PayPal Warning

Not a member but have a question related to equine photography? Ask it here! You must be registered on the forum to be able to post here.

Moderator: admin

Post Reply
APbyAmanda
Registered Guest
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue May 10, 2016 12:48 pm
Real Name (first and last name): Rachel Strothmann

PayPal Warning

Post by APbyAmanda »

Hello All. I wanted to give you a head's up to the horrifying experience I had with PayPal while closing a portrait print sale yesterday, June 26, 2016.

This was not a small order, but was under $1,000 and I have used my PayPal card reader before with no issues. My business account on PayPal is verified and has been for quite a while.

The first time I swiped my client's card (same card previously approved in the same manner for the session fee) an error message pops up that there was a problem, scan again. Unbeknownst to me then, at the same moment, I immediately received an email notification from PayPal telling me that my PayPal debit card had been deactivated.

We then try the second, recommended swipe of the card, same error message telling me to try again and later I find at the exact same time, another notification from PayPal that my account has been limited and cannot send funds. My client calls her credit card company to discover they were approving the requests, however, PayPal was rejecting them. Her card company suggests keying in the numbers, which we do, to the same error result and now notification from PayPal that I cannot receive funds. I try to contact PayPal and I'm told I'll be on hold for at least 18 minutes.

We agree I'll send her an invoice for the amount due and I'll deal with PayPal on my own time. Once I did finally reach them, literally all they did was apologize and remove the limitation on my account. Not one person, of the three I spoke to, including a supervisor, could tell me why there was an immediate limitation put on my account. They confirmed it is verified and there was no reason the payment should not have gone through. But, since they had rejected all three attempts, I now had to go back to my client and request the money once again.

As of right now, I'm still waiting for my client to actually complete the purchase; a purchase that would have been a done deal for over 15 hrs by now, if not for PayPal deciding they wanted to screw with my business and the strong reputation that I'm trying to build.

Luckily for me, I knew this client personally and she understood this was not my fault. Regardless, I looked completely incompetent! PayPal may not be the route you want to go with your business. I was horrified and completely embarrassed, my business was embarrassed and that is not the type of experience I want any client to ever encounter again. Upon returning home, I immediately signed up to accept payments via my QuickBooks account and am looking into ordering Square as a back up/alternate option.

So, I'm spreading the word, after informing PayPal of why they're losing all of my business, even personal. I'm passing on the information to those here, on the PPA forum, the BBB website, and Yelp because this can happen to you too and it is an awful experience for the owner and the client.

Beware of PayPal!!
User avatar
shapack
EPNet Pro Member
Posts: 3299
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 5:26 pm
Real Name (first and last name): Sharon Packer
Location: The Carolinas and Wellington, Florida
Contact:

Re: PayPal Warning

Post by shapack »

Thanks for the warning. I've used Paypal since 2002 and haven't had a single problem as far as collection. I use it as a payment method to collect photo shoot reservations. I use Square for actually credit card swipes because fees are less and it is so very easy. I also accept checks, and find many clients prefer paying with a check for an in-person transaction. Maybe it helps to have many ways in which clients can pay. I'm sorry you had that trouble.
Sharon Packer
Horse Sports Photography, LLC
http://www.HorseSportsPhotography.com
Post Reply

Return to “EPNet Open Forum”