Can Paypal take money from my bank account?

magic

hi all,

just a quick question. i sold an item on ebay and the buyer paid through paypal. buyer has now opened a dispute on paypal saying the item is not as described (this is a month and a half later)....

in my opinion the buyer doesn't have a leg to stand on but you never know with paypal so it is causing a little stress.

my query is this; i already moved the money from my paypal account into my bank account many weeks ago. there is nothing in my paypal account but since the dispute has been opened my paypal account says there is a hold on that particular transaction. if paypal for some reason decide to side with the buyer, are they able to withdraw money from my bank account or debit/credit card listed with them without my permission? (i have checked my bank account and no money has come out yet)

beetplek

No Paypal can`t take any money from your account without permission, doing so would be stealing. Although they could sue you for any negative balance.

Tirian

They can remove any money from your Paypal balance. They cannot take the money directly from your bank account without your authorisation - and if they do you can instruct your bank to stop the transaction.

HOWEVER, if there are no funds in your Paypal account and the chargeback goes through then Paypal will give you a negative balance and freeze your account until you pay up. If you don't do so in a certain amount of time they will add a penalty charge to the amount required to unfreeze the account.

Finally they will threaten to pass the outstanding amount to a debt collection agency - however, in reality they are only likely to do this if there is a reasonable sum of money involved - say at least £100 or more.

adouglasmhor

If you have a Direct Debit set up for paypal ie if you use a debit rather than a credit card for your PP account, cancel it now, you can always set it up again later.

Tirian

I wouldn't bother, personally. They are required by law to notify you in advance of taking any money via a direct debit agreement and your bank is required by law to observe your request not to fulfil the payment if you ask them to cancel it - or to refund it if it has already been made.

I had one Paypal account frozen due to a dodgy chargeback, and I had direct debit set up for it - and nothing was ever taken. The account is still out of action though - but I have a new one now, so it's not a big problem.

magic

well they amount is over £100 and i dont want to have to deal with a debt collection agency (not that its anywhere near this). i dont have a direct debit with them. the buyer is trying it on in my opinion and theyve just changed their mind about the item.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. thanks for your help guys.

C_Ronaldo

Surel more than a month is enought ime for the buyer to decide if its as it was described or not

diesel9181

beetplek wrote: »

No Paypal can`t take any money from your account without permission, doing so would be stealing. Although they could sue you for any negative balance.

i sent something via surface mail to america at buyers request. a couple of weeks later he claimed it never arrived, even thogh he agreed with me it could take up to 3 months (as told by RM) he opened a dispute and paypal took more than he paid out of my account (either paypal account or bank, i cant remember) but it was definately without my say so. right after this he was "no longer a registered user" even though i had proof of postage i lost the jacket plus the cost of teh jacket again. :mad: so i think they matbe can just take the money if there is a dispute.:eek:

greenstreetprince

they cannot take money out of your bank account, they will try and recover from your paypal balance which will go into the red if there are no funds to cover a refund (assuming buyer will win the dispute). you will be bugged by paypal to cover the negative balance.

soolin

diesel9181 wrote: »

i sent something via surface mail to america at buyers request. a couple of weeks later he claimed it never arrived, even thogh he agreed with me it could take up to 3 months (as told by RM) he opened a dispute and paypal took more than he paid out of my account (either paypal account or bank, i cant remember) but it was definately without my say so. right after this he was "no longer a registered user" even though i had proof of postage i lost the jacket plus the cost of teh jacket again. :mad: so i think they matbe can just take the money if there is a dispute.:eek:

Going off topic a bit here...NEVER send anything surface mail regardless of how nice the buyer is or how good the feedback, unless you are prepared to lose money. Paypal only allow 45 days to make a claim, virtually all buyers will put in a protective claim before then if their item doesn't arrive and of course there is no way you can win the paypal claim.

Items sent surface should be paid by some other method, or airmail only used.

Tirian

Likewise, if you buy something through Paypal, then don't opt for Surface Mail either unless you're prepared to lose the money if the worst happens. It can take over three months to arrive, so by the time you've waited out the minimum delivery time your Paypal payment will not be recoverable as the chargeback period will have expired.

You might be able to claim back from your credit card company if you funded the payment with a card, but if you do this then Paypal will likely freeze your account with them.

That said, I have done it myself a couple of times and the goods came through - but I did it on the basis that I was taking a risk and was prepared to suffer the consequences. As it was, I made a tidy sum out of it