Why do people use paypal?

[HOGGY952]

(1) Can PayPal hold my money with no explanation?
The answer is YES.
(2) Can PayPal freeze my account for no reason?
The answer is YES.
(3) Can PayPal take money out of my account without my knowledge?
The answer is YES.

Your Paypal account can be frozen at any time, without advance notice, leaving you without your money for months (if not forever), and there isn't much you can do about it.
Let's begin by first stating that PayPal is not a bank and does not provide its merchants with a Real Merchant Account. PayPal provides its merchants with a PayPal account.
With PayPal, your money is deposited into a PayPal Account, which PayPal Fully Controls.
So why do people still use PayPal?

 

[DIYDANDY]

What's the full story?

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

Because they have little choice if they wish to make a purchase off of ebay?

 

[Terry7556]

there is not much in the way of alternatives

 

[HOGGY952]

I think the credit card company should not allow people at large to pay via Paypal there should be a warning agreement of some kind.

 

[seco services]

i've had a better service from paypal than my own bank.
and more helpful on the phone.

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

Hoggy, there was a lively discussion concerning paypal a couple of years back. Dunno if you feel the points made then are still valid.

 

[DIYDANDY]

Hoggy, what is the full/actual story?

 

[HOGGY952]

I still use it, but have no choice they are robbing ba$tards, been stung a few times from them.

 

[seco services]

how did you manage to get stung by them ?
they don't take money for no reason.

 

[HOGGY952]

My Paypal account got hacked about 1ys ago and someone tried to take out £500. It was only because Paypal itself recognised it was an unusual amount from my previous activity that they blocked it temporarily.

I'd been on holiday for a week when it happened. Got back on the saturday and noticed an email from Paypal.

Had to close the entire bank account down and open a new one. It was a good job as Paypal decided to give the person the £500 a week later but they never got it as the account was dead. Spent weeks arguing with them over it and they finally agreed that it was fraudulent but froze my Paypal account anyway. They wanted proof via personal documents to unfreeze it so I told them to stick it and never went back.

But it was interesting what the Halifax said. They said if you're Paypal account is hacked and money stolen then you are not covered for online fraud. They class it that you gave access to a 3rd party.

 

[nickso]

in this day and age there is little point in using paypal for transactions in the UK. sadly the better alternative, BACS, is rarely used as most people won't give the details required to use it.

i try every option before using the evil empire. it doesn't help that their partners in crime, ebay, are pretty insistent that everyone should use them.

 

[opps]

I use paypal and am aware that they are a law unto themselves.

that said, as a seller, the support is better than google.

if you need specific advice checkout

http://www.paypalsucks.com

 

[0000]

You obviously didn't read the terms. No institution can take money out of you account without prior agreement.

Banks regularly freeze accounts for stupid reasons. In fact my bank froze my account becuase of some paypal transactions I made.

 

[SALL2009]

They wanted proof via personal documents to unfreeze

And the problem with that is?

Would you rather they activate your account on the say so of any tom dick or harry? They need to make sure you are who you say you are.

My debit card was used fraudulently on a gambling site; I had to fill a form in to recover my money. Maybe I should have told my bank to stick it and never use the bank again.

Ok PayPal does have some stupid policies, but over all I think they get a lot more stick then they deserve.

I have been using them for over 3 years to take payments and I haven’t had any issues.

People complain about their policy on none receipt claims, where a buyer will almost always win if seller can’t produce proof of postage. Well we all know the policy and the risk, that’s part of business and you have to calculate the risk in your prices.

As for why use PayPal, because Bank are too stuck in their ways to offer merchant accounts to smaller trader or if they can’t comprehend your business model or if they simply can’t be asked with your business.