Unfortunately, it would seem that the currency "scam" being operated by some car rental companies and cash dispensers has also arrived in the retail sector.

It is extremely important to keep an eye on the total amount being displayed on the retailer's card payment terminal when making your purchase. I was busy doing something else at a chip and pin terminal when using my Nationwide Visa card and didn't notice the price. I don't usually bother in this particular shop as I have never had a problem in the past. The items I bought were €149, it wasn't until I arrived back at the apartment with my purchase I noticed I had been charged £136.49. This was a Sterling transaction and not a Euro transaction.

The "scam" is that I have now been charged the retailer's banks exchange rate for that day and not my own bank's rate. This is always detrimental to the card user. If a retailer is going to do this, they MUST offer you a choice of currency to pay in and not just assume. Another problem is that if you ask for a refund once the transaction has been processed, they will only refund the Euro amount, which means once again you lose out in the transaction process. In my case, the difference was £3.50, not a lot you may think, but enough to have a credit crunch lunch at some of the bars in the Mojacar area!!

Unfortunately, as always- Buyer Beware

Updated 18th March 2009: This is a known problem and is known as "Dynamic Currency Conversion" It has been addressed by the following publication from Nationwide. Clink on the link for more details.