PayPal credit. Complicated and Confusing.

jb000

I made a purchase last year on a Miele washing machine in January 2022 on a 3 year 0% finance option.  All payments have been adhered to and I am about half way through, paying slightly more than the minimum payment.  Last month, I went ahead and purchased some furniture on 4 month interest free on PayPal Credit.  I divided the amount into 4 and made the first installment plus the payment for the washing machine.  I checked the account to see if all was well and has come off the balances and I have noticed that every penny I have paid has come off the washing machine and not the furniture!!!!

This seems well dodgy to me as I am now going to have to pay extra which I hadn't budgeted for to avoid interest charges in the future if they are going to take payments off one thing instead of the two.  Once it all has been paid off, I am not likely to use them again as they have blatantly set me up to fail to get interest charges out of me in the future.

Anybody else had, or is experiencing this problem.  Why can you not make a separate payment on each item???  It seems like it is a back door way to charge credit under the guise of interest free if you purchase more than one item from them.

MrSilk

Sounds like you may have to actually go onto your Paypal account and make a manual payment for the furniture, rather than expecting the monthly payment to be allocated to that purchase.

I had Paypal Credit many many years ago to finance an iPhone 6 and I too found the whole Paypal Credit thing confusing, and that's without making any additional purchases. The way they handled payments and applied interest etc was quiet hard to understand, in the end I paid it all off and closed the account.  

born_again

Do they issue statements with a payment date?

As this is the same as a CC where you have a balance transfer & then spend on the card. Make any payments before a statement is issued & payment goes toward previous months statement balance.

jb000

MrSilk said:

Sounds like you may have to actually go onto your Paypal account and make a manual payment for the furniture, rather than expecting the monthly payment to be allocated to that purchase.

I had Paypal Credit many many years ago to finance an iPhone 6 and I too found the whole Paypal Credit thing confusing, and that's without making any additional purchases. The way they handled payments and applied interest etc was quiet hard to understand, in the end I paid it all off and closed the account.  

There is no option to make payment on separate items like other companies do.  It seems to me that payment of an item is at their behest.  If I had known this, I would not have made any further purchases on the account.  I had paid my installment on the washing machine by direct debit like I do every month, then made a manual payment thinking it would be a payment on the furniture, however, they used this payment to lower the balance on the washing machine.  So paying almost £150 extra this month, my balance on the furniture remains the same.  So if I make any more payments this month, who is to say that it will come off the furniture balance!!!

It makes a mockery of a time limit 0% deal.  At least with Argos, Klarna etc, it is a separate purchase and you pay the balance off that particular item.  I have just read reviews stating that there is no point complaining about it as they have a ready made script handy for this particular complaint and I wouldn't have a leg to stand on as others have tried and failed.  Furthermore, from January this year, they do not recognise any Ombudsman complaints or rulings (which has now set alarm bells off with me).  It seems like they are a law onto themselves and wished I had not touched them with a barge pole.

They are ok for making a single purchase, but woe be tide you if you make a second, as I have now learnt to my cost.

jb000

born_again said:

Do they issue statements with a payment date?

As this is the same as a CC where you have a balance transfer & then spend on the card. Make any payments before a statement is issued & payment goes toward previous months statement balance.

You apply for credit and they give you a credit limit, I suppose it's similar to an Argos store card but you can shop in many other places and you are not restricted.  At least with Argos, they do interest free periods on purchases or normal credit.  But it gives you the option to make payments on the separate purchases, whereas this one I have just found out does not and they decide which balance is paid.  So offering a limited interest free period seems a joke and a con as you don't know which balance they will be paying off.

Dandytf

OP has used 0% 36 mths
Then used Pay in 4 0%
I've done something similar recently, the point to remember is you have One PayPal Credit limit.
It looks as though  whilst a payment can be made anytime manually or DD, these deduct from 'Total' amount of all purchases.
e.g. I have ps5 via e-bay 0% 12 mths -fine 7 or 8 to go.
This year I purchased Bedroom side cabinet 0% pay in 4/months.

Tonight PayPal app displays 239.96 as balance from 1450 Credit Limit.
No Payment Due.
168 interest free bed cabinet 168- No interest if paid in full by 27th May.
71.96 ps5 Balance 18 instalments 7 remaining.

The important point is my recent manual repayments from Debit or Bank transfer, only reduce Combined Balances of both purchases.
If I was concerned, it would be easier to make one purchase until repaid before making another purchase.
There is No option to pay per purchase.

jb000

Dandytf said:

OP has used 0% 36 mths
Then used Pay in 4 0%
I've done something similar recently, the point to remember is you have One PayPal Credit imit.
It looks as though  whilst a payment can be made anytime manually or DD, these deduct from 'Total' amount of all purchases.
e.g. I have ps5 via e-bay 0% 12 mths -fine 7 or 8 to go.
This year I purchased Bedroom side cabinet 0% pay in 4/months.

Tonight PayPal app displays 239.96 as balance from 1450 Credit Limit.
No Payment Due.
168 interest free bed cabinet 168- No interest if paid in full by 27th May.
71.96 ps5 Balance 18 instalments 7 remaining.

The important point is my recent manual repayments from Debit or Bank transfer, only reduce Combined Balances of both purchases.
If I was concerned, it would be easier to make one purchase until repaid before making another purchase.

I wish now I hadn't made that second purchase and financed elsewhere as I feel like I have been conned.  I was originally going to divide the cost by 4 and pay the installments over the next 4 months.  However, I am going to have to pay an awful lot more than I expected just to stop them charging me interest at the end of the period.  Closing accounts lowers a score,  so I will keep the account open but would only ever make one purchase at a time now that I am wise to their tactics.  i just wonder how many people have fallen into this trap.

Dandytf

I suspect I'm going to be paying some form of Interest on what could have been 0% cabinet.
Unless I manage 239 approx.

born_again

jb000 said:

Dandytf said:

OP has used 0% 36 mths
Then used Pay in 4 0%
I've done something similar recently, the point to remember is you have One PayPal Credit imit.
It looks as though  whilst a payment can be made anytime manually or DD, these deduct from 'Total' amount of all purchases.
e.g. I have ps5 via e-bay 0% 12 mths -fine 7 or 8 to go.
This year I purchased Bedroom side cabinet 0% pay in 4/months.

Tonight PayPal app displays 239.96 as balance from 1450 Credit Limit.
No Payment Due.
168 interest free bed cabinet 168- No interest if paid in full by 27th May.
71.96 ps5 Balance 18 instalments 7 remaining.

The important point is my recent manual repayments from Debit or Bank transfer, only reduce Combined Balances of both purchases.
If I was concerned, it would be easier to make one purchase until repaid before making another purchase.

I wish now I hadn't made that second purchase and financed elsewhere as I feel like I have been conned.  I was originally going to divide the cost by 4 and pay the installments over the next 4 months.  However, I am going to have to pay an awful lot more than I expected just to stop them charging me interest at the end of the period.  Closing accounts lowers a score,  so I will keep the account open but would only ever make one purchase at a time now that I am wise to their tactics.  i just wonder how many people have fallen into this trap.

Forget about your score. Lenders never see it. It is your history (missed payments) that they are interested in.👍

Dandytf

payments will be allocated in order from the balance subject to the highest interest rate to the balance subject to the lowest interest rate. In the case of the Standard Balance, interest and charges will be paid in advance of Transactions.

Dandytf

I had also used this option via JD Sports/Argos which doesn't use PayPal Credir Limit 
 PayPal Pay in 3 is a separate feature from PayPal Credit. You can apply for Pay in 3, regardless of whether you have PayPal Credit. 
and these have been repaid as required.