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That's very reassuring Sylvia as A$20 is neither here nor there but the exchange rate is something like A$1 to 65 pence stg at the moment which makes it quite expensive.
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Fairways
You have nothing to worry about if you want to pay in $ Aus
It is for others like me who end up paying more if I cannot pay in £ sterling!
It seems that they have decided that it makes sense to automatically charge overseas members in currency of their country ...... except they don't have all currencies!
And if you are charged in a currency that is not "yours", then the credit card company makes the change to the one that is ....... and I would have ended up paying at least 50% more
I don't think it is necessarily a rip-off, just not thought out.
I have finally sorted it out, and got my refund
BUT
I have been told that I should make sure that my residence is shown as UK in My Account, at least for the period before I would be renewing. That would ensure being charged in £ sterling
I'm tring to make them see the light, and offer us the chance to decide whether WE want to opt for paying in £ sterling or currency of our country.
However, for me, that last would always be in US $ as they do not offer $ Can ............... and that is not an option so far as I am concerned!
sylvia
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My subscription of $19.95 Aust is due in October. I won't be paying nineteen pounds ninety five pence sterling to renew as one Australian dollar is equal to sixty five pence more or less. Sounds like a rip off to me.
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You may want to check very carefully when it comes time to renew your subscription
I was sent an email on May 22 telling me it was time to renew by June 5, and to click on a link to find the amount.
All prices (for Standard and Platinum) were in £ sterling
Last Friday (June 3), I renewed .............. and it wasn't until I got the receipt in my email that I realised that my credit card had been charged in US dollars.
I live in Canada. We do NOT use US dollars, we have our own currency.
I was not happy!
An exchange of emails with GR followed
It seems that they have decided to use the currency of certain countries for their overseas members.
Your credit card is no longer charged in £ sterling as it has been for as long as I've been a member, but in the currency of your country OR in the currency of the nearest country if yours is not included in the list.
Hence my being charged in US $
There is nowhere on the receipt that says how much the sub was in £ ............. and it would not be on the credit card receipt.
If the charge is made in the currency of the nearest country, then that means that the cc company will make another change in the currency ...........
the end result being that you end up paying far more than if £ sterling had been charged directly.
The only way it could be sorted out was for me to change my residency to UK, for GR to refund my card the US $ amount, and then for me to renew my subscription again
.................... unfortunately, the refund promptly made me into a Free member because it was after June 5 by this point.
Of course, renewing from Free to Standard counts as an upgrade ........... and I was charged the £19.95 for 12 months that new members pay, vs the much reduced amount that those of us who have been members since before 2007 pay, unless we break the connection.
GR do say that they will refund me the extra, and will ensure that I pay the lower rate in future.
I have suggested that GR consider giving overseas members the option of paying in £ sterling OR in the currency of their country ......... and they have said they are discussing this.
I have not had such a situation with any other society, site OR company before ....... you are usually charged in the currency of the country where the organization is based!
So, when you renew in future,
a) check the amount to be paid, and the currency being quoted
b) check with GR accounts in advance which currency they will be charging you in
c) if you wish to pay in £ sterling and that is not what they are using for you .............. go into My Account and change your country of residence to UK
.d) Pay your sub
e) Change your residency back after you have paid your sub
sylvia
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