Check those credit card statements carefully!
 

I just went to the Capital One website to pay my bill. As I was looking over the transactions from last week's trip to Ireland, I noticed that there were two charges from the restaurant where we had lunch on our first day. One for $75 and one for $60.

I, of course, immediately called Capital One. We think that what happened is that the smaller charge is the bill minus tip, the second with tip. Of course, restaurants do not normally put through both charges. And, in fact, we noticed that the credit card slips for most Irish restaurants didn't have a place to add a tip.

At any rate, Capital One is requesting a copy of the bill and, with a little luck, this will all be straightened out. But, check those charges!

You're right, It's always good to check those statements when the come in.

While you were over there, did you encounter merchants attempting to pull the Dynamic Currency Conversion scam on you? ((b))

The same thing happened to me last June in Toulon, France. Fortunately I had saved my credit card transaction slip so I could verify which of the two charges in the restaurant was correct. Capital One resolved everything quite expeditiously.

I really don't think there was anything the restaurants tried to pull...actually for the most part one doesn't tip in a European restaurant (note I said for the most part)....perhaps in entering the tip the clerk was unfamiliar with the process and simply entered a new transaction???

But it's always good advice to hold onto the slips and actually if you only signed one slip there is no problem as with a billing error dispute of this sort, the merchant is required to provide documentation namely a signed sale slip so it will be straightened out in a modest amount of time.

A quick update: I found my original receipt for Euro43.45. Even with tip, the lower charge is more likely the correct one. So this is beginning to look less like a mistake. Yes, they could have thought it didn't go through the first time and tried again. But why the discrepancy in amounts?

I talked to Capital One again and have been advised to send them a written explaination with a copy of the receipt, etc.

I've tried to find a website to contact the restaurant, but no luck. I'm not going to try to deal with this on the phone. I'll let Capital One handle it. Tim, it's very encouraging to hear that they handled things well for you.

And, yes, Budman, unfortunately we did encounter the DCC. In one case, as soon as I said I'd prefer the charge in Euro, the gentleman apologetically told me he'd cancel and redo it. But in the other three cases, each time they tried to convince me that the slip was just showing the amount in both currencies. Even though the slip clearly stated that we were being charged in dollars! In at least one of the cases, (when we charged dinner in the bar of the Old Ground Hotel) I believe the young woman who waited on us truly didn't understand the difference. But I have no doubt that the man behind the bar who she talked to about it, did understand. In most of these cases, it was literally just a couple of dollars difference and not worth fighting about. But it really bugs me to be put in a position where my choices are to be difficult or to be taken advantage of.

And, when I finally get my trip report together (I'm working on it in Word and will copy and paste), I will name names!

Another reason to use ATM's and pay with cash.

You've brought up another point that should be noted. At most restaurants in Europe (perhaps all of them) if you add a tip to a credit card slip it does not go to your server. It will simply go to the restaurant's general income. This is of course especially true when service is included in a bill already. If you want to leave extra in Europe you should always do so with cash!

Dick...

In all due respect, I disagree with you. There is absolutely no danger in using a credit card, even in this case, the billing error dispute procedures will quickly resolve the matter and this simply doesn't happen often...apparently what caused it was the attempt to add a tip to the credit card slip...this is basically not done in Europe like it is in North America and as noted the printed credit card receipts do not have room for adding a tip for the most part.....

But I wouldn't give up the convenience of using a credit card for any purchase on the odd chance that something untoward might happen...in 99.99% of the cases, you are covered in any event.

xy,

I agree with you that a billing error will eventually be resolved. However, any error( honest or otherwise) can tie up the credit availabiltiy on a car until resolved. for some, that could be a problem.

The reason I try to use ATM's and pay for everything in cash is to avoid the "foreign exchange" fees tacked on by most credit card companies.

I only use a credit card for something that is to be shipped.

As an added plus, many merchants and even small hotels, offer a discount for cash.

When I said the same thing happened to me in Toulon, I did NOT mean that it was because of a tip I had attempted to leave. In my case the amount of the second charge was nowhere near the amount of the correct charge and I had not left a tip. This double billing could have been intentional, but I don't know one way or the other. Save your receipts and let your credit card company resolve any disputes.

Dick, I can't disagree with you that, in the long run, you're probably better off using ATMs and cash. However, at least Capital One charges lower conversion fees than most cards. And, I have to say, the ATM fees we were charged wound up being much higher than I'd expected. So you have to take that into account as well.

