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Fuck PayPal



The story of how I was screwed by PayPal under the
terms of three simple words.. Not As Described.
 

Objective: To close my PayPal account.
Currently: My account remains open, but locked, with a negative balance.

Contact Me: paypal @ silic0nsilence.com

Summary

My war with PayPal began in early September 2005. I sold a laptop on eBay for $615. To protect the buyer's identity, I will refer to him as RH. After receiving payment, I shipped the laptop via FedEx. When RH received the laptop, he sent me praise. He asked if I had any other laptops to sell. I did not. A few weeks later I received an e-mail from PayPal telling me RH claimed the item was "not as described" and attempted a chargeback through his credit card company. This was obviously fraud. The item was as described. Since I transferred the funds to my bank account, my PayPal account was empty, so this chargeback left me with -$615. PayPal told me they would fight the chargeback. After about a week, they told me there was nothing to do about the chargeback, but I should allow them 75 days for them to argue the chargeback. During those 75 days, I sent countless e-mails to PayPal and RH. Being it fraud, RH of course never responded. My e-mails to PayPal were only responded with them saying, "Allow us 75 days." Ok.. 75 days later, I contact them again. They continue to tell me to give them 75 days! So weeks go by. I get no e-mails threatening my negative balance except when I log in to my PayPal account. For months, I sent them e-mails asking them to close my account. They said they could not because of my negative balance and that they were "fighting on my behalf" and to give them 75 days.. It was almost as if they swept my problem under the carpet. If I didn't say anything, they wouldn't do anything. On March 23, 2006 I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau against PayPal. I told them I was down $600 and that PayPal made no effort to get my laptop back. I told them my desired resolution was to only close my PayPal account. They responded to the complaint by freezing my PayPal account, not allowing me to login. They threatened to do this several times, but never did it until I filed a complaint! They did it to spite me, penalizing me for filing a complaint. So this is the current situation:

1) My PayPal account is frozen with a -$615 balance. I have no laptop. RH escaped with the money, AND my laptop.
2) PayPal told me to contact the FBI about RH. After saying this through the BBB complaint, I have sent them 3 e-mails asking for his information, that I was once able to access, but no longer could because my account was frozen. PayPal responded to all 3 e-mails mentioning nothing about his information or my e-mail, but addresses to send them their money.
3) I am still working with the BBB to settle this problem.

Keep these things in mind when working with PayPal:
1) Your PayPal account can be frozen at any time, without advance notice, leaving you without your money for months (if not forever), and there isn't much you can do about it.
2) According to PayPal accepting their TOS (Terms of Service) in effect means you waive your rights to credit card consumer protection laws if you want to use their service, and that you may not issue a chargeback for unauthorized use of your credit card and PayPal account, or if you do, then they have the right to limit your account.
3) As you can see with my current problem..
YOU ARE NOT PROTECTED FROM SCAMMERS.

As Featured In / On
2600 Magazine /.

UPDATES

01.11.07 - First off, Happy New Year. Secondly, I came across this great article on Slashdot. Apparently, a group set up a donations account for a dead soldier. Unfortunately, the unethical and immoral company known as PayPal will not allow the funds to be released because the account was "not set up properly." If this is your first time visiting, check out my site. The more knowledge you have about PayPal, the more we can fight the war.

12.24.06 - Yes, I am still alive. No, I have had no luck. I've given up. I'm writing a letter to the Clarkstown Justice Court later this week about the case and not being paid. But I'm not expecting anything. I'm fucked. I'm not paying those bastards though. I wouldn't say they won, because they're not getting shit. But I definitely didn't win. I will keep this page as a reminder of what can happen to innocent people. To show you how a company with billions of dollars could give a shit less about you. PayPal has no ethics, no morals. 20 years old, broke as fuck, and having this to worry about. Please.. I know it's hard selling on eBay without using PayPal, and they do that for a reason.. But please, learn from my mistakes. Send those bastards to hell. Fuck PayPal.

09.15.06 - I have been busy going to school full time and working full time, so sorry for lack of updates. I hate to say, that I am temporarily suspending the sending of stickers. I have to order some, and money is tight this month. But continue, to send requests, and I will send them as soon as I can. I still have not heard from RH, and I will be calling the court house and asking what to do on Monday. For all new comers, please keep in mind, I still have not received the money needed to close my PayPal account, thus, my account remains open with a negative balance. Unfortunately, I do not have the time I once had to fight this fight. But I'm not giving up. The one year mark when this nightmare occurred is approaching..

08.26.06 - Hello! It came to my attention that my eBay account is still open. Well here's the deal: Along with PayPal, I will now be boycotting eBay. Let me just say, that I LOVE eBay.. It really sucks that I will be closing my account and not being able to buy the weird shit that I usually can buy. I am only doing it because eBay heavily allows PayPal. Yes I know about the acquisition that happened years ago between them.. But I also believe that they shouldn't lock you into PayPal. So here I am. I am closing my eBay account because of their link to PayPal.

08.24.06 - HOLY CRAP! I have been flooded with emails and requests for stickers![Defunct] Thanks to Slashdot for publishing an article about me. Thank you for everyone who is supporting me. As for the stickers, I am packaging them now and sending them all out tomorrow. I do have to say that I will probably be out of them soon, but I'll  order more as soon as I get some cash. Continue to send requests, I will send them out as soon as I can. Also, I read and uniquely replied to all the emails I have received, so I do apologize in advance for any spelling mistakes I made. It makes me feel great that I have so much support and that I am actually getting emails from people telling me that because of me, they will stop using PayPal. The feeling is unbelievable.. I am going to try and add more sections to the page, although I did promise this FOREVER ago. Thanks again everybody, for everything.

08.15.06 - VICTORY! RH never showed up. Today, in Clarkstown Justice Court, I was awarded the case for a total judgment of $671.12. ($615 + $46.12 Interest + $10 court fee.) I just have a few more steps to deal with, and this entire nightmare will be behind me. 1) Receive money 2) Pay NCO Financial Systems 3) Close my PayPal account. I thank you all for your support. Without it, this would have all been a lot more difficult. I also received an email from a Wikipedia user stating that I was removed as a 'critical reference' because my site looked like a blog. First off, I thank whoever put me on Wikipedia, and secondly, I am not a blog. This is my site, and these are updates. There is nothing else I can do. I am here to show that PayPal, although coming off as a great service, does have its flaws. PayPal is a HUGE company and has many satisfied customers. I unfortunately am not, and I have chose to say that out loud with my site. I am here to show that PayPal's business ethics could be better, and I am also here to show that fraud can and will happen. I back as much as I can up with references and files to prove my point. If that doesn't count me as a link, then I guess I shouldn't be a link. Thanks again to everyone! This is my victory night! My celebration will consist of the adding of chocolate to milk. :)

08.07.06 - Hello everyone. I contacted The People's Court today. I think it would be a great idea to have some media attention on the flaws of PayPal and the dangers of PayPal fraud. The woman I spoke with said she would also need permission from the defendant, so she has to contact him too.. So we'll see how that goes. Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me with support and reasons to contact The People's Court.

07.29.06 - Well here is an interesting update. Yesterday I received an overnight Fed-Ex package from Warner Bros Studios. I don't know how they found out about it, but they want my case to be on People's Court. Perhaps the courthouse sends out this information. If anyone has any comments, please send them in. I guess there are not any real advantages to doing this on television, except for the fact that they pay me for my time and if my case is won, I am guaranteed the money. I am going to call them Monday to get more information.

07.26.06 - It all comes down to this.. Today, I received a letter from the courthouse with my date. On August 15th, 2006 at 7:30PM, my nightmare may finally be over.. I'm sure I'll have an update or two before then, but definitely check back on that date.

07.21.06 - Ok, a lot of updates! First, I wish you all to pick up the latest issue of 2600 Magazine. In it, you will find my article, Getting Screwed by PayPal. You can buy it at your local bookstore or order it online here. A special thanks to Editor-In-Chief Emmanuel Goldstein, and the rest of the 2600 staff. Secondly, I recently was in contact with the BBB again. Yes again. I needed specific information about the fraudulent transaction so I can get my money back and close my PayPal account. After 3 e-mails and 1 phone call, I ended up with nothing. Their customer service acted like they didn't know what I was talking about, and the man I spoke on the phone with was no help at all. I filed a report with the BBB, and within days, I had a CD full of all my transactions FedEx'd from PayPal. It went smoothly this time, I suppose they are fearing another lawsuit. The report can be found here. Thirdly, today I sent the proper forms to commence in my lawsuit with the buyer. Remember, I received absolutely no contact from him although I called and e-mailed him several times. Needless-to-say, I am looking forward for this nightmare to end. Justice will be served. To think, this all could have never have happened.. Fucking PayPal. Lastly, I am still working on adding the emails I have gotten. I have been really tight on time. I really would like to thank everyone for all their support in all my efforts.

