7 On Your Side helps Bay Area man recover money sent to dead PayPal account

EL CERRITO, Calif. (KGO) -- Glen Goddard lives in El Cerrito. He recently used PayPal to send money to a family member.

"In my phone, I had an erroneous email account tied to his cell phone," said Goddard. "So when I put in the request to send money to him for a reimbursement it went to a dead account, and he never received it."

Goddard figured out the problem on his own and went online to PayPal to let the folks there know what had happened. He heard back right away with what he believed was a robo-response.

"I was informed that there was no fraud that was identified. However, fraud wasn't the issue, and so I then went back and appealed a second time to them and was unable to get a response," said Goddard.

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He says he tried yet again and got no help.

"And so, knowing that 7 On Your Side has always done very well with helping people with these types of issues, I thought, why not give it a shot," said Goddard.

A great idea that worked out well for Goddard. Once the complaint was received, 7 On Your Side reached out to PayPal.

"It appears that within hours PayPal reached out to me with a phone call followed up by an email," said Goddard. "Within 24 hours the funds were returned to me."

PayPal won't speak to specific customer complaints, but gave 7 On Your Side this advice: "Whenever someone has had an unsatisfactory transaction, we always recommend that they contact Customer Support directly for assistance. Our dedicated support teams are always available to help look into matters...."

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And Goddard, he has some advice to offer, too.

"If you're frustrated by technology or robot calls. Don't give up. Put in a phone call, make an effort, and if that doesn't do it, well, give 7 On Your Side a try," said Goddard. "They were very successful for my situation."

Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.

7OYS's consumer hotline is a free consumer mediation service for those in the San Francisco Bay Area. We assist individuals with consumer-related issues; we cannot assist on cases between businesses, or cases involving family law, criminal matters, landlord/tenant disputes, labor issues, or medical issues. Please review our FAQ here. As a part of our process in assisting you, it is necessary that we contact the company / agency you are writing about. If you do not wish us to contact them, please let us know right away, as it will affect our ability to work on your case. Due to the high volume of emails we receive, please allow 3-5 business days for a response.

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