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I have tried to delete my PayPal account on ten different occasions (I mean, something like that), and never succeed to do so. A maze of dark patterns and crapp

I have tried to delete my PayPal account on ten different occasions (I mean, something like that), and never succeed to do so. A maze of dark patterns and crappy UI and buttons that go nowhere. I even sent a couple of emails one of the times, and then gave up when there was no response. They're a heinous company.

latexr 2y ago
Anecdotally, I deleted my PayPal account a few weeks ago and found it pretty easy. I’m in Europe, which may have made the difference.
- sourcepluck 2y ago
  I'm in Europe! I haven't tried in ages, a few years I suppose. I'm going to try again, bolstered by your comment. Thank you, kind netizen. Maybe they've been obliged to stop messing around as much with some of the new laws of the past years.
dghlsakjg 2y ago
I battled this. Turns out the key was to get the CFPB involved. Within a few weeks I received a letter of explanation from their legal department and my account was deleted. Companies hate getting a letter from regulatory agencies because it frequently has to be dealt with in part by legal, which is an expensive department to clog. Edit: I see you are in Europe. So the above doesn’t directly apply, although there may be a regulatory agency that is equivalent that you can gripe to.
- Symbiote 2y ago
  The option "Close Account" is halfway down the page under "Settings". So just a single press to find it after logging in. (EU here.)
  - OJFord 2y ago
    Been there, tried that. You must first provide photo ID, name, address, phone number - all sorts of data not presently on the account - in order to verify identity to delete the account. And then of course they'll retain it all under the guise of financial regulation (legitimately) and probably sell it (scummily).
  - dghlsakjg 2y ago
    That’s what I tried, but there was an issue with another account, not under my name, sharing my email for some reason. I got stuck in a loop of customer service reps escalating, saying no, having to reopen, and generally not solving the issue. After about a year of receiving someone else’s account emails, and trying to get it corrected, I realized that I didn’t want them anywhere near my money and escalated to the regulators. When I tried to close my account they refused since there was still an account (not mine) associated with my email. Thanks for letting me know about the close account button. I already knew there was a happy path, I was pointing out that PayPal doesn’t have a good customer facing process for issues that can’t be solved normally.
kelnos 2y ago
I see you're in Europe; don't you have a regulatory body you can contact to help you deal with this? I assume account deletion is a requirement covered by the GDPR.
- Symbiote 2y ago
  The option "Close Account" is halfway down the page under "Settings". So just a single press to find it after logging in. (EU here.)
- OJFord 2y ago
  Yeah good luck with that. Threatening that (or just using keywords like GDPR) works great for most companies when you can't find it on the website or mailing list has no unsubscribe link or whatever, but you're forgetting quite how much of a scummy company PayPal is.

latexr 2y ago

Anecdotally, I deleted my PayPal account a few weeks ago and found it pretty easy. I’m in Europe, which may have made the difference.

sourcepluck 2y ago
I'm in Europe! I haven't tried in ages, a few years I suppose. I'm going to try again, bolstered by your comment. Thank you, kind netizen. Maybe they've been obliged to stop messing around as much with some of the new laws of the past years.

dghlsakjg 2y ago

I battled this. Turns out the key was to get the CFPB involved. Within a few weeks I received a letter of explanation from their legal department and my account was deleted. Companies hate getting a letter from regulatory agencies because it frequently has to be dealt with in part by legal, which is an expensive department to clog. Edit: I see you are in Europe. So the above doesn’t directly apply, although there may be a regulatory agency that is equivalent that you can gripe to.

Symbiote 2y ago
The option "Close Account" is halfway down the page under "Settings". So just a single press to find it after logging in. (EU here.)
- OJFord 2y ago
  Been there, tried that. You must first provide photo ID, name, address, phone number - all sorts of data not presently on the account - in order to verify identity to delete the account. And then of course they'll retain it all under the guise of financial regulation (legitimately) and probably sell it (scummily).
- dghlsakjg 2y ago
  That’s what I tried, but there was an issue with another account, not under my name, sharing my email for some reason. I got stuck in a loop of customer service reps escalating, saying no, having to reopen, and generally not solving the issue. After about a year of receiving someone else’s account emails, and trying to get it corrected, I realized that I didn’t want them anywhere near my money and escalated to the regulators. When I tried to close my account they refused since there was still an account (not mine) associated with my email. Thanks for letting me know about the close account button. I already knew there was a happy path, I was pointing out that PayPal doesn’t have a good customer facing process for issues that can’t be solved normally.

kelnos 2y ago

I see you're in Europe; don't you have a regulatory body you can contact to help you deal with this? I assume account deletion is a requirement covered by the GDPR.

Symbiote 2y ago
The option "Close Account" is halfway down the page under "Settings". So just a single press to find it after logging in. (EU here.)
OJFord 2y ago
Yeah good luck with that. Threatening that (or just using keywords like GDPR) works great for most companies when you can't find it on the website or mailing list has no unsubscribe link or whatever, but you're forgetting quite how much of a scummy company PayPal is.