Foreign exchange at the Eaton Centre? Think twice.

[get_by]

Consider this a public service announcement.

Double-check rates before you exchange money - anywhere.Before leaving for Trinidad & Tobago, Jiselle and I needed to pick up a small amount of T&T dollars (TTD) to cover any incidentals upon arrival. I set upon a few places to convert some Canadian dollars, not expecting the best rates

Comments

[mynatt]

Crazy. That can't be legal! If you put things in a contract that are in violation of the law, aren't they unenforceable?

I've heard plenty of stories of people getting screwed over while making currency transactions, though (even USD-CAD!). Sometimes you can place a special order ahead of time with your bank but I've always gotten by just visiting the first cash machine I see in the airport after arriving.

[get_by]

Exactly. That's like a roller-coaster operator saying they're not responsible for following safety regulations - after you buy the ticket.

Also, despite the falling USD most airport-area joints will still accept it, so perhaps next time I'll just bring USD and use the local ATM when I get to it. There was a huge bank of ATMs at the Trinidad airport. It appears my bank charges $3/transaction at ATMs, which is pretty standard.

[mynatt]

Apparently their business model is predicated on it not being worth the $50 for you to make a formal complaint, and anyone moving serious amounts of money presumably is doing it elsewhere. What bastards.

I got stuck once in India because I'd forgotten to set a PIN on my CC for cash withdrawals, and I've heard of people having their CC unactivated because the company assumed the overseas withdrawal was made by someone who had stolen the number, but you can call ahead of time to inform them where you'll be travelling to avoid that. A $3 fee for occasional transactions sounds reasonable to me, and is both cheaper and less annoying than spending an entire afternoon trying to clear a traveller's cheque.

[get_by]

Is the $50 an estimate? Or did you read that somewhere? I'm actually meaning to do some research into it, but haven't.

Yeah, the $3 is more or less reasonable to me. I had a left-over traveller's cheque that I cashed while there, but I don't think I'll go that route again - too much paperwork. Even at the bank we went to to do it, the teller was scratching her head over how to do it.

[missruckus]

whoa, fucked!

i usually get my currency at the bank. if you cannot find the local currency, just get USD. .you can exchange that easily upon arrival in most countries, or places will just plainly accept USD and give you change in the local currency.

hey, when we gonna hang, bro?