I sent a payment to an online company who accepted PayPal, but after the initial purchase confirmation, they send an email back saying that my Credit Card company was holding up the transaction. They requested that I email back a picture of my credit card to verify that I had the card in my possession. They did say I should cover up most of the numbers, but this still sounds shady.
Several flags immediately went up and after some research (maybe I should have done this more thoroughly before), I'm wondering how legit this company is:
1. I paid through PayPal to avoid giving out my CC info or any other info. Why would they need to verify something outside PayPal and why are they assuming I'm using a CC?
2. After exploring their business and the corresponding information on my PayPal invoice from them, I see that they are not PayPal verified which doesn't bode well for them being a legitimate business. Can you remain unverified as a business and continue to accept money through PayPal?
3. They have been around for only about half a year, but they have a physical address and are listed on BBB. However, the listed address is... well, let's say possibly shared by other LLC companies and I'm left wondering if this address is a front of some kind.
A couple other small things have made me leary, but what should be the proper protocol to respond?
I asked them to have either PayPal or whatever institution is holding up the payment to verify directly with me. However, there is no indication anywhere that the payment is being held up. What else should I do or other options do I have at this point? Should I just be asking for a refund?
