Patrick Winks Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Traveling through France en route to Spain before Xmas does anyone know whether the position has changed re UK based cards? Last time I was in France-June 2006- you couldn't use a UK card in the 24hr fuel stations, has this changed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 It had not changed in April 2007 - and neither could you use cash in 24hr stations either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Ord Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 In September/October this year I was able to use the 24 hour pumps in a few supermarket some even had provision to select language also and when this was done you were given spoken instructions in English, very useful. However it is a rare situation and can't be relied on. Best advice is to be careful of running low on fuel at weekends and during lunch (1-3pm) during the week. I don't think the situation will improve any time soon. I called at one supermarket for fuel that had been built only 18 months and it wouldn't accept my card. I also read that France is going to adopt a new anti fraud system for credit cards that will change the PIN each time it is used, I may not have that absolutely correct but it does mean it is unlikely that France will not adopt the system we use. France was a pioneer with chip and pin and has its own system where as we use a newer European system. Bill Ord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 The Supermarkets in the Charente will all accept UK credit/debit cards. I think, as far as the petrol stations are concerned, if the pumps are fairly new then they will accept UK cards. Our local Intermarche petrol station now accepts UK cards because I tried it last week and my daughter has used it since coming here in September 2007. I have always been able to use UK debit/credit cards in any of the Supermarkets and other outlets (not the very small shops) since we arrived here in 2000. I used my UK credit cards last week in a Supermarket called Mutant ( similar to Lidl) no problem at all. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A W Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 The last post will hopefully be of help.There are several contributers to this forum living in France who can give instructions on how to use the 24hr pumps if anyone needs them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 If there is a way we can use standard UK cards that gets round the apparent problem, I'm sure lots of members would be pleased to hear about it, I certainly would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolh Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 We used our debit card at the auchan s/s in Dunkerque on a Monday morning a couple of weeks ago. it was just after 8am and the kiosk was shut and so we had to use the automated one. No problems Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel E Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 As Randonneur points out, there is absolutely no problem in using UK debit/credit cards anywhere in France PROVIDED the paymeny place is MANNED. If it is unmanned, then only a handful of self-service pumps in the entire country are programmed to accept UK cards - and as has been pointed out, French cards use a completely diferent chip and pin system, so the vast majority of pumps will not accept them. If you're planning on driving a long way, it's worth filling up at a (manned) supermarket s/s late on Saturday, so you can go as far as possible on Sunday, because motorway s/s are the only reliably open and manned places to fill up. With my 100 litre tank I can do around 650 miles between fills which gets me past Sundays with ease. My previous one had a range of only about 300 miles and was a real problem on Sundays! Mel E ==== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W3526602 Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 Hi, We have used our UK card in Intermarche, no problem, but had it refused by the associated service station kiosk....which WAS manned. That particular service station (Intermarche at Lanvalley) is now fully automated and we don't know how to use it, even though we have a French (CA) bank card. Not that it matters, cos they are no longer the cheapest place in town. As we usually buy about 60 litres at a time, its worth driving to Champion. 602 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naittaw Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 Is it not the case that the French introduced chip and pin before the UK The UK introduced an updated system not compatible with the older French system. When the older French machines are being replaced they are replaced with the new version and become compatible. So the situation is improving but is unpredicable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djchapple Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 In France this year between April and mid July I was able to use my credit cards at about 50% of the "automatic" petrol stations I visited. Things are improving rapidly as the French update their system. You must remember, as stated above, that the French have been using chip and pin (this marvelously "new" system we have just adopted) for around 10 years so te system adopted by the rest of Europe is not compatible with the old French system. As usual it is the despised french who are light years ahead of us in neraly everything they do - trains, aeroplanes, aerospace, ......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.