CiviCRM Community Forums (archive)

There has been a similar kind of discussion. Check http://forum.civicrm.org/index.php/topic,532.0.html

I've got a new wrinkle to add to this bug:

If you have a custom form element on you contribution page (for example, one that collects certain additional information, like name, address, employer info, etc) and the first and last name are required, a user who decides to pay with paypal rather than a credit card (through web payments pro) will be returned to the websites from paypal with their first and last names wiped out, and thus (since those fields are required) will not be able to process the transaction.  If the first and last name are not required, the transaction will be processed, but no name will be recorded on the contact record.

To restate with a step by step:
preconditions:
1) Using CiviContribute with Web Payments pro (credit card payment remains on the site, payment through a paypal account gets taken to paypal)
2) Custom Page element (a civicrm profile form) with first and last name required.

Process:
1) Anon user finds her way to civicontribute page
2) anon user fills out the custom page element (profile form) including all required fields
3) anon user opts to pay via pay pal
4) anon user taken off site to pay pal, logs in to pay pal, confirms contribution
 - at this time the "mailing address" shown at paypal DOES NOT include first and last name, but does include address information from the custom page element (profile form)
5) anon user returned to website, to a confirmation page generated by civicrm, First and last name are blank, other fields entered into custom page element (profile form) are populated.  Billing address (if filled out in step 2) has all information
6) IF First and Last name in the custom page element are required fields, transaction will fail and there is no way to enter them and proceed.  IF name fields are not required, transaction will be completed and recorded in civicontribute BUT first and last name will be blank EVEN if billing address and name fields WERE filled out.  IE the Contact will not have a first and last name.

This is more than just a minor inconvenience.  It is a show stopper for anyone using Paypal web payments pro who needs to know the first and last name of their donors and have that name stored in the contact record so they can: use it in a civimail message, generate call lists, or snail mailings.