Can I get redress for Thomas Cook's low rates?

Q On September 19 I bought some Danish kroner for a trip to Denmark, at a rate of 10.15 kroner to the pound. I bought the currency at a Thomas Cook window in an HSBC bank branch, and paid ?3 commission.

On 29 September I exchanged 12,900 kroner at a Thomas Cook shop. A sign at the counter advertised "no commission" on transfers of currency if the cash had been bought from Thomas Cook in the first place and I checked that this would apply even if the transactions were at different outlets.

The rate of exchange I received was 11.7 kroner to the pound, making them worth 8.5p each. This means I received at least ?100 less than I might have expected, based on the original rate.

I checked the Financial Times weekly index of exchange rates for the last two months, and found the variations in rates to be between 10.55 and 10.77. So although Thomas Cook advertises a no commission service, in effect it is making a sizeable profit by using such a low rate.

When I complained I was told that their head office sets the rate, and that the FT index rate was meaningless. I was also told that Thomas Cook sets different rates for outlets in shops and in banks - a fact confirmed by HSBC counter staff, who told me I would have received 11.5 kroner to the pound at their branch.

Is there anything I can do about this?

MH

A In a word, no. All currency exchanges charge different rates when buying and selling cash and travellers' cheques, and the margin between the two is the bank or bureau de change's profit.

The FT index lists money market rates, which are the rates financial organisations get when they trade currencies on a large scale.

You will not get these rates from a bank or bureau because they do not trade in the same volumes when dealing with individual customers, therefore they either offer lower rates or charge commission to ensure they profit from each transaction. Often they do both. And there is no law to prevent them from charging whatever they like.

If currency exchange is a regular thing for you, you might be better off using a service which does not charge commission, such as the Post Office, Travelex and Marks & Spencer. However they will not necessarily offer the best deal so it is down to you to research individual outlets' rates before you buy.