buying something in the UK and paying for it, big rant

[jorgoz]

Hello,

Why are British people so a..l about using a money transfer ? :x
I don't own a credit card, so paypal is out of the question, and i don't like asking friends to help me out using their visa's.

I've encountered this problem so many times and it's only British folks that are so troublesome about this method of payment. I buy stuff in Germany, France, The Netherlands, Switserland, Austria even the States (but this costs),... and always pay with bank transfer. It's the safest way to make foreign payments anyway, and if you do it with online banking or the self banking machines it's free between European countries.

On a current buy, it's even suggested i send the money via post, and the Royal Mail is not known for it's smooth and troublesome service.

I'm not saying all British sellers or people are like this, i've used money transfers a few times buying stuff in the UK, but lately :roll:

Over here, Belgium, we just can't do anything with someone's bank details, but to put money INTO an account. That's it. And i believe it's like this in the biggest part of Europe. I know Brits like to be the odd one out when it comes to Europe, but really.

I just don't get it.

 

[jlawrence]

likewise, I don't get what people's problems are with it.
You don't need to give out any more info for a bank transfer than people would be able to get from a cheque you sent.

you should still be able to use paypal without a CC - just load money into paypal from your bank account.

 

[wizer]

I suspect most companies are not 'setup' to recieve money directly into their account. It's just never been 'the norm'. I do see that it could be useful. AFAIK it would be a free transaction for both parties. But then maybe that's the reason, could British banks have barred UK Businesses from accepting direct bank transfers because it get around the debit\credit card charge? Seems unlikely. I know Matthew accepts direct transfer and I've seen a few others. It does take a lot more effort on the businesses part. They have to wait for money to hit their account before they can send the goods and that requires someone to remember to check. There's no automatic way of verifying it. AFAIK

 

[jorgoz]

When i asked Matthew a while back i believe only accepted paypal or creditcard from foreign customers, not absoltely sure though. But this rant is not about buying woodworking tools.

Axy accepts bank transfers.

I didn't know about not needing a creditcard to use paypal. Need to check this out.

 

[wizer]

Yes you can use a paypal account without a credit card, or at leas you used to be able to. I've had my account for about 12yrs and haven't had a credit card for about two years and happily use my PayPal account (far too often).

 

[Jake]

Dunno, can't explain why the reluctance, I have no hesitation in using transfers especially inwards.

For outwards transactions, however it is just as annoying when continental retailers will only take transfers and not credit cards - not for the credit as such, but for the extra layer of buyer's protection it denies me.

 

[beech1948]

Jorgos,

Its simple.
1) An outbound money transfer from the Uk costs about £20 to £30 pounds
2) Credit cards are safer because of the legal responsibility placed on the CC provider to refund the user if things go wrong with the transaction
3) Most UK companies ( 99.99%) will accept BACs, CHAPS, Paypal, cheque and credit card and almost all forms of money transfer.
4) A bankers cheque which can not be revoked is also accepted

Those in the EU who do not take credit cards or use credit cards will find few sympathisers in the UK as the rest of the world are OK about these.

If you speak to your supplier or seller and can arrange a money transfer/ Wells Fargo/ etc transfer I'm sure they will be OK with it.

If you have access to online banking then you could pay direct from there into the seller/suppliers account in GBP although you would bear the cost of currency exchange.

I too have had frustrations with EU suppliers who demand a money transfer and will not accept a credit card and do not deal with them as it is too expensive and too uncertain or even backward looking.

regards
Alan

 

[Chris J]

Jorgos,

Its simple.

4) A bankers cheque which can not be revoked is also accepted

regards
Alan

There is the nub of it.
Some people bank a cheque into an account without the funds to cover it.
Western Union is a classic example.
My bank when receiving the "funds" tell me the money is in, so I ship the goods.
What happens when the cheque is returned...my bank take the money back.
To risky, credit card is safer because, as has been said the credit card company cover it.

 

[JMcK]

The reason EU suppliers prefer money transfers between countires is because there is no charge involved. Charges are not permitted for transfers within the Eurozone. With credit cards there is a charge to the seller.

As said, to transfer from UK to the Eurozone usually involves a charge depending on the bank of around £20 which can make it uneconomical.

Having said that I have used a French debit card for internet purchases from French suppliers without any problems.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Someone recently paid my by bank transfer from Italy and my bank charged me £7 for the privilege. They reckon it's the cost of converting it from Euros to Sterling.

 

[Chris Knight]

Someone recently paid my by bank transfer from Italy and my bank charged me £7 for the privilege. They reckon it's the cost of converting it from Euros to Sterling.

Steve,
They've got to find the money for their bonuses somewhere for goodness sake! :evil:

 

[Noel]

As Chris said, banks are a business. £7 is very reasonable to keep the banks in the manner in which they've become accustomed to........, maybe not so when the total sum involved is a tenner or so. Paypal would be better.
Steve, suggest you include something like - all bank transfer costs between sender and recipient must be borne by the sender. On the TT or bank transfer form there are 2 boxes, one asking who should pay beneficiary bank costs and the other asking who should pay sender's bank costs. Think your customer knew exactly what they were doing.

