Different conversion rates being applied whenever I attempt to resolve negative balance

[phaustus]

Hello,

A couple weeks ago, one of my bank transfers was declined and I was left with a negative balance of 47.70 CAD which paypal converted to 39.01 USD.

I immediately attempted to resolve the situation by transferring money from my bank account. It appears to be impossible to add *more* than what is needed to cover the negative balance, so I made a full payment for 39.01 USD which Paypal now charged me 49.10 CAD for.

After waiting 2 weeks for the payment to be processed, I was informed I still had a negative balance.

Yup, Paypal had decided that my 49 CAD wasn't enough and was now only worth 38.54 USD, so I was left with a 47 cents negative balance.

I've already made another payment which, no doubt, will once again be poorly converted into an amount that is a couple cents short of what is needed to put my balance back to neutral.

This is completely ridiculous... Is there anything I can do to resolve this faster?

I sent 3 tickets, to which I only receive an automated reply (even after replying with more details, I never received a follow-up answer). It's been a couple days already and no follow-up whatsoever.

I also tried calling their support line and spent 1hr30min on hold without someone ever answering me (after which I gave up and just hung up).

It's a bit ridiculous to see how poorly they treat their customers (when you consider I've transferred thousands of dollars using Paypal and have had that account in good standing for over 13 years now).

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[kernowlass]

Well currency conversion rates can change on a x2 daily basis.

If you ever go to get another currency for your holidays then surely you are aware they vary from day to day.

So when you paid your amount on that day by the time it processed the conversion rate had changed.

The best thing you could have done was clear the debt via a card over the phone and that way it would have been done instantly at that days conversion rate charge.

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I give up my time to help you so a thank you or kudos would be cool.

Marking one of my replies as a solution would be appreciated if I sorted your problem.

[phaustus]

I am well aware that exchange rates vary often.

It still doesn't justify giving a different rate after taking the money.

That's like asking a clerk at a currency exchange desk for 100 USD, and they tell you it's gonna cost you 125 CAD. Then they go to their safe or register, take the money out and then tell you "Nevermind, I want you to now give me an extra 5 bucks".

How exactly is that acceptable?

Once you've accepted money for an exchange, there is no way you can decide that you now want more out of it. The amount had been agreed on, money was taken accordingly. And if they want to take advantage of variable exchange rates (which can actually go both ways), then they should allow you to add more funds, just in case.

And if you use a credit card to add money to your paypal balance, they charge it as a cash advance (which incurs additional interest rates). Also, you need a valid credit card for that.

And none of that solves the issue that my account will probably forever remain locked due to the fact that I will never be able to add enough money to it, since Paypal will keep putting me a couple cents short due to sketchy conversion rates every time I add money.

[kernowlass]

That's like asking a clerk at a currency exchange desk for 100 USD, and they tell you it's gonna cost you 125 CAD. Then they go to their safe or register, take the money out and then tell you "Nevermind, I want you to now give me an extra 5 bucks".

How exactly is that acceptable?

Not really the same as it takes 5-7 days for your payment to get to paypal and they can't really say ok the conversion rate to pay off that bill is xxxx but we will charge you last weeks rate of yyyy because that is when you started uploading your funds to pay.

They have not received any money to pay until it hits paypal until then its just processing from your bank.

And none of that solves the issue that my account will probably forever remain locked due to the fact that I will never be able to add enough money to it, since Paypal will keep putting me a couple cents short due to sketchy conversion rates every time I add money.

Then clear it instantly by getting a mate or family member to send you a gift payment to pay off the balance and you can pay them back in cash. As long as they fund it via bank transfer or funds in their balance then there is no fee and get them to use the family / friends option OR

you can ring customer services and clear the bill over the phone via a card.

[phaustus]

Actually, yes, they can and should. That's like asking someone how much they charge to do a given job and them signing a contract that they will execute the work for X amount. Then, weeks later, after they are done, they tell you they want Y instead.

No matter how long it takes Paypal to process the funds, the exchange rate shouldn't be changed in-between. It serves absolutely no purpose, because a week or two later, the new currency rate could also not be in their favor. There's literally no justifiable reason for them to do it like this without providing a "failsafe" to avoid situations like this, at the very least.

And calling customer service doesn't appear to be an option at this point... I spent over an hour and a half on hold without being able to talk to a human being. I won't spend another couple hours "just in case" someone decides to pick up the phone and do their job (similarly, their customer support via email and facebook has been completely silent so far).

Even if they somehow decided to wake up and finally take the call, I still need a valid credit card to pay off the bill at that moment (which I would've used to do it electronically in the first place, despite the small extra charge I would have incurred which, compared to the grief of having my account locked for several months for 47 cents seems laughable).

Addendum: I'll check out the sending money to a friend option (I'm not sure I know anyone that uses Paypal and has an account in good standing but who knows). Although are you sure that it will be instantanous if they do it through bank transfer? (I guess it would be instant for me but not for them?)