Dynamic Currency Conversion

dj1471

LesD wrote: »

Oh dear.....chargeback or refund?

What eDicky means, quite correctly, is that while chargeback is the right procedure many card issuers will simply refund you the difference themselves rather than process a chargeback. They also profit from this scam so it's in their interests to keep it going...

Personally I'd want a chargeback, the merchant will be charged a fee for this and if enough people do it it will eventually start to raise a red flag. But obviously that's more hassle for you.

Nebulous2 wrote: »

I'm interested in the requirement to offer payment in local currency. Air BnB charged me in Euros but insisted on payment in £s. We complain at that behaviour from a low wage person working in retail, but shrug and bear it from a big company.

Unfortunately when you book with Airbnb you pay Airbnb Payments UK Ltd., so you are paying in the local currency. Yes, it's a scam. You used to be able to avoid their 3% markup, now the only way is not to use them which works for me.

StopIt

dj1471 wrote: »

The MasterCard rules require that the merchant gives the customer the option of paying in the local currency.

Falling to do so is grounds for a chargeback under reason code 4846:

Obviously if you go this route you'll need to make other arrangements to pay.

Ah, didn't know that.


I thought the merchant had to offer their local currency payments, rather than yours!


In which case, yes, take it up with the merchant/MC using this reg.

System

dj1471 wrote: »

What eDicky means, quite correctly, is that while chargeback is the right procedure many card issuers will simply refund you the difference themselves rather than process a chargeback. They also profit from this scam so it's in their interests to keep it going...

The issuers don't profit from the 'scam' - those that charge loading can actually loose out as it comes through in the home currency.

I've found with issuers, chargebacks often depend on the sums involved and how persistent you are with them.

fifeken

I have received money back from Halifax when I've been charged in GBP and not been offered the local currency. They tried to fob me off, but when I insisted and asked to raise it to an official complaint they suddenly realised what I was talking about and refunded me the difference.


Out of interest, when you say the merchant was a bank, what was the purchase? If you purchased currency using a CC (not a cash withdrawal) then the exchange rate could be loaded to give the same net result.

zagfles

StopIt wrote: »

Ah, didn't know that.


I thought the merchant had to offer their local currency payments, rather than yours!

That's right, and is what the PP wrote. The merchant has to offer local currency, they can't impose DCC.

dj1471

Heng_Leng wrote: »

The issuers don't profit from the 'scam' - those that charge loading can actually loose out as it comes through in the home currency.

My understanding is that issuers get a share of the DCC "load".

bigadaj

dj1471 wrote: »

My understanding is that issuers get a share of the DCC "load".

My understanding is that the load or profit or ripoff fee is shared between the retailer and their bank or credit processor. I don't think visa, MasterCard or the uk issuing bank get any benefit.

zagfles

dj1471 wrote: »

My understanding is that issuers get a share of the DCC "load".

Not the issuers, ie the bank that owns the card used. It's whoever provides the merchant services for the retailer, and they usually give the retailer a cut to "encourage" them to offer DCC. AIUI.

phillw

fifeken wrote: »

I have received money back from Halifax when I've been charged in GBP and not been offered the local currency. They tried to fob me off, but when I insisted and asked to raise it to an official complaint they suddenly realised what I was talking about and refunded me the difference.

If it was going to cost them less money than processing the complaint then they may have just bought you off. You can't assume that they benefited from the original incident and that they were just refunding their ill gotten gains. As long as your complaint sounds plausible to the people who have discretion for paying you off then they'll try to get rid of you as soon as possible. Originality pays dividends here as they'll issue guidance about any regular complaints.

fifeken

phillw wrote: »

You can't assume that they benefited from the original incident and that they were just refunding their ill gotten gains.

I wasn't assuming that as my understanding is they don't benefit. It's just easier/cheaper to pay up than process a complaint as you say.

I was relating my experience for the OP's benefit to indicate Halifax will pay up if pressed.