Consumer complaint received 2019-11-06
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: MD
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem

Complaint:
Starting from the beginning, I was using my Paypal account in conjunction with another account I have on the website XXXX. This was to send money for a purchase of Bitcoin, which they have advertised as " we are licensed to allow users to both sell and buy bitcoin  at varying exchange rates, under hundreds of different methods, such as bank transfers, debit/credit cards, wire transfers, XXXX, XXXX XXXX, gift cards, online payments, other cryptocurrency, etc. '' I started a trade on XX/XX/2019 at XXXX XXXX   GMT+3, after logging in to both my XXXX  and Paypal accounts. After establishing a trading partner and rate on XXXX, I was connected to the trader via chat. In this chat they are supposed to provide you with instruction on how to provide the correct details and what to do to " complete payment '' while the trader and the XXXX  chat hold escrow. So I asked the trader to whom I would send XXXX $ to on paypal and he provided me the email : XXXX and I did so, without any other requirements I clicked the " paid '' button on the left side of the chat and was told the bitcoin was in escrow through XXXX, however the seller/trader would have to say that he has verified the payment. After checking his paypal account he stated that the payment was on hold on his paypal account, and I informed him that paypal stated that at the latest he would receive his money on XX/XX/XXXX, which was entirely out of my control. I for one, only had the transfer activity recorded in my account and could not even cancel to get a refund. So I asked him to be patient and maybe contact paypal to see why it was on hold and if he could have it available to send sooner. He then said " let 's wait 24 hours '' although he also said this has happened to him before in other transactions. After checking his reviews on XXXX, I had seen that some people sated that they had to wait 12 hours to receive their purchase. Apparently using " outside escrow '' invalidates the terms of service agreement on XXXX, however they advertise traders " who accept paypal ''. after waiting three hours I opened a dispute through the menu on the left side of the XXXX   chat and have been waiting to hear directly from the moderator, after fulfilling the requirements in a script that opens during a dispute, instructing both users to provide " video evidence '' of proof of payment ALTHOUGH the chat doesn't allow video format uploads ( like my proof of payment, and his receipt as jpegs/screenshots ) so I had to upload me logging in to paypal and reviewing the transaction on video to an unlisted XXXX upload, which I placed in the chat in front of the moderator and the trader. I have tried to use The Resolution Center in Paypal 's help section and was denied my case when I stated that the transaction was unauthorized. Previously you could request a case for refund for the reason that simply you wanted to cancel/the goods or services promised were not provided. However, this trader on XXXX must've been attempting to scam me because he said " send it as a friend '' as part of his instructions. XXXX has also stated that the dispute could take up to 7 days, past the time the trader 's hold would be active. I don't know why I should have to wait more than a week to recieve what was promised to me while this trader will receive his money in less. I am claiming negligence from all 3 parties,  Paypal, XXXX, and the trader known as XXXX : ( email : XXXX )

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation