Consumer complaint received 2025-03-21 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: WA

Complaint narrative:
Ever since 2023, Ive been having endless issues of any time I open a PayPal account it gets shut down. The reason I am provided for the shut down is You have continually filed cases that do not align with the intent of the PayPal XXXX XXXX XXXX and are contrary to the terms outlined in our User Agreement. However this is NOT the case and Ive tried to rectify this error many times since I know what initially caused this to start happening and have explained to them those circumstances many time as well. The problem I continually run in to is that, depending on the customer service associate I randomly speak with each time, they will either say that they dont know how to fix it, or just repeat the same pre-typed response that I cant use PayPal anymore, or occasionally be actually extremely helpful and good at their jobs and take the time to understand and then attempt to help but ultimately the case gets escalated to someone else who almost always will revert to either not knowing what to do or saying that I cant use PayPal . Even if I do start to make headway, the fact that its a new agent that responds to each email and not just XXXX person assigned to help me with my case means that eventually XXXX of those people responding is gon na be someone who is terrible at their job or just doesnt care about their job and thus gives me the dismissive response of my PayPal account is closed and I have to start again at square one. 

This is what happened to trigger this and why it needs to be rectified. In 2023, I was an authorized user on a XXXX XXXX credit card. As such I had full legal authority to use the card assigned to me for the account, in addition to having full permission from the account holder who added me to the account. I did in fact use the card on PayPal to both make purchases as well as send money to friends/family. The account holder was aware of all the PayPal charges and approved of them. Shortly after those charges were made however, the account holder had some unforeseen financial issues that caused her to panic. Due to this panic, she made the rash decision to dispute ALL charges that had been made with the XXXX card by both herself and myself, regardless of whether or not there was any legitimacy to those disputes. 

PLEASE NOTE : not only were the disputed transactions not disputed by me, but due to my limited account authority as an authorized user but not an account holder, it would in fact be IMPOSSIBLE for even XXXX dispute to have been filed by me personally as XXXX does NOT allow authorized users to file disputes, only the account holder. The most significant and pertinent facts then - that I was an authorized user on the account ( but not an account holder ) and all charges made by me were fully legal and in accordance with all laws regarding authorized use of credit card accounts AND in accordance with all PayPal terms and conditions, and that ONLY the account holder is permitted to file disputes, AND that all disputed PayPal transactions were made by the account holder via HER online account and NOT by myself - can all VERY easily be verified if PayPal contacts XXXX directly. I have in fact requested numerous times for PayPal to contact XXXX in order to rectify this situation but for some unknown reason they have yet to do so. 

While I do not deny that I made transactions via PayPal that were later disputed, the disputes were something I had absolutely no control over nor even knowledge of until quite some time after they had been filed. That these disputes be attributed to my identity in PayPals system is not just unfair but also entirely wrong and incorrect. The ease of which the accuracy of this can be quickly verified by XXXX with no need for any single person to take my word on it is extremely frustrating. 

Not only has this made it extremely difficult for me to maintain a PayPal account, something which is an absolutely vital and frequently needed service with no possible alternatives, but it also led to PayPal closing my business account as well despite my business account having a flawless record with no disputes or complaints ever filed against us, significant transaction history both in terms of number of transactions and the age of the account, and another business owner on the account other than just myself. Losing our PayPal account was absolutely detrimental to our business and caused us to experience significant financial loss and devastation immediately with lasting consequences to this day. Our business has never fully recovered and stands no chance of recovery until this is rectified and our business account with PayPal can be restored. 

An additional issue which is not only unfair but I strongly believe may even be illegal though certainly a breach of the PayPal terms and conditions by PayPal themselves is that I have been left with no avenue for filing legitimate disputes and on several occasions now since this began PayPal has allowed other people via their accounts WHICH REMAIN OPEN AND IN GOOD STANDING to both scam me and ultimately steal my money. There is XXXX transaction in particular where the seller never provided the goods promised after I sent them several hundred dollars because shortly after I sent the money PayPal closed my account and they realized they could take my money and there was nothing I could do about it. I contacted PayPal many times to have that rectified and was dismissed and talked down to every single time. Despite the length of time which has passed since then, I am absolutely insistent that PayPal makes it right and refunds the money they allowed to be stolen from me. 

It is entirely unfair, shameful, and just downright lazy of PayPal to continue to close my accounts and deny me the ability to maintain an account and use PayPal for something I had absolutely no part in and which can be quite easily proven and verified to have been done by someone else entirely. Having spent years trying to rectify this with PayPal directly to only be ignored, dismissed, and consistently accused of wrongdoing despite my absolute innocence, I feel I have been left with no choice but to file this claim now with CFPB and hold PayPal accountable in order to finally rectify this unjust situation. The only acceptable outcome of this is that my name be cleared entirely of these allegations AND either my original PayPal account restored or the ability to create a new account with full access that will not be shut down granted AND my business account immediately restored with all the transaction history and earned account limits restored as well AND lastly, that the dispute for the several hundred dollars which was stolen from me as a result of PayPal closing the account Id used to make the purchase be filed and my money returned. 


PLEASE NOTE - FILES ATTACHED TO THIS CASE ARE : XXXX. Screenshot of the {$400.00} transaction where PayPal allowed a seller to commit fraud and steal my money and then denied me the ability to dispute or recover my stolen funds. 
XXXX. Photo of official correspondence sent from XXXX to the account holder who was the sole individual responsible for filing the disputes which clearly mentions the name of the account holder ( which obviously differs from my name ) and provides irrefutable evidence that she is the XXXX who filed the disputes as the letter is in regards to XXXX of the associated disputes and mentions both the dispute itself AND addresses her by name as the dispute filer. As I was never more than an authorized user and therefore only ever had limited account access, I am unable to personally provide significant evidence in the form of documents beyond this particular photo, though again all provided claims can be verified from XXXX directly. That said, this particular photo is by itself already significant proof to validate my claims and if there was any intention by PayPal to refuse to verify or rectify my accounts as a result of this CFPB filing the inclusion of this photo would render any dismissal of this claim to be both a violation of my rights but a direct violation of the terms and conditions by PayPal themselves and ultimately an irresponsible act of willful ignorance to the companies own detriment. I would hope that PayPal would put significant value on striving to maintain honesty and integrity amongst both the platform and its users not only by keeping user accounts free from false allegations or incorrectly attributed violations but also by ensuring that the accounts who in fact were the ones responsible for committing said violations ( in this case, both the one who actually filed the disputes AND the account who intentionally stole {$400.00} upon realizing my account had been closed and they would not receive any repercussions ) had those violations contributed to them and them alone so that the correct individuals do get banned and prevented from continuing to conduct business through PayPal. This protects the well intentioned users not only from being put in debt due to a dishonest dispute ( the other outcome of the cardholders disputes being that PayPal deemed the recipients of those disputed transactions as the ones responsible for there repayment, which is both a wrong and reprehensible decision by PayPal that it is shocking and shameful and should be immediately done away with as a policy entirely ) but also from having their money stolen from them by those who seek to defraud by promising to deliver the purchased product but never following through. 
XXXX. Also attached is a bank statement for the XXXX credit card account from XXXX of XXXX. While this is shortly prior to the relevant transactions being made or disputed, it is the only statement I personally have access to, but demonstrates the truth of my claims that I was in no way the account holder or responsible the account by showing the name and address of the sole account holder, whose name is also visible in the official letter from XXXX sent to the account holder in regards to XXXX of the applicable disputes.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief