I’m wondering if anyone else is getting caught out with commission fees from the bank when purchasing Eurostar train tickets?
It’s happened to me three times now, all since Brexit.
I pay on the French version of the Eurostar website, in euros, with a French VISA card and there is of course no indication anywhere that there will be any fees.
Then I see “frais hors zone euro” appear on my bank statement linked to the transaction. Our bank, Société Générale, told us that this is because the site is registered in the UK. I don’t know if this was the case previously but I never used to get these fees before in a long history of using Eurostar.
Not sure whether this is something to bring up with Eurostar or the bank.
Would like to know if I’m the only one experiencing this - or is everyone buying tickets in France now paying these fees?
Sounds like a bank exchange charge because you were charged in pounds.
Maybe you were on the UK site charging in pounds.
Ryanair seem to pick up on wherever one is - booking very reasonable 5 euro flights to the UK last month in France we had to hunt around for the ‘charge us in euros’ option…
That’s what’s really strange, I’m definitely on the French site, all prices are in euros and my receipt from Eurostar shows the amount in euros.
Just noticed this address underneath :
Eurostar International Limited
Bureau: 6th Floor, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG
Enregistré en Angleterre et au Pays de Galles sous le n° 2462001
N° de TVA GB 991 292 001
According to the bank, this is therefore considered as an overseas payment, even though I have been charged in euros.
So your account has the entry for the purchase in euros and then a separate commission charge, presumably for a currency exchange, but no notification of a sterling amount (or dollars or sloty’s or whaterever lol…). i.e an undocumented transaction which you never approved?
In the UK I’d be raising a complaint with the bank pronto! Presume there must be some similar mechanism in France, go for it! And let us (me) know the process - and the result.
