Is this really how PayPal works?

tkbslc wrote in post #12154687
I like buying stuff of the internet at unfortunately paypal still has the market cornered

Paypal is part of eBay, so of course they stitch things up so you have to use it. THAT's why I no longer use eBay. I buy extensively via Amazon, and have yet to have even the slightest suggestion of a problem.

Did you issue the refund with a balance in your Pay Pal acct or had you transferred the money out already?

woos wrote in post #12155116
They have a big office in omaha nebraska. I lived near there for a while. One time, a few years back, someone that they'd screwed over went in at night, made sure no one was there (he made sure no one was around because he just wanted to annoy paypal, not hurt anyone--no one was hurt at all, building was empty), went up to the front door, evidently left a message, and blew up a small explosive device, damaging the front of the PayPal building. One of the funniest things ever, imho, lol--can't condone violence but I totally understand his frustration.

Are you nuts? The way things are right now, why in the hell would you even insinuate that you know anyone involved with doing something like this? USE YOUR HEAD SON!

Addicted2EOS wrote in post #12154940
Everyone is attacking Pay Pal. However, the OP admitted this was his fault. If he/she had sent the correct payment in the beginning there would be no problem!!

Nope, it is Paypal that attacks everybody. People just vent here, where else would they ? Every company has some percentage of disgruntled customers. But according to this forum and many other places where people share their iexperice, Paypal is unique in a way that it has some persentage of satisfied customers.

woos wrote in post #12155116
Basically, they don't invest your money or make interest. This lets them not be regulated as a bank. .

I never knew that bank is an institution that invests money. So if I open an office that provides checking and other types of accounts for a fee but I do not want to invest does it mean the office is not a bank ? Or does it mean that Madoff's enterprise was a bank ? He did 'invest'.

I hope that Amazon Payments will muscle out Paypal with a reduced fee schedule very soon.

10megapixel wrote in post #12156367
Are you nuts? The way things are right now, why in the hell would you even insinuate that you know anyone involved with doing something like this? USE YOUR HEAD SON!

What? lol. I never said anything about knowing the guy--it was all over the papers and internet there when it happened, everyone was talkin' about it--i have no idea who the guy was.

And yep, PayPal is not regulated as a bank, which is why they can get away with what they do! Pretty screwy, eh?

Edit: here, this is probably the incident i'm referring too, however this article is extremely light on the details: http://www.shortnews.c​om/start.cfm?id=58050 the comments are gold.

Refresh Image wrote in post #12156640
I never knew that bank is an institution that invests money. So if I open an office that provides checking and other types of accounts for a fee but I do not want to invest does it mean the office is not a bank ? Or does it mean that Madoff's enterprise was a bank ? He did 'invest'.

Not exactly. :P

Basically, Paypal does a few things that a bank would normally do (ie, you can have an account there with money in it, and get a debit card to access the money, etc)...

But because they aren't a bank, they don't have the ability legally to invest the money stored with them, or anything like that--they make their money on the fees they charge you (and by stealing people's money when they can get away with it).

I'm so glad I'm not the only one!!

10megapixel wrote in post #12156367
Are you nuts? The way things are right now, why in the hell would you even insinuate that you know anyone involved with doing something like this? USE YOUR HEAD SON!

Agreed. Just posting that you know someone involved in domestic terrorism is bad news and could result in a visit by the black suits. Not a good move in the current atmosphere.

Neither transaction was e-check. The understanding I was given is that PP fronts you the money and then drafts your account. I asked why they needed to draft my account when they didn't have to front any money as both were rejected he really didn't have an answer except that they are required to follow "banking" regs.

woos wrote in post #12155116
It's worse than you know!

Paypal DOES NOT make interest off of your money.

I know, I know..."what??? you must be mistaken." Nope. Paypal does not make interest off of your money!

Which is too bad, for us. If they invested and made interest off of your money, then they'd be regulated as a bank. As good as banks have it, if they fell under the banking regulations, you'd have a LOT more recourse, and they wouldn't be able to pull the crap that they do.

Basically, they don't invest your money or make interest. This lets them not be regulated as a bank. So essentially, they have situated themselves in the way that they can be the biggest ****ckers possible and you have absolutely no recourse when they bend you over and screw you. I hate paypal. Unfortunately, I have no choice but to use them. I just give them access to an account dedicated only to them, and use a bank of america shop safe number for them, limiting the amount of damage they could do if a situation arose.

They have a big office in omaha nebraska. I lived near there for a while. One time, a few years back, someone that they'd screwed over went in at night, made sure no one was there (he made sure no one was around because he just wanted to annoy paypal, not hurt anyone--no one was hurt at all, building was empty), went up to the front door, evidently left a message, and blew up a small explosive device, damaging the front of the PayPal building. One of the funniest things ever, imho, lol--can't condone violence but I totally understand his frustration.

Where exactly did you hear this? Paypal does indeed make interest, take a look at their money market statement each year, it's boring but you get to see the nearly 1/2 billion dollars sitting in it.

Also read:
http://money.cnn.com …usiness/paypal_​float.fsb/

They are not under banking regulations currently, because as I understand it, they don't issue loans against the monies they hold onto. They can draw interest, but they cannot issue loans. Once you take somebody's money and loan it out, then you have all kinds of regulations you fall under.

There are laws in effect that are starting to scrutinize the type of "money flow" business that Paypal is involved in, and in some countries, it does indeed fall under banking regulations.

This explains the float where paypal will ACH funds between banks when the money is inbound, but hold onto that money due to rules they have placed on the end users for ACHs back out.

woos wrote in post #12157829
What? lol. I never said anything about knowing the guy--it was all over the papers and internet there when it happened, everyone was talkin' about it--i have no idea who the guy was.

And yep, PayPal is not regulated as a bank, which is why they can get away with what they do! Pretty screwy, eh?

Edit: here, this is probably the incident i'm referring too, however this article is extremely light on the details: http://www.shortnews.c​om/start.cfm?id=58050 the comments are gold.

Ok, I see. Honestly though, you should be more careful how you tell stories like that my friend...maybe let us in on the fact that it's something you heard about in the news FIRST eh?

About 4 years ago, I used PP to transfer money from my bank account to my trading account (had done this a few times before - same bank account, same trading account). This time, after the normal 2-3 day delay, the money still didn't show in my trading account. Trading company stated they hadn't seen the funds, but the funds were gone from my bank account. Sent EMail to PP, they said to call - called, they said to send EMail - sent EMail, they said to call - called, they said to EMail; this went on/on for a couple of weeks. Their only answer was that they were 'unable to verify the validity of the funds'. They wouldn't send the funds to my trading account, nor would they refund back to my bank account. I finally had to contact my bank and have them reverse the transaction. PP had use of $1000 of my money for over 3 weeks.

Since that time, I've not used PP if there is any other way to conduct the transaction. When I sell something, and the buyer wishes to pay by CC, I send a Google-Checkout invoice. I haven't had one single problem with GC.

Received my first e-check last week, which I thought was free. Nope, $5 fee.