PayPal Pending Transactions

creesy on 03/11/2024 - 23:42
Last edited 03/11/2024 - 23:55 by 1 other user

I recently attempted to make an order with a website using Pay in 4. For some reason, though, PayPal has taken $54 (the expected Pay in 4 amount), a further $54, and on top of that, the full $216. I only used the checkout once.

These transactions appear in my internet banking as pending, and the money has been taken from my balance.

I'm not sure why this has happened, as I've used PayPal since its inception and never had an issue.

Has this happened to anyone before? I'm 100% confident that the pending transactions will be removed, but I'm not sure of the timeline, as this has never happened to me before.

Should I contact PayPal support or just wait because this is a common glitch?

Apologies if this isn't the correct forum.

Related Stores

PayPal

Marketplace

• 

  scrimshaw on 04/11/2024 - 00:05

  +1

  That usually clears in about 3 working days, but if it doesn't you can usually raise it with Paypal for investigation.

  From one of their community moderators:
  https://www.paypal-community.com/t5/Products-Services/Paypal…

  I understand you're worried about the Pay in 4 pending authorization charges. With Pay in 4, we will conduct a pre-authorization hold on your payment method for an amount equal to the initial down payment or one-fourth of your total purchase amount, which will be pending status. Once the purchase gets completed, the pending authorization will be removed, and the initial down payment will be taken from your payment method.

  Any duplicate authorizations will get voided by 72 hours and it may take up to 5-7 business days to process through your bank.

  from what I can tell the problem usually resolves itself without any user intervention

• 

  AustriaBargain on 04/11/2024 - 00:08

  +5

  Sounds more like Pay In(stantly) 6/4.

• 

  payless69 on 04/11/2024 - 11:08

  Their debt collectors still ring after 10 years. Well never received the goods.

• 

  Ozbar Gain on 04/11/2024 - 12:58

  +1

  Just recently did a Pay in 4 but decided against proceeding right at the last step. Still got the first payment's worth amount deducted regardless of the fact that I didn't actually complete the checkout.

  Had a look at their docs and they do an authorisation deduction at first but if will refund the 0ending payment after a few working days. No biggie

• 

  AwesomeAndrew on 04/11/2024 - 14:27

  +1

  It doesn't sound normal. I've used it before, and it has only deducted 1/4 of the total amount after I completed checkout. I suggest you contact Paypal support.

• 

  harshbdmmaster718 on 04/11/2024 - 15:47

  never done "pay in 4" but pending basically means "reserved" not charged and not not charged because it reserves it and takes it away from you temporarily.

  ime as soon as a certain time passes the all the extra pending charges will disappear, and you will only be charged for the one you expect.

  I know it's a shock the first time it happened to me as well I was like what they charged me!

  happened recently for me buying from amazon JP. I made a mistake in my order and cancelled within 1 minute (basically straight away) and I thought amazon only charges you once the item ships, but no after fixing my order and then waiting. I noticed I had pending for both orders, so basically double the amount was missing and I couldn't spend it. forgot how long it took to clear it might be different buying from overseas because I have a feeling all cancelled order amounts disappeared after the items arrived.

  • 

    creesy on 04/11/2024 - 20:58

    Yeh looks like the full $216 charge has reversed. Theres just one more thats still pending.

    I hadnt used pay in 4 before either and was just interested to see how it works, i generally avoid the zippay/afterpay setups. Seems like a trap for vulnerable people

    • 

      harshbdmmaster718 on 04/11/2024 - 21:05

      yeah that’s what “pay later” is. a trap for people who can’t afford it at once.

      I could be wrong but maybe the first time you ever use pay 4 it does that to check how much your limit currently is. e.g. if your 100% payment failed got rejected, PayPal probably knows you don’t have $216 in there. so you could be higher risk or something.