US Exchange rate

Doesn’t it drive you up the wall that so many, if not most, US firms consider the dollar to be of equal value to the euro ?

Would you bet your gold Swatch that, if the tables were turned, they’d overlook the difference ? I don’t think so ! (Chandler quote)

What’s more, according to Wikipedia, the Eurozone is 328 million strong. Surely we can find a way to say NON, STOP, or even HALT !

Why another rant in this blog you ask ? Well, the other day my web host, JUSTHOST, charged me once again in euros. 23.64€ to be exact. It’s just peanuts as they say. Yes, I know.

Let me indicate, first off, so as to avoid any confusion, that my company, Azurtem, is quite satisfied with JustHost’s services. They’re cheap, services are a plenty – even unlimited in some aspects – and up till now it all works pretty well, even for our clients.

The French have a saying : “Qui vole un oeuf, vole un boeuf” (this roughly translates to ‘Stealing an egg is just as bad as stealing a cow’). I suppose the Brits would also agree on this as a matter of principle.

Worked up as I was about this puny little matter, I decided to do a little math to figure out how unfair this exchange rate was costing me. 40% ! That was the price difference, or should I say the price surcharge, when paying the same dollar figure in Euros.

Obviously I presented my findings to JustHost’s their financial department requesting that they provide me with the specific T&Cs entry regarding this disadvantageous exchange rate. Nada was their response.

They were however “willing to add 1 months free hosting to your account on this occasion to compensate for the confusion caused by this matter” and further clarified their position “I can confirm we provide this service at the same price in $’s, and €’s. If you have signed up in the incorrect currency, you will need to cancel your account and re-sign up as we cannot change the currency of your account. ”

Frankly if I had been given the choice I would have preferred to pay the same figure in Mexican Pesos, or better yet in Chinese Yuan.

So, to set my mind at ease, I took a look at JustHost’s basic monthly rates as proposed in their various currencies.

Striking isn’t it ? Based on XE’s current exchange rates, Europeans, Brits included, are paying more than everyone else. Maybe we should have named it the Euro-Dollar, instead of simply the €uro.