06.30.06 - It all took some time.. But here it is: I decided to settle with PayPal after they were willing to work with me. They hired a lawyer close to me about 19 hours before the trial. There would have been a continuance. This would have taken up more time. Also, according to the PayPal User Agreement, I agreed to dispute any problem in a court located in California. It sucks, but that's what happen when you sign long documents that no one ever reads through. So in settling at the last moment, I did get PayPal to spend LOTS of money on hiring a lawyer. The lawyer was actually a great guy, and was easier to work with than Ms. Squires was. She sent me threatening e-mails telling me it would have been easier and faster to settle it with her and so on. So I got what I wanted. PayPal spent some money, and I got my information. My next move is with the buyer. I have contacted him via e-mail and telephone with no response, so it looks like a small claims with him. Since this whole ordeal is becoming extremely time consuming and frustrating, I may hire a lawyer and not only sue for my money, but stress and attorney fees. Again, this could have all been avoided by avoiding PayPal. Oh, I am still working on posting some of the e-mails you guys have sent. I appreciate all of them, and all of your continued support.

06.13.06 - Victory: Part 1 of 2. Sound confusing? It is. I will explain all the details as soon as everything is cleared up. Expect an update within the next few days that includes details of my case with PayPal, Stories that have been sent to me, and what I must do next.

06.08.06 - PayPal Fights Back: Yesterday I received a phone call from Michelle Squires, whose job title is "Senior Litigation Paralegal." For about 15 minutes, she talked about how PayPal actually did try to get my property back, and that I was wrong when I stated in my small claims case that PayPal did not make an attempt. She also told me that by agreeing the to the PayPal User Agreement, I agreed to resolve any dispute under $10,000 by filing a lawsuit in a court in Santa Clara County. She went on to tell me that if I do not drop the suit, PayPal "intends to file a Motion to Compel Arbitration, along with a request that PayPal may be reimbursed for its attorneys fees and costs associated with enforcing the terms of the User Agreement." With that, she also had attached the 18 pages of the PayPal User Agreement, highlighting what she talked about. With these new threats come new anger and frustration from me. I really would like to sue for this anger and frustration, but really, I want this whole nightmare over with.. Do yourself a favor, and DO NOT USE PAYPAL! The letter Michelle Squires Fed-Ex'd to me can be found here (Page 1) and here (Page 2).

05.13.06 - Today, I got the Court date for silic0nsilence v. PayPal. So, check back for an update on 06.13.06. Also, after receiving some e-mails of other people's triumphs over PayPal, I am going to soon add a PayPal complaint section.

05.02.06 - Hello everyone. I am currently in the process of filing a small claims complaint against PayPal. I'll post more when available. Let's hope justice is served so this site can be a foundation for everyone to fight. Check out this article on PayPal's Bullying tactics.

04.24.06 - I just got off the phone with an employee from NCO Financial Systems. She told me they received my package and my account with them has been closed. I wrote an e-mail to the man from PayPal who assisted me with my complaint with the BBB. If my account is not closed after that e-mail, I will be forced to go to small claims court.

04.16.06 - I just checked out a report with the Better Business Bureau against the company PayPal has attempting to get money from me. Apparently NCO Financial Systems also has a reputation for being a difficult company to deal with. They have an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB and have had 1,634 complaints in the past 36 months. Something tells me the large package that took me an hour to print will do nothing and I am going to have to take this to small claims court. No word yet on the complaint filed with the FBI against RH. Thanks to Ray for some excellent advice on going after RH rather than PayPal, I have some decisions that need to be made. In case the link to NCO Financial Systems report doesn't work for ya, I took the liberty of compiling it into a pdf.

04.13.06 - I am waiting to see what happens with the large package I sent to NCO Financial Systems. If this fails, I will commence with the last resort.. Taking my case to Small Claims Court.

04.12.06 - I have been contacted by NCO Financial Systems. They want PayPal's money. Today, I sent out a large package with a letter, my BBB complaint, and EVERY single e-mail to and from PayPal. I am now pissed off beyond belief. Right now, I cannot scream FUCK OFF loud enough to both PayPal and RH. So I do not have my laptop, and I have to pay them $624.. Right. I also filed a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation against RH.

04.07.06 - My case with the BBB has been closed. In the end, my account remains open with a negative balance, and is now locked. View the complaint here.


Link to me with:
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©Copyright 2006, 2007 Corey Mishler