PayPal Selects Incorrect Funding Source for Payments

[A_1]

Three of my last four purchases to online retailers in the last two months has resulted in PayPal incorrectly choosing the funding source. My account is set up to use a confirmed bank account as the primary funding source. I have two credit cards also, a personal and a business card. My personal card has always been my backup funding source. I only occasionally use the work card. For the 3 'failed' transactions I chose to use PayPal as my payment source on the retailers' web sites. I was taken to PayPal login screen. I logged in and the payment screen came up with my bank account chosen as the funding source (radio button was selected). For one of the transactions, my work card was set as the backup funding source which I changed to my personal credit card. For the other two, my personal card was correctly shown. I went through all the screens and was returned to the retailer sites, no problems so far. Then, when I received the confirmation emails from the retailers I noticed that they had listed the billing address as being the PO Box for my business card. The first time this happened, I had to reimburse my workplace. Then in an unrelated incident, my workplace credit card was replaced with a newer expiration date, which I did not update in PayPal. On Jan 3, this happened to me again which resulted in the transaction being declined 2 days later due to the "expired" credit card.

So, today I replaced the exact order I placed on the 3rd. After logging into PayPal, Primary Funding Source had my Bank Account selected. I purposely selected 'Change' and reselected my Bank Account. I also purposely reslected my backup source to be my personal credit card. 3 minutes later I received an email from the retailer showing the same **bleep** PO BOX billing address!

I have a ticket opened with PayPal, but judging from online posts of folks with the same problem, they will not admit they have a problem with their system.

I have lost nothing but time. I wish PayPal worked like it used to, but I cannot trust it anymore so I will close my account after these transactions are resolved.

Has anyone else had this problem?

[Reanman1]

I had a similar problem happen to me last night. I've been using Paypal now for about 10 years and have always used my Visa credit card as the primary funding source for payments. However, after making a purchase on Ebay on 03/15/2011, I noticed that Paypal deducted funds directly from my checking acount. I telephoned their customer service line an spoke with two agents: Gale and Kathy. Both gave me the run-around and told me that while their system did allow for my account to use my checking account as the primary form of payment, that there was nothing that could be done to reverse or stop the payment. Ironically, they both told me that this "feature" was an added benefit of Paypal for customers in good standing. While I consider myself a lucky one because I had enough funds to cover this payment, I could have easily become one of the many that do not have enough funds and then face hefty over draft fees.

If this happens to you, I suggest you do two things; 1) Contact your state consumer frauds division, and 2) File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org/us/find-a-bbb/).

[Robi]

Yes! This exact same thing is now happening to me. My primary funding source is my bank account, the secondary the credit card. For some reason, (and this is for funding to my sons student paypal card)  it is now using my credit card, and charging me the credit card fees. Paypal support keeps saying my account is set up correctly, but it is not working right. Very frustrating..

This had worked perfectly for months and months when we first set up our student paypal cards. Kids would do a "GET" and I would reply "YES" and the funds would come out of my primary funding source, the bank account. Now, they do a "GET" and I do a "YES" and it shows up as PENDING as though they are trying to get funds from someone else, so I have to authorize it, then when it goes through, it uses my credit card, and deducts the credit card fees from the money they get.

We will be cancelling the studen paypal cards unless we can find a resolution to this expensive problem.

[Robi]

Also, now when I try to SEND money to one of the student accounts from online, it says the transfer will take 3 to 5 days, it is not instant. It has never done this before. It is coming from the same primary funding source, my checking account, that it always has...

[Not-an-idiot]

Same problem, tried to pay Skype and for the first time ever in 8 yrs, my actual funding sources show up on the transaction to a 3rd party merchant ???  I had plenty of $$$ in my balance to satisfy the transaction, yet PayPal attempts to leech my bank account directly for the funds without touching my balance.  'whatthehell?' 

This can cause alot of people much undue grief considering ITS NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT ~ and cost them a ton of overdraft or CC $ fees from their banks and credit card companies. Why the **bleep** is PayPal suddenly not using our balances for transactions ?   Response from customer service after 2 dozen emails over 6 weeks = " intentionally left blank " nuth'n~no answer.

Noting a sudden serious lack of trust, so, I then stumble across an issue that reallllly, reallly worries me about PayPal:  I tried to replace my checking account so this wouldn't happen again and remove my CC to protect my self from their broken system and undue bank fees from future unauthorized transactions and guess what ~ only to get pop-ups stating I can't remove them.  Um... what? 

Addressing the issue, one lady from PayPal CS gave me entirely false information how to fix it, and blew me off.. false pop-ups stating there are pending transactions (which there are not) LOCKS YOUR FINANCIAL DATA into PayPal ~ against the customers will.  Sent them in all the screen shots, yet, not one peep out of customer service, hmmm.

after a month of no cooperation from PayPal whatsoever, I had to file a complaint with the FTC & BBB  =  PayPals response to the complaint =(you guessed it) " intentionally left blank " nuth'n~no answer.  I still tried to leave a single verified bank funding source, but you CANNOT REMOVE NOR DELETE credit card or 2ndary bank accounts from your list of funding sources.  Opening the door to be victimized to additional fraudulent charges by their broken system.

After 8 yrs of no problems on my fully verified US business account, I've come to one conclusion in very short order: 

PayPal is NOT safe.

[DonMTV]

I too have had a problem recently sending money to a friend.  My account is set up with my bank, and I have a card attached for secondary payment.  I have sent money numerous times over the years without either of us being charged as we both have premium accounts.

In the last month or so I have noticed that when I tried to send money I would get the 2.9% plus 30 cents.  My account is set up the same way as it has been for over 10 years.  Now it says that it won't be an automatic payment, it will take X number of days, and that if you want it fast it has to be done using the back up card.  Which is my card that is attached to my bank account.

So somehow they are now forcing you to being charged the fee.  I don't get it.

Don