paypal

[surfocollecto]

Here's one I'm sure you have all heard before. Been with eBay since US inception, been with PayPal since it's inception. Retired from professional selling some 10 years ago but kept accounts with eBay & accounts (multiple) with Paypal.

Mostly used the eBay accounts to buy but we are moving house so want to offload some of our household stuff locally & listed items on  eBay. eBay make it compulsory to include Paypal as an option for payment.

All goes well, we sell some stuff, everybody is happy they get bargains because we sell cheap.

I state on all my listings that we much prefer cash on pick up but some guy buys 2 quality bedside table with a couple of matching bedside lamps thrown in for $35 ---- for some reason he pays with Paypal. All seems OK, the bloke picks up his stuff, can't believe it's so cheap & leaves positive feedback.

I check my Paypal account & they have frozen the funds ($35-commission) because they claim 1) We are new sellers& they need to verify we are legit? (after 15 years trading) 2) They need to verify the buyer has been sent the item & is satisfied with it & leaves positive feedback when this is obvious.

Fiirstly I reported fraudulent behaviour within Paypal's internal system stating they had stolem my funds to which I received a nonsensical email reply explaining the funds were in my account but held until they verified the buyer had been shipped the item & they were happy with it. What part of positive feedback translates into "buyer is not happy"!

So i telehone Paypal & get a nice Philipino person who keeps spouting the Paypal regulations about how they are obliged, in the interests of buyer &seller to steal my money for 21 days (or longer if they see fit) waiting to see if the buyer is happy or I am a "fraudulent seller".

Of course the nice Philipino person was not authorised to help me so he passed me on to another nice Philipino person (in Manilla) who supposedly is more senior. I asked the nice Philipino representative if he was actually in direct employ of the criminal organisation know as Paypal or simply answered the phone in Manilla from a call centre. Didn't really get a definite answer on that one. Anyway end of the day the crims at Paypal have my money & the bloke who took my stuff is probably also being debited so they have double dipped.

I know it makes no difference to eBay or Papal that my next step will be to cancel our Paypal accounts & I will discuss with my wife whether we may also just cancel our several eBay accounts after 15 or so years. Basically I  just feel I should not support what this online trading company has become.

If you have been gypped by these people as well please comment on this post & let's see how long it takes for them to delete it.

Peace.

[surfocollecto]

Thanks for your interest, however eBay only allows paypal as a payment option for credit cards unless you have your own bank facilities. This is usually not viable for a private person who only wants to sell personal excess items. Calming down has nothing to do with it, Paypal was used contrary to my instructions & thereafter Paypal STOLE my money. When somebody takes your stuff & won't give it back to you it is THEFT/STEALING. Of course my "goat is up" somebody stole from me! Not only that they are covering it up by claiming they have the right to do so because they changed the original agreement I had with them. The way paypal operates is contrary to Australian consumer laws & practices.

[phorum_junkie*]

Sorry but annoying and unfair as it may be you agreed to abide by Paypal policies at the time you opened the account and any changes you were informed of in the future. Every member received an email prior to when the 21 day hold was going to be implemented which laid out the new policy and told the recipient that if they agreed to abide by the revised terms they need do nothing but if they didn't agree they had to close their account. It is not true that Paypal is the only way of accepting payments if you do not have a merchant facility, Paymate is also a recognised, allowed payment method.

The reason Paypal is backing down when people complain is simply because it would cost them tme and money to fight their corner but should they decide to do so I fear they would win.

[digital*ghost]

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@phorum_junkie* wrote:

The reason Paypal is backing down when people complain is simply because it would cost them tme and money to fight their corner but should they decide to do so I fear they would win.

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My understanding is that only successful complaints cost PayPal money (in terms of paying out a third party, there may be minor costs involved in having their decisions investigated, can't see it really costing that much to say "but we have a right to, and here's why", in all reality), but if they were so confident in this policy, it would be better for them to stand their ground, surely, and put a stop to all these investigations (I daresay if they conceded to the investigations and the decision was in favour of PP, people would stop advising sellers to make complaints, at any rate).

Besides which, it's an eBay policy. In other words, it's ebay instructing PayPal to put a hold on the funds - eBay, who have no hand in the payment processing, but like their finger in the pie, anyway. I would venture to say that's why they cave, because they only do it at the say so of a third-party who really shouldn't be having a say in what happens to the money in the first place, despite the fact that eBay's user agreement now contains certain authorisation permissions. (Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong, though). 

[phorum_junkie*]

Although it may be that ebay is now asking Paypal to enforce the 21 day hold the ability for Paypal to do this was writtten into the terms and conditions some years ago, it made a bit of a minor splash on the boards at the time but as it was rarely used in Australia I guess folk just forgot about it.

[surfocollecto]

Just a slight correction, not that anybody gives a rat's, with my earliest ID I have been with eBay for 17 years. Over that period by eBay's new system of accounting my average sale per item has been over US$200. Lots of happy camper customers, only one complaint from a person who obviously forgot to take their meds. none of this matters, eBay/PayPal decided to steal my money using the excuse that I haven't traded enough & also they can't be sure the buyer is satisfied I haven't sold them something they may not be satisfied with even though they picked up the item & left highly complementary feedback.

Bunch of crooks, Ned Kelly had nothing on these people!.

[surfocollecto]

3 days after contacting the ombudsman & filing a complaint PaPal released my funds. Thanks for all the advice on this board.