Is PayPal Operating A Premium Rate Phone Line?

Snowy23

In a vain attempt to settle an outstanding dispute, I telephoned PayPal on the number 08707 307 191 provided on its web pages. I spent the first few minutes listening to a mixture of advertising, followed by a variety of unhelpful options.

When my call was finally answered, the young lady spoke with such a heavy accent that I simply could not understand much of what she was saying. I asked her what part of the world she was speaking from and was staggered by her reply that she was not allowed to divulge that kind of information!

After a couple of minutes she asked me to hold and I ended up listening to music for another 2-3 minutes before I got fed up and finally put the phone down. The total time of the call was about 7 minutes, with no solution to my problem whatsoever.

With hindsight, am I right in thinking that telephone numbers beginning with 0870 are all Premium Rate Numbers, where the company operating it receives a bonus based on the length of time of each call? In other words, if this is correct, then the longer they can keep you on the phone the more they are earning in commission.

The PayPal advertised boast is; ' PayPal - your fast secure way to pay and get paid online' - that is, it seems, until it makes a foul-up and leaves its customers to sort out the mess! :mad:

elite_2

I wont start on my paypal rant :mad:...

IIRC 0870 numbers are "national rate" the same price as you would pay for calling nationally (unless you have discounted rates which many providers give you) - so were talking london to manchester rather than £1.50 a minute

Yes, they will receive a payment depending on the length of your call

You might want to check out www.saynoto0870.com

frivolous_fay

Tell us more about the dispute if you like, we might be able to advise.

Snowy23

Hi frivolous_fay,

My initial dispute with PayPal is fast reaching epic proportions over a matter that a modicum of common sense could resolve. To save space I will try to provide details in 'pill' form.

On 1st May 2007 I won two items from the same seller and paid by PayPal.

Goods arrived but were damaged beyond repair in transit.

Eventually received credit from seller into my PayPal account on 21st June.

On 27th July (5 weeks later!) I was notified that the seller had discovered possible fraudulent activity on his PayPal account and had notified his bank.

In its wisdom the bank immediately issued 'chargeback' procedure on ALL the seller's PayPal transactions over the last three months.

This placed my PayPal account into a 'negative balance' situation which meant that it was frozen and I could no longer use it.

I only BUY on eBay, I do not SELL but because the refund monies went into my account PayPal insists that I'm a seller. It does not recognise refunds it seems.

Began emailing PayPal and receiving less than helpful replies. The main problem seems to be a lack of continuity amongst its staff and never dealing with the same person twice.

Each person at PayPal only reads the latest email and replies to it. Consequently he/she is not aware of the history of the problem which causes considerable repetition of information.

Eventually in desperation I telephoned PayPal with the result outlined in my initial post.

Have exchanged emails with the seller and, not unreasonably, he is concerned about the estimated £1,000 misappropiated from his account.

Have suggested to him that he could help considerably by checking the three month list of his PayPal dealings, then contacting his bank and indicating which are the possible fraudulent ones.

This would enable the bank to prevent wasting its time by withdrawing 'chargeback' proceedings on those entries which the seller recognises as correct.

It could take up to 75 days for the bank's enquiries to take their course, during which my PayPal account will remain frozen and inoperable.

Have also contacted eBay, but it simply distances itself from both the problem and PayPal as well, claiming that it is unable to help.

Surprisingly PayPal has not offered any solution which would enable me to use my account. For example, although I don't see why I should have to do it, would it help to thaw my account if I paid in enough money to bring the negative balance back to zero? If so, why hasn't PayPal suggested it?

Many thanks for your interest!

Snowy23

Edit: Grovelling apologies - I should also have thanked elite for the advice which I've followed. Ta muchly!