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When did doing business with the Post Office become so difficult...
[Deleted User]
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So I wonder into my local main branch post office around the corner from my place of work... as per usual I queued for 10 minutes eventually arriving at a counter here is the conversation...
Me: "hello I'd like to buy some Euros please"
Her: "Are you paying by card?"
Me: "Yes I am"
Her: " Do you have your passport with you?"
Me: "No I don't, I've never been asked before"
Her: "Well whoever it was shouldn't have sold you any!"
Me: "well, I'll be sure to mention that to the Postmaster in [jabs Home town] next time I'm in the post office" *rolleyes*
Her: "yes you should!"
Me: "well can I withdraw the cash and pay in cash?"
Her: "yes you can....insert the card"
me: "Its been rejected?"
her: "Oh! we don't accept that card!
me: "Er... Its Santander? "
Her: "well we don't accept those cards for giving cash!"
So, she knows she's totally trumped me now and I leave with my tail between my legs Euroless....
Outside the post office, I find a money machine and withdraw some cash, rejoin the queue and eventually find myself opposite the same women.... this time she happily sells me a quantity of Euros; So In passing I ask...
"What's the difference in me paying by card or cash?"
" I don't really know.... I think its to do with money laundering or terrorism or something"
"oh is it? because crims and terrorists would never use cash would they?!" *rolleyes*
Looks at me like I'd just asked her to give me a hand job. I smile and leave but not before I exact revenge by refusing to accept the 3 50 Euro notes she was offering me!
mwaahahahahahahaha! I am pure eeevillll!
pah... stoopid Post Office (Tm)
Me: "hello I'd like to buy some Euros please"
Her: "Are you paying by card?"
Me: "Yes I am"
Her: " Do you have your passport with you?"
Me: "No I don't, I've never been asked before"
Her: "Well whoever it was shouldn't have sold you any!"
Me: "well, I'll be sure to mention that to the Postmaster in [jabs Home town] next time I'm in the post office" *rolleyes*
Her: "yes you should!"
Me: "well can I withdraw the cash and pay in cash?"
Her: "yes you can....insert the card"
me: "Its been rejected?"
her: "Oh! we don't accept that card!
me: "Er... Its Santander? "
Her: "well we don't accept those cards for giving cash!"
So, she knows she's totally trumped me now and I leave with my tail between my legs Euroless....
Outside the post office, I find a money machine and withdraw some cash, rejoin the queue and eventually find myself opposite the same women.... this time she happily sells me a quantity of Euros; So In passing I ask...
"What's the difference in me paying by card or cash?"
" I don't really know.... I think its to do with money laundering or terrorism or something"
"oh is it? because crims and terrorists would never use cash would they?!" *rolleyes*
Looks at me like I'd just asked her to give me a hand job. I smile and leave but not before I exact revenge by refusing to accept the 3 50 Euro notes she was offering me!
mwaahahahahahahaha! I am pure eeevillll!
pah... stoopid Post Office (Tm)
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Comments
To be fair, this is fairly common abroad, but usually only in countries where you are supposed only to import/export a certain amount of currency.
In most European countries there is an obligation to carry ID, there is no such obligation here in the UK and as we've seen the policy isn't uniformly applied.
yes and a bank charge with every transaction that mostly negates the slightly better rate. I use my card abroad if I have to but I always like to have cash with me as I arrive.
Your mileage may vary.
I would say its to do with money laundering although I was surprised the cashier didn't know, surely they've been asked the question before so knowing why is important to answer the question.
But it strikes me that its safer to pay with a card... a transaction that would be completely logged in several places.
Anyway, my point was that I had never been asked before even in the post office, yet I'm told its been like this for years
hey ho... it just made a small transaction tedious for no good reason.
oh I agree it does make it more tedious. But if I buy currency normally its £200/£300 each month or whenever so I draw it out and pay for it straight away, suits me ok. If I needed higher amounts like £500+ etc then I would use my card.
Its even more laughable that she wouldn't sell me currency because I had no Id but would let me use the self same card to withdraw cash... oh yes all very secure that...
Personally, I use CaxtonFX and FairFX cards for Euros, both give the best rates, no loading, and no credit check (as they are loadable and don't allow you to go into debt). The Post Office and Thomas Cook do something similar.
yeah.. I've got a card but I like to have some cash as well... not loads juts a couple of hundred that can be stashed around a couple of places. Just in case.
I recognise some places aren't that easy to do this, but I have rarely had hassles with foreign ATMs and yet I know people who would never, ever go near one, for fear of having to use it in Spanish (or whatever). It detects the nationality of the card and offers a choice of appropriate languages, IMHE.
I was in Spain one year and found my Santandar issued debit card wouldn't work in most of the machines I found... oh... how I laughed.
This does not always work to a satisfactory conclusion. It has been to known to eat cards and not give them back leading to no money for a week.
So I would not trust that method. Get travellers cheques, much easier!
Travellers Cheques? Are you a refugee from the 20th Century? I didn't realise that people still used them these days. I'd imagine most shops and restaurants wouldn't know what to do one and they are totally useless when the banks are closed.
Plastic is fine as long as you have a backup card from another bank. In that last 20 years I've had one card declined by a cash machine when travelling but it was just a matter of using another one.
Travelers cheques in Europe are even more of a hassle these days...
Travel Money comparison tool: http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/
You can order from a lot of dealers for delivery at home so there will be no way they can do an ID check.
I don't spend them in shops. I cash them in when I need them at the hotel.
Why? I thought they didn't exist any more.
Me: "Hi, I need to buy a stamp to Southern Ireland"
PO: "Do you go to Ireland much? Would you like to buy some foreign currency?
Me: "No thanks"
PO: "Is this going to the DVLA? Would you like to pay for your car tax here? Get some car insurance? Apply for a car loan?"
Me: "Just give me the stamp I asked for and no-one gets hurt"
PO: "Have you considered applying for a credit card?"
Me: "I'm going now. Away from you"
Ditto Boots, WH Smiths, the Body Shop. Stop this psychotic degree of cross-selling!
Yes, she said something about its only the ones that were previously Abbey cards... which if it is the case is even more bollocks... so much for joined up systems eh?