stevec176 Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Just a warning if you are going to stay at Camping As Cancelas, Santiago. Went to pay with a Euro credit card and they insisted we would have to select pounds on the machine. Tried to explain that that would mean our Euros would be converted into pounds and then back to Euros, didnt make any difference so paid in cash. No explanation why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Because they will make more money or commission that way . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted October 4, 2018 Author Share Posted October 4, 2018 Dont think that's the actual reason as they will only get the price in Euros but might have something to do with brexit. They couldn't guve a reason just kept pointing to a printed sheet. Just have the cash ready just in case more sites do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Its not uncommon to be given the choice, but I've not experienced a single choice of Sterling abroad. The only difference is likely to be that the local bank providing the card facilities will do the euro/pound conversion, bill you in £, and also reflect the transaction back to your bank in £. Hence, no double conversion. It is likely that the 'local' conversion will be slightly worse than if you had paid in euro, but this isn't always the case. Whatever, the transaction should reach your account at exactly the amount Sterling you were billed, with no further additions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Had this on one of our Guest Harbour overnight stops in Sweden. The charge was 170 SEK, which my Santander 123 or Halifax Clarity would have converted to £14.45. I was only given the option of Sterling at £15.51. So annoying. Luckily it only happened once. We went the whole month in Norway/Sweden without having any local currency. Just cards and on two occasions paying in Euros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 This link may be of interest https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2017/07/Asked-to-pay-in-euros-abroad-but-charged-in-pounds-You're-not-alone-in-being-ripped-off/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocs Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 stevec176 - 2018-10-04 8:24 AM Dont think that's the actual reason as they will only get the price in Euros but might have something to do with brexit. They couldn't guve a reason just kept pointing to a printed sheet. Just have the cash ready just in case more sites do the same. It’s nothing to do with Brexit and sounds much more to do with the trader ‘maximising profit’. They will potentially be receiving commission from their bank/payment provider. You should simply refuse to pay in sterling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamRienza Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 This scenario of being offered a ‘choice’ of currency for my ‘convenience’ has been more widespread this year than any previous visit to France. A few of the big supermarkets as well as smaller outlets, but what really annoyed me this year is a couple of bank atms offering to exchange. This really smacks of profiteering in my opinion. None of these choices show the rate or charge used, just the euro and sterling amount. I use a Starling debit card which has no charges for withdrawals or purchases. It also has a perfect MasterCard exchange rate. Transactions show instantly on my phone and I am paid interest on my balance each month. Worth looking at and given a good report by Martin Lewis. Davy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 Robinhood - 2018-10-04 9:18 AM Its not uncommon to be given the choice, but I've not experienced a single choice of Sterling abroad. The only difference is likely to be that the local bank providing the card facilities will do the euro/pound conversion, bill you in £, and also reflect the transaction back to your bank in £. Hence, no double conversion. It is likely that the 'local' conversion will be slightly worse than if you had paid in euro, but this isn't always the case. Whatever, the transaction should reach your account at exactly the amount Sterling you were billed, with no further additions So if you press the wrong key how much damage can it cost? :-S ......... Just askin ;-) ....... Not that I feel the urge to see snow on mountains or fjords again :D ......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted October 4, 2018 Share Posted October 4, 2018 TeamRienza - 2018-10-04 7:44 PM This scenario of being offered a ‘choice’ of currency for my ‘convenience’ has been more widespread this year than any previous visit to France. A few of the big supermarkets as well as smaller outlets, but what really annoyed me this year is a couple of bank atms offering to exchange. This really smacks of profiteering in my opinion. None of these choices show the rate or charge used, just the euro and sterling amount. I use a Starling debit card which has no charges for withdrawals or purchases. It also has a perfect MasterCard exchange rate. Transactions show instantly on my phone and I am paid interest on my balance each month. Worth looking at and given a good report by Martin Lewis. Davy In Spain using the local currency has been the no brainer ;-) ........ That said it may have changed since earlier this year? :-S ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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