As I have mentioned earlier in this thread, that is exactly what happened to me. Several years ago, I was staying at the Conrad Beijing and paid by CC. My hotel receipt shows the transaction in Renminbi. After I returned home, I got my statement and the charge was DCCd. I called into Chase's dispute line to challenge what was a $60 difference, and they initially disputed the entire transaction pending Conrad's explanation. When Conrad never responded, they voided the entire $1000+ bill.

From the information you posted, it sounds like Visa is taking a hard line in the customer's favor, and making it clear to everyone that ignoring customer's DCC choices would be unwise for the merchant.

Was the charge ever reprocessed in RMB? :eek:

Cool! So if you wanna 'avoid' a large purchase made abroad, let them do the DCC without leaving a proof of explicit consent to the DCC, then dispute the charge on the basis of DCC without consent when you get home :D

No. It turned into a free stay. :)

Surprising Conrad wouldnt at least respond to a disputed transaction and be willing to just let a grand go by the wayside.

Although if a transaction is disputed to a large merchant like Conrad/Hilton, who would be the one to respond? The manager of the hotel? Someone in Hilton corporate office?

It might simply be a matter of chargebacks for the entire amount being much easier to deal with than dealing with what proportion of the charge to claw back, especially when exchange rates get involved. The consequences for non-compliant merchants becoming worse is a nice side effect.

It is up to the merchant to repost the transaction in local currency following a successful chargeback.

DCC is obviously a scam but in my particular case it was especially blatant. I used my UK-issued debit card for a purchase in Dublin (Euro) and even though my bank (Citi) lets me link the card to the local currency (GBP/EUR/USD) to avoid the exchange rates and the 2.7% fee, the restaurant in IRL was quick to offer me a choice of 21 EUR or 20 GBP (!!!) as a balance even though the card WAS linked to the EUR account. Imagine anyone uninformed thinking paying in GBP is a better deal.

That's 6% over the current Visa or MC rate!

Mrs. Majuki and I are touring around. I met up with percysmith Tuesday evening in Hong Kong. The only DCC offer I saw was at a Lush cosmetics shop. Mrs. Majuki made her usual stop at Francfranc, which does have DCC, but Google Pay was able to avoid the DCC offer completely. I used AmEx for my hotel stay, so there were no other DCC offers that I saw. At Lush, the cashier seemed pleased when I was quick to choose HKD. "Ah, good.."

We're now in the Maldives, but since all of the hotels use USD as the transaction currency there are no DCC offers either. I wanted to pay by credit card at the National Museum gift shop, but the cashier said that foreign transactions are subject to a $5 surcharge. (Perhaps I misunderstood.) Seeing as I was only purchasing a $4 refrigerator magnet, it made no sense to do a card transaction, but I would have liked to have seen whether or not the card transaction was a native USD transaction or processed in MVR. I went to the new Burger King by the ferry terminal in Malé for lunch, but I only had USD on me. They gladly accepted USD and gave change in MVR. The exchange rate used was the real exchange rate, so I was surprised there was no markup. My only other experience has been places like Niagara Falls or Vancouver where places will accept USD but at unfavorable exchange rates.

6% is obscene but that is DCC for you. Seems very much in line with what I have seen as their exchange rates.
I wish someone could file a class action suit against the biggest offenders-- Global Blue, banks...

Just returned from Amman Jodan. Used my credit card all the time. They ask each time if I wanted JD or US. It was very nice to see that.

What percentage of your credit card transactions had DCC in Jordan? It was not present 8 years ago. There was a post awhile back that the visa on arrival was forced DCC if one used a credit card. Other options were to exchange currency at poor rates or withdraw cash from the ATM with a surcharge. Among these options, I'd probably use the ATM since Fidelity reimburses ATM operator fees.

I had no DCC charges in Jordan. The visa on arrival was done in JD. My only FTC was from ATM which charged 3JD for each withdrawal.

And you paid for the VOA with a card or in cash? Was there any proactive action you took like say, "Charge dinars, please."?

I was in Jordan in May of last year and although I only used a card 3 or 4 times they asked me every time whether I wanted the charge in JD or USD (including the VOA). I entered from Eilat, not Amman though so it was at the Wadi Araba border crossing where you can only get the VOA if you're a part of a tourist group. If not you have to get a visa ahead of time — just an FYI.

Thanks! I thought there was a report of forced DCC with the VOA at QAIA. I'd have to go back and search for the post.

At the airport, they didn't ask they charged me in JD.

Mrs. Majuki and I just got back from the Maldives. I wasn't able to see any non-USD transactions with credit cards in the Maldives since all of the resorts price in USD. I attempted to use a credit card at the National Museum thinking they might price in MVR natively, but the cashier said there would be a surcharge. (I may have misunderstood the situation, but I ended up paying cash there.) Even with cash transactions denominated in Maldivian rufiyaa, the exchange rates seemed fair when paying USD. I had two such cash transactions. The first (at the National Museum) gave change in USD. The second (Burger King in Malé) gives change in MVR if paying a cash payment in USD.

Upon returning to the airport, Mrs. Majuki and I had dinner at Burger King again, but this time I paid using a card. Furthermore, while the location in Malé prices in MVR, the airport location prices in USD. A previous post by percysmith had reported DCC with Global Payments in the Maldives, so here is the result with a USD card:

http://i.imgur.com/vWYmb91m.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/uZBHnfgm.jpg

Greetings from Egypt. DCC is everywhere but a stern 'charge me in Egyptian pounds please' makes them push the right buttons....

Saw this at one tourist trap:
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4a30511ad2.jpg

Unfortunately, DCC is not distinctive, nor do I have confidence they'll select the correct currency. :D

I had forced DCC with the VOA at the airport just about a year ago (31 August 2017). The officer hid the terminal and selected the currency for me. I managed to snap a photo of the receipt showing that I had "chosen" USD, but I did not sign it and was not able to get my hands on it to deface it. I filed a chargeback with Chase and they credited me the entire amount.

Just got back from China, where the system of present-the-receipt-with-choice-and-then-ignore-that-choice is still prevalent -- at one bar I selected RMB and took a photo of the receipt while saying to the patron next to me, "I guarantee you they will charge me in dollars." It also happened at a fancy brunch buffet in Macau (the Banyan Tree) -- I selected MOP but the eventual charge corresponded to the DCC amount in USD.

Seth

The consensus in Mainland China is if you see the "I have been offered a choice..." DCC verbiage, you've already been DCCed.

Here's a good one. Buying tickets for the Alhambra in Spain, I was offered the choice of EUR or USD. They straight-up claim that if I choose to pay in USD there's a 2% markup...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DmMFcufU0AABnxc?format=jpg

but it's actually 3.8% over Visa's rate today:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DmMF67JVsAAKHjo?format=jpg

I feel like DCC has actually saved me money, I dispute every instance of DCC and either Chase covers the difference or disputes with the merchant. The one time they disputed with a merchant I ended up getting the full credit because they never re-charged the amount.

So far $40 up on DCC.

I applaud you for contesting any DCC charges, but I'd prefer to handle a DCC issue at the time of the transaction rather than spending time calling or writing my card issuer. There was another poster, Happy, who didn't have a good experience with a Chase issued card when contesting a forced DCC transaction in the UAE. The acquirer or merchant responded to the chargeback, and it caused more headaches than the charge was worth. By the time I'm contacting the card issuer, it's on principle because the spread between the DCC amount as Visa amount wouldn't be worth my time in almost all cases.

I've fixed it at the merchant itself before, but generally what happens is either the person doesn't understand or it take forever and I get a horrible experience with it. I rarely if ever call a bank, Chase let's me make disputes purely online and then they call you to ask questions about the dispute. I complain if something is not right, and I'd say I win some and I lose some. But overall I think I end up getting compensated in the big picture among all the interactions.

