This is absolutely absurd.
22+ hours ago, I paid PayPal the additional .25 fee to "instantly" transfer money from my paypal account into my bank account, to cover a checking account overdraft (overspent on the holidays, oops) and stop my bank from charging me the additional $36/day overdraft fee....and also because i have a bunch of bills i need to pay immediately to avoid getting charged late fees/interest, and I don't get paid until Friday.
I was under the impression that "instant transfer" with a guaranteed wait time of 30 minutes or less, meant that the transfer would happen instantly, and I could access these funds in 30 minutes (or less!). However, after submitting the request online, I received the same BS email that apparantly everyone who uses this service receives, notifying me that the process could be delayed up to 24 hours for "security" reasons (???).
It's been almost 23 hours since that email and the funds are still not in my bank account & i've received no updates from PayPal.
The only people who would be willing to pay an additional fee for instant money transfers, are people who are depending on that money instantly. I get that the .25 service fee seems like a small amount, but for me- this lag in service is going to mean at least another $36 overdraft charge from my bank, late fees on bills, and additional interest costs on my CC bill that I will have to pay off because of it.
Yeah, I have some opportunity to manage my money better, but who doesn't? The point is that i paid for a service that i was depending on to make ends meet quickly, and paypal completely **bleep** me over. And in doing some research today, i'm not the only one.
I'm not sure how to start a class action lawsuit, but if consumers can win against Red Bull for falsely advertising that it "gives you wings", a corporation like PayPal holding users' money hostage so they can profit from it should be an easy victory for consumers.