Tim, it's beginning to look like ours didn't involve the tip either. As I said in the update, the lower amount was more likely the correct one (and would have included the tip). As you said, who knows whether it was intentional. But, right off-hand, it seems hard to explain the discrepancy in amounts. How does a charge of Euro 43.45 become $75 and change?

Cap,

On our last trip to Italy, I had our bank raise our daily withdrawal amount. the fee per withdrawal was $1.50

Wow, that was a good rate, Dick! I'd been told before we left that our bank would charge $3. And I had the impression that the Irish banks wouldn't charge. Well, the lowest fee we were charged was $7.56! And there's one charge of $12! I'll know more when I see the hard-copy of my statement. But I'm guessing the $12 may be the compilation of all the charges by our bank. The $7.56 must have been from the Irish bank.

Well I guess it boils down to one's own philosophy regarding this..

At home in the US, I almost never have to spend cash now...all fast food restaurants now take plastic, the grocery takes plastic, the drug stores take plastic, gasoline stations take plastic...I can hardly think of anything I buy at home where I don't use a credit card. Luckily for us in the US, there are two important rules visa and mastercard have instituted for their US merchants. The first is they cannot set up a minimum charge amount...if you want to charge $1.49 for a cheeseburger and a coke at McDonald's, you can. Secondly merchants in the United States are not allowed to surcharge for use of a credit card.

In many European countries, the UK does come to mind, government regulations prohibit the credit card companies from enforcing these consumer protection rules...British merchants can give cash discounts and can establish minimums for use of a card. But that doesn't mean whenever I am in London that I don't use my cards...I use them everywhere they are taken and Britain is a lot like the US in almost universal acceptance of cards (pubs are a notable exception..can't walk in and charge a pint although I'd love to)...cuts down on trips to the ATM.

Incidentally many banks surcharge ATM withdrawals the same way they do credit cards...Bank of America, for example, I believe adds the same 3% surcharge to ATM withdrawals as it does for its credit cards....most ATM withdrawals clear through either cirrus or plus which are really mastercard and visa in disguise so there is a 1% fee placed by the network on cash withdrawals in currencies other than the currency the card was issued in.

I, personally, cannot dream of travelling in the 21st century without the convenience of credit cards for everything everywhere they are taken for amounts no matter how small.

caph52...

The rules of cirrus and plus prohibit banks from charging the rip off fee for having the audacity to use their ATM's on cards issued from outside the country. Therefore an Irish bank is not allowed to add a charge for using its ATM if the transaction is to clear through either cirrus or plus.

However, as I understand it, many private operators have machines in places like convenience stores and have found ways around this regulation.

On the other hand, because of the suit the big credit card companies lost, more and more disclosures are required than before and it is possible the fees you are seeing represent the extra fees your bank is placing on transactions which they are now required to state ($7.56 is simply too high for a charge tacked on by the operator of the ATM...usually it is in the vicinity of €1 or €2 so I get the feeling that fee represents what your bank is adding to the currency exchange! Just a guess on my part.

Wow! Those are hefty fees. You mean your bank is charging you to get YOUR money from an ATM machine (other than theirs), whereas the European Bank ATM machines charge you nothing?

My recommendation would be -- get another bank. ((b))

"Incidentally many banks surcharge ATM withdrawals the same way they do credit cards...Bank of America, for example, I believe adds the same 3% surcharge to ATM withdrawals as it does for its credit cards."

Not so with my Bank of America ATM withdrawals. I used Barclay's during my most recent trip to London and like all previous trips throughout Europe there was NO charge at all for using an ATM, and the rate of exchange did not appear to have even a 1% added to it. They were clearly a total of 3% lower than charges made on a Citibank credit card. I even went back to XE.com to check rates for the days posted, and sure enough the rate of exchange given to me for my ATM withdrawals was exactly that.

Regarding fees with ATMs...

a reminder not to use your visa/mc or your advance may be considered a loan..with high fees.

only use your bank atm card

Bank of America doesn't have an ATM fee for withdrawals made from "Global Alliance" ATMS, which includes Barclaya, Deutschebank, and a few other banks. So that explains why Neapolitan wasn't charged for Barclays. They do have an ATM fee for other banks, though, unless they've changed very recently.

The 1% levied by Visa & MC for using Cirrus or Plus is just folded into the exchange rate on your statement, not listed separately, so unless you're monitoring the inter-bank exchange rate for comparison, it's basically hidden from the user.

BTW, Wells-Fargo (my godawful bank) now seems to be charging 5$ per ATM transaction, plus a 3% fee (Visa's 1% plus another 2%). So I've just opened a second checking account (no monthly fee, no minimum balance) at another bank that has better ATM terms for travel purposes.