Good morning / 12.10.08
Consumer Home
Consumer Home
27 March 2006
With the court of appeal's recent ruling that consumers are no longer liable for fraud and faulty goods purchased abroad, foreign credit card transactions look set to soar.
Yet, travellers need to bear in mind the transaction charges that they are likely to have to pay if they buy items abroad, warns financial research company, Defacto.
Using your card in mainline Europe is likely to incur an average charge of 2.66 per cent, with 85 per cent of all credit cards levying an international charge of 2.75 per cent, says the company, although a few cards do not levy charges for transactions made abroad.
"When travellers return home and check their statements, apart from the transaction charges, they could also suffer from a poor currency exchange rate," warns head of banking at Defacto, David Black.
"Transactions converted into sterling by Visa or MasterCard will be at a competitive rate. However, if the trader uses 'dynamic currency conversion' this is usually at a much worse conversion rate."
Last week's court of appeal ruling means that foreign transactions are now covered by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, meaning that cardholders have the right to claim back money from providers if goods purchased abroad are faulty or fail to arrive.
Cardholders should keep an eye on their credit card company's overseas transaction charging levels, as providers may try to put up charges in the future to offset new claims brought as a result of the change in legislation, warns Defacto.
© Copyright Adfero Ltd
