Consumer complaint received 2019-07-02
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: GA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account

Complaint:
I submit this complaint against Paypal , Inc. for not releasing funds legitimately deposited into my account, failing to provide a reason for doing so, failing to communicate and respond to my efforts to provide any additional information required, and failure to implement policies and procedures allowing for consumers to register complaints about such behavior and/or to expeditiously resolve such consumer complaints. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a legitimate deposit in the amount of {$14000.00} in my Paypal account ( Account e-mail : XXXX ) from XXXX, XXXX. XXXX, XXXX. Is a daily fantasy sports wagering provider that is widely known, licensed in most U.S. states, and is a partner of PayPal. Since XXXX, I have almost exclusively used PayPal to deposit and withdraw funds from my XXXX, XXXX. account. In other words, such transactional activity between my PayPal account and XXXX, XXXX. is routine and not unusual. In fact, on XX/XX/XXXX, I received multiple deposits into my PayPal account totaling over {$17000.00} and fairly quickly transferred those funds into my personal bank accounts, all of which have been on file with PayPal for more than 10 years. XXXX, XXXX. abides by Federal requirements to identify customers and issues tax documents to its customers. It is worth noting I have had this same PayPal account for 17 years. 

The XX/XX/XXXX deposit registered in my PayPal account around XXXX XXXX EDT. The full amount was listed as available for transfer on my PayPal account dashboard. I made several efforts to transfer {$13000.00} to my personal bank account that were unsuccessful. The PayPal system would only tell me that they were unable to transfer to my personal bank account at that time. 

I contacted PayPal customer service, which apparently routes to an offshore location. The individuals I spoke with at this location were both uninformed and extremely unhelpful ; I conclude they are not expected to be helpful in these situations. The first representative told me to try to transfer a lower amount, like maybe {$1000.00}, because the daily limit was {$5000.00}. I know this to be factually inaccurate because I transferred as much as {$8000.00} on two occasions in XX/XX/XXXX. I asked him if the daily limit was {$5000.00} to one bank account or cumulatively and he could not provide an answer. Then, he told me that the system had placed a security block on my account and to try again later. 

After waiting an hour, I again contacted customer service, which also routed to an offshore location and resulted in the same frustration. This customer service representative had even less familiarity with the PayPal system and was rude. When she told me that there was a security block on my account, I explained that I was familiar with such systems because I had spent 20 years in U.S. Federal law enforcement and time as an anti-money laundering and compliance officer with a financial institution in the United States. I indicated I knew there had to be escalation processes in place to resolve matters for legitimate transaction activity such as mine. She said there were not, and that I should just wait and try my transaction later. I told her this was unacceptable and demanded to be transferred to a supervisor ; she placed me on hold where I waited for more than 35 minutes before disconnecting. 

I then engaged the PayPal Support XXXX handle and requested to speak with a U.S.-based supervisor. While they were much more professional than the offshore representatives, they were similarly unable to connect me with someone in PayPal who could resolve the situation. I advised them that I was familiar with security and anti-money laundering protocols and was willing to provide any documentation they needed to demonstrate the legitimacy of the transaction and deposit, but they did not appear to be in a position to assist. 

I demand the following as resolution to this matter : Immediate release of the {$14000.00} funds in my account Information as to why the funds were placed on hold and how to prevent this situation from occurring in the future PayPal to review its current complaint process to ensure situations where its system places holds on legitimate funds can be expeditiously resolved. PayPal has a method for disputing transactions, but I could find no complaint process for consumers whose legitimate funds have been held PayPal to review how it describes funds held in accounts to consumers. The funds in my account have shown available to transfer at all times, yet customer service has indicated otherwise {$2500.00} reimbursement for time wasted due to PayPals failure to implement an adequate complaint process

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation