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

grumbler

If it really was the case, the transaction had to be processed in € and converted to £ by Halifax at Mastercard rate: https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/

If the hotel processed it in £ at their own rate, demand chargeback from Halifax on this grounds (see this thread above) and let the hotel to chase you for the correct amount that you authorised. Demand the overlimit fee refunded as well.

As a proof you can do a new mock unfinished booking and take a screenshot of the page showing the amount in € needing authorisation.
Did you receive any confirmation by a e-mail? If so, what did it say?

MCGONIS

Hi. Thanks again for advice. This is a copy of email from Hotels.com.


"Dear Stephen, your booking is confirmed. The hotel will charge you a total of €624.00.
Estimado/a Stephen: tu reserva est! confirmada. El hotel te cargar! un total de €624.00.


Apartamentos Stella Maris
Apartamentos Stella Maris
Paseo Maritimo Rey De Espana N 54,
Fuengirola,
29640,
ES
+34952477247



Check in Sunday, March 19, 2017 (3 PM)
Llegada domingo, 19 de marzo de 2017 (15:00 h)

Check out Saturday, April 1, 2017 (noon)
Salida s!bado, 1 de abril de 2017 (12:00)

Your stay 13 nights, 1 room

Cancellation policy Non-refundable
Total to be charged by the hotel in their local currency €624.00"

grumbler

MCGONIS wrote: »

"Dear Stephen, your booking is confirmed. The hotel will charge you a total of €624.00....
Total to be charged by the hotel in their local currency €624.00"

So, did the hotel just charge this amount later the same day? Or did you pay in person later - when the actual authorisation took place?

MCGONIS

Hiya. It's a forward booking so I don't actually go there till next year. I booked it twice and tried to pay with my N&P debit card through Hotels.com and twice within an hour I got an email saying my card was declined and booking cancelled.

The N&P one gives you good rates as well.

So had to faff about and clear my Halifax balance off and try again with using a new card.

I am now starting to think the reason my Visa debit was declined was because they cannot convert it to GBP.

glider3560

MCGONIS wrote: »

Hi. I was wondering if someone can offer any advice on this subject.

On Hotels.com I booked an apartment in Spain. The price displayed was £493. I was happy with this and went through the booking. It says that I will be charged in the local currency 624 EURO.

I used my Halifax Clarity card to pay due to the good rates it comes with. My credit limit is £500 so was enough to cover the charge.

However Apartamentos Stella Maris have charged me £519.

When I spoke to Halifax they said the charge is not in EURO but has been converted to pounds by a bank in Spain.

They could not help me any further as the charge is still pending. It's not the £12 over limit charge that annoys me, it is the fact the amount I booked at was shown to me as £493 but it is actually ended up £26 more.

I called Hotels.com and explained that I was not happy. They called the hotel and the hotel said they have billed me in EURO but their exchange rate converts is as £519.

Hotels.com fail to see that the hotel have carried out a conversion I did not agree to.

Do you think it is likely I can ask Halifax to do the chargeback process that has been mentioned here?

I am a bit shocked that the hotel would convert the sale to GBP when the cardholder was not present.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

I've had exactly the same with a Spanish hotel booked online, but through a different site.

The credit card number gets sent through to the hotel, who then key it in manually to the card terminal. This offers DCC, but the staff just press Enter to anything that comes up, because that's the easy option. The hotel think they've billed you in euros, but in fact you have been charged in pounds.

I contacted the hotel directly in this case and they offered a €15 refund (it was only about £5 overcharge) plus a voucher for each of our party to have a free alcoholic drink in the hotel bar on arrival. Interestingly, the €15 didn't come through with DCC.

On my next stay at the same hotel, I put "CHARGE CARD IN EUR, DO NOT CONVERT TO GBP" in the comments box, in capital letters. Card was charged exactly as requested on this second stay.

As you have proof that you opted to pay in Euros (the confirmation email only in euros), filing a chargeback should be relatively simple as the amount charged to your card is plain wrong. There can be no issue of you having given permission for the DCC to take place.

MCGONIS

Hi. Thanks for advice. I will report back here with the outcome when I get one.