PayPal Reviews
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- Strong security measures
- Funds held for extended periods
- High fees for transactions
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Reviewed Jan. 8, 2012
After 2+ years of selling on eBay from time to time and having nothing but the best feedback from all buyers, I just received an email stating that: 'We reviewed your account and determined that there's a relatively higher than average risk of future transaction issues (such as claims, or charge backs, or payment reversals). We understand that it may be inconvenient to have your payments temporarily held but please know that we didn't make this decision lightly".
If PayPal had Actually reviewed my account, this would not have happened. I think this is just a way for PayPal to earn interest on subscriber's money, just like a bank does, to earn income themselves.
Reviewed Jan. 6, 2012
I had a customer in Canada who bought a diamond bracelet from me. She wanted me to falsify the customs paperwork to state the value at $100. I told her I could not do that before I shipped. $42.95 shipping with insurance. She paid $35.95 and I paid the rest. When it got there, she refused it because there were customs fees. Then she contacted Paypal and opened a case against me saying she didn't receive it.
They froze my accounts leaving a negative balance of $1735.95. I called and wrote emails to Paypal explaining that I didn't have bracelet, but they sided in her favor anyway. They not only gave her the $1699.99 she paid, but the $35 shipping as well. On top of that, they charged me an additional $61.06 processing fee. The package is still in Canada. I had to put a trace on it through the post office. None of this is my doing. I made it perfectly clear to her that I would not falsify documents before I shipped.
Reviewed Jan. 6, 2012
Paypal is withholding funds. People, please read this. Don't ship until you've been paid. Paypal cannot afford to have this happen. If they hold your funds, don't ship.Inform Paypal of your intentions and inform the customer. This will stop Paypal from holding funds but it won't work unless you do it.
Reviewed Jan. 4, 2012
I want this thread to be a place for sellers of the community to let PayPal hear just how badly we are hurting because of the new payment holds policy. This policy is especially poorly designed for sellers of services. Those who, like myself, sell services instead of goods have no tracking numbers or delivery confirmations, which PayPal is treating as the only proof of exchange. Thus, my payments are almost assured to be on hold.
So here's what I want to say to PayPal:
Some of us make a living selling goods and services. I can't afford to have my payments on hold for 21 days and to have my account "reevaluated every 35 days", a statement that is vague and unhelpful to me. This is ridiculous. How would you feel if your employer said, "Sorry, but we're going to hold your paycheck indefinitely until we arbitrarily decide the customer is satisfied, based on factors that are often out of your control."
Let me give you an example of how this policy is flawed in practice. On eBay, I have no control over whether my customers rate our transaction. In addition, since I sell a service, I have no way of providing a "tracking number" or "delivery confirmation". In the eyes of PayPal, I have not provided a service, and while my customer is enjoying the benefits of my hard work, I am waiting indefinitely for the money that I have earned. I work hard for my money, and I have never had a single negative review or dispute for the service I provide, even after 2.5 years.
PayPal claims that this policy is in place to "ensure that the transaction is completed smoothly". But that's not what this policy is really about, is it? It's not just about ensuring that customers are satisfied, it's about reducing the number of disputes and expediting the dispute process for PayPal. Buyers are happy, PayPal is happy, and meanwhile, sellers--especially sellers of services--are getting sacrificed because PayPal knows we have no other option when it comes to transactions through eBay and outside of eBay with the majority of our customers. Don't you think it's wrong that people like me are getting sacrificed just so that PayPal can save time and money avoiding disputes? In addition, I have a strong feeling that this money is being put on hold to allow PayPal to profit and invest with it illegally while I wait indefinitely for money that is rightfully mine.
All of this boils down to one thing. Effectively, this is what this bad policy has done to my life: I had a successful online business while the money was flowing, when I could do the work and get the paycheck. I was living my dream working from home. But now, my successful eBay business is dead. I have had to get a traditional job because I cannot afford to "wait and see" if I'll get paid by PayPal, who has effectively become my employer for all intents and purposes. Hence, my business has suffered and I can no longer maintain it because I can't depend on a paycheck from my employer. I would switch to a different middle-man, like G_____ Checkout, but with PayPal so widely used and closely intertwined to eBay, it's really not an option.
It's really sad. I trusted PayPal and have advocated it for years to friends, family and customers as a trustworthy "people's company". Unfortunately, I can see that the company has shifted its focus from people to profit margins. I'm very disappointed. This bad policy has had a profoundly negative impact on my life, and I hope PayPal quits sacrificing it's sellers soon.
Reviewed Jan. 1, 2012
PayPal is a criminal enterprise as well as eBay their parent company. eBay held my funds for 6 weeks because of an error they made in my account status. I was told that they could not update my account status until they did their monthly account review one month later. Any listings that has ended up to that point, would be held until 5 days after the buyer received the item, which ended up meaning that they held my funds for 6 weeks for their error. It has cost me $50K-$100K in lost income because I was not able to make a final payment on goods I ordered to sell for the Nov and Dec holiday season until the beginning of Nov, so I didn't receive all of my goods until Dec 23rd.
PayPal and eBay have assisted buyers to swindle me on several occasions. The last time PayPal refunded a buyer $307 for 6 items that I shipped to Austria, that the buyer refused delivery on because they didn't want to pay the tariff on them, and then claimed the items were not as received and that they had sent the items back to me. Despite the fact that I had all the information from the post office to prove that the seller never even saw the items as they refused delivery, and that the items had never been sent back to me because the seller just gave the same tracking info on the package that I sent them which showed the item was still sitting in a post office in Austria waiting for the buyer to pick it up. PayPal withdrew the money from my PayPal account, including reversing 2 deposits I had made into my checking account and gave it to the buyer.
Reviewed Dec. 31, 2011
I am a PayPal member, and like most of eBay buyers and sellers, you need to make all transactions through PayPal, mostly using your choice of paying method. PayPal also offers its credit card sponsored by GE money bank. It often happens that there is a problem with a purchase, and one needs to return the merchandise to the seller, and at the same time, dispute the charge. PayPal has a resolution center online, to help customers and most of the time, they resolve the disputes. In the event that there is a problem, you can get the dispute resolved by your credit card issuing bank, especially if that is AMEX or Discover.
In case that you use a PayPal credit card to pay for the merchandise, and the transaction wasn't processed for whatever reason, you will be charged for that amount, even if it says that the transaction was cancelled. This happened to me, and I tried to dispute it with PayPal twice, but without success. This is my fault, and it is costing me $310.00 and some in interest, but I am trying to help someone else not to make the mistake that I made by using PayPal and its credit card, period. If you can avoid using PayPal at all, please do so and save yourself a lot of money and headache.
I feel that I am being taken for a fool, and at the same time being robbed. There are stil people who do business in good faith, and they shall not be taken advantage of.
Reviewed Dec. 27, 2011
PayPal withheld an $11 sale. Here’s what do to effect a solution to PayPal. You are not a creditor who offers credit to PayPal or your customer. When someone buys something and PayPal decides to withhold your funds from a sale don't ship until the funds are released. Inform PayPal what your intentions are and inform your customer as well. I got results and an apology from doing this. PayPal is a credit card processing center who is holding your money and making money off of that. No one else holds money from a merchant when a sale is made. PayPal cannot afford to have people not ship from a sale. It’s really simple. Don't ship anything that you haven't been paid for and you really haven't been paid if PayPal is holding your money. They are getting way out of control with this and the only way they will stop is if you stand your ground on this.
Reviewed Dec. 27, 2011
Paypal is withholding funds that I have made from eBay. They say it is because I am a "below average seller". I was not emailed or warned that getting too many 1 or 2's on my detailed seller ratings would allow them to withhold funds for up to 21 days. They say they evaluated me on December 20th and I had received one too many 1's or 2's on my DSR's. I sold on eBay to pay for Christmas for my five children and was not able to buy them Christmas because of Paypal and eBay. I have sold on eBay for 13 years and have 100% positive feedback and 4.8's or 4.9's out of 5 overall on my detailed seller ratings. I feel Paypal is working in conjunction with eBay to push the small sellers out. The DSR system is completely unfair because sellers are being rated on the postal service and how much they charge and how long they take to deliver.
Reviewed Dec. 27, 2011
I received an email from PayPal stating that I am possibly a high risk seller and that my payments will be on hold for 21 days. I received this email on the 24th on Christmas eve and I am shocked. I am not a high risk seller. I have been selling for years and using PayPal and other forms of payment. I stopped selling on eBay because of their Communist rules and lack of payment options for me and the buyers. PayPal stated to me that if I sold on eBay that they probably would send my payments to my bank account as they used to in 2 to 4 days. They are trying to high pressure me into using eBay as my selling website and they are using my money so they can accumulate interest. We need to fight back. Does anyone know of a good class action lawsuit attorney that will help us fight eBay/PayPal?
Reviewed Dec. 26, 2011
PayPal limited my account, but no one can explain it why. This is what they sent me after a few phone calls:
"Thank you for contacting PayPal regarding your limited account.
Based on a review of your account and the information received, we show that you have or/are related to other/another PayPal account(s) that has/have unresolved issues. Unfortunately, due to the link(s) we have determined that we would like to begin parting ways in a manner that is least disruptive to your business."
No one can tell me what other account is/are or what those unresolved issues are. All my cases are closed, and I never had second PayPal account.
Reviewed Dec. 23, 2011
PayPal representatives and PayPal as a corporation are criminal at best. They have officially frozen an account of mine and refuse to tell me why it was limited, claiming, that information is proprietary and they don't share it with customers. The money is for an iPhone that I delivered and sold to a service, who paid me after receipt of the phone. My funds have been frozen without explanation or cause. How is this legal?
Reviewed Dec. 23, 2011
Paypal 'was' a good company to use? Paypal decided to put a hold on an $11 sale after they promised me this wouldn't happen again. I've had many emails to them and no response. Gee, I wonder why. Guess what? Here's what to do, I am not in the business of offering credit to Paypal or the customer, anywhere else you pay for a product the merchant receives his money immediately. So next time Paypal decides to hold your money, tell them as soon as money is released, I will ship the item then inform the customer as such, this action will get a response. After all, why should I send somebody something I haven't been paid for, and why should you? It's real simple, don't ship unless you have your money, no one does.
Reviewed Dec. 22, 2011
Paypal is a horrible company, stay away. I sold a housing for an underwater camera, and yet the payment was held and is now being held for 180 days. I provided my photo ID, utility bill, went through all kinds of verifications. It's complete ** and I feel like I'm applying for a job at NASA due to their regulations. The company is making interest off money that is rightfully yours.
Reviewed Dec. 22, 2011
I run a small massage therapy practice. I recently had a customer pay for 2 gift certificates on my website via PayPal. The total was $100 for both. The client, who I've worked with a number of times, received the gift certificates via email. After over a month of the funds just pending in my PayPal account, I contacted PayPal to find out why my funds had not been released. The first time I contacted them, I never got a response. About two weeks later, I contacted them again and got a response from a lady who did not speak English very well and she said that it was probably because the customer had not paid for the items even though it says pending on my account.
So I replied and got another response from another representative who said that PayPal will hold the amount until the gift certificates are redeemed on my website. Since I performed a service, they can't be redeemed on my website. So PayPal said, in that case, they hold my funds for 18 months, regardless of when I perform the services. So PayPal is expecting me to perform $100 worth of services and wait over a year to get my money. I want my money now! I will never work with PayPal again.
Reviewed Dec. 18, 2011
So I'm a casual seller. Mostly electronic-mailed goods, some tangible ones. Got into PayPal/eBay with buying computer parts for family repairs. So I started selling and it's working fine. I do realize this "seller protection" basically is a thin piece of paper. But I did not have big problems. Met two jerks who left Negative feed backs, but still I was up around 90%, no financial loss. so I was still selling. I sell these digital stuff for a dollar and these sons of fitches take about 50% (PayPal and eBay), and then they're still not even loyal to the buyers!
So I sold my laptop. "Seller Protection Eligible" address was confirmed. Payment was confirmed. Blah. So I shipped the item, via Insurance, and it's one of the stupid most thing I did: I did not charge that on my credit card. I will file dispute against eBay fees that I've paid for, though. No way am I going to let them fly with my money free. So according to PayPal, you're "protected" when you ship the item with delivery tracking (I did), and since it's over $250, get a signature (I did too). Alright... so I did both, plus I bought a full insurance.
The stuff arrived in 3 days, buyers picked up (since they need signature to pickup, you know?), so I assumed things are OK. Paypal released the money (which I do feel like it's ridiculous! why can't I hold that in my pocket! I rather feed that to my bank, who would actually back down from "swipe fees", eBay/PayPal do not back down from any of you weak buyers and sellers). And then I did rule of thumbs and took the money into my bank account, instead of PayPal.
Alright, the drama began after 2 weeks, the buyer says, Oh it's DOA. Fix this situation for me. I thought, well crap. but I did the things I could, filed the insurance claim. told the buyer that I need to wait. Nope. the buyer seems fraudulent starting from that point. Demands returns refunds all the blah blah. I said no, so he "sued" me over to the buyer protection program.
Under PayPal rules, sellers, you're air with eBay protection suits.Under PayPal rules, sellers, you have no rights under PayPal rules, sellers and buyers, you do whatever PayPal says, you only can shut up.
So then I got all the evidence up, escalated the claim. They only granted me a little hold for 15 days, and I doubt it will recover my money for me.
Either way, I won't sell any tangible goods over PayPal anymore. Whoever wants to defraud a buyer, can do it freely. Get a expired debit card.... start screwing around, register it over PayPal, and then pay the stupid current PayPal sellers! And then you do snad. After snad do charge backs. Then you get freaking 2x your original payment to seller, and then 1x the goods in the listing.
It's basically BS! and the sellers are basically stupid suckers. You need to believe me in this. A seller who sold over $600, and I'm not quitting because I'm stupid enough to let people defraud me when I deal with sales carefully like hell! I get defrauded if PayPal simply wants me to pay for what their buyer protection wants to pay, while keeping their hands clean, kissing banker's ass by withholding all of our dollars and running interests out to PayPal's pocket from our money!
Reviewed Dec. 16, 2011
On August 22, 2011, I sold an item on ****. The purchaser paid through PayPal and contacted me with shipping instructions. The item was shipped with insurance and delivery was proven. 7 days later, ****’s message states that the purchaser could not be verified and the items should not be shipped to this user. It was too late to warn me! On November 30, 2011, I received a notice from **** that a dispute was issued against my account. Digging deeper into what this meant, I found that the cardholder either tied to the **** account or a **** account using the stolen credit card which was what was used to pay me. The cardholder disputed that the transaction was not authorized. **** told me that the credit card company simply was too powerful to fight but they would try. To make the long story short, **** allowed a criminal to either hack a **** account or didn't verify a stolen credit card for use in their system and now wants me to pay for it. It is bitter to swallow a pill since the item was $2,000 USD.
Reviewed Dec. 14, 2011
I had sold something on eBay and the buyer was out of the country. Now, I sent the phone using sups with a tracking number. The buyer said he did not receive the item and is demanding his money back. I have talked to PayPal and they are going to favor him because there is no delivery conformation. I called sups and nothing. I have contacted the US customs, the Russian customs, the Russian post and nothing. When the package goes overseas they do not use the USPS tracking numbers so there is nothing to ever show were the package is.
He has had complaints on his feedback saying that he said he never received the item and that he is a liar. He told PayPal that he was getting it as a gift for someone for Christmas. He has purchased over 60 iPhone from September to December, that's a little fishy! Now, he most likely has the phone. He is getting his money back and I lose my phone and have to pay out of pocket. This is not right! There is a scam going on with people in his country and people are getting ripped off left and right. Please help me.
Reviewed Dec. 11, 2011
PayPal and eBay placed a hold on my account and I have had nothing but positive feedback. Sell and ship on time and pay right away when purchases are made. Answered all questions from buyers and respond quickly. Now, I have cancelled all my listings and transferred all money to my bank account. I will now be an Amazon customer. I would like to see a joint effort on all eBay sellers part where all sellers end all items for just 1 day to send a message to eBay and PayPal that if they want to play so can we. Join together sellers and take this back.
Reviewed Dec. 10, 2011
It is the same problem here. When I confronted them on the phone, at first they claim that I need to establish a seller-buyer relationship. Then, I explained that I have previously sold items, most importantly, as much as 3-4 years ago. Then, their excuse is I need to re-establish a selling relationship because I have not sold for a while. However, they continue to hold my money for 21 days after I have sold 2 or 3 items within the past month. I have called and complained to them and all they give me is excuses. The problem is that the seller has already paid therefore I don't receive any money for three weeks.
Then, the last time I sold an item, I called them to get payment and it was more than 21 days. It seems to me that they did not want to pay money owed to me. I threatened to turn them in to the FBI and Consumer Protection Agency. Meanwhile, during the conversation, I did inform them about the fact that they are out-of-the-US, consequently, they feel as if they can do as they please and no one can touch them. Conclusively, it is a fact that when people out of the U.S. are handling your money, essentially, there is little legal action you can take because they are not regulated by any governing agency.
Reviewed Dec. 9, 2011
I would like to file a complaint with PayPal. I am an online buyer. I never had a problem with the seller. My problem is with PayPal. I received an email from Paypal on November 29, '11, that they noticed some unusual activity on a credit card linked to my PayPal account and they held the payment I made: $2,628.20, $144.37, $16.98, $44.05, $22.98, $2,105.93. So I replied and told them that there was no problem with my transaction since my card was already verified and I told them the transactions were made by me.
On December 3, I received a reply from them "I understand that you need assistance in resolving your limited account access. I checked your account and saw that you have successfully confirmed your registered credit card. Please do not worry as I am now working with one of our specialists in reviewing your account. You do not have to do anything at this time. I assure you that we will send you an email update as soon as we are done with the review."
I was very happy when I read their reply and thought that they will release the money so the seller can process my order because I will be needing the products before Christmas. But on December 5, I received an email that my appeal was denied. "If your PayPal account balance is zero, and you have no unresolved buyer complaints or charge backs, your account will remain limited." The option to release the money is to wait 180 days or if anyone will ask a refund from my client.
First of all, I am the buyer not seller. So I am so mad that they hold my money for no valid reason. They can also check my account that I never received money from anyone. I am the one who sent it. I called them and explained that I am the buyer here. But they said I need to wait and they can't even explain why they hold my payment. They investigated on their own and my side was not heard. I emailed them telling them I can show them my billing statement or whatever they need but until now December 9, 2011, no reply was received. I googled the case and read so many stories about Paypal holding their money. I hope you can help me/us with this. It's my hard earned money and I don't see any reason why they would do that. I've read that they put the money in their bank for 180 days so they will profit through interest. Paypal is a scam.
Reviewed Dec. 9, 2011
PayPal limited my merchant account for no reason, except a "concern" that was never explained to me. Now they refuse to let me erase my back account or credit card information. I am fearful if their data-base is hacked that sensitive financial information is at risk.
Reviewed Dec. 9, 2011
I recently began selling items on eBay for extra Christmas money and to help me with paying my obligations. I have used eBay and Paypal in the past, without any complications. However, this experience was and is horrible. Getting your money from Paypal is worse than pulling teeth. They hold your money for 21 days after the completion of the sale and the merchandise has been delivered to the purchaser. Earning interest on the money that is lawfully yours. eBay and Paypal do not employ US workers. These people you speak to are in India. You can't understand them and they are not helpful in resolving your issues. I will never use eBay for anything and once all this is completed, I will be closing my accounts with both eBay and Paypal. I am trying to support America and American workers. Someone needs to file a suit against eBay and Paypal.
Reviewed Dec. 8, 2011
Paypal has a new policy that places payments on hold for up to 21 days automatically. Despite having a superb track record of positive transactions on Ebay for almost ten years, with 100% positive feedback, power seller status, etc., our account funds are being restricted due to some criteria that categorizes us as high risk. Excuse me? What have we done wrong? This is entirely unwarranted and unfair. This new policy is blatantly wrong and likely illegal.
We are unable to access our rightful funds for a delayed period of time. As such, this places a hardship on our business cash flow and impacts our fulfillment process. Customer satisfaction suffers.
It is clear Paypal is making additional interest on our withheld funds, to the detriment of our business. This policy should be repealed immediately and punitive legal action taken against PayPal and potentially Ebay as well. A class action lawsuit should be undertaken ASAP.
Reviewed Dec. 8, 2011
I have been selling on eBay for a few years now, and learned a long time ago to use delivery confirmation to protect myself. I recently sold a jewelry item on eBay for $259, and 3 days after it was delivered, the buyer opened a case against me on eBay with a Paypal dispute. I answered with the usual delivery confirmation/tracking number and thought I was safe. It was not!
When I called the Paypal to discuss this issue and any course of action, the Paypal representative, "Sarah", was not helpful at all and left me feeling like I was troublesome to her. Yea, you would be too, if you just lost $259 and a 14kt gold necklace! In our brief and non-courteous phone conversation, I learned of a little known clause that Paypal has concerning sales of items over $250, and that a confirmation number is not enough. They also require a signature confirmation on all items over the above amount or they will simply give the buyer back their money, no questions asked.
After stating that the buyer made no effort to contact me, the Paypal representative stated "they don't have to!" However, that has not been the case in times past, when they encourage buyers and sellers to work things out before going to the resolution center. There was no arbitration, no communication, no evidence given by the buyer of any kind, and no advance warning by Paypal to alert me of the need for the signature. The clause that was described to me concerning this issue, was buried beneath 2 or 3 different links away from the Paypal/eBay finalization process for the transaction. I feel robbed!
Reviewed Dec. 4, 2011
After over 8 years of trouble free transactions, PayPal began withholding the customer's payments, making it impossible for me to ship the items in question (shipping being included in price). Their customer service was condescending and unhelpful.
Reviewed Dec. 3, 2011
PayPal did an unauthorized transaction from my bank account for $500 by echeck and will not reverse the action or return the money. A worker named Ron said to try and stop my bank. It was too late. I need the $500 returned. I am out $500 and cannot pay my rent. I have tried to contact them several times and no response.
Reviewed Dec. 3, 2011
I made an eBay sale and waited two weeks while the shipment made its way to Canada. When the shipment was confirmed by the buyer, I had to call Paypal to ask them to release my funds. I spoke to three different agents. The first told me the transfer was immediate - lie. The second told me the transfer was in progress and that my bank had to clear the deposit! A third agent gave me the same story - Paypal is not a bank. Your funds transfer goes to a "clearinghouse" and the process takes three - four days.
Reviewed Dec. 1, 2011
Ever since Ebay and Paypal went together, their service has gotten worse. I sent a package out by FedEx, which is not a Ebay or Paypal, confirming the person got their package. Paypal has not release the funds even when they saw it was delivered and claimed. I need to wait another 3 days since Paypal is not a bank, they are not covered by Federal laws. Ebay has seen the last of my business. I'm going to contact the AG in their state next.
Reviewed Nov. 29, 2011
After 3 hours on the phone, eBay and PayPal are holding all of my PayPal payments for 21 days because some yahoo doesn't like my shipping charges. If you don't like my charges, don't buy from me it's that simple. eBay is forcing us to use their shipping methods which I choose not to use. Is this compromising my free trade? When I signed up with eBay in 1999 and have sold over 6,000 items, with over 3,400 feedback, with 100% feedback and they dare to hold up my money because some ** doesn't like my shipping fee. I'm sure this is illegal and I am pursuing legal action. I am not bound by anyone to charge a certain fee for shipping and as a standard my shipping fees are very reasonable.When did eBay become a dictatorship?
Reviewed Nov. 29, 2011
People should know that PayPal is owned by eBay.
Reviewed Nov. 29, 2011
This is the second time PayPal has put a hold on our account asking for paper. We cannot produce (tax exemption) since we are a regular company. The account is frozen and holding an amount that prevents us from using the amount or closing the account.
Reviewed Nov. 28, 2011
Purchased item, receives items, verifies it is received. Never ask to return it. Files a "no receive" complaint with eBay/PayPal. PayPal refunds all funds sent + shipping , charges me a "filing fee". Refuses to provide any proof of "acting on my behalf." Refuses to provide buyers payment info. Buyer refuses to return item, has funds. I am not even able to warn other eBay sellers about her. All PayPal does is return my letters/emails with form letters.
Reviewed Nov. 22, 2011
PayPal is holding my refund and they say it is because the original transaction has not cleared the bank. My payment cleared on 11-15 and it has been five business days. They just tell me that it is out of their hands and they cannot help me. My bank has confirmed delivery of funds but PayPal continues to hold my funds and nobody there will assist me by researching this.
Reviewed Nov. 18, 2011
I have account with Paypal and I am doing a kind of outsource work from my home with RBI guideline. As per new RBI guideline, Paypal automatically withdrew the 2 above-mentioned funds to my ICCI bank account but unfortunately that ICCI account #** has been closed by me on June 2011 due to some personal reason and I forgot to update new bank account details on Paypal. Regarding that withdrawal, I have contacted my ICCI home branch. They said that they did not receive any fund from Paypal due to that account having been closed by me.
So as per Paypal request, I have given a Global Trace Request on Paypal for my missing funds a few weeks before, but still haven't gotten any response from Paypal. The Paypal executives are giving me wrong information like saying Paypal already sent a check to me and others are saying PayPal sent a demand draft to me.
But few days back, I spoke with an Indian Paypal customer support person, she said that there is no check or demand draft PayPal sent to me. So I don'tknow which information is correct. Today also I spoke with one Paypal executive, she said that on the 4th of November, Paypal dispatched a check to me but I am not going to trust them. If you can please do the need for me. Thanks.
Reviewed Nov. 15, 2011
Withholding money on their end is just like stealing and how do they get away with it? I have a 100% positive feedback. With one issue, when I ended up in the hospital in which I refunded the person as soon as I got out and now they are holding all my funds. Not fair at all. It is ironic that this holds on not just to me but so many other people who have been selling a while come on the eve of a lawsuit eBay is dealing with. I hope this does have some impact and trust me, I will be closing that PayPal account ASAP.
Reviewed Nov. 13, 2011
I have been a PayPal user and promoter for 7 years. Recently, they've begun holding money customers have paid me for 21 days. It makes it rather difficult to ship items when week’s worth of business is being held (presumably invested somewhere) by PayPal.
Reviewed Nov. 8, 2011
I recently began selling DVDs on eBay. PayPal handles the financial part of the transactions. Money is withdrawn from a buyer's account, given to Pay Pal, and then the money is transferred to the seller's account. PayPal has informed me that because I am a new seller, they are holding my funds for three weeks before it is transferred into my bank account. PayPal claims they have this policy to protect the buyer. But I have communicated with many of the people who have bought from me and they think this policy is unfair as well. I am selling and people are buying from me.
I clearly tell everyone that if there is a problem, they can return it and get their money back. I am shipping my DVDs the very next day after the sale is made. Now, once the buyer has received my DVDs and sees there is nothing wrong with them and leaves positive feedback on eBay, the matter should be closed. Positive feedback at both ends says the seller is satisfied and the buyer is satisfied, that this has been a good transaction.
Reviewed Nov. 7, 2011
I too have had the issue with money being held. I was supposed to receive funds today, as Paypal stated the item had been delivered. Well, its after 8:00 am and still nothing has been made available. I think if everyone stops using Paypal and takes money orders and checks, Paypal will lose business and change their rules. I also think that Ebay should let sellers leave negative feedback, as some buyers can be mean and rude for no reason other than to get something for free. I work at Wal-Mart and see this a lot.
Reviewed Nov. 6, 2011
PayPal is a fraud. They are purposely holding onto funds to make interest on seller's money. They put a hold of my funds for 21 days and refused to give me my money after I shipped the item. I told them that I couldn't ship the item until I receive the shipping money included in the transaction. How are they expecting you to ship the item without the funds from the buyer in which they paid for. Their policy doesn't make sense at all and the people at San Jose, CA office need a wake up call.
I believe all buyers who have gone through this should get all interest that PayPal made and sent to them because we all know that they are making money by holding funds for 21 days. I think this is illegal. I want a lawsuit against PayPal and eBay for the fraud practices against consumers and the immediate change to their policy back to where it used to be or I want the interest on what they made on my money while they are holding it.
Reviewed Nov. 6, 2011
I am a PayPal and eBay customer who has been very poorly treated by this company, and all my efforts to resolve the matter with customer service and disputes departments have left me with no choice but to contact you directly.
I had made a purchase for a 4&1/2 carat ring on 9/8/201. When the ring arrived, I tried on the ring and it was too big for me, so I had emailed Flouria (the seller) and she told me to send it back. The next morning I had sent item under USPS lock and keys (where it doesn't go out with reg delivery mails) and purchased up to 4000.00 insurance for the safety of the ring.
On 9/13/2011, Flouria stated she got a completely different ring and the item I sent her had a 0.80ct princess cut center and what she received was a different ring with a 0.30ct princess cut center. I had filed with PayPal. Flouria changed her story with PayPal and said it was the same ring but replaced the .80ct princess cut stone with a .30ct princess cut stone. A .30ct stone is only about 1/3 of the original size. There is no way a smaller .30ct stone will fit into a larger 80ct setting. This is in essence putting a raisin into a opening made for a grape. It is too big and the stone would fall out. The only way for me to have sent her back a ring with such a small stone would require me to have the entire setting redone. That would entail removing all of the surrounding stones and recreating the setting to hold a smaller center stone and then re-setting all of the stones.There is no jeweler that can re-create and then re-set an entire ring in under a day. Flouria on the other hand has had this ring for weeks now. She is the only one who would have had enough time to reset the stone .
This went into appeals 3 times. The first two times Paypal ruled in my favor because she couldn't provide the documents needed including the police reports. She appealed the decision again which gave her additional 10 days to provide the documents and still could not provide, and paypal ruled in my favor. The third time she appealed which gave her another 10 days she got the documentation. Why would it take her one month for her to get the documentation and the police report and feel I can reset a entire setting in less than a day. I am outraged that despite my full cooperation with all of PayPal's policies and directions, they have continually refused to return my messages and telephone calls after promising to do so when I call in or write, and given me misinformation time and time again. I am requesting that PayPal return the balance of 2773.13 into my account that was caused by PayPal's errors
I want to continue being a member of PayPal, but make it extremely difficult for me to do so..especially when promises are made to rectify their errors that renege on. In effect, they are refusing to provide any buyer protection at all from fraudulent claims by sellers who can claim anything they want, and you don't require any proof from them except a police report that she perjure herself simply to protect losing money.
I have provided evidence of paper work, receipts, and letters from a jewerler stating you cannot set a entire setting in less than 1 day to the PayPal disputes department. I have provided PayPal with every bit of proof and documentation they requested, yet my rights are being ignored. Despite PayPal's insistence of refusing to honor their promises to restore my account to its previous state with a positive balance of 2773.13, it is well known and documented in the law that it is illegal to grant a claim in one party's favor without performing a full investigation of the matter, in order to reveal proof of any claims being made.
On October 27, Paypal returned the ring to me. It wasn't the ring. It took 2 mos to get the ring. Initially, I was told the ring will be destroyed due to "altering" the center stone.
Reviewed Nov. 4, 2011
I have recently began selling on eBay again after a break. My sales flew out the roof, always a good thing. However, PayPal limited my account. I spent a large portion of my day finding and emailing in all the relevant information required and waited. Meanwhile, items were still selling and I had to work almost 15 hours per day 7 days a week just to keep up. Then, PayPal froze my account, all my earnings gone. Not only that as I had to borrow money to pay for stock in the first place, I am now way out of pocket and exhausted. PayPal claimed that I am "high risk", however, I have been nothing but honest and gave them every piece of info they required. They state I am selling designer items.
I am doing no such thing as I explained to them so it is now in review again. In the meantime, my eBay has been suspended and I have no sales coming in. I have buyers saying eBay has told them to open cases up against me and I am also being named a fraud! Excuse me? So now, I have worked all this time, shipped items, money frozen and buyers claiming it back. I have called PayPal about 4 times today and there is apparently nothing they can do until it has been reviewed. So now I am expected to sit back, watch my good name be tarnished, see my funds locked and await a decision, a decision which, in my opinion, is completely irrelevant as I have done absolutely nothing wrong apart from have a good start to my business.
Reviewed Nov. 2, 2011
This payment hold policy is keeping money that is rightfully mine out of my hands. This is my money from a sale of one of my pieces of property (Snowboard). I need this money and counted on this money to ship the item to the buyer and pay my bills. How does anyone have the right to take your money, and charge a service fee in the process, then hold your money. I need this money now!
Reviewed Nov. 1, 2011
PayPal states that they will hold my funds now because I am considered high risk and although my feedback score is 100%, it's not enough! Well, I have had enough. I hate PayPal and eBay. This has to be illegal. I need the money to live on. If not, I wouldn't be selling my stuff! Meanwhile, they are using my money.
Reviewed Nov. 1, 2011
My identity was stolen and several bank accounts and credit cards were opened up in my name. Police reports and affidavits were filed. The banks and credit cards recognized that fraud was committed and that they made mistakes by allowing accounts to be opened up. Paypal, on other hand, waited almost 4 years before contacting me about an account that had been opened up and linked to the fraudulent bank accounts. They have arrogantly chosen to freeze my real account and want me to pay for someone else's crime. Paypal failed to go after the person committing fraud. Instead, they are looking for someone else to pay for their own mistakes. Beware of these policies. I will not be using Paypal or eBay in the future.
Reviewed Oct. 31, 2011
I sell homeschool books from home and I use PayPal. Well, in August, I sold a book and mailed the book with proof from the post office. About 3 days later, I have a "case" opened on me, saying the seller got the packaging but no book! I contacted my post office and her post office, and they both told me if the package looked like it had been opened or tampered with, the post office would have let both parties know. The seller even said that it did not look like it had been tampered with. I got scammed!
After speaking to PayPal and telling them what the post office had said, they told me that they normally side with the buyer! What? Where are the sellers' rights? Well, in my case, they sided with the buyer and took money from my PayPal account which put me in the negative and froze up my account! PayPal are crooks and get away with way too much!
Reviewed Oct. 30, 2011
I have been selling on Ebay for the last 2 years, having had my Ebay account since 1991. I had auctions that ended with the money being paid into my PayPal account. I was informed via email that my funds were being held for 21 days or until confirmation was received via Ebay that the items had been received or positive feedback on my Ebay account. This is when I learned that Ebay and PayPal are the same company or under the umbrella of the same corporation. Being unable to directly contact anyone, I called the 888's for both companies, was given a PIN and finally spoke with their representatives, one whom I could barely understand. Both obviously reading scripted answers, I finally asked where they were (physically) and one replied India, the other Asia.
Neither of the customer service reps could answer a single question. Both telling me that I should immediately ship the items and once they had confirmation of receipt, positive feedback on my Ebay account and that there were no disputes,yada yada yada, my money may be released earlier than the 21 days. Are they going to be paying me interest on the money they're holding? As they are definitely earning interest on those funds, not only from me but from these post I am reading and a lot from others whose funds are being held.
But another concern I have is that these are supposedly American companies and they are outsourcing their customer service to Asia and India. This during a time of economic hardship, where the people are trying to earn enough money to feed their families, keep a roof over their heads, and pay their bills. Having lost their jobs, or seen substantial decreases in their income, they turned to selling their stuff on Ebay to survive. Yet Ebay/PayPal arbitrarily decided to hold these funds for reasons even their customer service folks can't fathom. Yet, they have taken jobs that could have been made available to the US public and sent them overseas, where they could pay a smaller wage.
So they not only are saving money by doing this, they are now making more money by holding legitimate funds that belong to others, are drawing interest on, off the backs of the American people. Now to another debacle from PayPal/Ebay. When I received the email from PayPal, holding my funds, being told that I must ship immediately, I printed the shipping label online on my Ebay account, only to receive a call from my son asking why the shipping fees were taken from HIS PayPal account? Inept ringing any bells for anyone here?
My son sold some items under my Ebay account and had the funds sent to his PayPal account in the past. I have since shipped from my Ebay account and had the funds deducted from my PayPal account. So where's the answer? They can't answer it at either customer service venue. If and when this is resolved, I will not be doing business with either entity.
Reviewed Oct. 24, 2011
PayPal and eBay now ripoff sellers. I've been using eBay for years, with 100% positive feedback, never any complaints. I sold an item on October 11. The buyer paid (via PayPal) and I shipped it 2 days later. USPS confirmed delivery on October 18. PayPal refused to release my funds until sometime in Nov. This has got to be a scam to let PayPal (and eBay) use the float on the money they hold. It's bad enough that they charge such a high fee (eBay for selling, plus PayPal for handling the funds. You know they are the same company, right?). Both eBay and PayPal said that this policy is for the buyer's and seller's protection. Yeah, right. It's for their greed. I'm filing a complaint with the FTC and signing up with an alternative payment company. No more PayPal.
Reviewed Oct. 24, 2011
I purchased an online credit/background check from a company. The company failed to send the credit check portion of the package. I needed it to determine the status of a rental unit. I contacted the online company by email and telephone twice and nobody ever got back with me. I scanned and supplied the online company with the authorization signed by my tenant and my information for the credit verification portion. Still no credit check supplied. I opened up a claim against said company and asked for a $20.00 refund of the $29.95 charge because the most important portion of the background check for me was the credit portion, not verification of previous addresses and or criminal history. I have free sights available and do not need to pay for said information, but it was a package so I paid for all. I was willing to pay the $10.00 for the information I did receive because it had some value to me.
PayPal refused my claim and paid the online company in full, even after the company already offered a $10.00 refund for failure to supply the credit portion, is that not an admission of guilt? How can PayPal pay in full to a company when they never supplied the services advertised? I am tired of this as it has happened to me before when service has not been given and PayPal has paid the vendor in full.
Reviewed Oct. 20, 2011
I have always held eBay and PayPal in high regard, although I do not sell often nor have a lot of eBay transactions. I liked having PayPal to pay for items I buy online; however, I was shocked to find that any funds I do receive into my PayPal account will now be held for 21 days for being "high risk". How can this possibly be legal? I have had no complaints against myself as either seller or buyer.
I don't trust either eBay or PayPal anymore. I can't believe this has suddenly occurred as I like selling items from time to time on eBay. I've never had a problem, not ever. I suppose all these complaint sites are designed to allow consumers to let off steam, and so I have. I am having the worst time understanding this new and possibly illegal "policy" by eBay and PayPal.
Reviewed Oct. 20, 2011
I sold my stuff on eBay. The money went into my PayPal account. I withdrew it but there is no evidence of my withdrawal. PayPal account is now 30 pounds lesser. My contact number won't fit into the box above and the no. is as follows **
Reviewed Oct. 19, 2011
Two friends and myself purchased a ticket through Eventbrite/PayPal for stage access at a venue. We were denied access although we had paid. We were inside the venue and were guaranteed the access, according to the tickets that we purchased. When seeking a refund using the PayPal dispute process, the seller fully refunded my two friends (we all entered our dispute into our respective accounts at the same time). When it came to mine, he only wanted to offer me a partial refund. This was not fair. I clearly indicated this in the PayPal dispute email and into the resolution area in PayPal.
The seller contacted the other members in my party but failed to contact me at any point during the dispute. PayPal decided in the seller's favor when it was clear that the seller refunded my two friends (which I provided their names/accounts). Now, I'm exploring other avenues to get my money refunded. I don't understand how you can refund two of the three people who experienced the same situation at the same time. We all rode and went into the venue together.
I'm disappointed in PayPal for allowing this to occur and for not further investigating. It's inconsistent and unfair to allow the seller to pick and choose who he wants to refund if we all were in the same exact boat. As a loyal user of PayPal, I don't feel comfortable using PayPal anymore. They let me down.
Reviewed Oct. 19, 2011
The cabal of PayPal and eBay have united to rip-off all sellers. I sold $650 earrings on October 6. The buyer paid immediately through PayPal, and I shipped the items--had it insured, with signature required. USPS confirmed delivery on October 10 and they refused to release my funds until October 25. This is ridiculous. PayPal gets to make money on the float, and I get to twiddle my thumbs wondering where the ** my money is. Both eBay and PayPal stonewall are saying that it's for buyers protection. I have a 100% seller rating but "not enough feedback" out of my control. To hell with both eBay and PayPal. They are crooks!
I sell on eBay to make money to live on--eBay and PayPal steal the money to use for up to 25 days for no reason. In the meantime, I borrow money to live on. There has to be some kind of class action lawsuit.
Reviewed Oct. 18, 2011
I have just had a listing removed because I asked not to use PayPal. I am selling a surfboard for a friend and would prefer the item to be picked up, as it can only be delivered locally anyway. So, the payment would be cash on pick up, giving the buyer a chance to check out the board before they hand the cash over too. I tried to take the PayPal option out. I was told that I had to provide at least one 'safe method' of payment, the only 2 options being PayPal and merchant credit card. They are basically forcing you to accept PayPal and consider cash on pick up unsafe-crazy, as that is how most shops work and have done since trading began. I know, as a buyer, that I would consider picking it up safer than PayPal. They use totally corrupt, subtle way of third line forcing.
Reviewed Oct. 17, 2011
I cancelled a sale for a mattress that I had purchased using PayPal Direct Debit to my bank checking account. The vendor immediately issued a refund credit for the transaction to PayPal. However, PayPal placed a "temporary hold" on the refund and did not credit it to my PayPal account. I called PayPal customer service twice, and the reps explained the refund process when a transaction is charged to the consumer's checking account, which requires waiting until a "bank clearing house" verifies that the original PayPal debit was made to the bank checking account. Then supposedly a credit is issued by PayPal to the consumer's PayPal account, then the consumer must manually initiate a request to transfer the credited funds back to their bank account.
