GABIT attendees thread

[lame moose (mocha)]

i got confirmation that my transfer went thru. i sent an extra £10 in case there were fees at hsbc(although when i called and talked to them they said there were no fees) well, i still owe gabit money. they charged around £17($27). glad i was able to combine and pay for my ticket and krystals too. that saved us each about $31.00.
and i talked with the woman who works at the American Express travel currency exchange office and she quoted me a exchange amout about the same as the bank had and said that the amount seen in the conversion sites are the amounts that it is with mega large amounts of money-like on stock trades. the higher amounts is what banks and most currency exchanges use. so the banks don't cheat, they just find inventive ways to get more money from us.
i don't know if there is a fee for national wire transfers here, but krystal was able to transfer money to me with no fee because we both use the same bank. i actuall thought of opening an account with hsbc when i jump the puddle, but they have a monthly fee if you don't have a large balance in your account and those monthly fees would probably cost me more before the next...GABIT 4-DO NOT READ NEXT SENTENCE...AT event-AT 7
OK< CLEAR...than the transfer fees, so i won't be doing that. next project-reservations at the Ren.

[lame moose (mocha)]

I think you all need to start using my bank.

It costs me £7 to do an international transfer (same day) for ANY amount - with no 'receipt' fees payable by me. UK transfers are within 2 hrs and free.

I can use any ATM in the world and no matter how much I take out, the fee will always be £1.50.

I once complained at them because an ATM in the US had a max. withdrawal and so I had to use it a few times in a row - and they just refunded me all but one of the charges!

all the atms here have limits. i had a real problem using atms in the uk. you guys have an extra security chip on the front of your cards that are not on our cards. i couldn't get any money from atms. i tried 4 different credit cards-none worked. the Ren was kind enough to give me a cash advance with my card. then i found a barclays bank when i went to dover and got some cash there. they are affiliated with my bank. but i ran out of cash again in ireland because none of the taxis accept credit pymt. i was finally able to get a bank to give me some cash from one of my cards. i practically begged them and they took pity on me. i don't like to carry large amounts of cash, but i'm not sure what else i can do. hopefully there will be a barclays bank near the Ren. or maybe a barclays atm at the airport. guess i'll have to contact them and find out.

[lame moose (mocha)]

well, that's just plain weird...i was on hold with barclays bank in england. i'm trying to find out if they have atms at heathrow airport. i was on hold for about 13 minutes and then they said thay they were terribly sorry but because of a sudden emergency they have to evacuate the building. then the line went dead. so anyone in the uk, listen to the news and let me know if you hear anything like the bank was robbed or the building was burned or anything. that was really strange.

[Chelle DB]

Completely off topic but it will be 7C here today! The average high this time of year is minus 10. Winter schminter!

This is the weirdest winter that I can remember! It’s usually in the single digits or negatives (F) here during January, and it’s going to be almost 50F today.
No complaints, but it is really odd.

We had a late start to summer...in fact we're expecting a wetter than normal summer but the wierd thing is this - on Monday just gone, it was 42C/108F & the following day, thankfully it dropped to 38C but then on Wednesday night it got so cold I literally could not sleep without putting on the flannel pj's & a pair of socks...how does one ever climatise to their environment if she keeps fluctuating like a mad woman!! Christmas day saw us have storms that generated a mini tornado and hail that damaged cars & blanketed our roads...we had a white Christmas!! Oh and the thunder...wow!! Loved it! Been getting some wonderful thunderstorms.

I think you all need to start using my bank.
It costs me £7 to do an international transfer (same day) for ANY amount - with no 'receipt' fees payable by me. UK transfers are within 2 hrs and free.
I can use any ATM in the world and no matter how much I take out, the fee will always be £1.50.
I once complained at them because an ATM in the US had a max. withdrawal and so I had to use it a few times in a row - and they just refunded me all but one of the charges!

Ok...to coin a very popular phrase used here in Australia when talking about banks - "which bank"?

I let Flow handle the payment
But last time it was just a bit of a problem. I could easily make a transfer through my online banking, but I wasn't able to tell them to put ALL costs on me, so I was a little short. But the fees weren't so stupid high as in the US. Pffff.

A friend of mine used online banking to pay hers & owes more than me. My bank said I would have been better off having online banking but having heard what my friend paid, I was actually better off going into the branch.

When paying for AT6 thought it would be so easy, I'm in the UK, using a UK bank to pay another UK bank and nope...they could not transfer, kindly offered to take the amount out of my account, provide me cash and then pointed me to the HSBC bank 50 meters away to then pay it in cash into the Gabit account.

