thanks.

YorkshireBoy

I don't think you'll get anywhere with this because they seem to have it covered in the T&Cs...

Removal of ATM fees for the Euro, US Dollar and Multi-Currency cards. You will no longer have to pay ATM fees for withdrawing your cash abroad when you use a my Travel Cash prepaid MasterCard card, but please note that other fees may be payable on the transaction.

They then add...

When you use your Prepaid Card at an ATM, you may also be subject to applicable fees, surcharge rules and regulations of the relevant ATM, or other financial institution or association.

Note the use of the word "may" in both statements.

inmypocketnottheirs

Unless you are a customer of the bank using the bank's own card, then in the US it is usual to be charged for cash withdrawals. Hence why I have a UK Citibank dollar account for guaranteed fee free withdrawals from citi machines in the US.

piedy

I take what everyone saying. However, on the home page of the website (and many other pages) they state that there are "no ATM fees when you withdraw cash". If they were to say that "we do not charge ATM fees when you withdraw cash" is a lot more clearer and less likely to cause confusion. And if they want to be really clear about upfront charges (which I doubt) then "we do not charge ATM fees when you withdraw cash, but others may" is clear and concise.

It is about time that financial instittutions are clearer rather than referring us into obsure parts of their T&Cs and arguing behind weasel words.

callum9999

piedy wrote: »

I take what everyone saying. However, on the home page of the website (and many other pages) they state that there are "no ATM fees when you withdraw cash". If they were to say that "we do not charge ATM fees when you withdraw cash" is a lot more clearer and less likely to cause confusion. And if they want to be really clear about upfront charges (which I doubt) then "we do not charge ATM fees when you withdraw cash, but others may" is clear and concise.

It is about time that financial instittutions are clearer rather than referring us into obsure parts of their T&Cs and arguing behind weasel words.

And yet people moan about the "nanny state"...

All banks advertise how their debit cards are fee-free for UK use - do you therefore assume when you book a flight etc. that the fee it states you will be charged will just be waived by the bank? The cash machines in the US tell you they are going to charge you to use them, so it's your fault for ignoring it.

piedy

callum9999 wrote: »

And yet people moan about the "nanny state"...

All banks advertise how their debit cards are fee-free for UK use - do you therefore assume when you book a flight etc. that the fee it states you will be charged will just be waived by the bank? The cash machines in the US tell you they are going to charge you to use them, so it's your fault for ignoring it.

Don't understand your post.

We took out a card which stated "No ATM fees when you withdraw cash" - its there on the front page! But, its not true. We loaded the card in the UK and were then subjected to a 5% fee whenever we wanted cash - and yet there was supposed to be no fees. Thanks, myTravelCash!

izools

I personally completely agree with piedy that the advertising is misleading, inaccurate, and obfuscative.

callum9999

piedy wrote: »

Don't understand your post.

We took out a card which stated "No ATM fees when you withdraw cash" - its there on the front page! But, its not true. We loaded the card in the UK and were then subjected to a 5% fee whenever we wanted cash - and yet there was supposed to be no fees. Thanks, myTravelCash!

Well from my perspective, although it could be made clearer, they are clearly talking about their fees, and aren't saying they will pay any 3rd party fee you are given.

Each ATM would have told you it was charging x amount to use it beforehand, I'd say ignorance was more to blame for you not questioning it and just assuming it doesn't apply to you.

I repeat my previous question which you ignored. Pretty much all UK bank accounts are advertised with a fee-free debit card. Do you then ignore any website or shop which details a debit card surcharge, and assume it doesn't apply to you? It's the exact same principle.

Again, in the interests of clarity they should put an asterix in there to explain private ATMs may charge you and that is outside of their control. As Yorkshire Boy pointed out, it's in the T&Cs (which you told them you had read and agreed with - clearly not...) so I hardly think it's some cowboy company out to try and con people out of money - as the tone of your posts implied.