PayPal - the Frustration

[Christoffer Lernö]

Since so many of you use PayPal, and since my main reason to get my PayPal account working again is to buy indie-rpgs I post my troubles here despite it probably being off topic.

Basic problem: I forgot my password. (To paypal)

No big deal right? Just click that "forgot my password" and get instructions sent to your e-mail addy.

- Only I don't have access to that address anymore.

No big deal, PayPal can send instructions by normal mail!

- Sure, I've requested it like 3 times already and I still haven't received any instructions. After waiting about two month for it.
Maybe I'm not optimistic enough but I doubt requesting it a 4th time will help. Maybe they just ignore international accounts with this problem.

No problem, just mail them and explain the problem, right?

- Sure I did that. Twice. And they sent me the default message that I should go and request instructions sent to me. Which I already had done... 3 times.

Still no problem, just call them. That will work, right?

- Yeah, only I can't make international calls from my phone. (Don't ask me why, I don't know either)

Right now I'm SOO tired of getting the same standard reply that isn't helping any.

What about this for a useful reply:

Dear Christoffer,

Thank you for contacting PayPal.

You can reach PayPal Customer Service via secure webform at
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_contact or by telephone at
1-402-935-7733.  Our hours are 6 a.m. through midnight, CST, 7 days a week.

"Thanks for contacting us, here are the instructions to use the same page you already used (to write the question which we ignored), so you can ask us the same question again (which we will ignore)"

Does anyone know any way to e-mail PayPal without getting insanely stupid auto-replies?


Here's the bonus for y'all:

I thought: "Well ok, screw this. I guess I have to sign up again and add my credit card again (and wait for the annoying confirmation)"

So I filled out everything. Wrote in my credit card number and... "You can't use this card because it is currently in use by another account."

Hello, did I get trapped in the movie Brazil by accident?

[Clinton R. Nixon]

I can sympathize with your problems there, Christoffer. The Forge came under my watch because someone (not me) got a domain name under one e-mail address - which they didn't have any more - and then used an e-mail address at that domain to get the Forge's domain name. It was like the domain name dominos game, watching the whole thing fall apart. After some very creative technical work and about 3 months of banging my head against a wall, I managed to fix the problem.

Anyway - PayPal is basically a bank. As that, they're going to have byzantine security procedures. The lesson we can all learn: don't change your e-mail address without checking every important account you use (including the Forge - if I get bounced messages to you, I get a bit pissy.)

[Valamir]

Paypal works like a dream, flawlessly and smooth.  As long as you don't screw up during the sign up process or lose access to the linked email account.  If you do either of those things you're doomed...why?  Because paypal has virtually no staff.  Almost the whole operation is automated.  If you have an issue the automation can't handle...well...you've seen the limbo where that gets you.

I can't give you any concrete advice, but paypal has just been bought by ebay and in my experience ebays customer service has been better than paypals....you might try contacting ebay to try and find a solution that route.

You also may want to contact your phone service and find out how to place international calls, because I can't imagine either of them having a support number local to you.