I'd prefer it too, but there are still sneaky ones which make this hard. I try to avoid DCC altogether by using Amex, but then there are those times when the business doesn't accept Amex or their own branded card which gives bonus points isn't an Amex. My first successful DCC was express checkout at a hotel, without any warning, so I had no way to know until it hit my account. The second time, just recently, was a shop that similarly never mentioned any currency other than local and put the receipt in the bag. (I first saw the receipt when I was making some of my packing neater in the taxi on the way to the airport!) In both cases, I'd used Chase cards and they made sure I didn't carry the loss.

I am vigilant with receipts at shops and restaurants to make sure there is no DCC. I also never use express checkout at a hotel outside of the US (or even in the US typically as I've had the occasional incidental charge I never made appear on my bill). A best practice when there is a risk of DCC is to have the preauth done with an AmEx and then upon checkout say you want to use a different card. It works every time for me and forces them to run the new card without a preauth. Fortunately these cases are now limited for me because I am using an AmEx for both Marriott/Starwood and Hilton hotels.

I don't often use it, but I sometimes do when they have provided a complete bill under the door on checkout morning. That hotel caught me off guard because there had been a deposit to book the room and that had been processed in local currency. It never occurred to me that a hotel might process the deposit in one currency and then DCC the remainder on checkout.

When the choice of EUR/USD came up the sleazy B&B owner hit the USD button before I could even blink. Called Barclays and they handled it swiftly.

In that situation, I'd have asked them to void the sale and start over the correct way or defaced the receipt and let them know a chargeback was coming.

That is never a complete bill, but just an informational invoice... ;)

"It is not possible to cancel transaction" is the standard response when I asked to void DCC. :(

That is nearly always the answer or it takes forever for them to figure out how to do it. One time it took me 30 minutes to get it fixed, and they refunded me in local currency and rebilled with DCC so I was out 2x DCC. I just do chargebacks now and write on the signed receipt that I wanted to pay with local currency then take a photo.

Also, if it seems to be the owner knew what was up, I wouldn't hesitate to leave the appropriate feedback on TripAdvisor or other similar review sites.

It is most certainly possible to void a sale on a transaction since you're not going to tell me if the person mistakenly keyed in €250 instead of €150 that it would be impossible to reverse the charge.

I saw DCC for my taxi fare in Vancouver early Saturday morning. My last time taking taxis there was in June 2017, and I didn't remember there being DCC:

http://i.imgur.com/rwM6DLTm.png

Amount in local currency: 37.00 CAD
DCC offer: 29.64 USD
Posted amount: 28.50 USD
Effective DCC markup: 4% (or $1.14)

I retained the terminal throughout the transaction, so I was able to select the DCC opt out. The same terminal was present at the Ramen Butcher where a number of FlyerTalk members were eating for the YVR Do. For the rest of my transactions I mostly used Google Pay, so I didn't see any further DCC. I also didn't see any DCC at the Westin on my traveling companion's bill even though he paid with a Visa.

Normally I would have made a stink, but when you have a family member with you who's super nervous about missing the train that isn't going to end up well. The sad thing was the B&B was quite nice, but I ripped them a new one on tripadvisor.

That's the merchant's problem. If he can't cancel the transaction, then he could for example pay you a cash amount to compensate you for the fact that he used DCC against your will, or issue a partial refund to your card.

Keep in mind that Visa's rules state that the merchant can't place any restrictions on non-DCC transactions which don't also apply to DCC transactions. For example, if a customer who chooses to use DCC simply has to sign a receipt and after that can leave the shop, then the same option must also be offered to a customer who chooses not to use DCC. If your choice not to use DCC comes with extra restrictions (such as requiring you to argue with the shopkeeper for half an hour or requesting a chargeback), then the merchant should pay you compensation for the extra restrictions.