abrown, it's amazing reading your post because it's like I wrote it back in 2001. I had an incredibly similar experience (and this was BEFORE eBay owned them) -- right down to the weird Nebraska affiliaton.
Back in 2001, Paypal DID allow their site to be used to deposit to online poker. I was using them to deposit to True Poker, but the first time I tried, something failed. Somehow True Poker's system couldn't automatically recognize my deposit like it could for everyone else. Finally the owner just told me to try with another Paypal account and see if it works. That's what I did, and it worked, but this was a very...
Paypal's security bot caught the fact that I had two accounts and suspended both of them. One account had no money in it, while the other had $135. The automated e-mail said that I violated Paypal rules by having two accounts, and that both accounts were frozen. It sent me a questionnaire to complete to get it unfrozen. At first this seemed simple, but I should have known that a hurricane of fail was waiting for me around the corner.
I filled out the questionnaire and explained, in detail, exacty what happened. I told the complete truth. I asked them to just close the first account and leave the second one open.
A long time passwed with no response, aside from the initial automated response telling me to wait "24-48 hours" to get an answer.
Finally I got an e-mail from them three weeks later. It demanded a utility bill to prove my identity, along with an ID with an address matching my utility bill.
I could not provide these things. My ID had my PO Box on it, and my utility bills were not in my name. I wrote back explaining this, and again another three weeks passed. I finally got another form letter back, telling me that without a utility bill and ID, my account could not be unfrozen. What?!
I then set out to find a way to call Paypal. Unlike the Paypal of today, there was no phone number publicized for them in 2001. You had to dig and dig and dig to find it. Finally I found a phone number (posted on some forum) with a Nebrask area code, which I thought was weird.
I called that number and indeed reached Paypal, but the fail was just beginning.
I got a complete moron on the other end of the phone. The conversation went like this:
Me: Hi, it says I need a utility bill and ID with matching addresses to unfreeze my account, bu I can't provide those things because the utility bill isn't in my name, and my ID has a PO Box that doesn't match it anyway.
Rep: Sir, I'm sorry, but that is our policy. You need a utility bill and ID with matching addresses to unfreeze your account.
Me: Did you hear what I just explained? The utilities are in my roommate's name. And my ID has a PO Box on it. There is no way to give you the info you're requesting. Can you give me some other way to prove my identity?
Rep: Sir, we are giving you a way to prove your identity, but you are refusing to do so.
Me: I AM NOT REFUSING! There is no way to do it! The addresses do not match and cannot match!
Rep: Sir, if you do not have the proper identity documents, please take care of that matter and call back when you do have them.
Me:
Keep in mind that this was NOT a foreign outsourced rep, but rather an American answering the phone.
I continued to argue until she literally hung up on me. I called back, and got someone just as bad, even when I asked for a supervisor. After several tries, I gave up. There was simply no way to reopen my account -- either over the phone or by e-mail. I got stuck in this endless loop.
Since I had deposited $100 of the $135 by credit card, I charged it back. Paypal stupidly didn't respond in time, and I won by default. When they discovered what I did, they deleted my accounts.
Bottom line: I empathize what you went through big time, and it looks like 12 years later, they haven't changed a bit, even with an ownership change.
And WTF is with this Nebraska connection?
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Originally Posted by Sanlmar
