Beware Paypal
 

I’m done using Ebay because I’m done with Paypal.

A few weeks ago I purchased Guitar lessons via Paypal. For some reason they limited my account, the transaction was ‘cancelled’ and the money transfer from my account was ‘denied’.
To un-limit my account I had to follow 4 steps, one of which I can’t. Because I don’t have a credit card (one reason I use Paypal), I cannot un-limit my account. I contacted customer service about it, but I keep getting the same automated response, follow the 4 steps, and then we’ll un-limit you. I can't help but wonder why are they so desperate to have a credit card? They pull funds directly from my account, that's should be better shouldn't it?
So, my account is frozen, and there is nothing I can do. But wait! It gets even better. I discovered that the ‘denied’ money transfer for the 'cancelled' transaction was still completed. Isn’t that unusual? So, now they have more of my money. And, because of the ‘limitation’ I can’t get it back; I can’t pay; and I can’t even close my account. So, they stop me from doing anything, and they keep my money. Does that not sound a little crooked to you?
I’ve sent several emails, and customer service is completely useless. I’m currently in Kazakhstan, so I’m not going to bother to phone and waste my money on their infamous phone system. According to other forums, it’s near impossible to get a real person on the phone anyway, it’ll cost me more than what they’ve stolen. That is what they count on, that way my money looks ‘abandoned’.
Before this, I’d used Paypal as both a buyer and seller and was really happy with the service they provided. Unfortunately, I’ve encountered the “dark-side” of Paypal. So now the convenience of Ebay is lost to me; aren’t they the ones who own Paypal? Well they’ve lost a customer, and I plan to spread the word.
I’m not the only one who has lost faith in Paypal. Do a search and you will find several websites and forums dedicated to the “scam that is Paypal”.
I didn't do anything wrong, but still I've been treated like a criminal, and have had my money stolen. Check the sites out, and beware using Paypal.:eek3:

I don't use it now, simply because I am in Estonia and my PP account was linked to a UK account.

However, I did notice that they were starting to try and coerce people into joining the Premium membership with a fee and higher commission charges, but higher monthly spending quotas.

B*ggered if I'm going to get forced to buy into a service I don't need, so I just kept my purchases within limit, and now of course, Ebay is a bit obsolete for me.

Its all very cheeky IMO :nono:

No idea
 

All I can say is I have often used ebay.de which is the German site of course. Only a few Germans seem to accept Paypal. I have no idea why but it leaves Barclays Bank able to charge £15 for each transfer made. I've asked before to send cash but that wasn't accepted. PO said they can post cash with it insured though. Linzi

Buyer beware. I had my identity stolen with Pay Pal with thousands of dollars in bogus charges.

Paypal are IMHO the market leaders. All the banks are in such a hole through their own mismanagement and simply paying themselves too much they've lost the plot. HBOS are now pushing me to have a "premium" account where I give them £10 a month and they provide a load of rubbish (eg travel insurance and mobile phone insurance that doesn't cover any vehicle!). The Europeans have long had bank charges on bank charges (their 50 year mortgages turn them into slaves to one bank) and it's spreading. That BTW is why E-bay Germany customers don't like Paypal, their own banks add to the charges for talking to a different bank.

For UK customers, the solution IMHO is to look at the traditional institutions like the Coop bank, national savings and the mutuals. They still work on the basis of reserve banking (in otherwords they lend your savings to 2 people not 93) and thus are unlikely to go bust and should keep free banking. Don't expect easy money transfers abroad though, the whole BACS system is owned by the big banks who'll use it to get themselves out of their hole. A credit card paid off every month and used like a cheque book really is your friend BTW, I really would encourage everyone to get one.

Anyone old enough to have banked in the 1970's will know where this is going. If you have a wages in-bills out account it'll be free. If you are a good customer they give you an Access card. Anything else you'll pay through the nose for and then get blamed when they can't do it.

I've had no hassle with Paypal BTW. They think they have access to my money, but will find I'm quicker to take action if they upset me.

Andy

3% is not unreasonable
 

Ever had a small business accepting credit cards? You pay at least that amount as a merchant for each Visa or MasterCharge credit card transaction (AMEX is higher) so this is really an established method of operation - won't be no class action suit. Larger retailers, with higher amounts of cc transactions, pay less than small retailers, i.e. eBay sellers, so there is a range of fees charged the retailers, but 3% is pretty reasonable. eBay sellers are typically small merchants.

