Beware of foreign outlets selecting to pay in £ rather than the local currency

tzimmerman

I always use one of the credit cards that don’t charge a foreign exchange fee, but am fed up with being stung by outlets (from shops/restaurants and even Alicante Airport duty free).
Some pin machines give you the option to pay in Euros or have it exchanged to pounds by the vendors bank (at a fee!). I know to always select to pay in the local currency.
After entering the PIN, I hold onto the terminal as long as possible, to see if this screen comes up. Sometimes, everything appears complete, and the screen is in Spanish and the vendor takes the terminal back (usually to pint receipts). However, sometimes the question that should be being asked of me, about pounds or euros is being answered by the vendor, without my knowledge. It is only after getting the receipt, that you see it has been converted to pounds by the vendors bank. It is too late to dispute and change at this time. (although I always let the outlet know how annoyed I am that they have done it).
Pressure needs to be put on the credit card companies and banks to eradicate this fraud. The vendors bank makes up to 3% in the conversion, at my loss. Ideally it should be banned for the vendors bank to interfere and offer the exchange - it should just be down to the card owner. Another solution would be to ask me the conversion question BEFORE I enter my PIN, and then to show what you will actually be charged. (i.e. E25 or £19). If you are happy with this, you authorise it by entering your PIN.

System

If DCC has been done without your consent, just ask for whole transaction be charged back on your return home.

That is more of a sting in the tail than moaning at them.

dj1471

It is a violation of both the Visa and MasterCard merchant agreements for the merchant to apply conversion without the customer's explicit consent, so if this happens request a chargeback through your card issuer and make arrangements to pay in the agreed currency.

grumbler

dj1471 wrote: »

...and make arrangements to pay in the agreed currency.

Easier said than done for an ATM withdrawal.

gardner1

never had a problem....its always clear which option to press for local currency

tzimmerman

Its not an ATM withdrawl. Its when in a shop/restaurant and after entering your PIN, the retailer takes back the handheld card reader to print the receipt and they get asked the question about which currency. Instead of asking me, they make the decision to convert to pounds, by their banks conversion rate.

System

Chargeback and don't pay - that's the point of chargeback.
You'll find they'll update their systems faster that way.

dj1471 wrote: »

It is a violation of both the Visa and MasterCard merchant agreements for the merchant to apply conversion without the customer's explicit consent, so if this happens request a chargeback through your card issuer and make arrangements to pay in the agreed currency.

prowla

Interesting - it's a good reminder to pay in local currency.

giblet10

I find Accor hotels terrible for doing this - I ask to pay in Euro but they try to charge Sterling at their awful exchange rate. They even had to swap terminals at the Mercure in Amsterdam because the first they tried to scam me with was programmed to do nothing but Sterling with UK issued cards..

chattychappy

giblet10 wrote: »

I find Accor hotels terrible for doing this - I ask to pay in Euro but they try to charge Sterling at their awful exchange rate. They even had to swap terminals at the Mercure in Amsterdam because the first they tried to scam me with was programmed to do nothing but Sterling with UK issued cards..

Yep. Ditto the Novotel at Taipei (Taoyuan) airport in Taiwan that I sometimes use (not much choice of hotels there).

gardner1 wrote: »

never had a problem....its always clear which option to press for local currency

I used to think the same - assuming people were being careless. But at the Melia hotel in Madrid the system was set up differently. Amount on screen given in Euros. Asks for PIN. I type in PIN. It says return unit. I return unit. Receptionist then given option to charge in GBP - barely in my sight. (Who then selected Euros, so no problem.)

It was clear to me that I had only authorised a Euro amount. I agree with the posters above that this kind of nonsense is grounds for chargeback (of at least the difference). I'd be interested to know if anyone has actually done this and whether there was any argy-bargy.

Vortigern

Heng_Leng wrote: »

Chargeback and don't pay - that's the point of chargeback.
You'll find they'll update their systems faster that way.

Difficult to do a chargeback when it's your word against theirs, and the printed receipt says the cardholder has consented to dynamic currency conversion.

The card handling companies and terminal manufacturers should be compelled to ask the "which currency?" question, in the language appropriate to the card issuer, before asking for the PIN.

I'd like to know what keys the retailer has to use, after I hand back the terminal, so I can complete the transaction myself and answer the DCC question for myself.