Refund on DCC transaction

zerog

I have bought something online in euros with a no-forex-fee card, but the merchant decided to charge me in pounds at their own rate without telling me.

I complained and they charged my card in euros again. They said they would refund the GBP transaction, however, I received back a lower amount than I was charged.

If I was charged and refunded in euros, I accept that the GBP amount as converted by Mastercard may be different.

Surely if they charge me in GBP and then refund that transaction, it should be exactly the same amount?

reclusive46

zerog wrote: »

I have bought something online in euros with a no-forex-fee card, but the merchant decided to charge me in pounds at their own rate without telling me.

I complained and they charged my card in euros again. They said they would refund the GBP transaction, however, I received back a lower amount than I was charged.

If I was charged and refunded in euros, I accept that the GBP amount as converted by Mastercard may be different.

Surely if they charge me in GBP and then refund that transaction, it should be exactly the same amount?

I'm not sure you can even refund via DCC. Did the receipt say it was in GBP?

zerog

reclusive46 wrote: »

I'm not sure you can even refund via DCC. Did the receipt say it was in GBP?

There's no receipt as it was (I think) a cardholder not present transaction.

I gave them my card number and authorised them to charge me €100**. They did not charge me instantly. A few days later my online statement showed a charge of £87.50.

After complaining, a charge for £84 showed up with a line saying €100 converted at 1.1905

Then there is a refund of £87.00


**Example figures

bigadaj

zerog wrote: »

There's no receipt as it was (I think) a cardholder not present transaction.

I gave them my card number and authorised them to charge me €100**. They did not charge me instantly. A few days later my online statement showed a charge of £87.50.

After complaining, a charge for £84 showed up with a line saying €100 converted at 1.1905

Then there is a refund of £87.00


**Example figures

I had the same thing with a hotel in Spain, paid with a clarity card in euros, but the receptionist then put the transaction through in sterling after entering my pin! I got the transaction reversed and put through in euros but still lost out on the original transaction, no difference in rate because it was near instantaneous but presume it was the buy sell spread. It was less than a quid so whilst mildly disgruntled I couldn't be bothered taking it any further.

TurnUpForTheBooks_2

It's been going on for years. Car hire companies were frequently the worst. Many ATMs also attempt to wrongfoot you with a DCC question that is often phrased so that you need to think hard about whether the correct answer is Yes or No.

Once upon a time your card company would be very sympathetic to the complaint and always make sure you were not out of pocket. It has been a while since I last had to complain - I am now too used to spotting it on the spot so to speak! It must be around 10 years now since DCC was introduced. It should have been strangled at birth

As for whether the merchant can even refund using DCC and start again without DCC I am fairly sure the answer is yes because that is exactly what I required a car hire firm to do. There will always be a small exchange rate difference (could be in your favour or not) when they do this because of the difference in timing of the transaction. In my car hire case they had used a pencil rubbing of my card on one of the old style slips when they handed over the keys at the beginning of the holiday then clearly had gone back to their office and processed a cardholder not present transaction via DCC. I had happened to have logged in to online banking a few days later and cottoned on to what they had done. I reserved myself an extra hour before the flight to give them an ear-bashing for it when I took the car back!

YorkshireBoy

TurnUpForTheBooks wrote: »

It must be around 10 years now since DCC was introduced.

It's nearer 20 years.

It was introduced in 1996. Time flies!

MrChips

Just got back to my hotel room after an evening out in Madrid. My wife and I went for a meal and when paying I specifically checked when entering my PIN that the amount on screen was in euros. When I was given my receipt, it was not at all clear but there was an implication that I had been charged in Pounds Sterling. The waitress had very poor English so I didn't feel able to enter into a dialogue there and then, especially as I wasn't sure of the facts. I have now logged onto my credit card account, and alas I was charged in sterling.

Do I have any options to get this corrected? The restaurant is next door to the hotel so I could easily pop in tomorrow.

The amount is only a few pounds, but it's the principle more than anything...

grumbler

They charged you in ££.
If it's a matter of principle, make them to refund you in ££ and then charge in €€.

YorkshireBoy

If pushed, the card provider will cover the difference.