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(888) 221-1161Company Overview
This PayPal review is intended primarily for small business owners who accept credit card payments on a regular basis and for any new businesses that will need to accept credit cards. Due to this focus, the content of this review will cover the factors that are most important to established business owners who are interested in using PayPal for the purpose of accepting credit card payments from their customers.
Is PayPal Holding Your Funds Right Now?
Thousands of merchants have had their payments frozen by PayPal. If you’re one of them, then you might find these resources helpful:
- How To Make Your Payment Processor Release Your Money
- How to Fight Chargebacks
- Best PayPal Alternatives
A Titan of E-Commerce
PayPal began as a wholly-owned subsidiary of eBay, where it was heavily used for payments between buyers and sellers of eBay auctions. In mid-2015, PayPal split off from eBay to become its own independent company. The service is one of the most accessible electronic payment methods in the industry because it allows anyone with an email address to sign up to send and receive payments from other individuals. Additionally, PayPal has a merchant services division that allows businesses of all sizes to accept credit card payments.
PayPal Credit Card Processing
PayPal is unlike traditional credit card processors because merchants cannot use PayPal with typical credit card processing equipment. Instead, PayPal offers several other services including shopping cart integration, “buy now” buttons, and donation buttons that are primarily targeted towards merchants with an online presence. The company also offers a virtual terminal with an optional credit card reader that plugs into the USB port of most computers. The virtual terminal allows merchants to enter credit card data themselves.
Paypal Point-Of-Sale (POS)
Paypal utilizes an all-in-one POS solution called Zettle, which provides portable in-person acceptance of chip, swipe, and contactless payments. The company focuses on the small handheld POS for most of their physical payment processing, but they also offer larger register-style POS and scanning equipment for managing inventory. The device can operate off customers’ smartphones and other USB devices. It integrates with an existing PayPal merchant account as well as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay. The advertised rate for Zettle is 2.29% + .09$ per transaction, with added costs for additional equipment.
PayPal Requires a Separate Account
One important difference between PayPal and a merchant account supplied by a credit card processor is that business owners must request the transfer of funds from their PayPal accounts to their bank accounts. Typically, most merchant account providers transfer the money to their merchants’ bank accounts as “batches” automatically within 48 hours of the close of a business day. PayPal also offers payments by check and a debit card that can be used for purchases or withdrawing money from an ATM. Merchants who would like to avoid this arrangement are better off using PayPal alternatives instead.
PayPal Business Accounts
Businesses can use PayPal to accept payments online, in-person, or through mobile devices. With a PayPal business account, companies can access a variety of features, such as generating and sending invoices, accepting credit and debit cards, and enabling touch-free payments.
E-commerce Solutions by PayPal
PayPal offers e-commerce solutions to facilitate online businesses. Businesses can integrate PayPal’s payment processing services into their websites or apps, allowing customers to pay securely with just a few clicks.
PayPal Mobile Payments
Recognizing the importance of mobile transactions in today’s digital age, PayPal offers a mobile payment option. Through the PayPal app, users can send and receive payments, check account activity, and even donate to their favorite charities.
PayPal Credit
PayPal Credit is a unique service that allows customers to buy now and pay over time. This feature provides customers with a flexible payment option, while businesses receive payment upfront, reducing their financial risk.
PayPal’s International Money Transfers
PayPal also facilitates international money transfers, enabling users to send money across borders swiftly and securely. This feature is particularly useful for businesses operating in the global marketplace.
Security Measures Implemented by PayPal
PayPal places a significant emphasis on security. Their advanced security measures, including data encryption and fraud prevention tools, help protect users’ personal and financial information.
Location & Ownership
Daniel Schulman is the CEO of PayPal, which is headquartered at 2211 North First Street, San Jose, California 95131.
PayPal Pros and Cons
pros
- Very well-known
- Easy to set up and use
- Comparable price to traditional merchant accounts
cons
- Many complaints
- High price compared to the best in the industry
Video Summary
Table of Contents
- Competitors and Comparisons How does the company square up against…
- Costs & Contract: Offers a month-to-month contract with no early termination fee and…
- Complaints & Service: Has received thousands of public complaints regarding…
- BBB Rating: Has an “A” rating with the BBB but has received 33,516 complaints and 0 reviews in the past 3 years in regards to…
- Sales & Marketing: Does not hire independent sales agents and has not received any complaints about its…
PayPal Competitors and Comparisons
PayPal vs Venmo
PayPal and Venmo, while technically the same company, are competing as an alternative option for small businesses to take payments online and in person. Many clients aren’t aware that PayPal actually owns Venmo when making this decision.
It’s also important to note that both PayPal and Venmo were not originally designed to be the primary payment processing service for most merchant accounts. Originally Paypal was the payment backbone for the online auction giant eBay before it split off in 2015. Venmo was created to transfer funds between family, friends, and other trusted individuals. Paypal acquired Venmo as part of its purchase of startup Braintree in 2013 for $800 million.
However, they have seen an uptick in use in recent years from smaller businesses that do not wish to maintain an account with one of the larger payment processors. This shift has been embraced by both brands, and we’ve seen a recent introduction of new products and services aimed at appeasing their growing number of clients who use the services as their primary form of payment service provider. Venmo in particular has changed its platform to begin allowing businesses to create profiles and provide transactions with more transparency and security. There are some key differences between the two brands when it comes to payment processing.
Credit & Debit Processing
While we remind our readers that neither service was initially designed to handle large volumes of transactions, both allow this in one form or another. Both companies offer electronic invoicing services, QR scanning, keyed-in transactions, and account-to-account transfers, but PayPal has a lot more to offer in terms of physical POS systems and virtual terminal options when it comes to taking cards. Venmo does not seem to have some of the consumer protections in place for chargebacks and consumer disputes, as indicated by the numerous warnings to only deal with trusted accounts and individuals.
Venmo allows clients to accept credit card payments but will charge an additional 3%. PayPal charges the same fee outside of account-to-account transfers. Venmo does not have a credit card scanner currently, and transactions must be made through the app. PayPal has several tiers of physical POS systems with card and chip readers depending on your needs, something Venmo can’t currently offer.
Paypal also issues debit cards tied to their accounts, which Venmo plans to offer in the future, according to their site.
Cost
Neither brand charges a monthly fee or early termination fee, making them both very attractive to businesses that make few or sparse transactions. While it can be difficult to gauge Venmo and Paypal’s direct cost difference on services Venmo doesn’t offer, we can look at QR-based transaction fees and costs. QR codes are most likely going to be the primary payment method for Venmo users, considering their lack of physical card readers. Venmo charges 1.9% + $0.10 per QR transaction, whereas Paypal is slightly more expensive at 2.29% + $0.09 per transaction. This percent difference comes with a lot of consumer protections on PayPal’s end. PayPal does offer several optional monthly services, such as added fraud protection for additional costs.
Pros & Cons
One of the biggest drawbacks to both services is the inability to automatically transfer funds to your bank. This might be the main distinguishing feature from a normal credit card processing company. While both companies make it easy for users to transfer funds to their bank in a few clicks, there is usually a delay of 1-3 days before the funds are released. PayPal in particular has received large amounts of complaints related to this delay, and it’s also where funds can get frozen for one reason or another.
While Venmo can typically take 1 to 3 business days to transfer money to a bank account for free, the company also has an instant transfer option. It allows merchants and other users to instantaneously transfer funds. However, a 1% fee is attached to these transfers, with a minimum of $0.25 and a maximum of $10. PayPal offers a similar service for 1% with no fee ceiling. These very small nuances can mean the difference of hundreds of dollars over the lifetime of using PayPal versus Venmo.
Both services offer a large amount of flexibility, and that seems to be the main attraction for businesses. While PayPal boasts one of the largest payment networks out there, Venmo can really shine as a low-maintenance and highly mobile payment platform. It’s also more accessible to users, allowing them to simply download the app to pay. While PayPal technically matches all these services on paper, the end-users and mobile market seem to prefer Venmo. We think there’s room for both services depending on a client’s needs; however, it will be interesting to watch the two brands trying to stay off of each other’s toes as Venmo steadily approaches merchant account territory.
We invite our readers to check out our Venmo review for more in-depth information.
PayPal Customer Complaints & Reviews
Here's What Users Think
Complaint Summary
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Total Online Complaints
8000+
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Live Customer Support
Yes
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Most Common Complaint
Fund-Holds
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Recent Lawsuits
Yes
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Millions of Users, Thousands of PayPal Complaints
The grade for this section is difficult to assign because of PayPal’s unique position in the credit card processing industry. Unlike traditional merchant accounts, virtually anyone can sign up for a PayPal account, and PayPal has over 100 million users. As one can imagine, there are thousands of negative Paypal reviews. The two types of negative PayPal reviews that are most common among actual business owners are of sudden account freezes that disable the merchant’s ability to accept further transactions and withdraw money, and poor experiences with customer service. If you have your own PayPal review to make, please do so in the comments below.
Moderate Risk of Fund-Holds
Business owners who complain of fund-holds often report difficulty in getting explanations as to why the hold was established. They also state that the money was held for long periods of time. Holds are a common practice in the credit card processing industry and are often used on “high-risk” businesses who would be better served by high-risk processing specialists. Many businesses do not transfer their PayPal funds on a daily basis, so days’ or weeks’ worth of sales can get locked up during an account freeze. However, holds and account freezes are never a problem for most clients, even though there are quite a few reported cases online.
PayPal gives this notice when logging on to accounts with held funds.
PayPal Lawsuits
In 2017, PayPal was sued in the matter of Zepeda v. PayPal Inc., a class-action lawsuit that alleged the company had improperly handled disputed transactions, placed holds, reserves or limitations on customers’ accounts without notice, and closed merchant accounts without notice. The company agreed to pay a sum of over $4 million to plaintiffs who were part of the class action.
2021 saw a flurry of legal activity concerning PayPal. It began in February 2021, when the company announced that it was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
According to Bloomberg, “The SEC is investigating whether the swipe fees paid to the banks that issue PayPal’s debit cards are consistent with Federal Reserve guidelines, the San Jose, California-based company said Thursday in a quarterly regulatory filing. The agency is also investigating how PayPal reports marketing fees earned from its branded-card program. […] Separately, PayPal said it received a civil investigative demand from the CFPB in connection to the marketing and use of PayPal Credit in connection with merchants that provide educational services. The regulator asked PayPal to produce documents, written reports and answers to written questions. The company said it is cooperating.” Following the announcement of this investigation, PayPal Inc. stock dropped significantly. This led to a bevy of class-action suits being announced against the company. With such heavy legal action underway against one of the world’s largest and most well-known payment processors, these cases are sure to set standards for the industry going forward.
PayPal was also sued in June 2021 by World Series of Poker champion Chris Moneymaker in another class-action suit regarding seized funds from fantasy sports leagues.
An ongoing lawsuit regarding fund-holds and frozen accounts was brought against PayPal in 2022.
A further class-action suit was filed against PayPal in 2023 regarding a data break of 35,000 peoples’ accounts.
PayPal Customer Support Options
PayPal offers several options for resolving customer service problems, including a phone helpline. The basic support line is open to all account types and appears to suffer from periodic long wait times and poor service. Businesses can get higher levels of customer support by paying either $159 per month for “13X7 Enhanced” support, or $495 per month for “24X7 Premium” support.
PayPal Customer Service Numbers
- (888) 221-1161 – Toll Free General Customer Service
- (402) 935-7733 – Report Unauthorized Transactions
- (888) 914-8072 – Español
- (402) 935-2050 – For customers calling from outside the US
Other Support Options
- Live chat support
PayPal earns a “C” in this section because of the sheer volume of negative PayPal reviews filed online, but the company does a decent job of providing many customer service options and maintaining a small proportion of complaints in comparison to its user base.
PayPal BBB Rating and Report
Our Better Business Bureau Profile Assessment
BBB Summary
|
BBB Reports
33,516
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Note: We have adjusted this company’s BBB rating according to our own standards. To better understand why we adjust BBB ratings, please see our Rating Criteria.
More Than 33,000 Better Business Bureau Complaints
As of this review, PayPal is accredited with the Better Business Bureau and maintains an “A” rating despite having 33,516 complaints filed in the last 36 months. This continues a trend of a large uptick in reviews. Only 33,516 of these 11,487 complaints were resolved by the company to the satisfaction of the merchant. The remaining 22,029 were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the client or received no final response.
What Merchants Say
The company had also previously received 2,182 informal PayPal reviews, with the vast majority being negative. Again, this is a massive uptick from the 1,551 when we last reviewed the company. However, all reviews have been removed with no explanation as of this review. One previous review from a client related to held funds and a poor customer service experience:
Worst outcome ever. Have been using ****** for transaction with a distributor of mine. I have had done numerous transactions with him over the last month. At least 4 of the transaction were 4 digits. Even single one of those transactions was flagged and held. Even after the first few cleared no problem. I’m not about to loose my largest clients and probably my business because of this….. the first time I understood. The second I was frustrated, the third I was mad and now I’m just done. And the support staff is of no help. My distributor can not even ca them and tell them to release it. Beyond ridiculous
Clients should review their options for merchant accounts with a history of great customer service to avoid situations like this.
FTC Venmo Settlement
At the time of a previous update, the BBB had posted a note regarding a February 2018 settlement between PayPal and the FTC:
“The Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with PayPal, Inc. over allegations that the company told users of its Venmo peer-to-peer payment service that money credited to their Venmo balances could be transferred to external bank accounts without adequately disclosing that the transactions were still subject to review and that funds could be frozen or removed.
In its complaint, the FTC also charges that Venmo misled consumers about the extent to which they could control the privacy of their transactions. In addition, Venmo misrepresented the extent to which consumers’ financial accounts were protected by “bank grade security systems,” and violated the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s Safeguards and Privacy Rules, the complaint alleges.”
Although we consider Venmo one of the best mobile apps for sending money, it is clear that it faces some of the same criticisms as its parent company.
A “C” Performance So Far
The BBB justifies its rating by citing the length of time PayPal has been in business, the complaint volume versus PayPal’s size, the company’s response to complaints, the rate of resolution of those complaints, and the fact that the BBB has sufficient background information on PayPal. Based on PayPal’s complaint count, resolution ratio, and size, we are adjusting this section’s rating to a “C” for the purposes of this review.
PayPal Fees and Rates
A Closer Look at the Contract
Cost Summary
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Cancellation Penalties
No
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Monthly & Annual Fees
No
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Processing Rates
Variable
|
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Equipment Leasing
No
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PayPal’s Merchant Services
In this section, only PayPal fees, rates, and contract terms associated with accepting credit card payments are being considered. We will not be covering personal accounts in this review, nor will we be assessing PayPal’s value as an eBay payment method.
Basic Client Setup (aka: PayPal Payments Standard)
This account type does not allow business owners to enter credit card data manually using their computers but does allow for customers to buy products by credit card through a businesss’ website. If a client has set up a PayPal Here account, they can accept credit cards directly through the mobile app. For customers looking for an easy way to accept online payments, PayPal offers this basic setup with a few advantages over traditional merchant accounts.
Basic Pricing
PayPal Standard comes with no setup cost, no monthly fee, no time commitment, no PCI Compliance fee, and no cancellation fee. PayPal Payments Standard allows businesses to easily accept payments through their websites using “buy now,” “add to cart,” and “donate” buttons as well as recurring payments from other PayPal users ($10 monthly fee). This account is also compatible with most popular shopping carts. One of the disadvantages is that the customer must leave the merchant’s website and be redirected to PayPal to complete the transaction, which can reduce conversion rates and confuse customers. With no monthly fees, PayPal credit card acceptance does come at a higher-than-average processing rate. As of this review, PayPal Payments Standard charges 2.7% plus $0.30 for all domestic in-store transactions, 2.9% plus $0.30 for all domestic online transactions, 4.2% plus $0.30 on all international in-store transactions, and 4.4% plus $0.30 on all international online transactions. Businesses registered as 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporations receive a discounted rate from PayPal of 2.2% plus $0.30 per transaction domestically and 3.7% plus $0.30 for international transactions.
Transferring from PayPal Merchant Accounts to Bank Accounts
Transfers made to bank accounts from PayPal will be deposited on the next business day. Businesses using PayPal can also transfer their balances to a bank account instantly. Instant transfers do have limits of $50,000 per transaction, $100,000 per day, $250,000 per week, and $500,000 per month. Each instant transfer is subject to a 1% fee which may not exceed $10.
Advanced Merchant Setup (aka: PayPal Payments Advanced)
The next account up from the standard account allows businesses to keep the entire checkout process on their own site. Like PayPal Payments Standard, businesses cannot enter credit card data themselves, but they do get all the same features as the basic setup and can control the user experience throughout the entire online sales process. The PayPal Payments Advanced rates are the same as PayPal Payments Standard, but there is a $5 monthly fee. PayPal also offers additional services for data handling, PCI compliance, and customer support, but these come at extra costs.
Professional Setup (aka: PayPal Payments Pro)
PayPal Payments Pro comes with all of the same features as PayPal Payment Standard and PayPal Payment Advanced but with two extra features. The first feature allows for custom design and self-hosting of the checkout page, which is primarily of interest to high-volume e-commerce retailers and web developers who want full control over the checkout process. Business owners who are interested in this process can also consider using one of the top merchant accounts for web developers.
A Virtual Terminal Option
With the second extra feature of the Pro account, PayPal offers a virtual terminal for businesses that need to enter credit card data themselves for face-to-face transactions and/or mail orders and telephone orders. Business owners who wish to use this service will need to go through an extra application process even if they already have a PayPal account. It takes about 48 hours to find out if you have been approved for a virtual terminal account. Generally speaking, the cost for this service is fairly high in comparison to the best virtual terminals and merchant account providers. In addition to a $30 per month fee, PayPal Payments Pro clients will pay the following fees:
- 2.9% plus $0.30 per domestic transaction through their websites
- 3.9 plus a fixed fee per international transaction through their websites
- 3.1% plus $0.30 per domestic transaction through the virtual terminal
- 4.4% plus a fixed fee per international transaction through the virtual terminal
- 3.5% per American Express transaction
Volume discounts may also be available on an individual basis. PayPal also has a “micropayment” fee of 5% + $0.05 for transactions under $10.
Virtual Terminal Swiped vs. Keyed
Even though PayPal’s virtual terminal clients can use an optional credit card reader that plugs into nearly any computer, the processing rates appear to be the same for swiped and keyed transactions through PayPal’s virtual terminal. This is unusual because nearly all other merchant account providers offer lower processing fees for swiping a credit card through a reader.
PayPal Jobs and Employment
Hiring Standards and Ethical Marketing Assessment
Key Points
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Uses Independent Resellers
No
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Telemarketing
No
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Misleading Marketing
No
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Discloses All Important Terms
Yes
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Full Pricing Disclosure
PayPal scores well in this section because the company does not use independent sales agents or misleading sales tactics. The company clearly outlines its pricing on its website and does not alter its fees for each individual seller. In many ways, PayPal has become a household name and stands out in a crowded field of e-commerce payment processing options. The company’s policies and pricing are transparent and easily understandable for anyone who takes the time to read them.
PayPal Review Summary
Our Final Thoughts and Opinions
PayPal offers credit card processing and merchant services similar to traditional processors. Numerous PayPal reviews complain of poor customer support and communication regarding the company’s policies. PayPal is a huge company and in some circles has a bad reputation. In spite of this, the company remains one of the best options for easily accepting electronic payments and continues to gain popularity. PayPal is comparable in cost to many traditional merchant account setups but is much more expensive than merchant accounts under the Interchange Pass-through pricing model. Although PayPal has a lot of complaints, most of them are due to the fact that even the most inexperienced and naïve business owners can set up an account in a matter of minutes without understanding of PayPal is truly the best option for them. Overall, PayPal is a solid choice for very small businesses and new ventures who want to accept credit card payments with no commitments. PayPal can also be offered as an additional payment option alongside a normal merchant account and payment gateway setup.
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Misty Griffin Starts with a Mouse Travel
They are holding all my funds for a runDisney event. I am merely the middle man for the Disney corp. I cannot pay my Disney bill. I’ve gone as far as I can. They won’t release any funds until after the event, over 6 months away.
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Amanda Green
I am very disappointed in paypal, I have been using this service for 4 years without a hitch. a couple of months ago I decided to make use of the pay pal credit portion, much to my dismay when it was time to pay the bill there was not possible way for me to do this online. I know that I probably should have called customer service sooner than what I did, but I diligently tried to pay this bill online for almost 3 months. I accrued more than $90 in late fees. I spoke with a pleasant customer service rep today, her service was adequate but there was nothing to be done for the late fees and no explanation why I could not even get the credit portion to link to my existing account. I am very disappointed and out almost $100! Very upset about this and will be spreading the word that paypal, although their normal services are a nice feature to have, I would not recommend opening a credit account unless you want to be screwed out of your own hard earned money.
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Reza
I am not sure why there is no competitor to Paypal that we can switch to it? They give hard time to every person, they Hold my money for more than 3 month for no reason, and system was showing paid. And they just tell me appology and wait for another 3 days, you can imagine how many days are in over 3 months? Their customer service looks like very cheap and non professional who just start working hours ago, from Zero. lots of mistakes. I just read complain and complain about Paypal every where. Really not sure why a big organization like government do not shut them down? holding money for no reason for 3 month is Fraud, and they still in bussiness!!!!! We really need a good replacement for this Junk which is acceptable by Ebay too. If my customers in Ebay could pay by any other method other than Paypal, I would not stay with them for a second. unfortunately, the main means of transaction on Ebay is through Paypal.
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Maurice
New Sales Team support is very unprofessional!!
I just call to see how can I use their service to charge my client’s credit card; I was asking questions and the person there ( a man) was answering the same information over and over, I ask a different question and the answer was the same, I ask again a different question and all of a sudden I hear a “click” HE JUST HUNG UP ON ME.
I’m a new customer trying to get their service and the rep. Just hung up!!
Well, well … If this happens to a new customer, I just can’t imaging how it will be if I call customer service support!
I’ll will say…. Run away!!
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John L
Come on CPO. I have faith in the fact the you score’s and rating are calculated with proper due diligence. However, with PayPal I find it hard to believe that you score’s are as high as they are. The reviews clearly speak for customer service, as you note in that particular category, but clearly shows much worse issues.
The fact that PayPal is not a bank, and does not have to follow FDIC policies, does not mean they can commit which essentially is not far from fraud and theft. No company, or person for that matter, can withhold and literally “take” money without any legitimate authority or explanations. Clearly, the 100+ comments on your site show this illegal activity. many other sites do as well.
PayPal has recently lost “settled” a class action suit resulting in the reimbursement of money lost by it’s customers for the same reasons that the 100+ reviews have complained abut for the past few years.
I believe your scores should be based on reviews for PayPal and adjusted accordingly to all classes. The action suit is a huge indicator of much worse business practices than customer service and does not warrant A or B ratings of any kind. As far as the BBB is concerned, we know it is an independently owned franchisee company. The BBB offers to it’s as service where subscribers are offered financial and marketing services. Therefore, I do not hold much stock in believing the BBB with its ratings, especially with PayPal who is most likely a huge “contributor” to the BBB
I think it’s time that you either become a “Yelp” (who should be the least trusted) review service or maintain a completely non bias service that can be trusted by your readers and reviewers.
Phillip CPO
Hi John,
Thank you for the comment, and we do appreciate your concerns. You are correct that many people have had issues with PayPal; however, their service does meet the needs of millions of other users without issue. Is PayPal perfect? No. Is PayPal the right solution for any type of business? Definitely not. Yet, they do fill a need for those businesses of which a traditional merchant wouldn’t be the right fit. Users that have issues with PayPal typically fall outside of the type of businesses that should be using PayPal in the first place. Either because they are selling items prohibited under PayPal’s terms of use, taking large transaction, or a high volume of payments. Though, of course, there are exceptions to this where seemingly innocent sellers get caught up in the collateral damage of overzealous fraud prevention policies.
Unlike the BBB, we have an expertise on this industry and look at the big picture. We also do not have membership or “accreditation” fees that very often seem to influence BBB ratings. You are free to disagree with our rating, but we are confident that our rating truly reflects the company as a whole.
John L
Thank you for you feedback. The link provided below is from the class action suit. It supports what customers have been reporting for years. I do understand your comment about the number of comments vs the number of customers however, there are many that have no choice to date. Thousands of eCommerce stores, ebay sales, etc are simply too small to pay the high fees that the full service processors charge. I have had a customer back charge issued by PayPal without allowing me the opportunity to prove by signed contract the customer’s failure to honor his reservation for an event. I lost money as I had to pay in advance. With that said, what other choice do I have but to contimue to use this horrible company. I’m simply too small for the gateway fees , processors and bank fees. And keep in mind, based on what larger merchants pay their processors, PayPal is extremely high. We are not only forced to use them but we are paying out the ying yang for it. So, there are more small merchants than you think that are being screwed each and every day by PayPal but just dealing with it.
Please read and ask yourself if this is a B rated company! I also believe this is only the beginning of lawsuits against PayPal.
Robbie Roth
I was employed with PayPal for 13 years We as employees made this company great until about 5 years ago Started going down hill PayPal no longer cares about their employees or their customers I have just closed my PP account after all these years after loosing 19.95 to a scam merchant that is using PayPal PayPal protected the crook not the consumer Will use our credit card from now on PayPal can not be trusted and hold time is horrible They have been firing long term employees and hiring in another country to take calls Just a matter of time they will be going down HORRIBLE COMPANY
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Ivo lindner
Cancelled a transaction on ebay. Got the refund right away. Refund is on “pending” for the last 5 days.
PayPal rep. Told me basically : This is our policy, take it or leave it.
Got it paypal!
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Ivo Lindner
Just a quick update!
got the $$ back, but it went to my Paypal balance(why?? it came out of my checking??) Just transferred it back to my bank and Paypal says it takes 3-5 days: “depending on your bank” which is not right either. Just got an international transfer to my bank in 22hrs….
So at this point i will file a complaint with the BBB. I would have left one with at Yelp as well, but VERY surprisingly: PAYPAL is not even listed at Yelp!!!!
Try to remove your business from Yelp……
I know you (Paypal &Yelp) don’t care and i’m really sorry i’m bothering you with this.
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Ras
Their customer service is a joke. PayPal, Inc. has the worst customer service I have ever encountered. The have been holding over $1600 of my money for goods sold online for no reason.
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Naomi Lansdell
I this “PAYPAL” is an absolute easy way for fraud. Ive been notified on numerous occasions that my account had been logged on to over seas. PayPal asked me to make my profile more Secure but that had not changed anything. I do NOT trust it! What a scam.
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Roger
DO NOT USE PAYPAL
Held my money for months for no good reason. Evil company that’s affiliated with the imf.
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Shaw
Assume paypal & paypal credit are linked? NOOOO! Therefore, when you update your personal information would you assume everything is updated for both? NOOOO! Especially when you only have one login for both. Conclusion: DO NOT sign up for Paypal Credit!
My account is now closed.
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Aggie
It’s so hard to contact them, if you try to do anything on their website (open a dispute, complain etc) it’s usually impossible as they have basic errors on their website and it doesn’t allow you to proceed.
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Robin Noel-Cardini
Paypal is completely unregulated. They will hold your money. For days, weeks, even months. Often for as long as 6 months. Why? Because they can. Because credit card chargebacks are valid for 180 days. So if they hold your money for 180 days, there absolutely is no risk to them. PayPal people with say, if you are legit, you don’t have to worry. But when it is PayPal that determines if your are legit, and there is no one that can regulate them, it makes them more apt to abuse the system and do whatever they want. So close your PayPal Account now. Don’t risk having your hard earned dollars held in limbo. Credit Card companies will at least work with you, and are federally regulated if they don’t…
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Nicholas Benedict
Paypal Credit signed me up without authorization and refused to acknowledge my letter asking the account to be closed. I have paid for all legitimate purchases, but they are hounding me for $500 in interest in penalties due to the delays on THEIR SIDE acknowledging and processing the cancellation.
Their customer service is a joke. I spoke to a supervisor who sounded positively gleeful as she informed me that Paypal “will never stop collecting every penny that we feel is owed”.
Another joke – I have a corporate account that did $1-$2MM of business with Paypal (not paypal credit) this year. Now that I’ve seen how Paypal handles issues where Paypal itself as at fault, we’ve transferred that business to another provider.
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Nick D
Hey all,
Came across this article on the Business Consumer Alliance website and it looks like any of us who have basically been victimized by PayPal may be able to recoup some of the money lost. I know i had my account put on hold for a while and no one could really give me a good reason why. The class action law suit went in favor of the consumers and we may be able to claim some of the $4 million dollars they are forced to now pay.
Amy C.
PayPal is a JOKE!! I have waited for over a month and COMPLAINED over 4 times about not Recieving a check request! They owe me money and have ” no idea why you have not received your funds yet. It will take another 2-5 days to research and we will contact you.” SERIOUSLY!! I just want my money!!! I will NEVER use PayPal for ANY OF MY BUSINESS AGAIN!!
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Robert J. Turner
Don’t do business with PayPal. I had credit card deposits into my account and then when I tried to use the funds they froze my account and required “resolution”. I have to supply all kinds of documents and I still don’t have access to my money. I recommend staying away from them.
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Miles Tobin
Not a secure platform. My account was hacked and my paypal credit has been being abused by unknown/unauthorized parties. I called paypal many times and they said they would try to resolve this issue and they really didn’t do much. They at least could have shut down my account since I initially called them when my credit balance was around $400, and now it is over $1,000. I now have to file a detailed police report. I would be extremely careful using paypal and doing transactions through this avenue.
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HRM
I widthraw manoey from my Paypal to Bank account in Canada, requested Nov.16.2015, Still not received my money, Paypal showing completed, Bank saying not received it. at least 20 phone calls and Messages, they created a Ticket for me to track it. end of Dec.2015 one of the Paypal attendants told me on Phone, SORRY.. the Ticket was not issued propelry so it did not sent out in deed. He said I will creat another one…. Long story short, my money is not received, I just received rsponses that appology and wait and wait…. soon it is 2 months I am waiting for my money…… This is really not acceptable. The attendent who answer the phones look like too green and not trained, they are lost….. What can I do ? talk to my lawer?
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Ayush
I am novice seller. Sold 2 items on ebay and they both have been charged back by the buyer. Now, Paypal has asked for proofs and after reading so many reviews am convinced, however convincing I am paypal will favour the buyer. I have -ve balance on the paypal since I already transferred all the amount to my bank from Paypal. Question is worst case, they would freeze my account? Am anyhow not gonna want to deal with them again. Will they file a lawsuite or something to claim the money about $750? I am gonna close my linked bank account(Anyhow I was planing to) and change credit card numbers that are linked with paypal. Whats the right way for me ? Please guide.
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Jonathan Kauth
I recently had miney stolen thru Paypal. When I reported it, they said yhey were already aware of the fraudulent charges and that I would be reimbursed within 10 days. They then proceeded to allow the same person to charge another $400 on my account and now, 17 days layer, not only have not reimbursed me anything, they won’t tell me what is going on. Sucks for them that I recorded all phone conversations with them – my lawyer is salivating. Save yourself the trouble and avoid Paypal.
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Unhappy Customer
The absolute worst. I’ve been trying to send payments to different people, and only one passed out of eight… after I talked to customer service. The rest just can’t be sent. I’ve already “waited” for over a week. I’ve missed out on deals because of their shitty system. Try not to use PayPal if you can help it.
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A & B
I am definitely a dissatisfied customer….Paypal hold your money if you make more then a balance of 500.00 for 30 days…I own a rental business and if anyone knows there is bills to be paid…the week of this Christmas they decided to hold alot of my income money that i needed to pay bills to make sure my tenants are well taken care off in my weekly rental. They explain because some transactions were done over the phone its security risk…first time i heard about it….but yet its ok to swipe card and it will go through fine….and its okey if you are there where tenant …who’s to say i was or wasn’t…so while they hold money a person can leave town and dispute charges and leave you stranded ….with weeks of pay….and they also will hold money if you make more then a substantial amount for 30 days until they feel fit to give while telling you we have another program you can do payments over the phone and its 30 a month….sounds like this is a scam to get more money out of people….holding money to make you have to purchase their program….very bad business indeed…as soon as they release my money i will no longer use their service…you can not run a business that way…waiting to get your money every time your paid if you go over a 500.00 limit……they should be shut down…a business runs on cash in cash out…not holds…i worked in a bank for five years and never seen such nonsense….no one should dictate how much money your business brings in…but the fee they are to receive from it….i will dedicate my life to making them shut down…
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Susan
I have had an account for many years but recently Paypal has changed their policy in that even thought you have selected how you want to pay for your purchase thru their services ( say you want to pay with your CC on file), Paypal will completely ignore that and charge you however they see fit.
NOTE to consumers RUN RUN RUN. I will never use there services again to pay for purchases. They depleted an account that had few funds instead of using the account I requested. NEVER AGAIN.
And when I called to inquiry why this happened the representative hung up on me……………..
