He only learned of the astounding figure when he received an email later that afternoon informing him that his debit card, which started out with $90 on it, was maxed out.
Initially, Mr. Zamora thought it must've been a joke. But after contacting PayPal customer service he was surprised to see that the company treated it as anything but a laughing matter.
"Somebody from a foreign country who spoke in broken English argued with me for 10 to 15 minutes," Zamora said. " ‘Did you get the gas?' he asked. Like I had to prove that I didn't pump $81,400,836,908 in gas!"
He would have needed more than 3 billion fill-ups of the amount he actually pumped into his tank in order to reach that outrageous sum.
Eventually, Zamora said, he was finally able to convince the representative that he didn't deserve to be in the same position as General Motors, who has lost roughly 80 billion dollars since 2005.
When Zamora returned to the Conoco gas station, he said, the attendant would not believe him until he showed her the printout of the PayPal receipt.
What moral is Juan taking away from the story? "Pay cash."
Driver Fills up Gas Tank, Receives Bill For $81 Billion [Consumer Energy Report via Jalopnik]
(Photo: NASA)
Hey Hey......wait everyone.........Juan could easily get this taken care of...........Just call or email President Obama, Im sure that he could easily get a bail-out for $81 billion.........LMAO
]]>Consumerist desperately requires a "report" button for completely useless comments like the ones Plates invariably makes in every single damn threat.
]]>Probably just a random glitch. There was a similar story on Consumerist about a guy that got charged some millions of $ for a sandwich. I doubt it was happening to a lot of people.
My dad got a $40,000ish electric bill last year. Turns out they mixed up his account with some large business account. Of course, they didn't ask him to prove that he wasn't running a factory in his basement. They just politely unfuckulated his bill.
]]>@Greasy Thumb Guzik: The SR-71 actually used JP-7 fuel. The only AC in the USAF inventory to use it as well.
]]>I'm going with don't use Paypal.
My wife wanted to buy some stuff from an Amazon reseller who only accepts Paypal. It only took a couple of pages from nopaypal to convince her otherwise.
]]>But just imagine the frequent flyer miles!!!
]]>For all the IAALs, this is, of course, just a joke.
]]>the phone agent is just as dumb as the system that made this mistake. A lot of these reps lack common sense.
]]>He should have used his Exxon credit card to fill his Bitchin Camaro.
]]>Grossly ahead of anything else of its time, or ANY time. Everything about it is wildly superlative, from the J58 ramjet engines (32,500 lbs. of thrust; enough to drive the largest ocean liners) to the wild altitudes (at 85,000 feet, the sky is black and the curvature of the earth is evident).
For many the SR-71 is the most amazing object made by the hand of man.
]]>You know, like journalism.
]]>I would be tempted to let the charge stand and see how paypal handled it on their own.
]]>What is plates talking about?! Your whining doesn't belong here.
]]>@jamar0303: I don't think re-regulation is a good idea at all. My area went from the most expensive electricity in the country to some of the cheapest in the country since deregilation. My electric bill is rarely over a 100 bucks, and everything in my house is electric. Another example is car insurance. Try buying cheap car insurance in regulated Massachusetts.
]]>Which Roosevelt?
]]>Using PayPal is like crossing a seldom used highway without looking both ways: most of the time it's safe and quick, but it only takes one unlucky day to make your life miserable.
]]>Seems like a pretty decent referral to his State's attorney general.
]]>Venezuela is having trememdous monetary problems (among other things).
This is just a way that Hugo Chávez is trying to get his country back on a stable finacial footing. ;)
]]>@Greasy Thumb Guzik:
Actually, JP-6. A special formulation of kerosene and boron that only the SR-71 uses.
@GuinevereRucker: Another way to look at it is that, as a result of the Bush/Obama bailouts, which are a continuation of a general pattern of fiscal recklessness and erroneous "Keynesian" nonsense that stretches back decades...A fill-up in a '94 Camaro may one day cost $81 Billion.
Personally, I don't see any way of avoiding hyperinflation in the next 1-5 years.
]]>the number in the email was the merchant ID number and not the amount?
OK, everyone go back to complaining about how evil PayPal is and how he should have used cash.
]]>So they double the amount of the deposit. If you have an SUV, the normal deposit would be $75, but they charge $150. One night I found that my card had been tapped as well, for $250 for a fillup. I freaked out and called paypal, they released the holds within minutes.
So this story is a bit bizarre.
But it is funny. In the end, nothing would have happened to him. PayPal is owned by EBAY and there's never been a transaction that large in one fell swoop through ebay.
Have a nice day.
]]>I totally agree with the OP, good for you!
]]>Down with Paypal's idiotic fees.
]]>Why wasn't the transaction declined?
]]>@♥♥♥: Nah, I don't stick up for any ponzi scheme, including Enron and Cap and Trade. Honestly I'm surprised this error doesn't happen more often with all of our electronic transactions.
]]>@Plates: I'm just glad that joker Roosevelt is finally out of the White House!!
*note: I'm as topical as you are.
]]>@TracyHamandEggs: Actually, the further down you go, the more likely a comment is to be ignored, especially if it's something like this. Not at all surprising, really.
]]>Nascar's gas bill is less than this, for the whole season.
Good call paypal.
Reminder to self, cancel paypal acct.
]]>and it leaks until the thing gets up to temperature and everything expands from skin friction. the fuel is also a little more complex including some additional additives to the JP-7 to allow it to multi-task as hydraulic fluid running the flight controls AND as a coolant for internal systems before being burned. There are also additives (originally cesium based now....other based) to try and reduce the radar return of the contrails.
]]>@MrsLopsided: Don't you have to pay ATM fees if you use an ATM to get your Paypal money? I would say that's not worth it.
]]>@badgeman46: Did you just stick up for Enron? Hmmm, I'm pretty sure you did.
]]>"When Zamora returned to the Conoco gas station, he said, the attendant would not believe him until he showed her the printout of the PayPal receipt."
As if the gas station actually has the capacity to hold $81,400,836,908 worth of gas.. wow.... I'm surprised, but not as surprised by the PayPal rep in (India?) arguing this, but the gas station attendant? brilliant
]]>So this story makes sense to me about Paypal. Google Checkout anyone?
]]>@se7a7n7:
Look, if you are grandfathered in to the original cash back rate I can understand that you wish to maintain the high cash back. But if not, if you just get the 1% rate, switch to Chase Freedom or another worthwhile card.
You get NO protection with a PayPal debit card. NONE. If you run into an issue, PayPal will find a way to screw you in the end. Chase Freedom is a great card, offers a great bonus (When you accumulate $200 in cash back, you get '$50' for free, effectively making your cash back around 1.75%).
A real credit card is always going to be superior to PayPal debit. Always.
]]>Unsurprisingly, PayPal saw nothing wrong with the charge and demanded that Juan prove that he didn't actually buy $81.4 billion worth of gas.
Just another day at PayPal. I mean, it's entirely reasonable of course that a service station REALLY is carrying $81.4 Billion Dollars in Gas.
]]>Yes it is a laughing matter.
The CSR should have been laughing along with the customer during the 30 seconds it took to correct the problem.
Beyond 30 seconds.....
I would have contacted my local investigated TV/newspaper reporter and let them have fun with the FleaBay Management
]]>"Somebody from a foreign country who spoke in broken English". GREAT, another company throws customer service out the window and hires a foreign call center with employees who can't understand problems beyond the script handed to them!
That said, while the economic timing is horrid, Paypal should have been ruled a bank by the courts years ago and be under FDIC laws. Them being able to act like a bank, offer financial services yet not have to follow any laws has cost consumers countless dollars.
]]>SR71 uses JP-7
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: I have a debit card from my bank, like most people. But PayPal gives you 1% cashback on your PayPal debit card purchases...which is a far greater return than the so-called "Rewards" points that I get for using my debit card.
]]>@bohemian: Now wait a minute, just because you dissagree with someone does not give you the right to call security. He does bring up a valid point. Anyway, enjoy paying 40 grand for that new plug in car that gets mandated. Also enjoy the rolling blackouts when power companies take their ball and go home rather than pay "cap and trade" taxes.
]]>Accounts Payable: Oh ho ho, that's gotta be an error. LOL.
Accounts Receivable: The $81 Billion is late, that's 29% APR.
Is there even $81 billion worth of gas on Earth?
]]>It's more that they don't really have an incentive to care. They are owned by eBay and have a near-monopoly on eBay payments, especially since eBay has pretty much banned paying by check or money order. If you want to buy or sell on eBay, you pretty much have to use PayPal, so they have no reason to try to have a good reputation for customer service.
]]>@sburnap42: If he's in India trying to make the conversion from rupees, he might not make the connection. A billion rupees is only $19,615,535 so it's easy to confuse the two.
Or if he used to live in pre-Euro Italy, a billion Lira is only $12.87.
]]>If they force him to prove he didn't spend 81 billion dollars, there is something MASSIVELY wrong with paypal. This is the type of thing where they should fix it immediately and pray that noone looks into how an 81 billion dollar charge could have possibly shown up. It has to be a glitch in their software, or something, and if it has happened to him, how many other people could it have happened to in amounts much smaller than 81 billion dollars? Would you notice an accidental dollar taken from your account?
On the bright side though, with 81 billion dollars in debt on the books, this guy must qualify for a bank bailout. He might come out ahead if he plays his cards right.
]]>@Plates: Geez. Everyone knows it's the Soros mafia.
]]>@Streyeder: Actually, this is just the standard Paypal fee on a $26 purchase.