I've waited the requisite five business days and seven calendar days after the refund was issued by the vendor, and still have not received the refund from PayPal. I was also told that after I receive the refund and request a transfer of the funds back to my checking account, that I must wait another five business days minimum for the funds to be credited back to my bank account. Calling PayPal customer service has been useless and frustrating, as the reps were clearly reading company policy and procedures from an online script and were powerless to take any action whatsoever to resolve this issue. This is a blatant case of PayPal getting use of the consumer's money free for a minimum of 10 days and not responding in kind to my request to expedite or override the process to obtain my refund. I still have not received the refund, and apparently, I'm powerless to do anything about it except to document this complaint.
Reviewed Oct. 17, 2011
I sold an item on eBay and everything was going well, except the buyer was acting a weird, asking me a lot of questions like how I send it and "Please leave feedback now" (so I would not leave it when he tries to fraud me). He paid for the item and I sent it my usual way, standard international shipping. Once I sent it, I received a message from another eBay seller saying to be careful of that particular buyer because he seemed to be acting a weird. I told him I already sent the item and to let me know what he finds out through eBay and PayPal. I called eBay that day and notified them of my concerns, and they said that as long as I sent it to the address listed, I would be covered.
Unfortunately this is not true; last week, this man opened a claim on me though PayPal saying he did not receive the item. I provided PayPal with my customs form number which has his address on it, and I told them I have the receipt for the shipping as well, since I did not send it with tracking. This did not do anything for me; the guy received a refund for the money he gave me and he got the item I sent him. This means I have lost over $1,000 for PayPal not investigating this case correctly.
There are many bad ratings on this buyer now. He is a new account holder on eBay because he already got caught doing this to others on his last account. I looked up his name on a Google search, and he comes up and it says he is a fraud and he buys internationally and then files a claim on PayPal to get his money back on top of the item, and that is exactly what he did to me. I understand that the members at PayPal are not investigators, but this should not be allowed. I am so angry and I know this has happened to may other people. I want to fight this. They need to change the way they work because I have lost a nice amount of money and I am sure other people have, too.
Reviewed Oct. 15, 2011
I used PayPal service for my online business and I trusted them to protect me, my business, and my money, but they did not. They went in favor of the buyer who then requested a refund stating that the TV was not as described. But when my TV was sent back from buyer, it was broken the screen was completely off its casing and showed numerous signs of negligence. I called PayPal on the day it came back, which was 9/29/11; I spoke to a rep and explained. She stated that she was opening an appeal on this case so that it can be further investigated but after waiting 2 + weeks on there response, I logged into PayPal and no such request for appeal was made I was not ever contacted by any rep at PayPal and now I have a TV that was destroyed and PayPal is doing nothing to protect me as advertise when they offer their services to you.
Reviewed Oct. 13, 2011
I have been selling on eBay and Etsy for a few months, and it has been great up until PayPal decided to limit my account. I have 100% feedback on both my accounts. I can receive money, but I cannot touch it. PayPal is working with my money, while I stress out and try to figure out how to pay my bills. Without my money, I don't have the funds to pay some of my bills and definitely none to pay for shipping out of my pocket.
I have sent over 15 emails asking for answers or at least some sort of advice as to how to fix it. As of now, I have not gotten a single answer or a legitimate reason why my account got limited in the first place.
Reviewed Oct. 13, 2011
After 15 years of selling on eBay, PayPal has now decided to hold monies received from our buyers for 21 days, claiming they want to be sure the buyer has received the item and writes a feedback. Problem is, most buyers don't leave feedback and as a seller, I can not afford to operate a business without working a capital. Several people from PayPal made up excuses why they are doing this. They told me that my shipping costs are too high. I list exactly my cost plus handling for boxes, bubble wrap, & popcorn. Buyers know exactly what the shipping costs are before they buy. They have the option of bidding or not. Most of the time I lose money because I weigh the items prior to packing and I insert the weight in the shipping calculator on the eBay listing. However, after packing and protecting the item, the weight is more than expected. After the auction closes, I can not tell the customer that it actually cost a little more. PayPal's actions have now affected thousands of sellers. I pay them to collect the money from my buyers and I do not authorize them to hold money. This should be illegal!
Reviewed Oct. 13, 2011
I allowed a one-time charge through PayPal. They allowed this company to keep my information and enter a second charge to my account which was not authorized. They have sided with the company, which they also did when I received an ugly soiled item on eBay. I will never do business with PayPal again. I have had to pay $38.98 to a company that I did not authorize.
Reviewed Oct. 11, 2011
I have 100% feedback with PayPal and eBay, and they are holding my funds. The best that the 3 different agents there have told me was to "just keep selling" and it would eventually get taken off. This is unacceptable. I've been using PayPal for years without issue.
I am unable to sell anything using PayPal if it requires shipping. Plus if I ship international, there is no tracking and it's non-eBay so I'm damned either way.
Reviewed Oct. 11, 2011
I sent $90,000 (original price) worth of studio photography equipment to my friend to sell on eBay. He made over $20,000 on the sale of my equipment. A day after the sales, they closed his account and threatened to hold all of the money for up to 5 months! This is my money. I have called PayPal. They told me that they had the money and had documented my call. They said, "Go ahead and fight it with your friend." Is this a scam on PayPal's part? This must be illegal.
Reviewed Oct. 10, 2011
I have been a eBay/PayPal customer for over six years. I have been selling on eBay for about three months and buying for six years. I sold 13 items on Sunday, October 9, 2011. PayPal said that eBay has placed a freeze on my PayPal funds for the sales. I have to send out all the products without the money to pay for the shipping charges and in 21 days after I proved that the customer received the items and that they will release the money. I am very upset over this situation. I have 100% feedback no complaints ever on eBay and this is how they are treating me is stealing my money.
Reviewed Oct. 10, 2011
PayPal said that they would be holding my money for 21 days on future sales for no reason. I called PayPal. PayPal said it was eBay. eBay said it was PayPal. eBay then told me that PayPal said I did not have enough feedback and then I was a high risk seller. I have 100 percent positive feedback. This is not right. Please help with this situation. Thank you.
Reviewed Oct. 10, 2011
I am a small-time/low-volume seller. I have had an eBay account for over 12 months, have no known buyer complaints against me and a 100% customer satisfaction rating. As soon as I receive payment, I mail the item within one day.
I was very satisfied with both eBay and PayPal and had no complaints against them until (like the previous people documented below) they capriciously put a 21-day hold on my account.
PayPal gave no advance warning and no reasonable explanation - just an email that a hold will begin forthwith.
I contacted PayPal and spoke to an intelligent, polite representative who apologized and assured me that this action was not initiated by any complaints against me, that there were no complaints against me, that I had done nothing wrong, and that this was just a new PayPal policy. (However, I do fit the profile explained below that "Accounts which don't complete at least six eBay transactions in six months will automatically have their PayPal funds held and inaccessible for 21 days ". But this explanation was not given to me by PayPal in any call or communication - I only read it in another consumer complaint against PayPal).
The PayPal representative also promised me that my money can be available in less than 21 days, that once the item has been confirmed delivered, the payment is available immediately. But that was not entirely true. What I discovered yesterday after calling PayPal again (and iterated below by a previous complaint) is that the payment is not available immediately unless I personally call in and request it. In other words, I had to call in, again, and literally "beg" for my money. Otherwise, it takes three days.
What the PayPal representative also did not tell me (and that I only discovered today) is that PayPal does not even use the funds that the seller provided for shipping to pay for the shipping!!! Those funds are also held. PayPal requests the shipping funds from my bank account! Wouldn't such additional steps and transactions cost PayPal more money? Well, maybe PayPal makes enough in interest from our accounts on hold to more than cover that cost in increased inefficiency.
If PayPal does accumulate additional funds from this new policy, PayPal certainly should be sued. After reading the previous complaints, I know PayPal certainly has created financial havoc, distress, and ruin to numerous faultless individuals (See: **, and **). At the moment, I have a $15.00 late fee on a bill that would not have been late if I had received my money from PayPal in the time I had expected from all previous transactions.
I hope we join together in a class-action suit against PayPal. I do not know where to begin, but would happily assist anyone who did. In addition, (1) I have surfed the web for PayPal alternatives and would like any suggestions; and/or (2) propose we develop a credit union-like PayPal alternative for sellers and buyers (again, I do not have the expertise or funds to do this); and (3) like a previous writer, also encourage Google to launch better auction site and better PayPal alternative as soon as possible!
Reviewed Oct. 10, 2011
The 21-day hold for Paypal on Ebay is nothing more than a form of a Ponzi scheme. They keep your money and collect the interest for 21 days. It's as simple as that.
Reviewed Oct. 7, 2011
I have sold on eBay for five years. I recently sold a bunch of items and Paypal is putting a 21-day hold on my money. I use this money to ship items that were sold on eBay. I can't get to the money until 21 days, after the sell. It is hurting my business. I think it is illegal for a company to hold your money. They have also been charging double for fees and I don't know how to correct it.
Reviewed Oct. 6, 2011
Although I've sold on eBay and used Paypal for over two years, Paypal recently started holding my payments for 21 days. I am unable to access any of my own funds that were paid to me for eBay purchases even though I provided tracking information which shows items have been received by the customer. This is an illegal holding of funds so that Paypal can accrue interest for themselves on my money. Also, why has nobody filed against eBay for having a monopoly with Paypal?
Reviewed Oct. 5, 2011
I placed my eBay store on vacation hold. I stated that I was leaving the auctions, viewable as a catalog only. I went on to explain that during the time, my store was on vacation hold and that no shipments would be made. During that time, customers continued to purchase items. When I did not ship them as the auction stated, but as the vacation hold specified, they left negative DSR's. This led to a 21-day hold being placed on my account. What bothers me is that people are being shipped the items, they are getting them and they are leaving positive feedback. eBay and Paypal continue to hold the funds for the full 21 days. How can this be legal? They know that they have the item, but refused to release the funds until the 21 days is over. I feel like they are using my money for free for this period and not allowing me access to funds that are clearly mine.
Reviewed Oct. 4, 2011
PayPal held my money and did not release the money until I have called them. This is ** on their end. I am asking them why they accumulate interest on sellers and hold their money. Think about it, they have millions of sellers and buyers on PayPal. They can make tons of money on interests by holding your money. Let's get them, sue them, and bring them to court.
Let's get together and sue them you guys. Who's with me? Please respond.
Reviewed Oct. 4, 2011
Overall, my experience has been okay, except that I tried the Virtual Terminal and found out about the "rolling reserve" after the fact. I justified it and moved on until getting sick of the $30/month fees. I canceled the service last night and assumed the "rolling reserve" would transfer to available balance. It didn't. I specifically asked the customer service representative what would happen upon cancellation (I did so before applying for VT) and was told the money would be added back to my available balance. When I called to cancel last night, the customer service rep also said the money would be put back into available balance. Today, I was told that it will continue to stay in "rolling reserves" for the full 90 days. **. I'm so mad I'm considering canceling my account altogether.
Reviewed Oct. 3, 2011
I just sold $245.00 worth of merchandise on eBay and the shipping was $63.00. I received payment instantly from my buyers. I shipped out my merchandise right after payment and put a confirmation on the three items. PayPal is now holding my money until it's delivered. I believe that this is illegal and will be contacting a lawyer. I am only responsible for the package until I drop it off at the post office.
After I get confirmation and the package is gone, it is no longer my responsibility--it's the post office's. So, once that confirmation is posted, then my money should be taken off of hold and deposited in my account. I believe that they are illegally holding my money. And if anyone want to file a class action suit against them, let me know because I will do that.
Plus, I had to pay out of my pocket $63.00 in postage and can't access that money either until the package is delivered. If anyone is reading this and is a lawyer, let me know if I have a case. I am done with eBay and with PayPal. I am finished I will be closing my accounts as soon as I get my funds. This is so wrong. I am not responsible for what the post office does. The post office is not me and I shouldn't be penalized and have to wait for my money after the buyer paid instantly and I shipped instantly.
Reviewed Oct. 1, 2011
I have all the money paid by customers and PayPal is holding my money until I ship out the package. I am tired of doing business on eBay and PayPal, these people kept jacking our money as sellers. I even disagree with their $0.35 cent holding from seller every time we do a refund. We should all together sign a petition to sue PayPal in a class action law suit or something? Let's open a forum and get our name and signature together and sue them for doing business this way, they are keeping your money in an illegal way. This is scam from PayPal.
Reviewed Sept. 28, 2011
EBay put a 21-day hold on my money by way of PayPal. They are currently sitting on my $240 for twenty-one days or more. At the same time, eBay is sending me to collections for around $80. I attempted to pay them before they sent me to collections from my PayPal account, but eBay rejected my payment. There sole premise and reason for implementing the 21-day hold is because of possible charge backs from buyers, where the seller may not have the money to refund an item. This is the reason that they have the feedback system. If a buyer or seller is a problem, it will be reflected in the buyer or seller feedback.
This 21-day hold tends to effect smaller sellers more than the bigger stores. Again, another hit on the middle class. Money is tight for me now, but I would never put myself in a situation where I could not refund the money. I have been an eBay member for eight years with a 100 percent rating, and no refunds or charge backs as a seller or buyer. What I wonder is, if they are collecting interest or some sort of additional revenue on all of this money they are holding for 21 days.
In the past, I usually paid them in advance of receiving an invoice. The fact that they are so quick to sanction me for a questionable action on their part is a big red flag. I have to walk away from them. It is not worth the stress. If there is a class action lawsuit, I would like to join. This is not something I usually do, but I am fed up with bad banking behaviors. Yes, I know PayPal say they are not a bank.
Reviewed Sept. 28, 2011
PayPal is arbitrarily "holding" their customer's funds for a period of 21 days. There is nothing we customers can do about it, and they will not allow us to use, transfer, or touch our own money for that period of 21 days. They tell us they are holding our funds "in case someone files a dispute about a sale" from which the funds came. They are also "automatically" deciding for us, in collaboration with eBay, to give buyers refunds and we, the customer and seller, have absolutely no say, no control, over our money and how PayPal is handling it.
Reviewed Sept. 28, 2011
I sold an item worth $400 dollars on eBay and the buyer paid at that moment. I sent the item the same day. In the next 2 days, the buyer opened a non-receipt claim. Even when I provided the tracking number from the USPS via the PayPal website.
These idiots decided in the buyer’s favor. What a joke of a company. Sellers don't have any Protection at all. Any scammer who knows how the system works, can make a living just scamming people with PayPal.
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2011
I have been selling and buying on eBay since 2004. I can't say there have never been problems as sometimes, shipments don't arrive or something breaks. I have a strict "no return" policy on most purchases that makes it easier. However, recently, a friend asked me to sell 4 race tickets he had for the Richmond NASCAR race on 9/10/11. I listed the tickets as I thought I was supposed to, noting that I had 4 of them and assuming that eBay would ask the buyer when they bid how many they wanted. The tickets had an $80 each face value and I started the bidding at $80.
The winning bid was $117.50 but when I checked, it appeared he only wanted 1 ticket. I am not a NASCAR fan so I have no idea what races are hard to get tickets for and which ones are not. I had requested that the buyer pay a higher shipping fee because the race was within 2 weeks. The buyer sent me an eBay message that said that he didn't want to pay the expensive shipping because there was plenty of time to get the tickets to him. I was not at my computer and answered him from my phone, through email, confirming that he knew he bid on one ticket and asking if he wanted more than one. He had stated in his message that he would be "checking his email all night".
The next day, I checked my Paypal and found he had paid for one ticket. I took all the paperwork that shipped with the ticket, copied it and mailed it to him Priority Mail and promptly re-listed the other 3 tickets. 2 days later, he contacted me wondering why I re-listed the three tickets. I explained that I had contacted him to clarify and since he didn't answer, I figured he wanted 1 ticket. He stated that I should have "known" he wanted all four and I stated he should have "known" I wasn't selling four tickets valued at $320 for $117.50. However, since I don't sell these things, I told him I would gladly refund his money, less shipping, if he got the ticket back to me before the race. He said he wanted his shipping as well, so I decided not to quibble over $5. He wanted his refund immediately and I said "you can't get a refund at Walmart if you don't return the merchandise. The day I received the ticket, I will refund you". He did not mail the ticket back. He marked it "Return to Sender". The race was 9/10. The ticket was delivered to me on 9/12. My friend decided not to sell the other three but to give them to a friend who left for the race on Thursday, 9/8. I had no alternative but to pay my friend for the ticket.
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2011
After selling on eBay and taking payments through Paypal since 1998, now Paypal has decided to hold my funds for up to 21 days due to my transactions being deemed as "high risk".
I sell full time on eBay, and this policy is pretty much going to put me out of business. I have a 99.1% feedback, but I have had a few claims from buyers that were settled in the buyer's favor. If the buyer gets a refund from me, why am I considered a bad seller?
I guess Walmart must be the worst retailer on the planet because they issue refunds all of the time. Luckily, I sell on Amazon and am looking into other sites (Google, please start an auction site!) to sell on. Ebay and Paypal are making millions off of the interest on my held money, so this sure seems illegal to me.
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2011
Today I received a notice from PayPal informing me they are imposing a 21-day payment hold/restriction (limitation) on my business PayPal funds. Really?
I immediately contacted PayPal to find out what is going on. I was told, "Accounts which don't complete at least six eBay transactions in six months will automatically have their PayPal funds held and inaccessible for 21 days."
What? My PayPal account, which I have used for around 10 years in good standing, indicates I made 30 transactions since Jan. 2011, of which only three were eBay. I have a 100% credit status with no complaints or bad transactions. I see this move by PayPal as an unjust and unacceptable control tactic. I will not allow PayPal or any other financial institution to have this kind of influence on my business and therefore will be closing my account.
I was in shock! What nerve.
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2011
We manufactured and sold some books to a small publisher. She had a complaint about the Smyth sewn stitches protruding in some areas. We picked up the books and rebound them. In the meantime, she stopped payment with her credit card through Pay Pal. After we agreed to repair the books, she reversed her claim and the matter should have been closed.
However, PayPal insists they need 75 calendar days before they will credit my account.
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2011
In August 2011, I sold some 14K and 18K jewelry on eBay. The winner was a man from the UK. The item was paid for via Paypal and mailed to the UK. The buyer contacted me a couple weeks later to complain that he had to pay customs fees when the item entered the UK. The eBay listing clearly mentioned customs fees, as being the responsibility of the buyer. Next, the buyer contacted me to demand a partial refund because he claimed some of the gold items were 9K, rather than 14K. The items were all as stated in the auction, stamped and tested 14K. It was fraud on his part. He also demanded that I refund the weight of the gemstones in the jewelry, even though the auction clearly showed the intact jewelry items on a scale in the photos.
When I refused a partial refund, he threatened to Tweet about how terrible a person I was on Twitter. I told him I did not care what he did and I refused to be bullied into paying him for something I did not owe. He filed a complaint with Paypal and they put my account into negative numbers. Initially, I was able to call Paypal and plead my case, and the hold was removed. It seemed obvious from the email string that the buyer was simply trying to get me to pay for the customs fees. Also, I had pending transactions on eBay at the time and I believe Paypal did not want those transactions to go badly, so they released my account, pending their investigation.
I was able to complete the other transactions on eBay and used the local ATM to immediately withdraw the cash because I no longer trusted Paypal. Good thing too! Paypal sent me an email about a week later saying that they had decided to rule in favor of the Buyer and my account would be back charged. They gave no reason, no proof, nothing. I had already emptied my account because I was wary after their first funds seizure, but now I had to close my bank account and associated credit cards due to this fraudulent eBay buyer and Paypal who produced no evidence, no proof of his claims and no merchandise back to me (as of this time). I was told that the buyer is sending the merchandise back to me, but I hold little hope of ever seeing it.
The buyer sends threatening emails to me and Paypal and eBay do nothing. Paypal is judge and jury and sellers have no protection at all. I was a lucky fool for not having been ripped off sooner. I've been a 100% positive eBayer for over 10 years, but no more. I am finished with eBay and Paypal since they are virtually one and the same now. There are only two types of Paypal users, those who have been ripped off and those who will be ripped off. I hope someone starts a class action lawsuit against Paypal. The fact that they can seize your property without proof or evidence of any wrongdoing, should be illegal. With Paypal, a seller is guilty until proven innocent, and they have no interest in allowing you to prove you are innocent.
Reviewed Sept. 24, 2011
PayPal started holding my funds per their policy. Their policy states that they will hold them until 3 days after confirmation of delivery, you receive positive feedback or 21 days. Well now it is over a week after confirmed delivery and positive feedback and they are still holding my funds. They refuse to give me an answer to my emails other than copying and pasting the policy; that they themselves aren't following.
Reviewed Sept. 23, 2011
Even though my account with Ebay is in good standing and I've only ever had positive feedback, Paypal has decided to start holding my money for 21 days. This includes the money I'm getting for shipping as well. I have to fund the shipping myself and wait to get reimbursement from Paypal. This can cause a delay in getting items shipped to customers.
