"Decision to pay in foreign currency"
 

I've just received my first VISA bill from two weeks in Italy, and all hotels and restaurants except one charged me in Euros which VISA converts(and the issuer adds 1% or more to that). The bill for one hotel did not show the charge in Euros, and the amount in dollars was 5 cents more per Euro than the others. When I called my bank, I was informed that some vendors create their own rate and charge you that in dollars. Sure enough when I dug out that credit slip it showed the Euros, the higher conversion rate, and the imprint "Decision to pay in foreign currency is final." So I wasn't paying enough attention and may also have been confused by the fact that some bills still automatically show the Euro rate in lira. I don't know what I could have done about it, but when inquiring about hotel rates, at least ask if they use this practice. Without this practice I was paying 1.27 (and that included the 1%). This hotel was converting at 1.31(and I still had to pay for a foreign transaction). It can add up.

You were robbed, albeit legally because you signed the slip in that fashion. While it won't recover your money and it's not a ton of it, perhaps you might choose to give the name and location of the hotel here as a little recompense to the perpetrators. ;)

That does sound confusing as it showed both euro and USD amount. It's a good thing to warn people about what kind of things to look for in this. I guess it cost you about 5 pct of the bill, a lot for nothing. I hope it wasn't a lot of nights, anyway.

There have been reports about this in Ireland a lot, I guess Italy has heard about this and think it's a good way to cheat people legally. YOu know, it is really amazing what major businesses will go through in order to gain revenue, but in ways unrelated to them just doing a good business, and in a way to particularly steal money from a certain nationality. I don't understand how that thinking goes.

Read up on this forum doing a search on dynamic currency conversion...they have no right to do it unless they specifically give you a choice. What you could try is to use the quote I put on the board from the visa web site and write to your bank that you were not specifically asked if you wish to accept the dynamic currency conversion scam which is highly prevelent in Ireland and is now spreading like a cancer to Italy and other tourists spots.

In the future, and this goes to everybody here, if any merchant pulls this garbage on them, politely tell the merchant they had no right to institute a dynamic currency conversion purchase and that you insist, as is your right, to pay the bill in euro.

If you click on my name above, you will find a recent thread I participated in with a title something to the effect of resturants in Ireland charging in foreign currencies. In one of my posts there, you will find a quote from the visa web site.

What you might try is a very stern e-mail to the hotel with a copy of that quote and the statement the hotel did not give you the opportunity to pay the bill in euro and without your permission which is required on the terminal charged you in US dollars. Then tell them that if they don't credit the charge in US dollars and re-submit it in euro, you will contest the charge through visa and report their near criminal activity to the Italian tourist board.

I did this with the 2 Irish merchants who pulled this garbage on me in Ireland and in both cases, they credited my account in US dollars and re-submitted them in euro which saved me close to 5%.

Let us know how you make out.

This happened to me at Ristorante Riviera in Venice. They gave me the initial bill in Euros and when they gave me the VISA charge to sign, it had been converted to Dollars at about 5 cents higher per Euro than the exchange rate used on my most recent VISA statement.

The charge slip also included a statement that said "I agree NOT to be charged in Euros."

I refused to sign the VISA charge slip and insisted they make out the charge in Euros. They told me it was too much trouble to change and that they always bill their American customers in dollars as a "convenience". But I insisted on being charged in euros and told them I wouldn't sign the charge receipt.

So they finally gave me a credit for the bill made out in Dollars and gave me a new bill in Euros.

PaoloCast,

Do you mind sharing the name of the hotel where this happened?

Woody

A month ago we stayed at eight very wonderful Best WEstern hotels in Germany, Austria, N. Italy and ALL billed in euro except for ONE! IT was the Best Western Bolonga, outside Venice in the town of Mestre. It was a lovely hotel, VERY nice desk staff etc....but on checking out I asked TWICE to be billed euro, and they said yes.....BUT in reading over the bill later, they billed in AMerican dollars! It didn't amount to much more,......however the following night I called them back and they said they though it benefits the consumer to do it that way???...... I have also reported it to Best WEstern Cumstomer relations who were very nice also. ANyway , I would recommend the hotel highly,...just TRIPLE check on check out IF you want it billed in dollars.

I just got my VISA bill with the restaurant charge for Ristorante Riviera where they wanted to convert the charge to dollars. But I insisted on a bill in Euros.

As it turns out, the VISA charge was $6 LESS than what it would have been if I had agreed to let the restaurant bill me in dollars. And this is with my VISA adding a 1% fee.

Remember that visa now includes a 1% charge on all foreign transactions even if you let them scam you into allowing them to pull this dynamic currency conversion garbage.

Any english speakers out there who are not American with experience about this? I would be highly suspect of a bill in us$ since I am Canadian, but I suspect that some will try this September. Thanks all for the heads up.

