If you don't have any money in your PayPal account, or your balance is negative, PayPal says you won't be charged a fee, even if you have a credit or debit card linked to the account.
You can avoid being charged by logging into your PayPal account (or making a transaction) on or before 15 December 2020, before the fee is introduced on 16 December 2020.
update on the paypal fee
The inactivity fee applies to users registered in United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary (business accounts only), Isle of Man, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia
only these countries
@ecksmc I always use Moneysaving expert.com for advice on financial stuff - he says as long as you log on you should be fine. - https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/10/paypal-to-introduce-p12-yr-fee-for--inactive--accounts---act-now/
@Mandypar yeah log on or make a transaction before 15th you should be fine
It's mainly for dormant accounts
It's a strange thing though they only take the fee if you actually have a PayPal balance
I mean, won't be a lot of dormant accounts that actually have a balance lol
@ecksmc Indeed. I admit to having a $12 balance but I do use the account to make some regular monthly payments 🙂
@Mandypar i do use mine monthly for subscriptions also for a few services
but never add any cash to my balance
@ecksmc Me neither - but sometimes I get $5 for doing something simple online so it goes in there to isolate it from them having my bank account details.
as far as I'm aware
if you use PayPal regularly you shouldn't be charged a fee ever
but I'm still digging around the terms and conditions