posted on February 6, 2002 07:00:43 PM new
Very troubling is that PayPal is doing little to alert customers about the ongoing security problems they are having... with dummy sites obtaining people's passwords..
They should certainly inform customers that accounts can be frozen with no notice, and that they do not have the customer service in place to resolve problems.
I know this from personal experience. Someone accessed my account - and my action (to stop payment at my bank because PayPal customer service was worse than useless even when they knew it was a security problem!!!) resulted in a frozen account for over two months!
Read about them on ZD Net (January 29, 2002) and on the San Francisco Chronicle (February 6, 2002.)
Today, PayPal has finally responded (I went to the media) and have closed my account and say they will mail the balance in my account to me...
I am not dropping this issue - and have started writing to all my legislators about this. I'd recommend you contact all the regulatory agencies also. www.paypalwarning.com is a helpful site.
Customers should be warned... There has been too much media hype about this company - and now it is time for a little honesty about the "real" deal behind the scenes....
I'm amused that PayPal and supporters claim that only a small percentage of customers have problems... If that is the case, then how is it that it takes MONTHS to resolve these issues? I know because it took a media article before they fixed my problem!
The other answer then, is that PayPal purposely is not resonding to complaints for malicious reasons...
PayPal is a disgrace... They have no business growing unless they can provide adequate and ethical and SECURE services to their customers...
posted on February 7, 2002 11:25:14 PM new
Hi nmdb,
"With dummy sites obtaining people's passwords"
Our SECURITY section supplies users with numerous tips on protecting their passwords, where they should access from, and what the url should look like.
The process for an unauthorized account access claim can take 30 days (or more) to resolve. It also requires that the user submits the documentation requested, as they are filing what equates to an insurance claim.
I'm sorry to hear that your issue was not resolved in a timely manner.
posted on February 8, 2002 05:22:21 PM new
is it really that easy to set up websites??
can anyone set up dummy website such as www.fbii.com,www.irs4u.com.www,fedreserve.banks.com;www.ustreasury.fun.com???????
posted on February 10, 2002 04:26:01 PM new
You did the right thing Sara. Its good to hear that you had success in getting your funds. It gives me some hope. . I used to love using Paypal now everytime I think of the service I see red. They never bothered to inform users of the risks involved via email or snail mail and still mislead new users with "easy, secure, instant payments". Paypal has really become a Paybully.
posted on February 10, 2002 05:01:01 PM new
doing a basic search engine look at pypl it seems they are "Robbing customers to pay Paul"!
<a href="http://mfg-buyback.dns2go.com">Paypal Fraud / Complaint forums</a> and lawyers with class action suits and FTC inquiry's from 4 states currently. seems they are a definit risk on all levels.
posted on February 11, 2002 04:36:52 AM new
It didn't take a "long" time to resolve my problems - it took an article in the SF Chronicle that stated I had been waiting for over 2 months to get our non-profit organization's money back. If the article had not been printed, I wonder how much longer I'd STILL be waiting.
Some of the reporters I've spoken with inform me that Paypal has ONE customer service rep for every 24,000 customers! And folks in India have a set of canned email responses to send out for e-mail customer support.
Not the highest paid/educated folks either I'd assume, as the Paypal customer service debacle is to be experienced to be believed.
I'm also taking this to my friends in the investment community. Paypal customers need to know what is going on "behind" the hype...
One ZD Net reporter had security problems with Paypal - the point being that "savvy" users have had problems - and the majority of web users aren't that savvy - so even more shame on Paypal for not making EVERY effort to alert folks about the problems... It should be on the FRONT page of your website.
As should the warning that accounts can be frozen at will, and with no customer service in place to resolve the problem.
I've got my grudges against PP, don't get me wrong... but if yer' gonna' #*!@, at least have it be about something remotely relevant.
The fact that PP users are idiotic enough to enter their information on "ex://geoshitties.com/~imahaxor/paypal.html" has nothing to do with PayPal itself.
Fishing for accounts is and always has been a problem. They prey on novice computer users, because they are naieve and don't know better than to give their CC numbers out over AOL IM...
You can only go so far to tell people to protect their passwords. These are the same people that keep Outlook e-mail virus's alive and well. "Ooh! Look! Grandma sent me an excell spreadsheet, and a little note that said 'Pleaze look at enjoy!'"
Stopwhining: It's easier than people may think. And yes- any of those (or any other name you could think of) can easily be registered. Just takes $10-25 bucks (sometimes even less, depending where you go) and a few minutes online at any registrar. As long as someone else hasn't taken it already, at least.
posted on February 11, 2002 01:18:05 PM new
The problem is that Paypal highlights security, ease of use, and protection up to $100,000 per account for unauthorized transactions. What they don't tell you is that it may take them 6 months to resolve a dispute. Paypal could go a long way to improving customer relations if they would do the following:
1. Attach a seller buyer beware checklist on how to identify fraudlent transactions with every email transaction and clearly state that if you don't follow this checklist that a customer or seller risks exposing themselves to signficant financial and legal liabilities.
2. Supply detailed information concerning on going investigations of frozen accounts. Saying that "suspicious activity" has occurred or that "fraudlent funds" were involved really doesn't cut it when you are talking the freezing of accounts worth several thousand dollars. I believe paypal should have to supply sellers all relevant information concerning fraudlent transactions.
3. A clear limit should be placed on investigations where law enforcement is not involved. If "suspected fraudulent funds" can not be reallocated within 30 days then they should be made available to the account holder with the clear transfer of legal liability to said account holder in the case of further investigation.
4. If law enforcement is involved an account holder should be notified that this is the reason the account has been suspended. Even if the account holder is involved in some illegal activity they would've already been alerted by the initial freezing of the account so there is really no reason not to let a internet scam victim know what is going on.
5. All funds not involving in a fraudlent transaction should be made available to the account holder within 7 days of the initial transaction.
These are just some ideas that would go a long way to improving customer relations. Right now customers who are scammed are treated like criminals or with indifference which is horrible and uneccessary. I used to love Paypal, I used it as often as I could and enjoyed the Debit Card and the Money Market account and would like to love it again but until Paypal begins to treat customers fairly I am committed to doing everything I can to steer people away from the service.
. I used to love using Paypal now everytime I think of the service I see red. They never bothered to inform users of the risks involved via email or snail mail and still mislead new users with "easy, secure, instant payments". Paypal has really become a Paybully.