We have several HSBC branches scattered around and I had briefly entertained the notion of going into one to make the transfer...but usually what happens is if you dont bank with them, they charge you more. It's a no win situation when it comes to banks.

well, that's just plain weird...i was on hold with barclays bank in england. i'm trying to find out if they have atms at heathrow airport. i was on hold for about 13 minutes and then they said thay they were terribly sorry but because of a sudden emergency they have to evacuate the building. then the line went dead. so anyone in the uk, listen to the news and let me know if you hear anything like the bank was robbed or the building was burned or anything. that was really strange.

Barclays....wasn't that the bank Helen gave her information out in the ep Monsoon - "Barclays, 7652360".

[samcarterrules]

I wouldn't have had any problem sending my cheque to GABIT, if I had remembered to sign it! Doh! God bless Mumsey for noticing, sending another one today.

Julia(samcarterrules)

[Fresh_Horse]

well, that's just plain weird...i was on hold with barclays bank in england. i'm trying to find out if they have atms at heathrow airport. i was on hold for about 13 minutes and then they said thay they were terribly sorry but because of a sudden emergency they have to evacuate the building. then the line went dead. so anyone in the uk, listen to the news and let me know if you hear anything like the bank was robbed or the building was burned or anything. that was really strange.

Nah, that was just an inventive way to get rid of a pesky customer.

[XFchemist]

Like last year, I went to my parents' bank (cuz mine sucks...). I told them to make a bank transfer in £. They had to send the practice to a special office in an another city. They should send me a notification by mail when the transfer will be done. I went last Wednesday but so far I get nothing (but today it's holiday here). However last year I didn't have problem this way. Finger crossed...

[ames]

Mocha - as tempting as it may be to take out an HSBC account, it's not nearly as simple as you'd think (see below spoiler)...

Spoilered because it's more bank talk...

Spoiler:

For example, the Canadian HSBC and the UK HSBC aren't linked! I can't access my UK account via the banks here whatsoever, I have to rely on online banking instead. 'World's largest bank' my arse... *eye slits* In fact, because the UK uses Maestro and most of Ontario uses Interac instead, I couldn't even use my HSBC card for the UK in the Canadian HSBC ATM machines!!! I had to go to another bank that supported the Maestro system for the machine to be able to read my card.

By the by, that's probably why the machines were having issues reading your debit card, as opposed to the lack of chip. Although perhaps not ... I know my dad had a problem with his lack-of-chip Visa at one B&B, but that was the only place he had a problem. When we get to the Ren, double-check whether the ABM there has the Interac symbol on it or not... (the Maestro symbol looks like a blue version of the Mastercard overlaying symbol, as opposed to the yellow square for Interac).

Alternatively, if you were looking to open a UK HSBC account...the words 'good luck' come to mind. When I moved there, the agency had my bank account already set up for me, so I didn't have a problem in that regard, but my best mate who travelled over with me to attend school? Yeah, it took 2 months for her account to get set up. Thank heavens I had a functioning account, or rent and the like would've been a complete nightmare for the first while we were there!!! I was incredibly grateful that they'd allow me to keep my account active when I moved back to Canada

Hoping to make it out tomorrow to pay for my ticket
Feels more real now, eh? *bounces*

[starsong101]

Morning All

Hey "Sam" don't worry abut not signing a check last year I sent in my income tax checks for both federal and state didn't sign either. Feds sent it back to be sign and the State did not care and cashed it. Go figure?

Mocha Credit cards: US issued credit cards by in large do not have the chip in them like in Europe. My Visa company finally gave me one with a chip so I should have no problems this year. But it is my only card. I think I'll have a conversation with my bank and see if they plan to issue a debit card (I can use it a ATMs overseas) with a chip. My bank was bought out by a Canadian bank so maybe.

Chelle Weather. I live in Wisconsin, it will be in the 50s F today. There is no snow for any out door activities; some places are making it but the temperatures are too high for even that. Can't say I mind not having to shovel snow and drive through it is fine with me. But on the other hand it does provide water for the farms come Spring.

[EH-T]

Sent my payment today. $30.00 fee on my end and sent an extra 6 pounds because that is what was deducted at the other end last time. Hope it all works out. It was much easier this time because I had kept the form from last time so the credit union just had to retype the info. Lame moose, our exchange rate was $1.60

[Cagranosalis]

well, that's just plain weird...i was on hold with barclays bank in england. i'm trying to find out if they have atms at heathrow airport. i was on hold for about 13 minutes and then they said thay they were terribly sorry but because of a sudden emergency they have to evacuate the building. then the line went dead. so anyone in the uk, listen to the news and let me know if you hear anything like the bank was robbed or the building was burned or anything. that was really strange.

Yes, there's definitely ATMs at Heathrow.

To the best of my knowledge no emergencies here; none that were serious enough to make even local news anyway so I guess it's just false alarm or something.

Nah, that was just an inventive way to get rid of a pesky customer.

...or that!

To say I'm shocked at the bank charges being levied here is an understatement... ok maybe not shocked - they are banks after all - but rather disappointed that the world is still such a greedy place for those who already have money. As many of you have pointed out, how hard and how expensive is it to actually shift a bit of binary code from one series of numbers to another? I mean it's not like they've had to get some guy to actually go into the federal reserves, weigh out the equivalent amount in gold and ship it over to the UK.
Thinking about it, even £17 is still a 5% charge. How ridiculous is that!

I get this frustration all the time. For a very short time I worked for Accidenture and have some shares - piddly number probably worth about a penny each - and every 6 months I get a dividend cheque (or check, I guess, since it's American ); normally it's about $15 to $25 - so roughly £10 - £15. Every time I pay it into my bank I get charged a "flat fee" of £10 for doing so. Sometimes when I work out the exchange rate I end up ripping it up and binning it because it'll cost me more.

Yes, I am going to Chevron but, alas not AT6. My future finances were volatile at the time of booking, and, although they're more stable for the time being (and ironically this is probably the one month I could afford it), as it turned out it was probably a good call since I'm back to square one money wise.... maybe. Oh the perils of working in the voluntary sector! I might pop by and say Hi to you all though, since I'm about 5 minutes up the road from it.

[lame moose (mocha)]

well, i knew there would be fees and that i'd end up paying an exchange rate higher than what all the rate conversion charts show, but that's the only way to make payment. but a little bank bashing helps take the edge off the anger at the banks ways. the only way to avoid it is to mail the amount owed in a box and have it insured for 3 times the amount and hope it will either be lost or stolen before it's delivered and then i can easily afford the bank fees. or i could send someone on that side of the puddle the money thru paypal and have them write a check for me, but i don't want anyone else to have to be responsible for that. but i'm happy with just a little bank bashing. ok, time to move on.

[SEREN LWCH (MAL)]

Recived my email saying that cheque has arrived .

I like the idea that the convention hotel price runs from the Wednesday to the Monday.

i'm thinking off booking that whole week off as A/L. We dont request leave until the middle/end of march but i have few concerns getting it because November is not a popular month for leave requests.

I'm tempted to book the hotel for the Thursday night to the Sunday. i'd like to see WARHORSE in the New London Theatre...

[shinaynay]

I like the idea that the convention hotel price runs from the Wednesday to the Monday.

Sorry if this seems like a dumb question, but: Does this mean the code would still be available to use for Monday night also? I was planning to fly back home on Tuesday, but I may have to reconsider that if I'd have to pay regular price for the room on Monday night. I just want to make sure before I decide on the official plan.

[rderoch]

all the atms here have limits. i had a real problem using atms in the uk. you guys have an extra security chip on the front of your cards that are not on our cards. i couldn't get any money from atms. i tried 4 different credit cards-none worked. the Ren was kind enough to give me a cash advance with my card. then i found a barclays bank when i went to dover and got some cash there. they are affiliated with my bank. but i ran out of cash again in ireland because none of the taxis accept credit pymt. i was finally able to get a bank to give me some cash from one of my cards. i practically begged them and they took pity on me. i don't like to carry large amounts of cash, but i'm not sure what else i can do. hopefully there will be a barclays bank near the Ren. or maybe a barclays atm at the airport. guess i'll have to contact them and find out.

I didn't have any trouble with the atm's when I was there, but that was for AT3. Is the second chip something new?

well, i knew there would be fees and that i'd end up paying an exchange rate higher than what all the rate conversion charts show, but that's the only way to make payment. but a little bank bashing helps take the edge off the anger at the banks ways. the only way to avoid it is to mail the amount owed in a box and have it insured for 3 times the amount and hope it will either be lost or stolen before it's delivered and then i can easily afford the bank fees. or i could send someone on that side of the puddle the money thru paypal and have them write a check for me, but i don't want anyone else to have to be responsible for that. but i'm happy with just a little bank bashing. ok, time to move on.

Bank bashing is good for the soul. I think they deserve all the anger they receive.

Why isn't paypal a payment option? It seems the fees would probably be less than all the transfer fees everyone is talking about.