PayPal insanity

[52-80 19,213]

35 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

Paypal is so 2014.

I used to use it everyday, now it's an odd vestige. Crazy kids of today wanting to pay with any number of methods. Still, had one 20-something pay for something the other day with Paypal, I mean, sure, I want that money. But it was odd, as if she'd started speaking Chaucerian English.

The paypal and ebay network is incredibly clunky, for something born of the internet and rebranded as financial “tech”. 

I’ve largely abandoned it but once awhile when unavoidable, and needing to revive or top up the account, its a rube-goldberg process to get all the gears working. 

Ebay somehow loves to automatically display all prices in local currency based on IP, with zero means to force an override. Even logging into a valid, address-authenticated account, wont show me the home currency. 

And both these fuckers seem to send monthly emails about policy updates as if theyre rewriting the goddamn terms and conditions every 4 weeks. 
 

This brand to me is about on par with Ticketmaster for fucktardedness. 

[rage-a-holic 4,428]

18 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

The paypal and ebay network is incredibly clunky, for something born of the internet and rebranded as financial “tech”. 

I can't count the number of times this has happened to me over the last 20+ years with "hot deals":

Someone sends me a link or something pops up on a deal site....these deals typically sell out in a few minutes.

Go to linked site, which is now overwhelmed with thousands of people trying to get in on the deal. The site can't handle the influx and their native CC processing interface/backend is timing out or denying any purchase attempt...but you switch to their Paypal option and the purchase goes through immediately.

So yes, I could have said "Fuck Paypal" several hundred times, spent an hour re-trying with a CC or calling customer service, but I would not have scored any of those deals.

[RDCanecutter 26,460]

1 hour ago, rage-a-holic said:

There are literally tons of sites/services that are nearly impossible to access or make purchases from without using Paypal, ebay for starters.

You may be right about the purchasing. But not so long ago, eBay started direct deposits to sellers' bank accounts, skipping Paypal on that end. No idea why. 

Etsy appears to have ditched PP too. Bear in mind that most of my interactions are as a seller, so I am surprised if they were to require it to buy.

[RDCanecutter 26,460]

51 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

Ebay somehow loves to automatically display all prices in local currency based on IP, with zero means to force an override. Even logging into a valid, address-authenticated account, wont show me the home currency. 

And both these fuckers seem to send monthly emails about policy updates as if theyre rewriting the goddamn terms and conditions every 4 weeks. 

Could be worse. They could have sent you a pig head.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21,913]

4 hours ago, 52-80 said:

This brand to me is about on par with Ticketmaster for fucktardedness. 

Ticketmaster is the Big12 refs of the ticket industry

[Neonmoon 38,130]

On 10/15/2022 at 11:12 AM, bernorange said:

Roughly a week ago, news broke out that PayPal had published proposed changes to their AUP (acceptable use policy):

https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-paypal-policy-lets-company-pull-2500-from-users-accounts-if-they-promote-misinformation

This news went viral on social media with Elon Musk, Scott Adams and other high profile people chiming in.  PayPal then backtracked on the proposed changes:

https://www.theepochtimes.com/paypal-reverses-course-says-company-will-not-seize-money-for-promoting-misinformation_4783827.html

However, their existing AUP still gives them carte blanche to steal money from account holders at their sole discretion:

https://reason.com/volokh/2022/10/09/paypal-still-threatens-2500-fines-for-promoting-discriminatory-intolerance-even-if-not-misinformation/

So is the hype over this issue overblown?  Surely PayPal wouldn't just steal money from people, right?  That would be bad for business, right?  Well...

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/01/paypal-stole-users-money-after-freezing-seizing-funds-lawsuit-alleges/

https://lawstreetmedia.com/news/tech/paypal-receives-rico-complaint-over-shoot-first-ask-questions-later-practice-involving-seizure-of-client-funds/

PayPal's existing AUP policy, which you agree to by opening an account and using their service, gives them the right to fine you $2,500 per violation of their AUP at their sole discretion.  No arguing.  No oversight.  No recourse.  It's insane.  

PayPayl is not “stealing money from account holders”. PayPay has updated their AUP. If people violate their AUP, they will be fined $2,500 or anyway they see fit. If you don’t want to agree to that updated policy, then discontinue using their service. Pretty simple. 

You should absolutely voice your concerns to the business as a customer, or “argue” your case. 

What oversight would you like? Like from the government? 

I use PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Zelle. They’re all the same to me. If I was dissatisfied with any service, doesn’t seem that hard to switch to another. 
 

 

[conVINCEd 21,469]

Paypal represents the worst possible output of a free market economy.  I haven’t used them in 10+ years since they stole several thousand dollars from me on an eBay transaction.  An entity that people use without really thinking about it shouldn’t have the ability to “fine” people $2500 with little to no recourse.  That is  not a fine, it’s stealing.  If Barney Fife decides to write me a ticket for driving 56 in a 55, I have an avenue to plead my case.  
 

Corporations should 100% not have the ability to dip into your checking account without your consent to the tune of a $2500 fine, and if that requires government intervention, then we need some government intervention.  It should fall under the same regulations that govern things like payday loan places.  We certainly regulate other financial institutions, no reason Paypal should be any different.  If your bank sent you an email informing you that overdraft fees on your kids student checking account were increasing from $25 to $2500, and you let it slip through the cracks, you would be real pissed off when you took a glance at their statement 3 months later and they were carrying a -$2k balance.

[52-80 19,213]

5 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

PayPayl is not “stealing money from account holders”. PayPay has updated their AUP. If people violate their AUP, they will be fined $2,500 or anyway they see fit.

 

 

LMAO.

[52-80 19,213]

you see, fellas, the problem here isn't the principle of the largest personal payments company wanting grounds to take peoples money on a discretionary basis based on vague criteria...

...the problem is the semantics of you guys calling it "stealing" when it's actually an agreement proposed in the terms & conditions.

 

anyway, i use venmo - a subsidiary of paypal - so this doesnt apply to me.

[Enchubben 5,510]

On 10/17/2022 at 1:56 PM, Nice Guy Eddie said:

You have some anger issues about Paypal. 

I saw a comment that is 100% not accurate ("Paypal charges fees when sending money to friends") and I commented on it. Sorry if you don't like facts. And I was pointed to a story stating that PayPal was stealing account money. So I commented on it.

What do they sell? Who are their customers?  I assume you're going to reply that it's not your business so you won't say anything else. 

You used to be able to convert cash gift cards (visa gift cards etc) to straight cash though PayPal for a small service fee. It wasn’t an advertised service but it was available and acceptable through terms and conditions of user agreement. (I read the entire fucking document.)

One day probably 5 years ago now I got an email from PayPal asking for receipts of my transactions doing this to which I replied I had none and explained what I was doing and how it did not violate T&C’s.

While they didn’t argue that it violated the terms, they didn’t like it and froze $900 of my money for 6 months and banned me from PayPal for life.

Now while after that I wouldn’t have chosen to use PayPal voluntarily ever again anyways, it is annoying when certain kids shit requires payment through PayPal and I’ve been banned from the service. Do my best when this happens to try and convince these people and businesses to get off PayPal. Most will accept Venmo or checks once I explain.

Anyways, fuck PayPal in their ass and anyone who defends them.

[BabaYaga 15,303]

1 hour ago, Enchubben said:

banned me from PayPal for life.

[bernorange 8,362]

Regarding the class action lawsuit filed in January, this report gives some background on all the plaintiffs:

Quote

...
Lena Evans, one of the plaintiffs who'd been a PayPal user for 22 years, said the website seized $26,984 from her account six months after it got frozen without ever telling her why. Evans had been using PayPal to buy and sell clothing on eBay, to exchange money for a poker league she owns and for a non-profit that helps women with various needs.

Fellow plaintiff Roni Shemtov said PayPal seized over $42,000 of her money and never got an acceptable reason for why her account was terminated. She received several different explanations when she contacted the company: One customer rep said it was because she used the same IP and computer as other Paypal users, while another said it was because she sold yoga clothing at 20 to 30 percent lower than retail. Yet another representative allegedly said it was because she used multiple accounts, which she denies.
...
PayPal has long angered many a user for limiting accounts and freezing their funds for six months or more. One high-profile case was American poker player Chris Moneymaker's who had $12,000 taken from his account after six months of being limited. Moneymaker was already in the process of asking people to join him in a class action lawsuit before his funds were "mysteriously returned."
...

https://www.engadget.com/paypal-lawsuit-freezing-customer-accounts-funds-073128563.html