How would you propose eBay operate without the ability to conduct business with credit cards? Its established law in the U.S. at least that sellers can't charge more for an item when someone pays with a credit card (hence, all buyers, including cash customers, pay more to sellers in the U.S. when they have that Visa/MC logo on the door).

PayPal allows online sellers and buyers to have some form of mutually agreeable payment and recovery process. Credit cards have a long established method of buyers seeking redress for rip-offs. Paying by credit card is still the best method for buying something on eBay - you have an opportunity for getting your money back on a bad transaction. Pay cash (via direct transfer of money) and you are usually out of luck.

There has to be a fee for the card processors/banks, since so many people cancel transactions, make claims for recovery, etc., that no credit card company would be in business if they didn't.

Paypal
 

One thing I would say is life (for me) is now a lot easier with companies like paypal and even ebay. I am happy to pay a fee as long as it is fairly advertised. I really enjoy the freedom of online shopping (as I HATE UK town/city centres - all the same and full of robots all dressed the same) ....

For me Paypal, ebay and online shopping have created a great leap of freedom ......

But when I do find a shop that I like (such as Stanfords) I love to shop in there for hours.

Paypal/Ebay link up does seem to be a bit of a monopoly, but it certainly doesn't inconvenience me.

50/50
 

The result is 50/50 so far ................

Not a good sign for paypal I would say ....

I'd say a pretty good sign is the massive use of their service and the profits they bring in.

As far as polls like this go the truth is that someone who has had trouble with paypal is 3 times more likely to complain about it than someone who has good service is to big it up.

A good example, if my washing machine works great I am not going to go online and say "Hey everyone, I have the best washing machine in the world" But if it is broken I am likely to go on the net to try and find out if others had the same problem.

Personally I use Paypal pretty often and have never had any trouble with their services.

Ride safe,
Ol

Ol - I think you are right, those upset are always loudest!

PayPal has worked very well for me and is a small price to pay for their service. The thing that really annoys me are people who try to sell you stuff on line and don't have PayPal. As a matter of fact, i sell lots of stuff on E-Bay and on the forums. My ONLY accepted form of payment is PayPal, or cash from a local buyer. Don't have PayPal, don't bid! I also use PayPal to move money between accounts in other countries, which is free. For example, i can send my girlfriend $1000 in PayPal and it cost nothing. She can then transfer the money to her account, which is also free.
MollyDog, the sky isn't falling! Like every service, car, bike, taxi and hotdog, there will be a small share of those who feel cheated, but the vast majority are satisfied. I'm sure if PayPal decided to remove money from my account without permission, or didn't follow through on their insurance policy, that i too would be pissed and singing a different song, but as of now i am a satisfied customer. :thumbup1:

I HATE Ebay

I HATE PAYPAL...

But, i use them both regularly because its plainly the easiest way to buy things. CHEAP !

Its great as a buyer, it really is.. You can infinate choice on ebay and you can pay for it (99% of the time) risk free..

Its when you sell stuff that the whole corporate scam takes over. The charges are rediculous and there is no service to go with it..

I sold my Playstation 3 on Ebay and they FORCED me to only use paypal (for security).. This meant I had to pay them 3.5% of the £350 .. BASTARDS !!

Still, It would still be sitting here if It wasnt for ebay !

So far I've had good results with them. Even got through to someone on the phone with no problem when I had to make some e-mail address changes. Sounds like it was my lucky day! :thumbup1:

catch 22
 

I'm actually becoming more hopeful about reaching someone by phone. The problem is, I'm not willing to try from Kazakhstan because of the long distance charges. I would use skype, but I need to add time, for which I have to use paypal, which is limited, so I can't, which is why I need to call Paypal, for which I'd use skype, but I need to add...

Ah, such a vicious circle...:eek3: lol

PayPal are BASTARDS!

And they must pay peanuts 'cos their employees are monkeys. Or maybe they are just paid to be monkeys. Nothing against monkeys, I just don't like dealing with them when complaining about important financial transactions gone tits up.