WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

We are planning a three-day break in Switzerland (including Chur and Zermatt) at the end of a river cruise. Our B&B and rail fares are already paid for. Can we rely on credit or debit cards alone for restaurant and ancillary expenditure, or should we take cash? (I have been told, rightly or wrongly, that cards are not so widely used over there).

RAY COOK franc, you will probably want to manage your money as carefully as possible however, and certainly not change more than you need.

So my standard advice on this subject is particularly pertinent. Apply for one of the new appbased bank accounts which doesn’t charge fees on either overseas card payments or cash withdrawals. See for example, Starling Bank (starlingbank.com) and Monzo (monzo.com) – though this has a limit of £200 on cash withdrawals in any 30-day period (three per cent fee after this).

The Halifax Clarity credit card (halifax.co.uk), meanwhile, is also free of overseas fees, though it does charge interest on cash withdrawals until the amount is repaid.

Crucially, however, when you use any type of card to make a payment and you are offered a choice as to whether to pay in the local currency or an amount already converted into sterling, always select the local currency. The sterling amount will have almost certainly been converted at a very unfavourable rate.

Ultimately, the best chance we have of reforming the market is through consumer power. Companies such as Goldcar need to understand that a poor reputation and unhappy customers will only damage its business. We will carry on naming and shaming car rental firms that operate in this way. So please continue to send your experiences, good and bad, with us by emailing details to asktheexperts@telegraph.co.uk.

Footage of undercover investigation of Goldcar is at which.co.uk/carhirelies