Consumer complaint received 2020-03-04
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: AZ
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Money was not available when promised

Complaint:
On XX/XX/2020 a {$75.00} transfer was deposited into my PayPal cash plus account ; paypal.me id : XXXX XXXX XXXX 

On XX/XX/2020 the app indicated that the full {$75.00} was available for use and/or transfer. My initial attempt to transfer funds to my debit card for a {$0.00} fee resulted in an error message advising me to reattempt the transfer after waiting a few minutes. 

After waiting a few minutes, I reattempted the same {$75.00} transfer for the {$0.00} fee which resulted in another error message which was different in that the message did not suggest a timeframe to reattempt the transfer. 

After adding a different debit card to the account and reattempting the same {$75.00} transfer for {$0.00} fee a third time to the newly added card, another error message was the result and that error message did not suggest a timeframe to reattempt the transfer as in the previous instance. 

There was no change in the application user interface showing or suggesting there was any sort of problem or limitation involving the balance, linked accounts, or overall account in general throughout the attempted transactions, other than the 3 error messages immediately following the failed transfer attempts. 

No emails, text messages, phone calls or media indications of any sort were generated outside the PayPal app to inform or advise of any failed transfer attempts, suspicious activity, security or other holds and/or account limitations. 

It was after this I decided to contact PayPal directly at approximately XXXX XXXX at XXXX, multiple call records to this number exhibit attached. I am not sure if the agent I spoke with identified himself, but the agent did speak with a clearly foreign accent. After having the agent review my account and the failed transfers, the agent advised that further transfers had been frozen by the security system as a result of too many failed transfers. 

After questioning the nature of this so-called security hold, such as what caused the first transfer attempt to decline, the agent stated he was unable to provide additional details or override the system and he was also unable to request anyone to review and override the security hold. 

The agent went so far as to certainly suggest and possibly state verbatim that there was literally no person employed by PayPal which would be able to override this systemic decision. The agent stated that the system showed a 24 hour hold time after which transfers would proceed as normal. 

I then asked the agent if other transfer methods were also blocked. The agent stated he was unable to determine if they were or not, but that I was free to attempt other transfer methods to see if there would be security holds on them as well. 

I also asked this agent about the failed deposit attempts into my account dated XX/XX/2020. The agent stated that he could not see any problems, reasons, holds and/or limitations which would've precluded the successful execution of the failed transactions. 

I advised it had to be something preventing the transfer via PayPal, because the funds which were attempted to be sent were subsequently sent to me via XXXX XXXX, at an additional cost of approximately {$19.00} per XXXX XXXX fee schedule, exhibits attached. 

In summary this agent stated that there was absolutely nothing showing on his end which would preclude anyone from sending money to my account. He had no comment that the sender paid an additional {$20.00} to send the funds after suggesting the sender did not have sufficient funds to process my requests on XX/XX/2020. 

Subsequent to speaking with this agent, I did attempt to transfer funds via pick up at XXXX. Upon execution of those requests they were also returned with error messages. There were no system messages, emails, text messages, phone calls, nor any other media sent to me to memorialize the attempted transfers other than the messages received immediately upon decline of the transfer attempts. 

Also I updated various account details such as adding phone numbers, email and additional debit cards. These transactions were memorialized with emails and exhibits are attached. 

On XX/XX/2020 at approximately XXXX XXXX  a " get cash at store '' request was requested and approved for {$30.00} with a fee of {$3.00}. A bar-code and alpha-numeric code were also generated both of which expired one hour after generation. 

I immediately located the nearest 24 hour XXXX which was located at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX, approximately 13 miles from my origin location. Upon arriving at XXXX I asked the security officer  for assistance. Initially directed to the online pickup area, I was then directed to aisle 9. 

The clerk was finishing with an existing customer upon my arrival. When I showed the clerk my PayPal app displaying both the barcode and alpha-numeric code, she advised that she was not able to process my transaction and stated that I need to wait until after XXXX XXXX and have customer service process it and she also pointed to the physical area. I thanked the clerk and left her register. 

Between being rejected for my approved transfer and the stated time of XXXX XXXX to proceed I attempted to transfer amounts onto my linked debit cards each failing. 
At approximately XXXX XXXX  I attempted to set up another get cash at the store which was unsuccessful. 

I then decided to contact PayPal at the XXXX number contacted previously. After waiting on hold for an agent approximately 10 minutes, I spoke with a woman who identified herself as a specialist for the PayPal cash account Mastercards. I asked a couple of housekeeping questions about a recently requested plastic which were adequately answered. 

However when I asked about the failed transfers, she gave what is seemingly a boilerplate response to this issue about the " system '' blocking the transfers for unspecified security purposes. 

When I queried her as to specific purposes she said there are many reasons and that nothing could be done. I then challenged her that if there are many reasons my transfer is being blocked then I would like to know one specific reason. She declined to provide any specific reason becoming more condescending and surly with each retort. 

I then requested to be transferred to the fraud department. The agent stated my issue does not constitute fraud so she was not transferring me to that department. At this point the agent was fully arguing with me, ignoring my question and refusing to fulfill my request to be transferred. 

At one point this agent specifically stated that there is no fraud department at PayPal. Upon that statement is when I revealed that I'm a XXXX XXXX   employee and knew for a fact that there is in fact a fraud department. 

She refused my request and became more surly. I specifically told the agent that she was not answering my questions, not offering any solutions, and was arguing with me which was making me upset and that I no longer wanted to speak with her. I requested to be transferred to anyone other than her when her tone changed from argumentative to downright sadistic. 

In her ultimate gotcha moment she stated she was the only person at PayPal I needed to talk to therefore she had nowhere to transfer me. I then requested she disconnect the call and I would call to speak with someone else. She refused that and it seems as if she was laughing underneath her breath as she was determined to not assist me in any manner, not provide any information, not be candid in any statement she made and to be as surly and abrupt as possible, talking over me for at least the last 5 minutes of the call. I eventually disconnected the call, log of which is memorialized in the attached exhibit. 

After that dreadful call with the female agent I called back to the XXXX number contacted previously. I spoke with a Male agent who seemed to have a foreign accent. The agent stated he was in the dispute department. I informed the agent I wished to file a formal complaint against the previous agent. 

He asked some questions about a dispute then stated that I couldn't dispute a transfer. I told him that I did not wish to dispute any transactions and rather I wished to file a formal complaint against the previous agent and I also wanted to speak with someone who would provide the detailed information to my questions the previous agent refused to take seriously. 

This agent then stated he would escalate the complaint about the previous agent and request the call be reviewed. Almost immediately and taking a much more stern tone he stated that the transfers were being delayed and that nothing could be done. I asked for 1 reason and he stated because a previous transfer was declined. I pointed out that was in reference to this same matter and it was PayPal stating the funds were available on one hand while declining the transfer on the other. 

I asked if I am on the terrorist or OFAC lists or if there is a FISA warrant. He declined to respond. I asked if there are reasons my transfers were declined that he was not allowed to acknowledge, in a general sense. He stated that he would try to get someone else to assist me, placed me on hold and after several minutes the call was disconnected.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief