Paypal sucks

[purbeast0]

I sold someone something on paypal back in October for $400. It was someone I met locally and they paid via F&F.

Like January 23rd or so they contacted me saying that the buyer is filing a claim as unauthorized transaction and my balance was now -$400.

I made the guy send me an email from the paypal email address stating it was his and he intended to purchase, which he did. I also still have chat logs of our entire conversation and even have him saying "thanks for everything I have the item in hand."

So I sent that all to paypal.

The next thing I heard from them like this past Sunday was they were tacking on an additional $15 fee for having to deal with this. So my account is now -$415.

Today I get an email that they sided with the buyer and his financial institution and the case is over.

Needless to say I am done with paypal for good at this point.

If anyone has a lot of followers on Twitter or anything, please retweet this.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1489746538171621382

 

[repoman0]

Wow, very interesting PSA that F&F transactions can be disputed. Looks like Zelle, Venmo or cash only from now on for local sales. Really surprising that they didn’t side with you based on sending them all that info.

 

[Tech Junky]

Never use F&F for merch. The perks of the other option CYA as a byer / seller.

Some get creative and send a dummy package w/ tracking for in person handoffs to prevent disputes through PP.

 

[nakedfrog]

Wow, that's pretty outrageous.

 

[BoomerD]

I decided to say "Fuck PayPal" 15 years ago. Haven't really regretted that decision since.

 

[MrSquished]

They do blow. I knew not to use Paypal but still broke my rule because I was an idiot. This is how I got my money back from a scammer:

Guy tried to scam me: FB Marketplace & Paypal

And came really close to pulling it off. I usually sell stuff on eBay but if it's large I don't want to deal with big shipping costs so for my Playstation 4 Pro I listed it on FB Marketplace. I've sold a few things on there no problem. I have a rule, only cash or Zelle. Anyways this guy does...

forums.anandtech.com

I will never use Paypal again except in the Carryology group on Facebook for bags and backpacks.

 

[Scarpozzi]

As a buyer I like PayPal because they've baled me out a few times from shady sellers. I am a PayPal credit user because they provide me with 6 months of free interest on purchases over $99...which gives me a reason to use them over my credit card. I've read one too many stories about how people have been ripped off by fraudulent BUYERS.

I am in agreement with you. I'm going to continue scaling back my PayPal usage based on your experience. They need to do a better job at actually assessing transactions rather than siding with the buyer 100% of the time.

 

[MrSquished]

As a buyer I like PayPal because they've baled me out a few times from shady sellers. I am a PayPal credit user because they provide me with 6 months of free interest on purchases over $99...which gives me a reason to use them over my credit card. I've read one too many stories about how people have been ripped off by fraudulent BUYERS.

I am in agreement with you. I'm going to continue scaling back my PayPal usage based on your experience. They need to do a better job at actually assessing transactions rather than siding with the buyer 100% of the time.

I too have the PayPal credit card and like it.

But I will not use them for private transactions except on Carryology.

Read my story above about how I had to fucking jump through hoops to get my money from a scammer.

 

[highland145]

Good thing that you're a Canadian trucker.

 

[otho11]

PayPal friends and family is supposed to be the holy grail of seller protection, sorry they screwed you.

Do you know if they filed a claim through their credit card or bank which allowed for the PayPal refund?

I've only seen scattered reports of chargebacks through F&F, Zelle and Venmo so this is disappointing.

 

[MrSquished]

Oh shit. I just realized I misread and you got fucked using F&F via G&S

That's especially fucked up. Super duper.

 

[Captante]

Wow, very interesting PSA that F&F transactions can be disputed. Looks like Zelle, Venmo or cash only from now on for local sales. Really surprising that they didn’t side with you based on sending them all that info.

Fixed.

Far as I'm concerned that's ALWAYS been the case.

(if I'm not mistaken there's even a sticky in FS/FT re NEVER using F&F Paypal under any circumstances to prevent being scammed)

In God we trust.... ALL others pay cash!

