Charged a fee to receive money from friends?

[Iacomus]

Hi,

I have recently sent out Paypal payment emails to a few friends for some money they owe me. Paypal have charged a fee on top of this. All payments are from within the same country (i.e. no currency conversion).

I understand that when someone logs onto their Paypal account and clicks "Send Money", they can mark whether they're paying for goods/services or whether it's a gift/for friends/family etc. However, no such option exists when "Requesting Money" -- I went down this route, as not all my friends have a Paypal account.

Does this mean that Paypal's statement on no-fees for friends ONLY applies for friends with a Paypal account who SEND money, rather than someone who REQUESTS money from friends?

Also -- is there a way to claim back these fees?

Thanks for your help!

[kernowlass]

When you click on request money how are paypal to know they are your friends??

If you "request money" then you are a seller sending an invoice.

[Iacomus]

I wasn't sure if when sending out the email, it would allow my friends to mark that it was a friend-to-friend payment ... should've checked first!

But regardless, this means that in order to receive money from a friend (and not be charged a fee) .. that friend MUST have a Paypal account? As like I said, not all of my friends have one (hence I thought it'd be better to 'Request' the money). Surely there should be an option when Requesting money, to mark that this a friend-to-friend payment?

[kernowlass]

Well not a lot i can do about that, why don't you suggest it?

[Iacomus]

I think I will do -- as I'm sure there must be others who've encountered the same problem.

Just slightly peeved (although in retrospect, I should've tested with a small apyment first), as I don't believe the following is entirely clear:


"It’s free to use PayPal to send or receive money between friends and family in the UK, as long as the payment is funded by a debit card, bank account or PayPal balance, and no currency conversion is involved.

If you fund the payment using a credit card or make an international transfer, we charge you or, in some cases, the recipient a small fee. A currency conversion fee may also apply.

We think that’s pretty fair."


This really should make clear that all friends require a Paypal account - as you can use Paypal without one (when requesting money), but I don't believe you can send money via Paypal off your own back without a Paypal account? (might be wrong here, so correct me if I am!) .. but IF this is the case, then then Paypal's No-Fee policy is a tad misleading ...

Thanks for your help by the way 🙂

[kernowlass]

Just thought why don't you refund the payments?? (Dont use the send money option, make sure you use the refund option).

When you refund your fees are credited back again apart from the 20p processing fee.

Tell your buyers that once refunded it may take a few days to hit their funding source.

Then you can tell them to use the send money > personal / family option BUT they must fund it via instant bank transfer or funds in their paypal balance for it to be free.

Do not use a debit or c.c. or there is a fee.

[NJensen]

Thanks for posting this - i've just been caught out exactly the same way and I think it's misleading too.  It's also embarrasing when you are having to ask for money from friends who owe you, to then have to refund because of the fee (and still lose 20p per refund). 

[betbabe60]

Oh dear i have just recieved a certain amount of money off my daughter into my  paypal account and i have been charged a whopping amount of money for the service.This has to be wrong . HELP PLEASE 

[PayPal_Dian]

Hi Betbabe60,

Welcome to our Community and thank you for posting. I am sorry to hear that there have been fees deducted I would advise to check the following things to see why this has happened:

• Did your daughter send the payments as a personal payment? If she did not do this a fee of 3.4%+0.20P would have been deducted. If this happened I would advise to refund the payment, This will also refund the 3.4% fees and she can send the payment again to you but as a personal payment. This way you will not pay the fees :).
• Did your daughter send the money in the correct currency? If she sent it in a different currency you would have to pay for the currency fees which can also cause the amount being lower. 
•  If your daughter is sending you a personal payment using her bank account or PayPal balance no fees will apply. If she uses her card, fees will still apply but your daughter can choose who pays for these fees. So this would be the third option.

I hope that this information helps to resolve this for you. If you want more help Y=you can contact us on Twitter: @askPayPal, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PayPal?sk=wall or you can use the contact us link: https://www.paypal.com/webapps/helpcenter/selfhelp/home/.

Dian

[mcjasinski]

Is there a way to request a friend to send me money owed with out me having a fee deducted. I have friends that do not normally use paypal so it is easier for me to send the request to them so they only have to click on a link