PAYPAL FAQ Read before asking a Paypal Question

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Read this FAQ before asking any Paypal related questions. If your question is addressed in this FAQ, your thread will just be deleted or locked, which wastes everyone's time.

The old Paypal Megathread has become quite unwieldy, mainly because the same few questions keep getting asked over and over, so this FAQ is intended to answer these questions for you.

If you have a question that is not covered here, then start a thread on it. Paypal threads are being allowed in the forum again, and the old Paypal Megathread is now closed.

This FAQ can be updated as new common questions are answered. If you want to have anything added, or think something should be added, PM one of the mods of this forum.

FAQ

Q. How do I transfer money from my credit card to my Paypal Account.

A. You don't, and you can't. It is not possible to transfer money from any credit card to your Paypal Account. You can only use the credit card to fund a payment to another person. The money never goes into your account.


Q. I have registered my bank account with Paypal and want to fund payments or transfer money to my Paypal Account, how do I do this?

A. Again, you can't. In Ireland, a bank account registered with Paypal is for withdrawing money to only. It cannot be used to fund a payment, or to transfer money into Paypal.


Q. So how do I get cash into my account?

A. You can add Paypal as a beneficiary to your online or telephone banking, and transfer money to their account.

Log onto Paypal, and on the home page you will see a link at the top that says Top Up


If the bank account name does not match exactly with your Paypal Account name, then the transfer will fail. Make sure to use the reference number exactly as given on this page, or your money will go into limbo for who knows how long.

At a minimum, allow 3 working days for the funds to show in your Paypal account, and it can take up to 5 working days, so don't be in any hurry to pay for that purchase.

Q. I have a 3V card, how do I transfer the money from that to Paypal?

A. A 3V voucher is just a credit card, as far as Paypal are concerned, and the same rules apply to it as with any other credit card. As such, you cannot transfer money off the 3V voucher to Paypal. What you could do is set up a 2nd Paypal account, and send the money to that account. This will incur fees which you must pay.


Q. How do I calculate the Paypal Fees?

A. This site has a handy fee calculator. Click to Euro flag to chage the currency to euro, or any other flag for different currencies.

It is important to note that the recipient pays all the fees, sp if you send €50 to someone, after fees they will receive €47.95. If you want them to receive €50, you will need to send €52.12.


Q. I want to send a Paypal gift payment in order to avoid paying fees. How do I do this.

A. This is a bit of a misnomer, you cannot avoid fees with Paypal. A Gift payment gives the sender the option of paying the fee, so that the recipient does not pay anything for receiving the gift. A fee is always payable by someone though.

Paypal gift payments should never be used to make a purchase, as they are exempt from any kind of payment protection. Only use it to send money to someone you know (treat it like Western Union).


Q. Will a Visa debit card work with Paypal?

A. It should do, but some people have reported issues with it.


Q. I've just registered a credit card/3V voucher and Paypal have taken €1 from me! What do I do?

A. They haven't taken anything. They charge a small amount to your card, with a 4 digit reference code to appear on your statement. You use this code to verify you are the card holder. The amount charged is then available for you to spend, as it should appear in your Paypal account as a cash balance. This is the account verification process, and should not be confused with address confirmation.


Q. So what is account verification and address confirmation, and how do I do it?

A. Account verification is the process by which a small charge is made to your registered card, the charge carries an identification code which can be seen on your statement, and you use this code to verify that you are the card holder. Your status will then say Verified.

Verification can also be achieved using a bank account. Paypal make 2 small deposits to your account, which you then verify by checking your statement.

Address confirmation is the process by which Paypal confirm that the shipping address you've given Paypal is the same as the billing address on your credit card. You do this by adding a credit card to your account. Some credit cards cannot confirm address, so this may fail. Using a pre-pay credit card (like 3V) may also cause it to fail.


Q. But I use 3V. There is no statement, so how do I check this code?

Log onto www.3v.ie and sign into your account. You can view your account activity there, which is effectively your statement. The 4 digit code will appear along side the Paypal transaction.


Q. I have two 3V vouchers, and want to use both of them to make a single payment. How do I do this?

A. A credit card (including a 3V Voucher) is a secondary form of payment with Paypal, and only 1 can be used in any transaction. You cannot send a single payment from two credit cards, or two 3V vouchers. The only time you can use multiple payment sources is when you have a cash balance that doesn't cover the amount you want to spend, in which case the remainder will be charged to the secondary payment method.


Q. Paypal have asked for a copy of my Passport and a utility bill. Surely this is a dangerous breech of data protection and I shouldn't do this?

A. Paypal routinely ask people to provide more proof of their identity. It could be due to suspicious account activity, or just applied on a random basis (quite likely). If asked, photocopy the photo page of your Passport, and if you like Tipp-ex out the passport number. If sending a utility bill, you can also block out your account number. All they want is proof of ID and address, which should match the details you registered with. This is not dangerous or any breech of your rights to privacy.


Q. I sent payment for a purchase, but have not received anything. What should I do now?

A. If the purchase was on eBay, then you can start a Paypal dispute, and escalate that to a claim if you don't get any response from the seller. Non tangible goods (like a service, or products you receive by email) cannot be disputed. There is a 180 day limit, from the date the payment is made, to start a dispute. After 180 days have passed, you cannot start a dispute.


Q. What is Buyer Protection?

A. As a buyer if you buy something that never arrives, or if it arrives significantly different than described, damaged, etc you're eligible for a full refund. You will need to open a dispute within 180 days after transaction.

Check this site out for common Paypal scams, and how to avoid them