PayPal
Hacked 1999 account, no response, and permanent lockout
- 08-18-2006
- 4
Back in 1999 I was using PayPal and was perfectly happy with their service. One day my bank called me and asked if I had authorized automatic deductions from my account. As it turned out, someone had broken PayPal's security and gotten into my account.
They first sent themselves $300.00. That worked. Then they sent themselves $3000.00. That worked too. When they sent themselves $500.00 and then another $5000.00, my bank's fraud alarm went off (this is a popular way to 'test' accounts for certain levels of cash available), and this is when they called me... Also, I did not have the full $5,000.00 left in my account by this time.
When I called PayPal, they refused to talk to me or admit that they could be at fault. When I asked them to check my account, they said I would have to submit an email complaint. That done, I received no response. I called again and was told that what I was telling them was impossible and that I should check my account. So I checked it while I was on the phone with them.
The thief who broke into my account had changed the password so that I could no longer get in. PayPal told me that unless I could give them the password that was on the account now, they could do nothing...?! Quite upset, I called my bank, which called VISA, and together they restored the full funds to my account within 48 hours. PayPal, however, never admitted that the problem had taken place. They refused to deal with my bank and with VISA to work it out, and they refused to ever allow me access to my account again... (three years passed before I would do business with them or eBay again.)
I finally had to open an account under a fictitious name on both eBay and PayPal, which I am careful to never allow the balance to go over $100.00. I will never trust them again. In fact, I am sending all of my customers through a merchant account that I paid to set up on my own... and it is cheaper! I say that if there are other options, let's all work to put them out of business!
Company: PayPal
Country: USA
Site: paypal.com