Has anyone had trouble with PayPal or heard of the horrible things that have happened to users?

[Grasswire2]

I've just had (am ongoing, actually) in a very bad experience with PayPal. I have a business Paypal mastercard account, and use it to send and receive modest amounts of money.

For the second time in ten months, I've received a new debit card card (first time, a replacement card when the first one expired -- took me weeks to get it activated after repeated demands for more and more proof of my identity -- very frustrating.) They have my ID, they have my SSN, they have my phone number, they MAILED the card to me, which verifies the address.

Then, I lost my wallet, cancelled the card, and requested a replacement. Easy, right?

I have been trying for months to activate the new card. Telephone customer service is worse than useless. They argue with you, put you on hold, and never come back. Online customer service is horrid -- same drill.

I am at wit's end to liberate the money in the account. About $700. I tried using the balance with Instacart. Would not accept it. Can't use it as a debit card because they have not activated it.

So I went to twitter. And I found story after story there of horrible abuses of people and their money. Simply locking up accounts. And other disgusting practices.

Take a look: This Twitter account called PayPal Takedown is reporting individual cases of abuse of members' monies.

[link:http://

Link to tweet

?s=20&t=akiBHmnRDJObOvc9kulkqA|

Bottom line: Now tonight they want me to upload a W-2 or pay stub. Are you freaking kidding me??

I've been a PP member for ten years or so. I don't know how to free up the money in the account.

I'm not feeling very kind toward Elon Musk tonight -- and I see that PP stock is in the basement this week -- losing a lot of $$.

[whathehell]

1. I got a suspicious email yesterday, supposedly from Paypal..

but my husband,, who is savvier than I on these matters, told me it's actually NOT PayPal, but some scammer posing as PayPal, and he advised me to delete it without opening it, which I did.

[calguy]

2. I get emails like that from time to time

I called PayPal and they were very nice and professional. The girl told me PayPal will never send an email unless it has your name on it. If it starts out saying something like, "Dear Valued Customer," you know it's fake. She also said the sender's ID address is a dead give away. I've gotten several since then, and quick glance at the sender and it's deleted.

Other than that instance, which wasn't PayPal's fault, all my interactions with them have been superb.

[AngryOldDem]

11. I did too.

It happens from time to time. I delete without opening.

And I just deleted my account, which I opened years ago for a specific reason and never really used since. Just never trusted it, really.

[canuckledragger]

3. I cancelled my account long ago when those stories first started.

Locked accounts for shady reasons, no avenues to get the money back, etc.

The only reason I ever used it in the first place was a lack of a credit card for online purchases, which was fixed once things like visa/debit cards came about, letting you use your own bank card and money within like a credit card.

Never used them since, never will again. They should be investigated and shut down for theft and extortion.

[CloudWatcher]

4. I had money frozen for 6 months

Long story, but after 6 months the funds were released.

Hate PayPal ... use them only when absolutely necessary.

[DFW]

5. I use them maybe once or twice a year when people request it.

I don't have an account with them. They are just too cumbersome to convince me that they are safe to use on a regular basis.

[iemanja]

6. I had a small amount of money locked once

an Ebates payment. It was irritating.

[bamagal62]

7. I refuse to use PayPal.

[eShirl]

8. I've been using Paypal for online purchases for years, no problems.

Ever since ebay added it as a payment method.
I don't use a card for it, and I don't have any money sitting in it. It draws directly from my regular account at a local brick & mortar bank.

[YorkRd]

9. One of their vendors stole $300 from me and Capital One and FedEx wouldn't help.

PayPal is very hard to deal with. I didn’t even know I still had an account. They help crooks.

Several months ago I got an e-mail that I bought a $1000 laptop and they needed me to click on something to track it.

[eShirl]

10. ok

[Grasswire2]

19. !!

I got a text message on my phone yesterday that my order (NONEXISTANT) for a laptop had been received and the laptop would be purchased for $1800 from my account. There was a button to link to amazon. WHICH I DID NOT PRESS.

I have never had any kind of message like that before.

[DemocraticPatriot]

33. That would be a "phishing" attempt, not from paypal.

Same thing happening now with fake emails "from amazon" and other places...

[SheltieLover]

12. These 3rd party apps are horrible!

Pay pal is notorious for hacking bank accounts, or allowing them to be hacked.

Square is even worse.

Legislation needed to regulate the same as banks!

[hlthe2b]

13. I haven't had PP issues (yet) but I keep no $$ in the account and I NEVER use credit/debit cards at

outdoor swipers (gas-- I pay cash) or outdoor ATMs. and I am VERY cautious about using them in busy, heavily self-service check-outs in stores like the dreaded Sam's and Walmart given they pay ZERO attention to those machines which could easily be fitted for a cloner in seconds.

The above is after my card was cloned at a Safeway gas pump in a really low crime area (if there is such a thing) in Colorado. The attendant scans the pumps for "cloners" (or so they say) every morning, but it didn't catch one apparently and thus my Thanksgiving nightmare a few years ago.

So, while I agree with the caution about Paypal and hope you will update us, I think the issue of having your cards stolen or cloned is an issue that can cause similar problems beyond Paypal. Let us know how yours works out. Good luck

[Scrivener7]

14. Are the problems all with the cards? I have an account linked to my Amex

and have not yet had trouble, but will use it much more sparingly now.

[cinematicdiversions]

16. I don;t think there is much of an issue if you link it to a decent CC

I would be much more hesitant linking it to a cash or debit instrument.

