World Cup
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I spend about 3 months of the year in South Africa with my girlfriend in Durban. I have never had trouble before but last time (April 2010) I had over 1,000 pounds disappear from my UK debit and credit card in cash withdrawals. I usually use ABSA ATMs as they are owned by Barclays and have a ZAR3,000 limit (GBP270). My South African girlfriend has just had R3,000 disappear from her Nedbank account while I have been away.
I would recommend that when making withdrawals using your UK cards that you use the ATMs inside the banks where cameras can provide proof of your transactions and keep checking your balances for any unauthorised transactions. Don't want to be a scaremonger as I love South Africa but incidents like this can ruin what should be an experience of a lifetime.
I would recommend that when making withdrawals using your UK cards that you use the ATMs inside the banks where cameras can provide proof of your transactions and keep checking your balances for any unauthorised transactions. Don't want to be a scaremonger as I love South Africa but incidents like this can ruin what should be an experience of a lifetime.
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I had a similar experience in Cape Town recently...
I also go to SA alot and wouldn't want to put anyone off visiting, so here is what I'd suggest:-
The way this happens is that a waiter (or similar) clones your card whilst making a transaction, and then the gangs try to withdraw cash on it. In my case they didn't get the PIN right so no cash was taken. What you need to do is a) use a debit card for cash withdrawals ONLY, and b) make sure beofre you arrive that your credit card (or whatever card you plan to use for hotels, restaurants etc) is disabled for cash withdrawals. Any bank should do this happily.
I also go to SA alot and wouldn't want to put anyone off visiting, so here is what I'd suggest:-
The way this happens is that a waiter (or similar) clones your card whilst making a transaction, and then the gangs try to withdraw cash on it. In my case they didn't get the PIN right so no cash was taken. What you need to do is a) use a debit card for cash withdrawals ONLY, and b) make sure beofre you arrive that your credit card (or whatever card you plan to use for hotels, restaurants etc) is disabled for cash withdrawals. Any bank should do this happily.
Summat else to watch out for if your going :
Consumer Focus has warned that thousands of England fans travelling to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa face huge bills for their mobile phone use.
The watchdog said fans could face especially high charges for uploading photos or videos to social networking sites, with some networks charging as much as £8 per MB for using mobile internet.
It names Orange and Tesco as being among the worst offenders. Both would charge customers up to £80 to upload 10 1MB photos, with T-mobile not far behind with a charge of £75.
The most expensive call charges are levied by Virgin Mobile pre-pay, at £1.70 per minute, followed by T-mobile on £1.50 a minute and Orange on £1.45 per minute. Tesco has announced a special World Cup deal where its International Calling Card customers can, after each match, phone a landline in the winning team’s country for free during the 30 minutes after the match.
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Nick Hutton, of Consumer Focus, said: “England fans need to be on the ball to make sure they don’t get caught out by hundreds of pounds of hidden mobile phone costs at the World Cup. We want to see mobile phone firms play fair by customers travelling abroad and cut these extremely high fees.”
Consumer Focus’ five tips for England fans are:
Check your rates before you go, as these will be much higher in South Africa than in the UK.
Remember that while abroad you won’t normally be able to use your inclusive minutes, texts and data allowance (Vodafone’s passport service is an exception) and you will pay to receive as well as make calls.
Photos and videos will be expensive to upload on mobiles so consider an alternative such as uploading using a computer at an internet cafe.
Consider obtaining a local SIM card for use in South Africa if you plan to make a lot of calls within the country.
If your phone is lost or stolen while abroad report it to your mobile company as soon as possible as you will be liable for any calls made until you do so.
Consumer Focus has warned that thousands of England fans travelling to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa face huge bills for their mobile phone use.
The watchdog said fans could face especially high charges for uploading photos or videos to social networking sites, with some networks charging as much as £8 per MB for using mobile internet.
It names Orange and Tesco as being among the worst offenders. Both would charge customers up to £80 to upload 10 1MB photos, with T-mobile not far behind with a charge of £75.
The most expensive call charges are levied by Virgin Mobile pre-pay, at £1.70 per minute, followed by T-mobile on £1.50 a minute and Orange on £1.45 per minute. Tesco has announced a special World Cup deal where its International Calling Card customers can, after each match, phone a landline in the winning team’s country for free during the 30 minutes after the match.
Related Links
Soldiers charged for mobiles they can’t use
Orange deal with BT fuels broadband battle
Nick Hutton, of Consumer Focus, said: “England fans need to be on the ball to make sure they don’t get caught out by hundreds of pounds of hidden mobile phone costs at the World Cup. We want to see mobile phone firms play fair by customers travelling abroad and cut these extremely high fees.”
Consumer Focus’ five tips for England fans are:
Check your rates before you go, as these will be much higher in South Africa than in the UK.
Remember that while abroad you won’t normally be able to use your inclusive minutes, texts and data allowance (Vodafone’s passport service is an exception) and you will pay to receive as well as make calls.
Photos and videos will be expensive to upload on mobiles so consider an alternative such as uploading using a computer at an internet cafe.
Consider obtaining a local SIM card for use in South Africa if you plan to make a lot of calls within the country.
If your phone is lost or stolen while abroad report it to your mobile company as soon as possible as you will be liable for any calls made until you do so.
Because of a lot of fake R200 notes most places do not take them. When changing your money DO NOT TAKE R200 NOTES
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