WARNING, Paypal just made me lose $20 THOUSAND dollars from a scamming buyer

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#1,081
This is the form letter that helped me win my case. I did tweak it up quite a bit and it probably sounds very dramatic but it did the trick. Add your own details and keep sending away. Good luck Kristie!

Date

Re: Paypal Case #

Dear PayPal,

Be advised I am reporting your fraudulent actions re: the above case to the following agencies in pursuit of the rightful return of funds into my account if you do not immediately reverse the negative balance immediately:

My United States Senator
My United States Congressman/woman
The Federal Trade Commision
The Securities and Exchange Commision
The United States Department of Justice
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
Council of the Better Business Bureau
The National Consumer Law Center
The National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C)

Be assured that I will not rest until PayPal is held to account for the atrocities it has committed by consistently providing me with false and misleading information in an attempt to maximize its own revenue by taking whatever measures, however illegal they might be. Let me also assure you that these state and federal regulators and law enforcement will also give you, PayPal, their undivided attention. In particular, the FTC deals with issues that touch the economic life of every American. It is the only federal agency with both consumer protection and competition jurisdiction in broad sectors of the economy. The FTC pursues vigorous and effective law enforcement; advances consumers’ interests and I am sure they will be very interested in investigating your activities.

The SEC is also are very concerned with companies who engage in fraudulent activity which might manipulate their stock price and give investors a false picture of the truth of a company's heath. When you (PayPal) freeze customer accounts so you can artificially inflate the amount of cash reserves that you have from fraudulently freezing my account, this is an issue the SEC would be very interested in. Who knows, maybe you are involved in some kind of fishy accounting practices (remember Enron?).

I will lastly remind you that I have not received a response from you to my repeated requests for information relating to your refusal to reverse the negative balance caused by funds (fill in the reason for the case) and the following correspondence:

(Include your correspondence you've already sent PayPal here)


PayPal Inc.
Attention: PayPal Legal Department
2145 Hamilton Avenue
San Jose, California 95125

Re: My Paypal account (fill in your ID)
Re: Paypal Cases #

To Whom It May Concern:

I am a PayPal and Ebay customer who has been very poorly treated by your company, and all my efforts to resolve the matter with your customer service and disputes departments have left me with no choice but to contact you directly.

(Describe your case and claim here).

I am outraged that despite my full cooperation with all of PayPal's policies and directions, they have continually refused to return my messages and telephone calls after promising to do so when I call in or write, and given me misinformation time and time again. I am requesting that PayPal reverse the negative balance on my account that was caused by PayPal's errors (put your case info again here).

I want to continue being a member of PayPal (if only to withdraw your funds when you win, but they don't need to know this!), but you are making it extremely difficult for me to do so when you make promises to rectify your errors that you renege on. In effect, you are refusing to provide any seller protection at all from fraudulent claims by buyers who can claim anything they want, and you don't require any proof from them, simply to protect yourselves from losing money from buyer chargebacks.

I have provided evidence of (describe it here) to the PayPal disputes department. I have provided PayPal with every bit of proof and documentation they requested, yet my rights are being ignored. Despite PayPal's insistence of refusing to honor their promises to restore my account to its previous unrestricted state with a positive balance, it is well known and documented in the law that it is illegal to grant a claim in one party's favor without performing a full investigation of the matter, in order to reveal proof of any claims being made. I know this, my attorney knows this, and Paypal also knows this.

However, Paypal is still refusing to act upon the many promises made to me by telephone to reverse the inadvertent refund. (Name your own evil Paypal people here) Matt, Richard, and Sarah in the Disputes and Limitations departments of Paypal all in turn gave me very clear instructions on how to follow through documenting my claim, and assured me I was in the right, and that if I followed the procedures they outlined, I would receive the funds back into my account. They have all refused to return any of my messages since then.

*** This part is very important! ***

Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested. This is NOT a request for "verification" or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. If you refuse to reinstate my account to a zero balance and remove all restrictions, I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you.

Please provide me with the following:

* What the money you say I owe is for.
* Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe.
* Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe.
* Provide a verification or copy of any judgment, if applicable.
* Identify the original creditor.
* Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account.
* Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state.
* Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent.

At this time, I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the three major Credit Bureaus (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion) re: me, this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent, I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:

* Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
* Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
* Defamation of Character

If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information, and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist. Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit against you. This includes any listing any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is. If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately. I would also request here in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home, my cell phone, or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt any telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be considered harassment, and I will have no choice but to file suit against you. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing by USPS, and sent to the address noted below. It would be advisable that you assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action. This is an attempt to correct your records, any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.

All correspondence addressed to me regarding the above claims should be sent to: (fill in your name and address).

As President of this PayPal or CEO of Ebay, or legal counsel for either, I would think it was in your best interests to keep your customers happy, and to act within the boundaries of the law, especially when all your customers want is to use your service without interruptions. I hope you take the time to prove that your customers are important to you and that you have the decency and honor to act in good faith in standing behind your promises to customers. I look forward to a prompt reply and resolution to my problem.

Sincerely Yours,
(fill in your name)


cc: Scott Thompson, President of Paypal; John Donahoe, Ebay CEO
 
#1,082
this is quite the letter.... good for all of us to have g-d forbid if we have to endure

such an experience... do whatever it takes Kristie to get your money back..

and to Haute Couturess thanks for taking the time to share this with all of us...
 
#1,083
SO was being hounded by collectors for his ex's credit card bills and finally got an attorney because they were calling him all the time at work/home/etc. The attorney told him exactly what Haute Couturess is saying and after he verbally asked them to provide the documentation before calling him again, he ended up getting a settlement from the credit card company for harrassment! They even paid his attorney fees!
 
#1,084
WOW HC, that is an awesome letter!!!
Just one question though........it seems as though it is for two different letters? Just send them both separately? One for Paypal and one for Paypal Collections Dept. I presume?
 
#1,085
Jesus..........No matter WHO you talk to at PP, they always fall back on their BS "User Agreement." As any attorney will say, just because you agreed to follow their terms and conditions of the UA, does not mean it is GROSS NEGLIGENCE on PP's part in my scenario. Here is the email they literally just sent after I emailed every single person that works there EVERY DAY for over a week............

Dear Ms. XXXXXXXXXX,

My name is Cami and I work for the office of Executive Escalations with
Stephanie. Thank you for the additional opportunity to address your
concerns.

Please understand Ms. XXXXXXX, sometimes issues between customers must
be taken outside of PayPal for further resolution.

It is important that you understand that, whether or not you agree with
the decision regarding the claim in question (XXXXXXXXX),
PayPal provided a decision in complete accordance with the PayPal User
Agreement and the protection programs therein.

When a PayPal customer considers creating a PayPal account and logs on
to the site to create one, PayPal provides for them very detailed terms
of use. They are clearly notified that in order to use the system, they
must abide by those terms of use. Should a customer chose not to, they
are welcome to find an alternate way to process their payments, but if
they chose to take advantage of the system we provide and services
related, they chose to create their account completely aware of the
benefits and limitations of what PayPal offers, including those related
to the protection programs.
The protection programs offer certain remedies under certain conditions,
some of which generously include full credits provided by PayPal just
for following certain requirements related to mitigating risk. We have
been very happy for your patronage over the years and very happy to have
been able to provide service to you, including the additional protection
you have availed yourself of several times over the years since you
chose to be our customer.

I encourage you to re-review the PayPal User Agreement at your earliest
convenience, especially in regard to Section 11, entitled ‘Protection
for Sellers’ and Section 1 regarding 'Our Relationship with You". To
find the Agreement, if you haven't reviewed it in a while, just click on
"Legal Agreements" at the bottom of any PayPal Page.

Another important idea regarding payments received into an account is
bolded and found even before the text separated by sections. It reads
"This is an important document which you must consider carefully when
choosing whether to use the PayPal Services. Please note the following
risks of using the PayPal Services:

Payments received in your Account may be reversed at a later time, for
example, if such a payment is subject to a Chargeback, Reversal, Claim
or is otherwise invalidated. This means that for some of our Sellers,
payments received into their Account may be returned to the sender or
otherwise removed from their Account after they have been paid and/or
delivered any goods or services sold."

The amount of money associated with the buyer claim in question is
substantial. However, the actions taken by PayPal in regard to the
claim were in complete accordance with the User Agreement under which
you have been operating since you created your account in 2006 and which
you availed yourself of previously.

I am sincerely sorry for the trouble you have endured due to the sale of
your handbag. I truly hope you the best in whatever you chose to do
about it. I hope you now understand, in light of the information
Stephanie and I have provided, that PayPal's role in the situation as
your online payment processor was provided in complete accordance with
the terms of use you agreed to abide by upon creating your account. I
am sad to know that, in this instance, we were unable to provide a
solution that was amicable. However, you will need to seek further
resolution outside of PayPal if you feel the need to do so.

If I can be of further service regarding this matter, please feel free
to contact me directly at XXXXXXXXXX. My office hours are variable,
but I am in the office several days a week. Should I be unavailable at
the time of your call, please feel free to leave a message. I will, of
course, return your call when I am back in the office. If, however, you
would like to contact the Executive Escalations Team for further
clarification in my absence, you can contact them by emailing
[email protected] . Be aware, however, though we empathize with
your situation, the answer to your inquiry will not change in regard to
the outcome of the claim.

I apologize for any inconvenience caused with respect to this matter and
appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.

Sincerely,
Cami
Executive Escalations
PayPal, an eBay Company
 
#1,086
Kristie, I wonder if you should forget about email and start sending registered post mail to them?

Haute Couturess's letters indeed look very impressive and I'm just wondering if sending by post would make a difference? I wonder if she could advise what she did? I appreciate Paypal is an online company, and perhaps this is just me, but I wonder if they would take an actual letter more seriously? It just seems so easy for them try and dismiss you via email. They never address the issues, ie, telling someone to destroy a genuine bag etc....

All the best
 
#1,089
I would send out these letters via post ... think they are trying to make you back

down with these letters that pp is sending to you...personally, would not care what

they are saying in a standard e-mail response... do what you need to do... you

may be perhaps one of the few that can win their case by filing paperwork, etc..

pp could also be using these tactics to make you think or feel that you don't stand

a chance and that you have no case... just do what you need to do.. this letter

from haute couturess is outstanding... would follow this letter.. you have nothing

to lose by sending it.. if it worked for her you have a chance that it could work for you..

I say go girl go....wishing the best to you Kristie...
 
#1,090
Very good idea about registered mail verses email. You know PP probably has a HUGE outsource dept. that auto-responds to emails. (Look at their auto-robot-canned language reply:smile1:) Good luck. Great letter, Haute, and wish I had had had it to use when I was scammed. Hope they won't be a next time, but I have it copied and ready, just in case
Kathleen37 said:
Kristie, I wonder if you should forget about email and start sending registered post mail to them?

Haute Couturess's letters indeed look very impressive and I'm just wondering if sending by post would make a difference? I wonder if she could advise what she did? I appreciate Paypal is an online company, and perhaps this is just me, but I wonder if they would take an actual letter more seriously? It just seems so easy for them try and dismiss you via email. They never address the issues, ie, telling someone to destroy a genuine bag etc....

All the best
Click to expand...
 
#1,091
Absolutely EVERYTHING should be sending via registered mail, signature required if you're sending to an address with no PO Box. You need to start a paper trail in case this gets sent to collections and the agency sues you, or if you sue them. Emails aren't even close to as strong as letters, proof of delivery, and signed green cards showing receipt.

The other thing is after you've sent letters back and forth for a while you can up the ante a bit by using all of your documents in your letters to paypal. Credit bureaus won't care, but paypal might get a little worried when you're sending strongly worded letters with all sorts of copies of past letters, proof of delivery etc.

Trust me, right now keeping every last piece of documentation will be your best friend. Everything I've read has said that paypal tends not to report on your credit (they're just going to be a thorn in your side---SO SEND A CEASE AND DESIST), But this is an $11K amount which is rather large, so it's hard to say what they'll do. Cover your bases JUST IN CASE!!
 
#1,092
emcosmo1639 said:
Absolutely EVERYTHING should be sending via registered mail, signature required if you're sending to an address with no PO Box. You need to start a paper trail in case this gets sent to collections and the agency sues you, or if you sue them. Emails aren't even close to as strong as letters, proof of delivery, and signed green cards showing receipt.

The other thing is after you've sent letters back and forth for a while you can up the ante a bit by using all of your documents in your letters to paypal. Credit bureaus won't care, but paypal might get a little worried when you're sending strongly worded letters with all sorts of copies of past letters, proof of delivery etc.

Trust me, right now keeping every last piece of documentation will be your best friend. Everything I've read has said that paypal tends not to report on your credit (they're just going to be a thorn in your side---SO SEND A CEASE AND DESIST), But this is an $11K amount which is rather large, so it's hard to say what they'll do. Cover your bases JUST IN CASE!!
Click to expand...
Registered mail is for items of value, i.e., stock certificates, savings bonds, etc. that can't be easily replaced. It isn't necessary.

The more appropriate equivalent of this type of service is certified mail. It's less expensive and you can still get return receipt.
 
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