Consumer complaint received 2022-08-07
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt was result of identity theft
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc (WI)

On XX/XX/XXXX I noticed a PayPal withdrawal from my checking account in the amount of {$2900.00}. I proceeded to check my PayPal account which did not show any forms of purchases or withdrawals. I had my wife check her PayPal account, and she did not have any authorized withdrawals taking place in the said amount. I contacted my bank, they informed me that the pending withdrawal from PayPal was in my name. I proceeded to call PayPal on the same date listed. I don't recall the person I spoke with. I proceeded to explain my circumstance to her. She told me that there was nothing listed on my PayPal account in that amount. She proceeded to investigate the situation and informed me that someone had " stolen '' my identity, to where they obtained my full name, address, phone number, email and social security number in XXXX and was not using the information for this purchase. She told me that someone had opened a PayPal account under my name and was using a different email address of XXXX. The PayPal representative placed a hold/ ( closed ) on the fraudulent account and informed me that she would send all the information to their fraud department for investigation. 

During this time, I opened a new checking account and started the process of transferring funds to the new checking account. I had to wait until the end of the week to officially close the account due to pending automatic withdrawals. I noticed that there were two additional attempts ( total of 3 attempts ) trying to withdrawal the {$2900.00} from my old checking account. We did not have that dollar amount in that account, so the transaction never went through/cleared the checking account. Each time I noticed the pending withdrawals, I contacted my bank and called PayPal to inform them of the situation. PayPal informed me that they would look into it. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a collection letter from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ( XXXX ). I was not sure if this was a scam or if it was a real company since my street address was listed incorrectly. I contacted XXXX XXXX, to where I have Identity Theft Insurance through, and informed me that this was a legit company. We proceeded to place a conference call with XXXX. The representative informed us that the account number on the notice was from PayPal and PayPal had sent the dollar amount {$2900.00} to collections. We informed XXXX that I was a victim of Identity Theft and explained the situation to them. XXXX informed that they would send what they gathered from us back to PayPal informing PayPal that this was fraudulent. 

On XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX and I made a conference call to PayPal to get an update on my case. We contacted the Fraud department and then was transferred to a different department. After some time having a conversation with the representative of PayPal, he finally agreed to file an investigation on the alleged charges. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from PayPal informing me that PayPal had completed their investigation and found no evidence to support my fraud claim and requesting payment in the amount of {$2900.00}. 

On XX/XX/XXXX my XXXX XXXX claim representative called me to see if there was any additional movement on my issue. I informed her that PayPal said there was no fraudulent activity on my PayPal account and that I owe the said amount. My claims representative forward me additional information to file with the XXXX XXXX XXXX and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to try and resolve my Identity Theft case.