Reviewed Sept. 21, 2011
I listed a welder on eBay, and it sold for $1025.00. The buyer messaged me and told me he only lives a half hour away, just in a nearby city. He asked if he could pick up the item personally because he wasn't that far away, so I checked my Paypal account and the funds were shown, pending verification of sale. So I met the gentleman a few miles away and delivered the welder to him at the half-way point. He was very happy with his purchase and went on his way, saying he would notify eBay about the item, and that it exceeded his expectations, which he did.
The next day, I checked my Paypal account and it stated that I must wait 21 days for payment, unless I had a a "shipping number"! How do you get one on a buyer pick-up that only lives a short distance away? So I called eBay and explained the situation to them, but it fell on deaf ears, and I was told to contact Paypal as it was their problem. So I called them and went in circles with a lady who could not answer my question, other than, "This is why we don't encourage customer will-call sales". Bull**, that just means they don't get to draw interest off of my money if they paid me after the buyer told them he was satisfied with the purchase. Nowhere on eBay or Paypal, does it state if a customer picks up the bought merchandise, you will have to wait 3 weeks for your payment! The lady from Paypal kept telling me I needed a "shipping order" to transfer my money into my account, but how the ** could I have done that? The buyer notified eBay of his transaction, and told them he had possession of the said item, and that he was 100% satisfied! What else does eBay/Paypal need to verify it?
I'm sure there aren't a lot of transactions where the buyer lives down the street, but in those instances, they should help you get your money faster. But no! They act like they could care less on the phone, so I think their way of doing business is flawed, and needs to be addressed. So now, the guy has the welder, making money with it, he is out of the $1025.00 which Paypal has had for 10 days, I have a $95.00 payment to eBay for the sale, and Paypal has already taken $35.00 for transferring the money to "their" account. I have no shipping number, no welder, and no money! It's gotta be against the law to treat their customers in such a "3rd world" way, I'd like to see a lawsuit against them!
Reviewed Sept. 19, 2011
I applied for a PayPal debit card and it turned out to be such a hassle, apparently due to my change of address, so I withdrew my application for the card. Then PayPal limited my account and threatened to stop returning my communique. In other words, they are freezing my money altogether.
Reviewed Sept. 19, 2011
I had ordered products from eBay using Paypal to pay for my items. Once I had completed the transaction, I received emails stating that the estimated completion date will be from 09/19/2011 to 09/21/2011. From the way I read it, it came across that the money would be taken from my bank account between these dates. To my surprise the money was taken on the 12th of September. NSF fees were charged to me for four separate withdrawals for a total of $170 ($42.50 per transaction). Neither RBC or Paypal will do anything about this either.
Reviewed Sept. 17, 2011
I bought a MoneyPak Card because I don't have a new bank card yet. I loaded $40 into my PayPal account and cannot use it unless I give them a credit card number. Green Dot MoneyPak Card says that you do not need a credit card or bank account to use it. I have $40 sitting in my PayPal account that I cannot touch. The whole reason why I bought the MoneyPak Card is because I do not have my new bank card yet. So if I cannot touch this $40 that I deposited to PayPal, Green Dot MoneyPak is going to deduct $4.95 every 90 days.
I got robbed of $40. I just want to use this.
Reviewed Sept. 16, 2011
I have been selling on eBay for 3 or 4 months now. Everything was going smooth. I have a total of 34 feedback now, all 100%. The buyers have been making payments through PayPal. I print shipping labels through eBay. I automatically use the funds that the buyers pay me with to cover for the shipping cost. Just recently PayPal, out of nowhere, put a hold on the funds that were paid to me by the buyers. Recently, I sold some items on eBay. As a good seller, once I see the payment is received on eBay, I print out my shipping label asap, so I can get the item shipped out as soon as possible.
But then a couple of days later, I saw that my bank account has 4 overdraft fees. Instead of Paypal letting me use those funds from my buyer to pay for shipping charges, it charges my checking account which has no money in there. It caused me to have an overdraft fee of $136.00! PayPal even admitted that it is their fault, but won't do anything about it. They said that because I am a new seller, they are putting a hold on my account. If they would put a hold on my account in the beginning for all the funds I have received, which is about $800, I would have known to have money ready in my checking account to cover for shipping. I am furious with how they are doing business.
Reviewed Sept. 15, 2011
I run a 10-year-old legitimate business with an A+ BBB rating and Paypal just hammered us! They are crooks in my eyes and they sat on $4,000 for over two weeks because of suspicious charges. They then refunded the customer and charged us reversal fees. The charges were legit!!
I have closed my Paypal account and warned anyone who is thinking about opening an account with them.
Reviewed Sept. 12, 2011
I listed a GPS system on eBay and opened it up to international buyers, with the instructions that the international buyer needed to contact me for a price for shipping if they should win the item. A buyer from Spain asked for the cheapest shipping information, which of course, was first class through USPS. The buyer from Spain won the item. He took over 10 days to pay for the item, which should have been a red flag. He finally paid and I shipped it the next day. The shipping was First Class USPS and cost $30.00 with no tracking information. This was a big mistake. So now, the buyer claims he never received it. Whether he did or not, there is no way to tell.
Reviewed Sept. 12, 2011
I sold a 4-month old tablet on Ebay for $400. The buyer lives 15 minutes from my house. He purchased the item and asked me if he could pick it up. He did an immediate transfer of funds to my PayPal account as the Ebay listing specified. He came to my home and picked up the tablet. I have a document with a copy of his drivers license stating that the tablet was in perfect condition, working and completely acceptable. He signed it and received it, there were two copies one for me, one for him.
PayPal is holding my funds for 21 days claiming that unless they have a tracking number for the item that was shipped they will not release my money. I tried numerous times to explain to them what I had but they didn't care and will not release my money.
Reviewed Sept. 11, 2011
I am a new seller/buyer to eBay. I have recently increased my transactions by selling more items. My first several hundred dollars in transactions went through PayPal without "holds". Two of my recent transactions, $122.00 worth, are being held for 21 days. When I called PayPal, getting a human was a chore in itself. The rep told me that because I did not provide a tracking number and I was "new to PayPal", there were holds placed and there was nothing anyone can do. I asked to speak to a supervisor. I was told they could not do anything as well. I asked for the supervisor's superior. I was told one did not exist.
I am perplexed how a large company as PayPal has no means of solving customer issues. It is strictly the principal of the matter. I have had no negative transaction scores. I have 100% satisfaction score for over two years. I have sold and paid for the shipping. The buyers got their item. PayPal took their portion (fee), but I can't get access to my money for 21 days. This is the poorest customer service I have received in a very long time. PayPal makes it clear they do not care about the people who use their services and bring their company income. When I purchase items, I am expected to pay in a reasonable amount of time, two to three days. It doesn't take me 21 days to pay for an item. When I purchase an item from a store, I can't tell them I will hold the funds and come back and pay in 21 days. At this point, the public needs a class action suit against PayPal to get them to change their "policy".
Reviewed Sept. 9, 2011
I sold an HP TouchPad on eBay. I received the payment from the buyer ($266) and shipped the item with a tracking number. The item was shipped on 8/31 and was confirmed delivered on 9/2 with no indication of any problem from USPS. On 9/6, I received an email from PayPal stating that the "buyer" was claiming that I had sent him an empty priority mail box and that they were holding my money until they could investigate the matter. I immediately contacted PayPal, eBay, USPS and the Dunwoody, GA police (where the buyer had opened a case claiming "larceny through mail"). In order to prove that I had fulfilled my end of the contract with the "buyer," the following is what I was able the get:
2. a signed and sealed statement from the USPS employee who packed the item for me stating that the HP TouchPad was placed in a medium flat rate box, weighed and sealed; and
3. a copy of the police report from Dunwoody, GA police department stating that the detective-in-charge had received the above mentioned receipt and a statement that he was convinced that there was no wrongdoing on my part--the case would be closed and charges will be dropped.
I informed PayPal that I had the three documents listed above and would get them copies by whatever means they thought were quickest in order to help them in their investigation. A PayPal dispute expert directed me to to fax the document so I did it that same night. The next day, I received an email from PayPal saying that they had ruled in the buyer's favor, taken the money out of my account and placed it in his.
I immediately called the PayPal dispute center and spoke with an associate who told me that they had not received the documents but that I could fax the documents once more to a different number and open an appeal. I immediately faxed a copy of all documents and also emailed copies of the documents to complaint-response@paypal.com.
Once again, I called the PayPal dispute center to confirm that they had received my documents but they would not return my money because they had already ruled in the buyer's favor! How does PayPal settle a dispute without receiving all the evidence from both sides? How is the evidence I provided enough to prove to the Dunwoody Police Department that I fulfilled my end of the contract but not enough for PayPal? PayPal claims to facilitate transactions between "buyers" and "sellers" and claims protection for both, so where is the "seller" protection? Where is my protection? Where is my money?
Reviewed Sept. 8, 2011
On 9/8/11, same as others I see here, PayPal had a $500 per month withdrawal 'limit' on my account. I sold an item for a friend that was over that amount. I had to call PayPal and give them my SS# in order to get the limit raised. It was over labor day weekend so I had to wait until Wednesday for the money to move to my account. That same morning I received an email letter from PayPal stating all further deposits would be subject to a 21 day hold. I have a perfect eBay record. I closed the account, including deleting my bank account -- you can not delete a credit card account -- changed my address to a bogus one because I do not trust these thieves.
I sent a letter by return email stating I would file a complaint and that I would never do business through them again. It was not 'deliverable'. Also, I received a notice that my billing account with eHarmony was closed. I only used that service one time eight years ago. Now I have to review my bank records and find out if eHarmony is in cahoots with PayPal. This is an obvious ploy to get interest for 21 days on money they have no right to. And they say that I should still ship an item while they hold the money -- why would anyone do that? I plan to notify every person I know and through every social media of their fraudulent behavior. I'm still worried they will try to hit my bank account for something not owed to them. I also told my customer the shipping delay was due to PayPal's illegal actions.
Reviewed Sept. 7, 2011
All of a sudden, Paypal decided to put my payments on hold for 21 days despite my account with eBay and PayPal being 100% in good standing. As a result, there was a serious delay in my business operation to pay vendors, etc.
Reviewed Sept. 6, 2011
I sent a brand new cell phone to an address from a buyer on PayPal but it was a fake buyer and I don't know where my cell phone is! I really need help! I got scammed! I was supposed to get $320 for the phone but the fake buyer has been stalling and making up excuses about the payments. I really need that money.
Reviewed Sept. 6, 2011
PayPal is blackmailing me for my Social Security number by holding $700 in my account. Either I give them my number or they continue to keep my money. Without sufficient notice or 30-day allowance, PayPal changed the terms and agreement I had with them prior to them holding my money. It is not legal to demand a Social Security number for any service, let alone hold money hostage today when the rules were different yesterday.
My understanding is that there needs to be notice on the change of terms before any consequences are carried out for no response. I have called them for almost two weeks every day. Their compliance department will not call me back, yet I have received another letter today demanding my Social Security number. Contractual law, based on my understanding, says that I would have to agree to the change of terms and have a chance to opt out of the service before I am given consequences.
On PayPal, I am not a seller; I am a landlord and I use PayPal to collect personal payments for exactly what they are, intermediary. In my understanding of the tax law, PayPal is not accountable to produce any tax documents to the IRS for me. I am not a foreign entity. I am already confirmed by my bank and my personal payment transactions are exempt from IRS law.
Additionally, because the tenant's bank and my bank send and receive the money, by IRS law, I am confirmed. PayPal does not need to get my Social Security number because I am a known customer. The money in my account came from personal payments" and not from sales. Not only does the IRS recognize this, PayPal also recognizes this and has verified me by its own rules. My payments are personal and not revenue; thus, not requiring my Social Security number.
This is 100 percent illegal and I believe that it's time to put a limit on PayPal on when they have the right to hold money. In the United States of America, only the IRS has the right to seize accounts and assets. Class action lawsuit is the only way to get a message out.
Reviewed Aug. 31, 2011
PayPal allowed 2 payments to immediately be drawn on my account without me being able to get a service I had tried to receive. In spite of the fact that I had immediately cancelled the payment, nothing should have been paid out. They have no policy which I am aware of in order to protect a buyer if a payment just goes through like that with no ability to cancel.
Reviewed Aug. 30, 2011
I signed up for Virtual Terminal in April so I could accept credit cards from my clients. Before signing up, I went through the policy, which never mentioned anything about them holding 30% of all my transactions as a "Rolling Reserve". After reading about rolling reserves, their explanation was that it was there to protect my account from over drafts. So I decided to continue using the service.
On Saturday, I closed my virtual terminal as my husband has become ill and will not be able to work for quite some time. I assumed that the reserve would become available on the next business day. So I transferred the available balance. On Monday I called customer support, who informed me they could not release the funds that they would be released 90 days from the transaction date. I asked to speak with a supervisor, Matthew, who told me the same thing. Well I didn't sign up for a 3 month CD and this is my money, so since the account had be closed the money should be released, I told him. To which he replied that it is their policy. I read the policy, nowhere does it say this. I'm not sure why they need to hold my lousy $137.64 but I do know I could use it to buy food today.
Reviewed Aug. 28, 2011
I've been a PayPal customer for years. On 8/27/11, I received an email from PayPal stating that I was pre-approved for bill me later. I attempted to use the offer and was told that I was not approved. I contacted them about the issue that I was having with redeeming the offer. I was told that a mass email was sent out, informing customers that they were approved but they actually weren't.
I feel that this is false advertisement and some form of entrapment. They sent out these false "pre-approvals" just to get you to apply for credit, which you thought was a "pre-approval". This is not fair to me as a consumer. Just basically "applying" is totally different from "pre-approval". This is an intentional, misleading entrapment. If this situation can be looked into, it would be greatly appreciated. Consumers really suffer at the hand of companies with this type of behavior. Thanks.
Reviewed Aug. 17, 2011
I sold an item on eBay and received payment from the buyer through Paypal. Immediately after paying for the item, the buyer tried to negotiate a lower price for the item (A brand new still shrink wrapped sealed iPAD2). This communication went through eBay messaging. After stating to the buyer that he already purchased the item and paid for it, I would not lower the price of the item and that I did not force him to buy it. He then kept messaging me and complaining about my no returns accepted policy that was listed in the auction. I explained that the item was new and still sealed in the box and that the item carried a warranty from Apple if there would be any issues with the item. I decided to add insurance at my cost due to the buyer acting really strange. I shipped the item with insurance and signature confirmation per eBay/Paypal seller protection policy. Before even receiving the item the buyer started questioning if the item was defective would I take it back. It seemed as though the buyer was determined one way or another to get out of the sale and get his money back.
Well big surprise when he received it, he claimed that it was not as described/defective and even internally damaged. He said that it was not damaged in shipping. I referred him to Apple technical support. All of this is being done through eBay messaging. He claims that the item is registered to someone else and that I have to return it. After he filed a complaint with Paypal, they instructed him to return it to me. Well I got it back and the packaging took a little bit of a beating. Not to my surprise, the item connected to iTunes and worked perfectly. He claimed that trying to play videos or music made the item turn off. I called Paypal and they instructed me to take it to Apple and get them to certify that the item is not defective. Actually Apple not only gave me a service report showing the item was in perfect condition, they also said that it was never registered to anyone and that they never had a service call on that item before.
So my view is that I listed a brand new iPad2 that the seller decided he did not want after purchasing. He lied as proven by Apple and was allowed to return an item that was sold with no returns accepted in the specifics of the sale. They refunded him his money. Now I am stuck with an item that is not in its original condition in a banged up box. It is commented on eBay that this item is defective and Paypal tells me that I should just list it as brand new and sell it again. A couple of the representatives that I talked with said that Paypal may reimburse me the difference if it sells for less. I delivered that I was to and the buyer lied (proven) and I am the one to suffer? Paypal said that the only way that they would rule in my favor is if the buyer outright says that he lied. I have written proof of it! I do not understand why the buyer gets a refund and that I was not given the opportunity to get the problem resolved or have the item replaced if it was defective.
I now no longer have a brand new item that is sealed from the manufacturer. I paid listing and sales fees to eBay and Paypal. I also paid out shipping fees of around $20 which I am not reimbursed for. I have spent hours getting the proof that Paypal required from Apple and they did not even use the proof to make a judgement that the buyer lied. I have all the communications and written proof of my claim.
Reviewed Aug. 17, 2011
I sold five vintage Zippo lighters to a buyer in Italy last month. I did not purchase a tracking number and the buyer said he never received them. There was no way to confirm he got them, so PayPal refunded his money. All we could prove was that the package was tendered to USPS. We were out $150.00 sale for the lighters and we are out of the lighters.
We tried to work on this with Paypal, but they said that Italy's customs was notorious for losing items, so there wasn't anything they could do. We thought that was it, until Paypal started to freeze our money for 21 days. We called them numerous times, explaining what happened but they continue to hold our money. We are at the point where we can no longer sell items and use Paypal. We have to front the shipping cost for 21 days. We list approximately 20-25 items, so this could turn out to be more than we can afford. The buyer pays shipping charges so that their items can be shipped out.
Paypal has no right to hold the shipping money the buyer pays. They do not refund the shipping charges when a buyer wants a refund. After selling on several auction sites for seven years, with a near perfect record and feedback, we are being treated like criminals due to a dishonest person in Italy. Makes no sense!
We are going to discontinue selling on Ebay, due to the fact that Ebay makes us use Paypal. We cannot accept money orders or personal checks on Ebay. This is going to cause a loss of revenue for us.
Reviewed Aug. 16, 2011
I recently sold a camera on eBay for 1,542. The customer was not happy with the purchase and wanted a refund. He contacted PayPal and PayPal took the money out of my PayPal account and refunded the customer.
They took the money from my PayPal account without my consent. I actually had no problem with that. The problem is, they are trying to retrieve the money from me that they have already taken from me.
Reviewed Aug. 15, 2011
I have been a PayPal customer and user for quite some time now and recently, I began having issues with their "customer service" policies. Previously as a seller, I have had numerous issues where PayPal was trying to "hold and verify" money. I personally believe that since I transfer it straight out, they try to hold it just long enough to make it look like they really are some big deal bank/money company.
Recently, I have been doing some freelance video and photo work. I had an event coming up and needed to replace a broken piece of equipment last minute. I couldn't find an online store that could have it to me in under 7 days without some outrageous shipping charge, except an eBay seller. eBay and PayPal are the same company.
So against my better judgment, I purchased the equipment with the expedited shipping. Previously, PayPal had screwed something up and my credit card was not on the account, but my checking account was. I attempted to add my credit card, but was told that they needed to deduct money from me and then send it back and that this would put a code on my statement. Well, it will take my bank a minimum of 7 days to process that, so I used my already added checking account.
I log in a few days later to my bank and see the money is gone, but the item hasn't been shipped. Why, PayPal? I called them and their "customer service" rep gave me some bum story about how PayPal’s systems work and whatnot. And that the process would most likely be done the day before my event.
Therefore, my item will ship the day of the event and won't arrive until afterwards. Thankfully, I won't be losing any photo shoots over this. Avoid them and get out while you still can. This company is going downhill.
Reviewed Aug. 14, 2011
I bought an item off eBay and paid via PayPal. I never received the item. I tried to file a claim with PayPal, but I could not. The transaction with eBay, paid through PayPal, would not show up on my PayPal account. I looked on my credit card statement. And it showed that PayPal had taken the money out of my account for the eBay purchase. I spent over three hours on the phone with PayPal, trying to get the transaction number for the payment, but they could not find it. I was told that I would have to file a claim with my credit card company. I am more mad now about the amount of time I have spent and will spend trying to resolve this action than the money lost on the eBay item, which I never received. PayPal sucks! This is the second time, in the span of month, that I have spent hours on a phone trying to resolve an issue that is their problem.
Reviewed Aug. 11, 2011
I sold an item through PayPal and never received payment. Amount of the item (rings) was 950 Canadian dollars. I have been in touch with PayPal and they told me too bad I was scammed by fraudulent emails and I have no recourse. So much for seller protection.
I will never deal with PayPal again!
Reviewed Aug. 11, 2011
I made a purchase from a California company. Weeks later, I received my purchase by regular mail. It had come from China. The electronics were not the advertised item I ordered.
I filed a dispute with PayPal under their "Buyer's Protection" because the item was not what I purchased. The seller ignored my e-mails and telephone calls and never responded.
PayPal pretended that they agreed with me, eventually, and the only way they would refund my purchase would be if I sent the item back to China by an overnight trackable carrier that would cost me more than the purchase. I did not buy anything from China, I bought from a merchant in California. They might as well have told me to buy space on the next shuttle flight and send it to the moon!
PayPal deliberately ripped me off to protect a dishonest merchant that uses them as their sole payment vehicle. PayPal is as dishonest as the merchant!
Reviewed Aug. 11, 2011
PayPal placed a hold of 21 days on all of my funds from my eBay sales, stating the reason as I had little activity on my account. Now that I started selling items again and have had an increase in activity, I was put into a "high-risk" category.
I called customer service twice to explain that I have no income. I am currently unemployed and that I need the money from the sales to ship the item. I was told that once I ship the item, the money would be released three days after it arrives, and I receive positive feedback. They also told me that if I use the print shipping label option, the money for postage would be available.
This was the first time I called, so I tried that. I printed a shipping label for one transaction, which the money came out of my checking and not my PayPal, and released the cost of shipping the item from the money on hold. When I tried to purchase the second shipping label, it said insufficient fund. So I called customer service again and was told that I have to purchase the label before they can release the funds. I can't do this with no funds available.
Now my checking has $1.34 in it and I can't do anything! I have no way to purchase the second shipping label until the funds are released! I asked if they could just release $13.25 for the cost of shipping the item, and they said no. I told them the last person I spoke to told me that it releases for the cost of shipping and he said they lied. I asked for a supervisor and he said they can't do anything for me.
What good is this? So now I am most likely going to get a negative on my item, as I have to ship it to Australia but I can't! Something needs to be done to correct this issue...and soon!
Reviewed Aug. 7, 2011
I sold five, sealed IPhone4 through Paypal to this person and he received the items by USPS (with a tracking number). After he received the items and checked the serial number he told me that he was happy with the items.The only proof I have that he was satisfied with the phones was the text messages he sent me after they were received. After a few days he opened a dispute against me through Paypal and lied to his credit card company that the phones were no good. Paypal and his credit card company put his money back into his credit card account and left me with a negative balance in my Paypal account. I am now left with a $2,000 negative balance in Paypal and without the five IPhones I shipped to him. I have made several complaints to Paypal and explained the situation and as of today they didn't try to help the situation. They have put me through their collection department and have failed to help me as their customer even after I have provided the proof that I am not at fault and have been completely honest to the person I sold the phones to. I will never use Paypal again. They are the worst site and they have the most unprofessional people I have talked to.
Reviewed Aug. 4, 2011
I sold 3 shure wireless microphones to a guy in France (Maurice Porreye), the customs tracking form indicated that the item arrived and was delivered, the guy claimed that he didn't receive it and paypal took $875 from my account. The guy totally screwed me up. Paypal always goes in favor of the buyer no matter what, but never for the seller... the reason paypal gave me was that customs forms tracking are not reliable since it doesn't track every step on the process and I should ship in a way which every step can be track and with signature, thats why I use now DHL for overseas.
Another time I sold 5 sony bluray players to Andrew Hamilton in Australia and ship USPS Express International insured with signature...(just how paypal requires) the weight of the package was 18 lbs. which was the 5 bluray plus packing material, I took pictures of the items inside the package and after I sealed the package (I always do that in case of claims and for insurance) The guy claimed he only received 1 bluray and want the rest of his money back (he was intentionally lying) So after I showed all the proof to paypal including pictures and facts like 1 bluray weights about 2.5 lbs with packaging will be about 3 lbs...but the package weighted 18 lbs with 5 blurays not 1???
Paypal again favor the buyer, it got me so irritated... Later i learned that the same buyer registered all 5 blurays for extended warranty on sony's website (i was following this with a contact I have in Sony's fraud department and he alerted me), so I called paypal and show them proof of the serial numbers I sold to this buyer and the serials that were registered by the buyer who claimed about 20 days before that he received only 1 bluray.... His name and foreing address in Australia matched his paypal address and the address on the extended warranty registration for the 5 bluray players... You know what paypal did?? NOTHING! They told me that the case was closed and there was nothing else to do... Honestly I just use paypal for Ebay transactions because is the only way... but i rather use something else for other deals.
Reviewed Aug. 4, 2011
I recently opened an eBay account. PayPal is the company they pretty much suggest that you use to accept payments. As of today, I have sold over $700.00 worth of merchandise. These are sales ranging from $30 to $50. So, I have sold a good amount of items. After a customer pays, I pack the items and provide eBay - PayPal with the tracking info. I tried to withdraw the money into my account that I have linked to PayPal. A message on PayPal read I could only access $33.56. I called PayPal right away. How can they do this? They have my bank account and a credit card for security, just in case a seller does not follow through on a sale. The reply I received was because I was a new seller. They had to hold my funds until the merchandise was delivered and the tracking number showed that. I went over 6 transactions with the person from PayPal that I had tracked myself and the USPS had stated delivery. PayPal claims that info was not in their system as of yet. When it does show up in their system, it takes 3 business days for me to receive my funds.
Well, it is now 4 business days. I keep selling merchandise and it is getting delivered. I'm checking the tracking info myself. I still have the same $33 in change available for me to withdraw. When I was on the phone with PayPal, I asked if I will also receive the interest that my money has earned. “No,” the rep stated. “Well, who does?” I asked. There was just silence. They did not know. This is legalized robbery. When you become a member of eBay, there are really no other payment options other than credit cards. They have even put limits on what you can accept money orders for. Not for what I am selling. I don't know what to do. I have bills to pay. I even purchased something on eBay and I can't pay for it. So, the seller opened a nonpayment case against me.
Reviewed July 29, 2011
After viewing several consumer complaint websites, I am fully convinced that PayPal is conducting business that is criminal in nature by "holding" people's funds for varying amounts for various, bogus and at times undisclosed reasons. I sent a $900 payment to an individual for some merchandise via PayPal. The money was transferred from my bank account that same day, through PayPal and to the individual. The seller realized that the item I ordered was out of stock and called me to inform me that he had revived my payment and was sending me a refund via PayPal immediately.
I went to check my PayPal account several hours and it showed the payment and refund as complete, but My $900 was not reflected in my PayPal balance nor my bank account balance. I waited until the next business day to give it some time to clear and still had no refund in either account. When I called PayPal customer service, I was told it would take 3-5 business day for the refund to show up in my account.
Why??? (1) I sent CASH from my account to his and he sent that same CASH back. Since when does CASH need time to clear? (2) I have yet to see an any disclosure that it takes 3-5 business days to process a refund. Very, very unethical if not totally illegal. Three customer service people (one posing as a supervisor, none that spoke english well enough to keep me from constant saying "huh? could you repeat that?") regurgitated the same canned responses that all skirted the issue of crediting my account immediately. This company is getting away with holding other people's money for indefinite periods of time for their own gain.
Reviewed July 23, 2011
I have been a paypal customer for over a year now. Recently I have applied for and been approved and issued a paypal debit card. As per the user agreement and terms of use, I am able to make purchases both online and at any retailer where MasterCard is accepted. The card may also be used to withdraw funds from my paypal account using any ATM as long as I use my 4 digit security pin and accept any associated withdrawal fees. As per paypal, I can add funds to my prepaid card in two ways which is either a transfer from my associated and linked bank account or via Green dot MoneyPak, which is a separate entity.
On July 20th, my mother, in Michigan, had purchased a MoneyPak card to set funds owed to me deposited directly into my paypal account. I later that day had withdrawn a part of those funds after doing a little grocery shopping using my paypal debit card. (First time ever withdrawing funds)
Later that evening, I received an email stating that my paypal account has been shut down and closed and funds released due to improper usage of the Green dot MoneyPak. I then called paypal to inquire further in which I was told by the representative that no further details were available and to call back later. I called back the next day, July 22nd, and spoke to yet another representative who basically told me that I violated federal laws with the use of MoneyPak and that I cannot load money using the MoneyPak to my paypal card then withdraw it. After careful review of all of paypal user agreements and terms of use and service of the account and the debit card, I could find nothing that states that I cannot withdraw funds that were deposited via MoneyPak. In fact, it clearly states in their policies and user agreements that I can withdraw funds from my debit card at any ATM using my PIN number and agreeing to any associated fees in doing so. Nothing is mentioned about the MoneyPak terms.
I then called back to paypal customer service to bring this to their attention where, once again, the representative informed me that I violated their terms of use of the moneypak. I asked the representative to refer me to the section in their policy on their website that states that and he could not find it. He also said that it is stated clearly at the back of the Green dot MoneyPak card. I just so happened had a Green dot MoneyPak card that I purchased a few weeks earlier on hand and read the back and informed him that it says nothing about withdrawing funds being a violation of terms. I also read him back exactly what the card states. He was speechless! I was then informed to contact the compliance department who's only means of contact is through email as they do not have a direct phone number? So I did, I just explained my case and the unfair and misleading tactics they used that resulted in the closure of my account and also mentioned no prior knowledge of this such policy that is not stated anywhere in their legal agreement or terms of use. To date, the only response I got was a computer reply of the original computer generated message sent to me.
I called again today and spoke to another representative who basically told me the same thing about me violating the terms of use. I again asked where or what section of the terms of use I can find that as I read the terms of use thoroughly and I cannot find it. He then tells me it's in the Green dot MoneyPak's terms of use. I then proceed with him on the phone to go to the Green dot MoneyPak's website and look into their terms of use and find nothing in reference to what or where he says it clearly states in their terms of use. Before I can bring this to his attention, he then retracts his claim and said that it doesn't exactly say it but that I can't do that.
I then called Green dot MoneyPaks customer support department to verify PayPal's claim in which they assured me that Green dot and PayPal are two separate companies with different policies and according to Green dot policies it is not illegal to withdraw funds from your debit card that was loaded using a moneypak as long as your card has cash withdrawal capabilities it is fine and legal! Then the call was ended. I then received a call from the PayPal supervisor who basically told me Green dot misinformed me and that PayPal does not need to list all of its policies for users to see andalthough it's not stated in the user agreement it is just! The call ended.
My point is how is this just and how is this legal? As per the advertisements and user agreement I was completely in the right and in compliance with the terms of use and the user agreement of both paypal and Green dot. and it was paypal who approved a debit card for my use and CLEARLY stated in their terms of use that cash may in fact be withdrawn from the debit card when available up to $400.00 per day.
Can someone please help me with this as I feel this is outrageous and unjust!
Reviewed July 21, 2011
They have several class action lawsuits and are still being allowed to rob and steal from people.
Reviewed July 19, 2011
However paypal unlike alot of other companies do not really care about thier older customers. I doubt they really care about customers at all.
We had been selling dolls on ebay and our business was doing ok, then some of the orders became delayed arriving from manufacturer to distributor. That set us back alot. And we had to do some refunds before those items arrived. That I understand and is not my complaint.. the following IS
What made it bad was when one day they decided we had multiple accounts. This happened right about as all the dolls were coming into the supplier and we would finally be able to get the dolls to our buyers.
they wanted id, bills, they wanted invoices from our suppliers, and their address, phone numbers ways to contact them. they wanted our social security numbers.. we gave them all of that..mean while I had managed to sell a few of my personal belongings on ebay to help pay for things.. And I mistakenly told someone at paypal on the phone that I had done so.. the records they had showed the account in negative.. until they saw I sold something for $200.. Well within the next two hours no one could pay for anything on auction that we were selling to pay for refunds or incoming dolls.. And the money that had gone in there? Close to $480? Paypal had held..
they said they needed more info send them more faxes.. so we sent the articles of operation for the business.. the license for the state of florida.
never heard anything back.. I finally got an idea to have my husband call since it was his account they had linked..
when he called they said they still had it down as multiple accounts OR that the business was seen as a risk so they had actually shut the accounts down back on the 24th of June.. So the whole time we were playing the fax game it was for nothing..
Reviewed July 12, 2011
I have a very similar issue. I sell and buy things on ebay every week. I recently moved (prior to begin selling) and did everything I needed to do correctly. I placed a mail forward with USPS before moving out, I updated my addresses with my banks, employers, credit card companies, ebay AND paypal. I applied for the Paypal debit card (top save myself 3-5 days each time i wanted to access my paypal funds as cash) and an account limit was placed because a debit card I once had on there was no longer valid. It was no longer valid because I had lost it and had to order another one, and the address (the old address) on THAT card didn't match the NEW address I was requesting my card be sent to.
So I call them and they ask me a ton of questions to verify my identity and my address. I even added a NEW credit card on my paypal account to update my address and clarify and remove the limitation. Once settled in to my new house, I begin making several ebay purchases (7) things for myself, my 18 mos old son, my husband etc. Days go by and I haven't received anything yet. I am pretty busy for a young mom. I work full time, Go to school online full time, support and care for my family, home, and my ebay side business of clearing out my closet. None of my packages have arrived. I check the tracking numbers, they have been delivered. I contact the seller, I contact USPS, I contact paypal, I contact ebay.
Apparently, after SEVERAL requests to change my address, when sellers buy a shipping label, paypal provides them with the address of the card that DOES NOT WORK on my account and have asked for them to remove and they havent since. Claiming it has been done. Paypal says its MY fault for not checking the ship to address. okay, maybe it IS my fault- but when I print up 4-5 labels DAILY and my RETURN ADDRESS is my new address, WHY IN THE HELL would they ship to my old address? and If I had done everything I needed to do, why would I even think of double checking the little section only a few shades darker (a light gray) if my shipping address is correct?
I had already made the request to change it several times online and over the phone. Now I'm out hundreds of dollars in merchandise, paypal refuses to take responsibility and in fact tried opening a case against a seller in my behalf to refund the money on an item not yet received. At this point, I've filed a police report for my "lost" packages, submitted a complaint to the California Attorney General's Office against paypal and have begun an investigation with USPS as to why they haven't FORWARDED my mail from the last address If I provided them with my CC# and the $1 fee it takes to make these changes online. So frustrated right now.
Reviewed July 6, 2011
Paypal then told me that I could contact Australia post and if I could get written proof from them that the item was delivered that I would get my money back.. I got the documentation sent to me, and faxed it off to paypal, and now they are telling me that the documentation proving the item was delivered isnt good enough..
Reviewed June 23, 2011
PayPal’s policy of holding funds from sales made thru eBay: they hold the funds for 21 days, even after the item has been shipped. I do not give credit to customers and PayPal has essentially forced the issue. They hold our money. This should be outlawed. I sell a car for $4000.00 and am forced to ship and then wait 21 days to see my money while the buyer drives my car and PayPal plays with the funds. This is an outrage. This should be outlawed. I am out equipment and the only proof of payment is a number on my PayPal account. Reminds me of Bernie **. It has caused me money that I do not have access to. How in the world do these people get away with this? And this is forced on eBay users. We need action on the part of the offices of Consumers Affairs. I only want an attorney to contact me if there is a class action law suit.
Reviewed June 22, 2011
How does Paypal get away with holding money they aren't entitled to? It's bad enough that by the time we pay eBay and Paypal their "fees", we end up with nothing. They then hold our money that we are entitled to and expect us to ship our packages out using our own money. They are holding my account now and stole the money from my last sale, claiming they didn't get their eBay fees from the last month when my bank records showed a withdrawal. In addition, I have a negative balance that can't be explained because they got the money. I should have a small balance. In the meantime, I have 3 packages to ship for their buyers and can't access my funds. I don't sell on eBay to have my money on hold and inaccessible so that I have to use my own money to ship these items with no sight of when I can get my money.
I had transferred my money to my bank account and they stopped the transfer and really expect that I will ship these items with no means to pay for the postage. Oh well, they are wrong. I am not putty in Paypal's hands and their buyers will not get their packages if I can't access my money. What's worse is that one buyer has a claim open for non-receipt and they won't even resolve this so they can get the shipment. If I don't get paid, I don't send out free merchandise. Ebay and Paypal think they are so great that everyone needs them and will put up with this **. I was simply trying to get rid of some old items that I don't need and am primarily a buyer, not a seller. I have practically given my items away because of the enormous fees. I certainly am not now losing my piddly sale money because they want to put it on hold for some indefinite amount or steal from me rather is what they did by claiming they weren't paid when they were.
Sellers have no rights with eBay or Paypal with all this "buyer protection". A buyer can say anything and get their money back even if they received the merchandise. No seller is going to risk not being paid and also being subject to refunding money as a result of Paypal's ** up antics. They aren't even polices. I got no warning or message about any negative balance and I also got no indication of any overdraw they are claiming occurred which didn't because I have evidence that they were paid. They screw people over to sit on money for interest and it is total crap. I would join any class action against Paypal. I now will lose my eBay account over this and I simply don't care anymore. When they do this to sellers, they lose money. They also lose buyers. They are totally wrong. Please, someone sue these people.
Reviewed June 18, 2011
PayPal refund my money back to the buyer even after they sold item which is a gift was used. And they told me the charge are not reimbursement. I had follow their protection policy but they still don't protect me as the seller. $500.00.
Reviewed June 11, 2011
I received an invoice from a dog breeder to pay my deposit through PayPal. I opened the invoice and began to complete all my debit card information and then a note pops up stating that I have been approved by GE Money Bank for credit with 23.99% interest. I was not asking for credit, I was only paying for something with my debit card.
I then saw another box that said if you "don't have an account" so I selected that box and was able to pay for the deposit with my debit card. I tried to get in touch with PayPal to make sure I didn't have an account and I didn't want a report on my credit that I was requesting credit. After several phone numbers and phone trees to get to GE Money bank who granted me the credit, I got in touch with an operator who told me there was nothing that could be done. I have several GE money bank accounts and I was not asking for another one.
Reviewed May 18, 2011
I had been selling items on eBay and accepting payments through PayPal for over 4 months. All of a sudden, they said that the CC on file was expired and to update it a.s.a.p. Since this was my business of course, I updated the CC right away. A day later, I logged in and found out that they put a limitation on my account. They were saying that in order to re-store the account, I just needed to verify some information.
They wanted 5 tracking numbers of the last products that I had sold (I gave them tracking number for all of my 150 sales). Then, they wanted to verify my address with a utility bill, and I sent that in. They wanted invoices, receipts, and proof of supplier. I was told during all this process, which took 3 days of stress, and while my purchases funds where on hold as well as my business, that once I gave them all this information, my account would be restored. The next day, they tell me that I am a security risk and they have decided to part ways and my account would be closed! I was furious!
Not only were there a lot of funds in my account from my buyers but also from my profit money. They said I would not be able to withdraw the funds for 180 days and did not know how I would do that once that time period was met. I am furious and have read that this has happened to so many of us who depend on this money to eat and feed our family. This money is essential for us to live. This was not just an extra $500 or $5,000 lying around somewhere. I, for one, am not going to let them do this to me, and whoever wants to join me when I file a class action lawsuit against them, let me know!
Reviewed May 11, 2011
In January 2011, PayPal suddenly and without notice held all the funds in my account (about $20k). They demanded proprietary and confidential documents, bank statements, etc. saying they are my business partner. They were my credit card processor. Under duress, I released some of the documents withholding the ones with my customers personal information. They released about half the funds. I have never had a dispute or complaint.
According to terms of use, they can hold your money if there is a dispute but I have never had any. The rest of the funds were to be released yesterday, May 9. When they were not released, I contacted PayPal customer service and they released some money but are still holding around $2300 for collateral. Collateral for what? Not sure as I no longer use the account. I'd like to close the account, but they will not close an account with a reserve. I asked to speak to the supervisor of the risk manager that did this to me. After speaking to several people, they gave me the address to PayPal legal department. Apparently there is no appeal mechanism or any supervisors in PayPal.
PayPal's holding this money has caused a significant burden to my business. I had to personally work excessively to the point of illness and exhaustion in order to make up for that money. I had to quit using employees for the work. I potentially lost customers because I was sometimes late with services, because I was so busy and then ill. What they are holding is roughly equivalent to my house payment which I will not be able to make. I have reported the problem to my state senators, the SEC, FTC and the CA and CO attorney generals. No help so far.
Reviewed May 1, 2011
I was selling items on ebay and the buyers were paying me using a service called PayPal. On 2/25/11, PayPal limited my account. This meant that I could not access the money I had in my Paypal account. They said that my account would stay limited until I provided tracking numbers for 5 buyers whom they chose at random. They said after I provided the information they would immediately remove the limitation. I provided tracking number for not only the 5 buyers they chose at random but for all 100+ buyers. They then said that they were permanently limiting my account. They have my checking account information on the account and refused to let me close the account.
I have tried to appeal their decision to limit my account, but all I keep receiving is a response that my appeal was denied and to not respond to the email because no one checks that email address. I have called several times trying to find out exactly why they will not remove the limitation from my account and keep getting the same canned response. This had become extremely frustrating. They said that they are going to hold my money for 180 days without interest. They are doing this to hundreds of thousands of their customers. They are holding our money without cause and using our money to make money.
Reviewed April 17, 2011
I've had my PayPal account for years with no problem. Today, I tried to pay an eBay seller and got a message that I can't use the MasterCard I have used for years. I have plenty of funds available, the card is not expired and there is no hold of any type per the credit card company.
I called PayPal for answers. Catherine couldn't answer any questions and kept me on hold for 25 minutes, then said that she had to transfer me to another representative for help. She then dumped me back in the regular call queue and I got Ron in the Philippines. Ron was nice but couldn't tell what the problem is. He said he'd escalate it and someone from PayPal would get back to me. A quick Google search shows that there are many similar complaints recently and no one is getting any answers from PayPal, in spite of repeated calls to them.
