Consumer complaint received 2019-05-09
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: TX
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Confusing or missing disclosures

Complaint:
Paypal failed to notify me of the new requirement they implemented on XX/XX/XXXX to all accounts. They claim they sent an email but they can not provide a written copy of it to me. Depending on which CSR you speak to it was sent in XX/XX/XXXX, XX/XX/XXXX or XX/XX/XXXX. I have never seen this email. They also failed to automatically grant my personal PayPal account in good standing a required Cash or Cash Plus account as detailed in the Policy Update on their website. 

After 18 years of being a Verified PayPal user, they began using my secondary ( back-up ) funding source on file to pay for everything instead of my PayPal account balance on XX/XX/XXXX. I had a bank account and Credit Card on file. They chose the bank account. I had no idea this was happening. There were no warnings. There were no click-through pages with detailed information on the PayPal website of these new changes that altered the user agreement after 18 years of use when I signed in. My " Verified '' PayPal account should have been converted automatically to include this new " Cash '' account. My PayPal account has been " verified '' for years as I provided a bank account many years ago which made me a " verified '' user and according to PayPal 's Policy Update .... '' If you are an existing personal PayPal account holder and we have already verified your identity, we will establish and automatically link a PayPal Cash Plus account to your current PayPal account ''. 

On Monday, XX/XX/XXXX, I called PayPal. I was told to call XXXX as it was an issue with the Billing Agreement. I called XXXX three times that day and PayPal four times. PayPal offshore Customer Service phone reps told me a different story each time I called. Finally, one CSR started to explain the changes made that were forced upon PayPal by the CFPB. Having never heard of anything like that, I didn't believe the rep at first. I was told I would receive a call on Tuesday. PayPal called at XXXX. I missed the call. They left no message and no call back number. 

On Wednesday, XX/XX/XXXX, I started calling again. I tried to remove my bank account information from the PayPal system, asked for a clear written explanation as to why my account was using my secondary ( back-up ) funding source instead of PayPal balance, a letter explaining to my bank why this happened and for compensation of {$230.00}. I was told that the " back office '' would review my case and call me back. After many hours I called PayPal again. A CSR, XXXX XXXX XXXX, told me there was no " back office '' and that I would never receive any form of compensation from PayPal and that PayPal had no legal office or litigation team whatsoever and that until I provided him with my birth date, he would not help me any further. I was also told by another rep earlier that it was required to send me a text message via cellphone to remove my bank account information. I asked what they would do if I didn't have a cell phone and explained that it was not a legal requirement for me to own or provide a cell phone number to PayPal? That's when I was told the " back office '' would call me back. 

Not sure if you have even fallen victim to overseas call centers, but they are nothing more than gatekeepers. They do a good job of frustrating a person to the point of almost suicide or giving up entirely. 

My issue : The entire month of XXXX, PayPal has charged anything done through XXXX  ( shipping labels, small purchases, etc. ) directly to my secondary funding source which is a bank. I have accrued a negative balance of {$240.00} due to this. On Monday, I tried to call and straighten all of this out and got nowhere. On Wednesday morning, after waiting on PayPal 's phone call all day Tuesday, I received three new emails from PayPal. Two XXXX shipping label charges from XXXX had been run through my bank again and returned to PayPal due to NSF. I had already brought the matter to PayPal 's attention that there was an issue, they let the automatic system roll and incurred two brand new {$29.00} NSF fees, all over 9 dollars. The emails stated they would charge my back up funding source of the Credit Card and in a second email they would also charge the exact same shipping fee to my PayPal balance. So double charging. And, charging shipping fees to a PayPal balance which according to the new rules, they are no longer allowed to do. 

I was charged three {$25.00} OD fees and five {$29.00} NSF fees due to this error. Unable to use PayPal to print XXXX shipping labels, I paid {$4.00} above what I should have paid to ship two items at the local US Post Office. According to the emails, they have charged me twice for one {$7.00} shipping label. 
These charges total {$230.00} that I am owed by PayPal. 

I have lost 3 days from working on XXXX and counting. I am unable to speak to an actual paid PayPal employee. I have been lied to. And, I am unable to remove my personally owned bank account information from the PayPal website. I receive an error message stating that it can not be removed due to a pending transaction. New NSF charges will accrue at the bank as I can not remove the bank account info. Meanwhile, there is {$130.00} in the PayPal account that I can not use without making changes to my account and adding my birth date. I will add that I have searched around my PayPal account page and there is absolutely zero information as to how to update my account to what they require so that they will release the lock they have on my bank account information.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief