The Ubiquitousness of Tescos
I know that a lot of people are uncomfortable with just how much commercial power Tesco have in this country, with figures of 1 in 6 domestic £ spent with this chain. However my experience today shows that other businesses really don't help themselves.
Case in point Natwest, a bank (apparently).
I went in to a sizable branch of Natwest at lunch time to buy some Australian dollars, $100 of them to be precise.
After an 8 minute queue I made it to a cashier and asked if I could make this currency exchange. He said yes, but that the money wouldn't be available until 'either Tuesday or Wednesday'. I was a little surprised that he couldn't be more specific, but Wednesday was OK for my timescale so I agreed.
I was then asked to enter my chip and pin card to the reader, which I did and then followed the instructions. After some confusion on his part, he asked to see my card and then noted that it was a Lloyds card. He asked if I was a Natwest customer and when I informed him that I was not, he apologised and advised that I was best off going around the corner to Tescos where there was a currency exchange booth which would be able to provide said Aussie dollars!
So I left the bank and purchased my money at the supermarket!
On a complete tangent am I the only one that finds it ridiculous that I can't purchase foreign currency on my debit card without photo id, but can take out cash and proceed without it?
Case in point Natwest, a bank (apparently).
I went in to a sizable branch of Natwest at lunch time to buy some Australian dollars, $100 of them to be precise.
After an 8 minute queue I made it to a cashier and asked if I could make this currency exchange. He said yes, but that the money wouldn't be available until 'either Tuesday or Wednesday'. I was a little surprised that he couldn't be more specific, but Wednesday was OK for my timescale so I agreed.
I was then asked to enter my chip and pin card to the reader, which I did and then followed the instructions. After some confusion on his part, he asked to see my card and then noted that it was a Lloyds card. He asked if I was a Natwest customer and when I informed him that I was not, he apologised and advised that I was best off going around the corner to Tescos where there was a currency exchange booth which would be able to provide said Aussie dollars!
So I left the bank and purchased my money at the supermarket!
On a complete tangent am I the only one that finds it ridiculous that I can't purchase foreign currency on my debit card without photo id, but can take out cash and proceed without it?