G-J-B

I got paid a small transaction via bank transfer, and because the individual was in Europe, I assumed they were paying in Euros, but they've actually paid me in US dollars (hadn't realised until I got a statement in today's post)! The total came to 16,15 euros, but now the bank's charged
Com rapatriement : 14,00
Commission change: 15,50
A total of 29,50 euros on a sum of 16,15. Needless to say I wouldn't have bothered accepting it had I known. Is it worth my time complaining to the bank, as they could surely see the charge is way in excess of the amount taken, and I would have preferred to have reversed the transfer or refused it in the first instance. Oh well, live and learn I guess.

beigey

yup ... I have an issue at the moment for a payment that came from canada and the bank charged 18.10 euros ... grrr. Seems really excessive - is there any way we can contest these charges?

cyrian

I dont use it myself but check out Paypal.
In the FAQ's section it talks about sending money abroad.
https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/we...-general&nav=0
You could consider a charge for payments in foreign currency or from banks in other countries (including other european countries) to cover any bank charges.

cyrian

See also Paypal france
http://www.paypal.fr/fr

G-J-B

Thanks Cyrian, the irony is they paid me by bank transfer AND paid me via paypal, then realised they'd double paid me, so I refunded the paypal payment.

Hi Beigey. I have a personal contact at my local bank I'm going to email, and will see if they will do anything. I'll let you know how I get on.

beigey

who do you bank with? I have asked DH to contact our personal banker and see if anything can be done. Just got charged 17 euros on a 170 euro transfer - 10% is a crazy commission ...
Keep me posted on what your personal banker says ... and I'll do the same.

cjm

This is a worrying thread. I don't think we are charged commission on monthly payments in Euros via an exchange broker, rather an annual fee. But now Senior Members have raised the matter, a mail to our banker contact seems sensible.

G-J-B

I have a personal BNP account (they're pretty good at not charging for silly things), and HSBC (they're the ones that charged me, although they're generally okay).

For bank transfers in euros I have no charge, but if I take a cheque in euros from outside of France, it's something like 15 euros. I also took out a pound sterling account, but again if I take a cheque in pound sterling I get charged, so I simply don't bother using it.

Every year I seem to get charged around 15 euros, but I've no idea what for - maybe it's for my credit card. Although they don't seem to do debit cards in France, the credit card functions as a debit card, and I have them take out the balance right away, so I know where I'm at.

beigey

I'm with BNP too and found this: http://www.bnpparibas.net/banque/por...c=FicheLibre02

I only get charged when its out of the euro zone. Its ok as its my clients who pay it but do they b*tch.

south_bound

I was charged something like 140 Euros for paying in a Euro denominated cheque from Ireland, and it took over a month for the funds to clear. Ok, it was a large amount but still... The Irish bank would only issue a cheque and the French bank wanted only to accept funds electronically. Our personal banker promised a "geste commerciale" as partial refund of the fee which we have yet to see!

I have just opened an account with ING Direct which seems good in that there are no fees for everyday account management or cards, and allow fee-free ATM withdrawals and Mastercard use anywhere in the Eurozone. If its as good as advertised then It's goodbye to the traditional french banks (I'm currently with LCL). Anyone else using INGDirect and finding them good/bad/indifferent?