SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is asking a federal court to penalize PayPal for "illegally signing up and billing tens of thousands of consumers for its online credit product, PayPal Credit." Under the proposed order, PayPal would return $15 million to customers, pay a fine of $10 million for its actions, and make its PayPal Credit practices more clear:
Since 2008, the company has offered PayPal Credit, formerly called Bill Me Later, which is a financial product that operates like other forms of credit. Consumers make purchases using it as a form of payment and then repay the debt over time. As with credit cards and similar products, consumers using PayPal Credit may incur interest, late fees, and other charges.
From the first encounter a consumer may have had with PayPal Credit, there were problems. Tens of thousands of consumers who were attempting to enroll in a regular PayPal account, or make an online purchase, were signed up for the credit product without realizing it. The company enrolled other consumers while they tried to cancel or close out of the application process. Many people ended up enrolled without knowing how or why, only to discover unexpectedly that they actually had an account when they learned of a credit-report inquiry, or when they received emails welcoming them to PayPal Credit, billing statements, or debt-collection calls.
One reason so many consumers ended up having this product, unbeknownst to them, was that PayPal set the default payment method for all purchases to PayPal Credit. Other consumers were simply not able to select another payment method when they tried to pay.
Then, for those who did willingly sign up for the product, PayPal in many instances failed to honor advertised promotions, such as the promise of a $5 or $10 credit toward consumer purchases. This was deceptive advertising.
Finally, once enrolled, consumers encountered headache after headache. PayPal failed to post payments properly, lost payment checks, and mishandled billing disputes that consumers had with merchants or the company itself. Numerous consumers reported that the company took more than a week to process payment checks. And even when customers were unable to pay because of website failures, they still got charged late fees.
Also at The Register.
(Score: 2) by GlennC on Thursday May 21 2015, @03:14PM
I've had several people ask me why I don't use PayPal.
Now I have yet another reason. Thanks!
Sorry folks...the world is bigger and more varied than you want it to be. Deal with it.
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Thursday May 21 2015, @04:22PM
Uhhh...you DO know its REALLY easy to use Paypal and never have to worry about this kinda shit, right? Just pick up a one time use credit card when you want to use Paypal and only use that card and you don't have to worry about any bullshit.
And as much as I think Paypal, blows ass its pretty much the only payment method that will let you buy straight from China and you'd be surprised how much of a markup the shit you buy from places like Amazon or B&Ms is when you buy it straight from the factory that makes the thing. For just one example I gave up smoking nearly 3 years ago for vaping and make a little money on the side by carrying some of the stick batteries and "mini-boxes" like the iLeaf Stick mini here at the shop and the exact same stick that is a standard 900ma Ego style stick is sold at the shops around here for $20, buy it from the factory? Its $2-$3.50 in packs of 10. the iLeaf 20w clones sell here for nearly $60, cost from the factory? $17.50 a pop.
So while its not as simple as "push button, get bacon" to use one use cards I've heard enough horror stories like TFA to make driving the whole 8 blocks to where I can get a one use card more than worth the trouble, and the amount of money I save cutting out the middle man has not only made my vaping practically free but as a VERY nice bonus I've helped a lot of folks actually give up smoking after they looked at how much vaping would cost them at the local stores and found it too expensive. I always tell them "Well what do you expect, pretty much all the vapor shops here are owned by the same guys who own the smoke shops and its not in their best interests to make it easy or cheap to quit smoking now is it?".
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 3, Informative) by frojack on Thursday May 21 2015, @06:05PM
Yup, I agree, its damned convenient. And not hard to avoid any excessive charges.
I heard all the rage stories, and before I signed up, I called them and asked them about account freeze horror stories.
They explained that if you receive paypal funds routinely, (like I do for my day job) they expect to know how much and how often. If you start getting a big influx of deposits, you just have to call them up and let them know that business is booming, and you expect your inbound will go up. They just want to know you aren't a drug dealer or funding jihad or something illegal.
Many of our paypal customers are over seas. (which actually makes you LESS suspicious, by the way). So when we introduced a new catalog item, which we knew our existing customers had been asking for, we called Paypal, explained that we expected a rash of high dollar orders from over seas (as well as a list of countries most likely to order) and they raised our inbound amount flag, and we never had a problem.
We've since told our Bank's credit card clearing service to take a hike, and we clear all credit card orders through PayPal too. They've had that service for a long time, they actually act as a on-line CC clearing agency for big banks, like Wells Fargo.
The deeper you dig into the rage over paypal the more likely you are to find somebody selling/buying contraband, or stolen goods/services OR someone too lazy to just pick up the phone.
If you start a Go Fund Me type of operation, you better let them know. Lots of little amounts suddenly showing up from all over trips their alarms big time.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Thursday May 21 2015, @06:25PM
The only thing that concerned me is that anyone that knows your checking account number can completely clean the account out whenever they want. Since checking accounts are literally free with my bank, I simply have them set up an empty separate account that I write paper checks and use for PayPal. When I need to transfer money, I just do it with the bank's website to keep the account for PayPal only containing as much money as is necessary.
I highly suggest doing this for anyone that ever writes a paper check, even if you trust PayPal completely. Sure, the bank will give you your money back if there is actual fraud, but it is a lot easier to keep your money safe in the first place.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by GlennC on Thursday May 21 2015, @07:14PM
I can also just use that one-time use card directly.
It's not as though I buy from Chinese factories on a daily basis....or ever, for that matter.
Sorry folks...the world is bigger and more varied than you want it to be. Deal with it.
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Friday May 22 2015, @04:37PM
It's not quite that simple. A lot of websites use PayPal to process *all* credit card transactions. If PayPal thinks you owe them money, and the credit card you originally gave them is no longer valid...if they see you use another card on another website, they'll transfer your charges to that card.
So unless you're going to get a separate pre-paid card for the exact purchase price for every single individual item you buy on any website...your plan might not work.
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Saturday May 23 2015, @07:32AM
This is why I buy in bulk and only get a card when I'm ready. and don't worry about there being any left on the card friend...between my liking the premium derpy tanks in War thunder and the wife liking FB games? Any change left on the card is gone REAL quick like ;-)
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.