PayPal stole my money (they actually took it, what to do + other FAQs)
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Recently, there have been allegations and class-action lawsuits against PayPal alleging that the company stole money from its users.
So if you use PayPal, you might be wondering: Did PayPal steal my money? If they did, what would I do? I investigated PayPal stealing funds from its users and here is what I found!
Did PayPal steal my money in 2022?
PayPal does not “steal” funds from its users. However, PayPal was recently accused of stealing from customers in 2022. The allegations led to a lawsuit against PayPal. Additionally, PayPal sometimes permanently freezes users’ accounts and holds their funds and uses them to pay for any complaints against users, which may be considered “seizure” of funds.
If you want to learn more about whether PayPal stole your funds, what to do if you think your funds have been stolen, and more, keep reading!
Will PayPal steal money?
Officially, PayPal doesn’t steal your money.
However, if you violate the terms and conditions of your account, PayPal sometimes withholds your funds or permanently freezes your account for security reasons.
Additionally, if PayPal permanently freezes your account, your funds will be held for up to 180 days and used to pay customer disputes and claims against your account.
Also, keeping your funds after your account has been permanently restricted may be considered “stealing” your funds.
However, please note that PayPal has the right to do so, and it is stated in PayPal’s User Agreement.
Additionally, PayPal was recently accused of stealing money. It is alleged that PayPal illegally froze some of the accounts without warning and seized funds in the accounts.
Is there a lawsuit against PayPal?
Unfortunately, there is currently a class action lawsuit against PayPal.
In addition, the lawsuit purportedly alleges that PayPal mistakenly and permanently restricted the plaintiff’s account without warning.
Then, after the 180 holding period, the company mistakenly forfeited their remaining funds.
There are three (3) plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Lena Evans, Roni Shemtov, and Shbadan Akylbekov. The lawsuit was filed in California federal court on January 13.
In addition, attorneys representing the plaintiffs are Eric Bensamochan and Deborah C. Silver.
In addition, plaintiffs are seeking restitution, compensatory damages, punitive damages, treble damages and injunctive relief.
And hopefully any other PayPal users with the same issue get their money back as well.
What if PayPal stole my money?
Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do if PayPal “steals” your money.
If you believe your funds have been wrongly frozen and seized, you can contact PayPal directly and try to contact customer service.
However, if your account has been permanently frozen, talking to customer service may not help you. So you need to talk to someone with a higher authority.
Additionally, to contact PayPal, you can go to PayPal’s Contact Us page and select:
- “Leave us a message”
- “Ask the Community”
- “Resolution Center”, or
- “call us”
You can call 1 (888) 221-1161 or email PayPal’s Executive Escalation team at executiveoffice@paypal.com.
Additionally, PayPal’s Executive Escalation team is the one who directly handles any complaints, disputes, claims, etc.; they’re the ones who can best help you.
In addition, there is an option to file a lawsuit like the plaintiffs in the most recent lawsuit.
However, if the plaintiff wins, you don’t have to worry about the same situation happening again.
Additionally, anyone allegedly “stolen” money by PayPal has a high chance of easily filing a claim with PayPal and getting their money back.
To learn more, you can also read our post on what to do if you can no longer use PayPal, how you can get scammed on PayPal, and how long it will take for a PayPal refund.
in conclusion
Fortunately, PayPal won’t steal your money, even though the company has been accused of stealing some of its users’ money. Additionally, if you believe that PayPal has mistakenly froze your account and forfeited your funds, you can contact PayPal customer support for assistance.
