31.50 to transfer money to the UK. WTF!?

[vok]

Went into Permanent TSB two days ago to transfer money to a UK-based online broker and was told I could only do it through a Swift transfer.

After a tortuous search for Swift and IBAN numbers, I was told that, while it costs 50 cent to transfer money in the Eurozone, the charge for sending money to the UK in sterling was 31 euros 50.

What am I missing here that would cause a UK-based bank transfer to be 62 times more expensive than a Eurozone-based one?

I'm now aware that banks aren't allowed to charge more for Eurozone transfers than for internal accounts but how they can justify this is absolutely beyond me.

To add salt to the wound, the money still hasn't arrived two days later.

For future reference, what is the fastest and cheapest way to transfer money to a UK account?

Thanks

 

[darag]

as you say yourself, by regulation they have to charge the same for an electronic transfer to anywhere within the eurozone as they do for a transfer nationally. before this legislation, i recall paying more than 31.50 to transfer money to another eurozone country. the bank has to be losing a significant amount of money on the 50 cent transfer deal.

 

[Savy]

the bank has to be losing a significant amount of money on the 50 cent transfer deal.

You could look at it another way and say that the bank are making a huge profit on the non-eurozone transfers.

 

[darag]

yeah but banks are businesses; they're providing a service (which costs them money) and charging for it hoping to make a profit in the process. you're not being forced to avail of the services they offer. they're no more evil any other business.

i guess all their soft focus advertising where they show young families having picnics and running through sunny meadows laughing while the reassuring voice-over tells you that they (the bank) want to "grow with you" and are "there for you when you need them", etc. has worked a bit too well. people seem to get outraged when they discover their bank isn't operating on the same principles as a charity.

 

[CCOVICH]

Vok

Could you not have used a credit card to complete the transaction? Or perhaps some kind of paper, such as a draft or cheque?

 

[vok]

Cheers

Not that I was aware of, Ccovich.

The money had to go to a specific address with a specific reference.

The figure was well in excess of 5K so I'm not sure I would have been able to clear it on the card.

I didn't fancy the bank draft getting lost en route - as you often hear about - and it was also time-sensitive; I didn't want the lead time of up to a week with a cheque.

As it stands, the transfer has managed to get "misplaced" somewhere within Permanent TSB's evidently flaky money transfer process. It's now a week since I made the transfer and it still hasn't arrived.

Thanks a bunch, Permanent TSB. Am intending on transferring my account to a bank that respects my money and my time.