The end of the money drama
Apr. 9th, 2011 06:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wiseheartWell, it seems things are sorted out. But boy, it wasn't easy.
First, Mum valiantly got to the other end of the city - and let me tell you, Budapest is one hell of a big city - to find the address. To our surprise, it was an actual, legal Ltd. Even the phone number was correct, for all that a gardening shop had answered the calls from a different connection on the day before. Anyway, Mum of course didn't take the money with her first, just to be on the safe side. Talked to the guy in the place and called me to tell me that we should go back as soon as I got off work.
When we met, she'd already talked to the guy on the phone again, and it turned out that he wouldn't exchange the old notes for new ones, only buy them... below worth, of course, and with a fee attached. We discussed for a while if we should actually do it, but then decided that yes, we should. Despite the money loss, this was the easiest and cleanest way to deal with the situation.
So we returned to the Ltd. Mum has also taken with her a bunch of old 200 Ft coins, the ones that had been out of circulation for more than ten years, because the guy had told her that he would buy them, too, and there wasn't anything we could have done with them anyway. So we thought that if he bought them for their actual original value, that would almost cover our losses on the other end.
It turns out, he bought them a lot better. We got three times the money for them than we had hoped for, and so we not only have the losses due to the fee and stuff covered, but also the losses caused by the fact that we'd bought our 20-pound notes for 25 per cent more five years ago than they would actually cost today, due to the differences in the change rates. 5 years ago, we had to pay over 400 Ft for one pound. Today, it would be between 306 and 310 Ft, depending on the course of the day.
So, it was a nice surprise, and now Mum will have the time to hunt for change shops where she can buy our travel money again, for a reasonable price. I don't doubt that she'll find the best ones. She's tough and resourceful, and being retired, she has the time to go around and look.
First, Mum valiantly got to the other end of the city - and let me tell you, Budapest is one hell of a big city - to find the address. To our surprise, it was an actual, legal Ltd. Even the phone number was correct, for all that a gardening shop had answered the calls from a different connection on the day before. Anyway, Mum of course didn't take the money with her first, just to be on the safe side. Talked to the guy in the place and called me to tell me that we should go back as soon as I got off work.
When we met, she'd already talked to the guy on the phone again, and it turned out that he wouldn't exchange the old notes for new ones, only buy them... below worth, of course, and with a fee attached. We discussed for a while if we should actually do it, but then decided that yes, we should. Despite the money loss, this was the easiest and cleanest way to deal with the situation.
So we returned to the Ltd. Mum has also taken with her a bunch of old 200 Ft coins, the ones that had been out of circulation for more than ten years, because the guy had told her that he would buy them, too, and there wasn't anything we could have done with them anyway. So we thought that if he bought them for their actual original value, that would almost cover our losses on the other end.
It turns out, he bought them a lot better. We got three times the money for them than we had hoped for, and so we not only have the losses due to the fee and stuff covered, but also the losses caused by the fact that we'd bought our 20-pound notes for 25 per cent more five years ago than they would actually cost today, due to the differences in the change rates. 5 years ago, we had to pay over 400 Ft for one pound. Today, it would be between 306 and 310 Ft, depending on the course of the day.
So, it was a nice surprise, and now Mum will have the time to hunt for change shops where she can buy our travel money again, for a reasonable price. I don't doubt that she'll find the best ones. She's tough and resourceful, and being retired, she has the time to go around and look.
