Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

If you opened your PayPal account before you were 18, close it

medium.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 396 posts

Re: If you opened your PayPal account before you were 18, close it

#171

Post by phr4ts »

iDemonix wrote: post #155
joshuaheard wrote: post #145

I can't think of a legal reason for this policy. Normally, one must be 18 years old to enter into a contract, so the policy of preventing users under 18 from using the service is rational. However, if a user under 18 turns 18 years old during the contract, the contract is "ratified" and becomes valid and enforceable. It's as if they were 18 years old all along. So, there is no legal reason for Paypal to terminate acc…

Interesting! If I wanted the account back I'd be tempted to fight back, but there's nothing to gain.

Except your money. You could probably get it now instead of 6 months time.

Re: If you opened your PayPal account before you were 18, close it

#172

Post by VotreReb »

joshuaheard wrote: post #145

I can't think of a legal reason for this policy. Normally, one must be 18 years old to enter into a contract, so the policy of preventing users under 18 from using the service is rational. However, if a user under 18 turns 18 years old during the contract, the contract is "ratified" and becomes valid and enforceable. It's as if they were 18 years old all along. So, there is no legal reason for Paypal to terminate acc…

"I can't think of a legal reason for this policy."

Wouldn't it be that you committed financial fraud? Paypal initially allowed you to send/receive payments purely based on the fact that you stated you were an age you were not.

The Paypal signup form does not let you signup unless the DOB given, shows you're over the age of 18.

This guy lied about his age and then had the audacity to write a blog post about how bad Paypal is.

He shows he's willing to lie and also willing to commit financial fraud (as that is what it's considered.) - I for one, am very glad someone like him HAS been banned from Paypal.

Re: If you opened your PayPal account before you were 18, close it

#173

Post by pacaro »

srssays wrote: post #161
Zpalmtree wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not many people are big enough to sue PayPal, and if they are, they probably aren't using it.

Small claims court?

Srsly. This is the UK so it's well within the limits of small claims. IANAL but the U.K. also has less tolerance of "fine print".

If PayPal closed his account because it was created before he was 18, did they do so because they believe that he didn't have capacity when he signed up? If that is the case then it makes you wonder if any of the TOS apply

Re: If you opened your PayPal account before you were 18, close it

#174

Post by qb45 »

johncolanduoni wrote: post #142
greyfox wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in the US wire transfers cost about $30 per transfer, international cost about $50. If you're transferring to another customer in the same bank then they're free but I've never had that luxury. Were you referring to bank transfers to same bank customers? Because I've never heard of zero fees for bank transfers

They are free in some European countries. I've had friends from elsewhere who were shocked that a wire transfer wasn't free and typical in the US.

Forget fees, I once tried to buy something in the US from some stranger and he refused to give me his account number and accept a wire even if I paid for everything (and the sum was big enough that PP wouldn't be cheaper). The guy literally thought I want his number for some scam. "Only PayPal, please, it's secure, blah blah blah". Talk about culture shock.

Re: If you opened your PayPal account before you were 18, close it

#176

Post by abeyer »

greyfox wrote: post #139
_wmd wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> something sane like a bank transfer FTFY. Zero fees, zero megacorps taking their cut, zero social graphs in the US growing a few extra tuples

in the US wire transfers cost about $30 per transfer, international cost about $50. If you're transferring to another customer in the same bank then they're free but I've never had that luxury. Were you referring to bank transfers to same bank customers? Because I've never heard of zero fees for bank transfers

In the US, e-deposit of checks is a passable option to avoid fees.

Many banks will take a check deposit by scan or phone camera now, so you can just have someone write a paper check and send the image immediately and deposit it that way.

It's still pretty high-friction, not something you'd typically want to do with a customer, but a reasonable alternative to bank transfer if you don't want to pay the $50.

Re: If you opened your PayPal account before you were 18, close it

#177

Post by VotreReb »

ben0x539 wrote: post #31

Also this is a great example of having rules that are bullshit enough that you can basically do anything to anyone and technically be perfectly justified according to some agreement, but also enforcing them arbitrarily enough that anyone who complains about the terms of the agreement will be brushed off as paranoid.

There is nothing 'arbitrary' about this. He committed financial fraud and got caught out when sending in documents.

Re: If you opened your PayPal account before you were 18, close it

#178

Post by oliwarner »

throwaway2048 wrote: post #167
oliwarner wrote: post #99

You regularly transfer money with this guy but you're both happy eating transfer fees every time?! Seriously? Wtaf? BACS and Faster Payments (through your banks) are free. You're literally pelting the Devil with your money for getting in the way.

almost no American banks support either, there are extremely limited bank to bank transfer options in the USA. You can do a wire transfer but you are looking at $50+ in fees

Sure... But the there are a myriad of forex brokers that offer international transfers, many within reputable, regulated financial industries.

Re: If you opened your PayPal account before you were 18, close it

#179

Post by iDemonix »

phr4ts wrote: post #171
iDemonix wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting! If I wanted the account back I'd be tempted to fight back, but there's nothing to gain.

Except your money. You could probably get it now instead of 6 months time.

Apologies, I've commented a few times on this thread, I've managed to get most of the money, minus fees, back. Whilst there's no option in the modern UI, if you set your account back to use the classic UI, the refund button appears in the transaction details page, I refunded my friend and we're moving away from PP.

Re: If you opened your PayPal account before you were 18, close it

#180

Post by developer2 »

forbiddenlake wrote: post #118
Spare_account wrote: post #62

I was able to determine the year I opened my account in the Account Settings page: http://imgur.com/y6Rpc4G

An exact date would be better, for those who turned 18 in the year displayed.

To be explicit for anyone who gets confused with date-based math: your "joined in" year minus the year of your birth needs to be at least 19 to be safe. If it shows 18, you may have been 17 instead of 18 when you joined.
Post reply on HN