I have just been to France/Belgium/Holland/Germany by car and have the following up to date comments and info.
1. Check in for the Tunnel at Folkestone was a doddle, 2 minutes.
2. Security outbound was a 100% check of all vehicles for explosive residues. Steering wheel and door handles checked, took about 5 minutes.
3. Cheapest diesel in all 4 countries was Belgium @ 83 cents a litre; the rest were nearer 1 euro.
Note that, on a Sunday and public holidays, almost all garages off the autoroutes sell fuel from unmanned forecourts which accept bank notes and may, or may not, accept UK issued debit and credit cards.
4. No evidence of the dreaded French police checking beam deflectors, reflective jackets etc.
5. The Antwerp ring road Eastbound seems to be a fulltime traffic jam, 45 minutes for 4 miles at tea time on a Thursday;Westbound OK.
6. Major hassle trying to draw my own cash out of ATMs with a UK bank card. Rejected by 4 German banks including one at an international airport and by 3 in Holland. This leaves one short of cash and wodering if it will work as a debit car when paying a bill at a shop or restaurant.
7. Excellent service from a well known UK supermarket in Calais. Ordered a shed load of drink on line; got a phone call fom them telling me about 2 items they couldn't supply and when I got to their shop my order was packed in a trolley, ready to be paid for (with a card that did work!) and put in the car.
8. Getting thru the UK 'Border' at Calais was a typical shambles, just like the average UK airport. 3 queues, each with 25+ cars in them, and slow intrusive questioning about purpose of visit to UK, pace of birth etc. Missed my booked train due to this.
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Blimey. Point 6 is a bit alarming. Has this only started happening recently? Is is because of the UK's banking problems? Never had a problem with UK issued bank cards, apart from Hypermarket petrol stations in France which have refused them.
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For point 6, I wonder if this is because the bank didn't know you were out of the country? I know online banking for me has an option to state when you're out of the country. Could this be a crackdown on fraud?
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Yes rtj. Last time I was abroad I misinformed the bank on the exact dates I was going to be in two places, with the result that my card was refused at awkward moments. On my return got a stern message from the bank's fraud department asking me to make contact. It was perfectly polite when I explained though.
On one occasion in Australia someone behind a counter asked anxiously if my card was from some other bank whose name I forget, as that card was being refused. Mine was Barclay's so that was all right.
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Re point 6, german banks are particularly insular. It's not uncommon for shops & restaurants to ONLY accept german-issued Maestro debit cards. Same principle in Austria wit austrian cards - in fact, the Spar in the town where we have a flat had big signs up last year proudly proclaiming that they now take Visa credit cards. We have an Austrian Maestro debit card & the restaurant I'm thinking of in Germany wouldn't take that either, so it's not an anti-brit thing! I've never had a problem in either country's ATMs with a UK-issued Visa debit card.
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I used my UK Maestro card in transaction payments in Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy and France last year and had no problems at all, but I did call the bank beforehand and confirm I was going to travel. I suspect the problem the OP had was caused by the anti fraud measures imposed by the issuing bank.
I remember getting off a plane in Brussels last year and discovering that the Maestro cards in my wallet weren't actually recognised in Belgium at all, at the time. I think this was corrected in the latter part of 2008. Thankfully, my employer gave me permission to draw cash on my company credit card to get me out of trouble. Otherwise I would have had it!
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Re my point 6 - the owner of the B&B where I stayed said that some criminal gang had recently emptied every cashpoint in the region by some faudulent means. As I am not naming and shaming I can say that my Nationwide card was rejected by Sparkasse, Volksbank and the German Postbank and a machine at an international airport but was accepted by Deutsche Bank and was rejected in Holland by the Post Office, RadoBank and HypoBank (?). I went to talk to Nationwide this morning and they agreed, as did the helpline that I rang from Germany, that my card was in credit and not blocked. My similar card (Visa Debit) isued by A&L was accepted and gave me cash for a 2.75% fee, the avoidance of which is/was the whole point of having a Nationwide card! I have never had problems before with the Nationwide cash card anywhere in Europe, including specifically Germany where I normally fly in and draw cash at the airport.
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 16/03/2009 at 14:28
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>1. Check in
Always is
>2. Security outbound was a 100% check
thats new didnt have that at the end of last year.
>4. No evidence of the dreaded French police
Never seen that
>5. The Antwerp ring road Eastbound seems to be a fulltime traffic jam,
It was ever thus, there are cars stuck in that jam since 2004. Did they ever finish the road works?
>6. Major hassle trying to draw my own cash out of ATMs with a UK bank card.
Had no hastle in france, switzerland and italy recently
>8. Getting thru the UK 'Border' at Calais was a typical shambles,
Again new - it was easy at the backend of last year
given 2 & 8 i wonder if we have a high alert in force?
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Quite amazing really seeing that we can then travel through all other road borders as far as Hungary without stopping.
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Hungary doesent have 30000 assylum seekers camped on its doorstep trying to get in, or people trying to smuggle in semtex with the fois gras.
Edited by rtj70 on 16/03/2009 at 15:10
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... or a large population of people willing to express ill-considered opinions (and sometimes travel abroad to put them into practice)...
Edited by rtj70 on 16/03/2009 at 15:10
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Point 8 "purpose of visit to the UK" (which I have been asked a few times) is one that silently, inwardly infuriates me. I remember feeling so-o-o-o-o tempted to tell the Customs Jobsworth it's none of his pigging business, I'm a British citizen travelling to the UK in early August, WE'RE ALL IN TEH EU NOW, AREN?T WE, OR DID I MISS SOMETHING? They already know full well I've been out of the country for x weeks and months, I mean it's not exactly a starter for 10 on Mastermind, is it?
Even though ever so slightly wary of the beep, wrong answer, no you can't call a friend, off to teh little swuare room and on with the Marigold glove treatment, I manage to replicate the laconic answer of Edward Fox as the Jackal (Day Of...) "TOURISM" quite convincingly.
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Not had any problems with ATMs in Germany over past couple of years and never told them I was going abroad!
Re 8, never had any problems either... wonder if its when you come back that causes it... I always try for late morning early afternoon on a Sunday!
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