Consumer complaint received 2024-04-29 00:00:00
Product: Debt collection — Other debt
Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed — Debt is not yours
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: VA

Complaint narrative:
XXXX XXXX XX/XX/24 Text sent from PayPal at XXXX XXXX  / read at approximately XXXX XXXX  PayPal : For your protection, weve limited your account due to potential unusual activity. Log in to your PayPal account for more info and next steps. 

When I logged in, I saw a payment to XXXX XXXX for {$8800.00}. 

I called PayPal at XXXX XXXX  and made them aware that I had not made that payment. At that point it was suggested that I make an Unauthorized Payment report. I agreed and was told they would do an investigation and would be back to me via email. 

On XX/XX/24 Text sent from PayPal at XXXX XXXX / read at approximately XXXX XXXX  XXXX from PayPal : Thanks for working with us to restore your PayPal account. Log in t verify you have access. 

An email was sent from PayPal on XX/XX/24 at XXXX XXXX, I saw it at approximately XXXX XXXX. saying : " We've completed our review of your unauthorized activity case, and we've determined there was no unauthorized use. Based on our review, we found this transaction is consistent with your PayPal payment history. '' I called PayPal again at XXXX XXXX and restated that I had not sent {$8800.00} to XXXX XXXX. I did not know this person ; I dont have that much money in my checking accounts, and I dont send that amount to individual people. I also did not understand why they thought this type of payment was consistent with your PayPal payments. I was told that they would investigate this again. 

On XX/XX/24 Text sent from PayPal at XXXX XXXX  / read at approximately XXXX XXXX  PayPal : Action needed on your account. Please go to XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX or call us at XXXX. Reply STOP to stop text messages. 

At XXXX XXXX, I texted PayPal. 

I made PayPal aware on XX/XX/XXXX that I had not authorized that action. I do not know the person and I did not purchase anything at that amount. It was PayPal who alerted me via text message of this suspicious action when it first appeared on my account. I will call again in the morning On XX/XX/24 I respond to the email and called PayPal. I was told this was a collection call. I proceeded to state again that I had not sent money to this person and that it was PayPal who found the activity unusual and alerted me. The collection person suggested I make a good faith payment. My response was that I was not going to pay anything when I did not make the payment to begin with. After that, she reconnected me with customer service. I asked customer service for copies of all my transactions from the beginning of my account to present. The agent put me on hold and when he returned said they could only give me the last 7 years of transitions. My response was that that would do and if my lawyer needed any more than 7 years, she could subpoena it later. The customer service person then connected me with the department who did the investigation. I spoke to the agent and went over again that I had not initiated a payment for {$8800.00} to an individual person The agent said that nothing could be done because they had made a decision. I then clarified that what he was telling me was that there was no way to appeal the decision within PayPal and my only recourse was to take this to court? He asked me who I wanted to talk to, and I suggested a supervisor. He was able to connect me to a supervisor. I again voiced that I had not sent {$8800.00} to an individual person and that I did not have a payment history or pattern of spending that amount of money to individual people. She clarified with me that I did not know the person and asked if I recognize the email address, which I said I did not recognize ), and whether a family member could have made the transaction. I shared that I was not married and did not have children and did not share my PayPal account information with friends. I also said that while I was having to deal with this issue, they had a problem as well ; their system seems to be breached. The supervisor agreed to re-investigate the issue. Before hanging up the supervisor verified that a request for the last 7 years of transactions had been made. 

An email was sent from PayPal on XX/XX/24 at XXXX XXXX, I saw it on XX/XX/24 at approximately XXXX XXXX. I forwarded this to my lawyer. 

On XX/XX/24 my lawyer and I had a three-way call with Pay Pal. Spoke with XXXX ( operator ID XXXX ), who transferred us to XXXX in Investigations. I was told that in 10 days I would receive an update about this. 

On XX/XX/24 I called again and was told that I am responsible to pay this amount. I told them I never authorized this and that they need to investigate XXXX XXXX. I was told a supervisor would call me back. They have not. 

On XX/XX/24 I called collections and was told I am responsible for this debt because PayPal does not back up personal transactions, that it is part of the terms and conditions of PayPal. 

I am concerned this will affect my credit. 

Thank you very much for your attention to this matter. 

*See attached 3 year payment history

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation