PayPal

Kevin Aylward, who has been banned from using PayPal at Wizbang because of its very occasional pornographic content, passes on another horror story about the company.

PayPal has taken advantage of their near-monopoly power, I’m afraid. The other day, they required me to give them my bank account information to “verify” my account–even though I had a $250 cash balance in the account. I called and they explained that, after you spend $2000, they require you to “verify” regardless. I explained that I’ve been a customer for three years–that verifying should become less necessary after establishing a track record–and that, besides, since I was trying to pay someone $25 and had $250 sitting in an account controlled by PayPal, verification was rather unnecessary. Logic was of no use.

Kevin is likely right here: “[R]ule number one for using Paypal – don’t leave your money there.”

FILED UNDER: Economics and Business, , ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is a Professor of Security Studies. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Kevin says:

    Visit PayPalsucks.com and see the horror stories of eBay sellers. You’ll count yourself lucky you’re not selling things.

  2. joy says:

    My technically astute friends totally avoid paypal now, because of similiar stories.

    Personally, I’ve never bothered to get an account. I’d much rather deal with amazon if I’m going to donate money to a cause.

  3. George Jones says:

    I’ve dealt with Paypal for years without a problem, but don’t leave any more money in the account than I have (no sense in taking chances).
    NEVER answer an email (supposedly from Paypal) that wants account verification!!!! It’s a scam to get your Paypal info.