PayPal hold our money and refused valid credit cards while they try to shove your Bill Me Later service down our throats. They don't provide answers when we call about their problems. I can't pay my seller until they fix the problem. They should figure out their glitch and fix it; they are accountable to their customers!
Reviewed April 11, 2011
When I called to ask why there was a zero balance and hold on my refund, it was explained that they were waiting for the funds to be released from the bank. I was eager to have the funds back in my PayPal account, because even once they were back in that account, I would have to transfer them back into my bank account, which I knew would take another couple of days.
Due to the difference from Eastern to Pacific Time, I waited until the following day and called again. I also thought about the fact that my funds come out as an instant transfer and had already been deducted from my bank account. There's no way these funds even reached the merchant. When I called for a second time, I was told that it would be 3 - 7 days for the funds to arrive from my bank. This time I objected more severely. This is a long time to be out $250 and for the life of me I could not understand why they just did not cancel the transaction and put the money back in my PayPal immediately when the transaction was refunded?
I was told that I could contact my bank to have a stop payment done. However, upon contacting my bank, I was told there was nothing they could do unless there was a fraud committed. Clearly, like I'd already known, the funds had already left the bank anyways. The third time I called, I immediately asked to speak with a supervisor. By now it was three banking days since this transaction. I was given the same song and dance. I did get the supervisor to admit how ridiculous it sounded that they were having me wait this long for my money to arrive in my PayPal account or for PayPal to refund it to me!
I went to PayPal's forums and found numerous posts where mostly sellers were complaining about how PayPal freezes/holds there funds after they sell items. Some have hypothesized that PayPal is using these extra days/weeks as a means to make money on the interest of our money. I have to admit this idea crossed my mind as well. Regardless, today is the end of day four and my PayPal balance is still zero. This is ridiculous, uncalled for and at this day and age, it simply makes no sense. All of my other transactions go thru way faster than 3 - 4 days. It looks to me like PayPal is running a scam here, and I'm extremely upset about this.
Reviewed April 8, 2011
PayPal limited my account for no reason at all. The claim that was given was that they want to check with me to make sure that no one has logged into my account without my permission. This check is unnecessary as it is clear that I am the only one who have access to my account and always have.
My account has been low usage and still is. Besides rather high activity in March and now in April due to donations. After the account has been restored and my funds transferred to my credit card, I am going to close it. The account was restored as I did write this complaint but that in itself might not prevent this from happening again.
I could have lost money if the account had not been restored from its limited state.
Reviewed April 4, 2011
I had Sports Tickets auctioned on EBay. Buyer bid and won tickets. Buyer contacted me saying" payment made using PayPal" and requested delivery of tickets. Paypal verified the authorized payment.Tickets were sent and Buyer acknowledged receipt. Later Buyer disputed payment made via personal credit card on PayPal as "unauthorized". PayPal claimed to arbitrate on my behalf. I was informed that the decision went in favor of the Buyer. I was not properly represented. (PayPal Dispute *****)
Reviewed March 18, 2011
I sold items on ebay in Jan and Feb. These items were shipped (confirmed) and I received the necessary "feedback" from buyers verifying that purchase, receipt of merchandise and payment by them to PayPal to my account. I have attempted for weeks to get my money from PayPal to no avail. Not only can I not get my money, the employees that work in customer service don't know any more about why money isn't paid than I do. It's only a total of $377. Not a lot of money unless you're like me and living on a fixed income and really need it. I have paid fees to ebay for listing, money to PayPal for handling the transactions and money for shipping of the products. I know they are a large corporation and I'm small potato but I've reached a point where I see no alternative but to ask someone for help or go to the courts for satisfaction. Can you shed any light on the possibility of this working favorably for me in obtaining my money?
Reviewed March 16, 2011
I purchase Computer Software from a Company iXiTools.com/processed by PLIMUS.com and paid through PAYPAL. After downloading the software, it would ask me for a Registration Key. I do not have a Registration Key, so I email iXiTools and Plimus several times with no response from anybody. I went to PAYPAL (since I paid with PAYPAL) and open two cases in Resolution Center, and later on, escalated the cases to a dispute. Apparently, PAYPAL received some kind of email from PLIMUS or iXiTools and they came to the conclusion. "We have concluded our investigation into this case. Unfortunately, at this time we are unable to decide this claim in your favor. "
Now, I never received any emails from iXiTools or Plimus to my inquiries, and PAYPAL comes out with a resolution base on what? I am about $120.00 out of pocket, and a Software package that it is worthless/useless since there is not Registration Keys.
Reviewed March 8, 2011
I was scammed. I bought what I thought was a new-in-the-box 24" Dell flat screen LCD computer monitor for $47.95 and $14.00 for shipping. After the PayPal payment was made, I received an e-mail from the scam artist saying congratulations on your purchase of the wholesale information. I tried to go through PayPal and eBay, but they supported the scam artist. I closed my account with eBay and I still could not believe that they allowed listings like this one to be placed.
Reviewed March 3, 2011
I filed bankruptcy 3-5 years ago including City of Santa Monica Credit Union and on Master Card ending in ***. associated with add: ***. I tried to close PayPal account using this old information. I could not. They would not help. Stated I need to close it and I explained I can't. I no longer have the bank acct or the credit card account. Called two phone numbers. Filed complaint. No cooperation at all! First attempt was hung up on.
Reviewed March 1, 2011
I have sold for years on eBay and Paypal was a major payment processor. My eBay record is exemplary but suddenly due to my account being high risk, I was given thirty days notice that there would be up to a 21 day hold on payments. A payment was made to me that day and held! The first business day later, I cleaned out their ears a bit, defended my performance, and my account was quickly cleared of any hold actions.
That was a proper response. My thought: who do they think they are to cause such stress and waste of time to people who use their service in an honorable manner? Is that what they think they are due as a result of my agreeing to pay them 50% more for processing payments than my regular merchant account?
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2011
This pseudo-bank owned by eBay charges egregiously high fees. I sold an item on eBay for a total of $71.77 including shipping. The buyer paid PayPal with an "eCheck". PayPal charged $2.38 or 3.3%, for this. PayPal took no risk whatsoever. They cautioned me not to ship until they confirmed the eCheck had cleared.
Reviewed Feb. 10, 2011
Kent was planning on buying my car but he resides in the U.K. A lot of things aren't adding up the way they should. I already gave him $500 to pay for the courier expenses. But he is trying to get more money from me to pay for the insurance, claiming that he will pay me back through PayPal and that the money is on hold until I send the insurance money to him. Most of the contact has been through email so I can provide those details to you. I believe the PayPal emails he was sending me are fake as they have many grammatical errors, similar to the ones he makes when emailing me.
Reviewed Feb. 2, 2011
My account (**@vazgsm.net) was blocked due to stupid rules and the lack of people to solve the question. I had a dispute, and money was returned to sender. My balance was negative. All funding in my account were always by credit card, but they don't take it to solve the negative pending.
I sent 9 emails, but none replied; I tried to call at least 5 times (Brazilian and US numbers), and no one knew nothing, and they can't do anything. Support tickets are always answered the same default useless answer; no one even read what's inside it. I mean, how can someone contact a large company so many times, trying to pay, and that company simply doesn't care. It's the worse customer support I have ever seen. It seemed that no one works, because everyone knew nothing about anything. And so, nothing got even discussed.
Reviewed Feb. 1, 2011
PayPal has installed a policy where money due me from sales completed on Ebay are held for up to 21 days. I am not alone in this fight against PayPal. PayPal said that they need this hold in case the buyer has a complaint or needs a refund. This is ridiculous as I was required to provide a checking account number and credit card number for backup funding. Backup funding is put into use if the balance of the PayPal account is less than the dollars needed to satisfy a customer's needs. I pay PayPal and Ebay seller's fees separate with automatic withdrawal.
I am retired and in order to process the sale and deliver the package to the customer, I must pay postage; I need the money from the sale to do this. Otherwise, as of right now, I am having to pay shipping postage out of my pocket.
Currently, I have paid over $100 just for shipping of three items. I needed money to use and I am still waiting on from PayPal. I provided tracking as requested and communicated this information to the customer, as I have done for several years. I am not a casual seller. So, it is vital that this policy be eliminated so that I can afford to continue.
In closing, it is important to me to note that after funds are released, it is without interest. Thus, PayPal get free use of my money for up to 21 days.
As mentioned before, I am retired. Money is very tight. I sell on Ebay to help make ends meet but not getting the funds from my sales for up to 21 days and having to process the sale within two days, causes me to pay out of my pocket for shipping. Let alone getting the money due me from the Ebay sales to help pay my bills.
Reviewed Jan. 27, 2011
First issue - I made use of the eBay and PayPal selling system fairly regularly, about five years ago. Recently, I had something to sell, so I went to eBay and PayPal and made sure all of my information was updated in both accounts. I was told that my PayPal account was frozen. I wasn't surprised since it had been a while since I used it - not a problem. I went ahead and cleared this issue and sold my item on eBay. The buyer paid me via PayPal. No muss, no fuss, right?
When I went to transfer funds to my bank account (mind you, the same account that I've had since I first used eBay), I was told that again, my account had been frozen for security reasons (I have seen no one trying to hack into my account/no notifications from my bank). PayPal told me that they needed me to verify my address. They gave me a fax number where I could send a copy of my driver's license. Despite my attempts to fax yesterday and today, that number in India has been continuously busy. As I have gainful employment, I don't have 24 hours a day to spend on a fax machine, trying to send over 2 pages.
Second issue - Another item I had on eBay was sold. The high bidder never paid, never came through, nothing. Allegedly, this buyer had a score of 100%. I have been trying to lower that score to warn any potential sellers that this person is a complete flake. I can't do it.
Reviewed Jan. 16, 2011
I have been using PayPal.com services for a long time. Well, in the last 3 weeks, I have earned $2000 (not once), which have been sent to my PayPal account. After I got my first $1000 in the first week, I have been limited by PayPal and couldn't use my balance (I can only receive payments). In the second week, I've done all they were asking me for and verified my account. In the third week, I also got a big payment. Then, they just closed my PayPal account with more than $2000 in it!
I called customer support. They told me that PayPal decided to do this because I was sort of a threat. I asked for the reason. But he told me that he don't know because of security issues. So, I asked for his manager's number or someone I can talk to, who can help me or get more info about my payments so he could lift my account. But he refused to give me any other information. So, I asked what's about my money. He told me that in 180 days, I may receive a mail with details on how I can get my cash out of PayPal into my bank. I asked him how will I do that. He told me, "I don't know.” That is how the call ended!
Now I don't know why my account was closed. Is it because of the high payments? I've got customers who can prove that they paid me for services. PayPal doesn't even want to hear my side of this. And this is my money. The support guy also mentioned that in this case, I cannot do anything because this kind of decision cannot be appealed. I have worked hard and earned my money honestly and I can prove it! Why do I deserve this?!
Reviewed Jan. 15, 2011
I won an auction and paid through Paypal. The seller revised the auction while I had the winning bid and made 9 other violations. When he returned my call, he requested $350 to pick up my item, which was already paid for. Then he refused to sell me the item even though I won the auction for $25 and returned my money. I resent the money which Paypal still has and filed a non-receipt complaint and was told that eventually I might get my $25 back. I entered a contract when I bid, the seller entered a contract when she posted, and I completed my contract when I paid. The seller does not null and void a contract by returning my money and has had the second payment for days now. I want the speakers I purchased or the funds to replace them. I have spent hours with eBay and Paypal with no success and arbitration was refused me even though it is in eBay’s policies, which I agreed to when I signed up to sell and buy on eBay. Customer service refuses to place me in contact with a supervisor as my issue is not on the list of reasons to refer me to a supervisor. The seller has 5 negative feedbacks this month for the same reason and has a 94% seller rating, and I have 100% rating with twice the number of feedbacks.
I am a disabled veteran 100% and suffer from anxiety and panic disorder and OCD and have been going insane and over medicating to survive.
Reviewed Jan. 9, 2011
Being sent to collection agency again for charges made by somebody that they gave my account information to. I have spent well over 160 hours of my own time clearing my good name and credit history along with having to close my accounts and open new accounts (some of which I have had for 25+ years).
Reviewed Dec. 31, 2010
I opened a PayPal account to buy something online. I transferred $455 into my PayPal account from my checking account. When I purchased the item, I used a PayPal eCheck. And an error took the money out of my linked checking account rather than my PayPal account (and overdrew my checking account). I tried to transfer the $455 back to my checking account, but PayPal has now restricted my account. Even though I sent them a bank statement and a photo of my driver’s license for proof of identity, they refuse to transfer my money back and do not respond to emails or phone calls.
Reviewed Dec. 31, 2010
I transferred $485 from my PayPal account into my checking account several days ago. PayPal listed the transaction as "pending" but today in my PayPal account it says it is "completed." However, the money has not shown up in my bank account. My bank told me to ask PayPal for the tracing number. They would not give me one, but gave me some ** story about the money going into my bank's "federal reserve" account where it can sit for days. I called my bank back and they informed me all transfers are posted to accounts within one hour and there is no record of PayPal transferring any money. PayPal has the correct account number because they deposited verification amounts of 3 and 17 cents (and it did not take days to do so).
Now I don't know where my money is and PayPal says they cannot give me the tracing number for 7 days. Originally, they tried to convince me that the transaction number was the tracing number, but when I wouldn't bite, then the customer service person said I couldn't have it for 7 days. PayPal insists the money is no longer with them, but my bank does not have it.
Reviewed Dec. 31, 2010
PayPal changed my primary paying method without my authorization and without a notice. They tried to charged my bank account instead of my credit card over and over and over. For each time, they tried to charge my bank account I had to pay $35 NSF charge because my bank account didn't have the funds.
When I informed them about the problem, they said there's nothing they can do about it because it's in the system and they can't modify anything in the system. So, the system kept trying to run it over and over and over again. Before I could deposit $13 into that account, they tried to charged it 7-8 times leaving me with $250+ NSF charges on my bank account. Their explanation was "We're sorry that's how the system works." I'd rather bury my money in the back yard and send checks in the mail than using PayPal again.
I had to pay $250+ overdraft charges on my bank account for an item that costs $13 because PayPal tried to charge my bank account over and over instead of my credit card.
Reviewed Dec. 28, 2010
PayPal has authorized Proactive Solutions to collect money for a product I did not purchase or received. I have contacted PayPal several times to stop any payments going through my PayPal account to Proactive. On 12/10/10, I spoke to a PayPal representative and he helped me deactivate Proactive Solutions from my PayPal account. He assured me that no payments would ever come through from Proactive again. PayPal has charged my checking account twice for $19.95, each time causing my checking account to be negative $71.95. Also, PayPal is charging me another $19.95 for unpaid funds. I would like to cancel my PayPal account and to be refunded $91.95 that PayPal has caused me in financial stress. PayPal is responsible for authorizing payments to Proactive since I contacted them several times and requested to cancel any payments. I have been unemployed. Now I'm depressed because of this matter.
Reviewed Dec. 20, 2010
PayPal has not responded to my two good-faith letters of 10-14-10 and 11-6-10. They have rather preferred to simply send me more bills with added interest and late charges.
The two good-faith letters were sent to PayPal immediately after they finally sent me two sets of written statements for the specific charges made on my PayPal card. I include the two good-faith letters here. On 7-19-10, three months before the two good-faith letters were sent, my husband, Dwight **, had issued an electronic withdrawal check to PayPal, in the amount of $87, immediately after receiving a phone call from PayPal stating that we were in arrears on the account.
I requested during that phone conversation that we be sent a written statement indicating the charges in arrears and that my card be cancelled. PayPal failed to send any written statement until three months later, on 10-13-10. PayPal' s first written statement sent since May, dated 10-13-10, indicated that there were two charges still owed by me for a total of $103.49 (see response of my first good-faith letter included here, dated 10-14-10, that included a check for payment of the amount I thought I owed on my account). On 11-6-10, I sent PayPal the second good-faith letter (also included here) immediately after finally receiving all the statements issued for my PayPal account #**. The last statement indicated charges pending between 5-7-10 and 6-8-10. This was the first time I had been sent a written statement concerning these charges. The only pending charges I was aware of were the two they had sent me notice of, for the first time, on 10-13-10.
My response in the letter of 11-6-10 represents my present position: I am in no way willing to pay for any interest charges or late fees accrued since May of this year, 2010. In a nutshell, PayPal wants me to pay, $301.68 in interest and late fees because they decided to switch me over to online statements and payments without my permission and without giving me any written notice or sending me any more written statements. Their latest unilateral move has been to change my account to PayPal Extras, transfer a new amount of $1,170.17 as purchases/debits, and to assign the account a new number of 5218 5310 1928 2103.
My husband, Dwight **, had been faithfully paying the entire amount of the balance on my PayPal account every month, without fail, from the beginning of my account until the last written statement payment he made on 5-14-10 in the amount of $449.42. If PayPal makes any claim of sending us written statements from that date until October 13 and November 6 of this year, it would be a false claim. Between July and November we have received numerous harassing phone calls from PayPal. After each one my husband would always say, "Send the written statement!"
My husband issued you an electronic withdrawal on 7/19/10 for: $87.00 (Reference #**) Balance: $16.49. We accept the above two mentioned transactions and include a check here for the $16.49 balance of our debt with you. If you have any more proof in the form of a statement listing a transaction summary of the charges for the Previous Balance in the amount of $927.78, which you claim exists, please send it to us through regular mail.
We will then be happy to consider it just as we have considered this statement you sent us yesterday and which is addressed in this letter. If not, we consider our debt with PayPal as paid in full. Also, I notified you at least three or four months ago by phone that I wanted to cancel my PayPal card. I destroyed the card then. Please make sure that this card and account have been cancelled. Thank you.
Congratulations for finally sending me a significant document concerning the charges I have been asking you to document in written form since June of this year! I include a copy of your significant document here and would ask you to calculate how much I really own you. Please take into consideration in that calculation my last letter to you, dated Oct. 14, 2010, a copy of which I also include here.
I am in no way willing to pay for any interest charges or late fees accrued since May of this year, 2010. That is because of PayPal' s complete irresponsibility in handling my account. I will not get into the more than fifty harassing phone calls I have been receiving from PayPal since May, nor concerning the details of PayPal' s incompetency.
Please return a written statement addressing the issue of how much you really think I owe you. Please do not include all the wasted twenty five pages I just received from you which were postmarked Oct. 28. 2010. One page, like the one included from you here should be enough. I appreciate your immediate attention in this matter as it appears that I may owe some money. Once again, please take into consideration my letter of Oct. 14, 2010 in your calculations. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.\
PayPal needs to be seriously sanctioned for their policies and for being the source of my ongoing frustration and low credit scores. Because of their inept handling of my account I have been unable to refinance my home and save $300 a month in lower interest payments. PayPal also claims that I owe them $301.68 fees and interest for the year of 2010. What can I do about these damages?
Reviewed Dec. 17, 2010
On Dec 10, 2010, as funds were being transferred from my PayPal account to my bank account, an automatic charge was also processed. PayPal did not take the money from the PayPal account, instead they charged the associated bank account. This action caused the bank account to go over and an overdraft fee of $32 was charged to my account.
After speaking to the bank representative, this overdraft charge was refunded. As it was clearly evident that PayPal had funds being held at the same time the automatic payment was being processed to my bank account. On Dec. 13, I immediately changed the primary bank account associated with PayPal for payments/deposits and made sure that the associated credit card was also active. On December 16, another overdraft charge was noted in the bank account. After speaking to two PayPal representatives, "their system" would not check for new account information nor use the backup credit card on the account but it would instead try to use the same account again. Doing so caused additional overdraft fees of $32, which PayPal refuses to reimburse me for. As of December 14, PayPal was still using the old bank account information for automatic payments as evidenced by a new charge of $4.95 and the second overdraft charge for a transaction that was later charged to my credit card.
Reviewed Dec. 15, 2010
I was trying to re-list something on eBay and I was not able to do it because I got a message that I need to get verified to my PayPal. When I called PayPal, they told me that the only way to get verified by PayPal was either to open a PayPal credit card or to add a checking or savings account to my PayPal account. I don't think it is legal to be asked to open a credit card or to be asked to link my personal banking accounts with Paypal. This is an abuse! I would really appreciate if you can investigate this matter.
Reviewed Dec. 14, 2010
I sold a camcorder to a person in California. I believe it was when I went to get transfer my money from the sell. PayPal said my account had been suspended. I have no clue why it was for $50.00 plus like $15.00 for shipping.
Reviewed Dec. 10, 2010
Pay Pall says what they will do to verify a bank account is deposit one penny into it. Instead, they withdraw a dollar as many times as they want to. Within the first 5 minutes of ‘verifying’ my account, they took a dollar 3 times. I have to shut my bank account down to stop them from stealing money.
Reviewed Dec. 3, 2010
I bought services from internet through PayPal, then I realized that I have been scammed since I did not receive any services. I filed 8 case claims with PayPal. I called and discussed with three dispute specialists about these claims. All of them confirmed with me that from the date I filed the claims, PayPal will email sellers about the claims and allowed seller 11 days to response back against the claims.
