Be Aware of Payments to P&O

[kalos]

1 hour ago, BrianI said:

Much simpler to use your card on board and pay the exact amount owing.

 

Sounds like a plan to me Brian , but cards can be confusing at time's .

When I was at the checkout in Tesco the cashier said, "strip down, facing me"

How was I to know she meant my debit card? 

 

Hope your Mrs is having a wonderful birthday 

[Josy1953]

3 hours ago, Cpt Pugwash said:

From Cash Machines in the ports you stop at or if you want at the start put a lot more Cash in your Account than you expect to spend onboard.

 

Do the cruise lines take different currencies, I always assumed that they took the currency that is used on board e.g. Princess taking dollars and P&O taking sterling.  In my experience most cash machines only give local currency so do you not end up with lots of different currencies left over at the end of your holiday that you then have to swap back.

I always use my card to make purchases because the bank exchange rate is usually better than getting currencies.

Edited August 9, 2022 by Josy1953

[BrianI]

1 hour ago, Josy1953 said:

Do the cruise lines take different currencies,

Yes they do. P&O will take and issue Euros, Norwegian krone and of course sterling albeit the exchange rate is not very good except for sterling where there is no charge.

 

In Norway it seems that everywhere accepts cards so this is the way to go. No problem then with unused foreign currency.

Brian

[Fionboard]

10 hours ago, BrianI said:

Yes they do. P&O will take and issue Euros, Norwegian krone and of course sterling albeit the exchange rate is not very good except for sterling where there is no charge.

 

In Norway it seems that everywhere accepts cards so this is the way to go. No problem then with unused foreign currency.

Brian

Sweden and Denmark only want cards too, no need to take currency.

[Megabear2]

2 hours ago, Fionboard said:

Sweden and Denmark only want cards too, no need to take currency.

These countries have been card payments for years.  The costs are so high even a round of drinks after work necessitated a credit card because of the amount of cash you'd have to carry for a night out!

 

[Fionboard]

7 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

These countries have been card payments for years.  The costs are so high even a round of drinks after work necessitated a credit card because of the amount of cash you'd have to carry for a night out!

 

Yes, and you are now advised  in the Horizon that Sweden is a cashless country so pay with a card, even for small items.

[FangedRose]

1 hour ago, Fionboard said:

Yes, and you are now advised  in the Horizon that Sweden is a cashless country so pay with a card, even for small items.

To all intents and purposes so is the UK. I cannot remember the last time I paid for anything with cash. I don't carry any. Any shop that has a lower limit for card payments simply does not get my business.

Edited August 10, 2022 by FangedRose

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, FangedRose said:

To all intents and purposes so is the UK. I cannot remember the last time I paid for anything with cash. I don't carry any. Any shop that has a lower limit for card payments simply does not get my business.

Figures last week showed a big increase in the demand for cash as people are using it to budget.  A quote from Asda that people ask the till operator to stop when they reach £30.  

 

Doubtful the UK will ever do away with cash, there's too many who rely on it.

[Cpt Pugwash]

I'm just trying to get used to using cash now not because of the cost of living but because we all had to use Cards Only in a lot of places during the Pandemic and got out the habit of using cash. Now when i'm going to pay with Cash in a shop i ask them if i can pay with what i call Monopoly Money. 🤪

[kalos]

I just carry a £20 note just incase I end up at a place where their card reader has 

gone down on them, which has happened before to me .

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, kalos said:

I just carry a £20 note just incase I end up at a place where their card reader has 

gone down on them, which has happened before to me .

Snap.

[oceanlad]

Sorry to bump an old topic but very frustrated with P&O on this, couldn't see a more current one and wanted to correct a few people just blaming the banking system.

 

When a card payment is authorised, your bank will usually withhold funds from your available balance for 7 days, but increasingly popular mobile based banking apps such as Chase will withhold for upto 30 days. If the payment is released back onto your balance as the merchant did not collect it, the merchant *can still* collect that payment for up to 6 months from the original authorisation date.

