posted on December 7, 2000 06:55:40 AM new
I am sure there is a PP customer service rep who thinks I am a bit rude, but I just paid a seller with my PP account. No where in the transaction forms did I see mentioned that the amount over what I had in my PP account would be charged to my bank account, as it has ALWAYS been charged to my credit card. I found out when I checked the receipt for my transaction that my bank account had been debited for $105!!! When I went back through the transaction procedure, I found a very tiny link to "Other sources of funds". I called Customer Service to see if I could get the transaction cancelled, or at least get the source of funds changed to my CC. I was told that it was too late, and she suggested that I contact my bank and deny the charge. Of course, she also admitted when I questioned her about this that my PayPal account would probably be frozen if I did so. She also informed me that the transaction forms had been changed AS OF YESTERDAY and that the source of funds will always default to the bank account.
Geez, Damon. Hasn't this created enough problems for PP? I've been one of your staunchest supporters, and I still love the service, but I've given PP credit for learning from their mistakes.
My suggestions:
1. Have the source of funds VERY CLEARLY indicated at some point in the "Send Money" process, preferably requiring the user to CHOOSE each time, rather than setting a default.
2. Make sure that customer service reps are honest about what the consequences of denying a bank account charge will be. Had I not been aware of the fact that it would probably result in freezing my account (not a good situation for a seller!), I probably would have followed this person's advice.
posted on December 7, 2000 09:26:29 AM new
You know, this really strikes me as a classic case of a business shooting themselves in the foot until the foot falls off. Why in the world would they continue to go to such lengths to do something that irritates their customers so much?
1. The bank account info was supposedly just to "verify identity" of the person who opened the account to pay by credit card. It was not promoted as the primary funding source for the account. Why is it now set up to be the "default" source of funds? (Don't answer that--I know. It's so they can avoid as much CC surcharge as possible). If I wanted to pay from my bank I'd have used an eCheck. The really disgusting thing is the we have no way to change the default to our CC, with this latest change to the site.
2. They're setting themselves up for a LOT of denied transactions, since so many people no longer leave a balance in the account used to verify with PayPal. Add to that the fact that CS reps are telling unhappy customers to deny the withdrawals, which will result in freezing their PP accounts, and you're looking at a LOT of unhappy customers with overdraft/returned check charges and frozen PP accounts.
The bottom line for me is that I will no longer use PP to make payments for auctions as long as the system is set up the way it is. I will continue to accept payments via PP, since I've never had a problem with that, but I will sweep the money into my bank account periodically and pay using some other service.
always pickersangel everywhere
[ edited by pickersangel on Dec 7, 2000 09:28 AM ]
Thank you for the suggestions and I will be sure to mention the need to have it as clear as possible. Please let me know if you run into any issues as a result of this.
posted on December 7, 2000 10:32:34 AM new
I have already run into issues. Thank God tomorrow is payday, so my account will not be overdrawn. (Never mind that I'm going to have to make a 90 mile round-trip that I wouldn't have had to make otherwise in order to get my paycheck in the bank before that withdrawal is processed.)
BTW, I just checked the announcement boards for the last several weeks, and I see no announcement that the default source of funds for a verified account is now the verifying bank account, nor did I receive an email announcement to that effect. The CS rep said these changes were made YESTERDAY. You know, Damon, one has to wonder sometimes if the powers that be at PP try to make themselves look as bad as possible.
always pickersangel everywhere
[ edited by pickersangel on Dec 7, 2000 01:50 PM ]
posted on December 8, 2000 08:26:38 AM new
pickersangel,
I agree! What a time of the year for PayPal to be making changes. Please change it so that the person who is making the payment can clearly identify where the funds are coming from. This is very inconvenient to the buyers and sellers. Please be sensitive that it's Christmas. People have the tendency to use credit this time of year.
I would like to continue using PayPal since this seems to be the credit card transaction choice by most Ebayers, but don't irritate anymore PayPal users!
posted on December 8, 2000 10:08:10 AM new
pickersangel...I had this happen to me the other night and was outraged! For the last few months, the default has been the bank account, but the option of using your credit card was very prominent. This new tiny "Funding Option" link is a joke.
Damon...sorry, but this change falls between sneaky and slimey. I was also under the impression that posting an account with PayPal was more for reference than actual use. If you are going to pull this crap, then I want a preference choice where the payment default is always my credit card and I would have to choose my bank account should I want it different.
********************
That's Flunky Gerbiltush to you!
posted on December 9, 2000 03:44:08 AM new
Damon -
A user should be able to make A PERMANENT SELECTION OF THE FUNDING SOURCE, or have the choice CLEARLY VISIBLE and easily selectable on the "send page", but noooooooo, your site keeps flipping back to the bank account and has the funding source hidden a page or two away.
posted on December 9, 2000 09:13:45 AM new
WOOHOOOO!!! Now they want to know what we think of their new "instant check" feature. All of you who have "chosen" to use it have been sent an email asking your opinion, right?
Your "Instant Check" feature would probably be perfectly acceptable, and perhaps even desirable, if you'd taken the time to explain to your users that it their bank accounts are now set as the default source of funds for payments exceeding their account balances. However, I set up my PayPal account specifically to be able to pay my transactions using my CREDIT CARD, and I was most unhappy to find that my bank account had been debited for the amount over my PayPal account balance. As for "choosing" to use Instant Check, I made no such choice. YOU made the choice for me, and I found out only after the transaction was completed. I find the current format for "Send Money" to be misleading, bordering on fraudulent, as the format encourages errors such as the one I made. Because of this problem, I will no longer be making payments by PayPal until the format is changed to either allow me to PERMANENTLY set the default source of funds for the payments I make, or to expressly require me to make a choice during each transaction.
When I called to see if I could have the error corrected or have the transaction cancelled, I was told that it was too late, since the recipient was a registered PayPal user. The CS rep who took my call encouraged me to contact my bank and deny the withdrawal. When I questioned her about the consequences of doing so, she finally admitted that it would probably result in my PayPal account being frozen (which I already knew, from the information posted on the AuctionWatch message boards). I was doubly upset by the fact that one of your representatives would advocate action on the part of a user that would result in your freezing his/her account, without openly warning him/her of the potential consequences.
Quite frankly, you folks are beginning to live up to the bad rep you've developed for taking action without notifying your users, and having no thought for the repercussions your actions have on them. I'm beginning to question whether I want to use your service at all.