One of my 8 cases claimed responded back against my claim and PayPal notified me by email. Also, I can review the seller posting comment in my account. So far, there was only 1 of 8 cases responded back to the claims as I mentioned earlier. If the seller responds within 11 days, the chance I will get my money is minimum since they do not protect any services purchased.
However, if the seller failed to response within 11 days. PayPal will automatically refund me back in my account regardless whether services or products. I reviewed my cases in PayPal account every day. There was only one seller responded, and no responses from the rest 7 cases.
When time approached 11 days, I called and talked to one of the specialist on Nov 26, 2010 about 2 big claimed ($500 USD each for total of $1,000USD) that filed on Nov 18, 2010. The specialist told me that by Nov 29, 2010, around 4-5 pm, if the seller has not responded back to the claims, PayPal will automatically refund $1000USD in my account.
On Nov 29, 2010, I checked my account and saw that $1,000USD was refund and put back in my account. However, two days after refund, PayPal took my money back from my account in the amount of $1,000 USD and emailed me that refund was in error. I called and talked to so many departments and been transferred to so may people for more than 2 hours. The last person I talked to is the supervisor of the dispute department, he explained that refund was in error.But I referred to 11-day policy that I was informed by three dispute specialists the information if seller did not reponded within 11 days, PayPal will automatically refund my money. The supervisor told me that the seller responded before 11 days. When I asked to see the comment from the seller, the supervisor told me they cannot since it is privacy between seller and PayPal. I insisted that 1 of the 8 cases when seller responded back, why I can review that case, but why not these cases. Now, I realized I have been scammed by PayPal.
Please, is there any legal department that can help innocent victim like me? I have been scammed by sellers and by PayPal.
Reviewed Nov. 28, 2010
I called Paypal twice when I was scammed through Paypal within 3-4 minutes of the 7-day free trail ad. They tell you that they can't help you until you are charged. I called them ASAP because the companies, Archives.com and another, would not take/accept a cancellation once Paypal was used.
I got screwed out of $39.95 and $59.00 and they were told to cancel the scam 3-4 minutes after I ordered it and would not. Then after being billed, they say it is legitimate and not fraud.It is **.
Reviewed Nov. 28, 2010
I called PayPal twice when I was scammed through Paypal ASAP, within 3-4 minutes of the 7 day free trials ad. They tell you they can’t help you until you are charged. I called them ASAP because the companies Archives.com and another would not take/accept a cancellation once PayPal was used. I got ** out of $39.95 and $59.00. They were told to cancel scam 3-4 minutes after I ordered it and would not. Then after being billed, they say it is legitimate and not fraud. It is **.
Reviewed Nov. 16, 2010
I was in a dispute with the buyer regarding a Guitar Hero Band set he bought. The last thing I told him was that he could return the item and I'll refund him the money if he doesn't like it. However, I never received the item, but the money was refunded back to him. I wasn't able to access my PayPal account because I had to enter my bank account number or credit card information.
I was on vacation overseas and did not have these with me (since I only travel with Travelers Checks) and so I couldn't unlock my account. I also didn't have an international phone to call PayPal. When I returned and unblocked my access, I saw the funds have already been returned. So I emailed PayPal and they said that since the case was closed, they can't refund any money.
Then, I called them and the man who helped me said that he will send an email to the buyer to return the item. If he doesn't, PayPal will take care of it. After two weeks, the buyer still didn't return the item. So I called PayPal again, and this time, the woman I spoke to was rude and said that she'll just send the email again. It has now been over a month and I still didn't get the item back (from Canada). It's a large amount since it's a game set and I don't think it's fair that PayPal refunded all the money considering that he didn't even return the item. Please let me know what steps to take in order for me to have the money returned. Thank you!
Reviewed Oct. 31, 2010
I sold a used cellular phone on ebay.com. Mr. *** bought said item so I sent it to him. When Mr. *** received the item and tried to connect the phone, Verizon told him that the phone was stolen. This was my fault because I did not transfer the line to another phone when I sent the phone to him. So in return *** contacted PayPal.com and put out a dispute against me. He also contacted me through ebay.com and told me the situation. So I immediately contacted Verizon wireless and fixed the problem hopping that he would take back the dispute claim.
He never did take back the claim. Long story short, I gave him a refund for the cellular phone and he never gave me back my cell phone. He kept both the phone and the money and I don't think that is fair. He even had the audacity to leave me negative feedback on ebay.com saying that I sold him a stolen phone! PayPal.com doesn't help me because they said I didn't answer to the claim in the allotted time frame. Please help. I am very upset.
Reviewed Oct. 23, 2010
I wanted to buy a piece of software and decided to use PayPal. When I clicked to "pay", it refused to do so until I had added my credit card to the information. Why? I don't know! I had previously added my bank and having had a change of heart after hearing of information being "lost" online, I changed my bank. It seemed the easier thing to do.
At any rate, PP would not allow me to purchase the software without the addition of my credit card. I decided to not purchase the software, but rather withdraw my funds from PP. That is impossible to do unless you "confirm your address". To do so, you must add your credit card number. Why? I don't know! Since my address is listed on their site, both my box number which is the only way to reach me via the mail system, and my house number which is the only way to reach me via box delivery. Why this should be so at this late date is truly beyond me, but any of you brave souls who has been thinking of using PayPal, don't! Your money in your account will be held hostage unless you add your credit card or your bank account as collateral. Why? I don'tknow!
Reviewed Oct. 15, 2010
I woke up this morning to an email from Paypal informing me that $165 had been removed from my bank account and put on hold. A buyer on Ebay requested parcel post shipping to California. I mailed a copper roasting pan from New Jersey and after only 4 business days, Paypal allowed her to put the amount in dispute even though the USPS estimates 10 business days for delivery.
When I called Paypal, they told me that even though parcel post is traceable by the post office, it's not traceable online. I called the woman's post office in California who told me the package is at their sorting facility and probably won't be delivered until this Tuesday and the Paypal claim is scheduled to be closed on Monday if she hasn't received the package. I will never again accept Paypal and advise anyone else dealing with Ebay/Paypal to never accept Paypal if you don't want to be ripped off!
Reviewed Oct. 14, 2010
I bought a bag and I paid it with PayPal. At the other day, I decided that I did not want the bag anymore. Right away I asked for the credit back. To my surprise, PayPal sent me a statement of U$110.34 (the bag cost U$ 95.00). I have been calling them since 2 weeks ago and I did not solve my problem yet.
Reviewed Oct. 3, 2010
I do not have nor ever had any disputes with PayPal, I am customer since 1998.
I am a software developer who makes the living by selling his software online. Normally, I log in into my PayPal account twice a year just to withdraw my money. When I logged in on August 9th, 2010, there was a message from PayPal informing me that my credit card on file has expired September 2009. Immediately, I updated that information. Soon after that (few minutes later) I have received email from PayPal saying that my account became "limited" and I do not have right to withdraw funds.Their requirement to remove that limitation was for me to submit my photo ID and proof of address.
I am not willing to do that, because I do not see any valid reason for PayPal to request that information and I consider that invasion of my privacy. They do have my valid MasterCard account on file and they do have my Canadian bank account and the address (confirmed address). Beside that, I am long time PayPal customer with "confirmed address" status. On October 1st, PayPal tightened the screw and disabled my account completely.
Reviewed Sept. 28, 2010
I am a photographer/book publisher with an online business where I accept credit card payments through PayPal. PayPal stopped accepting payments on my account for "security" reasons without my authorization or notice. (They sent emails asking for my bank account# which appeared to be phony, so I did not respond to those). They did not call me when they stopped accepting payments for my services/product. I only learned of the problem when a motivated buyer contacted me and told me that my website was giving them, "We are not accepting payments for this product at this time."
Is this practice by PayPal legal? Customers should be entitled to personal (by phone) notification when holds are put on accounts. I have phone/fax/answering machine. I could easily have been notified and answered their "security" questions, which basically was a repeat of the information they already had (my bank account #) originally and a new password. They even had a charge on their "questions".
Update your credit card information and they charge your credit card for that. I would be happy if someone notified PayPal that these are not acceptable business practices. I asked that if they cut off accepting payments on my account in the future, if they would call me. I was told, "That is not our policy." Unfair and unethical. Plain and simple. The whole process seemed fishy to me. My account was immediately restored when I contacted them, but never should have been cut off in the first place.
Reviewed Sept. 25, 2010
9/9/2010, I bought on eBay for $327,00 US dollars. I payed it with my credit card which address is in Argentina. So I decided to manage my account in Pesos Argentinos. Paypal Change those $347.00 dolars in $1.407,75 Pesos Argentinos but in my credit card I found $360,30 US dollars! So I have to pay to PayPal from US dollars to Pesos Argentinos and I have to pay to my Bank from dollars to pesos Argentinos.
On 9/24/2010, they canceled my transaction and again they change from dollars to pesos and so on! Of course very high change because it's one of PayPal business. The same day, I have to pay again those 347 US dollars to the seller.
Reviewed Aug. 30, 2010
Sometime in August 2000, I sold an item on eBay to a customer overseas. I blame myself for having used a shipping service that was not traceable, so I cannot verify if the person ever received it. I got one and only one email from the buyer about 1 week after I had sent it stating that they had not received the item and they feared the package lost. I sent numerous emails and physical snail mail in an attempt to ask if the client wanted a refund. I even sent them whatever paperwork the postal office had given me in an attempt to try to find the package.
I received zero response! Time passed, weeks went by, months passed and years passed, I was only ever left wondering, "What Happened?" The client had apparently filed a chargeback with their own bank - which of course, their bank is going to favor them. Paypal left the chargeback amount in my account, I never saw it! I was never informed of it! The account was closed some months afterwards and the email address used with it was abandoned.
I moved 4 times in the course of the ten years that followed! I get a call sometime in August 2010 from an outside collections agency. The woman on the phone is less than polite. She is irate with me and will not tell me what this collection is about other than to say "Paypal and Ebay, August 2000". In fact, this woman is so irate with me, that rather than answer my question as to whether this is real or fraud, she just threatens to file a mark on my credit report for it and say that I'm not paying it.
I then proceeded to call Paypal's customer service # directly. It takes me nearly an hour for me to even get a general idea of what this $120 chargeback is all about. Between being tossed around 4 or 5 representatives, and them claiming they need me to provide the phone # at the residence ten years ago, and/or the email address used, this was a freaking nightmare. I tore apart my entire filing cabinet just to find some itty bitty information to prove that I was me and not someone else!
It's not that I hadn't been willing to resolve the matter directly with the client! It's the fact that this took ten long years to resolve, and Paypal was less than helpful (although a bit better than the irate collections agency). I requested the Paypal representative who finally could resolve the issue to please send me a confirmation to my current address/email. Thus far, I have yet to receive it, and all my current inquiries of it go unanswered.
All I have is a charge on my current bank account, and no response from Paypal! I am keeping the statement that I have, but I have no faith whatsoever that Paypal has indeed closed the file on their end! I want solid proof of it, and until I do, I leave warning to anyone who uses Paypal to be extremely careful or not use them at all!
There also ought to be a "Statute of Limitations" as to how long something like this can go on for. Because ten years is a long time! A person can die during that time frame (you never know if someone is gonna be ran over by a car and dead the next day). Makes me wonder how many collections agencies are chasing dead people for money that cannot be recovered.
Reviewed Aug. 30, 2010
I used PayPal for years, mainly on eBay. My old bank began charging fees, overdraft when I wasn't. So I changed banks, transferred everything over to PayPal and now the account is frozen, I may no longer use PayPal to purchase. Living in a nursing facility, it's my only means of purchasing my needs! I received an email requesting verification of my address, send a copy of phone bill, cell phone bill, etc. to an address in Omaha. I tried the web, both PayPal and eBay. Everything is automated, having pre-written answers to questions they ask. Currently I am 'locked out. I owe minute amounts ($5) to vendors that are now past due! How do I get PayPal/eBay to "open their doors" and return my status to what was? My eBay payment reputation is now shot! What it was is now gone and I still can not find a remedy! If I become too snobbish with people, this, too, may lead to termination. Help!
Reviewed Aug. 27, 2010
PayPal has informed me that they will now be holding any incoming funds I will receive as a seller on eBay, due to me filing a SNAD complaint as a buyer, after a seller sent me the wrong item. This was after I had already sent the item back to this seller, and used delivery confirmation to prove I had sent it back. The seller refused to refund me for my purchase. PayPal is penalizing me instead of the seller for some reason that I don't understand. Now if I sell anything on eBay, they are going to hold my money for an unspecified period of time. They will not even guarantee to free up any of the funds a buyer would pay to enable me to ship an item to a buyer, forcing me to use personal funds for shipping purposes.
Reviewed Aug. 20, 2010
I sold a very large and heavy commercial sewing machine on eBay on a best offer. The buyer paid me the $300 plus a pallet charge of $20 which included me mounting the machine to a pallet, strapping it down and delivery to a trucking company where the buyer had arranged freight collect shipping to Indiana.
The trucking company delivered the item and the buyer refused it because he claimed he did not have the money. PayPal gave him back his $320 out of my account and I lost my shipment to the shipping company for the unpaid bill of the buyer. Angie the last PayPal rep I talked to said all claims for "item not received" are won by the buyer.
I would be interested in a class action lawsuit with others who have been damaged by PayPal's bad policies. They made no effort to ask me for any information or make the loss right for me.
Reviewed Aug. 19, 2010
PayPal froze my acct. claiming they required by law additional info including a photocopy of my SS card. They also refused to accept all legal documentation of my new address, yes, I moved since opening the acct. I sincerely believe there is someone working for them, a well known and "trusted" co. who is stealing identities.
Reviewed Aug. 10, 2010
I ordered an "NVIDIA GeForce GT120 1GB DDR2 DVI/HDMI" for $49.95 with free shipping. I paid with PayPal (thinking this gave me some sort of protection against fraudulent vendors). The one I ordered was supposed to be 288-70N46-103AC which, from the description, is presumably new. The one I was sent was 288-20N45-000AC which is "re-certified" a.k.a used (it arrived in a motherboard box with no documentation or software). I complained to Ascendtech and they issued an RMA. I returned the item to Ascendtech. Ascendtech issued a PayPal refund for $30.36 (e.g. 40% less than I paid). I turned to PayPal, they said "the claims process only applies to the shipment of goods". So apparently, a fraudulent firm (such as Ascendtech) can send you anything (i.e. not what you ordered) and it is OK with PayPal.
I will definitely not do business with Ascendtech in the future and will definitely not have any sense of protection when paying with PayPal.
Reviewed Aug. 9, 2010
My son sold his PS2 game system to a person in Nigeria. The transaction went through PayPal. I was very skeptical but when PayPal sent me a e-mail stating they had the money and needed a tracking number to forward it into my account, I mailed off the package. I gave them the tracking number and was told I'd have the money in 24 hrs. It was not there. When I called them, I was told the money had never been placed into any account including theirs. I contacted the buyer and realized I was scammed. I blame PayPal since they informed me they already had the money. It seems PayPal's policy is somewhat different from what they're telling you in their emails to you. Don't use this disservice!
Reviewed Aug. 9, 2010
I have been going through a divorce where I have had to move and start my life over again. I joined eBay to sell some valuables that I had. I used PayPal to accept the funds so that I can pay my bills. Well, I have sold my items. The people have paid me for them. Now PayPal will not give me my money. They have put a limitation on my account. They told me I had to send them my license, my social security number, and a bill that I have from my residence. I did all three, sending it to them as they requested.
They told me they couldn’t verify my identity and the third party that they use couldn’t verify me. Well, what would they like from me, DNA? I am so tired of dealing with them. I have been doing this for weeks. I want my money. They have made my bank account negative, which I do not have the money to pay. I have spent countless hours wasting time arguing with them. I have totally gotten screwed out of my money and I want to fight back. I don't even care about the money anymore. It’s about how they do their business and how they treat people. I have been robbed and I want to fight back.
Reviewed Aug. 4, 2010
I won an iPod using the Buy-It-Now option and paid $115 via PayPal. The seller had been registered for nearly 3 years, with 54 feedbacks (1 negative, 1 neutral). Seven days later, I received notice from PayPal informing me that eBay had removed the listing for that item, then listing the steps to take to resolve the issue. Five minutes later, I received notice from eBay telling me that an item I had bid on had been removed offering no explanation and advising me not to complete the transaction outside eBay, etc. The letter went on to recommend that I not pay, acting as if I had only made a bid rather than actually purchased it outright and immediately paid.
Silly me, thinking this was likely an error or oversight on someone's part. I thought it would be taken care of quick and easy. I followed all of the steps outlined by eBay and PayPal to try to resolve the issue within the allotted time I was given to file a claim. And knowing how life can change your plans without notice I gave the seller the benefit of the doubt and emailed them politely inquiring as to why eBay and PayPal were contacting me and if there was an issue to please contact me. Ten days and three emails later, I thought differently as I neither heard from nor did I receive the item in question.
A little more than two weeks after the original transaction, I get a package in the mail. Yea, my iPod has arrived at last. But that was not the case. Instead it contained two used VCR movies that obviously had been box office flops. The kind that rental places sell two for $0.99. What a joke. But one that had taken some premeditation on the sellers part. So I go to eBay to research their ID and I discovered that starting the day of my purchase, the seller received 8-10 negative feedbacks until eBay deleted him. Every single one stated "scam artist," "fraud," "don't do business with." I, too, wanted to add my voice to the number but eBay so completely removed the ad it was if it never existed. Not only could I not leave any feedback there was apparently no evidence that it had ever existed anywhere.
Keep in mind, my first knowledge there was a problem was from our good friend, PayPal. And then who gave me the biggest runaround when I tried filing a claim? PayPal. "And so why do you believe you are the victim of fraud? " Because you told me I was. It was at this point I figured out that this may not be as easy or as satisfying as I had thought. Wisely, I had copies of everything which I provided as requested but PayPal dismissed my claim because there was the properly documented trail of package shipped and received. Case closed, period.
Reviewed Aug. 3, 2010
I have had my PayPal account open for maybe 2 months, and I have had nothing but headaches. A lot of people have been targeting sellers, and they were saying that they did not receive merchandise that was sent, when it was. It seems sellers have very little rights on PayPal, and they make their own rules.
Recently, they put a freeze on my account, which has like $170 in it. I cannot access it, because a person put in a dispute and his given delivery date was not even here yet! I am very mad that PayPal is allowed to hold my money! Once this mess is cleared up with them, I am going to google to check it out. Now, I cannot pay for the things I have won on eBay from my PayPal account or use any of the over $100 in my account for business expenses.
Reviewed Aug. 2, 2010
Okay, well, a number (over thirteen) fraudulent accounts were opened under my name. These were mostly conducted via fraudulent transfers. I do not have much in the way of proving they are not mine other than that I am a victim of ID theft. However, since there has been a lot of craziness going on lately with eBay and PayPal, I noticed that in any policy, anywhere on the web, including the new updated versions, are completely different from, or incorrect from, the "opt out" policy that was given to me (from 10/07-12/09). This is the same for all agreement policies as well.
I know why this is. You see, when I attempted to "opt out" I discovered that this address does not exist! Thus, there was no way to opt out! In addition, when I attempted to open up a Better Business Bureau complaint against GE Money Bank (the issuers to the credit accounts for PayPal), the BBB in Texas directed me to Dayton, OH!
Reviewed July 18, 2010
I have been using PayPal to collect payment for a home business for 15 years now. I have never had a charge back. Suddenly, they send me this stupid and irresponsible email stating that they will be holding all payment in the future for up to 14 days or until I can submit proof the customer has received their product. I think this is ridiculous and bad business. I can't get anywhere with their customer service. I can't even understand them most of the time. I'm done with PayPal.
Reviewed July 18, 2010
I have been on the receiving end of Paypal ripoffs as a buyer and seller. I urge everyone to do the following: When you buy online, use the contact us to request the seller provide an alternative to Paypal (like Google checkout) as you do not care to give them your business. Send a note to your email list asking your friends to do the same and quit using Paypal themselves and forward to their email list.
Reviewed July 6, 2010
I received a letter saying they could not approve PayPal for me. Well, I never signed up for it.
Reviewed July 5, 2010
I purchased a memory card via eBay using Paypal. It turns out that the memory card was fake (which apparently is an ongoing eBay scheme). After receiving in writing from the seller that the item was indeed fake, I filed a complaint with Paypal. Paypal told me that they had decided the case in my favor and that I needed to return the item to the seller at my own expense to receive my refund. Despite finding this morally inappropriate (returning a fake item to a fraudulent seller at the buyer's expense is basically giving a thief a free pass) but I decided that the $35 I spent on the item was more important to me than my moral indignance and the $6 in return shipping.
