Just cleaning out some receipts from my Ireland trip and getting ready for Italy.

I stumbled on a receipt for our last day in Ireland, from Blarney Woollen Mills in Bunratty. It seems they charged my credit card for my purchases in US Dollars. I got an exchange rate of 1.2763. I looked up the Interbank rate for that date, and the average was 1.22240.

Doing the math, that's a 4% difference. Considering the Mastercard normal 1% conversion fee, Blarney Woollen Mills charged me an additional 3% by doing the conversion themselves.

There are a couple of other places in Ireland that did this to me. I would just caution others to ensure that they are charged in Euros vice $$$ in order to get the best exchange rate.

Yeah. we fell for that once too. Good thing I like the sweater so much! A nice service, my eye.

Budman. Did you have a choice with the charge?

Sher, absolutely, but I didn't seem to realize it at the time. Just make sure to tell them to charge your credit card in Euros, not $$$. If you see the $$$ conversion rate at the bottom of your slip, don't sign it. Tell them NO. Like Clifton said, they will tell you they are doing you a service, but their service will cost you 3%.

You do have a choice. If you were living in other parts of Europe, you wouldn't want to be charged in $$$'s would you. They take you for granted after they hear your American accent.

Just to mention there has already been some threads about this "scam". So it seems to be relatively common.

If I'm not mistaken, Ireland seems to be just about the only place doing this. I think it's a great reminder for all those people going over to Ireland this September.

Has anybody heard of this happening in Italy?

Well it started in Ireland but it is a growing problem...

There is a new service being offered to merchants called dynamic currency conversion. You can do a yahoo or google search and see the advertisements to merchants.

Basically it relies on the stupidity of people when it comes to foreign currency transactions. It is a way the merchant can share in the growing currency conversions fees that some near criminal banks such as Chase, Citibank, Bank One (now part of Chase incidentally), Bank of America have been cleaning up on.

As you may or may not know, Visa/MC charge 1% above the interbank rate to p erform the currency conversion when a credit card is used outside its home country (let's say for simplicity the home country is the US although it need not be). Once it's done, there is no further currency conversions to be done. So if the interbank rate is say $1.80 for the UK£, a charge of £10 is converted to $18.00 by visa/mc. Visa/MC now adds 1% or $.18 and a charge of $18.18 reaches your bank. All done, there is no further currency costs imposed by your bank. But the above near criminal banks now add an additional 2%. Try to ask them what they are charging you for and they don't have an answer other than foreign charges cost them more (what a bloody laugh that is)....so if you are stupid enough to use any of those banks for your foreign prchases, you would be docked an additional $.36 for this charge and pay $18.54.

Now cash transactions cost even more and if you exchanged cash for the UK£, you would probably pay $1.92 for each £. So merchants through this new process tell you they will be saving you the service charges and think you're stupid enough to think the cash exchange is the same as cc exchange and that the cc's are putting extra charges on top of the cash exchange. So the dynamic currency conversion recognizes the merchant has swiped a US card and suggests to you that you can pay $18.80 or even $19.20 for the charge and be billed in US dollars and save you the currency conversion charge. And stupid people go along with this.

Two caveats for foreign currency transactions.

1. Do not use credit cards issued by Citibank, Chase, First USA (Chase), Bank of America and other banks charging an additional 2% which is a total rip off charge. Use credit cards by such banks as MBNA, USAA, Capital One which only pass along the 1% Visa/MC fee.

2. Insist charges be written up in local currency.

While it might not seem to be a big deal on individual transaction, by the end of a trip where you have charged $3,000 worth of stuff, you will have thrown away $60.

Well. I guess I may have gotten taken too.
Last March at Harrod's, they said they would charge in US Dollars. I think that was way before any of the threads had shown up here. So I don't know exactly what % was added on, if any.
It didn't happen to us in France in August, but I will look out on further trips.
Thanks for the reminder, Budman.

>Last March at Harrod's, they said they would charge in US Dollars.<

They didn't do that under the former owners.

One more example of the general lessening of standards.

No, didn't happen at all in Italy this summer, but then it didn't happen to me in Ireland last summer. Maybe I was lucky.

I do the bulk of my travelling in Germany, Austria and Italy. I've never come across that scam yet, but I am now keeping my eyes peeled on those credit card receipts BEFORE I sign them. Thanks for the info.

Yes, thank you for the warning. On the surface it would seem like they are doing you a favor.
xyz123, thank you for the explanation too, I guess I would fall into the stupid catagory, I had no idea, or maybe just ignorant?.

Hubby was in charge of settling the bill at the Shelburne Lodge in Kenmare last May - He did not remember me mentioning to watch for this and they dinged us for the conversion. Kind of made me mad that they pulled it off on us. Avoca tried to pull it too- she redid the transaction after I asked her to, no problem.

In Spain this summer I had the opposite experience. My bill was for converted from EUR to GBP, however, the rate was 1.46 which was far better than the tourist rates at the time!

Yup--wish I'd seen this thread before my trip to Ireland (just got back to London today, and boy do I miss Ireland!!) as Irishcarrentals charged me in US dollars and I had no idea until I read the receipt later. What a scam.

Harrods in Heathrow (they own many of the consessions) offered me the "opportunity" to charge my credit card in Canadian Dollars. It occured to me at the time that it was unlikely Mr Al-Fayed was actually willing to give ME the benefit of the transaction, so I said NO. At least they asked

Thanks for the heads-up Budman. BTW, I know that the Wollen Mills throughout Ireland have been doing this for some time. I remember being TOLD at time of purchase a few years ago they were doing it, but I'd be interested to know if you can refuse - I am quite sure you must be able to, but if you don't question the practice, they can get away with it.

regards Ger

You can absolutely refuse....

Ireland started it a while ago but at that time what they did was open up accounts with US based banks as well as their usual Irish bank and ran it through the US bank.

As noted, it is a growing industry called dynamic currency conversion.

Several years ago, my friend told me a scam in the Caribean. He went into a restaurant and was given a menu with prices listed in USD as compared to the menu he had seen outside the restaurant. He said he wanted the menu posted outside and insisted he would pay with his credit card in local currency and save about 40%. Oh they can't do this the waiter said. He insisted on seeing the manager who said it was illegal to pay with a credit card in local currency...my friend told the manager in no uncertain terms he was a liar. Guess what, they accepted the credit card in local currency.

Scams scams scams.

Three years ago the woolen mill in Avoca charged my card in dollars, but didn't ask how I wanted it done. I thought it was strange, but never gave any thought to the exchange rate situation. Hmmm. Heading back to Ireland in October and will definitely not let that happen again!

Thanks!

That IS where it happened to ME Mel

Thanks xyz123: We SHOULD ask, and then refuse the kind offer of getting stiffed on exchange rates! BTW, I AM Irish, so Avoca Handweavers are an equal opportunity currency stiffer!

regards Ger

It never happens in Northern Ireland, but when I'm in the Republic, I get asked about it all of the time because of my accent. I've started to only use my Bank of Ireland visa card when I'm over the border, because it shuts them up.

If you want to make a big deal about it, you can query the charge with your credit card company.