PayPal - wrong number on account, cannot set-up/log-in to change it for PSD2, call centre no help

torncurtain

I'd appreciate any help with this as I've run out of ideas at this stage. 

Life got in the way of changing the phone number associated with my PP account. About a week ago I was notified via email by PP that I would need to ensure my contact details were up-to-date as they roll out the PSD2 Strong Customer Authentication process. A number of life's curve balls came about in quick succession (including 2 deaths and a poorly pet), I simply forgot to change the details. 

Today I attempted to log in to change the details, without a deadline notification by PP, I'm unable to log into my account to do so. The message I receive from the PP site is that I need to confirm the number in order for them to call me to confirm my identity or change the number associated with my account. Great. Well, in order to change the number associated with my account I need to log in. Only, I can't log in because they need to confirm my identity by calling the number associated with my account! 

I've called PP numerous times, I've yet to speak with a live person. I just keep going around in circles like a terrible nightmare. I can't even access their chat function for help because I need to log in to do that. I've also tried deleting cookies (was last and final option I could think of) in the hopes that it would forget everything for just long enough for me to login and change the details. Looking at the community forum support, it looks like there's a number of people struggling with the same problem. 

All things considered, I thought I was managing well but like a few others on this forum, dealing with PayPal has nearly tipped me over the edge. 

Thank you for reading and any help/advice offered! 

soolin

Unless you persevere and get hold of someone 'live' I can see no way of doing this.My only other thought is whether you possibly have the app installed? I can access my main paypal account on my phone simply by using my password and  thumb print for authorisation - any chance you ever set up anything on a mobile device? 

To be fair to paypal as well, they have been warning for about 4  months now (I've had warnings on both my paypal accounts at log in for nearer 6 months- but I was getting warnings well before other people for some reason. The whole point of this is to make it difficult for hackers to gain access, if there was an easy way round it now it has completely switched- then there would be no point. Your phone number is there for your benefit, there have been occasions I have seen mentioned when paypal have called someone to ask about suspicious activity- and stopped a major problem , not updating it on a financial site is not a good idea- but I'm sure you have already realised that. 

I do actually find it a bit frustrating as being a bit older, I do not carry my phone around all the time  like a lot of younger people seem to be- so I have to remember to take my phone when I go to the study to do anything on paypal. However with the amount of people with threads on MSE and other forums who seem to have no idea how important security is on paypal and seem to allow anyone to access their accounts, I can see why paypal have taken this step. 

torncurtain

Hi, Thanks so much for your input soonlin. 
I don't have a smartphone. This is part of the problem. The first time I saw a notification when logging in was about a month ago if I recall correctly. At the time I tried changing the details and the same thing happened. Eventually I managed to log in but by that time I was running behind on the day, massively. I don't used PP all that often. But, when I saw the email from them I acted as quickly as I could. I understand their thinking. I don't understand how they refuse to allow me to log in, on a known device in order to change the details as they requested. I can provide details like answers to security questions or the full phone number that's on the account (which they obscure) even though it's incorrect. I can see things from both sides! I clearly made a mistake here. 

KeithP

torncurtain said:

I don't understand how they refuse to allow me to log in, on a known device in order to change the details as they requested. 

Deleting cookies will not have helped with that.
It's information in cookies that identifies a device as 'known'.

torncurtain

Ah, thanks KeithP. In the PP community forum there's a number of people dealing with the same problem and it looks like I'm not the only one who thought of this. One person there swears it worked for them. It certainly didn't for me and for the reason you point out. 

chanz4

I have the same issue, and you cant even contact them

torncurtain

I have money in my PP account. I'm guessing they've basically stolen my money because I can't access it any longer. How is this even legal? They didn't notify people that they're money would be lost. I double checked my emails yesterday, I only received a warning about 1-2 weeks ago. There was no indication on when this would be implemented or how to contact them should there be an issue. 

soolin

torncurtain said:

I have money in my PP account. I'm guessing they've basically stolen my money because I can't access it any longer. How is this even legal? They didn't notify people that they're money would be lost. I double checked my emails yesterday, I only received a warning about 1-2 weeks ago. There was no indication on when this would be implemented or how to contact them should there be an issue. 

The original thread you posted on about potential problems logging in with the new 3rd party authorisation dates from August , there have been messages on PayPal when you log in from before then.

your money has not been stolen , as above you need to persevere trying to contact them on the phone and get through security. Third party authorisation is the way forward I suspect for all financial institutions , it isn’t a new thing and the very fact that your account is now secure (OK overly secure) shows it works. 

torncurtain

soolin said:

The original thread you posted on about potential problems logging in with the new 3rd party authorisation dates from August , there have been messages on PayPal when you log in from before then.

Hey Soolin, the email I have from PayPal is dated 8/10/2020. It doesn't state when it will take effect, it just says that I need to make sure my contact details are up to date. I have no doubt that there were messages from PayPal when logging in before that time but I wouldn't know. As I said, I don't use it all that often. I'm referring to an email from them. 
I've been on the phone with them all day, every time I get through to someone they say I need to speak with someone else, transfer me and the line goes dead. If I can't gain access to the account, the money is gone and seeing as they don't provide a way to contact them to resolve the issue (you need to log in to contact them!) there doesn't appear to be a way forward. Of course I'll persevere and I appreciate your can-do attitude. 

alexsdurand

Hi there, just wanted to post here as I had the same problem, and managed to find that a solution was just to change my original password. At the end of the process of changing my password, it logged me straight into my account, so from here I was able to update my number. Bit of a pain, but it worked!

soolin

alexsdurand said:

Hi there, just wanted to post here as I had the same problem, and managed to find that a solution was just to change my original password. At the end of the process of changing my password, it logged me straight into my account, so from here I was able to update my number. Bit of a pain, but it worked!

How can you change your password though if you can't log in? That's the whole point, I can't imagine a simple 'forgotten password' request will work if you haven't gone through third party authorisation.