I am getting screwed by Paypal

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Aharami

Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
21,205
165
106
no good advice. but thanks for the warning. ive heard of stuff like this happening..
 

Rufio

Banned
Mar 18, 2003
4,638
0
0
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Originally posted by: Rufio
jpeyton
i got scammed for $300.

the buyer on ebay stated taht i did not send him the item but i did.

i sent paypal all the info they wnated but they still locked me out

i get mail notices from them from a collection agency..please help.

Nice parody.


Actually...it's not..
i'm seroius.
 

vegetation

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2001
4,270
2
0
Originally posted by: EKKC
i hope they dont have your SS#.
i was stupid. i gave them mine. luckily i havent been dealing with any bastids or bvtches

Biggest misconception in managing personal finances is that a collection agency needs your SS# to affect your credit rating. Completely untrue. They just match your name to your address (which of course is going to have been 'confirmed' through paypal). You then take a hit. Say goodbye to your 700+ credit rating for a long, long time.
 

CptObvious

Platinum Member
Mar 5, 2004
2,501
7
81
That sucks. I had a couple bad experiences with PayPal myself, but I still (begrudgingly) use it for selling on eBay. They don't offer much protection for sellers, even for non-merchants.

I don't think PayPal is allowed to pull the funds out of your bank account. But they can turn over the amount to a collection agency. Good luck.
 

GeekDrew

Diamond Member
Jun 7, 2000
9,099
19
81
Paypal sucks. Without a doubt. Quite possibly the worst service I've ever used in my life. Besides their network being unreliable for merchants that need to have "instant payment notification" (which they offer), there have been WAY too many horror stories about them seizing funds for no particular reason.
 

RaiderJ

Diamond Member
Apr 29, 2001
7,582
1
76
Originally posted by: jpeyton
PayPal sucks, PERIOD. I rant in every one of these threads in hopes of opening your eyes to the risks of using their service.

The bottom line is their Buyer Protection Policy is a HUGE loophole for scammers. If a person is dishonest, you simply cannot be protected from losing your money. If the scammer doesn't win the PayPal dispute, they can easily call up their CC company and file a chargeback...PayPal will NOT fight this chargeback for you, so your money is gone.

If you withdraw your money before the chargeback and have a negative balance, FORGET about using their service ever again. If you open another account, it will be suspended, and they will likely reverse any transactions you did so the money can be tied up in the new account indefinitely.

They have ZERO accountability. They can suspend or limit your PayPal account with a simple generic e-mail claiming "suspicious activity" in your account, and keep it locked for up to 6 months with no legitimacy.

If you are a casual seller, PayPal might be the only option for you. But if you do bigger transactions, do business using a non-refundable method like BidPay, cashiers check, money order, or a merchant account, is the best way to protect yourself.

Option B is the best.

PayPal cannot touch your bank account; this is a change in their policy since the class-action settlement. Don't worry about that.

They will send you e-mail notices to return your account balance to zero. Ignore and delete them.

If they ever send you any snail mail regarding this dispute, come back and I'll give you some more good advice.

As an ebay powerseller, this is good advice. I personally set up a dummy bank account in case of any problems. If something happens and I lose my Paypal account, sucks for me, but at least I don't get screwed out of money. Currently looking to do a merchant CC account.
 

edmundoab

Diamond Member
Apr 21, 2003
3,223
0
0
www.facebook.com
want to rethink it over,
credit card companies > paypal

this dumb paypal won't even allow you to represent yourself to fight this case.
they force you to be represented by them.
and they will lose the case anyway.

so yes, you get burned with those kind of chargebacks.

i was a victim. and I never benefit as a seller or buyer.
had one bad experience on both ends. Sometimes, I think they are just good for nothing.
can't protect the buyers and they can't protect sellers either.

money in their account. yes, they yield better interest rates, but expose you to account hacks, fraud cases and bleh, they can freeze the account as and when they like.
 

Snapster

Diamond Member
Oct 14, 2001
3,916
0
0
What do you expect from one of the world's biggest unregulated financial institution.
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
142
116
I hope this thread was a warning for some of you out there.

PayPal for small transactions = okay.

PayPal for large transactions = not okay.

PayPal for international transactions = not okay.

