Hi--I'm new to the forums but not to PayPal. I'm here to warn you about Facebook and PayPal, because if you have trouble with the two of them together, heaven help you! I have learned, the hard way, that Facebook games are just a way to lure people into getting addicted (as a hard core MMORPGamer I'm no stranger to that--but at least I know exactly what what and when I'm paying each month!). You start playing games for free, then they get harder and they have you purchase game items through this shady Facebook credits system rather than a straight forward purchase as happens, say, with Pogo. You can't make a large purchase all at once, either. You have to buy things a dollar here and a dollar there, which seems reasonable for a "small time" game. In fact I thought I was buying all I needed for the whole game for a buck twenty...and that was an entirely reasonable assumption too! I've been a "real" gamer for years, and Candy Crush Saga isn't exactly a high definition, HQ graphics, MMO that requires massive, complex UI, multi-national servers or huge amounts of money to keep updated! What people new to Facebook gaming and their credits system don't know, and what the tutorial for new people does not point out, is that when it seems you're using your Facebook credits you have purchased, you are actually charging your payment method over and over again. In fact, the tutorial actually tells you to ignore what appear to be further cash purchases and assume you are just using your credits if you are unfamiliar with the system because even if it appears as though you are making repeated purchases, you are really just using your Facebook credits. I kid you not! This is complicated by the fact that PayPay will not inform you by email or any other means when they have exhausted your PayPal balance and they start to delve into your bank account or card on file! That is just unbelievable to me. To make things even worse, PayPal's process for trying to reverse these charges, which happen a dollar or so at a time, have to be done as they happened, one dollar at a time with a separate transaction number and entire lengthy process of filing for each one, and they arbitrarily stop you at eight without telling you in advance that they will do so. In my current "issue" with Facebook I was charged multiple times for "Facebook credits" for a silly game, with the charge for a couple hours of play being almost thirty dollars. That is the equivalent of what I pay for two months of a top tier MMORPG (and I do not mean WoW). I am no internet neophyte and had double checked with the Facebook tutorial. I am really not making any of this up! So the gist of the situation is that Facebook misinformed me and PayPal didn't bother to inform me of anything at all! When I was still working 12 hour shifts at the hospital--before I became disabled. I could afford to occasionally spend substantial money on entertainment. Now thirty dollars, spent a dollar at a time, could result in six hundred dollars in overdraft fees, and I am a disabled nurse on a very fixed income! In fact that is half of next month's Social Security, which is my income since the VA doesn't recognize stateside Agent Orange exposure (how I became disabled at Fort McClellan) and that thirty dollars absolutely WILL cause an overdraft; my budget is that tight and my situation that tenuous. I am sure I'm not the only one "out here" Facebook is taking advantage of in this way. I informed them immediately of what had happened--Facebook and PayPal both. I only got a form letter sending to me to a non-operational "help" site from Facebook today, and have as yet heard not one word from PayPal. So my advice to everyone is do not trust Facebook and PayPal together. Apparently there is some kind of conspiracy of silence in which they have agreed to wink wink, nod nod at each other when these things happen. For each person like me, for whom a "few dollars" is worth making a fuss over I know there are ten who just silently chalk it up to experience, and given how many people are Facebook members, that means they are making a killing on this scam! If they do refund my money I will certainly update this post and let you know. Don't hold your breath. My suggestion to PayPal: 1. Streamline the claims process for Facebook credits users, because this is going to become a bigger issue. Better yet, blacklist Facebook. 2. Inform people when they have used up their money on account and you begin charging their payment method on record. 3. Communicate with your members. 4. Allow people to combine claims when they are closely grouped by time and seller. It will save time for all parties involved.
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