Coinbase

[smellybilge]

Anyone else out there been over charged by Coinbase? How did it come out for you?

[Rath_]

Anyone else out there been over charged by Coinbase? How did it come out for you?

In what situation were you overcharged? Exchange fee? Transaction fee? If the latter then it's quite common among exchanges and online wallets. 1 sat/byte is now enough for a transaction to confirm in one block. I have used their service twice and had no problems.

[smellybilge]

@BitCryptex Actually double billed, sorry. Made 2 purchases on the drop last week. Of course it was the larger amount they doubled billed. The first two legit purchases actually bought my coins but the double transaction went to cash. They actually sent me an email asking to prove it. The funny thing about it is they put a 16 day hold on my deposits/coins in the first place for security reasons...... lol To me it looks like they are the issue. First time buying bitcoin and the last.

[Rath_]

-snip

I googled this issue and it looks like only few users were affected so far. My bank forces me to authenticate via SMS and web password when paying for something via credit card above certain limit.

To me it looks like they are the issue. First time buying bitcoin and the last.

If they are the issue then why would it be your last time? Next time, use a different service, for example, Changelly or try looking for a Bitcoin ATM if you live in a big city. I personally use the latter and it has never caused any trouble.

[tomahawk9]

I think this thread belongs in the Service Discussion board

To me it looks like they are the issue. First time buying bitcoin and the last.

If they are the issue then why would it be your last time? Next time, use a different service, for example, Changelly or try looking for a Bitcoin ATM if you live in a big city. I personally use the latter and it has never caused any trouble.

There's also localbitcoin. OP could also buy from a legit user (with a lot of positive feedbacks) in the Currency exchange board. OP, don't give up on Bitcoin, just stop using Coinbase.

[squatter]

Actually double billed, sorry. Made 2 purchases on the drop last week. Of course it was the larger amount they doubled billed. The first two legit purchases actually bought my coins but the double transaction went to cash. They actually sent me an email asking to prove it. The funny thing about it is they put a 16 day hold on my deposits/coins in the first place for security reasons...... lol To me it looks like they are the issue. First time buying bitcoin and the last.

Went to cash, meaning it's already been credited to your Coinbase USD wallet? No money is missing? That's probably the best you'll get. Consider yourself lucky if everything got properly credited to your account.

I've seen some complaints like this over the years. Regarding the doubled billed amount, if they didn't immediately buy the coins for you, they are unlikely to honor the lower price you bought at. You can withdraw the doubled billed amount back to your back account.

In the future, I recommend doing an ACH deposit to Coinbase and transferring the USD to Coinbase Pro instead of using their buy/sell service. You'll save considerably on broker fees and I think mishaps like this are less likely. Once the ACH clears, your funds won't be on hold. For some reason, they put ridiculously long holds when you use the buy/sell broker service.

[smartbitcoininvestor]

I would recommend just using a Bank transfer for your transactions to save money on fees and for safety.

[Rath_]

I would recommend just using a Bank transfer for your transactions to save money on fees and for safety.

Most people who decide to pay with their credit/debit card do so because such transactions are instantaneous. Time is precious when the exchange rate changes suddenly. 3% is not that much; some Bitcoin ATMs charge way more.

[1Referee]

Most people who decide to pay with their credit/debit card do so because such transactions are instantaneous. Time is precious when the exchange rate changes suddenly. 3% is not that much; some Bitcoin ATMs charge way more.

Doesn't Coinbase put purchases through credit cards on hold for two days? I remember reading somewhere that they did it to protect themselves against payments with stolen credit cards.

What I usually do to not get caught up in a situation where I want to benefit from a price drop but have to transfer fiat to my exchange account, is prefund my exchange account and just have it sit there. I'm not too concerned with the fiat sitting in my exchange account without being used, but do understand if others aren't comfortable doing.

[Rath_]

Doesn't Coinbase put purchases through credit cards on hold for two days? I remember reading somewhere that they did it to protect themselves against payments with stolen credit cards.

Actually, I use a debit card, but it shouldn't make any difference. The last time I used their service was about a year ago so it might have changed.

What I usually do to not get caught up in a situation where I want to benefit from a price drop but have to transfer fiat to my exchange account, is prefund my exchange account and just have it sit there. I'm not too concerned with the fiat sitting in my exchange account without being used, but do understand if others aren't comfortable doing.

That's a good approach, but some people don't have that much spare money. I prefer to have as much money as possible available at all times.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

The funny thing about it is they put a 16 day hold on my deposits/coins in the first place for security reasons...... lol To me it looks like they are the issue. First time buying bitcoin and the last.

Jesus.  You know, it doesn't surprise me they did something like that.  Coinbase was the first exchange I ever used to buy bitcoin, and that was back in 2015.  They closed my account on the drop of a dime when I made an error trying to buy bitcoin from a checking account I had linked but had recently closed.  It was my mistake, but it was a very small purchase attempt and I didn't think it was a good reason for just nuking my Coinbase account.  They're funny like that.

Oh how I miss Circle.  I've written that so many times it's not even funny.  They were the best place to buy bitcoin from and there hasn't been anything like them since they stopped dealing in bitcoin.

[timerland]

Made 2 purchases on the drop last week. Of course it was the larger amount they doubled billed. The first two legit purchases actually bought my coins but the double transaction went to cash. They actually sent me an email asking to prove it. The funny thing about it is they put a 16 day hold on my deposits/coins in the first place for security reasons...... lol To me it looks like they are the issue. First time buying bitcoin and the last.

The hold isn't anything uncommon. They claim that it is a security feature, and has happened to many first time buyers (pretty sure there was a thread a while back regarding the same issue), but I feel like that they are really lacking in terms of communicating clearly with the user BEFORE they deposit any funds that there will be a security hold.

Otherwise, it's no different an exchange holding up your withdrawal, at the expense of the user. You don't know where your funds are being used, heck, it could be used to fill the liquidity gap in their operations for all you know.

I would strongly suggest you move away from using Coinbase, but not from trading bitcoin entirely. Don't let this one negative experience with a specific firm known for shitty customer service and constant holds/account suspensions drive you away from the wider market. Despite the worse rates, using P2P exchanges gives you a heck of a better experience overall, so you should consider that at well.

Oh how I miss Circle.  I've written that so many times it's not even funny.  They were the best place to buy bitcoin from and there hasn't been anything like them since they stopped dealing in bitcoin.

I second this for sure.