PayPal friends and family is supposed to be the holy grail of seller protection, sorry they screwed you.

Strike that. Reverse it.

Friends & Family doesn't offer any protection SINCE its only intended for use with... well take a wild guess. (you are only supposed to use it with folks you know and fully trust)

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

It's been very long standing policy that without tracking showing delivery to the confirmed address, sellers have no recourse.

Since your 'buyer' seems to have been local enough for pickup, try small claims court.

Then again, do you know your 'buyer' is the legitimate payment account owner and wasn't hacked?

 

[purbeast0]

Wow, very interesting PSA that F&F transactions can be disputed. Looks like Zelle, Venmo or cash only from now on for local sales. Really surprising that they didn’t side with you based on sending them all that info.

Yep. I had not a clue this was possible until this happened. Lesson learned and I'm glad I always made a habit to never have a paypal balance, removing funds immediately.

 

[purbeast0]

PayPal friends and family is supposed to be the holy grail of seller protection, sorry they screwed you.

Do you know if they filed a claim through their credit card or bank which allowed for the PayPal refund?

I've only seen scattered reports of chargebacks through F&F, Zelle and Venmo so this is disappointing.

That is exactly what he did - filed a claim with his CC and the CC side with the buyer, and even though I provided paypal with emails and chat logs, they don't care.

 

[lxskllr]

Burn his house down.

 

[purbeast0]

It's been very long standing policy that without tracking showing delivery to the confirmed address, sellers have no recourse.

Since your 'buyer' seems to have been local enough for pickup, try small claims court.

Then again, do you know your 'buyer' is the legitimate payment account owner and wasn't hacked?

I'm not going to small claims court over a negative paypal balance. I'm just never using paypal ever again.

I don't know if it was hacked or not but I have chat logs from Facebook (which has the persons real name matching paypal), emails from the actual email associated with the paypal account stating he intends to send payment (I asked for an email to verify he has access to the email account associated with the paypal account), and then he had the paypal account.

So if it's hacked, this person was hacked to shit lol. Hacked facebook, email, and paypal.

Paypal on Twitter has hit me up asking for case ID and stuff so I'm going to see if that goes anywhere.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

I'm glad I always made a habit to never have a paypal balance, removing funds immediately.

I'm not going to small claims court over a negative paypal balance.

PP will go to collections and civil litigation, effectively ruining your credit.

Paypal on Twitter has hit me up asking for case ID and stuff so I'm going to see if that goes anywhere.

Not wise to communicate through unofficial means.

 

[Brainonska511]

Local sales are always cash only for me. I guess you could use zelle too, since that's really an instant bank to bank transfer and much harder for anyone to dispute (the person would have to do the charge back through their bank, not Zelle; and the time limit would be much shorter for such fraud attempts).

 

[pete6032]

Wait is purebeast former nfl QB Drew Stanton?

 

[Captante]

Yep. I had not a clue this was possible until this happened. Lesson learned and I'm glad I always made a habit to never have a paypal balance, removing funds immediately.

Make certain that you don't have any money in the bank account you used to fund Paypal transactions.... they've been known to snatch the money out of said account without warning.

I have a second completely separate checking account I keep @ zero balance for PP etc for exactly this reason.

*(assuming you don't use a CC for PP)

 

[BUTCH1]

I decided to say "Fuck PayPal" 15 years ago. Haven't really regretted that decision since.

I hear you BUT if you're going to buy/sell anything on Ebay 90+% of sellers only take paypal.

 

[BUTCH1]

OP, don't write off small claims court just yet, since this is an obvious scam from that buyer you might be able to ask for punitive damages on top of what this dirtbag is trying to scam you out of. Don't let this little maggot get away with this!.

 

[purbeast0]

Wait is purebeast former nfl QB Drew Stanton?

No, I make movies for Disney.

 

[sdifox]

No, I make movies for Disney.

I would never sell anything in person and get paid through paypal. cash only.