By Andy McCue, 23 September 2005 16:45
NEWS PayPal is battling to fix a glitch that has been causing duplicate debit card withdrawals and deposits on some customer accounts since the beginning of September.
The problem first surfaced on 6 September when some PayPal customers noticed duplicate withdrawals from their debit cards that sent their accounts into the red. Two weeks later more PayPal customers then also reported duplicate withdrawals and deposits into their accounts.
PayPal is blaming the duplicate withdrawals on a third-party processing error with some PIN-based transactions.
eBay discussion forums have been inundated by angry customers who are unable to tell what their actual PayPal account balance should be. They are claiming they can't access their funds because the accounts have gone into the red.
One seller said: "I'm trying hard to make sense of the 20+ erroneous withdrawals/corrections. After one hour on phone-hold I was told if something is wrong I have to file a formal chargeback request for each incident. I'm quite exhausted from this silliness."
A statement from PayPal's parent company eBay, posted on one of its discussion forums on 19 September, apologised for the inconvenience and said: "Although we initially believed this irregularity was corrected last week, it appears that some transactions are still being affected. We are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible."
No-one from PayPal was immediately available for comment although the company said the problem is confined to US customers.
Comments
There are 6 comments. Join the discussion
1. Bobby Dias
About two years ago when PayPal made their customers put up their credit(&debit) cards for more than the one use, I posted on several forums and made comments in reply to articles
like this that PayPal was setting up their customers for a big score. Now, while PayPal is supposed to be hurrying to fix the glitch, PayPal has the use of all that money. I doubt that PayPal will pay any interest or damages- they will continue to play the role of the poor company beset with all these terrible people wanting them back. Watch the money, not the people that are supposed to be fixing "a glitch".
2. anonymous
It has also been affecting UK customers such as myself....
3. anonymous
I no longer use Paypal as the default method of receiving payment from Ebay sales for small amounts. In fact, I will not accept paypal for payments from the UK.
The combined charges of Ebay and Paypal do not make it financially viable, as the charges wipe out any small profit.
Basically, Paypal and Ebay are taking the profits away from the small seller, by virtue of charges.
Ebay should either have a selling fee OR paypal charge, not both. That way, if someone accepts paypal, the Ebay fees are waived, but those that do not use Paypal should have Ebay fees imposed.
I have also noticed a lot of people are now charging 0.01 for the price and high postage and packing, as Ebay fees do not apply to the Postage and packing, which, in effect is waiving the Ebay charges.
Other, cheaper, on line auctions are emerging which are far better than Ebay. Just because they were the first, does not make them the best.
4. Dixon Jones
"No-one from PayPal was immediately available for comment"
And there - my friends - is the whole problem with PayPal! How can we trust putting ur money into cyberspace when the only way to communicate is through online help that doesn't involve humans?
5. Pete
'service@paypal.com' has surely overtaken 'military intelligence' in the Oxymoron Stakes
6. anonymous
I had a similar problem with paypal in the UK with a buyer who appeared to pay me twice and Paypal handled the matter in an appauling manner. The buyer was certain they didn't action the payment twice and Paypal addressed the matter as though it was my doing.