ATM Withdrawal limits

We bank with CA and weekly cash withdrawal is around 350euros per card so if you each have a card you can each take out this amount. If we wish to take out a larger sum we speak to the “receptionist” who checks our account and then gives us another bank card (for a one off transaction) for however much we wish to withdraw.  We used to have to go into the bank on certain days of the week when they “open” the room with the cash!!!

All based on the type of account you have, and the card insurance you pay. Limits are to restrict the banks levels of loss due to card fraud, nothing whatsoever to do with how much money you have in the account. Same with card purchases, there are usually monthly spend limits, also depends on type of card cover. Check out limits, insurance cover and cover against internet based fraud when you compare cards.

Before I lived here permanently and just had a holiday home, i needed to get a wedge of cash out to pay for a new velux I’d had fitted as part of a new roof, the roofer had asked me to pay in cash if I could, obviously to avoid tax, I was ok with this as I thought there would be no problem.

Off I went to a hole in the wall to withdraw cash, I got out 400 euros, the next day I went again to the hole in the wall to withdraw some more cash, and the machine said “no” but as my french was pretty much non existent at the time I though that the atm was out of cash, so off I went to the next one, again it said “No” hmm I thought, all of these atms are empty, so I went to find another, this time not only did it say “no ” but it kept my card! ….. shack horror I thought, I went inside to the branch who told me to contact my Bank, where I was told the rules, 400 euros in a rolling 7 days.

Now I was on holiday for 4 weeks, this being the first week and without my card I was stuffed.
I had to order a new card, which would be sent to the registered address on the account….in the UK.
Thats no good I said I’m in France ( for another 3 weeks ), well they said that they could send me a new card to another address if I sent them a signed letter, with the details, a fax would also do to speed things up, now I’m in a holiday home in france in the early 2000s, who has a fax machine at there holiday home?
anyway I discovered that the local La Poste would fax my letter to the bank so it would speed up the process, now this letter had all my bank details on it including my registered address in the Uk and they insisted on keeping a copy of the fax for themselves, bizare I know but they wouldnt send it unless I agreed.
so all I could do was agree for them to keep a copy.
well a week later I received a shiny new bank card at my holiday home address as promised……off to the supermarket I went to stock up on supplies, once at the checkout entered my Pin only to see code faux returned.
they had changed my pin also….. and that could only be sent to the cards registered address, in my case the UK.

so dont try and get more out than you are allowed