Consumer complaint received 2021-07-12
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc (VA)

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from Paypal at XXXX XXXX  ( ET ) indicating that a purchase was made in the amount of {$1400.00} at XXXX through my XXXX XXXX card, which is linked to my Paypal account. Knowing that I have not made a purchase at XXXX since XX/XX/XXXX ( which was in store with a visa card ), I immediately logged into my Paypal account to see the transaction. I called Paypal to alert them to the fraudulent charge at XXXX XXXX. They immediately entered it into the system as fraud and provided a claim number. I explicitly asked them what the next steps are and if I needed to also contact XXXX XXXX, since the charge was attempted on the credit card through Paypal. I was told by the Paypal employee to next contact XXXX XXXX to alert them. Following their instructions, I next called to talk to an XXXX XXXX agent at XXXX XXXX, filing the charge as fraudulent. They could see a pending charge for a portion of the funds ( the purchase on Paypal said a small charge would first be placed on my credit card to verify funds to cover the purchase ). XXXX XXXX deemed the charge as fraudulent. They put a stop to the charge ( which was in process, not yet posted ), canceled my credit card, and issued a replacement card ( which was delivered the next day on XX/XX/XXXX ). 

I received an email notification from Paypal on XX/XX/XXXX saying that they could no longer investigate the claim because it was also being investigated by XXXX XXXX. I was on vacation through XX/XX/XXXX and was not able to contact Paypal to inquire about this email until I returned on XX/XX/XXXX. This morning XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XXXX, I logged into my Paypal account around XXXX XXXX, where I noticed my balance was {$0.00} instead of the expected {$1400.00}. I called Paypal at XXXX XXXX  and spoke to a male representative ( after waiting on hold for nearly 25 minutes ) who told me that because the claim also went through XXXX XXXX, I can only recover {$86.00} XXXX the amount attempted to be charged to that card ). The remaining balance of {$1400.00} was taken out of my Paypal account. The Paypal rep said that money is not recoverable. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and I was hung up on during the transfer. I then called XXXX XXXX. The representative said that what Paypal was saying made no sense and that I should not be liable for the fraud. He requested permission to stay on the line while I call Paypal back so he can ask them a few questions to help me recover the money. Together, we waited nearly 30 minutes and finally were connected with another Paypal representative. She put us on hold to pull up my account, and again disconnected us. We then had to call back a third time, waiting another 30+ minutes ( at this point, across the three calls, I was on hold for over an hour and a half ). I finally got someone who explained to us that there was nothing she could do except try to escalate to the dispute team. We told her that they can go back and listen to the recording from XX/XX/XXXX in which Paypal advised I contact XXXX XXXX. That this issue was caused by them but they are unwilling to get me my money back. She still said there was nothing they could do. I then requested to speak to a supervisor. After an hour and 20 minutes, the XXXX XXXX rep and I were still on hold to reach a supervisor. 

During that time, I called XXXX at XXXX XXXX  to see if there was anything they could do. I provided them with the transaction information. XXXX confirmed that it was a fraudulent purchase and that the scammer tried to change the shipping address but was denied due to XXXX deeming the purchase as fraud. XXXX suggested that I contact the banking institute to resolve the charges. This brought me back full circle to Paypal. 

At this point, I had spoken to no less than 5 people over a continuous period of 5 hours. Mind you, the XXXX XXXX agent and I were still on hold on the other line with Paypal. He and I determined that that point that the best would be to hang up, and I would try to call Paypal back again. I then hung up the hold with Paypal, assuming that after nearly an hour and a half, no one would answer. I called the customer service line ( again ) at XXXX XXXX  and was on hold ( again ) for over an hour and 20 minutes. I finally reached a supervisor at Paypal named XXXX who told me there was nothing he could do to help me recover my funds. He advised that I sue Paypal/take them to small claims court to get my money back. I couldn't believe he suggested I sue his own company. When I repeated that back to him ( wait, so you, an employee at Paypal, suggest I sue your company?! ), he stumbled, retracted, and said that I should do what I think is necessary to get my money back. At this point, I have lost over 6 hours of my day and am still out {$1400.00} because someone hacked my account to make a fraudulent purchase. I then asked XXXX to confirm that all phone calls are recorded by their systems. He confirmed that yes, all calls are recorded. I asked him to please go back and find the XX/XX/XXXX phone call where his staff was the one who caused this whole problem. He then put me on hold ( about 30 minutes ) and told me that he could not find the recording. This seemed rather convenient that they claim that they have lost the proof that their own staff were the cause of this issue, causing me to lose {$1400.00}, which was stolen from my account. I am beyond disgusted at the hoops I have to jump through to get my money back. If necessary, I plan to pursue legal action, report them, and contact the news. 


I would appreciate any help I can get so that I do not lose money stolen from me.