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Bank of America Hates Italy
Here's my gripe: each time I withdraw money, using any ATM in Italy, I am charged $5 USD and another percentage surcharge -- on top of the exchange rate.
So... if I wanted to withdraw EUR 250, or USD $292.06, I ended up paying USD $299.97. USD $7.91 may not sound like too much to complain about, but imagine being charged ~USD $8 to access your account for several months.
The best part? My roommate John uses Bank of America, withdraws money from the exact same ATMs, but isn't charged any of these fees! I've called BOA's national call centers, my local branch, branches in other states, and everyone tells me the same thing: "Sorry, there is a $5 fee. We're not sure why you're being charged that second fee (the percentage), though. And we're not sure why your roommate has no fees charged. Maybe you can give us his account number?"
Citibank isn't the only bank with problems.
Posted in on November 29, 2005, 06:47 PM | Permalink
Comments
banks.. will suck you dry til you die..
Posted by: james at December 18, 2005 11:16 AM
Has anybody known that Citizen's Debit Card stop working in Europe? It is my favorite bank. ow I can not use theit card in some part of Europe.:(
What bank can I use now?
Posted by: Mary at January 18, 2006 12:12 PM
Hi Scott - I'm off to Italy next week and I'm trying to figure out how I want to handle the cash situation. I heard that BofA is affiliated with Deutsche Bank (Global ATM alliance or something) which has locations in Italy. You don't get charged the $5 fee. Do you know anything about this? Which banks are you withdrawing from?
Thanks!
Posted by: Sarah at March 9, 2006 02:57 PM
