PayPal
Reviews and Complaints

I have been using PayPal for a very long time, and have always trusted that they would look out for me as their customer. Yesterday, a foreign address charged me for some product that I absolutely did NOT buy, and charged my bank account that is linked to PayPal. I filed a dispute, stating very clearly that I did NOT authorize this purchase, and PayPal took the side of the foreign company! I went directly to my bank, showed them the transaction, and they immediately knew that this was fraud, and my banker told me that this "should have been obvious" to PayPal. Now I am wondering if someone at PayPal broke into my account to try to steal from me. I am currently discussing options with my attorney regarding this matter. I am VERY upset. DO NOT USE OR TRUST THEM! PLEASE! They WILL absolutely steal from you!

Open letter to PayPal:

Please let me tell you why I've stopped using PayPal. PayPal forced me to. I'd provide you with some account details, but for reasons that will become apparent below, I can't.

After using PayPal successfully for years, I retired in 2017, and now spend the majority of my time in Colombia, South America. It's nice, the weather is literally perfect year-round, the country is beautiful and it's quite inexpensive to live here. While I'm here, it makes no sense to pay a lot per month to keep a US phone number that I don't use (or as will be explained below, only to get the occasional log in code), in favor of using a local phone number that costs me next to nothing which I do use, and that is my crime.

After trying to update a payment method this week, I was sent to Paypal jail. The website said a link had been sent to my listed US phone number, which no longer works. When I called in for a solution to my problem, I explained the issue: I have a PayPal account, it likes to send codes to my US phone that is no longer in service. What can we do about this? - whereupon I was essentially told that I'm the problem.

The base attitude was something along the lines of, "We don't work that way, but let's look at your account. First, I have to ask you some security questions." No worries, I thought, fire away.

The first question was easy enough, "What city is your former residence at XXX Lafarge in? Answer: XXXXXXXX (Colorado).

Next question, also an easy one: "Which of these cars have you owned?" Answer: XXXX Toyota XXX.

And here's where things went sideways, "What color was your 2003 Nissan Sentra, red or . . .?" Wait, I've never owned a Nissan Sentra, 2003 or otherwise, but I relayed that the XXXX Toyota XXX was yellow. Then,

"Which of the following email addresses have you used? Cache (or something like Cache, I couldn't quite make out the actual word) @?.edu?, or [protected]@?.net?, or [protected]@, , , ?

When I explained that I had never used any of the listed email addresses, I was told, "Sorry, you've failed to answer the security questions correctly, " and that PayPal was only doing this for my safety. When I noted that the questions started to go off the track when some mythical 2003 Nissan Sentra was thrown in, and that I'd had the same email, and only the same email, for 20, maybe 30 years and have never, ever used [protected]@anything, again, "Sorry, PayPal is doing this to protect you."

I was told the best solution was to set up a Colombian PayPal account. Ok, then, I'll do that, I thought, and off I went. Problem: PayPal only allows Colombian addresses for payment sources (credit cards). So that offered solution was just a rabbit hole.

I explained that I wasn't intent on making any shady international transactions. I merely wanted to be able to pay people in the US to their US bank accounts with money from my US back account or receive money in my US bank account from other people with US bank accounts. "Sorry, we're doing this for your protection."

It was actually suggested that I return to the United States (and get a US phone number) to access the account. Great, yeah, I think I'll sell my nice apartment here, and move back to the States just so I can make the occasional PayPal transaction.

It was also suggested some time ago by a PayPal rep (in a somewhat whispered tone) that I should simply remove my phone altogether, and somehow force PayPal to verify my account by some other method, but who knows whether that would have worked or not. As it stands now, it seems I can't access my account at all to make any updates or do anything else - unless I can figure out what color a car I've never owned is, and the correct extension of an email that I've never used.

In comparison to other well-known vendors, PayPal is in the Stone Age. Folks like Amazon and My credit card company don't give a whit if I have an international phone number. When signing in to Amazon, they ping my obviously Colombian phone with the message, "Hey, someone in Colombia is trying to sign in to your account. If this is you, please click on this security link." Click, and voila, my account is open. Simple enough. When I make any purchase on a my XXX credit card, they send a purchase confirmation to my international phone number, "Hey, we see you made a purchase of $43.12 at So and So." Even though the purchase was made in Colombian pesos, they're sophisticated enough to figure all that out. Uber's got it figured out - a guy in Colombia on a Colombian phone making payment with a US credit card - no problem. My bank has it figured out. When I explained this to your rep on Tuesday, basically the response was, "Yeah, well, that's not the way we do things here. Come back to the States and we'll talk."

So being an old guy, I suppose I'm off to figure out Zelle (suggested by some expats here), or Venmo or whatever. I honestly don't have any particular affinity for PayPal other than it was quite easy to use and I'd done so for years. I'm not "mad" at PayPal, just frustrated at some seemingly unnecessary and confusing hoops to jump through that others seem to have easily figured out. Now maybe there are some uber-secret international banking laws that I'm unaware of that force PayPal to make things difficult to impossible to conduct business without a US phone, but my bank doesn't seem to have any problem.

I'm honestly not sure what I expect from this email or it will even get to you since I can't send a message without logging into my account, and I can't log in to my account since I don't have a US phone number. I apparently can't even close my account unless I can pass a security screen meant for someone else. Just thought maybe somebody there might like to know how PayPal is perceived at least by me (and I can't be the only one) as to it's international business model when it comes to something as simple as have a phone number that PayPal doesn't like.

Kind regards,

Barton Puryear, a former satisfied customer

All PayPal emails contain tracking pixels. Also known as web beacons, theses secretive codes are embedded in all emails and are designed to collect IP address, device and browser details, and other personal info. You do not need to click any link, these codes auto execute as soon as you open the emails. And every time. Even after you forward/share those emails with somebody else.
Unlike cookies, there are no requests for customers' consent nor these are acceptable substitute for read receipt. Intact, tracking pixels violate all privacy regulation I an aware of.
After years of reports to PayPal customer service, domain registrant, admin, tech and abuse departments, no one bothered to even respond. After complaints via public boards, only things I heard are PR statements like how much they care about our privacy etc.
Please disable your email clients' image auto-display, read email as text only and use dedicated privacy aware open source mail clients.
Better even is to avoid PayPal completely.

someone paid me in error.
i was charged fees so never received the full amount the person thought they sent.
i e-mailed paypal to inform them that i had received money in error and requesting they just reverse the error including charges, leaving both parties whole.

instead i was charged me additional $15 in fees and had money deducted that was never received actually received from my account

i'm nearly 70 on a fixed income, completely innocent and out nearly $18

I sent a small amount of money $100.00 to India for Christmas to my brother. Xoom took the money from my US Bank account within 5 minutes and informed me soon afterwards that the transaction was completed. several days later my brother in India informed me that he did not get the money. To resolve the issue Xoom asked me to send them a copy of the recipient' account covering the period Dec18-24, 2021. I provided them and they say the copy quality is not good, though perfectly legible. They refuse to send me the details of the transaction for the EFT via their partners except that it was delivered. The poor quality of Indian paper used by the banks and their old dot matrix printers cannot deliver the copy quality of the US, but its legible.

PayPal Debit Card 1-844-373-4961 Employee #47525 on 11:09 Am Mountain Standard Time - PayPal Supervisor - providing terrible costumer service in light of the many ball drops from PayPal and PayPal on-line credit partner division and PayPal debit. They clearly are not connected at a level that is acceptable by today's standards. You would not expect to waist hours of time to address simple issues and be met with competent services members but their outsourcing to other countries is pathetic. All you wind up doing here is being bounced around from one division to the next. Spending /wasting your time going through the automated questions over and over again. Then repeating yourself to people that truly don't get the nuisances that are required to have an intelligent conversation (as they are from different countries). PaPal needs a swift kick in the BUTT. Use another service provider. Supervisors are not capable of doing anything but wasting more of your time without the ability to do anything unless they cared enough to make a difference in the process, they actually will lie to you when you are tryin to escalate the issue to a higher level. DON'T USE PAY PAL it will be a waste of your time, if you need to address anything on your account. Glad my call was recorded as the PayPal management can review the disregard or care to work through issues of their costumers then they will simply drop your call when it's convenient form them to do so.

I have contacted UPS and reported this incident to my credit card company, but need help from UPS. An overseas vendor took my money and did not provide me with the product. The vendor provided a UPS tracking number and according to my phone call with UPS this tracking number is for an Amazon product (not the vendor I ordered my item from) and it was delivered as the tracking # states, but not to MY address.
The tracking number is 1Z47VY660317093712. My credit card company is closing this case unless they hear from UPS confirming the address this package was delivered to. Please provide me with the actual delivery address for this tracking number. All I can see is that it was delivered to my town, Delafield Wisconsin. My address is 1511 Milwaukee Street. This package was NOT delivered to my address. I need your assistance confirming this. I believe this vendor confiscated a UPS tracking number from another product to use as proof of delivery of my purchase.
Thank you
Barbara Coughlin

I have a business account with PayPal UK. I received around £10, 000 from a customer - no dispute, no complaints. However, PayPal just decided to restrict my account.

First, it just blocked access to the account. Secondly, after many phone calls, it released half the money and gave me limited access to it. Then, finally it just blocked the account saying that it would hold the money for 6 months (giving no reason) and then release it to me bit by bit.

PayPal is an expensive SCAM organisation. If you have business you value, DO NOT USE IT AT ANY COST.

I received the following notices from PayPal. Contacting support was unsuccessful in resolving the issue. Furthermore, no documentation for allegations was provided forthe allegations made.

My PayPal account is verified by US passport, bank statement and Social Security number, and all information and documents submitted are genuine.

Messages from PayPal:
First message - 04/17/2021
After a review, we decided to permanently limit your account as we detected that this account was created using either fraudulent or stolen information.
You'll not be able to conduct any further business using PayPal.
If you have money in your PayPal balance, we'll hold it for up to 180 days. After that period, we'll email you with information on how to access your funds.
We regret any inconvenience this may cause.

Second message - 09/14-2021
Your PayPal funds are now eligible for withdrawal.
To withdraw funds from your account, please log in to PayPal.
As a reminder, access to your account will remain limited.
While access to your account is limited, you may:
* place logos into your auction listings or on your website
* update your account information
* withdraw funds from your account
You may not:
* send or request money
* receive payments
* add funds to your account
* close your account
Thank you for using PayPal.

After receiving the second message I was able to withdraw my cash balance of $586.60 USD
However, my cryptocurrencies, BTC, ETH and LTC remain frozen.

I am seeking recovery my assets and clearing of my name and reputation from wrongful accusations.

PayPal Acct:
Walter J Mueller
155 Fairview Ave. E
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
[protected]@live.com
Tel. [protected]

I signed up for a free trial and cancelled on the same day using a button on the site that turned out to send the cancellation to an email address that is not monitored - after my free trial had expired and they said they had not recieved a seperate cancellation email and they said my plan had been automatically upgraded to the Relax 1 year plan which costs 99 Euros - I did not ask for an upgrade and as other users will have told did not agree to any yearly fee of 99 Euros. This is a scam that does not include an actually functional cancellation function on their site so countless users end up being sent scary letters asking for extortionate fees!

Luckily, according to Usenet. nl I did not provide them the correct payment details for Paypal so they couldn't take any money from my bank account - However, I am faced with what is left as a scary situation and no easy way to resolve the matter - Can you help?

Regards,

Oliver Favre-Broady

I ordered a 50inch tv Oct 15 - was supposed to ship out immediately. I reached out on the 22nd when I hadn't heard anything and received no response. I then filed a complaint with paypal. They came back to me and told me it was delivered to my mailbox that very same day. I was home the entire day, nothing close to a TV was delivered anywhere my home or mailbox!
I went to the postmaster where I was informed that my tracking number was for priority mail. That would mean that it was less than 16 ounces. This YELLS out fraud to me! They will not even address it anymore. Just to say that it has been delivered! I am furious

I received an email saying that I had changed my password. I had not although I since have. I am trying to speak to someone but I am forever told that my account can not be opened.

I would like someone to tell me that all is OK.

Bert Zydenbos

On Sept. 21, 2021 my customer, via PayPal, submitted their deposit ($814.85 after fees) for project materials. Prior to this I had put settings to automatically transfer funds to my linked business checking account. I noticed that the funds didn't transfer automatically, so I called and asked what was going on. I was told that the funds were placed on hold and I would have to wait for them to "investigate" the transaction. I informed them that I could not wait because the materials needed to be purchased so I could start the job on time. "Sorry, you'll have to wait or pay the fee to refund the money" was the only response I received. On Sept. 23, 2021 the funds were transferred, but the customer decided to go with another company and I was obligated to refund them the full amount of the deposit ($839.50). Total amount of loss wages are $2334.15.

On Oct 22, 2021, after recertifying my account and believing everything would process smoothly, my customer paid via PayPal their deposit ($1590.05) for project materials. Once again, they have placed the funds on hold. With the cost of materials fluctuating, constantly, I now have to come out of pocket an additional $170.00. After receiving a phone call from the customer inquiring about the materials, they too may want a refund and to go with another company causing me to lose over $6530.20. How are small businesses, who fund themselves, expected to survive when they don't receive the funds paid to them? and are forced to pay deposits back out of their own pockets?

Had I not linked my accounts prior to both transactions I could understand why the holds are being placed. I tolerated the first hold. I can not tolerate being taken advantage of again. I have a family I provide for and can't continue with bad business forced upon me by Money Mizers. Should this customer request a refund, I will seek legal council to demand payment of all lost wages in small claims.

On 10/8/2021 a friend sent me money as they had many times in the past. Paypal newly assessed and removed a $90.57 fee whereas they had never done so before. I refunded the money but PayPal kept the fee. I contacted my friend to resend and they did on 10/11/2021 and were not given the option to send any differently. Again Paypal assessed a second $90.57 fee. I again refunded the transfer to my friend. Over several days and several hours and chat messages and phone calls and getting hung up on and waiting in queue, Paypal blatantly refuses to refund or acknowledge a possible error saying that it is their profit based on the 2019 policy. This is all recorded in the Paypal message center. One Paypal manager, Brad, claiming to be in Florida even said that he didn't work for anyone higher and couldnt refer me to a supervisor and there was no conflict resolution process or team at Paypal so I was basically out of luck.

on 10/15 i filed a dispute with paypal for an unauthorized charge for $325.54. On 10/15 Paypal emailed me indicating i would be refunded the full amount. On 10/20 i spoke to Gabe at paypal who told me the refund would be in my bank by 10/22. On 10/22 i did not receive the refund in my bank. On 10/22 i spoke to Chilly Serena and Robert about the issue- and they did not resolve the issue

I have been using my landline for codes so I could excess Pay Pal for over 10 years . Know Pay pal is forcing all landline owners to go and have to buy cell phones to excess Pay Pal which is bogus . Then they sell our cell phone info to telemarketers . They have my money in my account and will not let me get to it without a cell phone . I have reported this to the Attorney Generals Office in Florida .

I send my payment for a TV on the website and when I went to contact the seller there is not information to contact this seller! I did not receive a confirmation email or anything after making the purchase! Times are hard an I am a senior citizen and 100.00 is a lit of money to me! So, if I am getting a TV that is what I ordered, if this is a fake seller, I expect you to see that my money is returned! Please reply to me and acknowledge you received my complaint. Invoice ID - [protected]-[protected]. And Transaction ID - 96189220RS7448447

You have taken funds from multiple banking institutions to cover one transaction. You are holding nearly $4000 of my money. You have no customer service, only very limited hours. I will escalate this fraud through the state banking agency who is permitting you to do business in my state. The Fonds in question were withdrawn from Citibank and Riegel federal credit union. The resolution I'm looking for is to recover the excess funds withdrawn from my account . PayPal stated there are no errors on there investigations and have not attempted to look deeper into there error. PayPal also has not provided any documentation.

A scammer used a false item and sold on facebook. After a week, I logged onto paypal and notice the seller is a scam with a differ name, email and website that is also a scam information.

When I reported to Paypal on July 7, I shown and provided all information I gathered. I was assured everything will be taken care of within 10 days.
20 days later, nothing was done. I called Paypal, I was told no one reviewed the case and they believed the seller shipped seafood from China to USA.

Another 2 weeks has past.. Aug 4th. Almost 1 month since I open the Fraud case.. there is still no resolution.

Refund pending $512 ++million to [protected]@gmail.com