PayPal Question.


Yesterday I sent a payment via PayPal and I thought that the paymenet would be charged to my credit card. The reason for this is that I had to update my credit card information since I just received a new card and I really thought that when I clicked on the send payment button, the last four digits of the new credit card came up as the billing account. I swear I saw them right before my eyes. Well my bank account was charged for the payment. I called PayPal today and they advised that since this is a customer initiated transaction, I must have made the error (the system cannot make a mistake). I tried to fake a payment today and up comes the credit card number by default with the same last four digits. PayPal tells me that they do not allow multiple transactions for large dollar amounts (mine was $1,000) to the bank account in a row so that is why it is defaulting to the credit card now. I tried faking a $100 payment and a $1000 payment and the credit card account comes up as the default. I was also using an address that was not listed as a PayPal account so I never got past that screen, but it seemed far enough to see the account number to be charged come up. So, how do I tell if I really used the bank account versus the credit card account number? Since I just added the new credit card account number, could the card not have been verified in time to make the transaction and thereby default to the bank account automatically?

All comments appreciated. I had a 12 month, 0% interest, on the credit card option.

Thanks.

Peter
bigkidz
I refused PayPal my bank info when I signed up. That's the simplest way to avoid this kind of problem. Then If they refuse payment via credit card, you and the seller can make other arrangements.

Aside from the free interest your card offers, you probably lost some leverage in terms of returns and warranty. Not to mention lost points in membership programs. Have you ask PayPal to transfer this to your credit card and return the money to your account?

I have an inherent distrust of PayPal. Several Audiogon members have posted stories, several were worse than yours.
When you go to pay, you need to hit the link that says something like "other funding options," just under your credit card info. It takes you to a page where you have to check the box for your credit card. You are then taken to another page and asked if you wish to "switch" to this option. Answer yes.
I always pay with my credit card on PayPal and have never had a problem. The first page lists your credit card as a backup, but you must follow these steps each time to use it as the option to pay.