CATS 1, KIDS 0
Photo by Cathy Hurley
As you know, we have been trying to buy Christmas presents for kids in the Regretsy community.
We took many applications, vetted them carefully and set about creating a giant gift exchange program, where you could buy a gift for the over 200 children we’re helping.
We raised so much money that we found ourselves in a position of not just being able to send toys, but to send a monetary gift to the families as well. We hoped it might help them make their holiday dinners more special, or maybe pay a pressing bill.
PAYPAL SHUT IT DOWN
Apparently we made the mistake of using the “Donate” button, which Paypal is now claiming is only for nonprofit organizations to use.* They froze the account, which also includes Zazzle money that we use to make emergency gifts. That money isn’t in issue, but what the hell! Might as well keep everything!
*EDIT: For the record, this piece of information is completely false. As per Paypal, anyone may use a donation button for any reason.
So last night, I decided to go about this a different way. Since these toys are already purchased, I decided to offer them up for sale on this site, just like any other retailer would. You could buy them according to what you wanted to spend, and we would send them on to the recipient of your gift, just like any other retailer.
PAYPAL SHUT IT DOWN
After a very long and jaw-dropping conversation with an incredibly condescending representative, they have decided that I must refund all the donations and purchases that have not been processed. If you don’t get a refund, it’s because we got your money before they got smart and kept us from helping children at Christmas, which is really the best move any corporation can make.
Here are a few highlights from our conversation:
YOU CAN ONLY HELP CATSPAYPAL: Only a nonprofit can use the Donate button.
ME: That’s false. It says right in the PDF of instructions for the Donate button that it can be used for “worthy causes.”
PAYPAL: I haven’t seen that PDF. And what you’re doing is not a worthy cause, it’s charity.
ME: What’s the difference?
PAYPAL: You can use the donate button to raise money for a sick cat, but not poor people.
YOU HAVE TO START A NEW WEBSITE
ME: The problem is I’ve already bought all of these toys, so now I’m really in a position like any other merchant – which is to say, I have inventory I need to sell. Why can’t I sell them as gifts, like any other retailer?
PAYPAL: Don’t you think it would look suspicious if the same people bought them again?
ME: Why? These are my customers!
PAYPAL: If you wanted to do that, you’d have to start a new website.
ME: What? Why would I start a new website?
PAYPAL: I’m not going to argue with you.
WE WILL TRACK YOUR SHIPMENTS
PAYPAL: The only way you’d be allowed to sell these as gifts is if you sent them directly to the person who bought them. And we will track your shipments and make sure it goes to the buyer.
ME: That’s discriminatory! You don’t make other retailers send purchases to the buyer only, especially not at Christmas.
PAYPAL: No one but a nonprofit would send gifts to someone else on buyer’s behalf.
ME: What about Amazon?
PAYPAL: We know what you’re doing and we’re through playing games with you.
YOU’LL NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS
PAYPAL: You say you’re selling these as gifts but there is no information as to what the gift is.
ME: People sell mystery gifts and grab bags all the time. What about sites where they say, let us choose for you?”
PAYPAL: It doesn’t say that on your site.
ME: Is that the problem? If I say it’s a mystery gift would that be sufficient?
PAYPAL: You aren’t going to be able to get around this. It’s too late, we know what you’re trying to do and we’re not going to let you do it.
ME: But there are hundreds of toys! Do you think it’s reasonable to create a drop down menu for hundreds of gifts, all of them different, and create an inventory for each as “one?” So that every time one sells, it’s sold out, and the customer has to keep choosing options and going through check out to see if they can find a gift that’s still available?
PAYPAL: Yes, I think it’s reasonable.
Then my brain exploded.
At this point, I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told that “No one above me will talk to you. No one at my level ever makes phone calls. We’re only doing this to help you.”
When I asked how to close my account, he said I had to “refund everything, write a letter saying you understood what you did WAS WRONG AND YOU WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN, and then request permission to close your account.”
Then, for good measure, they froze my personal account, which has revenue from my book sales, e-books and all the other Finnish Folktales Swag. They’ll be holding that money for 6 months.
So to recap:
$ They allowed me to use a donate button, and got a portion of the donations
$ They made me return the donations, and kept a portion of the fees on the donations
$ They allowed me to use a Buy Now button to sell gifts individually, and got a portion of those sales
$ Then made me return the sales, and kept a portion of the fees on the sales
$ They processed the toy purchases, and made fees on that
They have made a fortune for not doing anything but making me manually return thousands of $2 sales and contributions.
I have been able to guarantee purchase and shipment of the toys, so that part is happening, as are the letters from Santa (most have already been delivered).
However, I am very sorry to say that at this point, I am not able to make a monetary gift to the families. They have frozen everything that was not already spent or donated, and I have no more funds to make a gift of that size.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Wanna tell Paypal how you feel? Here’s a list of every administrative Paypal email address and phone number The Consumerist was able to find.
UPDATE: Paypal has responded and this matter is largely resolved. You can see the outcome here.
December 5, 2011 at 6:10 pm
WHAT THE FUCK.
December 5, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Cunt, what the shit? As they say in Finnish. Off to email PayPal.
Fucking fuck fuckery.
December 5, 2011 at 7:35 pm
Posted on their Facebook page, which was swiftly removed.
Try being less “asshole” and more “forgiving.” It’s absolutely appalling the crap you guys are pulling with Regretsy. Congratulations on successfully screwing families out of some much-needed donations because you’re greedy bastards who care more about red tape than people. I hope the Karma carousel comes full circle and hits each and every one of you with the force of a fully-loaded bus. Merry fucking Christmas to you too.
December 5, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Posted the following to PayPal’s FB (But it looks like they’ve disabled posts? It disappears on every reload…):
Have you heard the news? PayPal has decided that donating gifts and money to needy children and families is wrong. So wrong that they’ll take their cut of the donations, then require that the organizer refund all the money (that PayPal took their cut of); then allow the organizer to sell the (already purchased) gifts (and take a cut of the sales); then decide that because it’s not a charity for cats, but for kids, all of the sales have to be refunded (giving PayPal another transaction cut); and then, to add insult to injury, freezing the personal account of the organizer.
http://www.regretsy.com/2011/12/05/cats-1-kids-0/
#PayPal #FAIL #Scrooge
December 5, 2011 at 8:54 pm
Odd – I can see the post here, which says it’s on their wall…but I can’t see it on their wall…
December 5, 2011 at 9:19 pm
At the top of the wall you can decide whether you want to look at posts by PayPal or posts by Everyone (Most Recent). So none of them are getting deleted…. they just aren’t on the default wall view.
December 5, 2011 at 9:29 pm
They’ve hidden their wall like a bunch of chicken shits. It’s still there and their still deleting like wild gibbering monkeys. Only now you have to click a link from the main page. Typical, making their customers put out the extra effort to have their say.
December 5, 2011 at 9:32 pm
I copied/pasted what you posted. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON
Everyone (Most Recent) when you’re looking at their facebook. They’re not deleting everything (although I did not see your post, it could have scrolled off by now with all the hate mail.)
December 6, 2011 at 6:18 am
I copy and pasted your post on Paypal’s wall. It’s getting “likes” so apparently it is showing up somewhere.
December 6, 2011 at 6:59 am
I stole your post to see if it worked and it did. Sorry about copying you
It was just a lot more easy and now that we know posts work lets all post on the wall!!! You just have to click the filter to see everyones post not just paypals on the top of the wall.
December 6, 2011 at 11:11 am
To anyone who “stole” my post – you were welcome to it. My goal was to get the word out widely, and your appropriation of my words only helped that cause.
Apparently, we got their attention.
Would be cool if Regretsy/Ms. Killer gets a chance to let us know if the resolution was reasonable/acceptable to her.
December 5, 2011 at 9:11 pm
I copied and pasted this and it’s been up long enough now to get nine “likes”, so maybe the locking of posts has been taken out for the time being?
December 5, 2011 at 8:34 pm
Just got my *second* refund from PayPal. Fuck you, greedy losers.
Post to Colbert:
https://www.facebook.com/thecolbertreport?sk=wall&filter=1
And Jon Stewart:
https://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow?sk=wall&filter=12
December 6, 2011 at 7:42 am
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/12/paypal_kills_christmas.php
It’s also on
http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/06/do-you-hear-what-i-hear-yes-its-paypal-stealing-money-from-kids/
December 6, 2011 at 7:45 am
Oooh! Feel the love, slags!
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/paypal-faces-pr-nightmare-over-poor-handling-of-regretsy-incident.html/
December 6, 2011 at 7:49 am
And THIS:
http://www.businessinsider.com/paypal-regretsy-2011-12
December 5, 2011 at 11:12 pm
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
December 6, 2011 at 10:58 am
YESSSSS
Fingers crossed this is true!!!
http://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/12/06/paypal-says-that-the-regretsy-funds-have-been-released-apologizes-and-makes-donation/
December 5, 2011 at 6:35 pm
Post on their facebook wall:
https://www.facebook.com/paypal?sk=wall
December 5, 2011 at 7:05 pm
I saw it further below, but not just pissing all over their Facebook and decrying their actions on Twitter, which I have found really gets a company’s proverbial goat, someone needs to start a Change.org petition. I know Paypal has already been under fire for handling certain groups who promote anti-gay agendas, etc.
December 5, 2011 at 10:54 pm
Someone did http://www.change.org/petitions/paypal-stop-being-greedy-idiots-who-shut-down-organizations-to-help-the-poor#
December 5, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Their FB page is blowing up! I lurve you fat jealous losers!
December 5, 2011 at 7:32 pm
Oh, I did, I did. The post was removed in seconds. Literally, in maybe five seconds.
December 5, 2011 at 7:32 pm
I just did and in four seconds 5 people had liked it. I also sent a pissy email to some of the heads listed on the email addresses website. Assholes, everyone of them.
December 5, 2011 at 7:43 pm
Yes, I’ve tweeted and Facebooked and got about 8 likes in less than a minute. I will not be censored, mother fuckers. I’ve also shared the story with others to get their rage built up.
December 6, 2011 at 6:50 am
Personally I’m going to wait a day or two until PayPal thinks we may be done. What the fuck, this fat jealous loser LOVES to copy and past email addresses and send out snarky emails to company officials – who, btw, will probably be pocketing large bonuses this year, consisting of all the fees they’ve hoarded from people whose money they won’t refund.
December 6, 2011 at 4:41 pm
oh yes make them think we are done to get their guard down! THEN SUCKER PUNCH THEM WHERE IT COUNTS !
December 5, 2011 at 7:57 pm
We are BLOWING UP their FB page. Now… how do we get this on Reddit? Any of you have accounts? We need to get this as viral as possible. Public shame and scorn is the only way they might back down.
December 6, 2011 at 12:19 am
Done.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Corporations/comments/n2b0y/paypal_cares_more_about_cats_than_the_poor_paypal/
December 6, 2011 at 3:55 am
Qix: you posted in /r/corporations? There are literally only 2 subscribers there. What about /r/WTF?
December 5, 2011 at 7:58 pm
Not only am I doing that – I am PERSONALLY email each and every one of those fucking emails. If everyone does the same – we will blow up their emails
FUCK YOU PAYPAL.
December 5, 2011 at 8:01 pm
Picked up by Wall St Journal and several other sites already, if you google it.
December 6, 2011 at 12:04 am
CNN too. CF4L
December 5, 2011 at 9:37 pm
How bout blowing up some inboxes for local news media, their headquarters is in San Jose, here’s the contact info I’ve found so far.
crime@mercury news.com, community relations@mercury news.com, local@mercury news.com, feedback@nbcbayarea.com, news tips@ktvu.com, general.manager@ktvu.com, community.affairs@ktvu.com, webstaff@ktvu.com, ire ports@ktvu.com
Also, http://www.nbcbayarea.com/contact-us
December 6, 2011 at 12:23 am
I’m sure paypal will enjoy the video i posted to their wall. santa knows what those greedy bastards are up to
http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/mErK4dKzF1eyKa-gxg7fjYQ
December 6, 2011 at 5:19 am
I actually lol’d at that video. The pictures were priceless.
December 6, 2011 at 10:15 am
Sam Cornwall FTW!!
I’ll chip in the $5 to have him rant at Paypal – especially since my family (among SO many) is among those who would have benefitted from a little extra $ from the F(abulous)JLs doing the secret santa. Been wanting to wrest myself away for greedy grasp of Paypal for years – now I’m so enraged I’ll DO IT. FUCK YOU PAYPAL!!
December 5, 2011 at 6:56 pm
Can’t we just mail you checks? Maybe?
December 5, 2011 at 7:03 pm
No, I don’t take checks meant for charitable purposes. I cant deposit that money into my account. Paypal was just a landing page for collections, and I disbursed it as quickly as I could.
December 5, 2011 at 7:18 pm
I wonder how much money etsy makes paypal, paypal loves resellers.
I say conspiracy!
December 5, 2011 at 7:25 pm
I think it’s time to get your old friend Judith involved.
December 5, 2011 at 7:27 pm
YES!!!!
December 6, 2011 at 12:22 am
YES. I’ll go get my PBR and Cheetos!
December 5, 2011 at 7:26 pm
can we send you well concealed CASH?
December 5, 2011 at 7:39 pm
That would only reinforce Paypal’s unsaid accusation that they apparently think this is some sort of illegal money laundering or fraud scheme…why grow their already shockingly large ego?
December 5, 2011 at 10:15 pm
You can send cash with these guys – https://www.dwolla.com/
I’m not sure yet if you can use them on Etsy, another fabulous Regretsy reader posted about them on the paypal fb page, and I’ve been looking into them, looks good so far.
December 5, 2011 at 7:26 pm
This whole thing is beyond comprehension for me. Paypal needs a serious kick in the ass. We need to get this story more attention somehow…
December 5, 2011 at 8:15 pm
I don’t even…
when Diaspora got fucked over by PP, they went with Stripe. Could Regretsy do the same?
https://stripe.com/
(no affiliation, just read it here: http://blog.diasporafoundation.org/2011/10/19/how-diaspora-found-its-tiger-stripe-in-the-midst-of-a-paypal-fiasco.html)
December 5, 2011 at 8:45 pm
I posted a comment on their page and they took it down. I’m upset because mine was polite and intelligent AND THEY TOOK IT DOWN! They left up all the ones cursing at them, because that’s ok, BUT SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCK?!?
December 5, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Well, yeah, comments cursing can be portrayed as “oh those idiot scammers are mad they got shut down.” Politeness and intelligence are signs that there are thinking people on the other side, which can’t be shown.
December 5, 2011 at 8:50 pm
Jennifer CoxPayPal
Regretsy. Really. My gut response is, shame on you. It’d be great if you din’t delete this and posted a reasoned response to your position on that one. I have, admittedly, only heard one side, and as someone who “donated”, or whatever you guys want to call it, I would like to understand why we’ve all got it wrong. I have used PayPal for years and while I can’t in good conscience encourage my friends and colleagues to use your services based on my dealings (some of which were rough) it’s not been as bad as others have experienced. And, even if this Regretsy kerfuffle is the impetus I need to cancel my accounts, you probably wouldn’t care. They’re not generating much in the way of fees for PayPal or anything, but, that said, while I’m still a customer, I am asking you to help me understand why a kid who would have delighted in the wagon my $40 donation could have purchased, can’t have that Christmas now.
Like · · about a minute ago ·
December 5, 2011 at 9:33 pm
To everyone reading this, sign the petition.
http://www.change.org/petitions/paypal-stop-being-greedy-idiots-who-shut-down-organizations-to-help-the-poor#
December 5, 2011 at 10:04 pm
Let it be known that I believe that internet petitions aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. BUT this is the 1st one I’ve signed. I wish to stand & add my voice to *any* forum that you FJLs can come up with.
I’m here to help! Let’s make this viral!
December 5, 2011 at 10:09 pm
Also put one on the government’s own site, once they’re done maintaining it: https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions
December 6, 2011 at 6:57 am
We’re up to 799 signatures.
December 5, 2011 at 10:56 pm
the petition is here http://www.change.org/petitions/president-paypal-unfreeze-regretsys-account-to-help-children-in-need
by the way.
December 5, 2011 at 11:51 pm
Vote here, this needs to be on CNN! http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-713002?ref=feeds%2Fnewsiest
Fuck you, PAYPAL.
December 6, 2011 at 3:12 am
Well, everybody knows charity isn’t a worthy cause. /sarcasm
December 6, 2011 at 5:36 am
Shouldn’t we be going to Paypal’s biggest competitor (whomsoever that may be) and giving them the opportunity to shame PP into the ground? It’s all well and good to want to inundate April with checks and cash, but if we can somehow go to WePay or whoever and say, here’s a golden PR opportunity, come forward and say “we’re going to show Paypal how it’s done” and have them handle the donations. Or something, I might be talking out of my ass, I’ve gotten on my righteous horse a couple of time the last month. The last time was when my little sis got scammed on a ring she bought for her wedding that’s happening in two weeks, I went apeshit and logicked the cuntbag seller into a refund. I have the sinking feeling my rage is going to be slightly less effective here.
December 6, 2011 at 5:50 am
I suggest you set up some sort of petition and get several hundred people to sign it and send that to someone at PayPal.
They keep saying “We know what you’re trying to do.” What is it they think you’re trying to do?
December 6, 2011 at 6:41 am
paypal are ruined. Their FB page has been taken over with messages from us and people are tweeting about alternative sites to paypal.
December 6, 2011 at 8:50 am
Observe this PDF, designed for no-profits! https://cms.paypal.com/cms_content/US/en_US/files/merchant/paypal_nonprofit_faqs.pdf
Notice point 3 carefully. Read the second-to-last sentence: “If your organization does not have 501(c)(3) status, it will pay our standard low transaction fees.”
BINGO! That is *proof* that groups/organizations who ARE NOT 501(c)(3) non-profits can STILL use the “Donate” button.
I call bullshit on PayPal! I also call LIAR and THIEF!
December 6, 2011 at 9:35 am
Apparently PayPal just released this “Issue Resolution”
https://www.thepaypalblog.com/2011/12/regretsy-issue-resolution/
December 5, 2011 at 6:10 pm
Fuck paypal. Fuck paypal in its paypal ass.
December 5, 2011 at 6:15 pm
I am in complete awe of your amazeballs avatar. Sums it all up pretty darn well.
December 5, 2011 at 7:26 pm
Someone contact ANONYMOUS!!! I want to know if there is another site better than paypal????
I was already pissed as hell at paypal as they shafted me twice this month on charge backs. Paypal CHARGED ME 20.00 to give the money back to the customer who already said THEY GOT THE MERCH!!!!!
Just to clarify how great paypal is:
A charge back was started by the bank
Even though I had full proof of delivery, I lost the case
The customer sent an email saying she got the goods AND her money back.
Then I had to PAY 20.00!!!!!!
Burn them with fire!!!!!!!!
December 5, 2011 at 7:33 pm
Anonymous is not April’s private army. We, however, are.
December 5, 2011 at 7:49 pm
They are in deep shit now. Fucked with the wrong jealous, fat losers.
December 5, 2011 at 8:15 pm
There is a site called “WePay” that I will be looking in to. Paypal has frakked me over too. Someone lied about their location on ebay and when I decided to ship it to them anyway, they claimed they never received the item. Even though I had the receipt to prove I sent it, PayPal forced me to give back 185$ without even trying to assert whether the customer was lying. Bullshit. They also have unreasonably long holds on money for sellers. It’s stupid, evil and wrong.
Anyway, WePay –> https://www.wepay.com/
December 6, 2011 at 1:56 am
I was just going to add this as a comment not only complain, but let papal know that there is competition popping up out there. People will have a choice,
December 6, 2011 at 9:46 am
That’s exactly what happened to me, except it was $275. The buyer claimed he never got the item, and because he was in Canada, PayPal wouldn’t accept my tracking info as proof. Thanks for the tip about WePay!
December 5, 2011 at 8:17 pm
I haven’t tried them yet, but someone else linked me to dwolla.com as a paypal alternate?
December 5, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Dwolla is based in Des Moines and I used to work with a guy who now works for them. They’ve gotten some positive press around here and seem legit from what I’ve heard.
December 5, 2011 at 10:13 pm
Yeah Dwolla is amazing! I’ve met many of the people that work there, and I can assure you they’re legitimate!
December 5, 2011 at 10:22 pm
I’ve been looking at Dwolla too, I’ll check out wepay. Here is an article on Dwolla.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2011/11/12/dwolla-the-dollar-that-keeps-its-value/
December 5, 2011 at 10:26 pm
And here’s an awesome thing wepay did, dropped off 600 lbs of ice with the words “PayPal freezes accounts” and some other stuff outside a PayPal conference.
http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/26/wepay-ice-paypal/
December 5, 2011 at 8:47 pm
They’d probably like it too much.
December 6, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Then get the pineapple.
December 6, 2011 at 1:20 pm
I just want to take a little time out from this and say: I LOVE YOU APRIL, and thank you SO MUCH for your efforts to help kids this Christmas. I am incredibly unemployed and broke this year myself, and it made me feel pretty awful that I couldn’t send anything to help with this. But I have been keeping up with every word, and I couldn’t be more proud of you. You are my hero. CF4L.
December 6, 2011 at 1:21 pm
errr, I typed this at the bottom of the page and it still posted here as a reply. Oh well! The sentiment is still the same. Walla!
December 5, 2011 at 6:11 pm
You should bill them by the hour for the time you spend refunding people.
December 5, 2011 at 6:12 pm
I’m doing it.
December 5, 2011 at 6:14 pm
Good. This whole thing is utterly ludicrous.
December 5, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Good for you guys. This just goes so far beyond the pale of fuckery it’s not funny.
December 5, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Bronc, are you on the account as well? I’m asking because if you’re not, do you think it would solve anything by creating your own account? They might be looking for an account request by Bronc Drywall, but we all know your real name is Muscles McCaffery (how prophetic that your parents named you Muscles!). Oops. I hope PayPal isn’t reading this!
December 5, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Bless you, Mr. Drywall!
December 5, 2011 at 6:34 pm
hi5
PayPal’s going apeshit over what would normally be chalked up to an honest mistake.
December 5, 2011 at 6:11 pm
This is the stupidest bunch of fuckery I have ever heard of. Raising funds for my sick cat? FINE. Trying to do a good thing for needy people? SHUT IT DOWN IMMEDIATELY.
December 5, 2011 at 6:22 pm
Okay, so who wants to start the series of letters to PayPal to see if we can slowly chip away at finding out exactly what the donation rules are?
They said sick cats are okay, but not poor people. What about sick people? What if my cat isn’t sick, just poor? Will they let me fundraise for my gerbil’s surgery? What if it’s elective cosmetic gerbil surgery?
Since they won’t post the rules upfront, the only way we can find out is by asking a lot of highly specific questions.
December 5, 2011 at 6:32 pm
What if we all collect donations for our sick cats/gerbils/horses/rabbits/mermaids (wait, are those people?)/unicorns, and then because of the overwhelming response, we are able to care for our sick animals and have money left over, so we decide to give it to Ms. Killer as a gift?
December 5, 2011 at 6:55 pm
What if I can get a vet to certify that my cat is allergic to assholes who take money from children? And she’s having a major allergy attack RIGHT NOW!
Your move, PayPal.
December 5, 2011 at 8:17 pm
as a vet student, i would be more than willing to sign off on that diagnosis.
diagnosis: allergic to bullshit
prescription: JUSTICE
pretty sure they mentioned that somewhere in my immunology course…
December 5, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Well, I sent them a very polite email (seriously!) pointing out their opportunity to show heart and compassion. They’re still fucking asshats though.
December 5, 2011 at 7:25 pm
My email was nothing like polite, but it was rude in a very erudite fashion.
December 5, 2011 at 7:08 pm
“..the only way we can find out is by asking a lot of highly specific questions.”
That’s what got them so angry in the phone call. I wanted clear instructions I could follow without running afoul of their rules, but they were so arbitrary and random that they could’t really give them to me.
PAYPAL: Do it like X.
ME: Okay, I’ll do it like X.
PAYPAL: WE’RE THROUGH PLAYING GAMES WTH YOU
December 5, 2011 at 7:50 pm
Clearly your evil plan involves doing exactly as they say, when they say it. They were just testing you, and you failed. Thus, game over – they’d tell you to have a nice day and come again, but they already have your money.
December 5, 2011 at 9:47 pm
I am so sincerely sorry for all of this. I wish I could say this was the first time I’d heard of PayPal doing something like this, but it’s not. There’s always Google Checkout.
December 5, 2011 at 10:44 pm
this is how paypal plays games.
December 5, 2011 at 11:01 pm
It’s like CalvinBall from hell, really.
December 5, 2011 at 11:32 pm
And then they get to punish you for talking about your experience, by freezing your own account.
December 5, 2011 at 10:46 pm
So, PayPal is fine with “donating” to people who make downloads for video games whose publishers don’t allow SELLING custom content…but poor kids are verboten.
Right.
December 6, 2011 at 7:05 am
They aren’t worth the time and effort.
December 5, 2011 at 8:29 pm
Someone should make a petition and lets promote the usage of google checkout instead!!!
December 5, 2011 at 11:04 pm
at over 2400 signatures!
http://www.change.org/petitions/president-paypal-unfreeze-regretsys-account-to-help-children-in-need
December 6, 2011 at 7:08 am
Now at 4,498
December 6, 2011 at 12:23 am
Raise money for the poor people’s sick pets??
December 6, 2011 at 5:26 am
I was thinking more for their “sick pets” but I think that should be a way around it apparently.
December 6, 2011 at 7:42 am
Ha! Replacing the secret santa with a _Donation_ for those families’ pets! Ha!
December 5, 2011 at 6:12 pm
this is so utterly ridiculous. Is there any other way that you can collect funds for donation? perhaps via indiegogo.com? If you can find a way to re-collect the money I would be happy to donate the same amount I donated last time whether or not I get refunded from the first time… I hope that makes sense.
December 5, 2011 at 6:22 pm
This.
I’m sure there are a lot of us who are both willing and able to donate more money through a different service to ensure these families can get SOMETHING. This is absurd, and these families deserve something, regardless of whether PayPal continues to fuck them over.
December 5, 2011 at 6:38 pm
I had nothing to donate the first time around, but I could totally afford a decent donation now. Is there anything we can do that doesn’t involve selling our souls to paypal?
December 5, 2011 at 6:52 pm
Count me in on this, too. I think my donation went through and isn’t being refunded (hopefully) but I will happily send you a check for the same amount to help give these families a little something.
I am just livid about this and because it can’t be said enough: FUCK PAYPAL!
December 5, 2011 at 10:40 pm
I didn’t get a chance to donate last time, there were already too many, so I’m totally willing to donate if there is a second round.
December 5, 2011 at 6:12 pm
This is disgusting. April, this is a better time than any to use your media connections – you work for DISNEY, for Christ’s sake, I know you have connections – and get this on the news. Public shaming is our only hope at this point.
December 5, 2011 at 6:16 pm
At this point, anything April does will just look like her being butt-hurt.. WE have to get it out to the rest of the public. I’m glad that the Consumerist has already picked it up.. That’s a start at least..
December 5, 2011 at 6:22 pm
…and the BBB?
December 5, 2011 at 8:52 pm
They’re just a fee-collecting scam themselves. If PayPal is paying them, then nothing anyone says will make a bit of difference.
December 5, 2011 at 6:24 pm
I disagree, johnstb3 – this is a situation where getting help from “friends in high places” is totally, wonderfully appropriate.
April, use your magical famousy powers for good!! Either that or use your special vocal talents to have Mickey Mouse give them a call. “How ’bout some cheese, fuckers!!”
December 5, 2011 at 6:36 pm
WHAT WOULD MS FRIZZLE DO
December 5, 2011 at 6:43 pm
*Finster
December 5, 2011 at 6:49 pm
WHOOPS. Thank you Forspecial, I MEANT FINSTER.
I can’t even blame it on the wine I’m not drinking! (Office hours, and as a receptionist, it’s generally frowned upon to drink at the front desk.)
December 5, 2011 at 8:07 pm
ziggystardust – I’m a receptionist, and my boss refers to the front desk as the “zone of first impressions.” I think impression given by drinking at your desk depends on your workplace.
December 5, 2011 at 11:02 pm
rioux – my workplace deals heavily with the upper echelons of public transport, in turn, dealing with CEOs of transport companies. Unless it was 5pm on a Friday, it’d probably be frowned upon. Booze-free office, y’see, orders from the Chief Exec himself. Who, now that I think about it, isn’t as serious as he makes out he is. Today, I caught him holding onto the top rail of the staircase and the top of someone’s cubicle, and swinging from them like they were parallel bars. I quipped, “trying out for the next Olympics, Bob?” and HE GRINNED LIKE A LOON. He is my favourite head of any company I’ve worked for.
December 5, 2011 at 6:39 pm
Petrock – I agree – I do PR and this is a prefect story for xmas – headline – “Paypal? How the Internet Grinch Stole Christmas”. happy to help on the free if needed
December 5, 2011 at 7:38 pm
It’s got something for absolutely everyone: Christmas, children, a small business not being evil, Christmas, an unregulated banklike corporation being evil, children, private-sector charity, Christmas, and children. It could hardly be timelier without a sex scandal and a run for President. And CF4L has plenty of scandalous sexiness. So obviously, there’s only one thing left for us to do.
APRIL WINCHELL FOR PRESIDENT!
December 6, 2011 at 6:14 am
I’ve e-mailed the Daily Telegraph and Private Eye, two members of the British press that do a lot of righteous campaigning.
The story has officially gone transatlantic!
December 6, 2011 at 7:46 am
…And now also the Daily Mirror, which is also a big campaigning paper.
December 6, 2011 at 7:47 am
…And now also the Daily Mirror, which is also a big campaigning tabloid.
December 5, 2011 at 6:52 pm
The Wall Street Journal has linked to the Consumerist article, too.
December 5, 2011 at 7:01 pm
*eeets workiiing*
/Mr Burns fingers
December 5, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Brainflash: someone needs to call COLBERT. He is the only who could do this story proper justice.
December 5, 2011 at 7:12 pm
https://www.facebook.com/thecolbertreport?sk=wall&filter=12
Someone posted about it here – LIKE THAT POST!
December 5, 2011 at 7:13 pm
This is the biggest bag of fucking fucks I have ever seen. The one atom thick silver lining would be to see Colbert do this story.
December 5, 2011 at 9:45 pm
I want to see a wag of the finger from Colbert.
December 5, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Oh, this IS nice. I listen to WCBS-AM newsradio faithfully in the morning, especially for the business reports from the Wall Street Journal columnist. I’ll let you guys know if he says anything about this. In fact, I’m going to mosy on over to the site now and see if I can’t e-mail him whilst he’s asleep.
December 5, 2011 at 7:19 pm
I couldn’t find Joe Connolly on the 880 Newsradio site, but I sent an e-mail to CBS-TV (forgive any wimpy language)
You may have heard of the Web site http://www.regretsy.com, which may be classified as a humor blog except that the owner, April Winchell, has a charity fund that is used to help people on Regretsy when needed as well as people who are not associated at all with the site. Recently, Ms. Winchell was collecting money from us readers using PayPal, for the SOLE purpose of buying toys for a select group of vetted children (those who are truly needy, whose parent cannot afford anything for them for Christmas this year). She was so overwhelmed with donations that she would be able to send the families a small financial gift, to do with as they please, whether to have a nice(r) dinner for Christmas or pay an outstanding bill.
December 5, 2011 at 7:19 pm
(Rest of the e-mail)
PayPal has since shut down the “donate” button, claiming that she was misusing it, and has instructed her to refund all the money. This was apparently resolved earlier today (“buy a gift” choices of dollar amounts were offered), but PayPal shut that down as well. There are two Regretsy postings that apply here: The original, explaining the problem (PLEASE do not let the language turn you off of this serious situation; read what she’s written): http://www.regretsy.com/2011/12/04/fuck-you-paypal/ The follow-up one, tonight, detailing how PayPal is specifically targeting her site and would accept donations “for a sick cat” but not for poor children: http://www.regretsy.com/2011/12/05/cats-1-kids-0/#comment-323974
December 5, 2011 at 7:07 pm
Where is it? Can you post the link here? I want to get that link going in twitter but I don’t see it on the WSJ page.
December 5, 2011 at 9:42 pm
http://onespot.wsj.com/personal-finance/2011/12/05/3cdd1/paypal-rains-on-regretsys-secret-santa
and it’s on CNN iReport. http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-713002
December 6, 2011 at 6:33 am
This story made it to the front page of the front page of the internet (www.reddit.com)
The actual post is http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/n1yx1/scumbag_paypal/
6k+ upvotes so far. 4k downvotes, and there are some misinformed people in the comments. It’s not Wall Street Journal or anything to do with trusted journalism, but the story is definitely getting out there.
PayPal best come to their senses.
December 5, 2011 at 6:12 pm
I fucking hate paypal.
December 5, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Surely we can mobilize the legions of fat lazy slags and do something about this.
SLAGS, ACTIVATE!
December 5, 2011 at 6:15 pm
I would buy “WONDER SLAG POWERS ACTIVATE” on a sampler.
December 5, 2011 at 6:27 pm
FORM OF…AN ICEBERG
FORM OF…AN EECB
December 5, 2011 at 6:16 pm
I feel like we need rings that glow as we scream “SLAGS, ACTIVATE!” and punch our fists together, morphing into Power Rangers. But cooler.
December 5, 2011 at 6:28 pm
I think one of our slogans should be “Hey, Ho! The slags say PayPal has to go!”
December 5, 2011 at 9:57 pm
I prefer Battle of the Planets, myself.
They had cooler modes of transportation… and a monkey.
December 6, 2011 at 10:43 am
Hey! Keeyop just had a speech impediment.
December 5, 2011 at 10:16 pm
I demand part of our uniforms to include skants, snuggies, and fascinators. /nod
December 6, 2011 at 2:28 am
I will also require a snood.
December 5, 2011 at 7:51 pm
Dear Paypal,
I’m sure you’ve already received many complaints about this, so I’ll keep it brief. I’ll be referring your business practices and policies, as well as your specific treatment of April Winchill, to a substantial number of my legal and government contacts in the Northeast. Rest assured, it will make for great material in class as we discuss corporations and the law; in fact, we’ve seen Paypal’s name come up before, in our chapter on duty of loyalty and inappropriate corporate opportunity.
I urge you to consider amending your policies, and at the very least, refunding any fees collected for transactions that you are deeming invalid and forcing to be refunded.
I look forward to being updated with your plan of action. You can reach me via email at this address.
Sincerely,
A Fat Lazy Slag
December 5, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Holy crackers! Tell them the money is really to pay for your upcoming hobo-themed wedding.
December 5, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Fuck Paypal. We’ve got a credit account with them, I’ll be closing as soon as its paid off. Just fuck them.
December 5, 2011 at 6:50 pm
Just closed mine. Under reason I put: “I am truly sickened by your handling of the Regretsy Holiday Fund. You are preventing a bunch of underprivileged kids from getting the presents that a whole community came together to purchase for them. You won’t let anyone repurchase, you won’t let anyone re-donate, and worse than anything, nowhere in your policies does it state that this is a possibility when using the “Donate” button. I will never use PayPal again, and any store that demands PayPal I will be happy to write an email to the seller explaining exactly why I will never give your company another penny of my money. I will be telling everyone I know via internet and word of mouth about this soulless act of Scroogery, and encouraging all my fellow Etsy users/sellers to discontinue their PayPals and accept a different form of payment. I hope you all have a really hard time sleeping at night.”
December 5, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Thanks for the idea! the husband is shutting his down now
December 5, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Merry Fucking Christmas, PayPal.
What in the ever loving FUCK do they think they’re doing?? What miserable people. WHAARGARBL, I SAY.
December 5, 2011 at 6:13 pm
And working off of that list, these are the valid e-mail addresses that don’t immediately get bounced back.
mrfry@paypal.com, sthompson@paypal.com, mhentges@paypal.com, crme@paypal.com, mvergara@paypal.com, cwong@paypal.com, mbarrett@paypal.com, executiveoffice@paypal.com, harbor1@paypal.com, ppelce@paypal.com, cardreview@paypal.com, complaint-response@paypal.com, abuse@paypal.com, resolutions@paypal.com, compliance@paypal.com, escalations@paypal.com, webform@paypal.com, spoof@paypal.com, aup@paypal.com, press@paypal.com, apires@paypal.com, pending_reversal@paypal.com, global2@paypal.com, intl@paypal.com, ppe_courtesycredit@paypal.com, scott@paypal.com,
December 5, 2011 at 6:13 pm
You can also write a letter to PayPal president Scott Thompson at the following address:
Scott Thompson
President PayPal
2211 N. First Street
San Jose, CA 95131
You can fax the letter to the following:
1-408-376-7514 (FAX Number — General office)
And call them directly here: 1-402-935-2050 (PayPal Customer Service)
1-888-215-5506 (Another PayPal Customer Service Number)
1-888-221-1161 (Another PayPal Customer Service Number)
December 5, 2011 at 6:45 pm
I wonder why the fax number area code is for san jose, like the address, but the customer service is for Nebraska or something. ps I live min from this address.
December 5, 2011 at 7:10 pm
I believe their corporate headquarters is in San Jose, and the call center is in Nebraska. After all, do you really think it would be a good idea to put the higher-ups and the idiots that answer their phones in the same building? Why, when a customer called, they wouldn’t have an excuse to not get a supervisor! Customer concerns would actually GET RESOLVED! That’s not the PayPal way to do things!
December 5, 2011 at 7:55 pm
Their call center is in Omaha, Nebraska, where I live. Anyone else live here? We should go picket their campus!!!! Jealous, fat losers UNITE! With our powers combined, we are Captain CF4L!
December 6, 2011 at 5:52 am
HQ or something like it is in Omaha.
December 5, 2011 at 7:51 pm
You can send a free fax from your computer using http://www.faxzero.com
December 5, 2011 at 6:41 pm
mrfry@paypal.com just bounced on me (as did moldenburg@paypal.com, which I’ve seen in other lists)
December 5, 2011 at 8:02 pm
Additional email addresses from The Consumerist comments:
crule@paypal.com
csme@ebay.com
jcanfield@ebay.com
john@ebay.com
lfriedberg@paypal.com
mbarrett@paypal.com
mvergara@paypal.com
pierre@ebay.com
rajiv@ebay.com
scott@paypal.com
slivnat@paypal.com
ulieberman@ebay.com
December 5, 2011 at 8:06 pm
A bunch of those bounced when I sent my first e-mail.
December 5, 2011 at 8:20 pm
Most recent comment on Consumerist:
LotusNJ
April 18, 2011 6:34 PM
pierre@ebay.com worked for me (I found that on another site).
By the end of the day I had a resolution from a lovely gentleman in his office. Very helpful, very polite, very professional and very serious about a happy customer.
December 5, 2011 at 9:20 pm
Some bounced the majority didn’t but I sent my letter of outrage without the use of any profanities! Proof that I have a semblance of self control..
December 5, 2011 at 6:13 pm
There’s a special place in Hell for Paypal and it’s founders and employees. What a pack of scum.
December 5, 2011 at 6:28 pm
I love you man, because your name includes the word “gelatinous.”
December 5, 2011 at 6:13 pm
Those dirty, cock-eating motherfuckers.
I dearly wish that every single one of them would draw a cunt over their heads and flee to the mountains.
December 5, 2011 at 6:13 pm
This is absolutely sickening.
December 5, 2011 at 6:13 pm
I am filled with so much rage. This NEEDS to be picked up by mainstream media, ASAP. Fuck you, PayPal. You have messed with the wrong group of fat, jealous losers!
December 6, 2011 at 12:11 am
Tweeted a link to @robinmeade and @hlntv. They tend to love the fluff and correcting injustice. I suggest others do the same.
December 5, 2011 at 6:13 pm
Unbelievable. Is there some way we can send to your address, not through PayFrenemy? I wasn’t refunded, so I assume my gift made it under the wire, but I’ll give more if there’s a way.
December 5, 2011 at 6:13 pm
THIS MAKES ME SO ANGRY..
I’m glad I bought the liter and a half of wine instead of just a bottle, or else I might be forced to get off my fat ass and walk to PayPal headquarters (wherever that is) and kick their idiot, Grinch asses.
December 5, 2011 at 6:43 pm
Here’s the address. I vote all Regretsians within travel distance do a knit-in until Paypal stops dicking around.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2211+North+First+Street+San+Jose,+CA+95131&hnear=2211+N+1st+St,+San+Jose,+California+95131&gl=us&t=m&z=16&vpsrc=0
December 5, 2011 at 9:06 pm
So what are the rules for picketing? Those abortion protesters have got it down pat, what do they do to not get arrested?
December 5, 2011 at 9:06 pm
Petitions and emails are all fine and dandy, but is anyone up for some good old fashioned in person protesting? PayPal has “service” centers in Scottsdale and Chandler Arizona as well as San Jose.
Here’s how I see it – a fat jealous loser in a Santa suit wrestles a hand made upcycled barnwood toy from a mustachioed bird wearing Etsian while a crowd of barefoot steampunk urchins wails in the parking lot of every PayPal corporate office on the fucking planet!
The local news will eat that shit up.
December 6, 2011 at 5:35 am
HQ is in OMAHA
December 5, 2011 at 6:13 pm
They keep saying they “know what you’re trying to do”… what is it that they think you’re doing? Or are they really just that averse to helping the poor?
December 5, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Well, their mission statement IS “Fucking people in the ass, one fee at a time.”
December 5, 2011 at 6:25 pm
I was thinking/wondering the same damn thing! Is there any way possible for them to sound more ominious then “we know what you’re trying to do, and we’re going to track your shipments”…Holy Big Brother Batman!
December 5, 2011 at 11:22 pm
I think what the PayPal representative was trying to say, when they said “We know what you’re trying to do,” was:
“My hipster daughter glues Chinese reseller shit to other shit and sells it on Etsy, and I know who you are.”
December 5, 2011 at 6:14 pm
This is honestly sounding more and more like a nightmare with each update. I’m going to get a couple glasses of wine in me and tell the ones with the funniest names how I feel!
December 5, 2011 at 6:14 pm
/headdesk. I am just fucking appalled.
December 5, 2011 at 6:14 pm
I’ve always hated Paypal and their double and triple dipping ways. But this puts the douchnozzle bar at a new high. Is there any way we can send money orders to help donate money for families?
December 5, 2011 at 6:14 pm
Bullshit!!! There’s got to be a way to get to the top and make them fix this total screwover. Unbelievable.
December 5, 2011 at 7:09 pm
That response about no higher-ups being willing to talk to her totally reminded me of the Dave Chappelle PopCopy bit.
December 5, 2011 at 6:14 pm
I am so steamed there are not even words. I’m talking to my business partner and closing my paypal account.
December 6, 2011 at 1:17 am
I’m pretty sure our good friend Sam could come up with some words–deliciously foul words creatively strung together. Has anyone Fiverred him in on this?
December 5, 2011 at 6:14 pm
I tried to cancel my paypal account after this bullshit and was told that they’re waiting for money to clear my account, which is SUPER FUCKING WEIRD since nothing is pending. I’m going to keep trying though, and if they won’t let me cancel it, I’ll mail them a bag of poop programmed to start burning as soon as they take it out of the box.
December 5, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Did you donate to the Regretsy drive? Some of the refunds are frozen in April’s account, which could be counting against you.
December 5, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Yes but I think mine made it in fast enough, since I donated approximately .5 seconds after she posted the link. Or at least I hope it did. Oh look, my headache is coming back.
December 5, 2011 at 6:23 pm
The refund she’s required to issue is frozen. That impacts your account.
December 5, 2011 at 6:26 pm
Flaming shitbag it is.
December 5, 2011 at 6:38 pm
WTF…. so, refund it but we’re freezing that too??? What is wrong with these people!?
December 5, 2011 at 6:16 pm
I wish I could deliver that box!
December 5, 2011 at 6:29 pm
Wait… so not only have htey fucked over April, they’ve just fucked over hte accounts of potentially all of us who donated because now we’re connected with an account tehy’ve deemed “fraudulent”. BRILLIANT
December 5, 2011 at 8:00 pm
I have an account, but my “purchase” went through my credit card instead of my actual PayPal account, so I was able to close my PayPal account tonight. They made it REALLY difficult! I had to search for “how to close account” on PayPal and then on Google (since PayPal wouldn’t help me find it), then keep going back and forth until I figured out how to do it. Then my session timed out while I was telling them exactly why I was closing my account. I had to log in again, and by then they had forgotten that I was closing my account, so I had to start all over. I had to type like the wind to actually submit my request.
December 5, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Next time, compose it in Word/Notepad/etc., then copy/paste into their text box.
December 5, 2011 at 8:56 pm
I just put “The Regretsy incident” as my reason for leaving. I bet they know what the fuck that means by now.
December 5, 2011 at 8:17 pm
Pretty much. I can’t even delete my card that doesn’t exist anymore as the secondary source:
This is even though it says that the payment has been processed
Flaming dickbags.
December 5, 2011 at 10:39 pm
Same boat here.
December 5, 2011 at 11:29 pm
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!
December 6, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Aaaand it’s still problematic even after they say they’ve fixed things. Which means they haven’t. Quelle surprise.
