So, I had the misfortune of having money in my PayPal balance. Their broken website refuses to let me add a bank account for withdrawal, so I opted to receive a check by mail, and even paid a $1.50 for this service.<p>PayPal issued the check on June 9th. On July 1st, I informed them that it still hasn't arrived, and that I needed to wait a minimum of 14 <i>business</i> days.<p>On July 5th, the check was fraudulently cashed by an unknown third party. However, we don't learn that until nearly a month later, because:<p>On July 9th, I contact them again. This time, they offer to stop payment on the check, to which I agree immediately. I am told to expect an email within 3-5 business days and that the rep will "personally" follow up. None of that ever happens.<p>On August 3rd, I contact them yet again and am finally told that the check has already been cashed. After some back and forth where they repeatedly insist that I check with my "friends and family" about the missing check, I am even provided with a copy of the canceled check (which does not even purport to have my signature on it -- only "pay to the order of <thief>" and the thief's signature). They try to wash their hands of the whole thing, but I insist that they merely inform their bank (Wells Fargo) about the fraud. I am told I need to fill out a so-called "Fraudulent Endorsement Claim Form," and that I will hear back about it in "less than 28 hours."<p>On August 5th, 48 hours later, I ask them about this form and am told "nothing to worry" (this phrase appears twice in the single message), they are working on it. On August 13th, I contact them again, and am now being told there is nothing more they will do, and that I need to contact the receiving bank (Capital One -- an entity I have no relationship with whatsoever). I reiterate that no, they need to inform their sending bank about the fraud; they just keep insisting that I should somehow "contact" Capital One, and refusing to budge on contacting Wells Fargo themselves.<p>To summarize, from my point of view, PayPal's negligence and incompetence has:<p>1) Allowed the theft to take place in the first place, by doing nothing when I reported the missing check 4 days before it was fraudulently cashed;<p>2) Subsequently allowed the theft to go undetected and unreported for a month, by both failing to notice that the check was already cashed when I inquired about it just 4 days <i>after</i> the fraud, and by failing -- despite emphatic promises to do so -- to follow up on this inquiry;<p>3) Even now continued to impede any investigation or resolution by refusing to take the most basic step of reporting the fraud to their sending bank, for two weeks and counting.<p>Does the hn hivemind have any clue what I can do next? I am at a loss. I have done two things so far: reported the mail theft to the US Postal Inspection Service via their web site, and reported the maddening details of PayPal's behavior to my state's Attorney General's office. I have not heard back (except for the automatic acknowledgements) from either one.<p>Although the theft and fraud in and of themselves are not PayPal's fault, am I crazy to think that I may be able to recover the funds directly from PayPal in light of the above, e.g. via small claims court?