Credit card in Spain - Restarant chose pay in GBP without asking

zagfles

beaker141 said:

At a restaurant in majorca, I visited 3 times, only on the 3rd time did I check it was pay in Euros, I have a Jaja card with no loading or fee, so always pick EUR. 

The waiter, said no, we have to pick GBP or we get charged by our bank - I'd had a couple of sangrias at this point and refused to pay, we had a short discussion, but his english wasnt great and didnt really know the details of what he was telling me - he then went inside to check, then came out and said ok, EUR and I paid. 

I checked though and the previous 2 times I hadnt noticed and got stung by paying in GBP and accepting their translation which annoyed me, but hey its worth about £5. 

My question is - could they have refused and insisted on them pressing the button and choosing - or should it be presented to me as my choice.  I've no idea where to even start with finding this out. I wouldnt have thought it impacted them at all, and they should still get x euros, but maybe their card merchant has an incentive payment to get to the GBP and split the benefit ? 

All the other places I visited were EUR without any issues.

Exactly this. The DCC providers usually give a kickback when DCC is used, eg see this example (under "What are the benefits to the Merchant to process DCC"):

https://www.elavon.co.uk/resource-center/maximise-your-solutions/currency-solutions.html

Therefore some dodgy retailers will choose to impose DCC on you without asking or pretend that it's the only option. It isn't.

Before contactless was the norm, the trick was to keep hold of the terminal after entering your PIN, it's etiquette for the waiter not to look as you enter your PIN. Don't hand it back after entering the PIN, because the DCC questions usually come after entering the PIN. If you just hand it back the waiter may decide, possibly without even asking you. 

With contactless, you need to do the same but a bit harder if you just get told "tap here" and then the terminal is taken. So tell them to charge you in EUR (or whatever the local currency is) if you don't get a chance on the terminal. Some wired (non handheld) terminals are the same, keep an eye on it after tapping in case the DCC question is asked. 

This whole thing need sorting out - it's against Mastercard and probably VISA rules to change the currency after authorisation (eg tap/PIN) yet it's routinely done. It's no different to altering a cheque after it's been signed. 

Anyway, if you do get stung by DCC without authorising it, complain to your bank, you may may get fobbed off by the usual clueless front line staff but persist and you'll get refunded. Eg see this thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6286660/charged-in-gbp-without-my-agreement-card-issuer-and-mastercard-refuse-to-fix-it-any-ideas/p2

Voyager2002

Voyager2002 said:

*j* said:

I sometimes forget the first time and let it go, but after that explain I want to pay in GBP.  If it isn't done I tell the card company and they have always corrected the overcharge, but sadly I don't think it was from the retailer's account.

From page 8 in this document...https://www.mastercard.com/elearning/dcc/docs/DCC Guide 20.02.17 EN.pdf

"Before the Cardholder decides on the currency in which the transaction
is to be completed, and before an authorization or pre-authorization*
request for the transaction is submitted, it is essential that:
a. The Cardholder is first informed either verbally or via a terminal
that they have the right to choose the currency in which the
transaction will be completed.
b. Each of the following is made clear to the Cardholder:
- Transaction amount in the local currency
- Transaction amount in the billing currency
- Currency conversion rate to be applied should the transaction
be completed in the Cardholder’s billing currency.
Once the Cardholder has decided which currency they would like
the transaction to take place in, the Merchant must honor the
Cardholder’s choice."

And for visa?

To answer the question I posed, the Visa rules are available as a pdf from https://www.visa.co.uk/support/consumer/visa-rules.html

The relevant section begins on p725 of this document. The key words are on the next page, in Table 11-62.