PayPal says ‘guest’ used debit card

D.M. writes: My bank statement showed an odd debit card payment of £66, said to be to PayPal for something from Royal Mail. My PayPal account showed no such purchase, so I contacted my bank, NatWest, which cancelled my card and sent a replacement. PayPal told me a ‘guest account’ bought something unspecified from Royal Mail but denied this was unauthorised. Eventually, my bank managed to claim back my money but PayPal has never explained how a ‘guest account’ used my card.

PAYPAL has told me that a ‘guest’ transaction is one where a customer does not have to have a PayPal account. The customer simply enters the card details, rather than logging in to any account. In short, the fact that you yourself have a PayPal account is a coincidence. Your debit card was misused but your PayPal account was not.

Someone has got hold of your debit card details and enough information to impersonate you to make a purchase. PayPal accepts what you say, which is why it did not oppose a refund, but the problem lies in the leak of your card details rather than with PayPal.