Credit Card charges for currency conversion

bladd.drwg

I was recently incorrectly charged by a hotel in Luxemborg on my credit card. The hotel re-creditted my account, but I am left with (admittedly small) charge for the currency conversion between euros to pounds, and then back again. I queried this with my credit card company, and they basically told me that it was tough luck.
Is this legal, that I can be charged for a transaction by mistake, that was nothing to do with me? Surely the hotel should have to foot the charge for making an incorrect charge? I know this is only a small amount here in question, but if I accepted the credit card companies excuse, then I could end paying considerable amounts if a large amount was processed.

Any advice would be welcome.

jonesMUFCforever

I am afraid that it is.
Some will refund you as a gesture of goodwill.

If there was fraud on your account then I would expect them to refund in full.

bladd.drwg

Fair enough. Whilst it does seem like they wronged me here, generally they are efficient - and also offer bonus points against monies spent. So whilst this cost me a few pence, I just claimed back £30 in shopping vouchers.
cheers.

ric2003

hang on, why on earth would you have to pay the charge? I would tell your credit card company to repay the money and then they can decide whether to chase the hotel for it. Its not your mistake so you should not have to pay for it. There's no such thing as 'tough luck' when it comes to credit companies ripping you off! If the exchange rate had changed in your favour, before the refund, I bet you would not find the difference credited to your account!

Biggles

Unfortunately, it's nothing to do with the CC company.

The hotel charged you. The CC co added 2.75% as their markup as normal.

The hotel repaid you. The CC co presumably made a foreign exchange deduction here.

They're just doing what you've authorised them to do.

The moral of this story is: use a Nationwide (or Post Office) credit card in future and there will be no charge.

But if the exchange rate had changed in your favour between the two transactions, you would have benefited, I once had that happen to me.

jonesMUFCforever

ric2003 and Biggles I believe you are both wrong.

It is nothing to do with being ripped off or to do with the 2.75% charge.
It is to do with exchange rates.
Banks buy and sell at different rates.
EG You buy an item costing say 100 USD at say rate 2.05 = £48.74.
Item is not received so bank has to buy back 100 USD to refund you at its buying rate of say 2.15 - refund would be £46.51.
In this example OP would have ''lost'' £2.23.

Banks apply this rule to ALL foreign transactions such as Foreign drafts and Money mover payments.
Same rule applies here you buy a draft for whatever amount it is sold to you at the selling rate of the bank. You change your mind and take it back to the bank they re purchase at their buying rate.
Same applies when you buy holiday money.

Biggles

I do agree with you, EJones, it's just that the '2.75% charge' IS the variation from the exchange rate that banks use to set their buying and selling rates (obviously, it's not necessarily 2.75%, it's just that that's the figure most card companies seem to go for).

Your example was pretty close to that 'norm', 5c either side of $2.10 being about 2.4%.

Which is why Nationwide is the answer, as their variation from the exchange rate is (as near as dammit) 0%.