Stop using PayPal altogether if possible. If you watched the investigative report about eBay on CNBC, you would have heard the incredible BS that eBay was spewing about how using PayPal exclusively is a protection net against fraud for buyers and sellers. I'd like to tell them to shove PayPal up their asses, but unfortunately eBay is having a jolly good time double-dipping on every transaction (and making a quarter of their yearly revenue, approximately ~$1 billion, off PayPal transactions alone).

Alternatives:

BidPay. Offer to pay the BidPay transaction fee for the buyer (approximately 3% of the total price) by lowering the auction total to cover the fee; in the end, you recieve approximately the same amount of money you would have recieved through PayPal, give or take a dollar or two. This payment can NEVER be reversed, and you can have BidPay either mail you a check (which is as good as cash) or deposit the money directly into your bank account.

Postal Money Order. Again, offer the buyer a 3% discount for paying through this method, because that is what PayPal would have taken anyways. This is an incentive for buyers to spend the dollar-fifty it costs for a money order, stamp, and envelope. This payment method also can NEVER be reversed, and its as good as cash at any bank. Give them a similar option for cashiers checks.

Personal/Business Checks. Give them the 3% discount, but make sure you tell them you will hold the item for 7 business days after the payment is recieved before shipping it out (give the check time to clear).

Merchant Account. There are a ton of options around; visit PayPalSucks.com and click the "Alternatives" link for a list of merchant accounts that are eBay friendly. You DON'T need to have a business to sign up for many of them; simply provide your own name, list yourself as a sole proprietorship, and use your SS# as your Federal Tax ID; some will even ask for your eBay username as a DBA name for your account. If you do a decent amount in sales per month, this will allow you to accept credit cards without a middle-man like PayPal, with similar or lower fees. The online checkout systems are already in place, and are very simple for your customers to use. The money is deposited into your bank account in regularly specified intervals, and BEST of all, if there is ever a chargeback, you deal DIRECTLY with your merchant processor. The level of customer service is LIGHT YEARS ahead of PayPal; I called up my merchant account rep, I was on hold for a total of 30 seconds, and I was instantly put through to the person who was dealing directly with my account. They knew exactly what the issue was, we discussed it like adults, and it was resolved in minutes. Call up PayPal and you'll be speaking to a guy who has probably never seen your account, doesn't know your situation, and will offer no help besides a handful of canned responses.

Even before I had my merchant account, I stopped taking PayPal and found that my selling prices did not go down any noticeable amount. Now I offer all of the above as possible payment options for my buyers.
 

JackRipper

Senior member
Apr 8, 2002
609
3
71
Originally posted by: KarenMarie
the credit card company is not just gonna give her the money back... she must PROVE that she was wronged. And if you have the auction description and proof of delivery... she is SOL. let her fight it. screw her.

Thats not true... she just needs to tell them the item that was sent was not what was advertised... trust me my friends got scammed on a fake movado... they said just send it back... and the charge back rite away... the problem is... paypal will freeze the charge back account too
so before u charge back...better zero out ur paypal account...


TH
 

RMSistight

Golden Member
Oct 2, 2003
1,740
0
0
Originally posted by: Rufio
jpeyton
i got scammed for $300.

the buyer on ebay stated taht i did not send him the item but i did.

i sent paypal all the info they wnated but they still locked me out

i get mail notices from them from a collection agency..please help.

This is why you maintain all records including tracking information from UPS and insurance.
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
142
116
Originally posted by: KarenMarie
the credit card company is not just gonna give her the money back... she must PROVE that she was wronged. And if you have the auction description and proof of delivery... she is SOL. let her fight it. screw her.

Actually, she's not SOL. The proof needs to come from the SELLER; the buyer can say whatever he/she wants to initiate a chargeback.

If you have a merchant account, you can simply talk to the merchant account risk management department and provide them with a tracking number and proof of delivery.

If you used PayPal, PayPal will refund the buyer's CC without disputing the chargeback on your behalf and you will be asked to pay up.
 

Kelemvor

Lifer
May 23, 2002
16,928
8
81
Paypal should be talking to her credit card company to tell them that she agreed to the payment and the item is as advertised. Then the CC will tell her she has to pay it. Don't take a hit.