December 5, 2011 at 8:04 pm
I just tried, too, and it said the same thing. But I didn’t donate (I just spent most of my money loaning cash to my father so he could go to a funeral) and I haven’t made any purchases recently that didn’t already clear…so I have no idea why I can’t close my account.
I’m a little afraid as to why.
December 6, 2011 at 6:13 am
Maybe PayPal is in panic mode and has frozen all account closures.
Ooooh. I just gave myself goosebumps. That would be soooooooo actionable in court…!
December 6, 2011 at 8:42 am
I just closed mine. Feedback: “I kept my Pay Pal account open in case I needed to use it, but I just didn’t need it all that often. But recent PayPal actions pushed me over the edge of indecision. After reading about PayPal’s disrespectful customer service and shut-down of Regretsy’s charity project, I decided I didn’t want to risk the same mistreatment if I made an honest mistake myself.”
December 5, 2011 at 6:14 pm
It’s time to start copy, pasting and sending emails to everyone on that list.
December 5, 2011 at 6:15 pm
This makes me want to scream. I don’t understand how people can act this way. For some of these children, this is the only way they will have a gift at Christmas. Nice to know that unless they are sick, PayPal could care less. I hope each and every worker there gets punched in the junk.
December 5, 2011 at 6:28 pm
No, not sick *kids* – sick *cats*. So those kids better work on growing furry ears & tails ASAP.
December 5, 2011 at 6:33 pm
Yeah, the extra-sucky part is that some of the kids are sick.
December 5, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Maybe it will work out if the kids have cats?
December 5, 2011 at 6:15 pm
What the fuck is this shit??
I tried to be eloquent before…but that part of my brain has officially been broken.
Charity = Worthy Cause…when did that stop being true??
December 5, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Can someone who’s blood isn’t boiling right now please write a nice concise fuck you style email that I and others here can copypasta, change a few details like name number of fucks and then use to email blast Paypal with please?
I can’t see straight.
December 5, 2011 at 6:20 pm
Your wish, my command.
I’m trying to understand what your company expects to get out of denying a registered charity, Radio Savant Productions, Inc., the ability to raise funds to purchase gifts for children at Christmas. I have scoured your policies and found NOTHING that correlates with the following official message from your customer service representatives to Radio Savant Productions, Inc.
“You can raise money to help your sick cat, for example, but not poor people.”
That is a direct quote from one of your representatives. Your behavior disgusts me. You shut down a charity drive not once, but twice. Here was your response to the second attempt that followed your policies as laid out when the last charity drive was shut down.
“WE KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND WE AREN’T GOING TO PLAY GAMES WITH YOU”
As a concerned customer who donated to this charity drive, I will be contacting all of the editorial departments at major newspapers in the country and even go after
December 5, 2011 at 6:20 pm
television news stations I can find the contact information for. I will be contacting any site I know that uses your service to strongly encourage them to stop using PayPal as their primary payment option. There are enough reputable competitors that don’t discriminate against charity.
The easiest solution is to issue an apology, allow the charity drive to go through, and update your policies and website design to reflect your pro cat/anti-poor people policies. All you are doing now is angering your customers and destroying your reputation. Do you really want to be the company that ruined Christmas for hundreds of needy children?
With great disgust,
[name]
December 5, 2011 at 6:26 pm
Oh right, use this one instead. It’s way more professional. Damn.
December 5, 2011 at 6:35 pm
I used this. Thanks!
December 5, 2011 at 6:39 pm
rj, I love you
December 5, 2011 at 6:42 pm
Except my understanding of the original “problem” (in air quotes bcs it wasn’t a problem if PayPal had a heart or even half a brain) is that RSP Inc. isn’t a registered charity?
December 5, 2011 at 6:44 pm
My understanding is it’s not a 501(c)3, which PayPal claimed they had to be to use that button. The only thing you need to be a 501(c)3 for is to get a discount on the fees. It’s not a matter of if they are or aren’t a charity. It’s a matter of PayPal lying about their policies to “win” in this situation.
December 5, 2011 at 6:45 pm
I love you. I mean that from the bottom of my fat jealous heart.
December 5, 2011 at 6:50 pm
Just emailed this to every address in RJG’s earlier post. Thanks!
December 5, 2011 at 7:07 pm
This is the email I got back from spoof@paypal.com:
Hello {MY NAME}
Thanks for forwarding that suspicious-looking email. You’re right – it
was a phishing attempt, and we’re working on stopping the fraud. By
reporting the problem, you’ve made a difference!
Identity thieves try to trick you into revealing your password or other
personal information through phishing emails and fake websites. To learn
more about online safety, click “Security Center” on any PayPal webpage.
Every email counts. When you forward suspicious-looking emails to
spoof@paypal.com, you help keep yourself and others safe from identity
theft.
Your account security is very important to us, so we appreciate your
extra effort.
Thanks,
PayPal
It’s so nice to know that they take the time to read the emails.
December 5, 2011 at 7:14 pm
I said it was every e-mail that didn’t get bounced back. I didn’t say some weren’t completely irrelevant. Maybe they’ll report their customer service rep for fraud?
December 5, 2011 at 7:47 pm
it’s almost impossible trying to get a form to contact them on their website. I ended up calling. There are so many drop down menus and it won’t let u actually contact them unless you pick the right combination. I finally decided I would go with “fraud”- all that work and they probably won’t read it- fuck i hate corporations
December 6, 2011 at 9:23 am
In looking at the addresses, The Managing Director (Mr. Clarke) lives in the town next to mine in Surrey, UK. Might make some use of our Royal Mail…
December 5, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Your 1-page fax to Michael Oldenberg at 4083767514 has been sent successfully!
Thank you,
FaxZero.com
December 5, 2011 at 6:25 pm
Go go mad libs!
Dear (expletive of choice – I know we have a whole book for that now),
You guys are so (adjective, preferably impolite) at customer service. I’m glad you caught April before she was able to do real damage, like helping these families feed their kids a nice meal, god forbid. You did the right thing shutting her “charitable” shit down. I hope when you’re at the company circle jerk, you tell this story about how you managed to ruin (number) Christmases. If that doesn’t get your (colloquialism for sexual arousal), I don’t know what will.
Keep killing dreams.
Love,
(Insert name here)
December 5, 2011 at 6:27 pm
I know I am a lowly lurker… but…
marry me.
pst, don’t tell my husband though
December 5, 2011 at 6:32 pm
As long as you don’t tell my fiance. We’ve only been engaged for a few days so he might not appreciate me running off to marry someone from Regretsy already.
December 5, 2011 at 8:34 pm
Congrats on your engagement! At least there’s SOME good news today!
December 5, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Fair enough. I think our secret is safe!
December 5, 2011 at 9:23 pm
I am so sorry that I have but one thumb to give you.
December 5, 2011 at 7:54 pm
Bump! I will so email, fax, and USPS that.
December 5, 2011 at 6:15 pm
This is so disheartening.
December 5, 2011 at 6:15 pm
This has made me sick to my stomach, I’m so pissed. I can’t imagine how you feel, April.
I’d say use chipin for collecting funds, but, like most everything, they go through PayUsNotYourPals.
Anyone know of a site that collects funds without this asshattery of pp involved somewhere?
December 5, 2011 at 6:16 pm
If you do not have a giant fucking apology by to-morrow evening I am closing my account with Paypal, no questions asked. You know, if they let me.
December 5, 2011 at 6:16 pm
April, I think you should file a complaint with the State Attorney General. Holding your money for 180 days? Bullshit
December 5, 2011 at 6:28 pm
Especially her personal account that has nothing to do with the disputed account.
December 5, 2011 at 6:30 pm
YES. THIS. ^^^^ x1000!!!
December 5, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Yep. This x 1000. I am pretty sure that’s illegal for a company to do.
December 5, 2011 at 6:37 pm
Unfortunately, if your state Attorney General isn’t listed as one of the agencies you agreed to file complaints to as per the user agreement you have to sign when you open a paypal account, you are in violation of the agreement and they can keep your money.
December 5, 2011 at 7:14 pm
No user agreement can legally put someone above the law. Even if you sign a user agreement that says “You hereby promise to never never never call the authorities when we do something illegal OR ELSE”, if they’re breaking the law, they’re breaking the law and one can and should contact the AG’s office.
December 5, 2011 at 7:44 pm
No, but they can force you to fight their incredibly nebulous user agreement in court, while they keep making interest on the money they’ve frozen in your account.
December 6, 2011 at 8:30 am
PayPal also has a very extensive contract you have to sign when you first join up. It may not be the moral thing to do, but they are probably within their legal rights to do what they are doing. Doesn’t make them any less of fucktards but since when did the law benefit the little guys?
Oh, wait. It’s benefiting the wee wittle kitties.
December 5, 2011 at 6:42 pm
This is so beyond any reasoning. They’re punishing children because of some personal bias against you, April. Perhaps contact consumer reporters at your local and at the San Jose news stations? I’m not suggesting an out-of-character “Do you know who I am and what these people are doing TO ME?” tack, but a “Thought you’d like to know about Scrooge that’s ruining Christmas for dozens and dozens of children and their families.”
December 5, 2011 at 10:13 pm
This totally seems like lawsuit territory. By violating their own terms (“worthy cause” not applying to charity, HAH) and conveniently allowing you to sell items and then force you to return them, they’re effectively stealing their fee from you without providing the actual service you enlisted them for. In what universe is that ok to do? Repeatedly?
December 5, 2011 at 6:16 pm
April you should just email bomb all of the top executives at PayPal. I guarantee you by noon tomorrow everything will be fixed. I had an issue with PayPal and bombed executive relations, press, complaints, CEO, VP’s, President and I received a phone call first thing in the morning and within an hour everything was fixed. They DO NOT like people bombing executives. The person you spoke to was a low-level mouth breather who deserves to be fired.
December 5, 2011 at 6:34 pm
I work in customer service, and this is RIDICULOUS. Of course there is someone else you can talk to! This rep is going to be walked out with a box of his shit. Tomorrow. No question.
December 5, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Yeah I have to say that if he’s pretty low level, he just did a whole bunch of bad PR for that company.
December 5, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Hit post too soon… he did a bunch of bad PR without good reason. As if Paypal really needs MORE bad PR.
December 5, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Oh, and P.S. – I closed my PP account.
December 5, 2011 at 7:45 pm
Me too! Fuckers can choke on a goddamn dick, they’re going to be whoring themselves out this Christmas.
December 5, 2011 at 6:53 pm
Not only was that rep nasty and unhelpful, but they don’t know about internet stores shipping gifts directly to the recipient? Have they never bought anything online themselves? What did they think the point of the separate forms for billing address and shipping address at every online store ever were for? Are they going to shut down all the other stores that use Paypal and allow gift shipping? SO MANY QUESTIONS.
December 5, 2011 at 8:44 pm
That was my first thought too (I mean after the silence of my mind being blown by this fuckery). I can’t even think of a website off the top of my head that doesn’t have an “Is this a gift?” box to check if you ARE sending it to a separate address.
And I guess, by their standards, the entire floral delivery business is just one big rose-scented scam.
December 5, 2011 at 9:14 pm
“Sorry, ma’am, but if you want to pay with PayPal we’ll have to send the roses to your house and then you can drive them over to your grandma three states away in time for her birthday yourself. It’s for your own protection.”
December 6, 2011 at 12:21 am
Yeah, seriously, I just bought a present on Etsy (don’t hate me, it’s a cute sea fossil print t-shirt that I saw in person, but they were out of my dad’s size and sent me to etsy), and asked them to send the package to me at my mom’s house.
December 5, 2011 at 6:38 pm
But so so so much better if we are the bombers, yes? For then, it is clear that she is not the only one of the opinion that children can be worthy causes in addition to cats.
December 5, 2011 at 6:48 pm
I’m sure a bunch of fat jealous unemployed losers like us can come up with some creative ways to let paypal corporate headquarters know how we feel. I wonder how they will feel about the deluge of XXX rated balloon sculptures, drawings, and goatse collages we could rain upon them? If everyone sent just one goatse we could goatse the desired result I bet.
December 5, 2011 at 7:54 pm
goatse activism ftw
December 5, 2011 at 8:32 pm
Oh my god, I choked on sugar cookie while I was reading this. “Goatse the desired result…” classic.
December 5, 2011 at 7:55 pm
What were their email addresses?
December 5, 2011 at 6:17 pm
I’ve never personally had an issue with paypal, but oh my Lord. This is just beyond the pale. It really seems like there should be something you can do.
Do they really have any idea with whom they are messing?
December 5, 2011 at 6:17 pm
WHAT IN THE FLAMING FUCK.
I need another drink to process all this.
December 5, 2011 at 6:17 pm
this is insanity! i just keep thinking of the kids and it is making me really upset
December 5, 2011 at 6:18 pm
I didn’t even get a chance to donate, but this is making me so angry that I’m tearing up!
December 5, 2011 at 6:20 pm
Me too! I was unable to donate but I’ll be damned if they steal from my CF brothers and sisters and get away with it!
December 5, 2011 at 6:18 pm
This is truly, truly awful.
LETS GET THESE BASTARDS
December 5, 2011 at 6:18 pm
paypal account=shut down.
December 5, 2011 at 6:18 pm
Holy fuck. I am agog at the crassness of this corporation.
We are going to drag their name through the mud. Get the media involved. Fuck Paypal.
December 5, 2011 at 6:32 pm
I made a $20 contribution earlier today, but so far it hasn’t been taken out of my bank account. I am wondering what to do. DAMMIT I want to help, but these worthless cock-juggling thundercunts are making it impossible. This of all times of year is time to work with people trying to help the poor…and instead they’re just being ass-licking turdmuffins. The contempt I feel for PayPal right now is unbelievable. I had some old stuff I was thinking of selling on Ebay but am now having major second thoughts.
December 5, 2011 at 6:43 pm
Same boat here… In spite of the ass-hattery associated with their first shut down, I was so excited that I could donate during the second round. This hurts, honestly. All of us read those letters from the children’s families. We all wanted to help those FAMILIES not just the children. Isn’t it nice to know that PayPal is such a delightful corporation that they would do this to those voices and the people who wanted to help? Fuck PayPal.
December 5, 2011 at 8:20 pm
“Cock-juggling thundercunts” injected some laughter into my rage. Thank you.
December 5, 2011 at 10:30 pm
Agog?! Agog you say?!
December 5, 2011 at 6:18 pm
I wish this wasn’t the first time Paypal has hated a well meaning charity, but hey: http://www.somethingawful.com/d/news/paypal-fiasco-summary.php
December 5, 2011 at 6:39 pm
Oh wow, type “something awful paypal” into Google and you find out that this is a horrible habit: http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2011/10/diaspora-becomes-paypals-lates.php
December 5, 2011 at 6:18 pm
I am so glad I didn’t get a refund. TAKE MY COMMUNIST MONEY.
December 5, 2011 at 6:36 pm
I didn’t get one yet, either, but that doesn’t mean I won’t — it either means my donation went through (yay!) or it’s all caught up in the bullshit (FUCK YOU PAYPAL!).
What’s your mailing address to send a money order, April? I’ll get one out tomorrow. Even if my first donation went through, I am SO PISSED.