[msfiddlestix]

15. The only problem I ever had with PayPal was recovering my password

I've always avoided their offers to open up a credit card account with them, but I have had an account useing their payment service for a few on line transactions regularly. So far, no other problems my password issues were my bad. got it straightened out.

Sorry that's happening to you..

[Happy Hoosier]

17. I have not had problems....

…. But not know people who have. FWIW, I never keep money in my Paypal account just in case.

[ananda]

18. I try to avoid Paypal like the plague.

...

[lindysalsagal]

20. Me, too. I'll open an account for a short time because something requires it, but then I close it an

and disconnect all banks and credit cards and remove the $$. Then, delete.

[Grasswire2]

21. Here is my latest attempt to liberate the $700 they have locked up.

They provide an option of sending you a check for your balance. So I requested that. Messages say they have done so. Mailed me a check, expect 10-15 days for delivery. I will report back. I hope it wasn't a mistake to do that.

[peggysue2]

22. I had a run-in with PayPal years ago

I quit using them after they accused me of trying to scam the the company. I had an $18.00 purchase that turned into and $1800 charge.

But I was the scammer!

They were so nasty on the phone, I decided never to do business with them again. As for the overcharge? They tracked it down to a hack coming out of Ohio State University.

Since then, the first time I used the PayPal link was several weeks ago when I renewed my DU star membership. Everything went smoothly. But I hesitated and considered sending a check for the payment as I've done for several years.

So yeah, my attitude towards the company is not great.

[OilemFirchen]

23. Nope.

I've had my account since PayPal's inception, processed tens of thousands of dollars through them, and never had a problem.

BTW, and not to defend Elon Musk in any way, but he sold off his stake twenty years ago. Your ire would be more appropriately directed toward Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, who stills owns a significant stake in PayPal. He is also the looneytarian founder of Glenn Greenwald's flagship "news" site The Intercept.

[Grasswire2]

24. whoever the owner is, the company is in the tank.

Here's how it looks in the stock market last month.

[link:https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FLyutuCX0AEr_Zx?format=png&name=small|

[ZonkerHarris]

25. Link a bank account to your Paypal account and transfer the money out.

https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/how-do-i-link-a-bank-account-to-my-paypal-account-faq686

[Grasswire2]

26. I'm not giving them any banking info.

I requested that they mail me a check. We'll see.

[ZonkerHarris]

28. Have fun then.

[Grasswire2]

31. Have you seen the reports from ppl whose bank accounts were tapped by PayPal?

No way would I link an account or a bank card to PayPal.

I've asked PP to send me a check for my balance in the account. They say it will take 10-15 days. We will see.

[ZonkerHarris]

35. I trashed this thread so no need to reply

[Grasswire2]

37. but you did nt

[FakeNoose]

27. I'm not a fan of PayPal

As a matter of fact I quit buying on Ebay when they went all-PayPal and that had to be more than 10 years ago. Since I'm not a merchant I've only had a few small run-ins with them, but it was enough to turn me off completely. If you google "paypal sucks" you will see thousands of stories that have been posted by people who have REAL complaints against this company. Paypal is not a bank, they are not a credit card company, the US fiduciary laws don't concern them, But they act like they have fiduciary control over YOUR money.

[L. Coyote]

29. I get scam e-mails, saying they are from PayPal, trying to get me to click a link

and this kind of a tweet might be those people trying harder.

[radius777]

30. Sometimes PayPal accounts get hacked

and the criminals make fraudulent charges. Best thing is to have strong passwords and use two-factor authentication (2FA).

I would never use any of PayPal's credit cards etc. I just put my own personal (from my own bank) credit card as a payment method in the PayPal account. I've never had an issue doing it this way. Can add and remove cards as necessary. I only use PayPal when a site requires it.

[Grasswire2]

32. I would never link a bank card to PP account.

Too many reports of PP siphoning money off and freezing it forever.

They are not a bank, and so they are not regulated in the same way.

[Tommymac]

34. Been a PayPal user since the late 1990's. Never had an issue at all.

Have run thousands of dollars through my account. If not tens of thousands.

Have linked multiple Credit cards and bank accounts.

Use PayPal Credit regularly - 6 to 12 months same as cash is hard to beat for online purchases.

They have stood by me when scammers sold me crap, and credited my money back.

Had several debit cards with them, never an issue.

They are just as secure as any other online financial service, if not more so.

I've known several accounts that have been locked because they were being used for services PayPal deems inappropriate such as online sexual services, or illegal ventures. It's all spelled out in the contract, just read it.

[Grasswire2]

36. Are you insinuating that I provide online sexual services or pay for them?

I use PP in a very utilitarian and modest way. Probably move about $500 a month in and out. Use the PP debit card for retail, for online purchases, for eBay, for sending $ gifts to grandchildren.

And all transactions are LAWFUL.

The immense multitude of reports from others whose funds have been frozen or mis-directed in some way tells me that it can happen to anyone.

I used it for probably twelve years, before this.

Maybe they don't tap the big spenders and borrowers like you say you are. Although I see many reports of tens of thousands of dollars frozen/locked.

[Tommymac]

38. Not at all, I never referred to you at all. Was speaking in generalities. You have my apologies.

If I meant you, I would have said that. I don't know you at all, so I could never say anything about your experience.

I just stated, perhaps not too clearly, that in my personal experience those are some reasons PayPal has locked accounts of acquaintances of mine. And not all here know that they will also lock accounts used for illegal purposes. Again, not about you.

And just to be clear the services they were locked for were related to Sexual Reorientation processes. Perfectly legitimate in my book, but not to PP, it seems. So be it.

For me, PayPal has been a good experience for over 20 years.