Paypal

[Ed_Dinning]

Hi Folks, I have recently noticed that when using Paypal  the format of the payment screen can alter and the default setting is not to show the payment type (friends and family, commercial etc). 
It is often defaulted to commercial, so the amount sent is reduced and you pay charges.

Please be aware or your contact may get short changed.

Ed

[Diabolical Artificer]

Yes, they've got all tricksy and sometimes hide the family & friends box, which on my browser is labelled "personnel". This is apparently down to CV19 and the lockdown causing a lot more folk to use this facility. What's the betting it disappears altogether?

Andy.

[AdrianPH]

Which is a reason why I prefer to use BACS, when paying for things, up to now this has no charges.

Adrian

[Pye Man]

I found it difficult to find when I last used it. The step seems hidden away beyond the initial screen.

Using the bank system gets around it, however, setting up a new payee is a bit of a hassle especially for small one-off amounts. People often don’t give you the correct name of the account and then the (my) bank flags when it can’t match the name to the account number, etc. Had this problem a couple of months ago with a tradesman for a not insubstantial amount of money.

[Radio Fixer]

Seems to me that they have to make some money somehow. PayPal to me is a great service and I trust it.

You can bet clicking the "Family or Friends" box is the norm even when its a commercial transaction like having a coil rewound or buying some parts from some unknown person. Me, I dont do that and I'm happy to add on 2% (or an extra 50p or £1 depending on how big the cost is) for the seller (I think 2% is what PayPal charges to move it to a Bank Account. Costs nothing if its left in PayPal).

Also as I understand it the person paying doesnt incur a charge.

I stand to be corrected as its a long time since I read the blurb.

Gary

[ppppenguin]

Just had a look and it's easy enough to do a friends and family payment. See attached screencaps. 2nd one to be read first. Clicking on "change" brings up selection screen shown.

[Diabolical Artificer]

"Seems to me that they have to make some money somehow." They do even though they may not charge you directly,from interest and fees they charge banks etc.

"Just had a look and it's easy enough to do a friends and family payment" Depends on the browser/device I think Jeffrey.

[Pye Man]

Depends on the browser/device I think.

Good point.

[ppppenguin]

I very much doubt it depends on the browser. I was using Firefox on a desktop PC.

It's possible the route to the F&F selection is different on a phone or tablet which has a smaller screen. Will also likely be different if you're using an app rather than accessing via a browser.

[CambridgeWorks]

Where a bank transfer is requested and I am unable to use PayPal, I use online banking with an account holding a small amount for this very purpose. I refuse to go online with any of my established bank accounts. The new account I created is with Starling Bank. No charges and easily managed online, although it took some time finding my way around it. It gets good ratings and I am entirely happy with it. A debit card is also provided that can be locked or unlocked from within their app on my mobile. I also use it connected to our eBay account as I will not use any main bank account online just to satisfy THEIR needs!
Rob