Originally Posted by
SF_trotter
I was just ripped off by Virgin Blue of Australia when purchasing a ticket online. At no point in the booking process did the website offer me the choice between paying in Australian Dollars or my own currency (US Dollars). Only when I looked at my receipt did I see the disclosure that I was charged in US Dollars, after a 3.75% markup.
What really steams me is that they have the gall to add "Cardholder choice is final" on the receipt.
Since your case is easy (one transaction), I'm happy to help you out with a letter:
To Whom it May Concern:
I'm writing to request a statement credit in the amount of <$X.XX> on my <DATE> purchase from Virgin Blue because I was not offered a choice of currencies, as mandated by Visa Policies. I've already communicated with Visa about this issue and was informed:
Visa requires that you be provided a meaningful choice at the point of sale and you have the right to buy your purchase in the local currency to avoid any additional fees the merchant may assess. Visa also requires merchants offering this service inform you of the exchange rate, including any applicable commission being charged.
I was billed <$XXX.XX>. Meanwhile, the price I agreed to was <AUD_XXX.XX>.
On the date of my purchase, the
WSJ exchange rate between USD and AUD was <XXX>, which means I would have been charged <$XXX.XX> if I had been offered the opportunity to conduct my transaction in AUD.
Accordingly, I expect you to issue me a statement credit for <$X.XX> with 30 days of your receipt of this letter.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments.
Kind Regards,
<XXXXXX>
BTW, Visa probably wasn't offering the
WSJ exchange rate in the first place, but your bank will surely let this slide because they'd need to burn at least $20 in internal resources for the sake of a few pennies. If you don't have access to the historical rate, you can either make it up or calculate it based on a transaction around the same date (and amend the letter accordingly).