Need to transfer & convert ~8000 EUR to UK/Sterling: Who's got the best exchange rate

A question about : Need to transfer & convert ~8000 EUR to UK/Sterling: Who's got the best exchange rate

Hi Everyone!
I have a German and a UK bank account, and those 8k are for student fees. So I'm on a student budget and I rrrreally don't fancy leaving a lot of that with a bank. I could let my German bank convert it first, then transfer it (bad exchange rate) or transfer in Euro and let my UK bank convert it (coop bank; not great exchange rate).

I've heard that there are 3rd party (web) services that allow better exchange rates. Can you recommend any of them? Ideally some place that lets me transfer to them in Euro (ideally from my German account, but possibly also from my UK account) and that transfers to my UK account in Sterling. Any other solution you'd recommend? Is there a service that helps to find people who want the same value in Euro (maybe including escrow)?

Would really appreciate your help.

Cheers!
Flo

Best answers:

• Yes: search this site for information about currency brokers.
  The service that I use is at www.xe.com and would do exactly what you ask: however, while it is most economical for small amounts its fee structure means that for your transfer you would probably do better with a different service.
• Avoid using your bank, if you use an international money transfer specialist you could transfer the Euros directly to their Client Euro account and they would convert the Euros to Sterling at better rates.
  Unlike the banks they will always let you know the rate before converting your Euros to Sterling and you dont have to book the rate straight away. Once you have booked a rate, the Sterling would then be transferred to your UK bank account.