 

[beech1948]

Chris J,
I did not mean a personal cheque but a Bank Cheque which is issued by the bank after checking availability of funds and which comes from the bank direct, it has already been debited from the account upon issuance and can not b e revoked.

Alan

 

[Chris J]

Beech

That's fine but again if it turns out to be fake....money & goods gone.

I think the best thing is to get a credit card for overseas purchases and then nobody will be worried.

Having said that I buy stuff from Germany now and again and the company there don't take cards, only wire transfer...boring

 

[matt]

I can't think of a compelling business case why a UK retailer would develop systems and processes to take money transfers for individual transactions. There's a whole raft of costs associated with each payment type from the initial development, ongoing maintenance and compliance costs, and operating cost. I'm not aware of a single request for this payment method (until today...)

That said... I'm listening. Someone convince me there's enough people out there who would prefer to use money transfer versus simply handing over their card details - be that debit card or credit card? And we're needing a sufficient number of people for a sufficient period of time - say the next 5 years min, although that could come down if retailers are losing millions of pounds worth of sales "today".

 

[JMcK]

Not sure if I have misunderstood you but for purchases from UK suppliers I have used a direct payment transfer.

The UK account is with LloydsTSB. All I have to have is the sort code, account number and name for the receiving account.

It takes a couple of minutes to set up. I have used it for purchases from suppliers and also to put money into the kids' accounts in the UK. It is pretty well instantaneous.

 

[jorgoz]

And a lot of Brittish folsk wanted Tony Blair as EU president, but remain to consider themselves outside the Eurozone. :shock: I regularly listen to Radio 4, so it could well be i don't have a representative view of the Brittish people :lol:

Banks are no different in the Eurozone than in the UK, they both want to make money. So again, why aren't Eurozone banks allowed to charge, and 20 to 30£ is a ridiculously high amount for a money transfer, now wonder the bank's chairholders and directors have such high bonuses in the UK

I believe most internet fraude or fraudulous transactions involve creditcards and not bank transfers.

I've made transfers to the States as well, and yes there are charges according to the amount, but you can specify who pays the charges. It's all a case of clear guidelines and the charges were quite reasonable. Western Union or Wells Fargo is not a very cheap option.

And thx for the tip, i opened a new paypal account linked to my bankaccount and this will alleviate some of my internet dealings. Now only thing i have to do is keep a close eye on my wallet :wink:

 

[Russell]

I deal with lots of people who pay me my money transfer usually no problem at all and secure!. The only problen is the cost a minimum of £6.00 is charged to me for receivingmoney from abroad. Ok on a large transaction but below £250.00 I have to pass the charge on to the customer after the £250 its equal to the credit card charge retailers can get so should be included in your prices anyway.

The only issues I have had is a del;ay caused by a customer using incorrect information. but its certainly not to be feared as a payment method.

 

[BradNaylor]

Most of my clients now pay me by bank transfer; I have my bank account no and sort code printed on my order forms to help facilitate this.

I have however, encountered difficulties with some suppliers when I want to pay them in this way. Some even seem suspicious about giving out their bank details; even though there is no way that someone could access their account from such meagre information.

 

[Mike.C]

And a lot of Brittish folsk wanted Tony Blair as EU president, but remain to consider themselves outside the Eurozone. :shock: I regularly listen to Radio 4, so it could well be i don't have a representative view of the Brittish people :lol:

Banks are no different in the Eurozone than in the UK, they both want to make money. So again, why aren't Eurozone banks allowed to charge, and 20 to 30£ is a ridiculously high amount for a money transfer, now wonder the bank's chairholders and directors have such high bonuses in the UK

I believe most internet fraude or fraudulous transactions involve creditcards and not bank transfers.

I've made transfers to the States as well, and yes there are charges according to the amount, but you can specify who pays the charges. It's all a case of clear guidelines and the charges were quite reasonable. Western Union or Wells Fargo is not a very cheap option.

And thx for the tip, i opened a new paypal account linked to my bankaccount and this will alleviate some of my internet dealings. Now only thing i have to do is keep a close eye on my wallet :wink:

Jorgoz I do not know about British Folk wanting Blair as EU President, but what I do know is that most people I have spoken to would willingly take him out back and put a bullit between his eyes. There are more then a few people up here that blame both him and Bush personally for the death of their sons in iraq.

As for bank transfers, I think that as has already been said we are protected by the credit card guarantee that if anything goes wrong we will be reimbursed. The same guarantee protects us from internet fraud.

Where you think that it is strange that many of us do not use bank transfers, we think the same about EU companies not taking credit cards. :roll:

It does not help you but at least you have your paypal account now.

Cheers

Mike