If you want to let her send it back, you can always reauction it. But make her pay you for your shipping fee to get it to her and she has to pay to get it back. Have her send another payment to you to cover the shipping and then you can refund the original payment.
 

AnyMal

Lifer
Nov 21, 2001
15,780
0
76
Originally posted by: KarenMarie
the credit card company is not just gonna give her the money back... she must PROVE that she was wronged. And if you have the auction description and proof of delivery... she is SOL. let her fight it. screw her.

bingo
 

five40

Golden Member
Oct 4, 2004
1,875
0
0
Paypal SUCKS. This is what happened to me....Sold some stuff on ebay, get payment through paypal (about 1K). A couple month go by and out of the blue I get email from paypal saying the money I accepted was from a fake CC so they are taking the money back. I was like, umm, what the hell. I call Paypal and they say that it's not their fault and they are taking the money out of my bank account. I figured, what is the quickest way to end the battle and me still have my money...call the bank and cancel the bank account. I called my bank and cancelled my account immediatly. I still have my money and I will never use paypal again.
 

Patt

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2000
5,288
2
81
Originally posted by: bernse
Originally posted by: Kensai
C. Move to Canada and learn to speak French. :)

P.S. Quebec chicks are hot. ;)

But many are bitches.

Alberta chicks are hot and dirty. Me know. :)

From an Alberta guy ... QFT.
 

EMPshockwave82

Diamond Member
Jul 7, 2003
3,012
2
0
i'll do money orders only for sure now... even offer to pay the $.46 or whatever it is... or just discount it that much :p
 

knyghtbyte

Senior member
Oct 20, 2004
918
1
0
um, surely this is a lot simpler......

does the website page still exist? the one with the description of the item etc?

if so, then all you need to do is have a lawyer contact her, ask for the item to be sent to the lawyer, then if the item matches what you described in the website page she is lying, end of story, she gets the item back, you keep your cash...im sorry but thats just so simple....

if the website page doesnt exist anymore then i guess its up in the air as to what will happen.
 

PawNtheSandman

Senior member
May 27, 2005
900
1
0
I just finished mailing out numerous complaint letters to 4 different PayPal mailing addresses.

Basically I lost over $400 in the last few months using PayPal. There most recent one, guy won a N64 from me on eBay. Paid with paypal. I shipped the item. A month later I get an email from PayPal saying the user filed a complaint saying he never got the item. I email buyer. He says he never recieved item. I ask why he never contacted me. He said he contacted Paypal instead. I scan then email him the post office reciept which shows I shipped it. He hasn't replied to any email since. I called PayPal, faxed my reciept over SEVERAL times. and then TOOK the $80 out of my paypal account leaving me with a negative balance. PayPal said my reciept doesn't prove he recieved the item. The only way to prove that is with a tracking number. Bastards. So my exact words to the guy were

"so your telling me that for every item I buy on ebay and pay with paypal that I do not recieve with a tracking number, I can lie, file a paypal complaint and get a refund?"

And the guy said "Yes".

Anyway, that auction I am out $80 for the refund, $26 I paid to ship the item, $3 in eBay fees and I don't have my N64.

Then I bought a barebones case for $200 on another forum. Never got it. PayPal sided with me but couldn't give me a refund since the guy used a stolen CC to set up the account and currently has no balance in it.


PayPal is the same thing as a bank, only they aren't regulated by the government. They make the rules up as they go along to suit them. Their customer service is non-existant. They have your money and don't give a crap about you.

DO NOT USE PAYPAL FOR ANYTHING!
 

Gigantopithecus

Diamond Member
Dec 14, 2004
7,664
0
71
Accepting PayPal as a seller offers you ZERO protection against scammers. Even if you follow their rules (tracking/delivery confirmation, signature on anything >$250, ship within 7 days), a buyer can still file a complaint and they will still freeze the money in your account - good luck trying to get them to unfreeze it in a reasonable amount of time.

Do NOT use PayPal. It does nothing more than facilitate scams.
 

MaverickBP

Golden Member
Nov 18, 2004
1,414
0
0
oh and not sure if it was mentioned..but you cant "Forget" about paypal..i tried ignoring em and lawyers got involved