That 3% Overseas Commission Fee

[TonyHancock]

I have a question - specific to American Express Australia cards

Has anyone experienced a transaction where goods and services were not provided or the transaction was fraudulent, in a foreign currency, and (Amex) the supplier has supplied a credit?

If so did they Amex credit the 3% commission fee?

edited to add supplier rather than Amex in the first para and Amex instead of they in the second.

The question is there because I do not believe Amex auto credits the commission charges in cases where a supplier credits a transaction where goods and services have not been supplied or if a supplier has incorrectly charged the card and then provided a credit

edited to add that this is specific to American Express

 

[Tallfont]

I have a question.

Has anyone experienced a transaction where goods and services were not provided or the transaction was fraudulent, in a foreign currency, and Amex has supplied a credit?

If so did they credit the 3% commission fee?

I had a series of fraudulent charges a few years back on my Plat Charge. All the charges were in Euros and originated in Germany and totalled around $8,000.
AMEX put a hold on the charges and eventually credited the amounts back. The exact amounts debited were credited back. The bonus of it all was that I kept the AMEX points so I was happy!

 

[VPS]

I had three fraudulent transactions on my Barclay's debit card that was in Euros. Barclays quickly refunded the money with the converted amount in pounds. About 3 days later the fraudulent transactions were reversed (it was a casino in Malta so maybe they realised they had made a mistake). I notified Barclays that I had the money back so they took back two of the amounts and I had to message them about three times before they take the last one back. I ended up a few pounds to the good because of exchange rates.

 

[drron]

I had the dispute with LATAM last year.Transactions were in Chilean pesos.The peso was a lot lower at the time of refund but I got back exactly what I had paid.Also no loss of points.

 

[big_RED]

I did have to call Amex AU and ask that the international FX surcharge be refunded when an international purchase was refunded automatical by the supplier. Q

If I recall correctly the Amex operator was confused why they should refund the fee. But after explaining the supplier refund they thought it strange the Amex fee didn't get refunded automatically.

 

[TonyHancock]

I did have to call Amex AU and ask that the international FX surcharge be refunded when an international purchase was refunded automatical by the supplier. Q

If I recall correctly the Amex operator was confused why they should refund the fee. But after explaining the supplier refund they thought it strange the Amex fee didn't get refunded automatically.

I spend approx $80k a year on overseas transactions and have found the amex approach to be quite disingenuous. I have had multiple instances of supplier refunds where the 3% commission is not refunded. The Amex T&C's, unless they have changed recently, are quite specific about not refunding commission fees but I have it in writing from them that they refund for fraudulent transactions and supplier error refunds.

I think it is all quite "dodgy". I had one at Christmas when a hotel wrongly charged me and then immediately refunded the amount. I have had cases where I have booked train travel that was canceled by the operator and refunded. It makes a mockery of the process and makes chargeback the only means of automatically getting the refund. (That said I had to chase up a commission refund that I was advised in writing I would receive for a chargeback.)

For those with Amex I would advise checking your statements if you have had a supplier refund related to non provision of services. Amex appears to have a nice little thing on the go here helping itself to that 3% commission charge.

 

[theblank]

Amex appears to have a nice little thing on the go here helping itself to that 3% commission charge.

As do all banks.

As best I can tell, no bank incurs a cost from foreign transactions, because the converions and currency risks are provided by the card schemes, who pass the cost on to the bank in AUD. The 3% added on for any credit card is pure profiteering. If there was a real cost - then Visa/MC would be including that in the amount they pass on.

In saying that AMEX is quite entitled to charge a %, they are the scheme provider.

 

[TonyHancock]

As do all banks.

As best I can tell, no bank incurs a cost from foreign transactions, because the converions and currency risks are provided by the card schemes, who pass the cost on to the bank in AUD. The 3% added on for any credit card is pure profiteering. If there was a real cost - then Visa/MC would be including that in the amount they pass on.

In saying that AMEX is quite entitled to charge a %, they are the scheme provider.

I guess my question is do all other banks help themselves on refunded transactions?

Genuine question I don't know?

 

[dajop]

I think it is all quite "dodgy". I had one at Christmas when a hotel wrongly charged me and then immediately refunded the amount. I have had cases where I have booked train travel that was canceled by the operator and refunded. It makes a mockery of the process and makes chargeback the only means of automatically getting the refund. (That said I had to chase up a commission refund that I was advised in writing I would receive for a chargeback.).

Amex are not the only guilty party here. Visa do the same. Have to especially careful when booking car rentals - always ask if they are putting hold on an amount or charging a deposit. At Thrifty recently always had a deposit charged rather than a hold.

A couple of years ago had a one day hire with Hertz Trucks in Melbourne booked through my Hertz profile and before we even arrived they had charged the deposit - which was about $400 more than the hire - to the card on file, a Singapore based Visa. They refunded on request, on same day to original card, so instead we could charge to an AU card, but we were out of pocket by $30. Hertz graciously knocked $30 off the rental, so didn’t pursue with the bank.

There’s always a lot of talk about “free trade” but if you look at what both merchants and cardholders get charged for foreign txn, there’s skimming of basically 5% of many txn. Imagine if the government imposed a 5% tax on all foreign transactions!

 

[drron]

No.The Government has a better scheme-charge 10% on all domestic sales and as many OS ones as you can catch.

 

[dajop]

No.The Government has a better scheme-charge 10% on all domestic sales and as many OS ones as you can catch.

Yes indeed, but I meant an extra 5% on top of that....

 

[Mr_Orange]

If you care to earn QF points or no points at all then there are options for credit cards that do not charge overseas transaction fees. The Platinum, or above, range of Bankwest cards, is one example.

The only issue with refunds is then the difference in the forex rate which could mean that you lose out, or gain.

I do understand that this is essentially avoiding the issue and I completely agree that the 3% fee seems totally unnecessary in today's modern, digital world but the easier path is to avoid it that to try to effect change.