Using Paypal to pay for accommodation

pandora205

I'm about to book some accommodation in New Zealand and have requested to pay via Paypal (as it's a private rental owners often prefer direct payments). I was just wondering whether I will incur any additional charges - My Paypal account is linked to my bank account. If so, I will link my PO credit card as they don't charge for overseas spending.

Thanks.

martindow

I don't think the card you use to fund Paypal makes any difference. Paypal will use their conversion rate and charge you accordingly. The recipient will no doubt have some money deducted by PP but that's their problem.

On another tack, are you sure you can trust these people? I don't think you will have a great deal of protection. If it is a stranger I would push to pay a deposit and then settle the rest on arrival to limit the risk.

pandora205

martindow wrote: »

I don't think the card you use to fund Paypal makes any difference. Paypal will use their conversion rate and charge you accordingly. The recipient will no doubt have some money deducted by PP but that's their problem.

On another tack, are you sure you can trust these people? I don't think you will have a great deal of protection. If it is a stranger I would push to pay a deposit and then settle the rest on arrival to limit the risk.

Thanks - I think I might use my credit card as it would give greater protection. It's via a widely used site (bookabach.co.nz) that I've used before. There are good reviews of the accommodation, and also on other sites, it can be found on google earth etc. so it looks legit (as much as can ever be checked with booking direct).

shaun_from_Africa

pandora205 wrote: »

Thanks - I think I might use my credit card as it would give greater protection.

If you are thinking of "section 75" protection, you won't get this if you pay with a credit card through paypal.
For S75 to apply, there must be a direct link from the credit supplier to the provider of the goods or service and a using a third party payment transfer service such as paypal adds another chain into the link, thus invalidating S75.

pandora205

Thanks I was thinking of paying direct as there doesn't seem to be much of an advantage using Paypal in this situation. I'll check with the site (as it's through an agency) to see their recommendations. Last time I used Paypal as the owners had requested a bank transfer and I didn't want to do that.

Barter

I booked accommodation through PayPal with Lowcostholidays, and when it collapsed PayPal refunded me through its "Buyer Protection", so you do have cover similar to Section 75.

bigadaj

Barter wrote: »

I booked accommodation through PayPal with Lowcostholidays, and when it collapsed PayPal refunded me through its "Buyer Protection", so you do have cover similar to Section 75.

Congratulations on the refund but PayPal protection isn't very similar to section 75, the latter is a British law whereas PayPal is at their discretion.

Heedtheadvice

Bigadaj is right but the posts on the lowcostholidays administration thread would seem to indicate several pitfalls and slow responses regarding section 75 and good responses from PayPal.

I would add that booking through a third party (the website) has good advantages at the time but lots of shortcomings should things go a bit pear shaped. Check what protection they provide for fraud, missbooking by owners, or other failures to provide accommodation.
The idea of deposit (provided it is a reasonable amount) and pay during stay is good........but also ensure insurance includes end provider cover too.