I have never experienced this anywhere in Europe. I am traveling a lot. I am German and my Visa and Mastercard are from Germany. Nobody every dared to consider billing me in foreign currency!

No the situation is not particular to Americans...

Here is how this near criminal scam works...

The merchant swipes your credit card as normal in a credit card terminal...the terminal from the numbers recognizes the card is issued by a bank in Canada in your case. It will then ask the merchant if the customers wishes to accept the conversion (that means the merchant is supposed to ask the customer when he first gets the credit card if the customer wishes to be billed in his local currency). So in your case,using a highly inflated exchange rate, the terminal will compute a charge in CAD and then the merchant is asked if you wish to accept this conversion and here is where the criminal activity comes in...most merchants simply without asking push the button saying you accept the conversion...you then get the sales slip and it says you accept the conversion.

It is nearly criminal because visa regulations say you must be given a choice to pay the bill in local currency, in this case euro. Merchants claim that when you sign the sales slip you are agreeing. In a way that might be true but if you notice what they have pulled many lie.

I had one clerk tell me a couple of weeks ago the USD amount is just listed as a convenience. It was a downright lie. I overheard another clerk telling a customer who objected that they could re-do the charge in euro only on visa but not on mastercard. When the next customer came by and they pulled the same garbage, they claimed the exact opposite.

They are a bunch of thieves who keep pulling this and it will only stop when

1. The government agency in Ireland takes some action to require they follow the procedure mandated by the credit card customers i.e. before pressing the button on the terminal asking the customer if he agrees to be ripped off with a much higher conversion rate than the credit card company will provide. or

2. Requiring signs be posed clearing stating that at the specific request of a customer, they will transact the charge in the customer's currency at the rate and listing the rates they are using for USD, AUD, CAD, GBP, CHF.

It's easy folks if you know how to read and understand what is going on. To quote a famous American, just say NO NO NO NO NO to this scam. If the clerk reguses, insist on seeing the manager.

They can always void the charge in the terminal and then indicate the customer does not wish to be ripped off by this near criminal activity.

This has been on Fodor's constantly for the past year or so. I don't understand why people continue to fall for this and allow themselves to be ripped off this way. It is almost a given it will happen in Ireland and Italy seems to be joining this criminal activity now too.

Well logos if you are German and your credit cards were issued in Germany of course (I say with a smile) the establishments would not try to bill you in US dollars.

It is happening to travellers that are not from Europe and consequently their own country's currency is not the Euro.

The near criminal scam is not all that common yet in Germany...

Some US payment operators are beginning to push this on merchants in the US.

If you want to get an eye full, do a google or yahoo search on dynamic currency conversion where you will see what the payment organizers are telling merchants of the advantages to them of pulling this near criminal scam.

Of course, those travelling on expense accounts might appreciate knowing the amount they are being charged in their local currency. After all, they are not paying the bill anyway.

I have never experienced this in any (non Euro) foreign country, not even China or the U.S. :-) Its scary how people seem to be ripping off tourists, when they would never expect it. Thanks for the Info!

Thanks xyz.
So if a person travelling in Ireland, when presented with a bill, wrote 'bill in Euros please', before handing over the cc, they should minimise confrontation?

See icithecat...

Here's where the criminal part of this comes in. If a merchant says to you I will do you a favour and bill you in your currency before running the charge, okay that's your stupidity if you allow it after having read these threads.

What is troubling is when people do just as you do and the merchant ignores it and then lies and says things like visa requires we write the charge in your currency or once having done it tells you it is impossible to undo the charge (every credit card terminal in creation gives a merchant the right to void a transaction) that is troubling about this.

DCC can convert on the fly into a number of major currencies, including Canadian $, Pound Sterling, Yen, US$, Euro, Aus $, and the terminal is configured to recognise the card's billing currency instantly.
On the terminals I have seen, when DCC is being used, the terminal automatically shows the amount in local currency and converted currency. By pressing the green 'Enter' or 'Confirm' key, by default DCC is activated and the slip comes out in the card's billing currency. What they should do, and what you should insist, is to press the yellow or red 'Cancel' key, DCC is de-activated, and by then pressing the green key the slip is printed out in local currency only.
Many operators and sales staff don't know about this and tell you DCC can't be overridden - nonesense.

Alec..

It is your last sentence that is the crux of the criminality of this matter.

I refuse to believe merchants are not aware of the fact that DCC can be overriden and it is clearly their responsibility to explain this to the clerks. Evidently what is being told to the clerks is to lie and to try to discourage customers from bypassing this near criminal rip off.

It is interesting to note that when a shop in Killarney pulled this on me a couple of weeks ago, the clerk's lie was that there was no conversion being done but rather as a convenience they were showing an approximation of the US dollar amount.

When the bill came through in the inflated dollar rate, I immediately e mailed the merchant and within 15 minutes I got an apology and was told the matter would be attended to immediately. I asked the clerk be fired for lying to me; no mention was made of just what was done to this idiot.