Beware of PAYPAL Credit Card fees when seller backs out

[Tom Oates]

Here is the situation...

I bought an item on eBay for my wife and got $4.72 in instant Bing Cashback. After a week the seller contacts me and says he is sold out and was expecting another shipment soon. I told him I could wait and thanks for communicating. Seller contacts me after another week and says it will be at least a month. I asked him to refund my money. Here is where it gets sticky....

I bought the item on a credit card so the refund went on my credit card. The instant Bing cashback of $4.72 was deducted from my Paypal account resulting in a negative balance. I wanted to do the right thing so I logged in right away and paid for the negative Paypal balance on my credit card. Paypal charged my credit card as a Cash Advance. My credit card company then charged me a $10 transaction fee for a cash advance!

I called my credit card company and they said there is nothing they can do since it was a result of how Paypal charged my card. I called Paypal and they say that when I paid there was some small print warning me. I never saw it so maybe there was and maybe there wasn't? The lesson to be learned is that you should never pay for a negative Paypal balance with a credit card.

Tom

 

[Pine Tar]

Sucks Tom
But yes paying or funding PayPal with a credit card is in fact done as a cash advance.
Because there is know other way for them to charge the credit card since nothing is purchased
so it goes as a transfer of funds, and that is a banking transaction.

 

[Tom Oates]

Yep, lesson learned the hard way. Hopefully others will learn from my mistake.

Tom

 

[miguelcabrera]

ok i found it
merge the threads if you like

so tom. is this only for paying negative balances, ebay fees, or paying off ebay

i think i got screwed

 

[Rickzcards]

I have my bank account as the primary on my paypal account to avoid these fees with my credit card as a secondary, which I never use. One day though they will probably realize that they aren't making money off bank transfers and will figure out how to levy some sort of fee, as if they don't have enough. I'm curious as to how no one has figured out how to file a class action suit since ebay forces you to use paypal, whom they own, and soak you for fees on both ends.