To all those who have a Halifax Clarity card...

baby_frogmella

For foreign transactions, you'll be aware that your Halifax online statement does not show the exchange rate used or even the foreign currency amount yet most (if not all) other card issuers show this info on their online statements. Halifax's online statement just lists the merchant's name & converted GBP amount - full stop. Now Halifax's paper statements do show this info (but i suspect too late for many) so why on earth Halifax refuse to show this online is beyond me.

Anyway despite writing to them 10 months ago to consider this, they've done diddly squat. Maybe, just maybe if enough customers wrote to them demanding their online statements be a bit more user friendly perhaps they might get off their @rses and do something. Probably not an issue for those who make a few foreign transactions a year but if you have lots then can be quite annoying to have to manually work out the exchange rate used shortly after the transaction took place. If you don't mind paying the cost of a second class stamp, then please write to them and politely ask them to include foreign currency amount and/or forex rate used for your online statements:

Customer Services
Halifax Card Services
Pitreavie Business Park
Dunfermline
KY99 4BS

No point calling their phone support, they'll just say "thanks, i'll pass on your suggestion to our internet banking team"

Cheers

luci

I can live without the exchange rate being shown online, despite having 60 transactions in one trip., as that is easily worked out. However they really should show the balance on the card at statement date.

At the moment it only shows the total of all expenditure ie the previous and current month in one lump sum figure.

Ben8282

Why exactly do you find it necessary to manually work out the exchange rate used shortly after the transaction took place?

baby_frogmella

Ben8282 wrote: »

Why exactly do you find it necessary to manually work out the exchange rate used shortly after the transaction took place?

To see what exchange rate Halifax used (should match mastercard's wholesale rate instead of overseas retailers own rates such as Amazon US) for peace of mind? To make sure the correct foreign amount was charged to your account? Just like people check their online cc statements on a regular basis for peace of mind? I don't do this for every transaction but i like to scan through and just randomly check the fx rates used. But not exactly easy when Halifax don't show the rate used OR the foreign currency amount on their online statements. If they included one or the other it wouldn't be such a big deal.

Like i said every other bank/cc card issuer i've known include this on online statements.

baby_frogmella

Also paypal have tried to shaft me in the past by applying their own exchange rate on a foreign Clarity card transaction...this was despite me choosing the paypal option to charge me in euros and let my card issuer do the conversion. Errors like this can be spotted straightaway if Halifax include exchange rate and/or fx amount on their online statement.

sharpy2010

baby_frogmella wrote: »

No point calling their phone support, they'll just say "thanks, i'll pass on your suggestion to our internet banking team"

And then promptly hang up the phone, do absolutely nothing about it, completely forget about it, and answer the next call...

Bravehearted_2

Exactly what purpose would knowing this information serve? Eitiher way (online or paper), you will be finding out AFTER you have made a transaction so what's the point?

Perhaps dedicate your efforts to other ventures?

opinions4u

Not a fan of the online credit card service since they moved on to the Lloyds TSB platform.

Balance carried forward information is also lacking and has even for some time.

But it gives me the basics.

Ben8282

baby_frogmella wrote: »

Like i said every other bank/cc card issuer i've known include this on online statements.

Just checked my LTSB mastercard online statement. This information is not shown, only the GBP amount. So Halifax are not the only cc company to do this.

baby_frogmella wrote: »

To see what exchange rate Halifax used (should match mastercard's wholesale rate instead of overseas retailers own rates such as Amazon US) for peace of mind? To make sure the correct foreign amount was charged to your account?

Well, as you obviously know what mastercard's wholesale rate is, just apply it to the GBP amount and calculate the answer yourself. Same applies to making sure the correct foriegn currency amount was debited in the first place. You should know by looking at the GBP amount if it is approximately correct anyway.

richardmk

The full details are on the paper statement If you have the receipts you can deduce the exchange rate by diving the sterling transaction on the online statement with the currency amount.