Problem with FX Card
Has anyone else had this problem. I stopped for fuel at a Le Clerc suppermarket garage. All French supermarket garages as well as the toll boths are becoming fully automated and the only way to pay for use (tag excepted for tolls) is to use a payment card. I am well aware FX cards cannot be used to pay tolls, but I have never had a problem in a garage until the last trip when I had my Caxton FX card refused even though there was enough credit to pay for fuel required. On checking I found the balance on the card did not agree with my accounting and instead of being about 140 Euros it was only 50 ish. After an exchange of emails with Caxton I eventually realised the problem. At a previous fill up the dispenser had debited 99 Euros to my account. Apparently all pumps do this and only credit your account back with this amount when the actual cost for the amount taken has cleared. My card had been rejected because it could not take 99 Euros inspite of my previous fill up cost clearing, 99 Euros had not been debited back to my account. On pursuing this matter further, Caxton could not correct this without a formal notification from the retailer and advised that I had to wait 21 days and then it should clear automatically. This has in fact happened today but for 21 days I have been denied 99 Euros. Fortunately I had other ways of paying for fuel but be warned if you do not have in excess of 99 Euros in you account, your card will be rejected. Some of you may know this already but I didn't.
peedee
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It does state on the Caxton website that pre-paid cards shouldn't be used in fuel stations. I have posted a link to this information before and here it is again because it's amazing how haven't read the terms and conditions before using these cards.
https://www.caxtonfx.com/currency-cards/how-they-work/
It doesn't state exactly why they shouldn't be used, but makes it quite clear that you shouldn't use them:
Your prepaid card will not work at automated petrol stations
For security reasons your Caxton card will not work at automated petrol stations. We recommend that you avoid using them or you use an alternative card to settle the bill.It isn't just Caxton, it's all these pre-paid cards and though you will hear people saying 'I use mine all the time' it is perhaps that they keep a much bigger balance of euros on their cards, ensuring that there is always more than the minumum amount available.
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I think the same thing happens with credit cards (and probably debit cards) in terms of reserving an amount of money until the true amount is know. The difference is that with a credit card your card limit is usually more than enough to cover that temporary reserving of funds but pre payment cards work on available funds. I have never been convinced of the need for pre-payment cards but that is a personal choice. Have found the likes of the Clarity card plus a reasonable float of Euro's in cash covers our needs.
David
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Yes it happened to me stopping on my way to fuel before the first stop - ok thought I having spoken to the lady in the kiosk - I can drive round and go again with my credit card - Oh no I couldn't - was back on the Autoroute with no way back! Very stressful - I shall never leave my car quite so empty before fuelling!
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David I think you are right but I find it is always wise to have a couple of different cards handy. One place I stopped would not take my UK credit card but it did take the FX ok. I carry a debit card as well but try not to use it because it is the most expensive way to pay my way. One thing that puzzled me was why did it appear some pumps credited my account quickly if they took a holding amount but the Le Clerc one did not.
Fuel is usually my biggest expense and with more and more garages becoming card only if you cannot use an FX card then maybe there is little point in having one unlees everything else fails.
peedee
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Yes,I had exactly the same problem and it took a phone call to LeClerc and FairFx to sort out. The exchange rate isn't that good anyway and they now charge for withdrawing your own cash. Can't see the point. Try Halifax Clarity.
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Valda, thanks for the heads up, perhaps they ought to clarify that statement rather than say the card will not work in automated petrol stations. Clearly it does, you just have to remember you need a balance in excess of 99 Euros to do so. With the App it is easy enough to check your balance at any time just in case any amounts are being withheld.
peedee
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Peedee
Was it in France that you could not use your UK credit card or another country? It is not that many years ago that UK credit cards were not accepted in many of the small supermarkets when the cash desk was closed. How they wouldn't work in the automatic pump but would in a pump with a cashier I don't know. I tend to stick to the bigger supermarkets now for filling up and tend to keep topped up. One big difference between the caravan and a motorhome we have gone from a range of 250/300 miles in towcar to around 500 in the motorhome!
David
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A similar thing happens with our Clarity card, when we buy diesel in France we end up with 2 pending transactions for each purchase, 1 for €99 and 1 for the actual value of the transaction, after a couple of days the €99 transaction dissappears and the actual value of the transaction converts from a pending to a confirmed item. It does look odd at first !
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We raised this problem a couple of years ago on this forum: thought that by now everyone was aware that 'pay at the pump' meant that when you use your card you are authorised to to draw a maximum amount of fuel. Most recently we bought 60 euros worth, but were authorised to draw 120 euros worth. We knew that there would be an overhang until the actual bill cleared.
When the pump accepts your pin ' code bon', it then tells you the maximum amount of fuel you can dispense. This maximum seems to have got bigger each year! Who can get 120 euros worth of fuel in to their tank?
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Perhaps whenever pre-paid cards are mentioned anywhere, we all ought to quote the paragraph from Caxton, and the link I posted above, to reiterate that people might have problems.
I am sure other pre-paid card websites will have similar warnings, but it's a pain reading through all the terms and conditions to find them!
