Consumer complaint received 2023-08-15
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: NV
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Fraud or scam

Complaint:
I apologize for the wall of text that follows... I tried formatting it with plenty of paragraph breaks, but they all seem to be removed by your system. Anyway : I have an account with PayPal , Inc, and unfortunately found myself with a cash balance of {$270.00} in this account that I needed to withdraw.

For whatever reason, PayPal 's system would not allow me to add my bank account for electronic transfer, so I chose the only remaining option, a check by mail, and even paid an extra {$1.00} fee for this service.

PayPal issued the check on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, I informed them that it still hasn't arrived, and was told that I needed to wait a minimum of 14 business days before they would do anything about it. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, the check was fraudulently cashed by an unknown third party. However, we don't learn that until nearly a month later, because : On XX/XX/XXXX, I contact them again. This time, they offer to stop payment on the check, to which I agree immediately. I am told to expect an email within 3-5 business days and that the rep will " personally '' follow up. None of that ever happens. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I contact them yet again and am finally told that the check has already been cashed. After some back and forth where they repeatedly insist that I check with my " friends and family '' about the missing check, I am even provided with a copy of the canceled check ( which does not even purport to have my signature on it -- only " pay to the order of <thief> '' and the thief 's signature ). They try to wash their hands of the whole thing, but I insist that they merely inform their bank ( XXXX XXXX ) about the fraud. I am told I need to fill out a so-called " Fraudulent Endorsement Claim Form, '' and that I will hear back about it in " less than 28 hours. '' On XX/XX/1948 hours later, I ask them about this form and am told " nothing to worry '' ( this phrase appears twice in the single message ), they are working on it. On XX/XX/XXXX, I contact them again, and am now being told there is nothing more they will do, and that I need to contact the receiving bank ( XXXX  XXXX -- an entity I have no relationship with whatsoever ). I reiterate that no, they need to inform their sending bank about the fraud ; they just keep insisting that I should somehow " contact '' XXXX XXXX, and refusing to budge on contacting XXXX XXXX themselves. 

To summarize, from my point of view, PayPal 's negligence and incompetence has : 1 ) Allowed the theft to take place in the first place, by doing nothing when I reported the missing check 4 days before it was fraudulently cashed ; 2 ) Subsequently allowed the theft to go undetected and unreported for a month, by both failing to notice that the check was already cashed when I inquired about it just 4 days after the fraud, and by failing -- despite emphatic promises to do so -- to follow up on this inquiry ; 3 ) Even now continued to impede any investigation or resolution by refusing to take the most basic step of reporting the fraud to their sending bank, for two weeks and counting.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation