Paypal's ILLEGAL fees for EU transactions.
European paypal members owe me one. Last month paypal mailed members in the eurozone a message titled "Lower Fees for Your EU Transactions". The paragraph that caught my attention reads as follows:"Effective immediately, when you receive Euro-currency payments from customers in other European Union countries,* PayPal will subtract 0.5% from your current cross-border fees. Those savings translate into more opportunities to reach customers and grow your international business."
Drawing on the expertise I amassed while working doing propaganda for the EU during the euro launch, I asked paypal to check up on the legality of imposing *any* charges for transactions within the euro zone.
"I'm not sure if it is legal to charge *any* "cross-border" charges within the euro zone. Perhaps you should check this out with the European Commission, now that you have brought these to your customers' attention."
After a few weeks considering the matter they realised their mistake. (Presumably they have been imposing these charges illegally since 1999, I wonder how much I have saved my fellow members in eurozone transaction charges).
From their reply:
"In order to remain compliant with the regulations of The European
Parliament and the Council of the European Union, PayPal is pleased to waive the cross-border fee for any Euro-denominated payment that you receive into your PayPal account. The reason for this change is that all Euro-denominated payments are considered domestic payments within the European Union; therefore, the cross-border payment rules within the PayPal system do not apply."
Anyway, if paypal had offered me a job a few years ago, they may have had someone on the staff to alert them to the EU legal setup. But apparenly an MA in European Studies cuts no ice with these financial types. Unfortunately it's quite a while since I've had a cross-border donation to www.holisto.com/donate.php . Maybe someday.
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