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Nosratollah sheyda
Dont use paypal they keep my money 180 days and nobody answer me
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Polly
A charge of $1,200.+ appeared on my credit card, bill after paying for a product through PayPal. Visa refunded the amount, and I finally was told by my credit card company that other complaints had surfaced about fraudulent charges after using PayPal . Then PayPal refunded the amount, so I notified both PayPal and my credit card company that I had been doubly reimbursed. They settled it between the two, and I have never since used PayPal.
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Harry Styles
I signed up, logged in, went to confirm bank and entered all the necessary information with %100 accuracy. 2 days later I receive an email saying that my account was disabled and that I was required to send a photo of my SSN, my license, and proof of my address through PayPal’s resolution center upload to prove that I am the true owner of the account.
Rating: 2/10 – Even though I provide all the necessary bank info, I don’t understand why they would want more from me. I also wish they would be more honest about when they’re going to give me my account back as well as access to my available balance.
Customer Service: 5/10 – The customer service I had was nice, but even though they said everything was resolved… I’m still locked out my account. It’s been 2 weeks.
So, if you use PayPal.. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you don’t have to go through this!
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John L
Be very careful about sending photo copies. You may have been on a “look alike” site. There are many out there that you would swear it was them. However, if it was Paypal, don’t send them anything like that anyway. Remember, they are not a bank and do not have to follow any FDIC or other banking laws or rules!
Vince
Which country are you referring to?
“Be very careful about sending photo copies. You may have been on a “look alike” site. There are many out there that you would swear it was them. However, if it was Paypal, don’t send them anything like that anyway. Remember, they are not a bank and do not have to follow any FDIC or other banking laws or rules!”
In the European Union, Russia and many other countries Paypal is bound to the same laws and legalization as any bank. I doubt paypal has the right to make their system prone to corruption, tax fraud, terrorism, and other illegal activities and thus is by law forced to put everything in place to prevent their service from being misused for this.
John L
Excuse me? I don’t believe I said anything about corruption, tax fraud, terrorism. Where did you read that? Nothing like making things up in your head! And I am referring to USA. I could care less where you are from but if you look up the ownership of PayPal, you will find they are not a bank. Therefore, Paypal does not have to abide by the FDIC laws. Meaning, you are not protected by the FDIC. It’s as simple as that.
Erik Kooij
THE BIGGEST CRIMINAL ASSOCIATION EVER. THEY JUST FREEZE MY ACCOUNT FOR NO CLEAR REASON. THEY CAN HOLD MY MONEY FOR 180 DAYS. I CANNOT DELIVER MY CLIENTS BECAUSE I NEED THE MONEY TO BUY THE MERCHANTS AND I LOOSE ALL MY CLIENTS. IT IS MY MONEY AND THEY DECIDED TO KEEP IT FOR NOW. UNBELIEVABLE HOW THIS IS LEGAL
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John
Paypal is not like a credit account or bank account. I was frustrated with paypal and removed my funding source to prevent future transaction but now they won’t let me close my account with setting my account up again (I don’t owe money and have a zero balance). This process seems fraudulent to me and they seem to go out of their way to make it extremely difficult to close the account. After this experience I have sworn off paypal for good and would highly recommend others find another form of electronic payment.
Melanie
I feel it is not right that someone make a purchase from my on ebay and pays for that item to be shipped that if I do not have the money to pay for the shipping I cannot use the money the customer paid me to ship the item. If they paid ME to ship the item then I should be allowed to use the money the customer paid to ship the item. This is not right. I feel this is a rip off. I pay ebay fees, paypal fees and still cant even ship my item with the customers money they paid to ship it.
Frustrating
Michelle
PayPal Merchant Services has been the worst experience I have ever had. Their customer service is a joke and I would never recommend them to anyone. Go with the bank that you have your business account. The fees are cheaper and they care that you get service.
Susan robinson
Pay Pal has made a very simple return transaction impossible. Their representatives were insensitive and unyielding as I requested an extension for time needed to return an item. I was away due to a serious family medical emergency. I will never use them again.
Jeanette Eyler
Obviously, PayPal is there to protect the seller…screw the buyer. I bought a tablet…it was never delivered…the post office admits this. The I paid $139.99 for the tablet and the seller only insured it for $50 dollars like a dumbass. Who does that? Now PayPal says since they mailed it…I am out the money and the post office is responsible. WTF? I will never recommend PayPal for anyone…they are f’d and I am sick of these sellers getting the best of the buyers and having these m’f’ers cover for them and protect them! GTH PAYPAL!
Agata Zakrzewski
Their customer “service” department has been condescending and unhelpful. I have called PayPal over many times. I never talked to the same person to discuss my progress. Each person has provided me with different direction from the previous person. this was very frustrating. Their eBay Money Back Guarantee process is handled unprofessionally. I would not recommend to do business with PayPal and my bank agrees. Their handling of cases is horrible. The company vision is very poorly implemented. I used to be one of their first customers.
Lakshminarayanan
very very worst service and worst reply from the customer care., initially they release the amount then they block my account and ask for some details i added many .Then they had restored my account then when i receive the $1300 to my account next day they blocked my account like ., your account has been permanantly blocked and money also u can withdraw after 180 days tat too nt true . simply they need money so doing this method from the account holder for this u can F*** paypal S**** . They had thefted my work time and everything has been wasted .,To many persons they doing like this only in india
Monte
Don’t get involved with Pay Pal they are a scam !!!!!!! When you call them in India they play the phone game and direct you to another idiot down the line without a clue. They hold your money for unknown reasons . They make millions off of your money in interest .I don’t have a bank account . I used there system to buy and sell on ebay it was ok . I used there system to sell from another buyer and could not get my money added to my account without a bank account even though I gave my CC # to them. They charge too much when it should be free . You ask why it should be free ? If you had billions in holding could imagine the interest generated ! I have gotten a temporary checking account for now and will be closing there account as sone as I clear this up.Use a money order to sell and your CC to buy the are more secure .
Jarred H
Terrible web service. Wish it was never involved with ebay. Makes selling and buying a pain in my rear end. I can not believe they are allowed still to be up with the amount of problems they have. If I had to say what is the worst thing on this earth, I would say PayPal.
Crystal Gibson
I placed a order that simply said the purchase price is $70.00. After placing the order I realized that the order was in China, which I don’t feel comfortable with ordering across seas. They charged me $80.08 instead of the detail price on their website of $70.00 & free shipping. I called Paypal to cancel the order while it was still pending. PayPal was not helpful at all they would not cancel the order. So now my hard earned money may go to waste. Who knows I may not even receive the item. And if I do I will be returning it because I’m sure the item isn’t authentic. And who knows how long I’ll have to wait to receive a refund. I am very dissatisfied with PayPal and will not be recommending them to anyone. In the coming week I will be canceling my account.
David Thomas
They worse customer service ever. I called six times, got six different answers and not results. I will never use paypal again. Works great if you don’t have a refund or return, bought 60 items no problems. But when things got messed up it was ring around the rosey. Still waiting on a end result and it’s be a week.
Carol Coleman
I called 877-658-5919 thinking it was pay pal. He said he was pay pal. Told me that my computer, bank account had been hacked. Insisted that he fix it for me over the phone. I finally hung up on him. He was very foreign and hard to understand. Took my computer to staples and they said I had no problems with my computer. Went to my bank and they saw nothing had been hacked. He said it was my carrier, which is Charter. When I called discover card they found nothing that was wrong. Just letting you know I do believe this no. to be bogus and saying they work for pay pal. He did not give a name.
Teran
PayPal debit card is really hard to get. I want to be able to use the money people send me at restaurants and not just online transactions. The wait for asking for the card is like an hour or more when they tell you that it will about 5 mins. Is the card only for certain people or class of people. Why is it so hard? Maybe others have an easier time but as for now with my situation, I’ve called twice and no answer (I waited at least an hour the second time.
Arthur
Horrible service. PayPal used to be helpful with handling the money transactions, now it is withholding money and charges enormous transaction fees. I couldn’t send money to my family without any fees (within PayPal accounts!), and the customer service could not help me to resolve the matter.
Use other services, but don’t trust PayPal your money.
Bec
Paypal is a scam. Not only do they allow unauthorized debits on your account (resulting in a negative balance) but its the biggest pain to use as a seller on ebay. I usually only sell items when I really need the money. Once a customer pays through paypal, the funds are withheld from availability for up to 21 days due to “transaction integrity” which is total BS. They state your funds can be available earlier if you add tracking on the posted item. This is also false, as I always add tracking on my posted items and have never had my funds available before 21 days. Best advice for sellers: Get customers to pay on pickup.
Mike
Hello
Please be advise that PayPal does not provide any protection for sellers who sells the service; if you are selling service which is intangible you will easiliy lose your money as the buyers can open a chargeback with their card issuer and they will be refunded after a week and PayPal has no way of protecting you and it will charge you an extra 20$ for the fees beside the money you lost for giving the service!
I strongly recommend people to not to open paypal account as a merchant or if they have to close it!
Chris
I provide in-home repair services. Most customers want to pay with a credit/debit card. I take their card and process it through paypal. If the card belongs to a paypal account or the customer’s email address belongs to a paypal account then paypal declines the transaction with a message saying the customer should log in to complete the transaction. Alot of my customers do not use paypal on a regular basis so they don’t remember their passwords. The most recent example is that I diagnose and repair a customers appliance. I process their credit card through paypal as usual, thank the customer and leave. A few minutes later I receive an email saying that the transaction has been blocked. WTF paypal! The service is done! I was paid! I have a signed work order from the card holder!! Stop meddling in my business affairs! I have had too many problems using paypal. Who conducts business in this manner? I’m currently looking for a service to replace paypal. I will celebrate the day paypal goes out of business.
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Keegan Soles
Incredibly disappointed and appalled with Paypal’s systemic flaws, bureaucracy and hypocrisy. Paypal doesn’t let you change countries on your account, so when I moved abroad to the UK for two years I needed to open a second account. Now that I am back in Canada, I wished to transfer my money back to my Canadian account – good luck.
First of all, Paypal limited my account for ‘unusual activity’ – apparently logging into my UK account from Canada was flagged as unusual activity. This alone took 30 minutes and three representatives to clear up. After that was sorted, when I went to transfer the money I was asked to verify my account first. To do this, the only method was to receive a text message, and the only phone number available was my UK cell number. As I am back in Canada, I no longer have access to that phone and the number no longer exists. This is where things went from frustrating to incomprehensible.
After I was incorrectly transferred twice, I was told by a Paypal representative the best way to get my money was to ‘find someone I trust’ in the UK to transfer my money to, who could then proceed to send it to me. I was flabbergasted that a site that prides itself on security was recommending that the best way for me to send my money – to myself – was to find a third party in a foreign country to send it to and just cross my fingers, hoping they don’t decide to screw me over and keep the money for themselves.
I asked the representative to override the verification – after all, they were speaking to me on the phone and I had already verified who I was. They said this was not possible, as there was no way to override the security checks. I asked to speak to a manager. After another five minutes on hold, I spoke to a manager who told me that there was likely nothing I could do for at least 24 hours, at which point there were a couple other options I could ‘try’, but she wasn’t sure if they would work. Really? You work for Paypal, have managed to obtain the position of manager, and you don’t know the system well enough to tell me what will and won’t work? She also couldn’t guarantee that logging back into my UK account from Canada wouldn’t flag the system and limit my account again.
I don’t know how, or even if, I will be able to access my own funds – from an account that was only created because of the original Paypal flaw of not allowing someone to change countries on their account. People move, Paypal – you need to be more accommodating. Furthermore, every time I was transferred or put on hold, the next person I spoke to needed to re-verify all of my information, resulting in an incredibly tedious process of reading out my name, email, account information and security checks each time I spoke to someone new. The fact that two phone calls speaking to seven different representatives was unable to resolve a query so simple as transferring funds from one of my Paypal accounts to the other has left me frustrated and cost me the better part of my morning.
I have never written a negative online review before, but the service I received this morning incensed me into doing so, so others can think twice before trusting their funds with this bloated and unreliable system. I will be closing my account immediately after this is resolved, and recommend others either try using a competitor or rely on an old-fashioned money order instead. Goodbye, Paypal – you have failed me for the last time.
anil sodhi
Sir,
I hereby want to inform paypal that after providing all the necessary documents and even the buyer confirming by sending email to paypal that we have already delivered the products to the agent company, paypal review department is coming up with unnecessary excuses.
I have already taken these laptops stock on credit from our supplier and they are now harassing me daily for the payments.
I have waited for long trying to provide all the necessary information asked by paypal.
Paypal asked me to get a confirmation email from the buyer which he has already sent to paypal at [email protected]
Now the review department says that they will close my account and hold the payment for 180 days. This is going to cause huge depression to me as my supplier will not wait until then.
THIS IS GOING TO MAKE ME TAKE A DRASTIC STEP WITH MY LIFE AS THE BUYER AGENT SAYS THAT THE BUYER CANNOT MAKE A WIRE TRANSFER DUE TO SOME RULES OF THE COUNTY.
BEFORE I DO THAT WILL DEFINITELY EXPOSE PAYPAL IN INDIA AND TO THE WORLD
Joe Sims
Paypal and Ebay are connected. I was told they are two separate entity. This is not true. I sent a package to a buyer, when he received the package he called Ebay and said that he wants his money back because he has not received the package. So Ebay went into my Paypal account and removed the money. Now I do not have my Item and I do not have any money for it. I sucks when ebay helps a thief and my money is not safe in Paypal.
Mark
They have been sister companies for years. It was recently announced that Ebay is splitting off from PayPal. USA Today reported that he split as the result of PayPal’s declining reputation.
Mark
Oh BTW, keep in mind that PayPal is not a bank. Therefore, they do not have to follow FDIC guidelines. They can do what ever they want withing the law of any business. And, yes, they will hold and delay transferring your money, as one of the many games they do play, and there isn’t much you can do about it. The problem is, a majority of customers, and potential customers, do not understand they are not a bank. Read the fine print….it basically says they can do what ever they want within the laws, as I said earlier, but, they do stretch that as well!
What has to happen is, people have to post this information clearly throughout the internet communities. Once PayPal feels the pressure, or hopefully the financial loss, maybe they will be forced into offering a “more” legit” banking type business. Or, better yet, go out of business!
Chuck Porter
I have a PayPal MasterCard with a $5,000.00 limit.
Two weeks ago, I made a $1,000.00 payment. (check) PayPal put a hold on the check for three weeks.
Two days ago, I made a 1,000.00 payment (cash, using funds in my PayPal account) PayPal put a HOLD on my account.
Never again. I am done with PayPal. DONE! Shameful and disgusting practices. I just read that the Better Business has had almost 6000 complaints. (not surprised.)
Shameful, truly shameful way to run a business.
Victoria
I JUST had this start with me. I decided to pay off all of my credit cards by way of a personal loan. The only one that I had an issue with is PayPal. They said that the payment was too large and now I have to PROVE to them that the money cleared my bank. A week ago.
Because they won’t even acknowledge my payments my available credit has gone DOWN. There’s ‘nothing that they can do’. How is that even possible?
Virginia Galliart
As of today I am closing Pay Pal. I have NOTHING but problems, agravations. They supposedly credit your account for the full payment and then you receive a bill the following month showing late charges and whatever other charges they want to tack on to your account. I AM SHUTTING IT DOWN. I HATE THEM. Seemingly good customer service then you get erronious bills with yet again late charges and more fees. CRAP! DO NOT USE PAY PAL! I WILL NOT USE THEM EVER AGAIN !!!!! NOT WORTH THE IRRITATION!
Martin Robling
I have held a PayPal account for several years. I use it for purchases and sales of miscellaneous items on Ebay and for other payments from time to time.
Recently I attempted to register online for a conference using a credit card. Because the conference organizer is using PayPal for processing, and my credit card was somehow linked to PayPal, PayPal insists that I complete the transaction through my PayPal account.
In essence, they have hijacked my credit card and dictated that I MUST use it through PayPal if they have any involvement in the transaction. That should be MY choice. What a scam!
Patrick Zucker
I would not recommend PayPal to a friend because, as a seller, there are policies and rules that are put in place that does not protect me.
Recently, I shipped an item to the address that was supplied to me and added a tracking number to confirm this process. My purchaser did not give an updated address, so the package was not successfully delivered. Paypal then penalized me and deducted the amount of the purchase from my account, threatened to take me to collections, and did nothing to remedy the situation. I was treated like a criminal and asked to prove everything, which I did, and then I was told that there was nothing that could be done.
At this point, you are a biased monopoly connected with Ebay, so your faithful customers with a good track record are left helpless. To date, I am out $275 and the part that I shipped with documentation to the customer. You own the market and we are your pawns. Thanks for taking care of your loyal customers. Paypal, you suck!
Andrew
Don’t trust Paypal with large sums of money. They have strict risk management policies that allow them to freeze accounts and block withdrawals at any time. They can simply declare your transaction risky and limit your account. They have many other triggers that allow them to freeze accounts. They wait until you accumulate large funds then freeze the account and demand more ID. They can close your account “at any time, for any reason” according to the user agreement. They can freeze your account if you receive near $800 according to “counter-terrorism and anti-money laundering” laws in my country. If you don’t have a Paypal account but use the Paypal credit card gateway, they block credit cards and put limits on how many transactions you can make while pushing you to sign up for a paypal account. They freeze paypal accounts of ebay sellers causing buyers to leave negative feedbacks. Paypal enforce 180 money back on transactions. Paypal take 3 to 5 days to withdraw funds. Paypal treat you as guilty until proven innocent. Paypal makes it too easy for buyers to open disputes for a refund, abusing the system and scam. Having said that, if you only deal in cheap low value items you might not have any problems. Otherwise AVOID PAYPAL.
Fabian Noggle
was robbed of $500 back in 97/98 when paypal bought out and merged with x.com, have been fighting for 16 years now to get funds back and am always met with resistance. paypal says i started my pp account in 06 ( whicih is incorrect i started an x.com account in 97 and when the merger happened my x.com login worked as paypal login. then ebay claims i didnt start an account till 07 ( again incorrect as i was selling items on ebay in 97/98 and i have a witness to back that up). every time paypal puts up payments to refund people they have ripped off it is only for the paypal credit and bill me later people leaving the rest of us bent over, and to be honest anyone that was smart would NEVER sign up for paypal credit or bill me later in the first place. so let me just say paypal is the WORSTE and should change their names to payTHIEF because that is exactly what they are thieves. do yourselves a favor if oyu havent signed up for “paypal” DON’T, you will be better off using credit card for you online purchases and if you do sign up for paythief just put in the amount you need for your purchase and NOTHING else, leaving money sitting in paypal is an accident waiting to happen becuase if you dont watch it daily or are gone for a few months you will come back to find your account with a zero balance ( or like in my case account changed to another online pay company AND a zero balance.
claire
Frozen account after minor problem with a buyer – I gave a refund even through they bidded on a well described and photographed item, but they were not happy so I gave a 50% refund (£60) and this started a paypal limitation. The amount of information I now have to give in order to get it unfrozen and access to the £315 in my account is vastly disproportionate to the initial complaint – which was resolved. Also it’s been linked to an unrelated account?? Why? Just another reason for them to keep my money. While this goes on I cannot use ebay to earn a living so they are actually losing many transactions worth of fees.
britney
I would not use paypal, they will lock and take your money at the drop of a dime. Hold it for 6 months and tell you that you cant do anything about it. Even if you can verify that payments are 100% legally sent they will still hold your money. I asked if I could have the people who sent me the money verify the payment and they said no theres nothing you can do. Your money is held for 6 months. This was supposed to be the easy way for family and friends to send money, especially for someone who doesn’t have a bank account. please do not trust them with your money.
Lauren
PayPal has hands down the worst customer service system I have had to deal with. Expect to set aside 30 minutes of your time and prepare for a frustrating mood change.
Jim
Called in to get simple support for setting up Digital Download Goods. Got a sales guy who didnt want to offer any suggestions or solutions. offered only one word responses, and dead silence. Did not want to transfer me to someone one else, did not seem to care at all that I was having problems. The ONE time I need technical support they didnt even care or want to help. So fed up with Paypal. Hope Google kicks their butts.
Paul
Paypal has got to be the worst company on Earth. They are like the mafia. They force you to use their business at high interest on ebay. It is a total racket. Their website is terrible. They take your money as fast as lightning but take their sweet time crediting payments you make. My bank shows my payment to paypal has cleared. Two, three, four, five days later, paypal is sitting on my money before deducting the amount from my bill. They are cashing in on their high interest rate and creating the possibility of $35 late fees. Their website makes it very frustrating to track your payments and see them. I can take it any longer. Even if it means no more purchases or sales on ebay. I will never do business with or through Paypal again. They are anti-American by putting restrictions on purchases of firearms and firearm related equipment. I will do business elsewhere. In short, Paypal sucks…it sucks very badly.
Deborah Catlett
I have had nothing but problems with Paypal. Monies not accounted for and terrible, rude customer service
Jenn
so why am i paying 4% fees on transactions in paypal in my business account ??? all your material here suggests nothing close to this rate. It is outrageous.
Kat
I haven’t been able to use my Paypal account in 2 years because someone hacked and used my Paypal account. I had to pay what the hacker took off with my own money every paycheck. NOW, my account is limited until I here from them by Friday. I’m upset because I’ve been going with out a few important things (Dr. check ups, car fixes, etc.) for these last few years. It has been awful. The worst and most awful feeling in the world is that I possibly can’t open my Etsy shop and may have to close my Red Bubble shop.
LG
Paypal has AWFUL customer service. I placed a transfer, through paypal, FROM MY bank TO paypal. Within 2 hours of the submission, went online to cancel but was unable to do so. Called paypal and was connected to one of the stupidest reps on the planet. Told him I needed to cancel the transaction and was informed that he couldn’t do it because the cancel button was no longer visible on his screen. What??? So for a 3-5 day transaction, within a 2 hr timespan, the submission cannot be cancelled? Ridiculous. Can I cancel the account? No, because there’s a pending transaction. Right but it’s pending TO ME!! After I was finally able to be transferred to a supervisor (after asking at least 3 times because he kept saying that no one above him could help me), that person explained that the transaction cannot be cancelled because it was more that 5-10 minutes after the submission. Really? Where’s the shovel because that reeks. Needless to say, I should have read reviews prior to signing on to it and I will inform everyone to NEVER use this service. Use AMEX prepaid instead.
California Merchant
We switched to PayPal Pro after using Heartland. Much lower rates for us that were clear-cut and easy to understand. We’re using mainly Virtual Terminal for our phone orders, with a few online orders through their payment gateway, and are very happy with our current rates and set-up. Merchant support has been good, and we haven’t experienced many problems.
There is however one drawback that we experienced today with receiving credit card payments through our website. I’m not sure what it’s like with other companies as this is the first time we’ve encountered this situation. We received an order that came with an invalid shipping address, different than the billing address. When we called the one number provided for both billing and shipping, it went straight to voicemail. No response through email. The IP address was from a different state than the billing and shipping addresses. So naturally, we suspected credit card fraud.
We called Visa, and they told us that the best thing to do is to call the card issuer and have them contact their customer to verify the purchase. But since we didn’t have the credit card number as it was an online order through PayPal, Visa couldn’t help us. We had to call PayPal so that they could give us the card issuer since all the information went through them.
We ended up calling PayPal 3 times and talking to 3 different departments, including Merchant Services and Disputes & Claims. They told us that they did not have the credit card number on file, and therefore could not give us the card issuer. They said they could do nothing about this issue.
However, if the card was stolen, we got no protection from PayPal since this kind of online transaction was not protected. It would be our fault as the seller for accepting this stolen credit card, even though we tried to verify the validity of the card. The chargeback fee would be $20 from paypal if the card turned out to be stolen. Therefore, our best option was to refund the order (I believe seller still pays the small $0.30 transaction fee, and either the seller or buyer pays an additional fee reversal fee, in our case about $6).
We still don’t know if the card was stolen or not. If it was, we had no way of notifying the card issuer or the cardholder that there was a suspicious charge. PayPal said it couldn’t do anything more than we could.
It just seems like we should allow merchants to quickly verify an online purchase if they’re suspicious, and to easily report any fraud to save everyone involved any wasted time and/or money if the fraud continues after the current purchase. The earlier it’s reported, the better, right? Maybe the industry standards need to change. But I wasn’t very satisfied as a PayPal customer today.
Knower
PAYPAL is simply a Gorilla that can afford to bully its customers.
HERE is why we left:
Paypal does not want you using your credit card. Rather they’d prefer you use your paypal credit. This is why they have not developed a default payment option. If you notice, your payment always defaults to paypal credit. Numerous complaints have been filed about why paypal refuses to allow people to have a default payment method that YOU, the user can chose. It is afterall your money right? Paypal always wants you to pay with paypal money so it saves them on fees. Every time we purchase something, we have to move the funds out of our paypal account to our bank in order to pay the full amount with our credit card. This is several clicks done numerous times a day, it adds up. If we do a $4000 purchase and our CC gives us 3% back, thats $120 gone in rebates. We have made the error when very busy of forgetting that we always have to transfer the money out before we make a purchase because paypal ALWAYS makes the PP money default. We made the error 2 times and the 3rd we said SCREW PAYPAL.
We have over 32 domains and only one we still use paypal with. Paypal do what they can to screw you and not allowing you to choose a default payment that stays default is one perfect example.
Jason
Sounds like this report was made by one of PayPal customer service team, I had used many different payment gateway and PayPal is the worst.
PayPal took money out of my bank account even after I had done paid their fees.
Travis
I have been a PayPal customer for many many years. I was very surprised to see that someone was able to steal my account information and use in store purchasing to buy $480 worth of stuff. Here I am over a month later and I still don’t have my money back. PayPal says they guarantee a refund and I even got an email from them saying it would happen in 5 days. Well it’s been 30 and I have been patiently waiting for my money. Called them today and they forgot to do “an important step”. Does that instill confidence in someone who has all my financial information? Too bad they’re a monopoly.
Alex
People, if you need your money, stop using paypal, we live in a time where there are hundreds and thousands of other GOOD companies on web that do the same thing as paypal, but are doing their work a lot better and faster, and you can trust them more nowadays than paypal. I got a stupid copy-paste email form them saying they are sorry and they are starting to close my account… with absolutely no reasons, I’m a normal person and have done nothing wrong to them or somebody else.. I don’t use ebay I just received some money from some friends of mine… and here you go, I have my money blocked at paypal for HALF A YEAR (180 days), they don’t reply to emails, calling them make no sense as nobody will help you etc etc…. People, STOP using papal!!!!!! Stay AWAY from paypal if you want your money to be safe!!!
Helen
Name these good alternatives to PayPal, please. I cound’t find any. So-called alternatives have sign-up requirements similar to mechant account, are merchant accounts, or have a lot of negative comments below reviews.
I would like to leave PayPal, but there is nowhere to go on similar terms (easy to get and use account, service that works without glitches).
Amanda
Pay pal is terrible!!!!!!! They do nothing to help the seller. They blocked my account forever for no reason they said my account was linked to another account that was blocked I don’t even know what they are talking about. They blocked my friends account because he left bad feedback for them and now blocked mine because they say we linked some how this is the most rediculous thing I have ever heard. I had 100 percent feed back and 2 stars with my eBay account and done a lot of business with them. When I called customer support to find out what was going on the lady was very rude with me and said I am high risk like WTF was did I even do wrong they never could give me a reason just blocked me. If I was a seller I would stay away from paypal they have no security for u
jim cantrell
biggest thieves I have ever dealt with.I will contact bbb/attorney general and do my best to keep anyone from using the pay pal site.I tried to activate a new card and put money on the card and they immediately took the money and blocked my account! DO NOT USE PAY PAL IF YOU WANT ANY OF YOUR MONEY!
Joe Mitchell
Paypal allows dishonest eBay memebers to scam you out of your goods with hold on payments. There is NO process for sellers to file a dispute about dishonest eBay members. Paypal allows them to tie up your money for 30 days and, you are left without YOUR merchandise or payment! Paypal is a very risky payment method. BEWARE and know the pitfalls before using paypal as a payment service!
LESSON LEARNED (the hard way)
JW
I have done a little research and found out that several of the reviews were written by PayPal!!! WoW. What a surprise.. Due to their non-responsive and no recourse rules!!!. I am still locked out of using their system. They will not release cards attached to my business no will they allow any transactions. I am forced to tell my bank that the cards were stolen, guess who by. :* Since E-Bay purchased PayPal and refuses to utilize any other form of payments, I no longer sell on E-Bay. Was a top seller for years. Now I utilize a “Real” Card Processing company at a much lower rate. No more transaction fee. no Monthly Fee. Just a percentage. I only have to put up with the 2 day delay, but I get my funds with no extra “B.S” All sales go directly to my bank and I no longer have that Merchant Fee. Lets say the folks that I now utilize are larger than the PayPal want to be. They are used around the world, with many of their software products: QB. Turbo Tax, even a full line store program that does everything for you. Bar codes, inventory control, Tax input. A real 1099 and much more.
Linda Sale
I was just informed that Pay Pal is holding 25% of a customer visa payment we just received today because we had to key it in and it was more than $2500. I accept that we must pay the 3.5% fee instead of the 2.7% fee normally charged. But they said they are holding my $880 for 30 days! The CSR was snippy and condescending in her attitude. She was lovin the power trip. Time for a new method.
jw
Sad to see others with this problem. They locked my business account because they felt that the transactions were in their view “Fraudulent”. After explaining the transactions to them, they still held to their ideas and so I could not longer us the account. They will allow people to pay me, BUT I can’t take the funds out. Nor will they close the account. I have notified my bank. They said it is the business of PayPal and there is nothing I can do.
They even locked my C/C used to make purchases. The only action I can take against them is to report my card stolen and provide the bank with the info that “PayPal” stole them!!! Sad to see that E-bay will only do transactions with their PayPal company. I have lost $1000’s of dollars in potential sales on E-bay as well as my website
sara
I have used paypal for many years and thought that they would be perfect to use for my business.
How I was wrong….
The do everything possible to get your business and process your transactions but yet when something goes wrong they dont care.
Terry
I just started using paypal as part of my business. BIG MISTAKE! I have no other financing institution that has so any limits on amounts and timing of transactions. Why does it take a week to get access to my own money. Also, why, after confirming all information, do I have a limit on how much money I can move from paypal to bank? I cannot operate a business when my money is limbo for 5 days at a time. I need the funds much faster.
PJ
I have been using my online PayPal account since 1997 and have seldom had a problem and none of the issues have been significant. I now need to be able to process credit cards on the fly. I was going to install the PayPal Here app on my phone. Has anyone read the Permissions you must allow to use the app? Access to your: Contacts, Call Logs, Bluetooth, Camera, Allow app to directly call phone numbers, Sensitive Log Data and Running Applications. Wow!!! I looked at other processors such as Square and their app does not require access to these items. I emailed PayPal and asked why they need to access these personal items. The response they sent me the link to the page showing all the things it needs to access. Very helpful! Here is the link – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.paypal.here
Lee
Don’t ever use paypal! I canceled my paypal account after receiving a bike that was not as described. I tried working it out with seller. After seller mentioning he bought insurance for the bike, I contacted ups to have bike pickup to be reviewed for insurance claim. I don’t know what their outcome was but bike was sent back to the seller without my knowledge. I tried contacting seller about it but he has stopped all contact. I tried talking to paypal about how the seller has my money and the bike in his possession now and to see if they can refund me my money since seller has stopped all communications. Paypal’s reply was, that I sent it back out of my own will. I explained the whole situation about how bike was picked up by UPS for insurance claim and they sent it back to the seller. I even showed them tracking number which showed it was received back by the seller. Paypal still refuses to refund me my money so I just took it as a lost and canceled my account. This has been the most frustrating transaction ever, I will never ever use paypal ever again.
Jack
I wanted to set up a pay section on my website, and so I called Paypal, because I couldn’t uncover info I needed from their website…As I am writing this, I have been on hold for over two hours and still counting.
What frustrating and horrible customer service!! Ironically, as I am waiting, I get to listen to some recording, cycling over and over, extolling Paypal customer service, how important my call is to them, and assuring me that they will “be right back” with me.
I guess I should find humor in the irony.
Kevin Quail
First of all, as far as donations to charities, Paypal sets capricious and arbitrary limits per credit card that have nothing to do with your credit limit, credit rating or anything else. Once this limit is reached, which has been anywhere from $1500-$4000 per card, they tell you you have to join Paypal in order to donate any more money. My understanding is that there is also a $10000 limit for buyers of merchandise. Paypal does this as an attempt to gain a monopoly in the online purchasing business, since they collect about 2% of each transaction. Their security is crap and they and Ebay don’t respond to consumer complaints. As far as a BBB rating, the Better Business Bureau is a joke, just like Angie’s List. You pay either one a fee and you will get a good rating.
