TIGARD, Ore. – Shanna Stein used PayPal to send hundreds of dollars to her fiancé, Nori, who currently lives in Japan.
She was told the money would arrive in his PayPal account in about 3 to 4 days and even double-checked PayPal’s policy with a company representative.
"They were like, ‘oh yeah, no problem, we send money internationally to family members all the time.’ And then his account was frozen and he wasn't able to withdraw the money," Stein said.
It has been about three weeks since Shanna initially made the transaction, and her money is still in limbo. Shanna and Nori contacted their corresponding PayPal agents. Shanna was told the money went through, and that the problem must be on Nori’s end.
"We called his end, and they said, ‘we're still looking into it, but really you need to be a business in Japan to get money transferred into your bank account from PayPal.’ It doesn’t say that when he signed up for PayPal, and nowhere does it say you need to do that," Stein said.
Both Shanna and Nori have used PayPal for years, and have received money from friends and family while overseas.
"I’ve spent hours and hours on phone calls being transferred to people that can’t help me; spent hours being transferred to people who were unwilling to listen to us. I call up now and basically they tell me they’re going to call me back, and they never call me back, and this has been going on since Jan. 16."
The Better Business Bureau has logged thousands of complaints from consumers about PayPal. Kyle Kavas with the BBB says is not unusual, since it is a large company. Kavas says PayPal is typically good about responding to complaints.
A phone call to PayPal’s corporate offices Tuesday afternoon has not received a call back yet.
In the meantime, Shanna and Nori are still waiting for answers.
"It’s like false advertising, saying it’s going to be a cinch. They can’t guarantee that," Stein said.
