PayPal charge?

pg2114

Hello all,

I noticed that the majority of PayPal transactions on my debit card this month had accrued a £1.25 charge. This charge simply appeared on my bank statement, added onto the purchase price, and was not visible whatsoever on my PayPal account.

My transactions for 1st October read as follows:

1 Oct 2009 - POS - 5727 29SEP09 PAYPAL LU CHARGE 1.25 - £3.73
1 Oct 2009 - POS - 5727 29SEP09 PAYPAL LU CHARGE 1.25 - £5.25
1 Oct 2009 - POS - 5727 29SEP09 PAYPAL LU CHARGE 1.25 - £8.13
1 Oct 2009 - POS - 5727 29SEP09 PAYPAL - £7.29

For example, in the first transaction, I purchased a product for £2.48, but was charged £3.73. As you can see, the last transaction never incurred any charges, for some unknown reason.

I contacted my bank, NatWest, who informed me that PayPal themselves had levied the charge. I was told it was a very common occurrence with the new Visa Debit card and PayPal would simply refund me. When I contacted PayPal, they refused to refund me as they had no record of such transactions.

Has anybody experienced such a charge before, please?

Many thanks,

Peter.

frivolous_fay

New one on me!
Don't bother emailling PP - get on the phone to them and insist they explain themselves.

pg2114

frivolous_fay wrote: »

New one on me!
Don't bother emailling PP - get on the phone to them and insist they explain themselves.

I telephoned PayPal twice, but they were most unhelpful and refused to refund me on both calls. I also telephoned eBay and, whilst she was very helpful, she wasn't able to assist me because it is a PayPal issue.

Thanks,

Peter.

pg2114

I got an email back from PayPal who claim they have never taken any £1.25 charges and are not willing to help any further.

When I telephoned my bank last night, I escalated it as a complaint and received a telephone call back from a manager this morning. Apparently PayPal have sent a memo to all banks explaining the charge and have told the banks not to refund

Peter.

DaveAshton

pg2114 wrote: »

Apparently PayPal have sent a memo to all banks explaining the charge and have told the banks not to refund

Sounds like another underhand way for Paypal to claw an extra quid or so out of transactions.

The fact they (Paypal) denied it on the phone sounds like they know it's wrong, too...

Good idea though (not condoning it, just saying it's a devious plan), I bet the majority of people won't even notice, and with the number of transactions that go through Paypal, they could be making several hundred grand a day by doing this.

itsnotfair_2

If Paypal refuse raise a complaint against them ther is a section on Payapl for this purpose.
Using you banks evidence tell them you will contact the Financial Ombudsman here in the UK.

Just a thought is a charge because you have spent less than £5?

swabaxter

Peter,
I have not encountered this issue before in 8 years with Paypal.
Were the transactions in Sterling or a conversion from a foreign currency ?
I would suggest writing to both your bank and Paypal asking for an explanation.
I use Paypals US address for correspondence by Fax and Email. I can provide this
to you if required.

pg2114

itsnotfair wrote: »

If Paypal refuse raise a complaint against them ther is a section on Payapl for this purpose.

I have already made a complaint using this system and they replied very promptly to say they would never charge £1.25 and will definitely not be refunding any such charges.

itsnotfair wrote: »

Using you banks evidence tell them you will contact the Financial Ombudsman here in the UK.

I doubt the bank will allow me to have a copy of the alleged PayPal memo which details the charges. I thought the Visa Chargeback Scheme covered me in instances where money was taken without my consent, however my bank are not willing to use it in this instance. A senior manager from the bank is telephoning me on Monday and if they don't sort it, I will certainly be making a complaint with the FSA.

itsnotfair wrote: »

Just a thought is a charge because you have spent less than £5?

Good thought, but I don't think that's why. The third example transaction in my original post was for £6.88, which I was charged £8.13 for.

swabaxter wrote: »

I have not encountered this issue before in 8 years with Paypal.

I have never experienced it with PayPal before either. I have Visa Debit cards with various banks and have never been charged a fee until I used my new NatWest card.

swabaxter wrote: »

Were the transactions in Sterling or a conversion from a foreign currency ?

All four example transactions were eBay purchases from UK sellers and were processed in Sterling. I could completely understand it if I used my card for foreign currency transactions, but these were just standard eBay purchases.

swabaxter wrote: »

I use Paypals US address for correspondence by Fax and Email. I can provide this to you if required.

If I don't make any progress with the senior manager on Monday, I would be very grateful if you could provide this address. I still think the bank should correct the issue, especially as they seem to think a lot of customers have been affected, so I will keep perusing them for a resolution. In the end, it'll cost them more than the £3.75 in charges!

Thank you,

Peter.

Freds_Friend

I have just looked at my Argos (Mastercard) credit card transactions on line. I have been charged a foreign exchange fee on 2 ebay transactions both paid via paypal. Both payments were in Stirling to British merchants. I queried this with paypal who say they did not charge it. Argos credit card said that the charges came from Mastercard, (not Argos credit card itself) and was because the payment to paypal was made to Luxemberg in Sterling. I have raised a complaint with Argos to tell me were in their terms and conditions it says that a payment made in Stirling can attract a foreign exchange fee.
It’s interest that the same item was purchase with a Leeds (MasterCard) credit card in July and no foreign exchange fee was charged. The reference number on both credit card bills was the same except that the most recent one has LUX at the end. – just like Peters.
Have paypal moved their account to Luxemberg? And even if they have, why am I picking up a fee.
I keep you posted.

Freds_Friend

Looks as if its paypal who are making the charges.
Use Google search for "gadgetell paypal" and you'll find a link likes this -
gadgetell.com/tech/comment/paypal-adds-new-fees-with-no-notice/
Be interesting to see what my credit card provider says.

TurkishDelight

All fine here with a Allliance and Leicester issued Visa debit.

Freds Friend, that appears to be a American article, possibly not the same thing as paypal are run differently here from in the US, and that seems to be a percentage fee for sellers, not a flat one for buyers, much like the ones we already have for payments.