Dynamic Currency Conversion

[Ajarn]

On Feb 7th, the wife used the new Rimping Supermarket for the first time. Usually, we use the two older stores -- and never have had a problem with the Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) scam. In fact, looking at the credit card slips, the two older stores don't even have the DCC option. (See the following post if DCC doesn't ring a bell.)

But I hadn't briefed the wife on DCC, and when she checked out of the new Rimping, they used DCC, instantly converting to dollars. The dollar amount was posted on the slip, along with the conversion rate and Thai baht amount. But they never asked if she wanted 'Thai baht or foreign currency,' as Visa and MC say they're supposed to. And even tho' the wife knew there was something a little different about the credit slip, she signed anyway, as, I suspect, would many folks have done if not fully aware of DCC.

Result. She paid over 7% more than she would have if she had been given -- and used -- the option for Thai baht!!! (The exchange rate they used: 32.573. The Interbank Exchange rate used by MasterCared that day: 34.90.)

Interestingly, on the credit slip, next to the signature, it says: "I have chosen not to use the MasterCard currency conversion process and agree that I will have no recourse against MasterCard concerning the currency conversion." Ah, now an ironclad screwjob, as before this was added apparently some disenchanted customers had gone after MasterCard for their 'overpayments.' Now, door shut.

The same day I bought a Nok Air ticket at the airport, using my MasterCard. The credit slip I signed had no dollars mentioned, but the signature line had the following: "I have choosen (sic) not to pay in USD but to settle the payment in THB." This statement, which I confirmed later, means the particular merchant *has* the DCC option, but the option was not used, either because the customer requested Thai baht only, or because (as in the Nok Air case) the merchant automatically gave the better deal to the customer.

Home Pro in CM will automatically use DCC -- unless you insist on Thai baht only. I had to get a supervisor to drive the point home with a particular cashier, but have had no problems since. A cashier even explained about how 'button 1' is for Thai baht only,' while 'button 2' is foreign currency. And that management 'would like us to use button 2.' I bet they would....!!

I have subsequently talked to a supervisor at the new Rimping, and she assures me the cashiers have been briefed about the customer's right to insist on Thai baht only. But I haven't been back to check it out. Would really be nice if the stores would do what they're supposed to and ask up front: "Thai baht or foreign currency?" Easier than having to void a slip that comes out in dollars and asks me to waive my rights.

So far, the 3 merchants mentioned above are the only ones I know of using DCC -- but I'm sure there are many others out there -- or will be. But so far I personally know that Carrefour, Robinson's, and Global don't -- or at least didn't as of January.

The DCC is also used by Siam TV. I bought a TV in there about 8 months ago now and I queried why the amount on the credit slip was in Sterling. Faces all went blank and if I remember correctly they assured me the amount would be in Baht. It was charged in Sterling and the TV cost another 2000 baht because of it.

So another retailer to be aware of!

Why did you pay an extra 2000 baht??

Sounds to me like your brain wasn't working

[Austhaied]

His brain not working ?? It's called "gone troppo" I have seen it happen here more than once.

For the record i have never seen this type of transaction carried out in CM, and we both check our receipts carefully.

In every foreign country there are a serious number of semi-permanent residents who have gone "troppo". It might be assumed that this word originates from the word tropical, so somebody who has gone "troppo" has basically gone to stay in a tropical place. Left the city and the desk for hotter climates and better things, in fact they would say "I have seen the light".

The favourite destinations are countries like Thailand or the Philippines, but thousands of other places have their very own share of weirdoes from Ecuador to Mongolia, Madagascar to Egypt. The countries that these lost souls leave behind are those established and boring nations like Britain and Germany, Canada and Australia although an extremely weird looking Eskimo with long hair and smoking dope was seen sloping around Brisbane with an Ausy blond chick on the back of his Harley Davidson!

Initially these semi-permanent disorders went abroad on holiday and found themselves - or think they have. Once upon a time after saving up some cash from their dead-boring jobs they ended up in some seedy holiday resort in the Canaries, in Pukhet or Acapulco and after getting drunk on cheap plonk and high on joints they began to see something resembling a light at the end of the tunnel. All of a sudden women flocked to them, pissed as they were beautiful girls hung on their arms and laughed excitedly at any single blurb they uttered. Beer flowed cheaply and the locals catered to their every wish! This was heaven and all possible dreams wrapped up into a lovely package and oh so very cheap!

The thought of returning home just didn't appeal, back to that desk, the endless office bickering and to the boss from hel_l! Nope, that on one hand and paradise on the other. So either by returning home to empty out the bank account, to sell the house or tear up the check to the tax-man or just by simply tearing up the return tickets decisions were made and before they knew it they had become "troppos".

There is though more to becoming a true troppo than simply deciding to turn a holiday into an endless tour of drunken debauchery. Troppos tend to do far more than simply co-exist with the locals and other holiday makers who are just enjoying their two week vacation. They very quickly become dirty and unwashed. The devil in their brains wins over and before they know it they are walking along streets without shoes on, entering shopping malls in shorts that are more akin to underwear and wearing flip-flops that a British Tramp would decline to wear. Their hair suddenly grows to unmanageable lengths, soon to be tied back with an elastic band or threaded with beads; unwashed and straggly and either a baseball cap or a dirty rag adorns the head like a symbol of independence!

In India they soon start to wear saris, in Hawaii the grass skirt! In Fiji they all drink Kava and coconut toddy in Tuvalu! Troppos simply become more native than the natives!

To differentiate immediately between a troppo and a tourist a few items are immediately noticeable! The beautiful girl, a moped and the fact that everywhere he goes he seems to know everybody is a dead give-a-way! He talks the lingo, or seems to! He doesn't wear a helmet on his moped and nor does the bimbo on the back! He is permanently inebriated or high on smack! He talks loudly and tends to mix with an equally straggly group of characters who in actual fact all look exactly like each other!

In some ways this lifestyle that they have taken up is a rebellion against the civilised outside world! They will say why not! Naturally there are many excellent reasons why anybody would choose to live abroad, the weather for one, cheapness for another but there is no earthly reason why anybody should loose their self respect. Many troppos exist in their hovels illegally! Should they ever want to leave their new country the immigration officials would have a few words to say about the abuse to their kindly issued two week visa! Some semi-permanent residents do take further steps by travelling abroad every month or three for the pure purpose of being re-issued another visa and they do this indefinitely!

Troppos enter this strange middle ground where they fall well below civilised standards of hygiene and morals. They soon find it hard to locate a clean pair of trousers and suddenly find it quite acceptable to travel on long haul international flights with a pair of look-a-like boxer shorts on, a floppy pair of flip flops and a t-shirt that reads "I'm high on life".

In short they soon enter a middle ground, never quite accepted and only just tolerated by the locals who see them as a novelty and unable to return home to the desk job and the suits! Even the bimbos soon disappear to find greener grass, all they saw was a ticket out of their country or cash registers clicking but troppos soon run out of hard cash!

It is these very same troppos who get caught trying to smuggle drugs to finance their continued stay, who buy shares in bars only to find their share vanishing as the local laughingly cheats him and who gets married only to find out that the newly wed wife has run away with the remaining cash and her old boyfriend!

Certainly move abroad! Quite rightly fall-in-love and marry and have children and live a happy life. But the trick is to carry on living, to retain some of the characteristics of the life back home. Get a job not a scam, live in a house not in a tepee! Don't drink until under the table every night and don't assume that the very essence to living abroad is summed up between the rolled paper of a joint! Keep those smart trousers in the closet and buy a pair of shoes, wear a helmet on the moped and don't for one minute assume that the first girl that giggles hysterically at anything you say has just fallen head over heels in love!

[JimGant]

Why did you pay an extra 2000 baht??

If you haven't been caught up in the DCC scam yet, it's probably hard to realize how it works. You hand over your credit card, and the charge comes back in dollars (or whatever your home currency is). And unless you carry a calculator -- and know your bank's exchange rate for the day -- it all looks kosher. This is particularly true if you've a whole cart full of items. It's only when you get home and do the math, that you find you've just bent over.

Went today to Home Pro. Yep, it's still bend over time there if you don't say "Thai baht" when you hand over your foreign bank plastic. Interestingly, at cashier position #1, they have a copy of a Singapore newspaper article on DCC. The first highlighted paragraph explains how tourists find DCC nice, as they get a feel for the "real" cost since it's in their home currency. But the last highlighted paragraph warns that the "up to 4% commission" (more like 8% in Thailand) makes DCC financially unsound. Why Home Pro has this article taped up, who knows. Maybe this is so they can say "you've been warned." (Again, it's only at cashier postion #1.)

So, 'heads up' shoppers.

[mcgriffith]

His brain not working ?? It's called "gone troppo" I have seen it happen here more than once.

For the record i have never seen this type of transaction carried out in CM, and we both check our receipts carefully.

In every foreign country there are a serious number of semi-permanent residents who have gone "troppo". It might be assumed that this word originates from the word tropical, so somebody who has gone "troppo" has basically gone to stay in a tropical place. Left the city and the desk for hotter climates and better things, in fact they would say "I have seen the light".

The favourite destinations are countries like Thailand or the Philippines, but thousands of other places have their very own share of weirdoes from Ecuador to Mongolia, Madagascar to Egypt. The countries that these lost souls leave behind are those established and boring nations like Britain and Germany, Canada and Australia although an extremely weird looking Eskimo with long hair and smoking dope was seen sloping around Brisbane with an Ausy blond chick on the back of his Harley Davidson!

Initially these semi-permanent disorders went abroad on holiday and found themselves - or think they have. Once upon a time after saving up some cash from their dead-boring jobs they ended up in some seedy holiday resort in the Canaries, in Pukhet or Acapulco and after getting drunk on cheap plonk and high on joints they began to see something resembling a light at the end of the tunnel. All of a sudden women flocked to them, pissed as they were beautiful girls hung on their arms and laughed excitedly at any single blurb they uttered. Beer flowed cheaply and the locals catered to their every wish! This was heaven and all possible dreams wrapped up into a lovely package and oh so very cheap!

The thought of returning home just didn't appeal, back to that desk, the endless office bickering and to the boss from hel_l! Nope, that on one hand and paradise on the other. So either by returning home to empty out the bank account, to sell the house or tear up the check to the tax-man or just by simply tearing up the return tickets decisions were made and before they knew it they had become "troppos".

There is though more to becoming a true troppo than simply deciding to turn a holiday into an endless tour of drunken debauchery. Troppos tend to do far more than simply co-exist with the locals and other holiday makers who are just enjoying their two week vacation. They very quickly become dirty and unwashed. The devil in their brains wins over and before they know it they are walking along streets without shoes on, entering shopping malls in shorts that are more akin to underwear and wearing flip-flops that a British Tramp would decline to wear. Their hair suddenly grows to unmanageable lengths, soon to be tied back with an elastic band or threaded with beads; unwashed and straggly and either a baseball cap or a dirty rag adorns the head like a symbol of independence!

In India they soon start to wear saris, in Hawaii the grass skirt! In Fiji they all drink Kava and coconut toddy in Tuvalu! Troppos simply become more native than the natives!

To differentiate immediately between a troppo and a tourist a few items are immediately noticeable! The beautiful girl, a moped and the fact that everywhere he goes he seems to know everybody is a dead give-a-way! He talks the lingo, or seems to! He doesn't wear a helmet on his moped and nor does the bimbo on the back! He is permanently inebriated or high on smack! He talks loudly and tends to mix with an equally straggly group of characters who in actual fact all look exactly like each other!

In some ways this lifestyle that they have taken up is a rebellion against the civilised outside world! They will say why not! Naturally there are many excellent reasons why anybody would choose to live abroad, the weather for one, cheapness for another but there is no earthly reason why anybody should loose their self respect. Many troppos exist in their hovels illegally! Should they ever want to leave their new country the immigration officials would have a few words to say about the abuse to their kindly issued two week visa! Some semi-permanent residents do take further steps by travelling abroad every month or three for the pure purpose of being re-issued another visa and they do this indefinitely!

Troppos enter this strange middle ground where they fall well below civilised standards of hygiene and morals. They soon find it hard to locate a clean pair of trousers and suddenly find it quite acceptable to travel on long haul international flights with a pair of look-a-like boxer shorts on, a floppy pair of flip flops and a t-shirt that reads "I'm high on life".

In short they soon enter a middle ground, never quite accepted and only just tolerated by the locals who see them as a novelty and unable to return home to the desk job and the suits! Even the bimbos soon disappear to find greener grass, all they saw was a ticket out of their country or cash registers clicking but troppos soon run out of hard cash!

It is these very same troppos who get caught trying to smuggle drugs to finance their continued stay, who buy shares in bars only to find their share vanishing as the local laughingly cheats him and who gets married only to find out that the newly wed wife has run away with the remaining cash and her old boyfriend!

Certainly move abroad! Quite rightly fall-in-love and marry and have children and live a happy life. But the trick is to carry on living, to retain some of the characteristics of the life back home. Get a job not a scam, live in a house not in a tepee! Don't drink until under the table every night and don't assume that the very essence to living abroad is summed up between the rolled paper of a joint! Keep those smart trousers in the closet and buy a pair of shoes, wear a helmet on the moped and don't for one minute assume that the first girl that giggles hysterically at anything you say has just fallen head over heels in love!

Brilliant post, Austhaied!

For a bit I thought it was Crow Boy, until I realized:

1) it was entirely too literary in style

2) it had humor

3) there were no footnotes attached to Melbourne University

I just have one question: ARE YOU CALLING ME AN ESKIMO?!?

McG

[Gravelrash]

His brain not working ?? It's called "gone troppo" I have seen it happen here more than once.

For the record i have never seen this type of transaction carried out in CM, and we both check our receipts carefully.

In every foreign country there are a serious number of semi-permanent residents who have gone "troppo". It might be assumed that this word originates from the word tropical, so somebody who has gone "troppo" has basically gone to stay in a tropical place. Left the city and the desk for hotter climates and better things, in fact they would say "I have seen the light".

The favourite destinations are countries like Thailand or the Philippines, but thousands of other places have their very own share of weirdoes from Ecuador to Mongolia, Madagascar to Egypt. The countries that these lost souls leave behind are those established and boring nations like Britain and Germany, Canada and Australia although an extremely weird looking Eskimo with long hair and smoking dope was seen sloping around Brisbane with an Ausy blond chick on the back of his Harley Davidson!

Initially these semi-permanent disorders went abroad on holiday and found themselves - or think they have. Once upon a time after saving up some cash from their dead-boring jobs they ended up in some seedy holiday resort in the Canaries, in Pukhet or Acapulco and after getting drunk on cheap plonk and high on joints they began to see something resembling a light at the end of the tunnel. All of a sudden women flocked to them, pissed as they were beautiful girls hung on their arms and laughed excitedly at any single blurb they uttered. Beer flowed cheaply and the locals catered to their every wish! This was heaven and all possible dreams wrapped up into a lovely package and oh so very cheap!

The thought of returning home just didn't appeal, back to that desk, the endless office bickering and to the boss from hel_l! Nope, that on one hand and paradise on the other. So either by returning home to empty out the bank account, to sell the house or tear up the check to the tax-man or just by simply tearing up the return tickets decisions were made and before they knew it they had become "troppos".

There is though more to becoming a true troppo than simply deciding to turn a holiday into an endless tour of drunken debauchery. Troppos tend to do far more than simply co-exist with the locals and other holiday makers who are just enjoying their two week vacation. They very quickly become dirty and unwashed. The devil in their brains wins over and before they know it they are walking along streets without shoes on, entering shopping malls in shorts that are more akin to underwear and wearing flip-flops that a British Tramp would decline to wear. Their hair suddenly grows to unmanageable lengths, soon to be tied back with an elastic band or threaded with beads; unwashed and straggly and either a baseball cap or a dirty rag adorns the head like a symbol of independence!

In India they soon start to wear saris, in Hawaii the grass skirt! In Fiji they all drink Kava and coconut toddy in Tuvalu! Troppos simply become more native than the natives!

To differentiate immediately between a troppo and a tourist a few items are immediately noticeable! The beautiful girl, a moped and the fact that everywhere he goes he seems to know everybody is a dead give-a-way! He talks the lingo, or seems to! He doesn't wear a helmet on his moped and nor does the bimbo on the back! He is permanently inebriated or high on smack! He talks loudly and tends to mix with an equally straggly group of characters who in actual fact all look exactly like each other!

In some ways this lifestyle that they have taken up is a rebellion against the civilised outside world! They will say why not! Naturally there are many excellent reasons why anybody would choose to live abroad, the weather for one, cheapness for another but there is no earthly reason why anybody should loose their self respect. Many troppos exist in their hovels illegally! Should they ever want to leave their new country the immigration officials would have a few words to say about the abuse to their kindly issued two week visa! Some semi-permanent residents do take further steps by travelling abroad every month or three for the pure purpose of being re-issued another visa and they do this indefinitely!

Troppos enter this strange middle ground where they fall well below civilised standards of hygiene and morals. They soon find it hard to locate a clean pair of trousers and suddenly find it quite acceptable to travel on long haul international flights with a pair of look-a-like boxer shorts on, a floppy pair of flip flops and a t-shirt that reads "I'm high on life".

In short they soon enter a middle ground, never quite accepted and only just tolerated by the locals who see them as a novelty and unable to return home to the desk job and the suits! Even the bimbos soon disappear to find greener grass, all they saw was a ticket out of their country or cash registers clicking but troppos soon run out of hard cash!

It is these very same troppos who get caught trying to smuggle drugs to finance their continued stay, who buy shares in bars only to find their share vanishing as the local laughingly cheats him and who gets married only to find out that the newly wed wife has run away with the remaining cash and her old boyfriend!

Certainly move abroad! Quite rightly fall-in-love and marry and have children and live a happy life. But the trick is to carry on living, to retain some of the characteristics of the life back home. Get a job not a scam, live in a house not in a tepee! Don't drink until under the table every night and don't assume that the very essence to living abroad is summed up between the rolled paper of a joint! Keep those smart trousers in the closet and buy a pair of shoes, wear a helmet on the moped and don't for one minute assume that the first girl that giggles hysterically at anything you say has just fallen head over heels in love!

Thanks for that informative if beleagured post, it ceratinly added new insight into the discussion about credit card scams. Please continue to amuse and belabor us with your imagined insights between beers or what ever you are smoking. Please forgive the OP for trying to alert us to scams that he and others have completely, with receipts, imagined, remember everything is just an illusion.

[Austhaied]

[quote name='Gravelrash' date='2007-08-14 20:15:05' post='1476308'

Thanks for that informative if beleagured post, it ceratinly added new insight into the discussion about credit card scams. Please continue to amuse and belabor us with your imagined insights between beers or what ever you are smoking. Please forgive the OP for trying to alert us to scams that he and others have completely, with receipts, imagined, remember everything is just an illusion.

So who took the jam out of your donut?

Did you have anything to contribute before you clicked reply ?

Chill out bro, life's good. (unless you happen to get ripped of at Rimping)..

[mcgriffith]

Uh oh, that donut was shot with a .45 ACP round, and is that HUMAN BLOOD dripping out......whooop whooop clang clang baaank baaank.....we have a Sector Incident, BLUE TEAM MOVE IN NOW.....GO GO GO......

BTW, if you don't want to be ripped off by credit card charges, use cash. Bring in your money to a Thai bank, at the onshore rate, and use the same bank's ATM. Zero charges.

I guess the saying goes, you can't have your cake, and eat it too. (Offshore credit card convenience, with no fees....)

McG

[cnxmike]

I know it's OT. But how come you never use the correct spelling of "hel_l" but use instead "hel_l". I'm not a native english speaker. Maybe I missed something during my education. Is the correct spelling of "hel_l" such a bad word?

I don't want to offend or insult anybody. I'm just curious.

[Austhaied]

I know it's OT. But how come you never use the correct spelling of "hel_l" but use instead "hel_l". I'm not a native english speaker. Maybe I missed something during my education. Is the correct spelling of "hel_l" such a bad word?

I don't want to offend or insult anybody. I'm just curious.

What the he11 are you trying to say ??

[mcgriffith]

Heck, you can say "Hello" any time...and a big Hello to you too, my friend!

You just can't say "helll"

Edited August 14, 2007 by mcgriffith

[Sanpatong]

If you haven't been caught up in the DCC scam yet, it's probably hard to realize how it works. You hand over your credit card, and the charge comes back in dollars (or whatever your home currency is).

It's BAHT.

I suggest you get some. It's really neat, accepted everywhere and no conversions of any kind.

Then you'll have to go find another target to slander with "scam" and all that. Have a nice day youhear.