Using A Credit Card To Pay A Private Seller?

Auser_3

Good evening all, I'm after some advice.

I'm considering using a credit card to fund a purchase of around £1500, however the seller is not a business and I'm not entirely sure they will accept a PayPal payment.

I'm new to the world of credit cards so I have a couple of questions. Firstly, I believe there is a large interest charge if I were to just withdraw the amount as cash (cash advance?) , apparently I can avoid this by paying through Paypal by getting the seller to invoice me. I understand there is a merchant fee placed on the seller but I would cover that too as part as the purchase. Does this sound about right?

Secondly, if the seller refuses to accept a PayPal transaction, would it be possible to avoid the cash advance fees by getting a very well trusted friend to invoice me and then have them withdraw the funds as cash to pay the seller?

Finally, is there a better way to do this that anyone can think of?

Thanks

grumbler

Auser wrote: »

I'm new to the world of credit cards so I have a couple of questions. Firstly, I believe there is a large interest charge if I were to just withdraw the amount as cash (cash advance?) ,

Generally, the interest is higher than on purchases, but there are some exceptions among CCs. Also, normally there is a fee for withdrawals.

apparently I can avoid this by paying through Paypal by getting the seller to invoice me. I understand there is a merchant fee placed on the seller but I would cover that too as part as the purchase. Does this sound about right?

Reportedly yes, but don't forget about Paypal 3.4% fee.

reclusive46

grumbler wrote: »

Generally, the interest is higher than on purchases, but there are some exceptions among CCs. Also, normally there is a fee for withdrawals.
Reportedly yes, but don't forget about Paypal 3.4% fee.

Yes the invoice counts as a purchase.

pqrdef

Auser wrote: »

Secondly, if the seller refuses to accept a PayPal transaction, would it be possible to avoid the cash advance fees by getting a very well trusted friend to invoice me and then have them withdraw the funds as cash to pay the seller?

If they claim the payment as a purchase, they pay a fee. If they claim it as a cash advance, you pay the fee. There's no avoiding the fee, unless you can find a card with a no-fee cash advance deal.

This is why supermarkets don't give cashback at the checkout on credit cards, only on debit cards.

jonesMUFCforever

........Also be careful as S75 cover in cases like this is a grey area.
You move the money to Paypal the transaction is done - end of.

If something goes wrong you may have no cover.

eddddy

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

........Also be careful as S75 cover in cases like this is a grey area.
You move the money to Paypal the transaction is done - end of.

If something goes wrong you may have no cover.

It's not a grey area in this case, as the seller is not a business. So definitely no s75 cover.

But the alternative is to pay cash (presumably), which provides even less protection. At least with PayPal you have some contact details for the seller, and an electronic paper trail to prove you've paid.

But... leaving aside the question of fees, if I was the seller I would be nervous about accepting £1500 by PayPal, because of the risk of it being a fraudulent payment which could be reversed later.

grumbler

eddddy wrote: »

...as the seller is not a business. So definitely no s75 cover....

Why does it have to be a business (if it were possible to pay by a CC to a private seller)?

Hominu

eddddy wrote: »

It's not a grey area in this case, as the seller is not a business. So definitely no s75 cover.

The S75 would be with Paypal. Once they received such a notification they'll contact the seller and try to resolve things. For a private sale there will not be much, if any, Paypal protection so they are likely to side with the buyer. So the claim will likely fail.

RICK..._2

Also, isn't there a receiving limit on Paypal for non business users? I'm pretty sure mine is about £1900 and resets once a year.

Hominu

RICK... wrote: »

Also, isn't there a receiving limit on Paypal for non business users? I'm pretty sure mine is about £1900 and resets once a year.

Prove your identity to Paypal and you can have that limit lifted by upgrading your account to a Premier account (you start off with a Personal account). You don't need to run a business.

To do that all you need to do is verify your bank details, then give them your name and address. They'll then run a credit check to verify your details. If it fails they'll ask for photo id and a utility bill.