Update - I have just been in touch with my bank and I'm not too happy with them!
It seems that as they are not a clearing bank, this transaction has gone through various banks before reaching Roy's account. The upshot is that at any point "they" can levy their own charges.

My bank gets out of it by a mandatory clause where they are absolved from responsibility for any other charges - not that they explain exactly what that means!!

Had I known that Tom, Dick and Harry were involved (and could charge) then I would have chosen a different method of payment.

I've put in a complaint but don't have much hope of a refund as I'm up against a solid "We are in the right" tack.

Hope this serves as a warning to others to double check your bank's tranaction processes to avoid hefty charges.

Thanks for the update. Guess my earlier assumption about Roy's passing on their bank fee was incorrect, so that's good to know. Unfortunately it sounds like you don't have much recourse.

For the record, I'd just like to make it clear that Roy Safaris Bank DO NOT make charges for payments made to their account.

This was my WRONG assumption based on the belief that only my bank sending, and Roy's bank receiving, were involved, as my bank had NOT informed me of other banks involved in the payment process.

Roy's have been very clear about their setup and that helped me trace the problem to source.

Lesson learned?
Check carefully with your OWN bank just what a transaction involves!

Almost all US banks, except a few huge ones such as Citibank, route international wires through one of just that handful. There are fees involved at each step (obviously, each entity providing service is entitled to be paid) but you need to be sutre with your own bank how the fees are paid.

Some local banks deduct fees fdrom the payment itself; others from the account. Some deduct their fee from your account but let the international bank deduct their fee from the payment.

Bottom line is to be 100% with your own bank about how they handle ALL fees involved.

And, 100% of the time, the receiving bank will deduct its fee, if any, from the payment or post it separately.

Thanks for the explanation - wish I'd had it earlier :(

I now understand that this does happen and as you say you need ALL the info from your bank, but like so many fields if you are not "up" on procedures you don't know the right questions to ask to make sure you have all the info.

This is the point I'm raising with my bank, as I feel what is standard procedure to them, the ins and outs of it are not always known to the customer, and the onus should lie with them to explain the process fully to customers.

I live and learn and certainly will be sharper in future! I hope ;)