Paypal Rocks! They Just Saved Me From a Ripoff

13 replies
I know that some people around here badmouth Paypal and have serious issues with them, but I'm going to give them praise when praise is due. They just saved me from being ripped off by some sneaky digital crooks.

I have a Paypal debit card that I use once in a while. I've had it almost a year and used it without any problems. Today, I decided to go to McDonald's and buy some lunch. The total came to about $5, so I decided to use my Paypal card. I've used it there successfully before so no big deal. Or so I thought. I swiped the card and the machine said "Not Approved."

Okay, I swiped it again thinking maybe I'd swiped too fast or something. "Not Approved" again. Hey, what's going on here? It made me a little nervous because all these thoughts go through your mind - has my account been flagged for some reason?

Anyway, I paid for lunch with another card and went home. Logged into my Paypal account and everything seemed OK. I've got some money in there - certainly more than enough to cover a $5 lunch.

Next, I went online to see if this kind of thing had happened to others. Found some people who had the same issue. What happens is that Paypal puts a security hold on your debit card and you have to call the number on the card to take care of whatever issue that is making them concerned about your account.

When I got "Monica" on the phone she was extremely nice and helpful. Monica told me that someone had tried to use my debit card number for some transactions. In fact, there's currently a transaction for $0.02 in process, which is why they put an automatic hold on the card. Thank goodness they have this policy, because when she read the information they had on those transactions, none of it was anything I had initiated.

Monica told me that they would need to issue me a new card. She walked me through the easy process of deactivating my current debit card. Assured me that if that two cent transaction goes through, they would do an immediate chargeback - Yay! Once the crooks do one successful transaction they'll go for bigger amounts next time.

Don't know how those thieves managed to get this card number, but they did. Goes to show that you never know when this kind of thing is going to happen to you.

Paypal is sending me a new card, which I'll get in a couple of weeks.

Phew! Dodged a bullet.
#debit card #paypal #ripoff #rocks #saved
  • Profile picture of the author jvreview
    That's certainly something positive that we rarely hear about Paypal! Thank you for sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author jacknarvy
    Yup PayPal really rocks. PayPal offers very smooth credit card processing and now this app is also available in smart phones so we can utilize it anywhere.
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  • Profile picture of the author PopOn
    It's good story but still in many cases PayPal fails their customers.
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    • Profile picture of the author steve995
      It's a great story, and very heartening to hear a Warrior saying something positive about PayPal for a change! Sure, they're not perfect but there's that saying about people who live in glass houses that seems to fit very well here!
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  • Profile picture of the author BloggingPro
    I myself have (and use) the PayPal debit card. I will definitely be ready to call PayPal if my card is ever denied and I know I have funds in the account.

    On a completely separate note, have you started using the PayPal app for mobiles? I just downloaded it the other day, and to say the least, it's sweet!

    Again, thanks for the heads up!

    BP
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    You're going to fail. If you're afraid of failure then you do not belong in the Internet Marketing Business. Period.
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    • Profile picture of the author Fun to Write
      Originally Posted by BloggingPro View Post

      On a completely separate note, have you started using the PayPal app for mobiles? I just downloaded it the other day, and to say the least, it's sweet!
      BP
      Haven't downloaded the app. Will have to check that out.
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      Focus+Smart Work+Persistence=Success

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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    Thanks FtW!

    I bet there are millions more stories just like yours. It's always good to hear the positive side of things.

    All it takes is one negative experience for people to start crying "Foul!"--but the truth of the matter is that PayPal takes security very seriously (some may argue too seriously).

    When accounts get flagged it is usually due to some sort of security risk.

    Sure, there may be times when PayPal appears arbitrary, and it can be frustrating to deal with, but all in all, they are safe, reliable, and have an amazing track record when you consider how many transactions they process every day.

    All the best,
    Michael
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    • Profile picture of the author Fun to Write
      Originally Posted by Michael Oksa View Post

      Thanks FtW!

      I bet there are millions more stories just like yours. It's always good to hear the positive side of things.

      All it takes is one negative experience for people to start crying "Foul!"--but the truth of the matter is that PayPal takes security very seriously (some may argue too seriously).

      When accounts get flagged it is usually due to some sort of security risk.

      Sure, there may be times when PayPal appears arbitrary, and it can be frustrating to deal with, but all in all, they are safe, reliable, and have an amazing track record when you consider how many transactions they process every day.

      All the best,
      Michael
      It's true that folks are quick to jump on the complaint bandwagon, but as they say, misery loves company. I admit that I've read those negative threads on Paypal and noted the points people have made. I'm not defending Paypal in those situations, but they do have reasons for why they take certain actions. As a private company processing billions of dollars annually, I'm sure they are going to do whatever they think is necessary to protect their main business from scams, money laundering, etc.

      Do I think that some people get limited or banned for what seems to be no good reason, yep. That's unfortunate, but overall, I too have found Paypal to be very reliable. They also helped me contest a credit card chargeback to my account that was unjust. Those are difficult to win because the banks usually side with the customer filing the chargeback complaint. However, I eventually got that money back after showing Paypal that I had indeed delivered the service to that business owner.
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  • Profile picture of the author bloggerd
    Great to hear a posativereport on paypal and glad the manged to stop it before they managed to withdraw any funds from your account. as baove there will be many ore had the same problem but people dont seem to post the posative side but quickly jumpin and post threads on bad results they have had
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  • Profile picture of the author Tony Humble
    Banned
    Is this the first time there's something positive about paypal?

    Anyway, I love Paypal's dispute process - saved me from lots of scammers and people who just take your money and disappear.
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  • Profile picture of the author funkynassau
    I had much the same thing happen with my MasterCard, somehow the crooks got my number, most likely with their robot scanners online, and racked up over $8K overnight! MC called me first thing in the morning to tell me this, and they'd already cancelled my card. There were charges all over the world. I had to sign papers to say I didnt do this, and I had a new card in days. They dont even look into this to find out who was behind it, it'd cost them too much money, so the MC lady told me.
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    The same thing happened to my card last December, but
    I caught it after 3 transactions for small amounts. They
    refunded the charges and issued a new card.

    They also called me once some years ago after they realize
    that my card was being used frequently from different
    locations. I was driving to a convention and had to fill
    up a couple times plus hotel payment. But this pattern
    triggered their security and they called me to be sure
    the card wasn't stolen.

    Somehow I thought that the number was stolen from
    my computer because I had two cards compromised
    at the same time. Both I used online.

    -Ray Edwards
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    • Profile picture of the author opiel
      In my case PayPal has been absolutely great.... I cannot say even one bad thing about them.
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