Secondary payment method isn't working and charged my bank account for an overdraft?!

[Lucaskane123]

!

I bought an item on eBay for $19.99 and I didn't have money in my bank account or my PayPal.. Well my bank account charged me an overdraft of $30.00 because I had insufficient funds.. Wasn't my secondary payment method suppose to be there incase this happens? They should of charged my visa card and gotten the funds that way.. But instead they charged my bank account and there was no money in there and that's when I was hit with the overdraft..

Same thing happened again after I sold an item on eBay.. I sold my laptop for $250.00 and the shipping label costed me $16.58 I put the payment option to take it out of the money I get from the laptop.. Well on the 9th I received my money and I immediately transfered the money from my PayPal to my bank account and an hour later I was hit with yet ANOTHER overdraft cause I didn't have any money in my account or my PayPal to pay for the shipping label I bought.. Why didn't they charge my visa card?! 

So now I'm stuck paying $60.00 because PayPal's payment options **bleep** up? This isn't right and I'd like help with getting my money back.. I haven't even paid for the shipping label because I had no funds but I get hit an overdraft for no reason? Like I said, I haven't paid for the shipping label yet.. So why was I hit with an overdraft? Um what? I'd like help NOW

[kernowlass]

If your bank account had declined the payment then paypal would have used your secondary source.

Must have been that your bank allowed the transaction and allowed you to make the sale but charged the overdraft fee as presumably you don't have an overdraft agreement.

Paypal have no idea if you have funds in your bank account, they just request the funds and if the bank pays them that the transaction is done.

[Lucaskane123]

So are you saying PayPal has nothing to do with this and it was my bank? The secondary payment method was not used when I had no funds, but when I bought an item for $130.00 AFTER all of this, they took the money out of my visa when I requested it to be taken out of my bank account.. What is going on?!?

[kernowlass]

As i said paypal would only take it out of your secondary back up source IF the payment from your bank account was declined.

They don't think "oh she hasn't got much in her bank account we will use her card" >> they just charge your bank account and your bank either lets them have the funds or does not.

The bank may have let the lower payment go through but changed you for the overdraft but when it came to the larger payment they declined it so paypal used your back up funding source.

This is normally how it works but if you want paypal to look into it for you then contact customer services..........or your bank.

[jbnf1]

I am just curious. How come you still submitted the purchase even when you know from the beginning that you don't have funds available in your bank?

[Lucaskane123]

I'm pretty sure you didn't read the post.. Read it again then reply.

[jbnf1]

I'm pretty sure I did.

[Lucaskane123]

Okay buddy.

[angelleye]

The bank account is your secondary payment method.  The typical flow is PayPal funds -> Bank funds -> PayPal Credit -> Credit Cards.

If you didn't have funds in PayPal it checks the bank.  If the bank accepts the payment request then PayPal assumes the money is there.  That part is indeed on the bank for allowing the transaction even without funds.

On that note, you should call your bank and request a one-time courtesy refund of those overdraft fees.  I've never known a bank that wouldn't do that as long as you haven't already done that before (and sometimes even then.)  Don't get into a long story with them.  Just mention you had a transaction hit the account that you thought was hitting a credit card, and it wound up going overdraft.  Just say you're sorry and you'd love it if they would refund you as a courtesy and you won't let it happen again.  I would be very surprised if they don't do it.

At the same time, they'll probably inform you about a backup funding source option they have for your bank accounts.  So if a transaction hits a checking account, for example, and there aren't enough funds to cover it, then they would charge the amount to a credit card you have with them instead of hitting you with an overdraft fee.  This can help eliminate such problems in the future.  

Another thing I would recommend is to not let your bank account(s) get that low.  Always keep $50 or $100 in them just in case something like that happens.  It really sucks to get dinged with $30 when the original charge was for less.  That has nothing to do with PayPal, though.

[Lucaskane123]

Thanks a bunch! Yeah I didn't think it was PayPal either.. Was just checking to see if I was right about my bank. Thanks again!