Am I getting burnt on Paypal?

[DISCERN]

I have had an odd turn of events on Ebay.

They went as follows;

- Sell Synth
- Buyer pays... twice by accident, asks for refund on one. I refund one
- More or less as soon as payment is received paypal jams my account.
- Paypal doesn't say why, they just ask for a bunch of documents.
- I contact them after sending them through, they say they need the shipping receipt for the "merchandise". They don't tell me which merchandise though... the request is about as direct as a london/new york flight via india. Idiots.


What should I do? I've been burnt on ebay before ($1600) and am paranoid that it is about to happen again. I have the synth boxed up and ready to go in the mail... but I am extremely hesitant to send it out. Does anyone know what would happen if I hung onto it? I feel like I am in a lose/lose situation.

[GILFOIL]

i would definatly wait until you have the dough for sure before sending anything.

there's nothing unreasonable about that. just let buyer know whats up.

[SMC Productions]

Originally Posted by DISCERN

I have had an odd turn of events on Ebay.

They went as follows;

- Sell Synth
- Buyer pays... twice by accident, asks for refund on one. I refund one
- More or less as soon as payment is received paypal jams my account.
- Paypal doesn't say why, they just ask for a bunch of documents.
- I contact them after sending them through, they say they need the shipping receipt for the "merchandise". They don't tell me which merchandise though... the request is about as direct as a london/new york flight via india. Idiots.


What should I do? I've been burnt on ebay before ($1600) and am paranoid that it is about to happen again. I have the synth boxed up and ready to go in the mail... but I am extremely hesitant to send it out. Does anyone know what would happen if I hung onto it? I feel like I am in a lose/lose situation.

HOLD on to it! They've been doing ALOT of screwing with me lately! I don't know what's up with those guys...I used them for years without problems, then all of a sudden, they are doing shit like you describe. Believe me, YOU aren't the ONLY one!

[DISCERN]

Originally Posted by GILFOIL

i would definatly wait until you have the dough for sure before sending anything.

there's nothing unreasonable about that. just let buyer know whats up.

Thats the problem, its impossible to get the dough without sending it!

I can still receive as much money as I like into my Paypal account, I can even add funds from my bank account... but I can't send money anywhere, even to the bank account that has been on record and verified for years in my paypal account.


Do you think I should try to refund the second payment from the buyer and inform him about the situation?? I was able to refund the first while my account was limited, so I assume I can do the same for the second payment.

[triez]

Paypal is such a criminal organization, they are setting themselves up as a bank, but are not governed by any of the regulations that banks have to follow. If they are letting you put money into your account, but not letting you remove or spend any, then they are breaking all reasonable laws. Maybe refunding the money is safest and telling the buyer what happened, and asking the buyer to complain to PayPal as well, because they are messing with the buyers money as much as they are messing with yours.

Then go to the banking regulatory body in your country, inform them that PayPal is acting like a surrogate bank, and lodge a formal complaint that PayPal is acting outside the charter of the regulations that govern such institutions. If enough people do this then Ebay and PayPal will be forced to start acting like law abiding companies instead of beig a law unto themselves.

[Master Tang]

I just had a problem with PayPal myself. Not like you're having, but one I couldn't figure out. It took me FOREVER to get a real person on the phone that could help me out.

They solved the problem, but SHEEEESH why is it so tough to get these kind of companies to talk to you?

Talk to the buyer, and keep them in formed would be the best bet. Dunno why PayPal would be looking for a green card for a synth though...

[DISCERN]

Paypal must be run by monkeys. I tell you what.

I've spoken to the buyer about the situation and have refunded his money. He seems happy enough with me, but I think he is going to tare paypal a new one.

The plot thickens though... It seems this situation could partly be due to my own actions. I have just recently moved from Australia to the UK, so I changed my paypal & ebay details to suit. I have offered to forward them a copy of my passport, my Australian drivers license (that contains my address), my UK entry VISA that proves I am an Australian citizen living in the UK and a UK bank statement that reflects my address here in London.


...they said no. They want the receipt for shipping the "merchandise". I told them to go and jump off a bridge. I told them the transaction works this way or not at all: Buyer pays money -> seller receives it -> seller forwards merchandise -> buyer receives it. "Any other way defies common business sense" I said.

Needless to say, the "dispute" still continues. I've already told them to can the account because I'm through with their criminal ways.

[narcoman]

i may not be understanding you right but -

They may want to look at the shipping receipt because it's a large value item from outside of Europe - that means customs charges etc.... now I know it's second hand but there is a LOT of money laundering doing exactly what you are legally doing - thing is, they don't know that. The mistake of paying twice also would look suspicious even though it is perfectly innocent in this case.

You also still have to pay duty on the item, even though its second hand, and the refund part would look like avoiding paying duty - or illegal international money transfer.....

I've never had any issue using paypal though, so i'm speaking from inexperience - but I'm just suggesting what may be going on. They could be a little clearer.

[DISCERN]

Originally Posted by narcoman

i may not be understanding you right but -

They may want to look at the shipping receipt because it's a large value item from outside of Europe - that means customs charges etc.... now I know it's second hand but there is a LOT of money laundering doing exactly what you are legally doing - thing is, they don't know that. The mistake of paying twice also would look suspicious even though it is perfectly innocent in this case.

You also still have to pay duty on the item, even though its second hand, and the refund part would look like avoiding paying duty - or illegal international money transfer.....

I've never had any issue using paypal though, so i'm speaking from inexperience - but I'm just suggesting what may be going on. They could be a little clearer.

The unit is being shipped within the European Union. It is only valued at 150pound, so I'd be surprised if this were the case.

[narcoman]

Originally Posted by DISCERN

The unit is being shipped within the European Union. It is only valued at 150pound, so I'd be surprised if this were the case.

knew i'd misinterpretted ya! I guess you spun me out with the $1600 thing ...