December 5, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
December 5, 2011 at 7:28 pm
See above–April does NOT want us to send any checks:
“No, I don’t take checks meant for charitable purposes. I can’t deposit that money into my account. Paypal was just a landing page for collections, and I disbursed it as quickly as I could.”
December 5, 2011 at 9:31 pm
This sounds like a case for cash — untraceable, bankable, fee-free, US currency cash. Damn it, those kids are going have a fucking Xmas if it kills me, and I don’t even celebrate Xmas.
December 5, 2011 at 6:19 pm
watch out now, careful you don’t rouse them to send you a ‘crease and desist’ for being a hateful slandering slag.
December 5, 2011 at 6:19 pm
Omg sue them, sue them, sue them. There is NO WAY that no one else would talk to you above a customer service rep, that is not the way those companies (or any company) works. That is all such bullshit.
December 5, 2011 at 6:46 pm
I am all for this. The problem: Even though HKapril has a legitimate claim, PayPal is so fucking huge that I can see this getting uber ugly… What they are doing sounds so illegal but I am not familiar with the laws associated with online transactions. We really should publicize the hell out of this, if anything else that will reveal PayPal as the mutated combination of Hitlerbell, the Grinch and Dr. Mengele it truly is.
December 5, 2011 at 7:28 pm
Class action suit. Obviously, this is a systemic problem with them and eBay … in fact, I got a check in the mail for a class action settlement from eBay. I’ll post a picture of it:
I wasn’t going to bother depositing it, but now, I am going to. I’ll bet eBay is counting on thousands of people not depositing their checks so they can keep their settlement money. You know it costs them way more than a penny to process that bitch.
December 5, 2011 at 7:52 pm
The disgusting thing is that we are talking about a charity fund and the stories on the last few posts about how arduous it is for 501(c) ‘s to even go through the PayPal vetting process is ridiculous. I’m all for us taking our moolah over to something like WePay. HKapril and the others certainly have a case but enduring that ass-pain is their call…
December 6, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Ooh you got me beat – I got a check like that for 5 cents once.
December 6, 2011 at 6:36 am
Take a look at the Geek Girl blog, if you haven’t already. There’s good grounds for a lawsuit, I think, since PayPal is acting in contravention of its own rules (vague though they are).
Like all big organisations, PayPal takes comfort in the thought that nobody will want the trouble of taking them to court. They may have messed with the wrong party this time.
December 6, 2011 at 1:29 pm
I’d kick in for legal fees. Long as there’s some way besides PayPal to do it.
December 5, 2011 at 6:19 pm
I hope the Paypal assholes get gangrene and divorce papers for Christmas. If this was any site but Regretsy, I guarantee they wouldn’t say shit. This is discriminatory, pathetic, and heartless.
December 6, 2011 at 12:31 am
I’m sure if any of their spouses reads Regretsy, they have already filed.
December 5, 2011 at 6:19 pm
I have written and email and forwarded it to all those people on the email list. It was much nicer than I wanted to send.. but I figure you get more flys with honey. or however that saying goes.
December 5, 2011 at 6:21 pm
I’m tempted to write a letter or e-mail that praises their easy-to-use system, how I’ve never had a problem with them…and in the second paragraph, which will begin “Until now…”, I’ll rip them a new one. Lull them into a sense of false security and then flip that throwing star right up their nostrils.
December 5, 2011 at 6:19 pm
HK and Bronc o rama:
I run a non-profit AND I am already vetted by PayPal.
Is there anything I can do???
December 5, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Stay far away from this, Somebidder. PayPal will not hesitate to do the same thing to you for being involved.
December 6, 2011 at 10:52 am
Close your PP account and explain that you have no reason to believe they won’t treat you as foully as they did April, so you are taking your business to someone who will not pull such a stupid and arrogant attitude?
December 5, 2011 at 6:19 pm
I have never ever said this before but I think a lawsuit might be in order. Even though they are not FDIC regulated, they can’t just make this up as they go along. Or a very public shaming.
December 6, 2011 at 12:30 am
I think the ‘very public shaming’ is taking care of its self. (Or rather we’re taking care of it.
December 5, 2011 at 6:19 pm
One of the ads on the side is from mynightsucked.com and it show a photo of a woman kneeling over a toiler, presumably puking her guts out. Oh, how I wish we could all do that over the head of that PayPal Pus Pocket who spoke to April. And all of PPPP’s “pals.”
December 5, 2011 at 6:19 pm
I’m about ready to overnight you and Bronc $20 in concealed cash and I don’t even want to KNOW what you do with it – at this point I wouldn’t even care if you used it to buy hooch so you could get absolutely blasted while clicking through refunds over and over again!
December 5, 2011 at 6:20 pm
A third party money handler acting shady and immoral?
We’re starting an Occupy PayPal!…or something.
December 5, 2011 at 7:00 pm
yes, they are acting just like the Wall Street Bankers that did illegal things and then got bailed out. We need to Occupy PayPal!!
December 5, 2011 at 8:18 pm
I’m in! Do they have a corporate headquarters that we can mail coal to?
December 5, 2011 at 11:18 pm
In an interesting coincidence, the Occupy San Jose people have been gone from City Hall Plaza for about a week. Perhaps tomorrow morning I’ll print a copy of HK’s original post, go down there and see if I can find a few of them still lurking. It’s only 3 blocks over and a light-rail ride straight up to Paypal HQ…
December 6, 2011 at 12:21 am
Yes, please do!
December 5, 2011 at 6:20 pm
aww fuck them! It came back ‘unknown’!!!!!
December 5, 2011 at 6:20 pm
One of PayPal’s customer service centers is in Omaha, NE (the 402 area code). I emailed a local news station — it’s just the type of thing they’d like to highlight.
December 5, 2011 at 6:35 pm
I also contacted Huffington Post, Keith Olbermann and Michael Moore. They like to poke a mega corporation in the eye when innocent children are harmed. I say, the more exposure the better!
December 5, 2011 at 6:20 pm
I’m perfectly happy to send a check to you, April. Just post and address and it goes out tomorrow.
December 5, 2011 at 6:23 pm
Yeah, this, totally.
December 5, 2011 at 6:25 pm
Ditto!
December 5, 2011 at 6:28 pm
YES PLEASE
December 5, 2011 at 6:47 pm
This again!
December 5, 2011 at 6:20 pm
Is there a NFP account we could send checks to?
December 5, 2011 at 7:54 pm
I had that idea too until I read this comment up thread from Helen.
“Helen Killer
December 5, 2011 at 7:03 pm
No, I don’t take checks meant for charitable purposes. I cant deposit that money into my account. Paypal was just a landing page for collections, and I disbursed it as quickly as I could.
+4″
December 5, 2011 at 6:20 pm
This is ridiculously fucked up. I just emailed every email address on that list — some bounced back; I guess since the article was published in 2008 that some are no longer active, but the rest got through.
December 5, 2011 at 6:21 pm
There is a lawsuit here. There really is.
December 5, 2011 at 7:36 pm
agreed.
This is the case against eBay:
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/candce/5:2009cv01733/214015/
the attorneys for the plaintiffs are listed towards the bottom.
December 5, 2011 at 8:56 pm
Just as long as it is not a class action lawsuit. They are just ways for the attorneys to make money. Plaintiff’s attorney makes a deal with Defendant’s attorney to say “I’m sorry we were wrong” in exchange for giving Plaintiff’s attorney a few million for himself and a small amount for the people in the class. That’s why your checks are so small. If April sues, it should be her alone.
This is so sad. My son was on the list and I was really surprised to hear we were getting cash, too. Its disappointing, but I just hope the kids who need the toys the most get them. Still, it would be nice to get a mystery envelope in the mail or something with enough to eek out a meager Christmas dinner this year.
December 5, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Is anyone else having the same problem as me? they refunded my contribution, but they won’t release it to me!
I’d mail April a fucking check and help support the USPS at the same time, if I only had my money from paypal(sucks)…
December 5, 2011 at 6:48 pm
PayPal-Tripple dipping their fuckheaded grinchery…
December 5, 2011 at 7:54 pm
WHAT??? They won’t release it to you??
December 5, 2011 at 8:10 pm
Well how can he cancel his account (assuming it’s a him) if they release his money? You can’t cancel if anything is pending.
December 5, 2011 at 9:38 pm
too lazy to get a screen cap.
Every other refund I’ve gotten from them, the funds were available to be redeposited immediately.
Dec 5, 2011
Temporary Hold Placed
PayPal has placed a temporary hold while we’re reviewing it. We’ll contact you shortly with further information. Details -$20.00 USD
December 5, 2011 at 9:58 pm
What might be happening is that they are waiting for April to manually refund it (if she hasn’t already. It has a hold on it because the money isn’t technically in your account and is still in the limbo of hers.
December 6, 2011 at 6:47 am
Mine looks like it was directly refunded by April. There’s a note on the refund:
“Note:
PayPal pulled the plug again.”
So April refunded it and now Paypal is still holding my money.
December 6, 2011 at 6:46 am
The fuckers did that to me too.
December 6, 2011 at 8:01 am
They did it to all of us. I can see that I was refunded but my account is still zero.
December 5, 2011 at 6:21 pm
This just makes me so frickin sad. I hope they see all the bad PR this is causing them and decide to act like someone in the fucking company has a soul.
December 5, 2011 at 6:21 pm
seriously. this makes me want to cry.
December 5, 2011 at 8:38 pm
I’ve been crying for a couple hours now, this is just so sad, and so fucking heartless of PP to do, especially since there’s kids involved. My crotchfruit were on that list and I have never felt such faith in humanity as I have with you fjlers. But Paypal can suck a choate right now! I’ve emailed every pp address I could find and attached a photo of my kids so they could see exactly who they’ve fucked over the most.
December 6, 2011 at 3:22 am
I know I am only a humble lurker, but I would purchase a toy and mail it directly to you myself so that your crotchfruit could have a Christmas.
December 6, 2011 at 7:34 am
Babs, check you email please!
December 5, 2011 at 6:22 pm
Never let it be said that a good deed goes unpunished.
December 5, 2011 at 6:22 pm
I’ll just be deleting my PayPal account. So glad I never linked it to my bank account.
December 5, 2011 at 6:23 pm
December 5, 2011 at 6:42 pm
I wholeheartedly LOVE reading random sentences in Hank Hill’s voice; it makes it so much more stern and poignant.
December 5, 2011 at 7:21 pm
I think I love you.
December 5, 2011 at 6:24 pm
I don’t suppose some eloquent soul out there would mind writing a canned response for those of us who are too drunk to write to copy and paste to the execs at Paypal? I want to help, but I don’t think writing “FUCK YOU TWATWAFFLE PAYPAL HARGLEBARGLE” like I want to will get the right message across…
… or will it?
December 5, 2011 at 7:39 pm
Check out numbers 28/29 above — I asked and I received.
December 5, 2011 at 6:24 pm
Email sent!
December 5, 2011 at 6:24 pm
I emailed them all (What’s happening with Regretsy’s charitable donations is pure bureaucratic evil. I’m posting it on my facebook. She’s posting it on her site. You guys better fix this before the almost million followers she has close their paypal accounts. I know I will if you don’t reverse the decision to freeze all of her accounts. She is trying to organise presents for poor kids, what the hell is your problem?!
http://www.regretsy.com/2011/12/05/cats-1-kids-0/
I will delete my account with them if they don’t deal with this. I have no idea how many followers you have but a million sounded nice.
December 5, 2011 at 7:22 pm
In my message when I closed my account, I used “legion of fans.” I thought that was a nice huge-sounding descriptor, while also sounding vaguely threatening.
December 5, 2011 at 10:17 pm
We are legion for we are many.
December 6, 2011 at 1:37 am
Enjoy hell, devils!
December 6, 2011 at 3:33 am
“Enjoy hell, devils”
I so should have ended my comment with that, when I closed my paypal account. I’m a little tempted to open and close a new one, so I can tell them that.
December 5, 2011 at 6:24 pm
We know what you’re doing and we’re through playing games with you.
OH OH OH. An epic (and I don’t use that word lightly) EECB will be raining down upon Paypal. They will rue the day. There will be extensive rueage.
December 5, 2011 at 6:24 pm
I dunno if this will still help you, alot of people have switched to https://www.alertpay.com/ because of the paypal issues. My friend sent me this link, and its pretty horrid. I’m sorry.
Hope this helps.
December 5, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Will look into it.
December 5, 2011 at 6:25 pm
Funny how they don’t shut it down until after they make tons of cash on the illegal use of button.
December 5, 2011 at 6:25 pm
Unfortunately, I’ve seen more problems like this. I’ve seen Paypal TAKE thousands of dollars from this one small website I used to be a member of, just because they didn’t like the pictures posted.
I finally figured out how to get amazon funds sent directly to my bank account, because, despite promises, Paypal keeps holding my funds for WEEKS, and I cant afford that
December 5, 2011 at 6:25 pm
I tried calling a couple numbers; one was busy and the other a ‘wrong number’ – do you suppose they’re getting tired of being called already? That would be fantastic.
December 5, 2011 at 6:26 pm
This is my first comment as previously I was too lazy to make an account.
In addition to emailing and calling every single one of these clowns and posting this story on every social media outlet, I’ll also be making a number of purchases from http://www.poopsenders.com. I think you know where they’ll be going.
And is there a PO box address we can send cash to?
December 6, 2011 at 12:28 am
Bonus: You don’t have to use PayPal to buy and send PayPal poop!
December 5, 2011 at 6:26 pm
In Before PayPal Dies.
December 5, 2011 at 6:26 pm
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v122/bradbury/paypa.png[/IMG]
I did a screencap in case they decide to change their wording without notice.
December 5, 2011 at 7:04 pm
December 5, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Made it visible for ya!
December 5, 2011 at 7:14 pm
So basically you can add a donate button for something even when you’re a business. Isn’t that EXACTLY what April did?
December 5, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Because of character limits, here’s what I sent, paragraph by paragraph, to every email on that list:
Dear Paypal:
I am sure that you will receive dozens, if not hundreds, of emails regarding the recent unpleasantness that your company instigated with April Winchell, Regretsy and her fans, followers and supporters. Some of them will seethe with anger, some will contain foul language and all will be rife with emotion. Some may even come from the intended recipients’ parents. I hope that someone at PayPal reads each and every one of them, and I hope that this issue is solved in a satisfactory manner.
December 5, 2011 at 6:27 pm
I am writing to voice my support of April Winchell and her endeavors this holiday season. When your representative said that PayPal knew what Ms. Winchell was trying to do, what exactly was it? She was asking her fanbase to donate money in order to supply kids whose parents had requested help this season with gifts. People sent in stories about parents dying of cancer, toys being stolen and kids who just knew they wouldn’t get a single toy for Christmas this year.
Your representative told Ms. Winchell that people could raise money for sick cats, but not for poor human beings. What is it, exactly, that is so offensive to PayPal about trying to help children have a happy holiday?
December 5, 2011 at 6:28 pm
I am asking, as a long-time PayPal customer, that you release the funds being held so that Ms. Winchell can continue her good works. Just as one must not be religious in order to live a good life, one does not need to have an incorporated 501(c)3 to do something to help another human being.
Please consider a reversal of your seemingly arbitrary decisions in this matter.
Respectfully,
My real name and city.
(I got about 12 bounce-backs)
December 5, 2011 at 6:32 pm
You are amazing, thank you for sharing this.
December 5, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Thank you for being so eloquent, I love you long time.
December 5, 2011 at 7:11 pm
Thank you both. I know it’s not exactly chicken soup for fat, jealous souls,but if anyone wants to C&P it and send it along to Paypal, go right ahead.
December 5, 2011 at 7:28 pm
Cut, pasted, sent.
December 5, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Crap, grabbed the wrong code.
December 5, 2011 at 6:27 pm
An excerpt from my e-mail that I’ve sent to about a thousand people: “Don’t tell me that, because Regretsy used the “wrong button”, there’s nothing that can be done….don’t tell me that your hands are tied… You are freaking human beings. You are not machines, or robots. I am so tired of corporations like yours pretending as though the bottom line is poured concrete, that policies and procedures are written in permanently inked unicorn blood. We both know that with a few clicks of some fingers, you could fix this problem… You could fire a person who would actually say that “you can raise money to help a sick cat, but not a poor child.”But no you’ll leave work, return to your home, maybe hug your spouse, tuck your children in to their warm beds, and won’t think, for five seconds, what it’s like to what it’s like to be poor, or hungry, or scared on Christmas. I truly hope that you are haunted by what you’ve done…” and then some more mean stuff.
December 6, 2011 at 7:46 am
The issue is, regretsy didn’t even use the wrong button!
December 5, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Oh, this timing could not be more perfect. Just turned in my final project for the academic term and have NOTHING but time in the next few days. Hello, cellphone; let’s blow some shit up.
December 5, 2011 at 9:23 pm
Username love.
December 5, 2011 at 9:28 pm
Thank you! I have been waiting forever for someone to get it! Yours is also clever.
December 5, 2011 at 10:20 pm
I used to MUD in lingerie, so I appreciate it double. Unless that’s totally not what you meant, in which case I’m going to go hide in the closet now.
Mine is actually motivational on a personal level. One of these days, I’m going to play hockey. Being a goalie means I’ll have to get much, MUCH healthier and more reliable about being able to leave the house. (Wo)man the crease and resist chronic illness! kind of thing. Er. So there’s that. Yay tangents.
I think I may actually be drunk on rage.
December 5, 2011 at 10:31 pm
I’m drunk on vodka, so we’re well-matched! It’s actually a Penny Arcade reference based on the true story of one of the creator’s wives being asked in a Quake match if she “Quaked Naked.” (To which she responds with a glorious “No.” and it is noted that she was a badass with a rocket launcher) I can’t game because I have the finger dumb, but I do like them! I would love to play hockey, but I don’t really have knees anymore. You must play for both of us!
December 6, 2011 at 12:21 am
Oh, yeah, I remember that bit!
December 5, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Although it’s kind of late now, has anyone looked into PayPal alternatives like Obopay? https://www.obopay.com/consumer/welcome.shtml I’ve never used it. Anyone else have any experience? If it seems like a good deal, imagine how much egg would be on PayPal’s face if thousands of people switched to this service…
December 5, 2011 at 6:47 pm
Or…has anyone used Google Checkout? https://checkout.google.com/sell/?gl=US&hl=en
There’s gotta be a service that we all could switch to.
December 5, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Merry Fucking Christmas to you too Paypal! I don’t know HOW they get away with pulling shit like this, but they do. Don’t know how they sleep at night. I’m really sorry you got dicked around. I hope they make this right to avoid further embarrassment on their part, but I doubt they will. So instead I hope they get flooded with letters, phone calls, and emails from angry people.
December 5, 2011 at 6:27 pm
Strikes me that we should be sure to let PayPal PR know all about our shitstorm of complaints :
press@paypal.com (Let public relations know you are filing complaints)
apires@paypal.com (Amanda Pires — Media Relations Contact)
They may help put the pressure on stemming the bad PR
Also be sure to hit these top 4 people:
moldenburg@paypal.com (Michael Moldenburg, Paypal Complaints)
sthompson@paypal.com (Scott Thompson, PayPal President)
mhentges@paypal.com (Mary Hentges, CFO PayPal)
crme@paypal.com (PayPal Office of Executive Escalations)
Yeah, they’re REALLY gonna love hearing from a whole lot of Fat Jealous Losers with righteousness on their side.
December 5, 2011 at 6:27 pm
I’m a bad combination of tired and furious.
I donated in the second round, and it hasn’t been refunded. Does this mean Paypal is holding my money without it being used or refunded? That is total bullshit.
December 5, 2011 at 6:28 pm
I sent an email telling them they hate children and happiness. I also told them that they have no right to tell me if that how I spend my money isn’t good enough – I knew exactly what I was doing when I donated to Regretsy and now their parenting my purchases and making someone give me a refund I don’t want.
December 5, 2011 at 6:28 pm
Complaint sent. A lot of those emails bounced back, but some of them have gone through. Take that you grinchy stooge bastards.
December 5, 2011 at 6:28 pm
What the fucking fuck? I’m so tired from all this nonsense, and all I’ve been doing is reading and posting notes on Facebook. I can’t imagine actually dealing with PayPal’s asswipery while traveling through and back from Europe and doing whatever else you and Bronc do in a normal day.
December 5, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Paypal:
If they’re all butthurt that they were run as wrong type, it should have been an easy “apply to all” fix to change the transaction type on THEIR backend. BUT THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE.
December 5, 2011 at 6:42 pm
Fenris that gif was so perfect I squealed.
December 5, 2011 at 6:58 pm
That cat is so cute it makes my brain melt.
December 5, 2011 at 6:58 pm
I need to save that gif.
December 5, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Wow, this is insane.
I can understand having rules around collecting donations/charity on behalf of others, however their policy is far from clear and they should have made every effort to work with you to resolve it. Hopefully this will be rectified and those who do email paypal will do so in a respectful manner and not say anything to make the situation worse. Consumerist has a lot of info about writing effective complaints letters.
December 5, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Time for an attorney. A real one. Not Copian and Paystin or whatever Glitter Eagles use. That’s too much money for them to be fucking with.
December 5, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Done and done. This is what i sent them.
Need help here to understand wtf it is you people think you’re doing. April of regretsy was trying to give toys to poor kids on christmas. You really must be a bunch of heartless bastards. Not only did you screw up the gift giving, but you took fee after fee after fee.. you made her return the sales and kept those fees too. You made out like a bunch of greedy bastards while trying to screw over kids on christmas.
THEN you freeze her business account AND the personal one? for 6 months? She was not doing anything wrong. You people, however, are all sorts or wrong. I’m seriously questioning whether or not to keep my account with paypal.
Oh and well over 90000 other people know about this and are also pissed….. and they have the same e-mail addresses.
Good luck.
December 5, 2011 at 6:32 pm
April, can you please post a snail mail address where we can send you donations so we can bypass this Paypalian nightmare?
December 5, 2011 at 6:32 pm
So, where can we send a few bucks *not* using PayPal?
December 5, 2011 at 6:32 pm
This is all so stupid and ridiculous.
However, I donated in the first round, and I got a full refund showing up in my PayPal account, so not sure what that means. Do they refund the donors, and bill Helen for the fees?
December 5, 2011 at 7:07 pm
Yes, precisely.
December 5, 2011 at 7:24 pm
Wow. That is insanely shitty.
December 5, 2011 at 7:57 pm
Yep. Your fees are taken out of my bank account.
December 5, 2011 at 8:14 pm
Whoa. That is just an incredible amount of bullshit. I don’t WANT a refund, and I especially don’t want it now. I’m going to stuff an envelope full of cash and mail it to you anonymously so you can’t return it.
December 5, 2011 at 8:18 pm
No! Don’t do that. I sincerely appreciate everything you guys want to do, but I am really scrupulous about this stuff – I can account for every penny – and envelopes of cash will fuck me up.
December 5, 2011 at 8:23 pm
Ok I woooon’t, but I hate that a donation I was so happy to make is now going to cost you money. I’m going to cry maybe.
December 5, 2011 at 10:15 pm
It just burns me up that we don’t want these donations back, and yet, not only are they MAKING you give them back, they’re charging you for it. What part of “WE DON’T WANT IT” don’t you flaming bags of poo understand??
December 6, 2011 at 6:49 am
I just want to say that I have a lot of respect for you and the way you handle these things.
December 5, 2011 at 10:41 pm
I can’t believe they’re making you pay for their supreme fuck-up.
I hope so much that you and Bronc are still having a fantastic time in Finland, aside from all this crap. I’ve spent the entire day feeling angry on your behalf, and I’m pretty sure the rest of these fjls have too.
December 5, 2011 at 6:33 pm
I closed my Paypal account while also letting them know that I was disappointed with how they’re handling this issue. I don’t care if I can’t buy jackshit online now because everyone uses their Scrooge run corporation to sell things, I won’t give my money to douchebags.
December 5, 2011 at 6:33 pm
These are the good email addresses from that list that did not bounce for me–hope that helps:
sthompson@paypal.com
mhentges@paypal.com
crme@paypal.com
harbor1@paypal.com
account-review@paypal.com
ppelce@paypal.com
cardreview@paypal.com
complaint-response@paypal.com
abuse@paypal.com
Europeanservices@paypal.com
resolutions@paypal.com
compliance@paypal.com
webform@paypal.com
service@paypal.com
spoof@paypal.com
aup@paypal.com
press@paypal.com
apires@paypal.com
pending_reversal@paypal.com
global2@paypal.com
intl@paypal.com
ppe_courtesycredit@paypal.com
December 5, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Both account-review@paypal.com and cardreview@paypal.com have bounced for me
December 5, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Same here
December 5, 2011 at 11:28 pm
If you guys get bouncebacks on the “real person” emails, try firstname.lastname@paypal.com
December 5, 2011 at 6:33 pm
I already had an issue with PayPal adding money to a purchase that I only authorized to be $4.99, which apparently they read as “$17.52″.
This gives me more reason to dislike them. Whether they apologize or not, I am closing both my accounts with them. There are other ways to spend money the internet, and I’m sure I can use something other than PayPal when/if I get my business going.
December 5, 2011 at 6:33 pm
Maybe you could try Dwolla?
It’s US only, unfortunately, but is a flat fee of $0.25 for transactions over $10, and free for transactions $9.99 and under.
[Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the site, I just read about it the other day. For reals.]
December 5, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Just signed up for it thanks to everyone mentioning it. Read through their TOS with a fine-tooth comb, and I give it the tech writer stamp of “pretty damned good.” Some fancy language, but nothing as double-speak as PayPal’s phrasing.
December 5, 2011 at 6:33 pm
Jesus. It’s been a long time since I was this angry.
What can we do to help? I don’t have much, but I’d be happy to send you some cash to redistribute (or, rather, “to purchase 1 ‘cash redistribution’ gift, deliverable to whomever the fuck needs it” – that good enough, PayPal?)
December 5, 2011 at 7:39 pm
Email a polite but stern letter of complaint to PayPal. Contact your local news stations. Spread the word on social media.
This is already starting to blow up so fast that I’d be surprised if April didn’t get a profuse apology and a matching donation from PayPal sometime tomorrow evening.
December 5, 2011 at 6:33 pm
I just closed out my PayPal account and left a nasty note calling them something along the lines of soulless leeches on humanity. It’s fucking Christmas. These kids, these poor families, they deserve to get a goddamn break.
These people are monsters, not even human beings. I’d quit my job in a second if it ever demanded I do something so downright fucking despicable as this. Off I go to write some strongly worded emails…
December 5, 2011 at 7:25 pm
It reminds me of Doctor Who
Programmer: That’s not our fault. We’re just doing our jobs.
The Doctor: And with that sentence, you just lost the right to even talk to me. Now back off!
It’s ridiculous to be okay with doing wrong just because it’s your job. How do you live with that?
December 5, 2011 at 8:12 pm
I don’t know if the facebook software is having a chuckle at my expense or what, but the ads on the right now include a woman holding a large cat. WTF?!
December 5, 2011 at 10:12 pm
I have loved the Doctor for that line, and the writer who understood him well enough to put it in his mouth, since that episode came out, and I love you now for quoting it.
December 5, 2011 at 6:33 pm
derp question… Yesterday, a new donate box appeared (the one where you could select “okay” gift for $5, etc. etc.) – did that box work, or is that now part of the purgatory money? I donated $20 (because I’m a rich motherfuckin bastard in a country where minimum wage is like $1.50). As long as the money doesn’t stay in Paypal’s greedy hands, I really don’t care what happens to it – but I’m curious if that money was able to actually go to something, or if it’s now an added part to the refund headache (if the former, I apologize profusely, and when it becomes working hours in America, I will call and harass some assholes)..
Unrelated: got my book last week!!!! My poor Korean coworkers are so confused…
December 5, 2011 at 6:40 pm
That was what led to freezing the account. The “We know what you’re doing” bullshit was in response to setting up the charity drive exactly like they told her it needed to be set up. That’s the frozen money.
December 5, 2011 at 6:48 pm
I feel so guilty for donating today, because now it’s made April’s nightmare even worse. How fucked is that? Thanks for the extra therapy sessions, PayPal.
December 5, 2011 at 6:33 pm
I had previously set up a section of my shop from which I would donate all profits. I will do this again, dump the money into MY OWN bank account, write a check, and mail it to you. I’ll also post this in the April’s Army discussion board and update you all on participating shops.
December 5, 2011 at 7:57 pm
No don’t ever send me checks! I’ll return them.
December 5, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Well, damn. I am officially out of ideas.
December 5, 2011 at 10:21 pm
I hate that this is happening, and that you can’t accept the money we want to give you, but I do kind of love how often you have to tell us not to send you checks.
Seriously, Regretsians, how many other people in your life would you be this persistent about sending money to, and this upset that you couldn’t?
Look at what you’ve done, Helen. You made this. SHAME ON YOU. We know your game, you charitable devil.
December 5, 2011 at 8:03 pm
same here. I’m going to get you that money somehow, goddamnit.
December 5, 2011 at 6:33 pm
#wtfpaypal may be my friend tonight.
December 5, 2011 at 6:34 pm
Helen – does your local t.v. station’s news have a consumer advocate? Have you thought about contacting the media? This is just straight fucked up. And around the holidays!
December 5, 2011 at 6:34 pm
I usually don’t drink during the week, but boy oh boy, I am sorely tempted tonight.
December 5, 2011 at 6:34 pm
Is there a lawyer among us?
December 5, 2011 at 10:33 pm
That is pretty good advice. I’d be sitting down in a local one’s office with all the paperwork, just to get the fees back – over thousands of “”Items” the cut would be hefty.
Personally I’d do it just to make a point – It’d require going through A LOT of fine print, but very satisfying.
December 6, 2011 at 8:17 am
There is! But it seems like she’s already lawyered up. I’m happy to help any way I can – this is like the definition of Grinch. It’s right there in Black’s Law, right after “Goetse.”
December 5, 2011 at 6:35 pm
Maybe someone has already addressed this as I have a short attention span, but how can they legally freeze your PERSONAL account? That has nothing to do with the account in question. Frankly, I have three words about this: CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. Since when has a monetary site the right to dictate the use of even charitable funds? A bank can’t do this. They might report you to the IRS or some such, but they can’t unilaterally TAKE the money. That is robbery pure and simple. Letters are a start, but frankly, what this needs here is… a LAWYER (and I say that as someone who hates lawyers.)
December 5, 2011 at 6:52 pm
And I say Class Action Lawsuit because not only is the account involved, but all the donors as well–that’s a lot of pissed off people.
December 5, 2011 at 6:35 pm
I just sent a long email with this page attached. I received at least 4 of the emails back though, so maybe some of those addresses aren’t up-to-date.
we need to band together on this. please.
December 5, 2011 at 6:36 pm
April, got an address to send checks to? I’ll have on in the mail tomorrow….
December 5, 2011 at 7:58 pm
No checks, sorry.
December 5, 2011 at 10:39 pm
What about singles? Does Bronc accept singles? Further, does Towel Mike?
December 5, 2011 at 6:36 pm
Tweet them, and use the hashtag #paypalsucks. Twitter can get things done.
BTW, Paypal WAS owned by eBay (not sure if they still are or not), and eBay is known for screwing people over. They froze my dad’s eBay account because I had a package sent to his address once and I owed them about two dollars in sellers fees. I didn’t use the account, didn’t remember the password, and I couldn’t access it because I didn’t have the email associated with the account anymore. Long story made short, they wouldn’t just take my money. I had to fax copies of identification before they’d just take my money and unfreeze my dad’s account. Ridiculous.
December 6, 2011 at 12:49 am
I tweeted a direct link to @andersoncooper, @robinmeade, and @hlntv. When you follow any of them, a few other writers and production people pop up from HLN & CNN to tweet too.
December 5, 2011 at 6:36 pm
So who’s going to start the change.org petition?
December 5, 2011 at 7:29 pm
If no-one has yet, I’d be happy to. This is just all kinds of wrong.
December 6, 2011 at 12:37 am
There’s a link to one above.
December 5, 2011 at 6:36 pm
RegretsyNation.CF4L.
December 5, 2011 at 6:36 pm
And let us not for get, good losers, that EBAY OWNS PAYPAL. >sniff sniff< Smells like corporate conspiracy…
December 5, 2011 at 6:38 pm
http://pages.ebay.com/help/pay/paypal-and-ebay.html
December 5, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Oooh lest we forget…
Fuck EBay too then.
December 5, 2011 at 6:36 pm
FUCK THAT GRINCHY PAYPAL IN ITS COLD AND LONELY AND FULL OF SHIT ASS
i am beyond angry.
December 5, 2011 at 6:38 pm
i would call every last one of them and curse them out in several different languages, but that might count as harassment, and i am too angry to deal with them in a reasonable manner.
thank god for emergency klonopin.
December 5, 2011 at 6:37 pm
This is such bullshit. A friend of mine found her 2 year old dead a couple of weeks ago, terrible tragedy, the child just died in her sleep, they called it Sudden Unexpected Death in Childhood, SUDC, like SIDS but happens to slightly older kids. Another friend, who is NOT a nonprofit, set up a Paypal donation account to help the devastated parents pay for funeral expenses, etc. We all donated, raised something like 13,000 dollars, the account was closed, money given to the family, no problems.
This just happened in the past couple of weeks so it’s not true that you can’t raise money to help ordinary people.
December 5, 2011 at 6:40 pm
You’re right–this situation is NO different.
December 6, 2011 at 3:49 am
That’s so sad.
Tell your friend we’re thinking about her?
December 5, 2011 at 6:37 pm
I know it won’t solve your immediate frozen funds issue, but is it possible for you to use google checkout or some other sort credit card processing company from now on? Paypal can suck it.
December 5, 2011 at 6:38 pm
It isn’t much, but The Ginger is making a team fortress raffle on http://tf2r.com/raffles.html advising people of the shitstorm.
December 5, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Here’s what he posted:
Ok, seriously– Christmas is all about the holiday spirit, giving, helping those in need, and all that jazz. Paypal apparently didn’t get the Memo. There’s a funny site out there called Regretsy that set up a Christmas donation drive for kids in need– We’re talking kids who aren’t getting anything else for Christmas, and some who won’t HAVE another Christmas. Regretsy “foolishly” used the DONATE button to receive DONATIONS for their drive, and Paypal is “being a Gigantic bag of dicks” (quoting one Regretsian).
December 5, 2011 at 6:50 pm
Here’s Regretsy’s message: They (Paypal) are forcing a refund of the money that Regretsy raised to benefit a huge group of needy children. These are kids for whom a gift paid for by a Regretsy donation may have been their ONLY gift. Of course, PayPal is keeping their chunk of all the donations…. See http://www.regretsy.com/2011/12/05/cats-1-kids-0/ Send emails, FB wall posts, tweets, or whatever you have at your disposal. How bout we help out a CHARITY EVENT during Christmas, guys?
December 5, 2011 at 6:38 pm
I’m at a loss for words. They are just purely despicable people.
December 5, 2011 at 6:38 pm
I got a hold of Adam Braasch’s, Senior Agent, voicemail and left a message saying I thought the way the rep treated April was deplorable and I gave him my name and contact number to call me back to tell me how they plan to fix this situation. >:[ I am SO PISSED.
December 5, 2011 at 6:38 pm
My email to them is too long to post here but I think I did a good job with it – no threats, no cursing, no exaggeration, just the facts about what a fiasco they have caused and the shame they have brought on themselves. It will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings to Regretsy.
December 5, 2011 at 6:46 pm
Dude, could you email it to me so I could help spread it around? whohasseenthewind at hotmail dot com
December 5, 2011 at 6:52 pm
You could post the first part of it, and then, in a reply to yourself, post the rest of it. See what LEAH did above (she used a reply, and a reply to her reply).
December 5, 2011 at 7:12 pm
Yes, I was too tired to clue in to doing that. Here goes:
I won’t go into details as I’m sure you are all very much aware of the situation by now. Of course I am talking about the Regretsy fiasco. If PayPal were my company, I would be mortified beyond belief at, not only the situation itself, but the responses from the PayPal representatives that Ms. Winchell dealt with. The utter nonsense they subjected her to is beyond the limits of comprehension and good customer service. This is a PR nightmare for PayPal. The Regretsy blog is read by well over hundreds of thousands, many of whom are sellers who, until today, had been using PayPal for their own storefronts. The story has already been picked up by The Consumerist, and I have no doubt it will go further.
December 5, 2011 at 7:12 pm
Perusing some of the comments on your facebook page, I saw one commenter who made a rather sane suggestion: refund ALL of the fees you have kept and match the donations. This would be a drop in the bucket to make reparations, but it would be something. The readers of Regretsy are very involved in charity and they wanted nothing more than to help out some of their own this holiday season. You have now turned that into a huge ugly mess that will never be forgotten.
Shame on all of you.
December 5, 2011 at 6:39 pm
Hmm.. got 8 undelivered e-mails. These two, however, SHOULD have gone through and did not.
moldenburg@paypal.com -top exec
complaints@paypal.com -Complaints.. seriously? Their complaints email isnt functioning. Maybe we already broke it lol.
December 5, 2011 at 7:31 pm
I hope their inbox is too full to accept any more!
December 5, 2011 at 10:28 pm
We’re always surprised by how much we accomplish together, but that’s only because we keep accomplishing more. Think of the times we’ve stripped an Etsy shop clean, like a swarm of fat, jealous locusts, when the seller needed it. I have no doubt that we can flood their inboxes without realizing we’re doing it, simply because such a huge percentage of the people here are willing to say “I’ll do my little bit.” Half the comments I’ve tried to post here tonight have generated a database error; if we’re doing this to Regretsy’s servers (in part by linking here everywhere we can), think of what we’re doing to servers we’re hitting a dozen times over with mass emails.
December 5, 2011 at 6:39 pm
You know what’s odd…anyone who’s ever downloaded free software has undoubtedly seen a “Donate” button on that site (Spybot S&D is a perfect example) and there’s no way they’re Some Money You FJS!” button to avoid this crap in future.not-for-profits.
My own rescue efforts were never 501C and I always used the donate button.
Someone needs to make a custom “Gimme
December 5, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Sorry – that “Some Moey You FJS” part should have been in my previous post – stupid fingers.
December 5, 2011 at 6:39 pm
Okay, let me get this straight. They are SCREWING OVER needy children at CHRISTMAS? On the list of things NOT to do to look like a jackass, I think that’s got to rank pretty close to #1. I’m with whomever said to open a new donation station somewhere: I missed donations the first time around, and I’ve been kicking myself all week. I know there are other members out there who feel the same way. That’s just beyond words. Screw you, Paypal. Screw you.
December 5, 2011 at 8:01 pm
Plus he kept referring to the kids as “orphans” which I found really offensive. I said, “I didn’t say these kids were orphans!” He said, “I NEVER SAID YOU SAID THEY WERE ORPHANS!”
When the level of discourse dissolves into I NEVER SAID YOU SAID, you’re done.
December 5, 2011 at 8:58 pm
Oh, yeah. You can’t argue with stupid. I cannot believe a live human being would treat someone else that way.
December 5, 2011 at 10:42 pm
You should have just told him to “ride that spicy chicken”
December 6, 2011 at 1:48 am
From my understanding from friends who work in callcenters, and with this being a call center..”ALL calls are recorded for training purposes” and to help resolve issues the customer may have when the rep. can’t resolve them…That being said, your whole conversation should be recorded SOMEWHERE, PP will know the rep. you spoke with(im pretty sure they must state their name during the call) ,they can simply replay it and hear the mean horrible things you were told! I pray someone pushes it hard enough that PP has to turn over that recording for investigation purposes, it’s untelling what may come of all this…sucks to be them at this point!!
December 5, 2011 at 6:39 pm
New twitter hash tag. #FUPayPal. Let’s see this trending by the morning!
December 5, 2011 at 7:25 pm
done
December 5, 2011 at 6:39 pm
So apparently I’m not allowed to complain because my dollar wasn’t refunded. I’m glad you got to keep my dollar, but I also want a valid reason to complain.
December 6, 2011 at 1:05 am
Well apparently April doesn’t currently have access to the remaining funds in any of her accounts, which effectively dilutes the effectiveness of your donation, and mine. And Paypal is taking money from April for fees on donations they refuse to process, for no good reason. She got to spend my money, and I’m glad for that, but it doesn’t mean I’m not pissed off about the other donations. There’s no difference between the first dollar into the pot and the last.
December 6, 2011 at 6:53 am
I never got to donate at all, and I’m complaining.
It’s a miscarriage of justice. EVERYBODY has a reason to complain.
December 5, 2011 at 6:40 pm
Here’s what I sent:
Please read the attached account of a website trying to do charitable things for sick kids, and the problems they’ve had with Paypal and with Paypal customer support.
http://www.regretsy.com/2011/12/05/cats-1-kids-0/
I am a veteran currently doing contract work in Afghanistan. I use the internet to buy a lot of things. I *had* been using Paypal for much of this. My Paypal account is ********@hotmail.com (the email I sent has the full address), and it has done hundreds if not thousands of dollars in purchases just over the last year alone. If you don’t make right what Paypal has done with Regretsy’s efforts to help out sick kids, I’ll never use Paypal again. I’ll also be spreading the word to my fellow coworkers and veterans.
December 5, 2011 at 7:15 pm
AWESOME!
December 5, 2011 at 11:38 pm
I heart you.
December 5, 2011 at 6:40 pm
I cancelled my PayPal account and let them know why. Way to ruin Christmas for kids, dick bags!
December 5, 2011 at 6:40 pm
I suppose the real question is this:
What other company will you be using instead for regretsy after this? Because I presume that Paypal is now officially ranked just below flushing the money down the toilet as a means of getting it to you in the future?
December 5, 2011 at 6:53 pm
Google Checkout is an option
December 5, 2011 at 8:02 pm
People have made some great recommendations, and I’m looking into a few now.
December 6, 2011 at 7:51 am
i WISH i knew how to make cat toys, there’s so much potential right now! The classic centipede one would be but the beginning…
December 6, 2011 at 7:52 am
(Ugh, that was supposed to be the latest comment at the end of the page; anyway.)
December 5, 2011 at 6:41 pm
April I hope you hire a lawyer. There’s no way this is legal
December 5, 2011 at 6:41 pm
What the actual fuck?
I hope all the Gods rain hell down on their miserable existences.
I just
Words. I am at a loss for them, and I’m a writer, for fuck’s sake. It’s 3am, and hoo boy are they getting chewed out!
December 5, 2011 at 6:41 pm
I have to say that this has raised a stink. I posted on my blog about this whole ordeal and when I look at my Sitemeter stats I’m seeing a bunch of keyword searches like “Paypal Regretsy.” And people are clicking on links to see the whole story.
PayPal – the Christmas fucktards
I’m off to link to this update.
December 5, 2011 at 6:41 pm
I will never use payal for anything again. They put a lengthy hold on my own funds that I tried to send to my own f’in husband to pay the mortage while I was traveling for work. This was resolved after a substantial delay only after a threat of litigation against them. About a year ago, someone made a fraudulent paypal transaction on my Amex account. After paypal failed to resolve the problem, Amex stepped in and resolved the fraudulent transaction after paypal sat back and did nothing. The supposed seller could not come up with an order invoice, what I supposedly ordered, when it was sent or anything about the alleged transaction other than they claimed to be entitled to over $1000 charge on my Amex. Paypal sucks.
December 5, 2011 at 6:41 pm
I’ve always just read this blog for entertainment, but this makes me so very sad. I think this is a good time to harness the power of the internet. Check out the Bloggess and a PR company that called her a b*tch.
http://thebloggess.com/2011/10/and-then-the-pr-guy-called-me-a-fucking-bitch-i-cant-even-make-this-shit-up/
http://blog.chron.com/babysteps/2011/10/picking-a-fight-with-the-bloggess-and-other-big-pr-mistakes/
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2011/10/07/brandlink-communications-has-the-internet-drop-on-its-head/
December 5, 2011 at 10:46 pm
Oh dear lord another internet rabbit hole for me to fall into…thanks! The picture of Wil Wheaton collating cracked me up – I must bookmark this blog for a day when my head isn’t exploding. Thanks again!
December 6, 2011 at 6:05 am
Derp, comments being weird, so if it posts twice sorry.
“Yeah, ‘stand by for demonstration of relevance’ is the first thought I had when I read this update.
December 5, 2011 at 6:42 pm
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
December 5, 2011 at 6:42 pm
Off to close down my pay pal account. This is fuckery of the highest kind. There is a special place in hell for everyone at pay pal who has done their best to throw a wrench into this. This is nothing but insanity. I hope you get lawyers on this because there is no way that what they have done can be legal.
December 5, 2011 at 6:44 pm
This is fuckery… and not the whimsicle sort.
December 5, 2011 at 6:44 pm
Fucking disgusting. I wonder how Paypal is going to try and backpedal their collective ass out of this, especially after the vitrol their representative spewed. Charity isn’t a worthy cause? Bullshit.
December 5, 2011 at 7:26 pm
They’re not. They’re simply not going to do anything. And won’t, until they’re somehow forced to and it involves them losing money.
December 5, 2011 at 6:44 pm
Mr. Thompson will have now have an email waiting from me… and hopefully a few thousand others here. This is truly reprehensible. I can only hope that the Scrooges at PayPal will have a change of heart in time to make things right.
