Use Amazon Simple Pay: Why I Hate PayPal
What Happened?I availed of a service from the US and the UK on the 12th of October. Both providers main payment method is Paypal. Since, I don't have the enough Paypal balance, I topped it up thru my bank account. The top up was successful, reflecting the local currency in SGD.
With enough balance, I proceeded to pay my dues - which need to be settled on that same day. Here is where the problems came in.
The PROBLEMS
Problem 1: PayPal payment rejected.
Details: PayPal rejected the payment request. Instead they gave me the "Return to merchant and try a different payment method" message.
What I did: I thought that the problem was caused by the currency difference. They should do the auto conversion upon payment, right? Anyway, I converted my current balance to USD. I thought the issue was the currency difference because earlier when I was sending payment, I encountered the same issue. Such solution was given by the PayPal customer service which eventually worked out.
Problem 2: The "DREADED" PayPal Conversion Charge.
Details:In Paypal, converting 400 SGD to USD gives you 318 USD, while the standard FOREX is 327 USD. Okay, I get that PayPal is a business entity and not a charity institution.
What I did: I proceeded with the conversion, and went through the payment process again. And guess what, it rejected my payment again giving the same message of "Return to merchant and try a different payment method".
Problem 3: Having a "Verified" Paypal status won't help at all.
Details: Since my account is "Unverified" I attached my bank account on the 12th of October, and waited for the verification. Just an insight on this process. Paypal will deposit small (like cents small) amounts to your account. Then, you will enter these amounts in Paypal's bank attachment verification screen.
What I did:I was constantly checking my online statement for PayPal's deposit. And on the 13th of October I have successfully verified my PayPal account. Upon verification, I went through the payment process again (overdue already since I need to settle it on the 12th).
Well, your guess is right... It's that same stupid error "Return to merchant and try a different payment method".
Problem 4:The "Don't have a PayPal account" option is an absolute rubbish.
Details: After 3 failed attempts, I sought Google's help on PayPal's other payment options. And so I tried "Don't have a PayPal account" option.
What I did: My CC has no problem with any of my online payments e.g. Amazon, e-bay, Groupon, etc., but PayPal rejected my payment for the 4th time.
Problem 5:Attaching Credit Card to PayPal.
Details: I feel like they got more strict with my every attempt of paying my dues. Okay, so aside from the Credit Card verification process. They now ask for another one which is the "Proof of Billing".
What I did:Aside from waiting for the Credit Card verification process. I have forwarded to them the "Proof of Billing" document. Which they rejected saying "Information Received-Not Accepted please check email from PayPal for details".
But heck, they did not send any e-mail detailing the reason for rejection. But instead, they "Spam-like" send "Confirm your debit or credit card" email. Spam-like, because they send it like 14 times.
Conclusion
Fed up with PayPal's crazy theatrics. I opted to pay using "Amazon SimplePay", and I did that in less than 2 minutes.
Why I hate PayPal?
Simple, I don't think transacting a few hundreds is worth the:
3 days verification waiting game, which is a complete waste of my time;
complying with all the needed documents, which ends up in rejection;
receiving non-sense PayPal email.
So want some problems, signup with PayPal.