I provided Paypal with the tracking information required in order to receive my refund (the only stipulation to receiving my refund), well before the date requested, and the claim was to remain open until July 5th. On June 27th, I received an email stating the case was arbitrarily closed and decided in the seller's favor. Despite, having been guaranteed a refund if I return the item, paying for the item, and returning the item to the seller, meaning the seller has his cake and ate it too, and the innocent buyer was now out $40, with no item to show for it (even a fake!).
I contacted Paypal to appeal the case and I have now received an email stating that I should contact the seller and try and work it out directly with them. In this time, I had already purchased a different memory card from the more reputable and reliable Amazon for $38, not imagining for a moment that I would not receive my refund. I have now in essence spent about $80 on a measly memory card. I now know that there is no buyer protection through Paypal. I have a complete paper trail to confirm everything including pictures of the fake memory card and the seller's blatant admission of fraud. $80 + ongoing disputes by phone and email that amount to hours spent on this dispute!
Reviewed June 23, 2010
I emailed twice for my purchase problem and have not gotten any response from PayPal representative in three days. Even if PayPal reply to me by now, my disputes will have expired long before that. My problem of emailing them is because my disputes failed and they said according to their policy, the claims process only applies to the shipment of goods.
But the fact is that I did not receive the full order from seller and I explained this as clear as crystal in PayPal. I can't believe that PayPal never replied to my problem. I even doubt if PayPal ever look at our problems. Disappointing! I would never use PayPal anymore. Disappointing seller made me realized how disappointing PayPal is! But some seller only accepts PayPal. I need to let more people know how disappointing PayPal is! I lost US$20 and spent a lot of time complaining and waiting for reply from representative, which they never replied.
Reviewed June 16, 2010
PayPal’s complicated system has twice sent packages to wrong address. A simple call would clarify how it could be remedied. There is no way to contact anyone in the company at all now it seems. Poorly designed artificial intelligence machines force the customer to answer numerous questions having nothing to do with the issue and after two hours I simply have to hope it won't happen again. Can food stores, for instance, have tell us to go to a computer terminal, fill out a bunch of forms, enter a booth and talk to a robot, frustrate us with hours of searching for contact numbers etc. if we go in to ask about a product we are paying for?
The small web stores generally have someone available to help and quite fast as well. The large corporations seem not to be in touch at all with the customers and if anyone is got on hold of they say they can not do anything about making a system that is easy for customers as they are only customer service. Didn't the government have a program about wasting person’s time with burdensome forms, etc.? How do the giant corporations get away with wasting hours of customer time with artificial intel robots, forms, useless problems you may have and then no way to ask a person who could at least understand what the issue is? I have to drive now 100 miles to a previous address that a package was dropped off at due to PayPal using an address I have not been receiving mail at for over a year. Second time.
Reviewed June 13, 2010
I purchased a cell phone at eBay. The amount was $137.50. The phone did not match the description so I contacted eBay customer service, and they emailed me and asked me to return the merchandise to the merchant with paid label so I did. Then eBay sent me an email that the full refund was issued through my PayPal account. There is no money issued on my PayPal account. There is no customer service phone number or email address to email PayPal and claim my money $137.50. It has been over 2 weeks and I don't know what to do. Please help me. Thank you.
Reviewed May 29, 2010
This is in reference to eBay and PayPal. PayPal has recently went to holding the funds that are sent from a buyer to a seller when a transaction occurs. The payment is supposed to sit in a pending state until the shipment is delivered and the buyer leaves positive feedback on eBay. Here is the issue. PayPal is making a ton of money on the interest accruing and even when the item is delivered with proof of delivery confirmation, the money stays held until the buyer leaves positive feedback. In many cases, the buyer doesn’t care or simply forgets to leave feedback and the money remains in a held state until PayPal decides to go into the sellers account and review it, which could take forever with them having millions of sellers doing business daily with hundreds of millions of transactions.
The blog boards on paypal.com are lit with frustrated and angry people. Some have contacted local newspapers and some have contacted the attorney general and other political organizations about this theft of interest and unfair practice. I’m sure this isn’t the first or last email you will receive about this issue. I agree with holding the money until delivery confirmation is proven but waiting for a buyer to leave positive feedback gives the buyer the ability to control the product in his/her hand as well as still control the money that is no longer theirs. That’s the same as a Wal-Mart customer buying tons of merchandise and Wal-Mart has to wait for the buyer to go home and do whatever they want with the goods and decide when or if they will release the money to Wal-Mart.
This is an unfair practice. PayPal says that if you have a good seller rating, this system will not apply to you; however, there are tons of people who have perfect ratings for years and excellent records of service that still are subject to this unfair practice. Please investigate this issue. I stopped doing business with them after the practice disrupted my account balance so they are ** with me, but this is not about me. This is about the man whose sole income is eBay. His bills are due, his eviction depends on this money, he rightfully and honestly earned it and will be evicted because his money won’t be released to him.
Reviewed May 26, 2010
I started a new eBay account selling jewellery. I sold and mailed over 20 items in quick succession when Paypal imposed an account limitation without any prior warning or attempt to contact me with their concerns.
I spent 3 hours collecting, scanning and uploading identity documents requested by Paypal, when to my horror, I realized that eBay too had suspended my account.
Panic set in. I felt degraded and made to look like a criminal. I had no recourse, because there's no one to call. eBay does not want to deal with complaints.Suddenly, I received some e-mails from startled customers who were concerned about my suspension and were rightfully worried they might not receive their goods. I had to alleviate their concerns by explaining that all items were mailed by registered post.
In the past 2 weeks, I have suffered anxiety and stress that have worn me down. I've undoubtedly suffered financial loss. I achieved good sales results in the first 10 days and had active bids on existing auctions that were suddenly and without warning canceled. Not only that, I spent a decent amount of money on stock to meet those orders and expected ongoing future sales and invested countless hours on putting up many, many listings for those items.
The terrible thing is that these are really good and popular products that people like. I had good positive e-mails from customers supporting me and saying they love their jewellery! So I have been deprived access to this market.
Reviewed May 25, 2010
PayPal keeps holding funds on my account, even though I have 100% feedback rating. They can't give me a reason. They just say it's policy. I need my money as I don't work. I have sold stuff, and people have paid for it, yet I can't receive my money. PayPal gets their money, as soon as it posts.
Reviewed May 25, 2010
As you will see from many eBay-ers using PayPal, PayPal is the safest way for payment when using eBay. It has come to my attention 4 days ago that the policy has changed with payment. Once the action is finalized, the buyer pays for their item. Now the complaints are rolling in. PayPal puts a hold on you payment up to 21 days. They say that payment could be released sooner when the item reaches to the buyer and leaves positive feedback.
Well after having almost 1,000.00 dollars in pending status, a lot of us have limited fund to ship our items and for some eBay-ers, it’s going to put them out of business. I think that this is uncalled for! They get their fees that they charge and now they hold our money that we have coming to us. Just think about how much interest money they will have after 21 days with the thousands of people they are doing this to! I have 100% feedback score and no resolutions problems. What are these people thinking? Help!
Reviewed May 16, 2010
I have two eBay accounts, I have a PayPal premier account and a PayPal business account. On February 12th, my business PayPal account was limited because of high risk security concerns, 9 days after my PayPal premier accounts has been limited because of the same. They requested me documents as SSN, Driver licenses DOB, Proof of Name, Supplier Name, Business License, despite I sent all the documents except for the Business pro (because I don't have business) my both appeals were denied. On March, I called PayPal costumer service to know what is the reason my both PayPal accounts has been limited, I was asked I should to downgrade one of both account from business/premier to personal. Inclusive I was requested to send a PayPal bank account statement.
Since my both PayPal accounts are limited. My eBay sales have been seriously declined, neither I couldn't buy anything on eBay because the 99% of sellers require PayPal.
Reviewed May 11, 2010
Holding auction funds to me from a buyer for (up to) 21 days. FYI, I have 100% positive feedback on 84 transactions (2 of the 84 are from buyers this month (May 2010). I sold my item and they are arbitrarily holding my funds for no reason. This is causing financial hardship.
Reviewed May 10, 2010
I have used PayPal for years and trusted them with my money, credit card numbers, personal information, etc. One day, I was notified by PayPal that some "suspicious" activity had occurred on my account. Since then my life has been hell. The activity was not the result of any purchases, selling, or anything at all on my part. In fact, I had not used PayPal for some time and was surprised to hear from them at all. Someone had breached their security and got access to my bank accounts. Only that is not the worse, the worst part is the way they have handled the situation. They made me feel like the thief, when it is because of them that anything took place! They told me it was their "policy" to freeze my accounts, not refund my money, and make me wait two weeks for an answer from them whether or not they would return the stolen money.
When I sign onto my PayPal account and check on the status of the dispute, it says they are "waiting on a response from the seller"! OMG! What seller? I never bought anything! This is just really scary, and I no longer even feel safe. My personal information has been breached and not only that, it is their "Policy" to not allow me to close my account until they come to a resolution. In other words, the very people who allowed my personal information to go out also still have control over the said information. This is a true outrage. Consequences: out money and my identity has been compromised. I no longer feel safe in my home because they let out my personal information. I am extremely stressed and unable to trust.
Reviewed May 9, 2010
My wife purchased tickets to a Pittsburgh Penguin game, which we found out later we would be unable to attend. We put the tickets up for sale on eBay and they sold with "buy it now" rather quickly. Due to the short time before the game and since we received the tickets via ticket fast, they came in a PDF file, so we offered email delivery, which the purchaser chose. We have sent tickets this way before as well as purchased tickets this way on eBay and through PayPal. They sent an eBay message that they have paid via PayPal and listed the email address to send the tickets to. After verifying the $750 payment on PayPal, we emailed the tickets and a short time later received an email stating that the purchaser has received the tickets and thanking us. The problem came after the game happened. My wife received a message from PayPal stating, "A review of recent transactions indicates that you received a payment that the PayPal account holder did not authorize". The payment was already transferred to our bank account.
My wife called PayPal and they stated that there was a problem with how she shipped the tickets and they were doing an investigation. They have never stated what prompted the investigation. Was it a purchaser complaint or did they choose to initiate the investigation because they noticed that it was not shipped though a PayPal recommended method? We sent them a copy of the email with the tickets in it, the request on eBay for us to email the tickets, as well as the email thanking us and telling us that the tickets were received. The charges were reversed. PayPal supposedly refunded the purchaser $750, and since the funds had been transferred to our checking account, PayPal charged the $750 dollars to our credit card. PayPal would not tell us why, other than stating that we did not ship the proper way and did not have an accepted delivery confirmation slip. We tried to remove our credit card from the PayPal account, but it would not allow us while an investigation was ongoing. I don't know if the PA Attorney General can help, or possibly my local Congressman.
Reviewed May 3, 2010
Allow another person to open a fraudulent credit card, without verifying personal information. Then allowed instant credit to that person to purchase an item. They tell me it will take 30 days for PayPal to get to may complaint because they are so back logged with complaints. PayPal just do not care the consumer, and do not care about security of your personal information.
Reviewed April 30, 2010
I sold my first item on eBay on Mon. 4/26 and wanted to be a very conscientious seller. I saw on eBay the UPS gave special rates for eBay sellers. I was grateful, I did not ask for enough money for shipping. Then I entered the PayPal twilight zone. The buyer paid promptly through PayPal. When I got to the bottom of the form to print out a UPS shipping label, I was not allowed to purchase because my balance was zero. Zero because the payment was on hold. I spent 3 days trying to get the shipping label.
Called both eBay and PayPal service numbers. I was told that the funds would be released when proof of delivery was given. What? I can't ship without the money on hold. I could not pay for the shipping in the usual purchase manner with PayPal through my bank account. No, that was not allowed for shipping. Oh, I could also get the fund released if the seller would give me a good feedback. That makes sense. The buyer who doesn't know me from Adam, should give a positive feedback to buyer who had not even shipping the purchase yet.
The last attempt I made was to call eBay. I became very very upset, they got PayPal on the phone. Now, I'm in tears. And per PayPal, they were protecting me. I want to know what off-shore bank they put all those funds they are holding for 21 days. What a racket. They released my fund and I shipped the next day.
Reviewed April 30, 2010
They opened a fraudulent credit card card under my name. I have LifeLock who contacted me about this account, which in turn contacted PayPal Plus to close the account. I was assured everything was taken care of and the account was closed. Week later I receive a bill from PayPal Plus for $800 plus. I contacted PayPal Plus direct and that were not aware of this being a fraudulent account. So I contacted LifeLock again to see what was going on, and why this issue was not resolved. LifeLock said they had contacted PayPal Plus on my behalf and was assured that the account was closed. They said that this was the third fraudulent PayPal plus account today alone.
So be very careful when dealing with PayPal Plus, and make sure you call them often. It appears that they have very loose standards for getting a credit card. I still do not have a good feeling that the issue has be resolved, and will call them every day. I have spent hours on the phone and countless hours worrying about my credit. To this point because of LikeLock, no money has been lost, but very upsetting.
Reviewed April 27, 2010
I paid for my product and never received it. The distributor said Paypal was holding 30% of his money for 90 days and he could not ship me the product. I cannot reach Paypal in any way. They say they have no record of my account but the bank confirms my money was taken.
Reviewed April 26, 2010
I received a charge on my PayPal account for 40.00, I did not order this. I called the number and spoke with this AJ. He told me the number I called is a business that takes care of different business for people, but when I told him I did not order this, he tried to still sell this to me. He would not listen and keep talking and talking about this product, which this is for people that has bad credit and want to improve their credit.
I told him that I have very good credit and did not need this service. I had to get very rude with him because he keep trying to sell this to me. I told him I wanted credit for the 40.00 charged and cancel this product. He then told me I would be credited within 3 to 5 days and gave me a refund ID# 26412358984810. This was on the 21 of April. I have not yet received this credit. My main concern that this business charged my PayPal account with out my permission. I am very concerned with this transaction. Please help.
Reviewed April 16, 2010
I have been buying many items on eBay and I use PayPal plus. PayPal has rewards for every dollar spent. I have 27,499 points. That means I spent about $50,000 on mostly coins from eBay. To redeem points, you must go online to PayPal plus service site. From day one, I could not get into the service site. I called last 3/15/2010 and talked to many different people.
Rich ** said that I cannot use those points toward my bill. For every 9,500 reward points, I get $100.00. I have 27,499 reward points, but they tell me that I can't use them. I told them they owe me $300.00 credit and if I have to, I will sue them. They could not care less. I am a disabled Vietnam veteran and I want my credit of $300.00. Thank you. I hope you can help. I have PTSD from Vietnam and go off very easy. When I got off the phone after talking to four different people, my nerves were shot. I had to take a pill for my nerves.
Reviewed April 15, 2010
I sold a Louis Vuitton brand new bag with receipt to a Carmi ** in US military Japan supposedly in January 2010. She outbeat other non-scamming people to win and then she refused to pay the extra money for shipping and threatened to give me negative feedback if I didn't send the bag. I contacted eBay and they said, pay it and send it, so I did under poor judgment.
Carmi told me it would take 2 weeks to get the back so she put a hold on the funds so I could not take them out. She received the bag and said it was not new, which was totally untrue, and she wanted me to lower the price. I refused and told her to send it back. She started calling me names online so I let eBay know and she also refused to pay the shipping back to me. I waited 2 weeks for her to return the bag and still no bag. Paypal electronic system released the money because there was no delivery confirmation and I assumed she kept the bag and deposited the money in my account.
A few days later Paypal said they had delivery confirmation and issued a charge back even though they never contacted me regarding the bag . I don't have the bag and now they are wanting the money and don't care about the scam this woman has pulled on me. My story is exactly like the other complaints and they will not help. They just want their money. How can a buyer keep the merchandise and the money legally and no one help the little person getting taken advantage of. I have tried filing a complaint, filing a claim, letters, they just keep siding with the buyer and she now has my back and the money.
How is this allowed? Please help. Paypal is turning me over to collections for the full amount and I have no handbag. Not to mention having to change all of my account info with the bank.
Reviewed April 14, 2010
During the last week of March, I sold a home audio system on eBay for $330 with payment handled via PayPal. The funds were received but on hold due to the amount which is standard procedure for PayPal. On March 26th, I took the item to my local UPS store where an employee packaged and shipped the system; the item was delivered on March 29th. PayPal released the funds to me on April 5th.
On April 11th, the woman who purchased the Bose opened a dispute on PayPal stating that it was damaged during shipment. The fact that this dispute was filed nearly two weeks after she had received the item disturbed me. I asked her for photographic proof; she said she "can't provide it." I then asked for her to return the system to me and, upon receipt, I would refund her for the amount she paid. Her response, "I will not return the Bose Wave. I want my refund first."
In the meantime, PayPal had taken it upon themselves to issue her a full refund without informing me. I called and received zero help from their customer service department. I was told time and again that, "We can't do anything in regard to this matter. A dispute was filed and we resolved it how we saw fit." I am livid to say the least. If proof was provided that the item was damaged, I would have happily refunded the buyer. She refused to provide proof, refused to ship the item back. PayPal went on her word alone and deducted $330 from my checking account.
PayPal has no seller protection despite their claims. I used their service for over five years without an issue but after this I will never do another transaction with them. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Reviewed March 31, 2010
Always, I paid my credit card via the web (PayPal) plus I make a payment. But about 3 or 4 times when I try to make a payment, they do not have the icon to open or make my payment on time. Well, I need to pay $15.00 because if you don’t pay this fee your payment will be received late and the charge is $39.00 more. I paid about $45.00 in payment on time because if I send by mail I will have late charges. Today, I explained again and it’s not fair to need to pay $15.00 and interest. Please make an investigation.
Reviewed March 26, 2010
Back in November 2009, I sold my Blackberry Phone ($325 dollars) through PayPal. The buyer received the phone and then wanted to return it. He made a dispute with PayPal. PayPal then refunded him the money without speaking to me first and I never got my phone returned to me. I am now out of $325 and the Blackberry. This has been ongoing for a few months now and PayPal only say to me they are sorry, but there is nothing they can do. I have tried contacting the buyer who took my phone to get it returned but have gotten no responses. PayPal protected this buyer and I am left with nothing, no phone or my money. I have called PayPal numerous times to try and resolve this and it’s gotten me nowhere.
It has left me no option but to contact Consumer Affairs and explain my situation. When something like this happens, the Seller should be protected. I have asked that they "Red Flag" his account but of course they cannot. I want to take action on this because it is extremely frustrating that little action has been taken. They were so quick to return his money from my account, but they aren't so quick or helpful trying to resolve this on my end. $325 is a lot in this economy and I would either like to be compensated back or have my phone returned. Thank you for your time and I hope Consumer Affairs is able to help me!
Reviewed March 22, 2010
PayPal has a lack of seller protection that needs to be addressed. It is a shame that I had to pay for someone else damaging a product purchased from me because they had buyers remorse. Not only did the buyer send it back, the receiver he bought banged up PayPal credited him 11 days later without my say in what happened. Now I'm out $545 all because of PayPal. PayPal should be boycotted. Receiver was returned in a condition that it was not sent in.
Reviewed March 11, 2010
PayPal is refusing to assist in a removal of personal information on my account. I entered business information that I changed my mind about shortly after hitting “submit” and there is no way to remove it from my end (only “Edit” via dropdowns and one item the form does not allow change to at all, birth date not remove. Supposedly, there is no way on their end to make any changes either, which is untrue and a ridiculous statement. It's a record in a database table. Even banks have ways of getting at Production data when necessary.
The associate insisted that the information isn't used anyway. So if this is true, it should be easily and readily available for removal. If the information truly isn't used but no one can get to it, then it is unmonitored data, a security hole in itself. Not to mention, what if my account was compromised and someone else entered different information? They would not be able to do anything about that kind of fraud?
I am concerned that should my account be compromised, or PayPal itself compromised, there is enough information there now that wasn't before that could allow a user to essentially become me. With family in Law Enforcement, I take my information and how it's used very seriously, I have a common name and have had my information compromised before thanks to careless individuals in the Health industry.
Reviewed March 5, 2010
I received a $30 late fee plus interest on a $21 bill that was late being paid because I never received the bill. I explained this and was told the late fee would not be reversed. I'm a customer for years and have never been late. I cancelled my account with them.
Reviewed Feb. 26, 2010
PayPal advertised that money could be sent to India, and the money can be received immediately. On December 29, I sent $200 to my brother which went directly to his PayPal account but not to his bank account so he could use the money. Later, I found out that they had problems with the Indian government and kept telling us that the matter would be resolved in 24-72 hours.
2 months later, that matter could not be resolved. The money was sitting with PayPal; $200 was reduced to $183.76, so the money could not be refunded too, as it was not the original amount of $200. Again, we were told that the balance amount of $16.20 would be added in a maximum time of 24 hours which was never done. Finally, we had to do a send money for which PayPal again charged a fee of $7.44. So the final amount, which I am hoping will be in my bank account, will be $175. So in the bargain, I lost $25, not to forget the time I had to take off from work to resolve this issue.
PayPal Company Information
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- PayPal
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- www.paypal.com