PayPal Credit - BEWARE!

sourcrates

Takmon wrote: »

Blaming the creditors does not help people at all.

No one has 100% blamed the creditors, but they are far from blameless in these matters, giving 5k credit limits when applying for items costing a few hundred pounds, is asking for trouble.

If your on a low income, the temptation to spend is always there, and people will do so despite their best intentions, and for all kinds of reasons, because it’s human nature to do so, I’m not going to keep going over old ground with you, even though you try to bait me into a reaction at every opportunity for some unknown reason, so I will end my involvement there.

EssexHebridean

sourcrates wrote: »

No one has 100% blamed the creditors, but they are far from blameless in these matters, giving 5k credit limits when applying for items costing a few hundred pounds, is asking for trouble.

Yes - this! Sums it up better than I did!

sourcrates wrote: »

so I will end my involvement there.

I certainly hope you'll continue to contribute to the thread Sourcrates. You have more experience in matters like this than many others on here and a strength of feeling around the subject matter that is matched by almost nobody on here.

MPEARSON

Another aspect of PayPal credit is the buyer protection, which I found severely lacking compared to credit cards. I have twice needed to contact PayPal about purchase problems.

The first one was about £3000 worth of equipment that was advertised as a higher spec model than what was received, worth about 70% of what I paid. The nature of the equipment meant that I didn't realise this problem until they were actually in use. They were used, but still absolutely resalable, and in any case absolutely not as advsertised. PayPal said that because they were used, they would not protect the purchase.

Another purchase problem was a faulty phone off ebay. I was told that they would file a claim. They never did. Never had any response.

I have since paid the full balance and will never use it again.

EssexHebridean

I assume that this is the same as regular paypal buyer protection though, rather than being specific to PP credit? I've heard quite a lot of not great stuff about Paypal from that point of view though, both from a buyer and a seller point of view.

Takmon

EssexHebridean wrote: »

In many cases nobody has taught people about budgeting, managing money etc - and while to you & I this might seem to be obvious and second-nature, that's not always the case. You have already been given reasons why it's not always as simple as just "not getting into debt" as well.

Regardless, I think you have made your point on this matter, and your posts are bordering on the judgemental. As such and as the originator of the thread I'm going to ask that you step away from taking further part in this thread please unless you do actually have something constructive to add - your current constantly repeated standpoint is coming across, quite honestly as thread-spoiling.

Yes I agree that is the main cause of people getting into debt and the solution to that is to teach people how to budget and manage money properly then it wont matter how much money they get offered they will be very unlikely to get into issues.

If you keep pressuring creditors to put in tighter and tighter controls on lending all it does is punish the people who can manage money properly and still doesn't solve the issue of people who don't know how to budget.

So to summarise I'm saying the solution is to not focus on the creditors but to focus on making sure people are taught how to manage money properly before they get into trouble.

sourcrates wrote: »

No one has 100% blamed the creditors, but they are far from blameless in these matters, giving 5k credit limits when applying for items costing a few hundred pounds, is asking for trouble.

If your on a low income, the temptation to spend is always there, and people will do so despite their best intentions, and for all kinds of reasons, because it’s human nature to do so, I’m not going to keep going over old ground with you, even though you try to bait me into a reaction at every opportunity for some unknown reason, so I will end my involvement there.

I'm not trying to bait you at all I'm just giving an opposing viewpoint to the discussion. If your unable to have a sensible discussion when someone has a different point of view without throwing your toys out the pram by deleting, restoring and editing posts in the thread then that's your problem not mine.

jwil

Takmon wrote: »

Yes I agree that is the main cause of people getting into debt and the solution to that is to teach people how to budget and manage money properly then it wont matter how much money they get offered they will be very unlikely to get into issues.

If you keep pressuring creditors to put in tighter and tighter controls on lending all it does is punish the people who can manage money properly and still doesn't solve the issue of people who don't know how to budget.

So to summarise I'm saying the solution is to not focus on the creditors but to focus on making sure people are taught how to manage money properly before they get into trouble.



I'm not trying to bait you at all I'm just giving an opposing viewpoint to the discussion. If your unable to have a sensible discussion when someone has a different point of view without throwing your toys out the pram by deleting, restoring and editing posts in the thread then that's your problem not mine.

I don't have an issue with Paypal offering credit facilities, I do however have an issue with it being offered as a payment option every time I buy something, regardless of the price. I think that is completely irresponsible, if only for the fact that it would be so easy to click on that option if you aren't paying proper attention.

There doesn't seem any way to opt out of seeing the option, and I find that just as annoying as when they try and push you to save your log in details each time with the only option for 'no' being 'maybe later'. I don't want to save my details, so why don't they stop asking? I don't want credit, so why don't they stop asking?

It's very easy to say just don't click it and budget properly, and that is sound advice, but when you are on a very tight budget and it's 3 weeks til payday and you've got no extra cash, and need something, then the temptation can be strong.

I think if people want credit, they should go searching for it, not have it offered to them on a plate every single time they buy something. If nothing else then you should be able to self exclude.

Amazon have that little banner that comes up every time you shop on there offering the credit card. I don't find that anywhere near as intrusive as the Paypal one because it's on a separate part of the page, not a payment option. There is no risk of accidentally clicking on it. I'd have less issue with Paypal if they did something similar.

EssexHebridean

The post above from jwil just sums this whole issue up. It's not the credit itself that is the issue, it is the way it is being offered and then subsequently the way it is being pushed to people as a default option. PayPal have no idea of my financial "story" so why are they telling me I have been approved for their credit? I took Tesco Bank to task a while back for constantly selling their loans via emails suggesting that people used them to fund the "holiday of a lifetime" - I repeatedly told them that was an irresponsible way to be selling credit to people, and now I no longer see that in their emails - whether that's anything to do with the fact that people started a) challenging them and b) using the word "irresponsible" to do it I have no idea, the important thing is that they have stopped.

Interestingly enough I'd never even noticed the banner for the Amazon card, whereas it feels impossible to get away from the Paypal Credit sales-pitch.

EssexHebridean

Takmon wrote: »

If you keep pressuring creditors to put in tighter and tighter controls on lending all it does is punish the people who can manage money properly and still doesn't solve the issue of people who don't know how to budget.

If people are managing their money properly they won't be using credit for things that they should have budgeted for, will they, so requiring lenders to behave responsibly won't punish them in the least.

[Deleted User]

jwil wrote: »

I don't have an issue with Paypal offering credit facilities, I do however have an issue with it being offered as a payment option every time I buy something, regardless of the price. I think that is completely irresponsible, if only for the fact that it would be so easy to click on that option if you aren't paying proper attention.

There doesn't seem any way to opt out of seeing the option, and I find that just as annoying as when they try and push you to save your log in details each time with the only option for 'no' being 'maybe later'. I don't want to save my details, so why don't they stop asking? I don't want credit, so why don't they stop asking?

I have a PayPal Credit account and there is no need to have it set as the default payment method when using PayPal. I still have my current account as the default payment method when using PayPal so for me to use PayPal Credit I have to purposely select to do so.

[Deleted User]

EssexHebridean wrote: »

If people are managing their money properly they won't be using credit for things that they should have budgeted for, will they, so requiring lenders to behave responsibly won't punish them in the least.

People who budget properly still use credit. "Take the bait but not the hook," is the YNAB motto. The Section 75 protection offered by credit cards has saved my bacon on more than one occasion. The discount offered by buying my car using PCP and then paying off the balance straight away saved me a few thousand pounds. I wouldn't have been able to buy my home without a mortgage and the interest is costs me versus the cost of rent plus losing out on HPI means that the mortgage is the most financially sensible option.