Buyer Beware

So, I've had my first unpleasant experience with shopping online. I came across a website that I wanted to buy from , but it wasn't one of the big names like Amazon or an online version of a brick and mortar store. I was a little nervous, so I went looking for a one-time use credit card number I could use to hedge against the risk. I did a Google search and found that PayPal offers a one time use credit card.

According to their website:

Secure Cards let you pay online almost anywhere MasterCard is accepted.

We offer two types of Secure Cards:

Single-use cards. You generate a MasterCard debit card number for a single purchase. Once the purchase is complete, the card is closed and can’t be used again by anyone. These cards can be used for up to two months, unless you close them

Multiple-use cards. You generate a MasterCard debit card number that you can use again and again for purchases on one website. These cards can be used for up to two years, unless you close them.

So, I downloaded the plug-in, generated a single use number and made my purchase.

Five days later I get another e-mail confirming my secure card purchase for six times the original amount from the same website. I flipped out! I called PayPal asking how this website could have defeated their system and gotten a new number for a second purchase.

PayPal informed me that their ONE TIME USE card can have up to FOUR authorizations from the same vender before it closes.

Did everybody catch that? We now officially live in Crazy-Ville where ONE= FOUR

"So you mean I'm exposed to fraud three times before the card turns off?!? What if they charge me again only for a lot more and then I've got bouncing checks in my account all because ONE TIME USE doesn't actually mean ONE TIME USE"

I told them to turn the card off before it could get worse, but then they said that they couldn't refund the money if the card was closed.

"That's PayPal's problem. Turn it off. It wasn't supposed to work after the first time I used it!"

I called Wells Fargo and explained what was going on and they put a stop payment on all transactions to and from PayPal. Unfortunately I didn't find out about this until Wednesday night, the request wouldn't be finalized until Thursday, so PayPal's fraud and the stop payment were processed at the same time and the money went out.

I filled a fraud claim with Wells Fargo on Friday morning. They said it will take 10 days to get everything sorted out.

I removed all our credit card numbers from the PayPal system and as soon as this fiasco gets sorted out I'm closing the account. I found a website with PayPal horror stories of them emptying people's bank accounts out and then taking 6 months to get the money back. I don't need that kind of exposure. Yikes!

So...just so EVERYBODY knows...buyer beware when you're using PayPal.