Newbornbairn Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Recently bought Euros from Barrhead Travel in Stirling - £2k @ £1.11 to the Euro. The next week the wife and I were at The Fort and she decides to get her money so changed £1500. Wasn't until we were putting the money together a few days later we discovered we'd only got £1.06 to the Euro. When I went in to complain they said they can do this because unlike other Currency shops, they don't display their rates on a board so they can charge what they want. Basically, if you demand their best rate they give you a competitive one. If you trust them to give you the rate you received a few days earlier, they'll fiddle you. Emailed them, no response so thought I'd warn folk of their shady practices. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boghead ranter Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 (edited) Different branches of the same company give different rates, it's not exclusive to Barrhead, tbh. It's market forces, they set their rates based on local competition (or lack of it). You made an assumption of the rate you were getting, and you have learnt a lesson for next time. Caveat emptor and all that. Unless I'm misreading the meaning of your post, there's nothing unusual going on here. Edited July 10, 2018 by Boghead ranter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbornbairn Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 Different shops having different rates is fair enough - like you say, market forces. What I object to is the same shop having different rates. Getting money changed back today at the Stirling branch, the lassie showed me her computer screen which had two rates - 1.24 and 1.19. Because I'd kicked off, she gave me a buy back of 1.19 but the next schmuck would get 1.24. It's all a bit Arnold Clark. If this thread serves any purpose other than me having a good whine, it's to let people know that the rate they get quoted by Barrhead may not be the best one they have and it could cost them money. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boghead ranter Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 (edited) Again, the sell rate will be different to the buy back rate in the same shop, this is one of the ways they make money (at small margins) on FE. If you bought £500 worth of currency one day, and then for some reason decided that you didn't need it, so took it back in the next day untouched, you wouldn't get £500 back (unless the exchange rate had improved wildly overnight. ETA - you didn't use the same shop, one was in Stirling, the other at the Fort. Edited July 10, 2018 by Boghead ranter 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 (edited) Buying currency is a bit like any other purchase - they can charge whatever price/rate they want and it's up to you to decide whether to pay it. You agreed to buy €1590 for £1500 on the second occasion - it's not as though they told you it was going to be something different. Currency rates fluctuate on a minute by minute basis, so you wouldn't even be sure of getting the same rate in the same shop on the same day, let alone in a different shop a week later. Edited July 10, 2018 by craigkillie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbornbairn Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 Difference is Debenhams, Tesco, Thomas Cook, Virgin, Sainsburys, Asda, Marsdens and all the rest put their rates up on a board and you can see what you're going to get. Barrhead don't put their rates up and they charge you what they want - a competitive rate or a muppet rate which is below anything else I've been able to find online. My fault I got the muppet rate - caveat emptor indeed but it'll be the last time they catch me and hopefully anyone else who sees this (6 men and a goat knowing P&B ) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inanimate Carbon Rod Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Never get travel money from a travel agency, rates are always shite, Ramsdens and Cheque Centre etc are always better rates. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Jo Jo Junior Shabadoo Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Never get travel money from a travel agency, rates are always shite, Ramsdens and Cheque Centre etc are always better rates.There’s also an abundance of other advice in this very forum. You shouldn’t be taking that much cash in the first place. Getting a Revolut card would be one easy way round stopping borderline criminals taking your money off you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inanimate Carbon Rod Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Yeh, I agree, I use my clarity card abroad and if im going to the states take about $400 for tips and cash transactions. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
git-intae-thum Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 All these high street currency dealers are just sharks preying on the daft. Get a revolut and monzo. 400 weekly cash withdrawal on them combined. Thats plenty. Use the cards most of the time for big stuff and only use your cash for tips, tolls and small spends etc. You won't lose anything on foriegn exchange 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
git-intae-thum Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Barrhead travel btw....Britnat Tories.....just saying...... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 1 hour ago, git-intae-thum said: All these high street currency dealers are just sharks preying on the daft. Get a revolut and monzo. 400 weekly cash withdrawal on them combined. Thats plenty. Use the cards most of the time for big stuff and only use your cash for tips, tolls and small spends etc. You won't lose anything on foriegn exchange Revolut's great. Off to Norway soon so I'll just bung a few Kroner on it with a couple of clicks at the inter bank rate and job done. Just as quick to top it up if needed, or convert back to sterling when I come back. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty dingus Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 I usually use Moneyshop or Ramsdens and ask them to match their online exchange rate, Have also order online with Ramsdens and picked up at shop. Travel Agents are robbing bassas. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gav-ffc Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Barrhead travel wanted £600 for me and the wife to go to Krakow for 3 nights. Done the exact same trip with a better hotel and flight times for nearly half of it. tory b*****ds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 57 minutes ago, gav-ffc said: Barrhead travel wanted £600 for me and the wife to go to Krakow for 3 nights. Done the exact same trip with a better hotel and flight times for nearly half of it. tory b*****ds. They advertised a reasonably priced tour of Japan, so I phoned them to ask for the full details. Turned out there wasn't any, it was just made up to encourage enquiries. Phoned me back a few days later with the price doubled. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbornbairn Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 Got a full refund from them so credit where it's due but I've ordered up one of those Revolut cards - thanks for the tip. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Am Featha Taigh Nan Clach Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 What's the deal with these cards? Why wouldn't you just use your credit card? Mine doesn't charge and you get the bank rate. I just presumed this was the norm? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UsedToGoToCentralPark Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 What's the deal with these cards? Why wouldn't you just use your credit card? Mine doesn't charge and you get the bank rate. I just presumed this was the norm?Budgeting purposes more than anything. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 (edited) 13 hours ago, Am Featha *****h Nan Clach said: What's the deal with these cards? Why wouldn't you just use your credit card? Mine doesn't charge and you get the bank rate. I just presumed this was the norm? What card do you have? Most charge if you withdraw cash. Another advantage is that you can instantly bung whatever currency you want on the card so if you think the rate's good on a particular day, you can take advantage. Edited July 12, 2018 by welshbairn 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 Get a starling bank account. Works in the same way as a regular bank account but there’s no fees for using it abroad and you get the MasterCard exchange rate on purchases and cash withdrawals. This is a better rate than you’ll get anywhere else. When I go abroad now I don’t take cash with me. Merely go to a cash machine at my destination (not at the airport they charge ATM fees) and withdraw what is needed. The Halifax clarity credit card and tandem credit card work in much the same way for purchases abroad but they charge for cash withdrawals. ETA when asked abroad by a cash or card machine if you want to use GBP or the local currency ALWAYS pick the local currency. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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