PayPal & Fraud: An Open Letter To All Government Officials
Consumers are getting ripped off. An open letter to all government officials to do something about it.
San Marcos (PRWEB) May 20, 2004 -- When we first signed up for PayPal, we checked them out on the web and they were new, with no complaints registered. We felt safe with them and their services. After years, with no problems to date, we suddenly find our account frozen and a buyer who has made a recent transaction with us is under investigation for fraud. After weeks of supposed 'investigation by PayPal, and after sending in full documentation to prove our end, we learn PayPal not only agrees that the buyer committed fraud, but assists them further in doing so by demanding repayment from us. This is after we proved in writing he admitted to buying the merchandise, picking it up and making an attempt to resell it on the web on a large book database we sold them on ($750.00 for 1,031 books). He claimed he didnt make the purchase, even though we proved he did, and no one else did representing him, since we met him face to face and have proof of his identity. It would be one thing if he was some unknown face out in cyberspace, but that wasnt the case here.
The questions arose at first, at least in our minds, how can this happen? Where is the protection? Where is the fairness? Why would they assist him to commit fraud when all documents prove he is in the wrong? Stressing stuff, until research through Yahoo with the simple search words of, PayPal complaints fraud" turned up dozens of web sites with hundreds to thousands of complaints, lawsuits, class action suits, pending investigations by the government authorities, court rulings, etc. Ah, so thats it! It appears to us we've been scammed, not only by the buyer, but by PayPal as well!
Apparently the majority of the complaints rise out of the same procedures PayPal engages in by freezing members accounts, oftentimes for no reason other than suspected fraud, holding their funds while they conduct their investigation. However, if you read the complaint filed by a past employee of PayPal, you find they dont actually investigate at all, and they go to great lengths to stall, hoping and assuming that the owner of the frozen account will give up in exasperation and allow whatever the decision they find to be the final word. End result - PayPal gets paid, and the account holders lose their money. Even at times when money is withdrawn from their bank accounts and / or they can clearly show they have been defrauded.
So once we found we werent the only ones, that this is an ongoing practice for PayPal, regardless of the thousands of complaints (who cares about a few thousand when you have millions signed up
paying you each day?), the questions then became, Why isnt the government doing something more about this rather than leaving it to all the individuals to fight for what is legally right?" What agencies, law enforcement, consumer rights groups, media outlets, or others care enough that thousands of people are fighting for their rights against a huge corporation that ignores the law, ignores whats right and fair?" Their answer: "You signed the agreement." I beg your pardon, I didn't agree to allow PayPal to assist someone in committing fraud against me. Nor agree to PayPal commit fraud against me.
Were going to fight to whatever degree is necessary, and in the process, this posting is to provide links for those with a similar problem to contact the sites below. Read the posts, see for yourself, youre not the only ones. Then contact every government agency on this list (Senators & Governors email addresses below), as well as the FTC, SEC, and any other agencies that oversee their operations and ask for an investigation.
This is an open letter to all government officials: Please take the time to respond to these complaints and do what we voted you into office to do -- protect our rights. Launch an investigation into their business practices. Fine them when theyve done wrong. Prosecute them where able. Stop them from doing this if it means you have to shut them down! But for Heavens sake, do something!
To law enforcement -- please look through your files and see if you have any complaints against PayPal and demand to see their 'investigative files and findings. Dont assume they have top
investigators -- according to the past employee, if and when they actually ever do an investigation, it is done by employees that couldnt pass the screening to be hired by a bank. Would you trust your money with these people? Or an investigation?
To the Better Business Bureau -- How can you state that PayPal is in good standing when there were thousands of complaints lodged against them and it took a class action suit to bring resolution? Why do we put trust in the BBB when they blatantly ignore such complaints and still reward the company who is causing the problems? Where is the credibility?
To the media - You folks have the means to dig up every ounce of truth regarding PayPal. Please do. Broadcast it on every station like you do lesser news stories and show us that you care about American citizens getting ripped off and nobody seems to care. And thank you for doing it, for you have more power to stop this action than our own government seems to.
To every attorney who reads this -- put a posting up in your area or on the web and ask folks to write in if theyve had similar problems. Ill bet youll be flooded with responses. Take those complaints and file one class action suit after another until PayPal cleans up their act and learns how to obey the laws.
And to other consumers and victims -- dont put up with it. Fight it. Make noise. Dont just post a complaint here and there, post a thousand of them and send them to the people who should step in
and make it stop! Theres no excuse for this kind of treatment and if you dont speak up, it will only continue. Write every Senator and Congressman, every agency.
Below are the links where dozens of other links per site list the thousands of complaints, including rulings and articles, as well as contact info for those who step up to the plate and follow through.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/online/paypal_01.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news02/paypal_suit.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/paypal_probe.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news02/paypal_arb.html
http://www.paypalsucks.com/
http://www.endpaypal2002.netfirms.com/
http://www.auctionbytes.com/pages/abn/y02/m04/i11/s01
http://demandconcepts.com/bizgate/paypal/paypal.phtml
http://www.techtv.com/news/print/0%2C23102%2C3373311%2C00.html
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y02/m09/i09/s02
http://www.heartlandbbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=6003198 (BBB report)
http://www.bbbsilicon.org/commonreport.html?compid=210387 (BBB report)
http://www.BigClassAction.com
http://www.fraud.org/
http://www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp
http://www.sen.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/senemail.htp
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/govemail.html
president@whitehouse.gov
vice.president@whitehouse.gov
https://www.paypal.com
www.FoxNews.com
Foxreport@foxnews.com
myword@foxnews.com
cavuto@foxnews.com
oreilly@foxnews.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
www.cnn.com
www.PRweb.com
Roberts Publishing
197 Woodland Pkwy.
Suite #105-529
San Marcos, Ca. 92069
|
