Did you know that Britons lose over £1bn in hidden charges when changing up money to take on holiday? This was the finding of research carried out by the consumer action group, Consumer Focus, in their subsequent Super Complaint to the Office of Fair Trading in autumn 2011. Transactions carried out in a Bureau de Change are often described as 0% commission, but this statement and the rates given to consumers is simply not true when the Buy & Sell rates offered by Bureau de Change are compared to the daily ‘interbank exchange rates’ (these are the foreign currency exchange rates that banks and other large financial institutions use to deal between each other). Bureau de Change and Banks use the difference, known as ‘the spread’, in both Buy & Sell rates and the interbank rate, as a means to lock in a profit and the amount of the spread rises substantially if you carry out your transaction at an airport, a tourist zone or require an ‘exotic’ currency. So, claims of 0% commission are totally misleading – they’re making a pretty good profit through their loaded exchange rates! As Mike O’Connor, Chief Executive of Consumer Focus noted:
‘We also want to see an end to deliberately misleading marketing phrases such as ‘O% commission’, as services are not fee-free. Consumers have a right to know how much they are paying for their transaction and whether there are better options available.’
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