11-07-2018 05:56 - edited 11-07-2018 05:58
11-07-2018 05:56 - edited 11-07-2018 05:58
This is not a joke. Apparently PayPal wrote to a woman who had died saying her death had breached its rules and that it might take legal action as a consequence.
The firm has, apparently, acknowledged that the letter was insensitive (you think!) And has begun an enquiry as to how the letter wound up being sent.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44783779
11-07-2018 07:40 - edited 11-07-2018 07:43
11-07-2018 07:40 - edited 11-07-2018 07:43
Very insensitive indeed and I'm extremely pleased they wrote off the debt. Particularly as the husband informed them via the correct route of her death.
Having said all that, I use Paypal a lot and had absolutely no idea it could be used in this way. Naive or what?
I buy goods, sometimes use Paypal to pay and that comes directly out of my linked bank account. That's it for me.
My husband, who buys and sells on Ebay, has got Paypal credit.... which means the money from the goods he sells is credited to his account. He either leaves it there to buy more goods or transfers it into our bank
So if honest, I was a bit gobsmacked that someone had built up a debt of £3000+
It's obviously possible to use Paypal like a credit card. Something I was totally unaware could happen.
Veritas Numquam Perit
on 11-07-2018 07:49
on 11-07-2018 10:33
on 11-07-2018 10:33
Please note, this is not customer services and we cannot access your account. Do not publish personal details (email, phone number, bank account).
Link to our guide on how to contact them can be found here
on 11-07-2018 11:31
on 11-07-2018 11:31
Insensitve perhaps but its interesting to know the dates of when she took out the agreement and if the account was still being actively used until death. If she knowningly took out credit when already diagnosed then Paypal (or any other organisation) could persue the estate due to a terminal condition that has not been disclosed which is effectively fraud. If that is the case then the husband was also aware of the account usage, so isn't he complicit and trying to avoid prosecution by publically shaming?
Then if death was apparent, surely they knew that this debt was going to be an issue so was the intent to ignore it and play the law in having it written off?
Also if he's a member of a charity then rather than using the BBC, wouldn't it have been more productive to engage the Charity to talking to MP's and companies to get the law changed so the companies in question get fined for breach of process?
11-07-2018 11:39 - edited 11-07-2018 11:40
11-07-2018 11:39 - edited 11-07-2018 11:40
On the other hand when we have had issues we have had nothing but full support @gmarkj
My husband sold a CD collection to a buyer who paid and then stopped payment (somehow). The CD's were despatched and we hadn't been paid. My husband contacted Paypal who investigated and withdrew the funds out of the guys account and paid into his.
The other occasion was when we bought something. It was below par and we returned it. The seller refused to refund saying she hadn't received it. Luckily we had proof of delivery and Paypal refunded our money.
Both people had their accounts deleted from Paypal and Ebay after their attempts to scam.
Veritas Numquam Perit
on 11-07-2018 11:47
on 11-07-2018 11:47
Please note, this is not customer services and we cannot access your account. Do not publish personal details (email, phone number, bank account).
Link to our guide on how to contact them can be found here
on 11-07-2018 11:56
on 11-07-2018 11:56
I've been fortunate over the last 15 years of ebay/paypal in having very few issues to deal with. Works well if you have money from relatives abroad that want to send something to you.
Never been scammed and any refunds have been sorted quickly. Though some idiot (and I mean that with full intent) last year bid and won an auction, failed to pay after a couple of reminders so I engaged the non-payer thing with ebay which I obviously won as they failed to respond and closed the case.
Relisted and sold it to another person and then I suddenly get an ebay notice of a refund request from the original buyer about 7 weeks later! I replied back pointing out they had never paid after reminding them several times. They never responded so ebay closed the case.
Saying that, I send everything by tracking now as I realised many years ago that some people are dishonest and will try to game the system. Even if I've understimated the cost of extra tracking I still view it as worthwhile as the hassle in having to deal with the system is not worth saving the odd pound or two.