Got my dollars :)

[joolz1910]

I bought my dollars today. I only wanted around $400, so I ordered them at Tesco. The online rate was 1.574, which is lowere than it was the other day, but hey-ho.

The bureau lady was awful, so I walked away and placed the order from home! She told me:

The exchange rate has only just gone up and that it was 1.50 the other day
I should never use credit cards abroad as I was likely to get my card cloned
If I had my card cloned, I would find it difficult to contact the bank
The fraudsters would have access to all of my funds, implying that I would lose all of my money
International Drive was notorious for pickpockets

Well that made me look forward to my holiday, thanks for that!

 

[tinks_1989]

She sounds like a lovely lady (sarcasm)! Probably jealous of you going to Florida

X

 

[OrlandoMagic]

She sounds like an ignorant fool IMO! She is pushing her deluded personal thoughts onto the public and that's not right at all.

 

[madmumof2]

I would have complained, that's awful, you asked to change money not for her opinion of your choices!

 

[stephensmum]

She probably wanted you to get one of their cards. When I went for travellers cheques they tried their hardest to convince me, I kept telling them I knew what was best for me as I had been a few times, It was like listening to a recording.

 

[chmurf]

She probably wanted you to get one of their cards.

my thoughts exactly.

She was right about a few things though.

Using your credit card in some places might get your card cloned. It happened to quite a few travellers. People just need to pay attention where they use their cards.

I only use cash at places I don't trust (flea markets for example), and I only use my credit card at reputable restaurants or at Disney's. And if I fall short of cash there is always the ATM at the resort.

I-drive is notorious for pickpockets ... well that's true, but so is the Paris metro or the tube (man, did you see that guy in sweden who robbed the drunk guy who fell on the tracks ...) and any place where tourists gather (and tourists are known to be easy and unsuspecting targets)
you can feel insecure wherever you go if you let that feeling seep through. And making you feel insecure is the best way for someone to get you to buy something you don't need

Still, the advice stands : don't act like a tourist (expensive cameras hanging loosely around the neck, wallet sticking halfway out of the back pocket, brand new iphone carelessly lying on the table at a café terasse and so on)

she was not only awful, she was trying to force her money card on you

 

[joolz1910]

You are all correct - she wanted me to get a cash-card. She was trying a hard-sell by using scare tactics. I just smiled and said 'no thanks'. It must be a very lonely job, sitting in a bureau de change in Tesco. Perhaps she just needed someone to talk to.

Just for the record - there are pickpockets in Tesco too. And you can get your card cloned just about anywhere, even in the UK.

 

[chmurf]

That's funny, because I got my dollars today too.
I ordered them off travelex's website yesterday, and I just went this morning to pick the cash up at the local travelex office 5 miles from home
no charge, no hard sell, just "hello, thank you and goodbye"

I only argued with the lady there, because they had prepared 4 $100 bills and 2 $50s and a few $20s (I ordered $600)
I told her that tolls, and most stores (or even pizza delivery) do not accept bills larger than $20 (and we do go a lot offsite for shopping/dining)

I explained and got 30 $20s

hassle free, correct exchange rate. I would definitely do business with them again

 

[joolz1910]

That's funny, because I got my dollars today too.
I ordered them off travelex's website yesterday, and I just went this morning to pick the cash up at the local travelex office 5 miles from home
no charge, no hard sell, just "hello, thank you and goodbye"

I only argued with the lady there, because they had prepared 4 $100 bills and 2 $50s and a few $20s (I ordered $600)
I told her that tolls, and most stores (or even pizza delivery) do not accept bills larger than $20 (and we do go a lot offsite for shopping/dining)

I explained and got 30 $20s

hassle free, correct exchange rate. I would definitely do business with them again

That's a good point - I don't want $100 bills!

 

[tinkerpea]

Im due to get my dollars tomorrow, We already have $1000 of them but are getting another £1400 tomorrow as i LOVE taking actual money...

I looked at the post office rate today and it said it was 1.56 so not sure why they was lower then anywhere else!
I had to wait until payday to get mine and so only managed to get £500 when it was 1.58.Does anybody know if the rate gets better on certain days of the wk
I.E wk ends or is it always just luck on the day?

Im now getting very excited!!