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# Monday, 27 April 2009

The cost of sending a text message when on holiday could fall after the EU has agreed to a cap on charges. An EU ruling will see the cost of making a call abroad fall by up to 60% and the price of sending texts will come down from an average of 25p to just under 10p. Mobile companies will be forced to cut their prices from the 1st of July in time for the summer holidays. There will also be new controls on charges to surf the internet and download videos from your phone.

posted on Monday, 27 April 2009 08:06:28 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Tuesday, 15 July 2008

When booking a holiday you might want to check the small print to see what is says about fuel surcharges. This article highlights a case where a couple were hit with a surcharge of £892 a few months before they were due to set off on a cruise holiday. In their case the extra charge was simply too much to afford and they had no choice but to cancel the holiday. Unfortunately because the charges amounted to £8 less than 10% of the total holiday cost they were not entitled to a refund of the £900 deposit they had paid for the £9,000 holiday.

posted on Tuesday, 15 July 2008 09:23:10 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Wednesday, 21 May 2008

If you are planning on using your credit or debit card when you go on holiday abroad then you might want to check how much your bank charges. That's the message from some financial experts who warn that many holidaymaker's are charged much more than they expect for using their card abroad. Many banks have increased their fees for using cards abroad in the past year. These increases mean that if you withdraw £100 from a cash machine abroad you could be charged as much as £4.95 whereas spending £100 on a credit card will incur a charge of up to £3. Whilst the charges may seem relativity small if you unaware of them it can soon add up so the message is to check how much your bank charges before you go away.

posted on Wednesday, 21 May 2008 20:11:52 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Friday, 31 August 2007
HSBC has been criticised over a TV advert that suggests they do not charge customers for withdrawing cash abroad. The bank does charge a 2.75% exchange rate adjustment which covers the cost of processing and handling. The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that this fee amounted to a transaction charge and that the company was in breach of advertising rules. They are not allowed to repeat the TV advert until changes have been made to it.

posted on Friday, 31 August 2007 11:21:10 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback
# Saturday, 28 July 2007

Barclays has just launched a pre-pay travel card called “Travel Money” Customers load the card with between £100 and £2,500 in either Sterling, Dollars or Euros. The card is free to obtain, so you just pay for the loading the currency. There are, however, a few charges to consider. They charge a 2% fee when you use the card at a cash machine. The card also has a minimum payment of £1.50 and there is a currency conversion charge of 2.75%. These kinds of cards can be useful if you don’t want to take your regular cash cards abroad for security reasons. Other companies who already offer a similar type of card are Travelex and the Post Office, both of which charge a fee to load money onto the card.

posted on Saturday, 28 July 2007 11:21:57 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Trackback