Illegal Transaction Fees Assessed To Online Buyers
Many of us make purchases online. Some of these products are manufactured by a company outside of the United States. When we use our credit card for these purchases, we are sometimes charged a “foreign transaction fee” by our bank.
This fee is purportedly used to cover the cost of the financial institution having to convert U.S. dollars into the currency of the country where we are making the purchase. The fee can range from 1% to 3% of the total purchase amount. Many of these fees are improper or being illegally assessed.
At the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman in Woodland Hills, our mission is to ensure that big companies are held accountable when they attempt to take advantage of hard-working people. Improper assessment of foreign transaction fees by large banks is one of the cases we are taking on. We represent individual consumers who have experienced monetary damages as well as groups of people nationwide.
How Banks Are Over-Charging Customers
Banks are only allowed to charge the foreign transaction fee when we are physically in another country making a purchase. If you are sitting on your couch making purchases over your laptop, these transactions do not warrant the fee as per the terms of service contract you have with your financial institution.
Many larger banks including HSBC have been found to be improperly charging customers for these types of e-commerce transactions, calling this charge an international processing fee, a currency conversion fee, an FX fee or another valid-sounding descriptor.
We Can Help You Determine If You Have A Case
If you make large overseas purchases or frequently buy online from other countries, look for a foreign transaction fee on your statement. If you have been charged this fee and made your purchases from inside the United States, it’s likely you qualify. Call 323-285-3255 and speak with us about what happened. You can also reach attorney Todd Friedman and his staff via website inquiry email. We offer a free consultation.