I transfered 0.01 BTC to my debit card.
BTC worth at the time of transaction:
22.81 EUREUR that was charged to card:
16.78 EURFee: >26%That was my first and last transaction wit unichange.
Update: I got more information:
BTC at time of tx: 22.81 EUR.
Transfer from unique deposit address to unichange's own wallet: 0.001 BTC tx fee
BTC transfered to unichange's wallet 0.009 BTC -> 20.57 EUR at time of tx.
3 EUR minimum exchange fee 20.57 EUR -3 EUR = 17.57 EUR
That's what I would call hidden fees.Update 2:
They change the page after I complained. Fortunately I still had it open in another tab:
For the deposit it said "min 3 EUR"
they changed it to "min fee 3 EUR" after I complained:
https://pasteboard.co/fhYpbwIlk.pngUpdate 3:
I got back my 3 EUR fee.
Update 4:
They admitted they changed the phrasing on their webpage:
According to information from our Support team we found that phrasing min 3 EUR causes misunderstanding of our customers. There was made a decision to update phrase min 3 EUR to min fee 3 EUR in order to avoid any misunderstandings.
So if I had known there was this fee, I would never have considered using their service.
I will definetely not make a new deposit in the future.
Then there's the intransparency what exchange rate they use:
we use another Bitcoin platform for orders on our website
My suspicion (of course speculation until they prove me otherwise and say what exchange rate they use): They look at a bunch of exchange rates and display the best one for the customer. Then after 3 confirmations they update the rate by picking the one which is the best for them but the worst for the customer. (i.e. my rate changed by nearly 5-10% between making the order and having the 3 confirmations which was after about 18 minutes.).
Hello, warnerbunny!
1. Please be informed that once your Bitcoin transaction got 3 confirmations it was sold to amount in USD (BTC for your order was sold to 22.81 USD). Fee for this exchange direction is 0.9% (min 3 EUR), so you were charged with min fee of 3 EUR for this order.
There is also used EUR rate of our bank, which may be from 1% to 3% different from regular market rate.
2. Please check the link
https://unichange.me/order/bitcoin_unichange_virtual_eurMin fee of 3 EUR is indicated under the exchange form.
This is not minimum amount that can be exchanged on our website.
Minimum amount for the withdrawal of Bitcoin to Unichange card EUR is 10 EUR. You can check this by filling in You Send field for example 0.0005
here.
3. According to information from our Support team we found that phrasing min 3 EUR causes misunderstanding of our customers. There was made a decision to update phrase min 3 EUR to min fee 3 EUR in order to avoid any misunderstandings. Still minimum amount for exchange is indicated in another way and earlier you were given an example of how you can check min amount for order. You can also check minimum amount for exchange order
here by pointing at the required fee you will see pop-ip window with min and max amounts indicated.
4. This text doesn't influence the way our service counts the fees. As it was done before, it is done now: min 3 EUR is deducted as our service fee.
5. When you placed an order on our website, you saw the amount which you will receive. Your statement that according to the rate of any third party website (like you've mentioned blockchain on your screenshots) this amount of BTC corresponds to another amount of USD is incorrect, as amount you will receive for the order is based on the calculations of our website.
6. Unfortunately it is not possible technically to fix exact amount that will be received by the customer, as the process of selling BTC is carried out only after transaction gets 3 confirmations on blockchain.
As BTC rate can go up or down, it is not possible to provide exact amount.
Herewith all this information is given on our website before you place an order.
If you paid attention to the content on our website you could see the following message: After your transaction gets 3 confirmations, BTC or LTC will be sold automatically and amount of the order will be updated.
7. Finally you were compensated 3 EUR to your virtual card because of your misunderstanding.
Thank you for using our service, hope that you will choose our service as your exchange partner!