You guys, this is so interesting! If you’re an online seller or buyer you definitely want to read this….

Quick Summary: This Class Action lawsuit is for people who made online purchases at-home in their own country, but were still charged an international processing fee due to the website being in another country.

As an online seller / shopper I’m sure you’re familiar with transaction fees. Here’s a quote taken from the lawsuit:

“Foreign transaction fees, also called foreign exchange fees, are percentage-based charges which compensate a bank or credit company for converting a transaction into foreign currency.

Some cards may offer no foreign exchange fees for nearby countries; for example, Americans visiting Canada or Mexico. Providers such as Capital One and Discover stand above the rest in that they do not charge any of these fees. However, it is more than likely that one of your cards includes some sort of foreign transaction fee.” Now here’s the interesting part, according to the Terms of most credit card contacts (you know, the 8,000 pages of text that you Agree to when you sign up for the card but nobody actually READS) the foreign transaction fees are usually only supposed to be charged if someone is at a physical location outside the country. ← Repeat; AT A PHYSICAL LOCATION OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTRY. So, for example, if you are a USA citizen and you fly to Mexico and use your card to purchase a Pina Colada, then a foreign transaction fee would be allowed. However, if you are a USA citizen and you buy Pina Colada mix from MexicosBestEverPinaColadaMix.com then you should NOT be charged a foreign transaction fee…. However, if you look at your credit card statement, chances are you have been hit with the extra fee.

Here’s a few banks that are charging the foreign transaction fees when they should not be:

• HSBC
• Glacier
• CenterState
• Washington Trust (RI)
• Arvest
• Liberty Bank (CT)
• UMB
• Central Pacific

However, there are more banks.

If you want to join this Class Action because you have been charged fees for buying through a website outside of the USA, even though you were inside the USA when you made the purchase you can join the Lawsuit here (since it’s a class action, there is absolutely no cost to you!). 

Love this blog post?  Next Read How to Buy a NICE Computer SUPER CHEAP!