]]>I would have definitely suggested using a credit card. Not only are you protected from situations like these, your debit account would not have been depleted while you wait for this situation to be resolved.
]]>On Point:
I use Paypal on a free checking account that is isolated specifically for e-commerce transactions. No other traffic ever hits this account. I keep $1 in the account unless I am conducting a transaction that mandates the use of Paypal. I then transfer just enough funds to cover the transaction from another account into the Paypal account. I have spoken to my financial institution and instructed them to disable any "courtesy" over draft protection (what a joke) on said account.
If a screw up happens I am out $1 and possibly some hassle time. Better than the alternative in my mind.
]]>They would have paid attention to the error then.
]]>For the information of those few people who haven't figured it out yet: PayPal is not a bank. They don't operate under the same rulse that banks and other established financial institutions work under. You and any money to have on deposit with them are totally at their mercy. Please, for the love of GOD: Use PayPal to pay and receive payments, and remove money to your bank acoount as soon as humanly possible, Do not allow PayPal any leverage over you at any time ever.
]]>Yes, the moral of this story is to try to reduce or remove your dependency on PayPal.
]]>@CMU_Bueller: Love it, everyone piles on the anti-Dem comment and this one goes ignored.
]]>@verucalise: That's 2-3 days longer than using the debit.
]]>@Ameer Hashw: Cash back. The percentage is pretty high on an $81 billion transaction.
]]>@MrsLopsided: I haven't had a paypal transfer to my bank account take more than 2-3 days.
]]>I find it just a bit annoying, lazy, and fickle for your advise to be 'pay cash'. Especially considering ALL your other posts tell everyone they should charge it to a card so you can fight the company or do a charge back.
If Juan's car broke down and left him stranded in the middle of nowhere would your advice be 'ride a bike'?
]]>Good points. The fear that I have is that PP is just the first of many financial service providers that are/aren't what they purport to be . Paypal takes in money,but it's not a bank. Paypal pays interest and charges for handling money,but it's not a savings and loan. In fact,the list of what PP isn't is a damn sight longer than what it says that it IS.
Since they have exploited every comma splice and ambiguity in the law,they are running what amounts to a large unregulated bank that doesn't pay for or have any intention of getting FDIC protection. They also sidestep laws that are intended to protect depositors from malfeasance and outright theft by getting you to agree to TOS that pretty much takes away any rights you may have with a regulated entity.
I have always had a queasy feeling about Paypal, and the events of the last 8 months have made me even more leery of a financial company that seemingly answers to no one,not even it''s customers.
If it ever blows up,it shouldn't surprise anyone.
]]>The most bizzare thing in this case is that PayPal, being the dense jerk it is, didn't automatically go "well that must be wrong..."
]]>You sir, have just won my vote when Consumerist does the next user purge.
While I respect your right to have whatever political view you so desire, with that right comes the responsibility to know when it's appropriate to let loose. This probably isn't a good place.
]]>Cards are issued by Chase, so you can use any Chase ATM for free (Paypal does charge a $1 fee for all ATM transactions).
The card also comes with cashback, I'm grandfathered in with a 1.5% CB bonus.
]]>Why? 1)They're not a bank, and they're not bound by the same laws and regulations that banks are; 2) They have absolutely no compunctions about fucking you over very badly; and 3) If they do, you'll have virtually no recourse as long as they abide by the rules that they themselves wrote, because of #1.
You can bet your ass that if Juan had been charged $81 instead of $81 billion for his 26 dollar fill-up that he STILL wouldn't have his money back, and would likely wind up having to write it off.
]]>Good thing this was not a Credit card, at 18% finance charges, he would have owed almost 15billion in interest every month assuming that he could not pay the credit card off in full every month (but every Consumerist reader always pays off their CC bill in full every month so this is a non issue...right?!?!?)
]]>But, I agree with the gist...this is a useless comment.
]]>some CC have soft $100 - $75 limits. Do the pumps have any that are not card based?
]]>I'm guessing that the debit system with PayPal does not have this limitation, although my regular bank debit card has a 400 dollar a day transaction limit to avoid fraud
]]>WAY over. (You're minus 3 zeros.)
]]>Makes the SR71 pic pretty appropriate, I guess.
]]>Yeah, I know: banhammer for complaining about another commenter... but really, what is this comment doing on Consumerist?
]]>Someone is still all pissy about the election results because this comment has no value about the original story. Here's a tissue, you're welcome.
]]>Taking the generic 2%+.20 would be over 1 million dollars.
]]>If he would have used his card as a credit transaction he could have gotten 1% cash back... that's $814,008,369!!!
]]>Well, their name is half right. You're going to pay, but they're not your pal.
]]>/yeah right
]]>Someone actually had a problem with paypal? Nuh Huh.
]]>Pics or didnt happen!
]]>By the way, the SR-71 doesn't use gasoline, it uses JP-4, a type of kerosene.
]]>