天空の戦士

I've been having postal service nightmares since the early 2000s when it comes to getting paid (there was even a time when one client's $200 cheque got intercepted and encashed by some ass wipe), so I was happy when Paypal suddenly decided to give us Pinoys a chance.

Well first, there was the issue of getting my card verified...which took more than a month to get processed as I applied for Paypal the day after my cut off.  The verification code appeared two statements later.  Not a problem, since I wasn't receiving funds yet at the time.

Now I have money sitting in there for almost a month now and with the dollar getting weaker by the second...well, needless to say, the money isn't worth as much as it was last month.  Unionbank is supposedly the only bank that allows you to withdraw from Paypal, but it's not as easy as it looks.

1. You apply online and wait for a few days to get your card.
DAYS WASTED: 4

2. When you drop by the branch of your choice to pick up your card, they'll ask you to fill up an offline form. I don't understand why they need to do that when you've already filled up an online form!  Then they tell you to wait for 5 working days because they need to send your documents to Cebu for processing.  As it happened, I had to deal with Monday elections and Thursday, Friday holidays. Include the weekends and the days when I can't go to the bank because of work. Do the math.
DAYS WASTED: 12

3. When I was sure enough that my application had been processed, I tried to add the card into my Paypal account. Denied.  Apparently, I must use the account before I can submit it to Paypal.  No banking day available.
DAYS WASTED: 7

4. Finally, when I was able to go to the bank last Wednesday, I deposited PhP1,000.  Again, I tried to log into my Paypal account to add it. Denied.  I did a few researches and I found out that you must've also used it online or at least accessed your online account.  I do not remember being asked to encode my pin number at the bank so it must've been given to me...the brown envelope is somewhere.  The only other available schedule I have for banking and asking about my pin is Wednesday.
DAYS WASTED: 7

5.  After all these, even if my Paypal account succesfully recognizes my Unionbank account, I'd still have to wait for verification.  The same verification process that my first credit card had undergone, except I've been told that it takes a few days for the number to appear online. You know what that means.
DAYS TO WASTE: 6


And while all this is happening, the dollar went from $44 to $42...slashing off thousands of pesos from my money.

Don't even think about asking Unionbank's people. THEY'RE USELESS. They have no idea what Paypal is and they'll tell you as much the moment you mention "paypal."




SIDE STORY: Metrobank Woes
I was supposed to complain about this bank, but Unionbank made my woes seem like roses and daisies.  See, Metrobank loves me so much that they've sent me not one, not two, BUT THREE pre-approved credit cards. Which their customer representatives refuse to cancel, saying that those two other cards were sort of rewards for having good credit standing (translation: always paying in full and on time).  I don't see them as rewards but more like last ditch efforts to milk me through membership fees.

What I did? I cut the two credit cards in half, wrote a rather short letter stating that I'm cancelling them and gave it to a rather dismayed bank person. Nevertheless, he processed the cancellation faster than you can say lickety split. I tried to cheer him up by saying that I'm always maxing out my first card anyway and that one I'm keeping. (It's my most reliable card, though I think Banco De Oro spied on me through it because they've also sent me a pre-approved card.)

The funny thing here is that one teller asked me if I already had a credit card and I told him, "Your love me so much you gave me three...two of them I'm cancelling after you finish processing my payment. [*insert huge grin*]"

Oh, and don't ask them about Paypal either. Metrobank is the most archaic bank in Philippine history. Love the Gamboa branch, though, as they know me by face and by name and have always been extra accomodating.