Daniel McGonigle
After my PayPal account was hacked I removed the connection to my bank account but kept the link to my credit card. No sense in being ruined financially because of their poor security but I understand they need some line of credit. In return, they froze my account from sending ANY money. Did I have deposited funds to cover the payment? Doesn’t matter. There are two options: 1) reopen my bank account to their poor security or 2) apply for their branded credit card to back up the account. My Visa or MasterCard isn’t sufficient, it has to be one of theirs. To use their service I have to risk my finances or risk my credit rating so they can issue me a credit card I don’t want. No thanks PayPal.
Visa Vice & EPay
We have had lots of problems with Paypal. Paypal, without notice perform network tracking & permanently disable processing credit cards ONCE Tor, or a similar proxy routers are used. Paypal also refuse processing payments when new/replacement cards are used – clashes with old/expired card data. To remedy it they want more personal information than a passport! They have no right to demand, or retain such information, but do, & refuse to delete it!
So, even for a minor purchase they extort information, and also determine (as with Visa) if they will process the transaction at their whim, as they did with Wikileaks..
You may lose business if imposing Paypal’s non-service upon customers..
Carol Harris
I think this must be what has been happening to me. I had problems with my PayPal account (in fact I seemed to have more than one account) — they wanted me to validate my account and the only option they offered was an automated phone call, which didn’t work for me (I have a rotary phone). I think this originated in a card replacement and change of expiry date. I thought maybe it would be possible to validate my account by phone, but in the course of two long calls to customer service, I decided to close anything I had resembling a PayPal account! and I believe I succeeded (never been entirely sure, because as soon as you close an account you get a Welcome to PayPal message thanking you for opening an account!). But in this long and confusing process, I must’ve failed to validate once too often — to make a long story short, PayPal declared that my credit card could no longer be linked to a PayPal account unless I sent a scan of my ID to them, which I refused to do for security reasons and generally not seeing why they needed that. Anyway, I figured I’d just operate without a PayPal account.
Wrong. Since then, I have been unable to pay on sites that use PayPal to process their credit card payments. They may claim you don’t need a PayPal account, but when I tell them I don’t want to open one and press Continue, NOTHING happens. No error message, nothing. I think PayPal has blacklisted my credit card. Of course, the sites where this has happened to me have simply had to do without my business.
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Phill
I am going to buck the trend here but my company has been using Paypal pro payments or whatever it is called for about 4 years. We pay $30/month for use of the service on our ecommerce site. For reference we do approx $1M in sales a year. Every so often something may happen not to our liking (like once a year mess up some payment or randomly decide not to accept a standing customers Amex card) overall we have been very happy. People talking about holds are probably small time vendors(no offense, everyone needs to start at some place) and those are the sellers that scare PayPal. Yes, 95% of the time the buyer is right, but that is how business should be “customer is always right.” And to top it off their merchant rates(which you can negotiate as you grow) are pretty low compared to industry standards. Our biggest complaint is they only allow a 60 day window for refunds.
Andrew O. Newton M.D
Please be very careful when using paypal services. Prefererably use other credit cards. I recently had one of my worst experience with Paypal. I ordered for 6 used laptops through a company out of OHIO call Laptop advantage (steer clear of these folks). The computers arrived terribly malfunctional/nonfunctional/damaged and not as described. I immediately call the company to return the items. The first guy i spoke with said I should call back in 30 minutes since the manager in charge went to lunch. I called back in half an hour no one would pick the phone. Itried several times aND THE STORY REMAINS SAME. The next day they left a message to call me on another line. I started calling the line and the memory was full. I packaged the defective computers and sent them back through UPS.
I put in dispute through the PAYPAL dispute center. It took them forever for the review. 2 weeks later the items were shipped back to me stating that “the receiver refused. So I called paypal. That was when they told me to get a computer expert to verify that the computers are bad before I can send them back. I was libvid and called again to talk to the supervisor who uttered the same nonsense. So I called the PAYPAL extra mastercard and they recredited my account. PLEASE DO NOT USE PAYPAL..Perhaps for transactions less than $30. The dispute department is a HUGE JOKE.
baines
I am not happy with the security it offers to its clients and i will not use paypal in future. someone send me an invoice and click pay for it as my intentions were to pay for it. Paypal did not gave me an option to choose the payment method or confirm anything with me and use my checking account. i realized their mistake and call them within few second to chage this payment method to credit card. Paypal representative said it is too late they cannot do anything about it. i should call the receiver and ask him to cancel my payment. WOW i am shocked they made a mistake nad it is my problem……
zannoah Chodosh
I used paypal to pay for a class earlier this year. Unfortunately the first time I tried to pay, for some reason the payment didn’t go thru. I am not sure whose fault that was. However, time was running out to attend this class. So I called the school myself and paid over the phone. A few weeks later I get a call and several emails from paypal saying that I owe them the exact amount I paid for the class. I explained to the customer service rep that I had already paid for the class directly and that I didn’t need to pay for something that I already paid for. The customer service rep became rude and said that when I tried to make the first payment I entered an agreement which meant that I MUST pay with Paypal. I was told that I needed to pay paypal, then wait for them to reimburse me the same money that I was about to pay. huh? That didn’t make any sense, but that is what I was told. Also, if I didn’t pay them they would report me to a collection agency. I am definitely cancelling my paypal acct. I don’t need to be harassed into paying a “middle man” for a service that I already paid.
Joan Nering
I have been in busines over 22 years and when my 2 year old verifone processing machine died I learned that it was out of warranty through my Bank of America processing company. Rather than invest in another machine to the tune of $300.00+
I explored other options. Since I now do business exclusively on-line after closing my physical store (after 9 years), I decided on the Paypal Pro Virtual terminal that does not require any equipment. We already had a regular Paypal account as a choice for customers…and never had any problems…so this seemed like a good fit especially since I thought I would cancel my landline that I used for my other processor. Boy! Was I wrong. While the transaction process for each customer is fairly easy, getting my money for those transactions borders on USURY! The difference is that instead of them loaning ME money, they are simply TAKING mine, and NOT paying me any interest for 90 DAYS! PLUS they are charging me fees on top of that. Their customer service person was not at all helpful and said that she could not change anything OR even talk to someone higher up. I am curious if VISA & MC & AMEX approve this practice. Unless you are a business owner with VERY deep pockets and can afford to have Paypal lock up your $$ for 90 days, STAY AWAY from their virtual terminal.
I already ordered a new processing terminal and will be happy to continue processing with Bank of America.
Lois Becker
We signed up to take paypal for our business and it took over 40 minutes to contact them by phone and we finally hung up and cancelled our pay pal account. No business person should have to wait for help that long and lose business in the process. I contacted them by email and they never responded.
Milina
My comment is actually a carbon copy of Alen’s comment: I wish I did not invest “many thousands $$ on developing a system to accept payments via PayPal.” The system is slow beyond description and is full of bugs; you can send information about those bugs to PayPal’s IT department, but they don’t pay attention to it anyway. Could somebody recommend a system to replace PayPal?
Alen
I run a business and invested many thousands $$ on developing a system to accept payments via PayPal. I am sure sorry I am caught in that trap, As a business owner you need to be able to have access to every and each transaction made by your customers. Meanwhile, it may take more than 30 min to have a transaction view on PayPal system; one cannot even imagine that a system can be that slow nowadays. So if you need to take a look at more than one transaction a day, your business day is basically stalled by PayPal. In addition, PayPal system has bugs which they never fix. If you are considering PayPal for your business you would reccoment to stay awy from it.
Irene
I used pay pal for the 1st time, when I bought an item on ebay (also the 1st use). When the item arrived, & was defective, I could not return it to vendor as there was no packing slip. I then attempted to call pay pay & found out how difficult it was to reach this co. After finally getting to a human, who was condescending & annoyed, I was told it would be investigated. One wk. later got email saying vendor denyed my complaints & it would take until July 27 to resolve (that was another 3 wks. later. Finally, July 25 got email saying I would get full refund on my PayPal account. Since I never intended to use Paypal again, this was unsatisfactory . Again attempted to reach a human by phone & told her I wanted credit to my credit card because i was cancelling PayPal. She put me on hold for 25 minutes, but I got good news when she finally got back to me — credit was going to Visa acct. I then asked for a confirmation, but she could not send me one so now I have to wait til end of Aug., for my next Visa bill, to see if they really did credit it there. If not, I have no proof.
I would tell everyone I know not to use paypal. Also, EBay & Bill me Later are also owned by this co. , so beware of them too.
Byron watanabe
I successfully opened a paypal acct. And made 2 successful transactions. Then my acct was put in an account limitation status. I was told to fax my i.d. Which i did, AND confirm my c/c. I kept getting error msg when following prompts. Called a person,.,was told to do what i had done, and told that should not be happening. DUH! I give up and wish my info was never put out there. Being told only a computer can resolve this is asinine! Bye pay pal.,.no pal of mine!
John
You may want to consider contacting your cc company and put a security check on future charges. Alsp, check you credit report. I am concerned that PayPal would actually ask you to fax that info. That could have gone anywhere!
And if it did actually go to them, why would they want a hard copy of that? What are they going to do with it now that they have it? I have been with paypal for 5 years (and still hate them, finally switching to google checkout) and have never been asked for that!
Just my opinion but I would never have faxed copies of that information!
Carol Harris
They DO ask for that. I was asked by a PayPal customer service representative over the phone — it was the only way I could rehabilitate my credit card, which I had been told would no longer be linkable to a PayPal account. I refused to send the information and figured I would just do without a PayPal account. Since then, I have been unable to pay by credit card on sites that process cards via PayPal — even though they claim you don’t need to open an account. I don’t get an error message or anything, but when I press Continue or whatever, NOTHING happens. The process simply goes nowhere. Byron, I’d be interested to know whether you have had problems of this kind with the credit card that was linked to your PayPal account, since closing the account.
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julie
my name is julie shopen
paypal charge my credit card by unknown persone who use my credit -card
Someone has hacked my password and use my code
How did that happen?
I turned to the company and they do not reply at all
King_Shopper
they never award a seller when a buyer disputes no matter what your proof is. my buyer said he did not receive his product so i uploaded a file from USPS to proof that he did, guess what nothing happened the buyer was awarded the payment, somehow because the case turned from him not receiving to he is returning the product and i have no reason given to me why the seller is doing that, seller has NO POWER when a buyer disputes and i email them i get a auto reply telling me to go into the most asked questions i really hate this guys i just hope i can find someone better than Paypal anyone has any idea please let me know my sales are doing good and i dont want these guys to make money off me anymore if they have no respect for me
Calvin
I’m a small business owner and I used to use Website Payments Standard on my site but then PayPal decided to hold all incoming funds for 21 days because my monthly sales were 5%-10% higher than my previous months’. Since then I’ve switched to Flagship Merchant Services and so far so good. They have monthly fees and such but their transaction fees aren’t nearly as high as PayPal’s were so it more than makes up for it. Here’s a copy of my last email to PayPal:
Hi, I’m emailing PayPal in regards to the recent Payment Holds status that your “system” has put onto my account. Apparently this hold was placed on me because my most recent month’s sales was 5%-10% more than the trend of my previous months’. I run a small business that has only recently began selling products and I need access to every dollar that my business makes but I can’t now. Because we just introduced a new product and received a spike in sales, your wonderful “system” has put a red flag on us and locked us out of them. I understand that this is there primarily to guard against eBay fraud but this PayPal account is a BUSINESS ACCOUNT, not a personal one. Your “system” should be amended to reflect this. It should also be amended so that your own sales representatives have the power take the hold off the account–I called them to ask all this and they told me they had no control over this. All of this coupled with your company’s notorious tendency to favor buyers over sellers even when all evidence suggests that the situation is BUYER fraud, not seller fraud, and your ridiculously high transaction fees have led me to seek an alternative payment gateway solution. I chose PayPal because I thought it was the most headache-free solution for me. Man, was I ever wrong.
