Paypal Mistake - What should I do?

[Sirius]

I just bought something off Ebay. I paid for it with paypal, but in my haste, I chose the wrong bank account. The one I chose is old and has been closed for a long time. I didn't notice it until I received the receipt in my email. The receipt, paypal, and ebay all say that I have paid for the item, but I'm sure the payment really hasn't processed yet. I emailed Paypal and explained the situation, but they haven't responded yet. I have a back up payment source listed. What else should I do?

 

[hlbtimes2]

I would check the back up source and see if it cleared that account. I would also let the seller know that there could be a problem, what it is, etc. Let them know that it was an honest mistake and you want to make good on the transaction.

 

[sulleyfan]

This happened to my sister once, she called Paypal, they said that if the account was closed that the payment would be denied. They also advised her to let the seller know what was going on and that it would be a few days before the correct payment was sent through.....Did you have a backup source selected?? If so, they may have just switched over and used it instead.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

I'd ask about this on eBay's boards, either the Buyer Central or the Paypal board. I'm sure someone there has encountered a similar situation.

I agree with what hlbtimes2 said -- contact the seller and let them know there could be a potential problem. That would look a lot better than having a problem suddenly happen. When Paypal tries to take the payment from the old account and doesn't find any money there, it's possible that it will take the payment from your backup source. In that case, there probably won't be any problem. In any event, it would be good to find out what to do just in case.

 

[Sirius]

I emailed the seller and am waiting on a response. Thanks for the input.

 

[lynxstch]

but as soon as you straighten this out..remove the old closed account off your paypal acct!

 

[Sirius]

Seller was great. Said he had received the funds and was shipping today. I am off to remove the old account.

 

[summerrluvv]

Seller was great. Said he had received the funds and was shipping today. I am off to remove the old account.

If you paid with your bank account and had backup funding then the seller will always automatically get the funds immediately. The bank will reject your payment and paypal will go to your backup source and the seller would never know what happened. Even if your back up source had no money on the CC or in the bank account, the seller still wouldn't know. Paypal would make your account go into the negative and then turn you over to collections if you didn't bring it positive.