admin : Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 8:21

PayPal Exchange Rate Rip-Off

Waiting to have some money returned from the UK to Adelaide, the payer suggested we transfer on PayPal to save on banking fees. With fees at GBP15.50 it still wasn’t cheap, but I agreed it seemed the most convenient way.

Upon receiving the funds they were immediately transferred into Australian dollars, at a low conversion rate which left me truly shocked. After checking with the PayPal exchange rate I was astounded to note that it was approximately 5 cents lower per dollar than the actual exchange rate.

Upon trying to reverse the funds, I was told that I had insufficient funds available, as their exchange rate from AUD to GBP was lower again. I had to call up PayPal customer service to have this sorted, and was told to add GBP to my currency list in order to withdraw it to my bank – who’s conversion rate would see me receive an extra $50 over the amount of just GBP434.50.

However, on my second attempt the monies again converted into PayPal’s exchange rate and I needed to contact PayPal again. The person who spoke to me was rude and disrespectful, and I was completely shocked to hear a group of men burst into laughter after communicating my anger with their service. Shortly after, he vowed to call me up ‘in a couple of minutes’ to have the issue sorted out by a manager, but I was still waiting 40 minutes later.

I again called paypal, where I was told they could not do anything for me, and as I requested they manually reverse the funds again (as it continued to say insufficient funds because of their exchange set up) I was put on hold for 15 minutes. I hung up, running late for a meeting at this stage, and later received an email from Paypal saying that a manager would speak to me.

I then called them back to inform them that I just wanted my money now before I cancel my service at PayPal, and after briefly explaining about the email I received the woman simply stated ‘Ooohhh’- apparently I had become fodder for workplace gossip that day, as she knew about me before I even gave my name.

Paypal is a disgrace, and after spending tens of thousands of dollars on international transactions I will be ending my business with them. The only thing they do well is extorting the illadvised public, and out of the four staff I spoke to, three of them were an unprofessional disgrace.

Submitted By:: B. R. L.

Location: Adelaide, Australia

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