Paypal credit - Balance PLUS Bank Account ebay purchase

[rozzer1971]

I've been lucky enough to recieve an invitation to PayPal credit which is perfect timing as I'm looking to buy a new laptop and I've not quite got enough saved up. So would I be able to combine my available Paypal Credit balance with the balance coming from my registered bank account to make a purchase from ebay ?

I can see that I have Paypal credit available as an option when I come to pay but will ebay take the outstanding balance from my usual PayPal source - i.e My bank account ?

[UKInfamous]

I am wondering this also, though with some of the payment from the balance in paypal. Currently if you have paypal balance/credit and make a payment via paypal for goods more than the amount you have in paypal, it takes the additional balance from your preferred method ie bank account or credit card. I am thinking if you transfer what you have saved to paypal, will it use this amount first then you can choose source of funding for the remainder ie paypal credit. ?

[rozzer1971]

I finally got an answer from someone at PayPal and the truth is quite scary.

If you log in to your account and look at your available PP Credit balance there's a question mark. Click on that and a window appears that states:

"Need a little extra? Good news. When you check out with PayPal Credit, if you don't have enough available credit to cover your purchase, your account is instantly reviewed to see if you qualify for an increase. Either way, it won't affect your credit report and there are no fees or penalties for trying. If you don't qualify for an increase, we'll use one of your other linked funding sources instead. "

Now on first reading that appears positive, it implies that they will try and increase your credit to cover it but if not, they will indeed take the balance from the next available source, in my case my bank account.

Wrong.

What they will do is DECLINE your payment on Credit and instead switch to your bank and take ALL the transaction cost from there leaving your PP credit balance untouched ! I've had this confirmed and I'm so glad I did !

Here's the actual reply I got via PayPal message:

"To use PayPal Credit as a funding source you must have an available balance equal to or greater than the amount of the purchase that you are attempting. If you're attempting to make a purchase that exceeds your current credit limit, the transaction will be declined however you will be able to use another funding option such as your bank or credit card to make payment. It is not possible to split the purchase between your PayPal Credit balance and another funding source."

So be VERY careful using PP credit with eBay. I could've committed to a buy it now purchase that I was looking to spread over the 4 months period interest free but I would've ended up paying the lot up front.

Not the end of the world for myself but I dread to think how others in less fortunate situations would cope !

Like I said. Scary