NickB

This has been touched upon in another thread but was incidental to the main discussion so I thought I would start a new thread on it.

I have a Euro-denominated prepaid fairfx Mastercard which I have used twice to buy UK-originating Ryanair tickets.
The exchange rate seemed rather high the first time round and I was surprised to see the converted Euro amount on the confirmation page but I ignored it.
The latest one a few days ago resulted in the same phenomenon, so I checked: an exchange rate which was some 5% above the interbank rate on oanda.com was used. Now, I doubt that the wholesale Mastercard loading is anywhere near that rate and my understanding is that fairfx do not charge anything themselves above the MC wholesale rate for purchases in a currency other than that of the denomination of the card.
Moreover, the converted cost appears on the Ryanair site itself on the confirmation page, which suggests to me that this is a dynamic currency conversion.
I do not recall seeing anywhere an indication that dynamic currency conversion would be used nor, a fortiori, an opportunity to opt out of it.
It is my understanding that dynamic currency conversion is only allowable if the customer expressly agrees to it.
So I wondered what other people's experiences were with this and whether they confimed my suspicion of clandestine dynamic currency conversion and, if so, how should one go about challenging it?

alanR

From reports on other forums this does seem to be the case

ClimbGuy

the same way one challenges any other credit card charge, call your bank.

Roger

My understanding too, though merchants sometimes ignore/don't know about it. Step forward Holiday Inn Nice on a prepaid rate and the Tax Free Shop at ZRH - in that case, we insisted on cancellation and correct procedure.

Those were using credit cards. I'm pretty sure (but don't know) that the same should apply for prepaid currency charges.

Perhaps a note to FairFX would clarify?

Probably a separate matter, UK-originating flights already carry a Ryanair surcharge. Prices are in £ using the same number of pounds as Euros on €-area websites, so £10 = €10, and there's currently a 20% or so difference between £ and €.

glboisvert

I actually have been able to get out of Dynamic Currency Conversion when paying with my American Visa card, but it's tricky. At the bottom of the payment page, after you put in your address, you'll notice a line that says Total Amount, then "Including Administration Fee" in red, followed by a space, followed by the amount in the home currency.
After you put in your credit card number and tab to the next box, the amount they intend to charge you in your currency appears between "Including Administration Fee" and the total in the home currency. If you click the link that says More Information, next to that amount, you're taken to a screen where you can untick a box to just be charged in the home currency, and let your bank exchange it at the right rate.
The caveat is that I've only tried this with an American credit card. I don't know if this holds for a Euro card paying in pounds.

Roger

Very interesting, glboisvert!

Just for clarity, does this extra box appear after you click on PURCHASE NOW? When I've used a £ card, it meant PAY NOW, but if I use a prepaid € MC, it seems there may be an extra page.

Thanks.

NickB

Thanks, glboisvert. I just tried and saw what you mentioned (before pressing 'purchase now', Roger: immediately after entering the cc number in the relevant box) when using a French visa card.
OTOH, when I use my Euro-denominated fairfx card, the amount in euros and the more info box do not appear, thereby giving me no opportunity to opt out. It seems that the script on FR booking page does not immediately recognise it as a Euro card when entering details (therefore not offering the additional info) but does recognise as such when actually proceeding to payment.

Roger

Thanks, NickB.

It does seem that Ryanair are operating outside the spirit of regulations if not the law. Nationwide Building Society (in the UK) has a useful information sheet about DCC, including http://www.nationwide.co.uk/mediacen...tsheet1105.pdf

Nationwide discusses Visa and not M/C because they have no M/C cards. I would imagine that M/C rules are similar.

Could be a story for the Daily Mail who seem to cherish stories about Ryanair ...

NickB

Or Watchdog... I doubt that it is a legal practice where there is no information at all (as opposed to informing the customer while still insisting on it) and perhaps one for the OFT too.

catandmouse

I had a DCC applied to a transaction I made (with a hotel, not Ryanair), without my consent. I refused to sign the authorization, obliging the hotel to recredit the charge and do it properly. As a result the transactions all appeared on my statement and the damage resulting from DCC was evident, just under 5% in my case.
It's clearly a scam.

Roger

Yes, pity in a way that the programme is currently off air.

Mind you, Ms Robinson challenged MoL once before, together with a brigade of allegedly unhappy FR travellers. MoL walked all over her as she was as unresearched as usual, and it was effectively an unpaid FR ad on the BBC. MoL's modus operandi: any mention of Ryanair is good for business.

This time, though, careful research would identify the poor practice and it would be difficult for MoL or his nominee to argue the toss.

regatta333

Just purchased two one-way tickets on RyanAir today. Despite the fact that I unchecked the box for dynamic currency conversion prior to payment, on the confirmation I received, the transaction was processed with their unfavorable exchange rate of 1.233 $/Euro vs today's interbank rate of 1.15.

I initiated an online chat, but the agent refused to do anything other than provide a link to a complaint form, which I filed, but am sure will go nowhere.

How can RyanAir get away with this and is there any recourse? Can I get a
refund, if done within 24 hours or will I also get hosed on dynamic conversion on that as well?

UltraRant

I recall Ryanair already did this back in 2006. I checked my old bank statements and the few reservations I still have and this seems to confirm that Ryanair always had an 'interesting' conversion rate going on.

Apparently no one made an effort in getting this changed for almost 10 years now.

ft101

Not quite true as for several years you have been able to refuse their DCC, as descibed in the post above yours. It was however, not the most user friendly method so still caught out many users.

There have been several reports croppping up recently of a similar nature regarding DCC, so someone at Ryanair may well be playing games again, despite their recent commitment to customer friendliness.

warakorn

If the cardholder can prove to have opted out of the Dynamic Currency Conversion, the cardholder can initiate a chargeback,