PayPal forcing me to use their own exchange rate

DoboChopSueyBar

Hi,

I'm trying to make a purchase on a US website for around $46 using my paypal account PayPal and since all of my UK issued cards (except Amex) don't charge any fees for non GBP purchases, I I'm trying to make the purchase in USD so that my card issuer does the conversion, But despite selecting ÚSD as 'currency for this pruchase', Paypal goes back to using their own exchange rate and billing me in GBP. This happening on all cards except Amex. Any suggestions? Paypal support were totally useless.
Thanks.

400ixl

If your cards don't charge fees for foreign currency purchases and give better rates than Paypal, why are you trying to use Paypal?

sausage_time

What's under the link "See currency options"?

DoboChopSueyBar

400ixl said:

If your cards don't charge fees for foreign currency purchases and give better rates than Paypal, why are you trying to use Paypal?

Website only accepts Paypal payments. So I had to use the least worst option which was my Amex card. 

DoboChopSueyBar

sausage_time said:

What's under the link "See currency options"?

That takes me back to the first screenshot I posted. Selecting ‘pay in USD’ has no effect, ie PayPal revert back to GBP billing.  

Voyager2002

Buy from a different website.

PayPal gives minimal consumer protection.

Remember that you will also have to pay import duty and VAT, which will amount to far more than the currency charge.

sausage_time

DoboChopSueyBar said:

sausage_time said:

What's under the link "See currency options"?

That takes me back to the first screenshot I posted. Selecting ‘pay in USD’ has no effect, ie PayPal revert back to GBP billing.  

Pretty useless then.   The wording on these screens is very misleading.

Per other comments, I'd also avoid PayPal in general if I can (due to fees and lack of protection). 

Marchitiello

DoboChopSueyBar said:

Hi,

I'm trying to make a purchase on a US website for around $46 using my paypal account PayPal and since all of my UK issued cards (except Amex) don't charge any fees for non GBP purchases, I I'm trying to make the purchase in USD so that my card issuer does the conversion, But despite selecting ÚSD as 'currency for this pruchase', Paypal goes back to using their own exchange rate and billing me in GBP. This happening on all cards except Amex. Any suggestions? Paypal support were totally useless.
Thanks.

I have often used PayPal and paid in foreign currency directly on my selected card. I cannot remember the exact workflow, but it is indeed under “see currency options” that you select to be charged in USD (in this case) and when you go back to the screen it should show you the USD amount. You may have some cookies issues rather than PayPal forcing you. 

iwaddo77

Did anyone solve this?

I have exactly the same problem, I choose to change currency and select USD but the choice is not accepted.

Thank you for your help. 

PS, please do not tell me to avoid PayPal or to use another merchant as this is the only merchant that offers what I want and they only accept Paypal.

iwaddo77

I've spent quite a bit of time on this today.

I can prove that I paid in USD on my UK Mastercard in December.

PayPal insist it is the card issuer stopping me pay in USD today.

The card issuer, Halifax, insist I can use my Clarity card to pay in any currency, in fact they reconfirmed today that I should always pay in the currency where I am making the purchase so as to avoid excessive conversion rates with hidden fees. They believe the problem lies with PayPal.

PayPal have gone quite and not responded to my messages for several hours now.

I ave no choice but to use PayPal in this instance or not make the purchase but I will not be using them again.

M25

PayPal offer AMAZING protection to the buyer.

Anyone who says different must never have used it and made a claim.

As for the currency question from the OP, sometimes the currency options change doesn't work. I've found it can be linked to your default address.

It very rarely happens to me (maybe 1 out of 50 transactions last year) and I just have to accept their rip off fee. 

It's always best to pay in the native currency if you have a fee-free card.