Changing sterling to euros

euroR

I live in France and I have savings in a UK instant access account with no debit or credit card attached I want to change a sum of £5000 into euros.I can transfer direct into my euro account or transfer into another UK account with a debit card and withdraw the sum over a week or two from ATM.Assuming the rate stayed the same over the week (more or less) Is the exchange rate likely to be any different or better? I was happy to do the direct transfer pounds to euro account but the telephone advisor said "I shouldn't be saying this but our rate isn't very good" She then declined to suggest an alternative route after putting me off! I don't see what else I can do..
Any advice please?

benjus

OK, at today's rate £5000 = €6234 - so this is the ideal that you're trying to aim for.

If you had a fee-free UK card (e.g. Metro Bank, Norwich & Peterborough BS) you could get the full €6234, assuming the exchange rate stayed constant over the large number of days you'd need to cover all the withdrawals.

Withdrawing from a typical UK debit card at ATMs will cost about 3%, so you'd lose about €187 on the conversion.

Transferring using https://mytransfer.voicecash.com/Start.aspx would give you €6205, so you'd lose €29 on the conversion. There is some risk with using a 3rd party transfer company like this, but it's pretty small as they only hold your money for a short time.

A direct bank-to-bank transfer is safe, but find out in advance exactly how much you can expect to receive.