An Open Letter to PayPal

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Attn: Daniel H. Schulman
President of PayPal


Dear Mr. Schulman,

My name is Brian Heiler, I am writing to you today as the owner of a small start-up business who is in need of your help.
During the Pandemic shut down, I like a lot of other people found myself without employment and I decided that this would be the time to launch my dream business, creating niche publications.
Over the next few months, I and several collaborators created a publication I was very proud of, so much so that I threw caution to the wind and spent my much-needed funds to create it.
The dream became a nightmare when, on my launch date, I discovered PayPal was allowing me to take orders but not allowing me access funds to pay for postage or to pay for the other services involved.
I could not access my funds until I provided some proof that my business was real.
My business FYI has had a PayPal account for almost a decade.
I have sent document after document on that list and they've all been rejected with no explanation.
Your customer service has been nearly impossible to speak to, one person just coldly told me to "Just go buy stamps" another person reminded me "they're busy" and it would be a ten-day wait.
I have sent the requested documents several times and spent over $200 (that I don't have) getting the documentation PayPal demanded and woke up today to find it was again rejected for no explanation and again, the email asked for the document I already provided.
This dream project is now a nightmare, I can't ship the orders yet people keep ordering (giving PayPal my money), I can't do my press release campaign because I don't know if PayPal will keep my money indefinitely. No one will speak to me or answer my questions.
The stress has now caused negative effects on my health and I have taken a leave of absence from my job.
All I want is to speak to someone at your financial institution today to advise as to how I resolve this manner in a reasonable time.
I hope that your financial institution can honour this reasonable request from a small start-up business that cannot survive to wait.


Yours Sincerely,


Brian Heiler








For more Fashion Mockery and 70's toy love visit us at Plaid Stallions.com


More...

[rche]

That is absolutely terrible, Brian. I hope it is resolved quickly for you.

[Werewolf]

That sucks. I hope it gets fixed.

[toyhunter1970]

this is complete bs on paypals part makes me want cancel my account

[MRP]

paypal and their ludicrous practices and terrible customer service were a big reason why I stopped selling on ebay over a decade ago. I try to avoid using paypal whenever possible but alternatives are few and far between, so payapl knows they can be complete crap and still make money because they lack true competition.

-M

[cjefferys]

Oh man, I'm so sorry that's happening to you Brian. Paypal truly sucks, they always have, and have messed with many small businesses over the years, I've heard so many horror stories. It's a damn shame that there isn't much of a viable alternative that's as widely used (barring going through the hassle of creating your own credit card merchant account).

[sprytel]

That is horrible. While I don't believe that Paypal is off twirling its mustache and planning the doom of Toy Ventures, this sort of apathy towards correcting a mistake *they made* and unwillingness to do right by a longtime customer is every bit as evil.

I am not a social media guy... but this is one area where social media has been successful in making a positive impact in the past. I am pleased to see folks on Twitter have taken up this cause. Let's get this trending.

[B-Lister]

I think I read everything is worked out?

But yeesh, what a headache. You truly kept cool, but more importanly you did all you could do.

The important thing, is that you created a publication that is high quality. That you poured your passion into, and that many are enthusiastic about. I truly hope to have the opportunity to contribute to it in the future.

[Confessional]

Awful to hear!

Related… I'm working with a consultant on a webstore project currently and she just shared with me that one her clients that went to an all PP model experienced a sales drop by 75% over a six month period last year. Attributed to bad reputation, customer service, and the customer's dislike of the PP portal. Subsequently once they switched back to a store application with PP as just another payment option, the sales return in weeks. PP has certainly earned the scorn and scrutiny.

Your project/mag will certainly persevere though… it has Apes and Monsters, unstoppable!

[toyhunter1970]

this is complete bs on paypals part makes me want cancel my account

and brekin news their stock just soared this week

[tay666]

Sorry this happened to you.
I have heard plenty of horror stories over the years. Thankfully, I have never had anything bad happen with PP.

[rayray]

This isn’t acceptable treatment of a longtime customer, and I am sorry you are facing this sort of barrier. I agree that social media sharing can make a difference - eg tweeting the open letter at Paypal and allowing us to pile on / retweet. My husband has done this before to good effect when experiencing trouble with a company.

[ToyTalk]

I have heard a lot of bad stories but never to someone I knew, until now. I'm very sorry Brian. Hopefully this works out much sooner than later. The confusing part to me is that if they needed proof you were a real business than why did they accept your money to begin with?

[jwyblejr]

Should we dust off the torches and pitchforks?

[rykerw1701]

What a frustrating mess. Sorry to learn of this. Customer service today is in general is bad. If your problem can't be handled by automation, no one wants to be bothered by the customer directly.