Guys… I did not get 10 pounds. I got 9 pounds 41p. Paypal snaffled 5.9% !!! of it !!!
If I agree to do a survey for 10 pounds, I expect to receive 10 pounds net. I do not expect Paypal to double dip because I am certain they will have charged fees to whichever organism sent the money.
I am really pretty shocked… Did this stealing by Paypal happen to anyone else?
Dunno! I have not had anything😢
Thank you for reminding me why I decided against signing up to PayPal again. As soon as I realised what they were up to I decided to allow my survey response to be pro bono. Missing 10 quid is cheap to avoid that bunch of scoundrels again. I hope that, as a result, they won’t get anything from the ‘the organism’ either. 
Anyone know how to contact the organisers? I am going to contact them and say I expect to be paid the promised amount net, and that if there are any fees due to their choice of Paypal I expect those fees to be paid by the organiser in their entirety. Since I have not received the sum promised.
The cheek of it, and the laziness of the organisers.
I got £10…your PayPal isn’t by any chance in euros is it?
No, no FX conversion at all.
I note that the poster above receiving in euros looks to have had an even higher % of it stolen by Paypal.
I’ve posted a contact form - having got what they wanted, Softwire may not be paying attention anymore and might not see it - so I would love any other contact method such as email if anyone can provide.
I certainly wouldn’t have bestirred myself if anything less than £10 had been offered for this.
If they don’t sort it it will be just another example of rip-off Britain and bad faith from a contracted government provider.
The Levelling Up Department’s website suggests the following email address for general enquiries:-
Ta George.
£10 arrived in my hastily-set-up PayPal account. I immediately started to transfer it to to my Revolut account to be told that only £9.41 was available as PP have snaffled over 5% in charges. I have always disliked PP and that feeling has only intensified. As soon as the 9.41 hits Revolut I’ll close the account…
We can all complain to the email George1 kindly provided? I also went back to the original signup link at the top of this thread, clicked Help at bottom, and asked them to provide the missing 0.59p net or to sort it out with Paypal so that we receive what was promised in full.
I’m pretty sure there are rules that outlaw them offering a sum then choosing/enforcing without choice to the person that agreed to the sum, a means of receiving the money that results in a deduction to the person receiving.
If they had offered multiple means of receiving the money and put a note drawing attention that some choices might result in a deduction of fees that would be the responsibility of the person receiving they could get away with it. But not as they set it up as a fixed sum was offered and we had no choice as to how to receive it.
It’s a huge sum and they should not be able to get away with it. And if Paypal doesn’t back down then Softwire owes the full payment which they have not made yet.
It’s basically 6% (5.9%) Paypal has stolen.
Interest rates for a year in the UK are still less than 6%. And that’s for holding money for a year and not the nanosecond Paypal would have.
I wouldn’t mind if they’d given the option of donating the fee (and, for that matter, the remainder of the £10) to charity…
Not my best effort but just emailed them the following.
Email to:
correspondence@levellingup.gov.uk
Hello Levelling Up project and Consultancy,
I participated in your survey on overseas voting for which £10 was offered.
You have paid me 0.59p short. In return for my work in completing the survey I have only received £9.41. A deduction from the amount promised, of 0.59p / 5.9%, appears to have been made. I have not been paid in full.
Please provide the 0.59p immediately so that I will receive the full amount of £10 as promised.
I note that the sole method of payment was your choice and participants were told they would receive £10 for doing the survey and so I expect to receive the full £10 net.
Please confirm you will provide the missing 0.59p to make up the £10 within 5 working days.
Alternatively kindly provide the contact details of the government commissioner of this study so that the complaint can be escalated.
Yours faithfully
I got €10.30 instead of €11.58 (according to Google). 
I think this is a good example of how everyone, everywhere is being ripped off all the time. But because there is no aggregating of data and people only see their own transactions, the ripper offers get away with it. A tiny rip off from many, many transactions is soon a lot. 
So an 11% haircut for you on the sum you agreed to do the survey for, John?
Guessing as well as the 6% odd they stole they applied an additional FX loading to your transaction, of around 5%. Which is the reason I have not taken options on websites to let Paypal convert my payment for goods once I had checked the proposed rate (on which the merchant may have been also promised a kickback by Paypal).
Received an acknowledgement in answer to my complaint sent to the email addy George1 found 
From: Correspondence correspondence@levellingup.gov.uk
To: Karenlot
Sent: Wednesday, 3 January 2024 at 15:37:43 CET
Subject: Automatic reply: COMPLAINT
Thank you for contacting the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Please accept this email as confirmation of receipt of your correspondence.
We aim to respond to correspondence within 20 working days, when a response is required.
In the meantime, the answer to your query may be available on GOV.UK. In particular, information relating to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities can be found via: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities - GOV.UK.
…end…
20 days? I gave them 5 to pay up.
If I have to go further with it I’ll invite others here to join. Thinking whatever oversight they say they are subject to, any arbitration or appeal scheme that covers them, and if not then I’ll draft a simple MCOL that could become a joint claim.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And it’s important that the UK government keeps its promises.
Oh, wait…
Ah, but if they do will a further percentage then be deducted from that payment?!
And if the process continued could it become infinite (ie. infinitely smaller and smaller)?
My head’s starting to hurt!
I am shocked.
Shocked.
I have just received this:-
From: Register to Vote register.to.vote@notifications.service.gov.uk
To: karenlot
Sent: Thursday, 4 January 2024 at 15:34:47 CET
Subject: Thank you for your Register to vote trial
Hi Karen,
Happy New Year.
Sorry that you’ve had issues with getting your reward for participating in our trial.
We have sent you an additional £1 payment to cover the amount missing due to PayPal’s service charge.
Thanks again for your participation.
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
I posted the text of my complaint above.
It worked.
They even overpaid a bit to provide the correct net amount due to the Paypal rip-off .
Still shocked but sounds like they will make it up for those who complain.
Well done Karen!
But what will PayPal charge for processing the additional £1? Another 54p???
Why is it called Dept of Levelling up? Sounds like they have piles of dirt that need diggers to lay it flat, never heard of such a stupid title