posted on February 13, 2000 05:04:31 PM new
I want everyone to know that x.com isn't as easy as it sounds. I have lost two very loyal customers thanks to them. X.com doesn't let someone simply pay for an auction through a notice. For example, if someone wants to pay by VISA, they must first fill out a new customer form, that immediately gives them a bank account. Also, your name is filled in as a referral, so the customer thinks you know they will be bilked for a new account. I couldn't believe the process, it is not at all like it is described to the seller or buyer and it is definetly not like the demonstration screens. I had a auction close with no bidders, so I sent an email request for payment for that auction to my husband. Before he could make payment for that auction, he had to fill out a new customer form that automatically gave him an account number. I wanted to make sure it was really happening as the customers had said and complained about. It does. No one can just simply make a VISA payment without becoming an account holder with x.com. I do plan to report this to the FDIC.
posted on February 14, 2000 08:33:36 AM newLinenlocker
No, actually they are not misleading the customers. They fully state that in order to use there service you have to sign up for it.
If you want an easier way to do things then sign up with PayPal and use that service (has worked great for me) to transfer the money to X.
But, if your customer isn't signed up with PayPal then they have to register.
posted on February 14, 2000 09:32:59 AM new
Actually I've been reading for quite a while and I did read all the information sent to me. Never once does it state that when you request someone to pay for an auction that the payee must be a member of x.com. I have even talked with VISA and their statement on this x.com scam is that never can someone who accepts VISA as a form of payment have a membership requirement or account requirement for the person who is making the charge purchase. If this were so then every business owner in the world that takes a VISA card could have a "membership" requirement. Imagine trying pay for a purchase at a local store and not being able to because you were not a "member". I did my homework, I have spent quite a bit of time trying to take care of this situation. You can not require anyone to be a member of a bank in order to pay an account holder for a purchase. They can require me to have an account if I want my customers to pay their bank for VISA purchases. Paypal is doing the same thing and that is just as illegal as the x.com scam. I never lost a customer before x.com but now I have lost two. That tells me that I was doing just fine without them or any other way to use VISA.
posted on February 14, 2000 10:06:48 AM new
Let's see, it took me about 2 minutes to find these excerpts:
For the seller, "if the buyer signs up and makes payment via X.com Bank" for the buyer, "If your seller is not offering payment through X.com, you can invite him/her to sign-up with X.com"
This isn't a scam and neither paypal or x.com are doing anything illegal. X.com and paypal do not require your CC to join nor do they require it as a "form of payment". They allow they customer to charge their(the customers) account and transfer the funds to someone else's account. If that is to be used as a form of payment then so be it, but if the customer has funds in their account then a CC isn't needed.
I, for one, don't use CC's, but keep both accounts funded by sending a check (depositing money into my account).
posted on February 19, 2000 05:44:25 PM new
Interesting to note:
Did you know that you can make a deposit to your local bank checking account with a VISA/MC?
I had to do it once in a tight situation. They DO process it. We're talking the 5th largest bank in the country here. So, I don't think X.com is doing anything wrong as a bank taking credit card payments as "deposits". Afterall, that's what it is. It is then "transferred" to another "member's account". You can transfer funds between member accounts of any bank, so that part of it is legal too.
I dunno. Seems like too much hoopla has arisen from these 2 services. If you truly read the information theyy provide, they are pretty clear re: the "sign up".
What appears to perhaps be a little misleading is not the way that X.com or PayPal.com handle the "promotion" of the service, it's all those auction sellers out there tauting "I accept VISA/MC through X.com or PayPal.com....pay me through these services and get $10,....etc.etc.etc.". This will probably get this post yanked, but even the logo that AuctionWatch had (the old one) for users to put on their auctions made the process seem a little easier than it actually was.
posted on March 1, 2000 09:34:09 PM new
X.com states they need your SS# to get your transfers ok'd. That is a lie. They run you through a service and check your credit. That is fine, but they shouldn't mislead you about it they should be upfront. I will not give my SS# to anyone much less put it on a secure server after what the hackers did recently. Think about it before you give out that kind of info.
posted on March 6, 2000 10:33:39 PM new
x.com is a great service, they are a bank afterall and if you have good credit, they even give you a line of credit. What's wrong with opening an account with them? Pay pal (I use both) is less strict but also does not offer all the services x.com does, either way you still have to register...I could be using a stolen credit card and who would know? By registering and providing info, I verify who I am and I want the same thing done for people I buy from (x.com is also insured thru federal bank system, I dont think paypal is)It sure beats having to 'pay' for a merchant account so I can accept credit cards, just imho, reporting them???? They acted just like a bank is legally suppose to.
posted on March 14, 2000 07:43:00 PM new
Since paypal and x.com are merging, I'm wondering whose rules/requirements will prevail?
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The Queen of Mixed Metaphors
posted on March 30, 2000 03:07:05 PM new
I don't think either PayPal or X-Com does anything illegal, I think they operate pretty much like our local "bank on the corner". If they don't establish an "account" where will they keep the funds your customer sent for you until you claim it? If they comingle it with other funds, it could be buried. You'd certianly complain louder if they couldn't find it. I haven't used X-Com because they haven't rolled out a program for businesses. I do use PayPal and am pleased. I will also use X-Com when they roll out their business program. Since they're merging perhaps the programs will be better and make more people happier. Let's hope. Life's too short!