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Sometimes Visa cards are accepted but not Mastercard; more rarely it is the other way round. Both our Zero and Clarity are Mastercard (which also gives a slightly better rate) but we have Nationwide credit and debit in reserve.
All of course are fee-free!
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You know what? I never have a problem. Bars, restaurants, automated fuel pumps, supermarkets - and a real credit card from a real bank ALWAYS works, right around the world. I just don't get the whole idea of pre- loading money on to any of these pre-paid cards.
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Didn't think Nationwide were fee free anymore? I just checked my credit card rates and fees and Hitchglitch is right there is not a lot in it, a matter of a few cents in FX's favour which is niether here or there in the overall cost of a continental visit. Mastercards are more widely accepted than Visa but your right it was a Mastercard which was rejected and if my memory serves me correctly it was at one of the smaller supermarket garages.
I still find it puzzling that it took so long to get a credit back. Does anyone have an explanation for this? Was it something I omitted to do during the refueling process?
peedee
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While in France recently I had 2 occasions when the pump would not accept any of my CC's but would take a debit card. I am aware of the problem with the Caxton FX which is why I use my CC for fuel and the Caxton only gets used for withdrawing cash. Luckily my Nationwide Flexplus debit card doesn't have charges abroad.
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"I still find it puzzling that it took so long to get a credit back. Does anyone have an explanation for this? Was it something I omitted to do during the refueling process?" asks Peedee.
The procedure doesn't allow you to 'purchase' less than the fixed amount set by the fuel company or supermarket. Your bank account or money card has the amount held as an outstanding commitment and will appear as a difference between your balance and funds available.
Once the actual amount you have taken is registered, the process of a refund begins: it can take several days.
We use a fee-free debit card on a current account so we have some leeway, unlike a pre-loaded card.
If you pull into a filling station and some pumps are free while there are queues at the others, it's because the locals don't want to use the pay-at-the-pump ones.
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The Flexplus debit card is fee free for ATM withdrawals and the Select credit card (only available with the Flexplus account IIRC) fee free for purchases.
Like eurortraveller I don't see the point of pre-loading money. I did come across one restaurant in France this year that wouldn't take Mastercard but would Visa.
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But the Flexplus account cost £10 per month or £120 per year, I would never pay anything like that in bank service charges for using my cards abroad even on a trip of a couple of months. The last time I relied on cards which charged, the service charges totaled less than £20. Even with interest it would still cost more that paying a service charge and my current account offers the same benefits as the Plus account for free but without interest. Perhaps for some it is worth it but not in my case.
peedee
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The Flexplus is usually used by those who want the "free" Travel, Breakdown and Phone Insurance", not just for the free banking abroad
If you keep £2500 in the account the £7.50 a month interest helps to offset the £10 a month bank charge. I believe this is rising to £13 a month soon, but still good value for many of us
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Thanks for your comments Chasncath. Its wonderful how quickly debits go through but it takes days to get a credit. I was trying to run my card down at the end of a trip. Next trip I will have a greater understanding of what happens and will be prepared. The answer is to draw the remaining balance out in cash and spend it or not use a prepaid card at all.
peedee
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PD, your last sentence holds the clue! There is another way.
i went to France on 21 May and started spending on a credit card - I have the paper bill and two months later on 17 July my local bank will do a direct debit and pay it off. I have paid nothing up front, paid nothing for two months free credit, paid nothing for the bank account, and paid nothing for having the credit card. I have had no problems at fuel pumps. I have no credits to try to reclaim. I can't see a simpler way than this.
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Hi Peedee, we had this problem back in 2013 and only found out the details when we could not get fuel and contacted Caxton. I had got as far as putting in my PIN but then realised that the diesel pump was locked so moved to another-meaning that I had two amounts of €100 debited. One was immediately reimbursed bbut the other took app 5 days.
Knowing this was useful but did not stop me using the card and whilst other posts have referred to the rates now the last time I loaded it the rate was €1.42. I keep it as it is still useful sometimes, paying for my ACSI card for instance, and there may come a time-I live in hope-that it will again be a hedge against fluctuating rates.
We too use the Nationwide Flex Plus and looked at this last year after being quoted a large increase in our travel insurance. Basically the insurance was £180 for Europe only and the Flex Plus costs us £10 a month. The other benefits may be useful to some but for us the fee free foreign ATM withdrawals was a definite plus.
We have just been away for a month and use cash when able but if we do need to use the card, fuel being the main thing, then the additional 2% service charge, on top of the Visa rate, makes it almost an identical rate to that available for Caxton over the last few months.
We don't have a credit card but if there is one that gives fee free use abroad then we would consider it, as we have other options such as Revolut.
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Thanks David, and yes, I do qualify!
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Indeed. The breakdown service alone would cost more than £120 per year and is excellent (Britannia).
As suggested we keep at least £2,500 in the account and have found the whole thing very cost-effective and easy to use. I do suspect it is loss-making however so how long it will continue is a moot point.
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In Austria a couple of weeks ago one bank's ATM would not accept my Caxton Card; another did but the lesson is don't leave it until the last minute to get cash. Again a few years ago in Germany (on the Moselle) a small supermarket would not accept my Mastercard; I understand this is not unusual for Germany where not all CCs are accepted in smaller outlets.
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