PAYPALL WARNING!!!

I just got rude awakening as to actions taken PayPal that I was told about and only just now noticed becuase I was balancing my books.

I just got off the phone with a PayPal rep. Yes, believe it or not, I actually got to talk to human. According to them, they are having problems with their system recognizing balances in accounts. When I paid for my t205 Cobb card, apparently this happened, so paypal accessed my bank account to pay for it. Forunately I am sitting with a nice sum of mooney in there and didn't notice the extra going out.

Whoever said paypal cannot access your bank account without authorization is mistaken. They took money from my account without notifying me.

I have closed my paypal account and will never have anything to do with them again. People want an alternative to eBay, but we need an alternative to PayPal even more than we need one for eBay.

As much as I liked the speed and convience of PayPal, I value my fiscal sanity much more.

Jay

So it was moreso a glitch on their part. It should have taken money out of your paypal account to pay for the item, but it read it as no balance and took it from your checking account.

I was the one that said they CAN'T take money out of your account. In regards to zeroing a balance they cannot. I hate PAYPAL as much as the next person, but they can't. Your balance will stay negative unless you initiate a payment. If a transaction is being processed and it's a glitch, that's a different story.

If my situation can get them into my bank account, they a chargeback will get into your bank account too if they have the info. I'm done with paypal. There is absolutely no reason to use them anymore. They can take your money from your bank account, etc without your permission and you are SOL.

As buyer and seller, I hate PayPal

Jay

Jay, thanks for posting your PayPal troubles. Sometimes, I get the impression that PayPal thinks they are above the law and can do what they want. I believe in your situation (and any similar situation), it was probably hidden in the PayPal disclaimer that they can access your bank account or credit card to pay for purchases, if you don't have a PayPal balance. I know it is still PayPal's fault that you showed a zero balance, but they can take money from your account to cover PayPal purchases, which is a different situation than the one Eric was referring to.

If worse comes to worst, I will simply cancel my checking account and open another in my situation. At least I don't have the $7k+ in my bank account, so I don't have to worry about PayPal taking it. If I get word from my bank that PayPal has tried to take money (that isn't there) out of my bank account, the board will be the first to know.

I know we don't always agree Jay (contrary to what most think). However, I am in agreement with you on this one! I am also finished with PayPal. TBH, I value what little money I have to spend on cards more than trusting it with a bunch of crooks like PayPal, who can take your money away at any minute!

Amen to that brother!

Paypal does suck, but seems almost a necessity with dealing with buyers and sellers at this point. This is what I've done...although aggrevating and troublesome-

Say I receive $800 from someone for a card through paypal
I'll take that money out of paypal, putting it into the bank account I have set up with paypal
I'll THEN take the money out of that account and roll it over into ANOTHER checking account.
Paypal DOES have access to the account you have tied into their system, but once you roll money out of that account (leaving it and paypal empty at all times) there is NOTHING they can do at that point to you.
If I need to pay for something I have to put money from one checking into the account tied with paypal and then pay for something...its a headache but I feel a bit safer this way.

That is the only way to really protect yourself and for me, just not worth the trouble since I don't use Paypal that often.

Jay

I made a $1,000 foreign purchase via Paypal (in Australian dollars). At checkout, I was given the option of paying with a credit card. However, another option was to have Paypal make the payment in US dollars for me or utilize my credit card for Australian dollars. With all of Paypal's disclaimers that were pushed at me, most people would have had Paypal convert the currency to be safe...but not me. I confirmed with my credit card that no fees would be charged to me so I went this route figuring Paypal would find a way to stick it to me. Sure enough, I saved $25 by not dealing with Paypal and rather my credit card company. Paypal could have made 2.5% from the buyer and another 3.5%+ for the seller and made no mention of fees taking from the buyer. When making foreign purchases, please be aware of this situation. It was a first for me. I am going to open another bank account (as suggested in an above post) so Paypal can not tap into a linked bank account with a 'large amount' of funds. I recall reading that if a Paypal account was opened before 2001 or 2002, they can not do this but if you signed up later, it was OK. Not worth the chance so this extra level of safety is prudent. Another complaint is the chargeback / dispute process or taking the money and asking questions later. NEVER KEEP A POSITIVE BALANCE! I have several other complaints like not being able to use my credit card as the default, balance transfers from buyers charged as much a credit card funded payments, and the list goes on and on. Where is the competition?

I officially closed my paypal account today. My ex will miss the quick and easy payment, especially since she lives overseas again, but I refuse to give paypal anymore business.

Jay