Kenneth
I based a purchase I made from a Chinese vendor on the fact that I could, and did, use PayPal to pay for the transaction. Bad mistake. The item was not shipped for 12 days after the order. I did cancel the order but the vendor did not honor the cancelation. The item shipped was not the item I had ordered. I contacted the vendor and received a return merchandise authorization. According to their return policy, they were suppose to pay for the return shipping. After many emails back and forth, I applied for my money back from PayPal. PayPal initiated a request to the vendor in order for me to get my money back. Bottom line, PayPal was not able to get me my money back. I would warn everyone using PayPal to be very careful.
Jon Jambor
I used them for a while. Not long after I started with them, they put a hold on my account for some reason or another. I never heard why. At the time there was no phone support. They requested shipping information with tracking numbers… not a problem. But then they asked for something called “proof of inventory levels” or something like that. I had no idea what they wanted and there was NO further information to be gathered from their FAQ or documents section. Once the funds were released (two weeks?), I transfered the funds out and closed my account. NEVER AGAIN!
William Beecher
PayPal, Inc. has the worst customer service I have ever encountered. The have been holding over $500 of my money for goods sold on ebay for no good reason. this should be illegal and must be stopped. They need to follow all regulations that any other bank would follow.
I think they are also violating Anti-trust by forcing PayPal as the primary source to Pay and get paid. then they do not pay the seller.
Something must be done.
Maggie
Think their cheap rates sound good now? Wait until they decide to shut down your account after being with them for 8 YEARS and they freeze your money for 180 days…..THAT’S 6 FRACKIN MONTHS!!!! And if that isn’t enough, they don’t even have the courtesy to give you a REASON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They are a scam company and the government needs to step in and start regulating them. They take our money like banks and play with the interest like banks but they have NONE of the regulations that banks have. Regulations that are meant to protect us as consumers. The whole thing is a bad joke. ON US!
If you’re a seller or business owner, stay the hell away. Use a REAL merchant and save yourself the despair and trouble.
Nick Curry
Ebay and Paypal are a scam. They hold on to your money for 21 days if you have had any complaints about shipping even though the customer received the merchandise and gave you a positive feedback. Im a verified seller with 100% postive feedback with over 2,200 transactions. I wish I could get away with holding peoples money for 21 days just the interest earned on that would make me millions. This should be looked into by the better business bureau. Thank God Whitman didn’t make Govenor of California.
JohnL
On January 18, 2012, a customer registered for an event on our website and paid through PayPal. We confirmed her registration via email. The event is to be held this weekend, Feb. 3-5, 2012.
On Sunday Jan. 29, 2012, we recieved a notice from PayPal telling us the customer did not know who charged her card and that PayPal was opening an investigation.
I immediately responded to PayPal that I had no idea about this and that I would contact the customer right away. As I was typing the email to the customer, within 4 minutes of the PayPal email, I received a email from PayPal saying the investigation was complete and the charges were reversed back to the customer. I completed the email to the customer as well as made 5 attampts to contact her by phone. No answers from either.
Later that day I researched PayPal’s site to see if I can respond to this and to submit the proof of registration and a copy of the registration stating a cancellation fee of $35 would apply if cancelled prior to 30 of the event. I found that once the case is closed, there is no means for the merchant to appeal. I then wrote a email to their cistomer service with the information hoping they would direct me as to how I can appeal. No reply what-so-ever.
Last night, Jan 31, the customer’s husband called via phone. He told us he had received the emails and that his wife was out of town but was returning for the weekend event. He said that there must be a problem on PayPal’s part and that he would take care of it. One hour later, he called again saying that his wife was out of town on family business ans that she will not make it to the event and that she woud hopefully make an event at another time. He did not want to discuss a cancellation charge.
It is now clear that she (the customer) found that if she used PayPal to reverse the charges, she would not have to pay the cancellation fee with us.
Today, Feb 1, I called and talk with a PayPal representative. She explained that the reversal was correct and when asked about our cancellation fee, she said they do not get involved wit that! She said that any time a customer did not know who cahrged their card, they take that very serious and normally reverse the charges. I asked why i did not get the chance to submit any proof that she registered for this event, and proof that she was coming with a friend with her name clearly on the email to us. Te rep told me that they have closed the case and there was nothing more she could do about it.
The one interesting comment the representative said was, “If the merchant is selling a service, the seller does not have the same guarantee or protection as if they were selling merchandise” I find that vey interesting!! I understand that selling merchandise normally includes shipping and proof of shipping is a factor of proof for the merchant however, This goes far beyond that.
Wheather it be proof of shipping or proof of registration including the customer’s email, what is the difference? Why was I not allowed to submit the proof?
All I was requesting was the $35 cancellation fee. Now I am out the entire amount. I believe PayPal is wrong on their handling of this transaction and I have completely lost trust in PayPal.
Theresa Conti
i called PayPal at least five times to get information on how to link my credit card to my account. i was told PayPal would charge my credit card $1.95, which would be reimbursed once my card was authorized. I attempted to pay for an item using my credit card once the card was authorized, but was unable to do. I called PayPal and was told I was unable to use my credit card because I had cash sitting in my PayPal account and could not use my credit card until I either withdrew the cash or used it to pay for the item. I was also told the $1.95 PayPal charged me would not be reimbursed until I made a payment using my PayPal account. I have been waiting two weeks to purchase this item, because I wanted to use my credit card. I was never told I had either eliminate the cash in my PayPal account or use it before being allowed to use my credit card or that I would not be reimbursed the $1.95 charge until I made a purchase.
Stephen Utermahlen
Copy of my last letter to PayPal regarding approval for a Debit card.
PayPal,
In your last letter you mention that this process may be frustrating. Yes it is. I have faxed information to PayPal twice. Twice when I called PayPal to confirm PayPal says they have not received the faxes. They have, but somewhere in PayPal someone has not posted them on my account or there is some other reason.
PayPal requests information from my bank displaying my address. I have faxed that information. PayPal says they have not received it. I am now waiting to get my next bank statement . When this arrives I will scan it and email it to you. PayPal says this is the best way to transmit my information. So I will do this and see what happens. I expect my statement soon.
I have called PayPal over ten times. I never talk to the same person to discuss my progress. Each person has provided me with different direction from the previous person. this is very frustrating.
Could you please send me the PayPal area where I can submit a complaint. If you check my account I have been attempting to obtain a PayPal debit card for nearly a year.
Would you be frustrated.? So would you please do me a favor and DO NOT apologize. This is a automated response from PayPal for I feel it has no meaning coming from PayPal. It is merely a formality and very shallow.
At PayPal’s convenience please send a survey asking my opinion of the PayPal service.
Stephen Utermahlen
Sara
Paypal has now joined my list of worst companies in the world. Not only did Paypal repeatedly ship to the wrong address and use the wrong payment method after I specifically told them which one to use but now they refuse to close my account. I had the account for many years to use occasionally on eBay and they have caused nothing but trouble when I actually use it. They won’t even let you change your name or delete your old bank account or credit card information. Now they are basically holding my account and financial information hostage to use whenever and however they want against my wishes. What they are doing is illegal and I am in the process of reporting them to the authorities. I have tried calling customer service multiple times but each time they are nothing but rude to me and flat out refuse to help me. All I want to do is close my account with this fraudulent company. I would never had joined had I known how horrible they are to their customers and I can’t believe eBay makes you use them. eBay has now lost my business and I will do my best to warn others about this scam before Paypal takes advantage of them. I am just glad I didn’t enter my new bank account information because they probably would be taking unauthorized money out of there too.
Bacon Nivison
Paypal was magnificent for many years, but now they’ve begun mismanaging the funds with which they’ve been entrusted. After 8 years of trouble free business via Paypal they began withholding customer’s monies. Their customer “service” department has been condescending and unhelpful. Paypal definitely played a role in my building of more than one internet businesses as well as transacting thousands of exchanges for me but now they are putting me out of business. There are much better alternatives out there.
Cheryl White
Paypal mis-manage funds and are very un-fair to seller. they also give buyer 180 days WHO DOES THAT to return or dispute charge and the seller only 10 days to respond when seller information is no longer available readily. Post Office does not even have tracking that readily after so long
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Rose Miranda
I placed an order and seller said towels were not in stock, inquired about the status of towels and they never answered any of my emails. I got nervous and canceled my order. Paypal took 65.00 from my 130.00 refund without any explanation. I have emailed them seven times in order to find out what happened to the 65.00 they owe me and I get automated emails that are very long winded that amounts to nothing and all they have to do is answer one simple question. I am a buyer. I feel very sorry for the sellers but now paypal are digging deeper into their pockets and going after buyers now. I find it interesting that the seller didnt answer my emails and now I know that the whole thing was orchas… buy paypal to make an extra buck. Its kind of what wall street did when they started to target the poor for their corrupted real estate scam. I have contacted my state senator and I will let you know how it goes.
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Tina Krause
Personally if you are a seller on eBay STAY FAR AWAY From paypal.
I am a seller on eBay. Have done so on an off for yrs now. Sold an item the 18th of last month. Informed them the 21st of last month I could not deliver on that order. Did they want a refund or have me see if I can find something else for them comparable. They wanted me to cancel
So I did and eBay sent me the link to refund. I tried and tried and told the customer their was an issue on their end. They replied their can’t be.
eBay closed it due to no response back from the customer on the 30th. The morning of the 5th the customer messages me oh I need to go in and change my information on paypal.
Then they tried to open a case against me. After I talked with eBay they closed it in my favor so this morning about 2 am 20 mins after eBay decision they open one with Paypal
Paypal don’t care what happened on eBay and don’t want to believe or listen to me, so I am now switching everything to where I accept CC only on eBay now and trying to stay away from Paypal permanently now.
George
and I had bad experience from the byer end. Paypal is the worst thing you can go with. seller sold me stolen phone and paypal said it is ok you should have know that. While seller said it is bran new phone, so I got to claim my bank and get refund.
Dieu
I’ve been using paypal for about a year and i had no problem with it, but once promblems with my account started to hit me. I called 3-4 times and LITERALLY NOBODYYYY answered my calls nor called me back. Especially after having to sit there on the phone nearly an hour each time. So thanks to paypal i lost my business and my trust with my customers who thought I tried to steal their money! I WILL NOT BE USING PAYPAL EVER AGAIN.
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Kendra Gordon
Biggest scam of all time! Holding my money hostage. Horrible customer service. Anything but fast or secure.
This post will help: How to Make Your Payment Processor Release Your Funds
– Phillip