 

Some have drawn comparisons to making a deposit on a hotel room. This isnt the same thing. When you pay this, you know what you're paying upfront and that it is a pre-authorisation incase of damages, it is not a duplicate of the booking itself. The price per night of the room itself will usually be higher than the authorisation.

 

What P&O is doing is charging people twice, in full, for all purchases made onboard. Yes, they may not ultimately collect the second authorisation, but making somebody wait up to 30 days to access their own funds is not acceptable, particularly in this financial climate.

 

There is nothing that would stop P&O simply collecting the initial authorisation on the day it is made or shortly thereafter, so their insistence on charging twice, in full, without clear communication prior to boarding is incredibly frustrating.

 

Another annoying factor is that P&O will ask you to contact your bank to cancel the authorisation. As somebody who works in the industry I can assure you that no bank will cancel an authorisation solely on a customer's request as they would have no assurance that, for instance, an item wasn't purchased twice and the customer wasn't trying to pull a fast one. So P&O are directing customers down a blind avenue to other organisations on a no hope quest to sort problems of their own making.

 

Incredibly poor and frustrating from P&O. While we won't struggle, we now have to wait 3+ weeks for £600.00+ spent onboard and would have spent differently otherwise, whereas others could really be financially reliant on the withheld payments.

 

Suggestions that people should take credit out just to accommodate a cruise line are nonsense - the cruise line should get their act together. 

 

 

Edited April 9 by oceanlad

[FangedRose]

27 minutes ago, oceanlad said:

Sorry to bump an old topic but very frustrated with P&O on this, couldn't see a more current one and wanted to correct a few people just blaming the banking system.

 

When a card payment is authorised, your bank will usually withhold funds from your available balance for 7 days, but increasingly popular mobile based banking apps such as Chase will withhold for upto 30 days. If the payment is released back onto your balance as the merchant did not collect it, the merchant *can still* collect that payment for up to 6 months from the original authorisation date.

 

Some have drawn comparisons to making a deposit on a hotel room. This isnt the same thing. When you pay this, you know what you're paying upfront and that it is a pre-authorisation incase of damages, it is not a duplicate of the booking itself. The price per night of the room itself will usually be higher than the authorisation.

 

What P&O is doing is charging people twice, in full, for all purchases made onboard. Yes, they may not ultimately collect the second authorisation, but making somebody wait up to 30 days to access their own funds is not acceptable, particularly in this financial climate.

 

There is nothing that would stop P&O simply collecting the initial authorisation on the day it is made or shortly thereafter, so their insistence on charging twice, in full, without clear communication prior to boarding is incredibly frustrating.

 

Another annoying factor is that P&O will ask you to contact your bank to cancel the authorisation. As somebody who works in the industry I can assure you that no bank will cancel an authorisation solely on a customer's request as they would have no assurance that, for instance, an item wasn't purchased twice and the customer wasn't trying to pull a fast one. So P&O are directing customers down a blind avenue to other organisations on a no hope quest to sort problems of their own making.

 

Incredibly poor and frustrating from P&O. While we won't struggle, we now have to wait 3+ weeks for £600.00+ spent onboard and would have spent differently otherwise, whereas others could really be financially reliant on the withheld payments.

 

Suggestions that people should take credit out just to accommodate a cruise line are nonsense - the cruise line should get their act together. 

 

 

1. Use a credit card

2. It's the bank not P&O

3. This is well known and comes third in topics after dining and dress code.

[yorkshirephil]

10 minutes ago, FangedRose said:

1. Use a credit card

2. It's the bank not P&O

3. This is well known and comes third in topics after dining and dress code.

I always use a credit card as this avoids any issues for me.

I think it is the merchant that places the hold and is their responsibility to clear it when they have received funds and not the bank's responsibility. @molecrochip posted about this previously.

[Megabear2]

6 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

I always use a credit card as this avoids any issues for me.

I think it is the merchant that places the hold and is their responsibility to clear it when they have received funds and not the bank's responsibility. @molecrochip posted about this previously.

Same procedure on the credit card, it's just a lot don't realise it's the case unless they are very near their credit limit or have a small one.  I had a massive argument with Cunard when my mother paid cash to clear her onboard account and they did not release her funds for 30 days, particularly as she then got charged foreign transaction fees.

