Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Incorrect Addresses in PayPal

Most transaction problems are caused by mistakes made by sellers. In those cases, the seller shoulders the responsibility of making the transaction right. In other cases, a package might be damaged or go missing while in transit. Even though that type of problem is not the seller's fault, the seller still shoulders the responsibility of making the transaction right. Sometimes, however, the buyer is responsible, even if the problem was caused by a glitch.

PayPal has had a glitch for many years in which old addresses sometimes resurface when a buyer pays for an item. The old address might even be one that the buyer deleted from his or her account. PayPal keeps all of that information, and deleted addresses can reappear.

For anyone who has never heard of this problem, take a look at these message threads.

Old Address Still Showing Up

*WARNING* Remove old addresses from Paypal account!


Weird address glitch?

On these message threads, the buyers reported that the sellers were rude in response. I can understand why, since the sellers did no wrong. When a buyer confirms payment through PayPal, the buyer should always verify that the correct address is displaying on the screen. While this glitch is not the buyer's fault, the buyer is responsible for noticing whether the information is correct.

I recently mailed two packages to a buyer, unaware that the PayPal glitch had surfaced in the buyer's account. Much to my surprise, the packages arrived in my mailbox around two weeks later with "moved, no forwarding address" stamped on the packages. Needless to say, I was quite annoyed. Despite my annoyance, I contacted the buyer politely, apprising her of the situation and requesting her correct address. The buyer confirmed that the address was an old one from years ago and was mystified as to how I had been given that address.

I was very lucky that whoever received the packages did not keep them. At least I was able to get the books mailed to the correct address. This situation was not my fault, and I should not have had to pay to mail the books again. I decided that since the postage amount was low that I would not request the buyer to send additional funds. It was a gesture of good will just in case that buyer should ever decide to purchase from me again.

Regardless, I would have been well within my rights to refuse to mail the packages again without receiving additional funds. By the way, I did go back and check on Bonanza and in PayPal, and the address I mailed the packages to originally was the only address I was given. This was not my fault.

If you have moved at any point in time since you created your eBay and/or PayPal account, make sure you let your eyes scan over the address in PayPal to verify that the address displayed is correct.

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