On recovering a PayPal account

There are 6 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 1,973 times. The latest Post () was by Splinter.

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    About ten years ago I opened my first PayPal account which I used quite happily to pay for web hosting, buying games and software online etc. Three years later I forgot my password and when faced with the secret questions page, I knew my answers were correct, but they weren't being accepted by PayPal so that I could move onto the next stage of a password reset link. The only way I could resolve the issue was to phone PayPal USA and provide proof of my identity, but this didn't work as it was all voice activation with no options to go human.

    There's an important distinction here too. My original account was set up with a UK card which then expired and I later cancelled.

    In the intervening years and the dollar clampdown, PayPal wasn't available in Argentina and so I forgot about PayPal until 2016 when it became available in Arg and I opened a new account with a different email address.

    Recently I decided to revive the old PayPal account and I found that the only way to successfully speak to a human was to send an internal email support enquiry through my new PayPal account because again, the phone system is so mechanised that I got nowhere. In the end and credit to them, they phoned me directly and once I was able to confirm my correct postal address and zip code from ten years ago (this is critical) my old account was reactivated and codes and links were sent to me.

    There's only a few dollars left in the account, but the point for me is that a US PayPal account appears to allow more flexibility than an Arg one, for example sending/receiving money with friends and family options.

    I'm also glad I kept all my emails related to PayPal from ten years ago and didn't delete them. I hope this helps anyone who needs to go through the same procedure.

    Congratulations for persevering until you found the winning combination and were able to communicate with a human, Splinter . Last year, I needed to update credit card information, but like you, failed the security questions test. Eventually got it sorted out, but I'm glad to have your info for future communications needs.

    PayPal is a nest of vipers and simply doesn't care for its customers. I have a recurring problem where access to my account is being denied, as if my IP address has been blocked by their security.

    Now, I like to think of myself as quite tech savvy, but unfortunately the only help we can get from this shameful company is by chatting to a chat-bot (don't make me laugh), clicking on a list of FAQs or posting in its community.

    In order to post in the community, you have to be logged into your PP account, so since that isn't possible because of the block, I had to log on through a VPN, which is a tricky business with PP because it violates (don't you just love that overused and overly dramatic word?) their T&Cs.

    Here are the posts in the PP community:


    "I can no longer access my PayPal account either from the Android app or desktop, with an error 403 forbidden message.

    No matter if it's PayPal homepage or login, the result is the same. No VPN, just different browsers including Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Opera.

    It's like a brick wall and I haven't made any security changes to my PC or phone since the last time I logged on to PayPal.

    Very annoying indeed and any help would be appreciated.

    Thank you."


    "I m sorry to hear that you are facing issues accessing your PayPal account due to an error message. I completely understand the importance of getting this issue resolved. Could you please clear the cache and cookies or your browser or use a different browser like Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge? You can also try re-installing the PayPal App. If none of the simple solutions we’ve talked about so far work, you can always wait a while and try again after a couple of hours.


    Thanks and Regards,

    TasleemaJ"


    "Also make sure you are not using a VPN or that it is disabled?"


    My last reply:



    ‎Mar-26-2023 04:57 AM

    I clearly stated that I wasn't using a VPN and also that I have tried with Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Opera.

    This is from three different PCs and two mobiles in my house, so it clearly has nothing to do with clearing caches which, I might add, I have already done.

    This is very annoying indeed and the worst aspect of PayPal is that we no longer have a direct route to PayPal technical support like we used to, as far as I can see.

    Chat bot? Don't make me laugh.

    Please come back with some real solutions after having read my posts thoroughly.

    Thank you.


    Never understood why anyone would go online to argue or converse with strangers, let alone AI. I only used PP because I've had a positive experience here. Like I mentioned earlier, I don't blog or chat online in estado unidos. But the new corporate method sucks, that's not customer support, and Peter Theil........don't get me started. :smiley-on-fire:

    Quote from Gary Kipher

    Never understood why anyone would go online to argue or converse with strangers, let alone AI. I only used PP because I've had a positive experience here. Like I mentioned earlier, I don't blog or chat online in estado unidos. But the new corporate method sucks, that's not customer support, and Peter Theil........don't get me started. :smiley-on-fire:

    My comments at #4 are the only way to communicate with PayPal unfortunately, ie the PayPal community forum where, if you're lucky, an employee might offer to help.

    But as you can see by their replies, they haven't got a f**ing clue.