2.75% bank surcharge for foreign currency transaction- can this be reclaimed?

talksalot81

I do not know the answer and hence my question. I have bought many thousands of pounds worth of items from the US, much of which before I knew about this charge. I do not have a problem on the most part because most of it was Dvd's in small orders and I accept there might be some handling to this.

However, I bought my partner's ring on the card and that 2.75% would constitute the better part of £100. This does not seem particularly fair to me. Speaking with another bank, they informed me that this is indeed a bank charge and is not levied by VISA. This was supported by the views of the post office and nationwide who both told me that there was no VISA surcharge for the transaction, it was simply added by the banks which is why they were able to waive it. Hence I now have a post office credit card.

As I say, for the most part I think this is fair game. But I would rather like to try and get back the £100 for the ring if it were at all possible! What do you think?

inmypocketnottheirs

No chance at all I would think.

Hence the reason for the popularity of Nationwide and Post Office credit cards.

The charge is not a penalty charge, but in fact a charge for providing a service that you agreed to in the terms and conditions of the agreement.

lisyloo

It's a commission fee for changing your currency.
The same that the likes of Travelex would apply if you went to a booth to change cash.

I don't think you would have any chance of re-claiming commission which is (legally) different from a penalty.

Dagobert

If you have a lot of foreign currency transactions, I would recommend the Nationwide credit card. They do not charge a currency conversion commission. Otherwise 2.75% is the going rate indeed.

King_Of_Fools

talksalot81 wrote: »

However, I bought my partner's ring on the card and that 2.75% would constitute the better part of £100.

As others have said the fee is a service charge rather than an "unlawful" penalty charge so you would not be able to reclaim it.

I assume you paid VAT and import duty on this ring. If not I would not want to kick up a fuss in case HM Revenue & Customs found out and you would be looking at a much bigger charge than £100!

talksalot81

I dont get it though, many of the 'penalties' which I see discussed were mentioned up front. They were not considered as penlties with my bank, rather a service charge when they were forced to do administration on your account.

Oh and the VAT was all paid so probs there.

I guess I just have to live with it then - even if £100 does seem like rather a large fee to charge simply for someone to do an electronic exchange!

King_Of_Fools

The problem with the penalty charges is that they were disproportionate to the administration involved and hence "unlawful" because you got charged £30 however much you were over you limit or however long you were late paying.

This service charge is directly proportional to the amount of the transaction and nobody is going to rule these unlawful otherwise every tax and fee in the land would be up for grabs!

Whether it is fair for you bank to charge you 2.75% when Nationwide and the Post Office would not have done so is a completely different matter and I suggest you consider switching accounts.

jojo1978_3

Wow, £4000 for a ring? I'd like to be your partner

PBA

This charge is far from unlawful, in fact the banks are being up front about their charges and this should be commended. What should be illegal is the bureaux des changes which advertise 0% commission while ripping you off with a poor exchange rate.

Bloke_with_a_simple_life

No.

The 2.75% charge would have been put in the Ts & Cs and therefore legitimate charge as you could have chosen either to use your card abroad or not.

More importantly, I hope that you paid the correct duties and taxes when importing the ring into the UK?

But most importantly, are you saying that seeing your partner so happy with the ring is worth disputing the £100 "extra" in FX commission?

My advice? Stop whinging on here - get a grip - be happy that your partner is so overjoyed with the ring!