Instant Transfer problem?

[Jolkster]

I know there are a lot of boards on problems with instant transfer, but I couldn't seem to find the answer I was looking for, so:

I play on a certain gaming site, where you can spend real money at get bonus items, etc.

PayPal usually lets me use instant transfer to make these transactions, but sometimes it won't.
I'm wondering why at certain times I can use it, but at other times it decides it's unsafe, even though I've purchased from them before, quite a few times.

It gets rather annoying when it won't let me purchase something I would like now, but have to use an echeck or drive down to pick up a mastercard, which usually comes to more than the card itself.  (Eg. $50 Mastercard comes to $55.68)
Whereas if I was able to use my instant transfer I wouldn't have to pay the extra.

Is there a way to fix this?
Such as contacting PayPal and asking them to allow this certain site?
Or another way?

Thank you in advance!

[kwmontreal]

I called Paypal on this matter and I was told they are trying to eliminate much of their fraud problems by a globally instituted security program. I don't like it either, but I understand why its being done. So many frigg'n dishonest people an round. Believe me I am not happy....  I've purchased a ton of stuff here (car, tractor ......). From what I understand the new system tracks your purchases and adjusts your direct pay capabilities. I my instance I purchased a bunch  of relatively inexpensive stuff ($10 - $120) after the system was instituted. When I bought a $600.00 sleeping bag it sensed a relatively large jump in the amount of a single transaction. It was that that triggered the echeck only option. They want to ensure that everything went through and cleared without incident.

I was told that since there was no trouble with this, the system would recognize that I was ok to spend that amount and would no longer be subject to the echeck only option on amounts around that and lower. I can't say that that is the only hurdle in this new security measure, but that's what it was in my case.

Yes it **bleep**! Yes I was ticked!... But ... I see why its being done.

[Charvel]

After 12 years of no hassle payments, with what ever account I choose, I am getting jacked up with this same thing. They tell me I am a "premier customer" because I push over $5000.00 a year thru paypal. Thats a ton of money they make off my transactions. Now this security program removes my instant transfer from a purchase on ebay? I didnt even get the e-check option. It is only allowing me to use a credit card. Sorry... I wont use it. I have a plan in place to remove revoling credit dept from my life. The back up funding source is a credit card that expires in 2013. So its not that. The purchase is less than 100 miles from my house, its not the country. I spent a couple of hundred this morning on a few transactions, all instant transfers, I guess thats it. I shop online for many reasons. 90% of my purchases are online. For this transaction I am transfering money from my bank account to my paypal account. 3-5 days. The seller requires immeadiate payment so the listing is still open for anyone to get. An item that is new in box from the early ninties doesnt come around often, and I figure it will sell this weekend meaning this security program just killed my chances.

This is the first time I have ever been angry with this service. If this continues, I will be closing my account.

[merk]

I buy for both business and personal with my pay pal account and use the bank account from which i want the funds to come from. The credit card is a back up for me.  Today it will only charge my credit card.  This is not how I want to mange my expenditures.  Ill be in touch with pay pal for sure and i will also tell the companies I do business with its effecting my purchases from them.  Not happy !!!!!

[jezziebezzie]

So KWMontreal, in your opinion do you think we will have to do an echeck in order to work our way back to being cleared for Instant Transfers?

I've been dropping my purchases on CC's in the meantime.  Based on your convo with PP, should we actually be going through that 6-8 day clearing hassle with the echeck to clear their hurdle?

My purchases are all fairly small value (under $250), although a lot of what I buy (jewelry making stuff) is in China & Hong Kong.  Am I forever doomed by doing business with them?

[kwmontreal]

Spoiler

I guess it a personal choice everyone has to make. From my conversation with PP it is an ongoing process. They are trending your purchases, so if you all on a sudder make a purchase for an amount more than normal (whatever there threshold is?) it will automatically go into echeck mode. In my case I will continue to use PP as its a pain on occasion, but in the long run it worth it for me personally. So if you make a "larger" than normal purchaes, just anticipate that there will be the delay .... or if you are rushed make two orders.... a smaller one to tie you over and the larger one that may take more time to clear. In that way you will not be stuck for materials, and you will be ok for the next larger purchase. Its all in the planning.

Good luck!

Kent

[stylez1981]

i have had the same problem but when i call paypal their records show i am able to make instant payment yet when i try to check out i get only the credit card and echeck option. i am in canada and i am buyikng from a merchant 2 hours drive away from me and have always had my payments clear no problem. i think it is time for someone else to start a new site like paypal and learn fromn this mistake so they can serve their customers better. im sure if someoe opened up a new site like paypal people would jump all over it and leave paypal. i do not like the fact that i cant understand their barely english speaking agents either and some of them are so RUDE! its my **bleep**  money i will do with it as i please im getting tired of people telling me what i can and cannot do with my cash

[tavares61]

I agree about this "E-Check" thing. I just made a transaction yesterday. When I checked it was marked "Uncleared"  and further investigation revealed this "E-Check monster". I to have instant transfer and have used this successfully for sometime now so this was completely new to me. When I first called PAYPAL they told me that it was too bad and that I should watch more closely what I submit. I told this operator in a nice way of course that I did not have an option as it automatically went to the E-Check mode . I had no idea this was happening until; I checked the status later. The response I got was pretty much "too bad so sad" read more carefully the next time. Well now I had to send the seller an email as I felt that they would be upset for the delay of 10 days (because I live in Canada) while the funding cleared my bank (Ridiculous of course) and hope that the seller did not give me a negative feedback or go after me legally thinking that I'm a bad risk. Fortunetly the seller was descent about this and is willing to wait for the clearing of funds.

I again contacted PAYPAL and this time got a completely different response from the operator who stated that this was not my fault but due to frauds etc and was a security device set up for protection of both buyer and seller. This I can understand due to the the amount of unscrupulous jerks out there however why we were as ebay members not informed that this would be happening from time to time to at least give us a heads up is beyond me. This was a nightmare as I thought it was just me until I started checking into it and found that I'm not the only one experiencing these problems.   

I did state to PAYPAL to get their act together and try communicating with it's members to let us know what they are doing or planning on doing and WHY. Not rocket science here

Regards

Chris

[crimedoctor]

I am a Canadian who has used instant debit from my bank account over many years to pay for ebay and other transactions using Paypal. I have spent thousands of dollars literally this way with no security problems or issues whatsoever. Like many who have posted here suddenly I am no longer allowed the option of direct debit via my bank account, which forces me to use the dreadful echeck system or a credit card. The echeck system can take days to clear so no one wants to use it (a main advantage of Paypal is that one can pay immediately and not have to wait for purchases) so if one wants to pay fast one has to use a credit card.

Now, I do not mind using a credit card. However, if one uses a credit card then I believe Paypal charges a seller extra on the transaction. I have never been a credit risk and my bank account is verified. Also, your credit card is always listed as being a backup if your bank account debit is rejected by your bank -- so Paypal's response that it is now doing this for security reasons is, I believe, bogus. It is simply a money grab. Think about this...one is almost forced to use Paypal to buy on venues they own such as ebay. Now, they are forcing you (if you want to pay fast and get fast service) to use a method of payment that adds more monies to Paypal's/ebay's coffers. This is a monopoly in action, pure and simple, as I see it and nothing Paypal can say will convince me otherwise. I will use a credit card but it means even if I buy an inexpensive item a seller is going to have increased costs. Also, my costs increase as credit card companies charge higher US/Canadian dollar exchange rates -- if I was a conspiracy theorist.....

[Jbum]

Its obvious we are not getting support here. What other payment choices do we have? Ther have to be some, paypal needs some competition, and im sick of making peole wait on my payment and prefer not use my credit card, this is crazy!

[crimedoctor]

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@Jbum wrote:
Its obvious we are not getting support here. What other payment choices do we have? Ther have to be some, paypal needs some competition, and im sick of making peole wait on my payment and prefer not use my credit card, this is crazy!

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Last night, I purchased something on ebay and suddenly I am allowed to use my bank account again to make purchases -- in short, the system for me at least seems to be back to "normal". If this shift back is also the case for other people it suggests to me Paypal was having some problems with its systems although other explanations are possible relating to the Canda Post strike and delivery time guarantees.

Regardless, Paypal is frustrating as they refuse to comment on these and other issues to let its users know what is going on and when apparently asked directly on the phone give conflicting answers or hide behind vague security related explanations -- this suggests their responses are made up on the fly.