Help - updated with outcome

[skstorm]

Thanks YT - Hifx would definitely next choice.

My biggest worry is that they don't send it swift and it doesn't go through again as to get it sent back to me is a cost of £20 + whatever the difference in exchange rate is since I put it through, so it could increase the whole cost of it quite a bit, not to mention the time it would take to get back to my account. All this eats into already very limited and precious time :-(.

I am definitely starting to see the appeal of going to Disney direct for a purchase, its worth it for the reduction in stress alone!

[skstorm]

Latest update - so after speaking with Travelex again today it appears they haven't yet sent the money and are unable to send it swift so my only options are

1) to amend and resend standard should be there in maximum of 3 days. (email just arrived that said 2-5)
or
2) recall back at a cost of £20 + whatever the difference in exchange rate was which at the rate at the time I was on the phone amounted to a loss of £150. and would take 2-10 days to get back to my account

After much deliberation as part of me just wanted to recall the money and start again I have requested to retry standard, as this will be the quickest option if it works. If it fails will recall the money and take a chance the exchange rate has either reduced or not gone up by much. Will then try and resend swift by Hifx. The have assured me it will be sent today however I've been told that before!

have spoken to the Broker Bee and she has been lovely and very understanding but can honestly say that trying to send the money has been a complete nightmare and at the moment I couldn't recommend travelex at all. Bee finds it really strange that they can't get the money through and telling me that the bank rejected it, When Bee questioned the bank there was no record of it being there at all. I have had mixed assistance when contacting them a couple have been good but communication does not appear to be their strong point and at times the person I spoke to had to speak to her supervisor after every question to the point that I asked to speak to the supervisor direct as it was like a 3 way conversation.


Will let you know how it goes on.

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by skstorm

Latest update - so after speaking with Travelex again today it appears they haven't yet sent the money and are unable to send it swift so my only options are

1) to amend and resend standard should be there in maximum of 3 days. (email just arrived that said 2-5)
or
2) recall back at a cost of £20 + whatever the difference in exchange rate was which at the rate at the time I was on the phone amounted to a loss of £150. and would take 2-10 days to get back to my account

After much deliberation as part of me just wanted to recall the money and start again I have requested to retry standard, as this will be the quickest option if it works. If it fails will recall the money and take a chance the exchange rate has either reduced or not gone up by much. Will then try and resend swift by Hifx. The have assured me it will be sent today however I've been told that before!

have spoken to the Broker Bee and she has been lovely and very understanding but can honestly say that trying to send the money has been a complete nightmare and at the moment I couldn't recommend travelex at all. Bee finds it really strange that they can't get the money through and telling me that the bank rejected it, When Bee questioned the bank there was no record of it being there at all. I have had mixed assistance when contacting them a couple have been good but communication does not appear to be their strong point and at times the person I spoke to had to speak to her supervisor after every question to the point that I asked to speak to the supervisor direct as it was like a 3 way conversation.


Will let you know how it goes on.

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Sounds like a nightmare. In the unlikely event I ever buy again, I’ll avoid Travelex and stick to HiFX. Good luck getting it sorted.

[skstorm]

Okay - so after ringing Travelex this morning and being advised the money had still not been sent despite being advised how urgent it is on several occassions I have asked for it to come back to myself.

I give in with this company completely and think I would rather take the loss. How can you make a decision based on their information when they tell you what you want to hear and not what is actually going to happen. They have had my money since 28th December. They have had it returned to them (apparently) from bank of America since 4th January and I believe are just making interest on it now. The title company has never heard of such nonsense before with a transfer company insisting it has been sent by wire and quite frankly I have lost all confidence in them to do what they are advising.

I spoke to one of the managers this morning and made it perfectly clear I wasn't happy and would be submitting a formal complaint about why they have not yet actioned my request and feel they have purposely delayed.

I am now waiting for a return call to find out exactly what exchange rate it will be returned at, how much I am likely to loose and when they are likely to do that. (I'm pretty sure they won't be in a rush to do it as they are still gaining interest on it whilst it is with them!
Sorry rant over.

[skstorm]

SO
travelex confirmed on Monday (after I rang again!) that they couldn't send swift and the option was to send standard to be there in 3 days or recall the money. I specifically asked if I agreed to resend would they send that night and was told yes.

I phoned first thing on Tuesday to confirm it had gone and surprise surprise it hadn't at this point I hit the roof and asked for it to be sent back to myself. After speaking with the team leader I wasn't satisfied with the lack of ability to tell me the exchange rate and how much I would be loosing and demanded the manager. Spoke to a very nice person and explained what had happened and how ≈≈≈≈≈≈ off I was and basically what I could loose and he went away and rang me back to advise he had looked at everything and whilst the original part was ok he did admit that they hadn't handled the rest of the calls very well or provided much of a service. He told me that to compensate for that I would be refunded the full amount and they would put it back into my bank account that day. It was absolutely no surprise to me but a huge surprise to him when he rang me back later that night to say he was sorry that he hadn't been able to get the money back. and he was really frustrated - welcome to my world!

I did point out to him that he was working for a finance company sending money all over the world and that if I can put money in someone else's account the same day I don't see any reason why a competent company couldn't.

Herang me back at 10am this morning to advise the money had now been returned. so a quick phone call to Hifx or XE I think they now are and a very nice lady on the phone talked me through an ACH payment just to make sure I did it correct although to be honest it was really straight forward. my closing company accept ACH payments and gave me a different routing number to use for that.


At 6pm I got the long awaited phone call from the closing company to say they had received the funds. OMG what a relief.

SO the Recommendations

Travelex - never in a million years, constantly advising you incorrectly about what was going on and what they could do and after 10 days with the money could not do what Hifx has done in a matter of hours.


Hifx - absolutely - very very simple, asked for far less info, informed all the way and excellent customer service. If I ever need this again I know exactly where I will be going!

[Noodlez]

So glad it’s finally done! You seem to have had an awful time. Thanks for the update.

[skstorm]

It has been by far the worst experience. My dad has been ill through it all too and was taken to hospital last night so this just made everything worse.

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by skstorm

It has been by far the worst experience. My dad has been ill through it all too and was taken to hospital last night so this just made everything worse.

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Sorry to hear this... know you were wanting to take your dad, fingers’ crossed he will get better soon.

Glad to hear it was sorted with HiFX, I’ve had nothing but praise for their service and I’ve used them quite a few times. Very slickly run company.

[skstorm]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

Sorry to hear this... know you were wanting to take your dad, fingers’ crossed he will get better soon.

Glad to hear it was sorted with HiFX, I’ve had nothing but praise for their service and I’ve used them quite a few times. Very slickly run company.

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Thanks YT - he's had a bleed on the brain and was operated on this morning. Only just got back to recovery so we don't know too much yet. Unless things drastically change he made the decision that he won't be going back to Florida :-( If he gets back to (his) normal I'll be happy with that.

[YorkshireT]

Originally Posted by skstorm

Thanks YT - he's had a bleed on the brain and was operated on this morning. Only just got back to recovery so we don't know too much yet. Unless things drastically change he made the decision that he won't be going back to Florida :-( If he gets back to (his) normal I'll be happy with that.

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My father in law had one and made a full recovery, so finger’s crossed for you and your dad.