Conference 7.286::dcu

    It is quite possible ...
    
    Best to call DCU and see if they can set it up so that the "chequing"
    access actually points to his savings account ... they should be able
    to do that ... after all these are on;y "names" on accounts.
    
    Stuart

        Now that it's Monday, I was able to speak to a live person at
        the DCU telephone support line. (When DCU asks you to compare
        them to a bank, remind them that real banks like BayBank have
        7x24 live telephone coverage.)

        On the other hand, I'd guess that this is one of the real
        benefits of the DCU -- this Monday is a holiday for most
        banks but not for DCU which keeps Digital's holiday schedule.
        :-}

        The DCU representative's only reassurance was "I know it's
        been done" (accessing a savings-only account from a Cirrus
        ATM in England).  (She also suggested I call the 800-4-CIRRUS
        number -- both she and BayBank representative I spoke to over
        the weekend say that they have no other number for Cirrus. 
        Unfortunately the 800-4-CIRRUS number is an automated
        response line only, not for asking general questions of a
        live person.)

        I asked her if a checking account could be added to this
        account.  She said that that would require ordering a new
        card!

        Bob

        P.S. I even tried calling two Cirrus-affiliated banks in the
        UK (this was on a Saturday):  Lloyds and Midlands.  (The ATM
        my son tried using was Lloyds.)  The security staff of Lloyds
        HQ listened to me sympathetically, but had no banking
        knowledge.  The phone at Midlands was answered by someone
        with banking knowledge, but whose only suggestion was to talk
        to branch staff when the bank opens on Monday.

Can anybody suggest any other way to send money to a visitor (no local
bank account) in London?

(DCU can send it to a Western Union office for $17 -- but they were 
completely uncertain whether there were additional fees extracted at the
other end.  Also, I don't know how close the nearest Western Union office 
might be to my son's hotel.)

Does Amex have traveler's checks machines in London?  Do they take
Cirrus network cards?

Bob

    
    RE: .3
    
    Bob, not sure if this is doable but who knows?
    
    Does the person in London have a VISA or Mastercard?  If so they could
    take out a cash advance.  Then back on the home front, you could
    immediately send out a check to the credit card issuer and pay off the
    advance so that you don't get whacked with high interest charges.  Just
    an idea.  If they don't have cash advance capabilities, maybe you could
    arrange some through the credit card issuer after explaining the situation.
    
    The Western Union solution sounds like the cleanest and quickest one.
    

You could try calling Western Union yourself, 800-225-5227 (800-CALL-CASH).

    I would think you'd be able to do something through an American Express
    office as well.  If your AmEx card is set up to do cash advances
    through ATM's that would probably work.  If not, you can get cash
    advances at the AmEx offices.

Bob,

Methinks you'd get a better response from the noters in NOTED::ON_THE_ROAD
business travel conference, or one of the UK notes conferences re things
in Britain, since the DCU field of membership does not normally extend to
the UK.

On the other hand, you could ask DCU if they can wire money to a selected
UK bank ... or try calling Amex ... sometimes they can get money to you in
strange places.

Stuart

    Check out the following conference. It looks like the sort of place
    your answer may be found.
    
Foreign Exchange		ERLANG::FOREIGN_EXCHANGE		    1155
    
    			Alfred

    
    Gee Stuart, I didn't think London was all that strange... 8-)
    

re Note 758.4 by ASE003::GRANSEWICZ:

>     The Western Union solution sounds like the cleanest and quickest one.
  
        Sounded cleanest to me, too.   So I decided to do it.  Called
        my son's hotel and they said there was a Western Union branch
        two minutes' walk away.

        However, after chatting on the phone with DCU HQ, our local
        branch manager discovered that DCU wasn't "set up" to do
        international transfers via Western Union!!!

        They suggested going to the "Mail Box" store down the street!

        Back to square one.

        Bob

    
    Did you try the 800 number in .5?
    

re Note 758.11 by ASE003::GRANSEWICZ:

>     Did you try the 800 number in .5?
  
        Yes, I did, actually, which confirmed that Mail Boxes Etc. on
        the little part of Powdermill Rd. in Acton is indeed the
        local Western Union agent.  If I was willing to put it on my
        Visa card, I could have wired the money over the phone.  
        Instead I got the cash from the DCU ATM, brought it to Mail
        Boxes Etc., paid nearly 10% for the service, and sent it off
        that evening.

        I'm still a little miffed that all day long the staff at the
        MSO2 DCU branch led me to believe that they could handle the
        Western Union transfer for $17 but, after all, they're not a
        real bank.

        Bob

re Note 758.12 by LGP30::FLEISCHER:

>                        -< Western Union got my business >-
...
>         Yes, I did, actually, which confirmed that Mail Boxes Etc. on
>         the little part of Powdermill Rd. in Acton is indeed the
>         local Western Union agent.  

        AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!

        The saga, the inconvenience, and the expense (for
        international phone calls among other things) continue!

        This time it wasn't DCU's fault.  At Mail Boxes Etc. one
        fills out a Western Union form which is then READ OVER THE
        PHONE to a Western Union operator.  As you might guess, there
        was an error in hearing or writing down at the other end and
        my son's name was misspelled.

        He wasted a good deal of time today at a Western Union office
        in London trying in vain to get the money.  He called home. 
        I called Western Union where the problem was immediately
        apparent (since I had the tracking number, which I'm sure I
        should have given my son, but I didn't).

        Bob