Complaint Review: American Express

On August 23, 2005 at approximately 12:30 p.m., I went to this travel services office to exchange United States dollars for Mexican Pesos. Their posted rate was a fraction lower than that posted on most internet currency exchanges.

I was told by a bank teller that this office could exchange the monies in one day and with no fee if you were a cardholder. They did exchange the money in one day but there is a five dollar service fee. I am an American Express cardholder. However, I did not mind this as Bank America had a larger fee and Pesos had to be ordered. My problem came when I exchanged ninety six U.S. dollars and seventy one U.S. cents for Mexican Pesos at the exchange rate of 0.101800548. I received nine hundred and fifty Mexican Pesos. When I questioned this, the person in the office redid the figures and said that this was correct. That the way I was figuring the rate by multiplication was incorrect.

I returned home and on the next day, (Aug. 24, 2005) I entered three internet currency exchange sites and recalculated the exchange. Each time, changing dollars to Mexican pesos, the result was the same. It was over one thousand pesos per $96.71.

I telephoned the American Express Travel Office in Plano and asked the person, again, about the rate. She insisted that one divides the amount of U. S. dollars by the exchange rate to get the number of Pesos. I always thought the formula for such an exchange was: pesos/dollars X dollars/l = Pesos

I could have waited until I was in Guadalajara and gotten the proper rate through my ATM card. I just felt safer with some Pesos in my wallet.

How can they use this process?

Eleanor
Plano, Texas
U.S.A.