In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
You should at least speak to [url=http://www.HIFX.com]HiFX Inc : Foreign currency exchange specialists[/url]. They are consitantly good performers on rates; they don't charge any other fees, & they guarantee to refund any fees which the Italian receiving bank may charge. This last one can be a godsend if you are sending funds to a new account, or to other people's accounts at other banks.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Hello,i recommend Tonya Lark at Worldwide Currencies.Really helpful and efficient and always returned my calls promptly-the rate was good too!
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I reccommend [url=http://www.smartcurrencyexchange.com]Smart Currency Exchange: The Overseas Property FX Specialist in Money Exchange[/url]
They all seem to have the same sort of rates, but smart currency will also do exchanges for sums as little as £3k.
Instead of getting poor rates and charges at the cashpoint I get lumps of cash. The amount we save on these general transfers equals quite a few meals out over the months.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=nigelaxis;82469]I reccommend [url=http://www.smartcurrencyexchange.com]Smart Currency Exchange: The Overseas Property FX Specialist in Money Exchange[/url]
They all seem to have the same sort of rates, but smart currency will also do exchanges for sums as little as £3k.
Instead of getting poor rates and charges at the cashpoint I get lumps of cash. The amount we save on these general transfers equals quite a few meals out over the months.[/quote]
I second that. I found them to be very compeditive & once you are set up you can do everything over the phone or by email with your account person.
Pip pip
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
We've always dealt through HIFX and been perfectly satisfied with their rates and their service, but their minimum transfer is £5k I believe. Now that we've done the majority of work on our house we'll be unlikely to need to send over such a large amount in one lump sum again. If Smart Currency Exchange will transfer a minimum of £3k, then it may be useful to us, so thanks.
The only other way we've transferred small amounts is to order money online with Travelex and then simply put the cash into our Italian bank when we arrive. Travelex will do a no commission rate online but they have a maximum and I think it's £2k or thereabouts. Actually maybe less now that I think about it. It's been a while.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
We'd like to know how much Margaret transfered as that is an exceptionally good rate of exchange. The amount matters..........
We usually transfer £5,000 at a time and currently use HIFX. We signed up for their service where they send us emails with the days rate. May be worth registering with two companies and asking each one the rate, the time you need to transfer money. HIFX and Worldwide seem to be reliable and efficient.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Hifx will handle amounts less than £5K (though possibly at slightly reduced rate) - ask them for a quote. Also, [url=http://www.xe.com/fx]XEtrade - Overview[/url] operates fully automated (24x7) and has no (or negligibly low) minimum. Its rates are not quite so keen as HIFX and it has small fees per trade ... but for convenience & smaller amounts it is a good option.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=Noble;82497]We'd like to know how much Margaret transfered as that is an exceptionally good rate of exchange. The amount matters..........
We usually transfer £5,000 at a time and currently use HIFX. We signed up for their service where they send us emails with the days rate. May be worth registering with two companies and asking each one the rate, the time you need to transfer money. HIFX and Worldwide seem to be reliable and efficient.[/quote]
I transferred £5000, but as I say, when we bought the house we transferred much, much more than that, and intend to transfer much more again in the next couple of months, so I guess we got a special deal.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I used [url=http://www.travelex.co.uk/uk/]Travelex United Kingdom - Travel Money Online - Foreign Exchange[/url] to pay my painters. They don't charge. You can order your money online and collect it at an airport here or in Italy. However it's adviseable that you are collected at the airport for obvious reasons. I think it works out better financially to collect at an Italian airport.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
lisa - assuming we're talking large amounts over the 3 transfers in 4 months, you should also think about booking a price soonish for the whole amount. Most FX brokers will let you do this type of advance trade, and if the rates were to slide in the interim you'd be protected (of course, if the rates went the other way you'd lose out, so its up to you!). If for example, sterling were to rally next week to say 1.4, you could book all your trades at something approaching that rate and stop worrying about it dropping again to 1.3 or whatever. A bit like gettign a fixed price deal on your mortgage.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Thanks everyone,
After trawling around the internet and submitting countless enquiry forms, I think that I may be using either Moneycorp or HIFX, as I'm transferring in excess of £5000 the rate is between 1.3421 and 1.34. I will however now begin the search for the best forward purchase rate for the future instalments. Crown Currency appear to offer really excellent forward purchase rate for small values,a particularly good offer at the moment is for the advance purchase of euros for the summer months. I will keep looking however and let you know if I manage to secure any interesting rates for my future transactions.
Many thanks
Lisa
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Thanks Margaret you did exceptionally well. Thankfully our days of transfering huge amounts are over!!!
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Lisa, the rate of exchange you got is practically the same my bank gave me to buy some pounds in cash for my next trip to London.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
you mean an Italian bank offered you around €1.34/£ in the last couple of days for a cash sum of less than say €1000? What was the bank?
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Sorry, it did not happen in Italy, but in Spain... although I do not think that there should be any difference. The amount was 500 pounds.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I have registered with a few FX dealers. When I need to transfer money I ring them all to see who will give me the best rate. It is amazing how much they differ and if you are transferring large sum you can save a lot of money.
The last two transfers I have done I have used Moneycorp who gave me around half cent more to the pound than HIFX who quoted me the next best price. I have also found their service to be excellent and there are no charges at all.
[quote=Lisa C;82447]Hi
I was wondering if anybody had transferred any Euros overseas recently, as everyone is aware the stg/euro exchange rate is absolutely pants at the moment and I'm looking to transfer some funds in 3 stages over the next 4 months to fund the renovation works on my house in Sardinia. My question is................. who has the best exchange rates at the moment and who is offering the best deal on transfer fees? Has anyone had any particularly good/bad experiences with any particular broker?
Any information and advice gratefully received
cheers
Lisa[/quote]
I have always found Richard Bass at WorldWide Currencies very helpful. I arranged a transfer yesterday at 1.33 Euros to the pound. Obviously the more you are going to send the better rate you will get, but I thought that was pretty good.
He did handle the large sum for our original house purchase, so maybe that helps:yes: