I haven’t generally been charged either BUT it looks like this new thing is coming in in March this year so we may need to keep an eye on it.
I also have a Credit Mutuel account like you @Chidders which hasn’t charged me and hasn’t (as far as I know) talked of charging, so if the CA really do start charging for Wise/UK State pension transfers, I shall make my transfers into Credit Mutuel and then move the money to CA, since that is my main bill-paying account. Bit of a pain though…
Wise does not fall foul of this because their Euro IBAN is Belgian.
So transfers to or from Wise involving Credit Agricole accounts falling under this ripoff fee regime targeted at British residents in France, will avoid the fee. It’s direct transfers to and from UK accounts to Credit Agricole accounts, which are caught.
It’s generally illegal in EU and often including the EEA too, to charge a different fee or treat things differently across EU countries or people. CA could only get away with it since the UK is no longer covered by the EU. But as the UK has remained in SEPA, the European internal payments system, there is no additional cost the bank is realistically occurring that justifies this transaction fee.
So yes Wise does it… for now.
But it would be so much nicer to know that I can trust my French bank not to rip me off.
I would be interested to know how you go on, but the reason I left CA years ago was because their word did not concur with their deed.
I use Worldwide for transfers from UK to France, no problem with the money arriving in La Post Banque and no charge. In the early days there was a small charge but it soon disappeared. No idea why.
My bank CA Charante-Perigord posted the same info re 2023. Pension automatic virement in euro from US 2023 (or ever) no fee/charge. I also have 2 monthly UK pensions (one gov and one employer) paid direct (automatic virement) to account in euro and have never (5+ years) been subject to any fees/charges…I’ll check on them end of month…
A v brief update FYI on Credit Agricole and the issue of charging fees on payments from the UK…I spoke to our excellent manager at CA Britline today. I mentioned (in passing) that some clients have found that their particular CA regional bank is proposing to charge fees for payments from the UK.
Our manager said that Britline were aware of the issue, which had been reported in The Connection, and had generated a certain amount of calls from concerned clients. Britline wouldn’t charge fees on payments from the UK that were clearly identified as pensions, (quite apart presumably from the whole issue that there shouldn’t be charges for € payments within the SEPA - single european payment area). He suspected this would also be the case in other CA regional banks (but not all, as has been reported in the original post on this thread by @KarenLot). He also suspected that the charging decision was possibly influenced by the quantum of UK nationals in any one particular CA regional bank.
I moved from local (disappeared during Covid, often diverting their phones to be answered by the bigger branch in a different town I had chosen not to join) CA branch, to CA Direct which I think is the same sort of thing as Britline in another part of France.
No exemption for pensions is stated in the t’s and c’s found and were I wanting to ask about that, if CA had the gall to say “Oh, we don’t charge for pensions” then this would actually make it doubly worse as they shouldn’t be differentiating between SEPA psyments in the first place, as you say George1.
It’s a money grab for which there is no justification and if it ever appears on my account then they’ll be informed that’s the last straw after all their bungling.and the account will be closed.
Received 2023 CA Britline tariff today, clearly lists is SEPA state and they do not charge for remittances received from Sepa …so no arguments, and as charging systems are computer driven it is unlikely a charge would be levied
Not sure if this is actually a CA complaint thread, just to say…
after finally opening my Livret A begining of December with different bank sent my letter to CA to close my non-performing savings account and send the money to the new bank.
In January enquired as to progress - ah, you have to visit the Branch to close (only five hundred miles - not even Proclaimers distance). Then it was to download the app and request a transfer through that (but no access code for the app). Now after about 15 emails, it looks like they will now close and send the money. They acknowledged receipt of my original letter, alas they have it no more, now seem to be processing the account closure with my e-mailed documents. So that’s only two months ish…
Different people, same agency!
Thing is, the new person on the case says he’s initiated a complaint and for me to expect an e-mail re recompense.
Personally I am pleased to be able to make progress ‘at a distance’, (hope I’m not putting the mockers on this with my hopes).
I’ll see how any ‘recompense’ plays out - perhaps it will be lemons followed by oranges for CA.
I thought it was done by the new bank, bank to bank, although I have nothing good to say about CA otherwise I didn’t have to personally talk to them at all when we left. La Poste did everything for us.
I don’t get this. We live here, OHs pension is paid to CA. Now will we get charged or not? Apart from the fact that they lost my cheque énergie…
So far, I haven’t been charged on my pension by CA, or indeed any transfer from the UK, apart from a couple of times several years ago.
No, me neither. But since I have to deposit my cheque this week, again, I will certainly make enquiries.
I thought that a cheque énergie had to be sent to your energy supplier? I must have got that wrong…
No, it comes in three parts. Voucher for electricity or gas, cash for those of us with wood or pellets.
No, you’re right. Dont know about the wood/ pellet one though🤔
They are accepted by various energy suppliers as a credit against energy. They cannot be paid into a bank account.
I get the chèque energie each time and have permitted the Government to send the payment direct to Engie each time now, saves having to go online, register etc,etc and you still get the confirmation by post as well. The cheques are only valid for the energy supplier whether it gas or electricity. Wood dosn’t concern me now.