December 5, 2011 at 6:45 pm
So is paypal going to start raiding “toys for tots” bins because they are not CAT toys??
December 5, 2011 at 8:04 pm
Oh that’s the other thing they said! I forgot!
They said they’d let me have the money if I gave the Toys to Toys for Tots.
December 5, 2011 at 8:13 pm
Soo…. You need non-profit status or else you’re a thief. Unless you give the money that you raised as a non-profit company to the toy-raping charity of our choice?
December 5, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Or your cat.
December 5, 2011 at 8:37 pm
If I mail a sick cat to the needy children will it make this whole mess go away?
December 6, 2011 at 12:54 am
I have a sick cat. She doesn’t give a damn about Christmas, unless she gets some of the turkey.
December 6, 2011 at 3:57 am
catherder, my 18yo cat thinks the same thing! It’s literally all she’s deigned to eat since Thanksgiving. I dunno what we’ll feed her when the leftovers are all thawed and shredded for her.
December 5, 2011 at 8:13 pm
This hurts my brain!!! So now they can dictate where the money YOU raise goes!? WTF PayPal!? What kind of goo is in your noggins because it certainly is NOT a brain!?
December 5, 2011 at 8:27 pm
Let you use your own money?
December 5, 2011 at 9:56 pm
Wait, WHAT?
I just posted a comment about how PayPal’s own policies say they wouldn’t have lost any money due to the “Donate” button being used.
The last reason I could think of for them having a problem with the “Donate” button was that they had some kind of (BS, in this case) consumer-protection agenda. People knowing exactly how their money is being spent when they click that button, blah, blah, blah.
But if they’re willing to redirect hundreds of customers’ money to a different charity, they clearly don’t give a crap about that, either.
This is amazingly poor policy design/handling all around by them. It’s almost impressive that they could get it so wrong.
December 6, 2011 at 1:36 am
Cunt the fucking shit what? No. Awww, hell no. Oh I wish I’d been a fly on the wall in your house while this was going down.
December 5, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Geez, and here I am ready to open my Etsy shop, Paypal as my pay option, and this happens. Now I’m terrified to use them!
This is awful. You mean to tell me we don’t have any fat, jealous losers on here that work for Paypal?
All these poor families. This Christmas sucks.
December 5, 2011 at 6:49 pm
I’d be happy if any of us are journalists or bloggers who could get the story out there. Sadly, this is the perfect time of the year for such stories (then again, if it were not this time of the year, April would have not been doing this specific project).
December 5, 2011 at 6:51 pm
I just put it as a story on CNN ireport, it’s all I could think to do. Not enough people read my blog to make a difference.
December 5, 2011 at 7:53 pm
I managed to send a detailed e-mail the the NYC CBS television station (couldn’t find a link to the newsradio stations, which is what I’d most hoped for) AND to NPR’s All Things Considered. Had to jump through so many hoops on NPR to get my e-mail accepted (“our system has flagged things in your e-mail that may be spam”), but it went through.
December 5, 2011 at 10:01 pm
I’ve been posting the CNN iReport all over the place.
December 5, 2011 at 6:51 pm
I don’t blog, myself, but I know lots of people who do. I’m working on getting this around to them. Don’t know if it will help anything, but it can’t hurt to try.
December 5, 2011 at 7:03 pm
I was going to close my account, but it says the money I donated is still pending. I don’t know what’s going on with it. Is it really pending, or is it some of the frozen funds still in the pot?
Fuck you, Paypal.
December 5, 2011 at 6:46 pm
December 5, 2011 at 6:48 pm
December 5, 2011 at 10:33 pm
Weezil love!
December 5, 2011 at 6:48 pm
I’m trying to close/cancel/delete my Paypal account. I have nothing pending and it’s not allowing me to close my account and saying I have something pending withdrawal from my Bank Account. The only thing I have that is reoccurring is A $4.99 Spotify payment, which went through several business days ago and is listed as completed in my overview. GRRR.
December 5, 2011 at 7:11 pm
Whoa. Just called customer service. They said that the bank transfer for Spotify wasn’t complete. They told me to pull up the details. So I did. Two transactions (one original, one “related”), both completed. Then they tried to say I wasn’t looking at it right and that while Spotify had received the funds, my bank hadn’t completed the transfer. So I ask them, then why does it say under ‘add funds from bank account’ on this transaction, identified as the ‘related’ transaction.. completed. She said that she would check and put me on hold for about five minutes. Then she came back on and said they were experiencing some technicaly difficulties and while on MY end it was saying ‘completed’ it wasn’t on their end. They are running a system update that will be done in 3-4 hours. I’m calling them in 3.
December 5, 2011 at 6:48 pm
PayPal: Making Ebenezer Scrooge Look Like Andrew Fucking Carnegie Since 2011
December 5, 2011 at 6:49 pm
I reported this idiocy to CNN. Perhaps if we get enough people to do the same, we can stop the Paypal robbery and help the families in need. Do so here: http://www.cnn.com/feedback/show/?s=storyidea
December 5, 2011 at 7:49 pm
done! sent off a suggestion!
December 5, 2011 at 7:52 pm
Done.
December 5, 2011 at 9:24 pm
I’ve done so as well! Hopefully a nice, national-news-sized helping of shame will make Paypal do the right thing.
December 5, 2011 at 11:25 pm
Thanks I just sent something. I am new here after being directed here from a group, and I have closed my paypal account! Totally disgusted!!
December 5, 2011 at 6:49 pm
I use PayPal for a lot of things – an eBay store, an Etsy store, and for buying things off those strange little sellers who refuse to use anything for payments except PayPal. But if this isn’t resolved in a satisfying way in the next few days, it’s so long eccentric sellers and overseas Etsy buyers, I’m shutting my PayPal account down for good.
December 5, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Duh on me. Folks, check the “Contact” tag at the top — it’s got the snail mail address to send stuff to April.
And I for one cannot WAIT to see PayPal come crawling to April with their tail between their legs when this one hits the national news. Because you KNOW it’s going to, somehow. In this season of good cheer, there’s not much the press likes more than a corporate Grinch.
December 5, 2011 at 8:10 pm
You’re not alone I thought the same too until I read this comment up thread from Helen.
“Helen Killer
December 5, 2011 at 7:03 pm
No, I don’t take checks meant for charitable purposes. I cant deposit that money into my account. Paypal was just a landing page for collections, and I disbursed it as quickly as I could.
+4″
December 5, 2011 at 6:49 pm
How about a PO Box and we’ll do it the old fashioned way? PERSONAL CHECKS!
December 5, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Ms Killer says no checks
I’m willing to send these kids toys myself
December 6, 2011 at 5:15 am
No checks guys – she can’t deposit personal checks into an account meant for charity. Didn’t think of that. This just sucks. You do something out of the pure goodness of your heart – something that makes HUNDREDS of children and their families happy for Christmas – and you get screwed. What a world.
December 5, 2011 at 6:49 pm
PayPal account cancelled. Reason for cancellation: The way they treated April Winchell/Regretsy. If that’s how they treat long-term customers, I don’t want to be one. Jerkfaces.
December 5, 2011 at 7:31 pm
This makes me want to keep trying to close mine hearing that you were able to cancel yours.
December 5, 2011 at 6:49 pm
Etsians were complaining of not being able to use PP today, I hope it’s because they were getting bogged down with people rushing to the site to close their accounts.
December 5, 2011 at 6:50 pm
I posted this to CNN iReport in hopes it will get picked up. Fingers crossed.
December 5, 2011 at 8:02 pm
It did!!!
December 5, 2011 at 6:50 pm
That’s just shitty of Paypal. I can’t say I haven’t had my own run ins with them. A few years ago I sold some digital artwork for food money when my husband first lost his job, and when the buyer did a chargeback a week later, paypal sided with with them and charged me fees for going in the negative, then more fees when they couldn’t withdraw money from my bank account (I had told them I was using the money for food since I had nothing in the bank) And even when I provided screenshots of emails and the artwork I did for the buyer, they decided I was at fault, kept the money, and charged me MORE fees for it. At that point I’d decided I’d had enough with paypal.
Besides that..
Thank you for the letters from Santa. My kids are ecstatic over them! I’m just glad I got anything at all for them!
December 5, 2011 at 6:50 pm
I guess we can safely say that no one at Paypal has ever struggled to make ends meet for Christmas or else they’d know that this shit IS a big deal. It’s not just about presents, it’s about having a fucking heart and not penalizing people for trying to give a helping hand to deserving people.
We need to tweet Keith Olbermann and get Paypal as “worst persons”.
December 5, 2011 at 11:24 pm
Even if they’ve never personally struggled, anyone with any imagination should get it!
December 5, 2011 at 6:50 pm
We got a blurb in the Wall Street Journal to the consumerist article!
http://onespot.wsj.com/personal-finance/2011/12/05/3cdd1/paypal-rains-on-regretsys-secret-santa
December 5, 2011 at 6:50 pm
Who wants to start the petition on change.org? Someone better with words than I, I hope.
Whoever makes this should link me to it. I’m forcing the article to go viral within my (tiny) college campus, so the petition will help spread the news even further.
December 6, 2011 at 5:49 am
http://www.change.org/petitions/president-paypal-unfreeze-regretsys-account-to-help-children-in-need (hopefully others have posted it upstream, but here it is… again!
December 5, 2011 at 6:50 pm
apires@paypal.com is out of the office but kindly left this as a forwarding address for immediate assistance: teampaypal@accesspr.com
email forward ho!
December 5, 2011 at 6:50 pm
1. FUCK PAYPAL. I’ve always hated them anyway.
2. CAN WE SEND CHECKS?? MONEY ORDERS?? Cash in the mail? Do you have another way of handling this? TELL US HOW!
3. I seriously thought, when I saw my refund come through, that you took my comment from this morning, “you can’t stop me, HK!”, seriously until I saw this post.
4. Seriously. How do we get you money?
December 5, 2011 at 8:16 pm
No checks, I was thinking about sending one until I read this comment up thread from Helen.
“Helen Killer
December 5, 2011 at 7:03 pm
No, I don’t take checks meant for charitable purposes. I cant deposit that money into my account. Paypal was just a landing page for collections, and I disbursed it as quickly as I could.
+4″
December 6, 2011 at 4:26 am
How about gift cards for the families?
December 5, 2011 at 9:13 pm
I don’t know the logistics of this, but has anyone considered donating directly to the families on the list? I have no idea how to go about it, but it would cut out the Pay Pal middlemen and follow April’s no checks rule.
December 5, 2011 at 6:50 pm
I hope the assholes at Paypal wake up with prolapsed rectums tomorrow morning.
December 5, 2011 at 6:51 pm
I tried to close my Paypal account and I can’t… I have 49 cents in it, and you can’t withdraw less than $1. So I have to transfer money into the account and wait 4 days and then withdraw the money and wait 4 more days and THEN I should be able to cancel. BS.
December 5, 2011 at 8:47 pm
They charge you $1.50 to send you a check. If you have less than than in your account, they just keep it. Don’t add money just so they can take it away!
December 5, 2011 at 6:51 pm
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
December 5, 2011 at 8:14 pm
You’re comment 146…this place is just exploding with commenty goodness!
December 5, 2011 at 8:22 pm
PLEASE No! Don’t do it!
I am really squeaky clean with this stuff. I have a lawyer and a CPA and everything, and I can account for every cent. Money orders, cash and checks are all problematic and I will just have to return it to you.
December 5, 2011 at 10:12 pm
How about pre-paid debit cards? You wouldn’t even need to deposit them, just mail them to the families?
December 5, 2011 at 10:36 pm
HAY GUISE! There’s a possible IRS tax issue at the VERY least, that I can imagine off the top of my head, for Helen if we all start flooding her with income. Seriously.
Helen, I hereby award you eighty gajillion intarweb dollars (which are only good for lighting the digital fire under Paypal), and a buncha hugs.
The best thing we can do is to hold on to our cash and money orders and dollars until it’s time to help her with legal fees, and I’m sure she’ll tell us when that time is and how to go about.
Helen, we’re poised and ready for Operation Fuck PayPal Back, just let us know.
December 5, 2011 at 10:36 pm
Sorry, April, I won’t send anything, promise.
Although it occurs to me, could you set up a separate account for your charity stuff? I know I’ve done that for small organizations I’ve been involved with, far too small to worry about getting a 501(c)(3), and have even gotten a free account for a year; and then you could accept direct donations of cash/check/money order. Just a thought.
I am really, really sorry they fucked with you like this!!!
December 5, 2011 at 6:52 pm
i called one of thre customer service numbers, yelled agent angrily at it eight times, and then sobbed to a representative who agreed that it’s not right and that he would speak to his supervisor about the concern. even spelled out regretsy for him.
it may be the “shut up would you?” consolation response, but i’m okay for now. i just need a cigarette and 20 minutes with the punching bag.
December 5, 2011 at 6:52 pm
Tweet of this post? Check.
Angry but semi-polite e-mail (did not call them fuckers)? Check.
Closing of PayPayl accounts? Imminent.
December 5, 2011 at 8:47 pm
Have completed your list and also surprisingly did not use profanities! Lots of shame though…
December 5, 2011 at 9:30 pm
A friend and I call it “business bitchy.” On the surface, you’re holding it together. Just under, it reads, “fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you”
December 5, 2011 at 6:52 pm
I’ve never made an account here before, but I wanted to share the email — some ganked from April’s helpful breakdown above — I just bombarded all those fuckers with in case anyone else would find it of use:
[name of specific shitsmear],
I was disgusted to learn what your company has done to the charitable donations fund set up by April Winchell and the Regretsy community. The idea that you would freeze an account that has been using your service for years to make charitable donations, and then go a step further and freeze April’s own money from unrelated sales in that account, is shocking. While Regretsy might have made an error in using the Donate rather than the Buy Now button, the magnitude and rigid bureaucracy of your response is far more egregious. Moreover, the fact that your company has profited repeatedly from these donations, while blocking the families themselves from receiving the money donated to them is revolting.
December 5, 2011 at 6:53 pm
You allowed the website to use a donate button, and got a portion of the donations
You then made the website return the donations, and kept a portion of the fees on the donations
You then, in what seemed to be a fairly reasonable way out of the confusion, allowed the website to use a Buy Now button to sell gifts individually, and got a portion of those sales.
But you then made the site return the sales that you had permitted, but kept a portion of the fees on the sales regardless.
Finally, they processed the toy purchases, and made fees on that.
In essence, your company has profited not once, but three times on money meant for charity, and then refused to let that charitable money be used for its intended purpose. Profiteering off of needy children and their families — I trust you’re well pleased with yourselves.
If you had a modicum of decency, you would unfreeze the account, and let these people have the gift of a slightly less lean holiday season.
December 5, 2011 at 6:54 pm
Surely an error in what button April used to set up her site is less important than that.
I will be passing along the details of this fiasco to my friends and coworkers, and will encourage them not to use your service again — I certainly won’t, as this is how you treat not only your clients, but people in need.
[fat jealous slag]
I also second the commenter way, way above that noted it’s time to use some Disney sparkle power on their ass and get this to the mainstream media.
December 5, 2011 at 7:43 pm
Thanks! I copypasta-ed!
December 5, 2011 at 6:52 pm
I know some of you jerks have to know people in the media.