 

It is the merchant who has to clear it as you say but the fact is like a lot of things the cruise line wants to do everything for their convenience.  

Edited April 9 by Megabear2

[oceanlad]

19 minutes ago, FangedRose said:

1. Use a credit card

2. It's the bank not P&O

3. This is well known and comes third in topics after dining and dress code.

 

1. As stated, needing to use a credit facility, with potential credit file implications, just to appease P&O is nonsense. The system would also work identically on a credit card anyhow.

2. It is entirely P&O / cruise providers, as demonstrated. No other industry does this. You would expect pre-authorisation for potential damages in hotels or vehicle hires. This is not the same as being charged for an item twice.

You would not expect a restaurant to charge you authorisation for a bottle of wine on the night that you dine there, and then charge you the payment again a week later. It wouldn't happen in a supermarket, or a shop. If you receive goods / service and upfront, it should be one transaction. P&O chooses to make two full payment authorisations for each transaction made on board, which is completely unnecessary as they have 6 months in which to redeem the first one. 100% this will be done purely to appease some quirk in their accounting system.

3. It may be a common topic but as there is a lot of incorrect information being spouted about how card payments work I felt the need to correct it, and this was the most recent post I found.

[kalos]

11 minutes ago, oceanlad said:

No other industry does this. You would expect pre-authorisation for potential damages in hotels or vehicle hires.

 

I thought cruise ships were floating hotels ? They have hotel directors/managers.

So going on your expectations 🤔  

[carlanthony24]

Don't fuel stations even set a pre-authorisation of up to £100 now which incidentally some can fall off immediately or even after a few days. Also to oceanlad It's not just P&O other lines do the same. RCL say some can take 5-7 days with other cards up to 45 days and also say they do not have control and blame the bank.

Edited April 9 by carlanthony24

[Megabear2]

14 minutes ago, carlanthony24 said:

Don't fuel stations even set a pre-authorisation of up to £100 now which incidentally some can fall off immediately or even after a few days. Also to oceanlad It's not just P&O other lines do the same. RCL say some can take 5-7 days with other cards up to 45 days and also say they do not have control and blame the bank.

The £100 is to cover the fuel cost because of drive offs.  Certainly Morrisons and Sainsbury's release it immediately, can't say about the others but it's the merchant releasing that money not the bank.

 

As you cannot leave the ship unless your account is at zero there's really no need for a preventative hold. I can say for certain if the cruise line doesn't want you off, you aren't going

 Never forget Princess improve for my aunts nill.

[molecrochip]

Certainly merchant responsibility i.e. cruise ship.

 

Holds clear after 7, 14, or 28 days depending upon banking company.

 

Some hotels and Petrol stations do the same.

[S1971]

As has already been pointed out you won't get off the ship until your account is zero, the annoying part is why the need to hold your money for so long before releasing it.

 

Two or three days perhaps just incase you have a late spend, but two weeks is totally unnecessary.

 

Doubt it'll change though.

[zap99]

5 hours ago, kalos said:

 

I thought cruise ships were floating hotels ? They have hotel directors/managers.

So going on your expectations 🤔  

In the 145 years we have been cruising we have never had any issue regarding this. Are we lucky,or what?. DW overcomes any issue be regeristing my credit card with P&O. Fair doos, I used her PayPal account for £4.99 today.

[Harryjacobs]

6 hours ago, zap99 said:

In the 145 years we have been cruising we have never had any issue regarding this. Are we lucky,or what?. DW overcomes any issue be regeristing my credit card with P&O. Fair doos, I used her PayPal account for £4.99 today.

145 years....blimey, I bet you are in a special loyalty tier for that!

[Josy1953]

Keeping a card that is only used for cruises means that any hold doesn't impact my normal non-cruise spending.

[kalos]

1 hour ago, Josy1953 said:

Keeping a card that is only used for cruises means that any hold doesn't impact my normal non-cruise spending.

 

Same here Josy and we even have a Fair FX card that we use for when we are 

off the ship or on other holidays abroad .