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Paypal Agrees to Consumer Protections

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the oh-all-right dept.

davidwr writes "Paypal settled a suit with Maryland and 27 states. Among other things, they'll conspicuously advertise a contact phone number and staff it 14 hours a day and be much more forthcoming about when they will debit your bank account. For those of you who think Paypal Sucks, well, starting soon it sucks just a little less."

6 of 136 comments (clear)

  1. Nope, they'll still suck (0800 358 7929) by duguk · · Score: 5, Informative

    Nope, they'll still suck if they continue to:

    - locking out accounts for 'attempted signing in from another country' - yeah, without even getting a correct password
    - only use a password to secure accounts
    - only provide a national rate number in the UK, although you can get them on 0800 358 7929 for free
    - expect you to send absolutely everything by fax yet they won't talk to you except by email
    - not allow you to speak to anyone in the dispute or resolution centre, leaving you arguing with sales staff who don't have a clue
    - make it impossible to close your account if it is locked, even after providing all the information you can and no money left in there

    I'm disgusting with Paypal and going through the process of deleting my account. It's not easy, but I'll keep trying. Paypal will always suck in the UK it seems... :(

    Dug

    1. Re:Nope, they'll still suck (0800 358 7929) by shawngarringer · · Score: 5, Informative

      Except they still keep the bank account info. I deleted an account from my PayPal account, then for some reason (stupid me) tried to use it on a different account I set up later. So I registered the account and then wham I couldn't use that debt-card because it was tied to the old account.

      I went into the old account and apparently someone had complained that the printer I sold on ebay and advertised as "broken, parts only, as-is" didn't work upon recipt. So they charged me back the $20. So now, 4 years later, I have a PayPal account with a -120 balance, an "open collections" account on my credit history, and will never ever EVER use PayPal again.

      The worst part is, even after I deleted that checking account, they tried to withdraw the 20 dollars for the charge-back from it. They tried four times! I was broke at the time, didn't even have 20 dollars in the account, so I got charged 25 dollar "insufficent funds" from them also. They can rot for all I care I will not pay that. I would have paid the $20 originally because it was my mistake for using eBay... but I will not pay the additonal fees. I filed a complaint against PayPal at my bank, and they told me that "they hear that a lot about them" and that they've blocked PayPal from ever touching my account...

    2. Re:Nope, they'll still suck (0800 358 7929) by asuffield · · Score: 4, Informative
      I'm disgusting with Paypal and going through the process of deleting my account. It's not easy, but I'll keep trying. Paypal will always suck in the UK it seems...


      They will continue to suck, but you don't have to let them get away with it over here. Unlike in the US, the UK holds Paypal responsible for nonsense like this. Screw their "customer support" lines, go directly to the Financial Ombudsman - Paypal is permitted 8 weeks from the time you initially state your complaint, and then the Ombudsman can take over. This is a tax-funded service that is free to you as a consumer; Paypal is obliged to cooperate with them as a condition of doing business in the UK at all. Any decision made by the Ombudsman is binding on Paypal in the same manner as a court judgement would be.

      Having taken care of that, feel free to report the whole affair to the Financial Services Authority. Where the Ombudsman takes care of your case, the FSA shakes the company by the neck until they stop creating more cases. This one in particular:

      not allow you to speak to anyone in the dispute or resolution centre, leaving you arguing with sales staff who don't have a clue


      is an offence that already carries a hefty fine if proven. A company regulated by the FSA is not allowed to create barriers like this; they are required to have a clear and efficient complaints procedure and follow it precisely.

      Lastly, the Office of Fair Trading can also weigh in when any company doing business in the UK fails to handle complaints in a reasonable manner or generally tramples on their customers for profit, in the unlikely event that the FSA is not interested.
  2. Re:Suckage by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    So you trust some unknown person with your banking information, but not a company. Do you realized that everytime you give out that information you are risking being taken for all that you have in the bank. One of the Nigerian scams involves getting you banking information and then poof you account is dry. Getting the money back is next to impossible.

    If you would like you can give me your banking information and for the small fee of $1 I will send you detailed information on why what you are doing is dangerous.

  3. Re:Suckage by jfengel · · Score: 3, Informative

    The 419 scam is usually more work for them than that. The scam usually runs like "Hey, I have all this money, and I'll give you some if you front me the money to get it out of the country". All they steal is the money you send, though frequently they get even more when they ask for money for "additional unexpected circumstances". Once they've found somebody sufficiently greedy or gullible, they milk them, not the account.

    Occasionally it's been known to turn to kidnaping and ransom when people visit Nigeria to try to get their money back or even follow an invitation to "help".

    It's also called "Advance Fee Fraud". I still don't know why it's the Nigerians who make it so famous, since the scam has been played for centuries, even without bank transfers. They just seem to have turned it into a national industry.

  4. Re: What do I expect from PayPal? by whoisearth · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm not disagreeing that PayPal is far different from a bank as it doesn't allow Loans, Savings Accounts, etc. The thing is, that it still does provide the basics. It charges interest. It withholds money. It can hold money just like a chequing account. They can also transfer to and from PayPal accounts.

    The problem I'm saying is that it's very much a "wild west" situation with PayPal right now. Although one can risk them not taking advantage of you and your money one can't guarantee that it's not going to happen. Just like banks, Paypal is bound to be operating on a "profit before people" mode of business. Banks, luckily, are monitored by government agencies to make sure everything is on the "up and up". PayPal, however, is not.