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UK Order - deposit charged in USD?
- Thread starter gjpgjp
- Start date
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
I contacted Amex service and was told that Tesla was indeed at fault as they definitely requested 1.000 USD to be charged.
Apparently, all charges made to any credit card worldwide (be it Amex, VISA, Mastercard, etc.) are first converted into USD before being fed into the system. So even if I pay 25 Euros at the local grocery store in Germany via a credit card, those 25 Euros are converted into USD before being charged to the card and then re-converted into Euro for the actual charge. Sounds complicated, but plausible. I am a banker myself and know of quite a lot of similar peculiarites. Though I as yet didn't know that particular one.
Anyway, I contacted Tesla and asked them to rectify the situation. Let's see how this works out.
Apparently, all charges made to any credit card worldwide (be it Amex, VISA, Mastercard, etc.) are first converted into USD before being fed into the system. So even if I pay 25 Euros at the local grocery store in Germany via a credit card, those 25 Euros are converted into USD before being charged to the card and then re-converted into Euro for the actual charge. Sounds complicated, but plausible. I am a banker myself and know of quite a lot of similar peculiarites. Though I as yet didn't know that particular one.
Anyway, I contacted Tesla and asked them to rectify the situation. Let's see how this works out.
Kira
Member
Just checking in to see if there's been any update on this? I used Amex to reserve online as well and it ended up charging $1332.19 CAD on the card. Tesla Vancouver sent a report on my behalf to the Reservations department last week but I haven't heard anything back yet.
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
Bad news. Tesla just called. They say there is nothing they can do, so I just have to live with it.
Extremely annoying, to say the least.
I am now waiting for the exchange rate to change in my favor and will then cancel my Model 3 reservation.
If Tesla is so customer-unfriendly even in such a case where clearly they are at fault (and which they should be able to easily rectify) I shudder to think how their customer service will be once I might have problems with my car.
That is the kind of behaviour I would have expected from the likes of Merc or Audi, not Tesla.
Extremely annoying, to say the least.
I am now waiting for the exchange rate to change in my favor and will then cancel my Model 3 reservation.
If Tesla is so customer-unfriendly even in such a case where clearly they are at fault (and which they should be able to easily rectify) I shudder to think how their customer service will be once I might have problems with my car.
That is the kind of behaviour I would have expected from the likes of Merc or Audi, not Tesla.
Kira
Member
Thanks for the update, I'm very sorry to hear the news. We still have heard nothing back from Tesla about this. It seems strange that the Reservation Fee table clearly indicates that amounts in people's own currency yet Tesla won't honour that. I'll have to follow up on the email we sent them.
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
But that's ok as long as they say that in advance.
Over here it clearly stated that we would be charged 1,000 Euro, even my reservation confirmation email says it, yet 1,000 USD were charged to my Amex card, plus 2 percent surcharge as well, for the unnecessary currency exchange.
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
Yes they are. Tesla already confirmed that to me. At first Tesla told me Amex was at fault, yet when I contacted Amex service they said that all credit card transactions worldwide are done in USD, the local currency is just converted before being fed into the system, then reconverted when actually being charged to the account. For online transactions using Amex cards, Tesla simply didn't think of converting the local amount into USD. Possibly because their online credit card charging system for Amex is configured in such a way that all numbers fed into it are treated as USD. Don't know.
nexsuperne101
Closed
I paid £1000 GBP (Sterling), as I went through the UK Tesla site. They can just knock it off the total amount, so I don't mind being a few quid out of pocket. Exchange rate at the moment is £1 to $1.42.
Candleflame
Active Member
Same here, reserved online for the UK market using Amex expecting £1000 but got charged £709.82 plus £19.52 for the non-sterling transaction fee, though I will have earned £7.10 cashback.
I guess the ~£300 less on my deposit that I get to keep for 2 years will make up for the fees/exchange rates ... that is as long as my reservation is 100% solid. Should I contact Tesla to confirm?
Should we get some sort of queue position at some point? Not had anything since my reservation confirmation.
I guess the ~£300 less on my deposit that I get to keep for 2 years will make up for the fees/exchange rates ... that is as long as my reservation is 100% solid. Should I contact Tesla to confirm?
Should we get some sort of queue position at some point? Not had anything since my reservation confirmation.
Kira
Member
Positive update from Canada. An email from Tesla <[email protected]> arrived this morning, explaining:
We appreciate your support and excitement for Model 3. Thank you for making a reservation.
It has come to our attention that some Canadian customers who placed their Model 3 reservation with an American Express card were overcharged due to an incorrect exchange rate and foreign transaction fee. We are reaching out today because you were effected by this mistake. To correct this error, you will be refunded $240 USD equivalent to $300 CAD from Tesla within the next 7 days*. The status of your Model 3 reservation will not be effected by this adjustment.
For any additional questions about your Model 3 reservation, please email us at [email protected]. Thank you for your understanding.
*Please note that it may take up to 30 days for your credit card company to complete processing on their end. If you have any concerns or questions about when you can expect to see these funds in your account, please contact your credit card company so they can confirm your refund status.
We appreciate your support and excitement for Model 3. Thank you for making a reservation.
It has come to our attention that some Canadian customers who placed their Model 3 reservation with an American Express card were overcharged due to an incorrect exchange rate and foreign transaction fee. We are reaching out today because you were effected by this mistake. To correct this error, you will be refunded $240 USD equivalent to $300 CAD from Tesla within the next 7 days*. The status of your Model 3 reservation will not be effected by this adjustment.
For any additional questions about your Model 3 reservation, please email us at [email protected]. Thank you for your understanding.
*Please note that it may take up to 30 days for your credit card company to complete processing on their end. If you have any concerns or questions about when you can expect to see these funds in your account, please contact your credit card company so they can confirm your refund status.
AustinPowers
Total Smeghead
But it is the other way around. We payed less for the deposit, so will have to pay more when the car comes out.
Possibly quite a bit more, if the exchange rate goes in the wrong direction in the meantime.
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