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shooger · ‎11-03-2004

Do you have a PayPal MasterCard and do you use it at Canadian vendors?

I used mine at a restaurant here in Vancouver recently. My PayPal statement came through for about $25 US, which was reversed a couple days later, and then it was put through for $28 US. I tried figuring out what happened, but the PayPal statement is totally blank. All it tells me is the name of the restaurant, the amount that was taken from my account ($28), and the date.

How can I find out what total the restaurant rang through? The exchange rate PayPal used that day is not given. If I had that, I could figure out how much the restaurant charged me... but I don't. I could use the rate they're offering today, but it has been changing so fast back and forth lately, that wouldn't give me even a close figure.

So the vendor could be charging me more than I authorized for the bill, and there's no way for me to know it.

I think something needs to change with PayPal. If all they're going to tell us is the US dollar amount, they need to at least give us the exchange rate that was used, so we can work backwards and find out how much the vendor charged us! Imagine if you went to Mars and bought something from some Martian shop for 22 Gleemaxes. He took your PayPal MasterCard number and sent you on your way. When you came home, you checked your online statement, and all it said was "you were charged $328 US". Did he ring it through for 22 Gleemaxes? Or maybe 35?

imagi.nation · ‎11-23-2004

>>>No you don't. Malcolm just explained why it appears that way. In a few days, they refund your payment and re-charge it at a much worse rate (which is always worse than the worst current exchange rate).<<<

And I'm re-iterating to you now that this has NOT happened to me AT ALL. There have been no refunds of payments and no "re-charges at a much worse rate" on my account. Apparently either it is not happening to everybody or it only happens when the card is charged from certain establishments. A friend of mine who is also an eBay seller and who also uses the PP card told me it happened to her once last week when she ordered some supplies in ON but it was the only time it has happened to her and she is a regular user of the card as well.

shoplineca · ‎11-23-2004

Unless you are into foreign exchange in a big way and are purchasing and selling on the futures markets, the charges you get and the differences between rates are for the most part insignificant.

If you are dealing in sightly more substantial transactions (say $10,000 and up) talk to your banker and you can negotiate for preferable rates.

When you are dealing in $100,000 and over, you would be surprised to see the differences and when dancing in the millions, well that's a whole new story. I used to be involved in the futures in US currency when I was with a division of Allis-Chalmers and had $20 - $30 million US at a time to play in the future markets.

What is happening to people, as they explain in this thread about their credit cards can easily be nothing more than the profits by one company over another in how they charge and have nothing to do with current currency rates.

As far as your c/c being charged for pre-approvals, that is something that should not be happening and I have never heard of it happening before.

All the c/c companies are doing is reducing your available line of credit by the amount the merchant MAY charge you (yes even converted) however that reserve is NEVER charged against the card.

This happens when you reserve hotel rooms, rent cars, get pre-authorized for gas fill-ups etc but no charge is levied against your card, only a temporary reserve against available credit you have for that card.

Malcolm

imagi.nation · ‎11-23-2004

As far as your c/c being charged for pre-approvals, that is something that should not be happening and I have never heard of it happening before.

All the c/c companies are doing is reducing your available line of credit by the amount the merchant MAY charge you (yes even converted) however that reserve is NEVER charged against the card.

I think the difference here is that the PayPal MC is a debit card and where normally an authorization would, as you say, reduce the available credit limit, in this case there is no 'available credit' to reduce so PP puts it through as an actual charge. It shows up in the PP account like any other purchase made with the card. They do release it in 10 days but it really is a pain, especially when it happens the first time and you wonder why you are being double-billed for the transaction.

shoplineca · ‎11-23-2004

imagi.nation
You are correct. If you dont have any credit facilities for your PP card, then it is NOT a credit card, even though Mastercard may be imprinted on the face of it.

I deal with TD Waterhouse in the US and have a Debit Card/Credit Card and the same thing applies that if I were to use it for pre-authorizations without having a line of credit attached, they would have no other way of guaranteeing the merchant payment except by charging the card at the time of authorization which would mean debiting my bank account.

If, however I had a line of credit attached, they could and would simply apply the reserve to my l/c, reducing it's availability to me but not charging me for its use until I authorized a charge.

I guess this is where people are making the wrong assumption about the PayPal card (which I do not have) and believing that because it has Master Card imprinted,they assume their use would generate statements similar to that which a c/c company would normally give however all they are doing is using it like a debit card.

I think you have provided the answer to the initial question raised by shooger as the OP.

Congratulations imagi.nation!

Malcolm

imagi.nation · ‎11-23-2004

LOL, Thanks.

Does this also provide an alternative explanation to the OP's original query -- in his case is the restaurant the cause of the higher second overbilling?

He said the difference was about $3.00 U.S. -- from $25 to $28. Did the restaurant authorize for the lower amount and then bill the higher amount?

I just spoke to my friend who also has the PP card and she explained to me about the one time when her PP card received a refund and then a re-charged a higher amount. In this case the company she was buying supplies from underestimated the shipping costs so they authorized for the lower amount but then put through a charge for a higher amount to cover the higher shipping.

May or may not be the reason, but if OP is still wondering, a visit to that restaurant to ask for a copy of the receipt might be in order. It's possible calling the number on the back of the PP card might be able to get a copy of the receipt sent to him as well.

Cheers,
Ernie.

shoplineca · ‎11-23-2004

I am assuming that the PP card works the same way as my TD Waterhouse card does and that would be the same way all c/cs are processed.

The restaurant prepares your bill and hands it to you. You hand the restauarnt your c/c and OFTEN they phone in for authorization. I would therefore uess they thought the OP would be adding a tip so they asked for an authorization a little higher than what the total bill was for ($3).

The OP left a cash tip and while he may have filled in the c/c recipt for something less than what was authorized, the larger amount entered by the restauarnt was what was charged to the OP.

Somewhere there would be a difference of the $3, likely in the balancing of the restaurant's accounts, not at the end of the day but when the credit for the PP c/c was aplied to their account through the banking system.
It would show $3 more in their account than their deposits for that day would add up to.

End of mstery.

Malcolm

mereco · ‎12-10-2004

Why would anyone use a "PayPal Mastercard" when there are so many out there that give cash back and discounts?
I received a "PayPal Mastercard" but refused to use it for anything when I realized that it will only benefit PayPal.

imagi.nation · ‎12-10-2004

Fast (as in instant) access to funds in your PP account is a benefit.

1.5% cash back is a benefit.

Being able to see card purchases instantly is a benefit.

Having a debit card in the absence of a credit card is a benefit.

rd1000 · ‎12-11-2004

1.5% cash back is a good benefit. It is only an advantage when you use it for purchases from US companies. The high exchange rate wipes out the 1.5%.

I use it when I go to the US, or when I make a purchase from a US seller on-line.

Rob

imagi.nation · ‎12-11-2004

Luckily, most of my card purchases are from my U.S. suppliers. For Canadian purchases, the 1.5% helps alleviate some of the bite of the exchange and, by my calculations, often have brought the rate close to that which is shown in xe.com.

Bank machine withdrawals are a different matter, of course, with no 1.5% cash back and a transaction fee on top. Not a good idea to use the card at a bank machine often, but the card is still a benefit when emergency cash is needed.

Ernie