PayPal Class Action Lawsuit

[Glenn]

I recently got an e-mail saying that I can become a plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against PayPal for various reasons. Here's what I don't get at all. In the notification it said that in order to be included in the class that I would have to fill out a form, sign it, and send it to whomever. Alright, so if I do nothing then I won't be included, right? Apparently not. It also said that to be excluded from the class I would have to fill out a form, sign it, and send it to whomever. Actually, I think that the exclusion process is more complicated than the inclusion process. So here's the question: why the hell do I have to do one or the other? If inclusion requires signing up, then why the hell do I have to do the same for exclusion? Does this make any sense whatsoever to anyone?! :auch:

 

[jovial_jon]

That makes no sense at all! So what happens if you do nothing..? Or do you need to fill in a form if you want to do nothing...

 

[Glenn]

LMAO! That's a good question, and one to which I would like the answer. I wouldn't be surprised to have to fill out a form for that, though! , but

 

[Jean-Francois]

Again, it's all because of MoNey.

My guess is they窶决e afraid if they win, you will file a lawsuit to claim some of their money. An exclusion clause can prove that you have been notified but you give up this particular chance to sue, and thus the compensation, if any, comes with the lawsuit.

Why is the exclusion process is more complicated than the inclusion process? Maybe they want to gather more signatures to make a stronger case.

 

[Glenn]

My guess is they窶决e afraid if they win, you will file a lawsuit to claim some of their money. An exclusion clause can prove that you have been notified but you give up this particular chance to sue, and thus the compensation, if any, comes with the lawsuit.

So, basically, they're afraid that I can claim ignorance and a share of the prize money if I do neither?

Well, here are some specifics:

Thus, if you opened a PayPal account between October 1, 1999 and January 31, 2004, and are not one of the excluded persons listed above, you are a member of the class.

I'm not one of the excluded persons listed above.

To make a valid claim [for payment], you will need to (1) fill out the claim form electronically and (2) print the signature page of your claim form, sign it and return it by mail to the address provided on the claim form. You must complete the claims procedure no later than October 23, 2004. Your payment will be transferred electronically to your PayPal account.

If you do not want to remain a member of the class and participate in the settlement, then you must mail or deliver (email is not considered adequate), such that it is RECEIVED on or before September 7, 2004, (1) an original written, signed request for exclusion to Co-Lead Counsel at the following address:

[deleted]

and (2) a copy of the written signed request to PayPal's counsel at the following address:

[deleted]

This request for exclusion must contain your name and address; be signed by you; and include the reference "In re PayPal Litigation, Case No. XXXXXXXXXXXX."

If you exclude yourself from the class, you will not participate in the settlement and cannot receive any payment from the settlement. Your claims will not be released.

So, it seems as though by not participating, I reserve the right to sue at a later date, but if I do participate, I cannot sue at a later date (at least for the reason listed). I can see why they would want me to sign up for inclusion, because there are two different classes. But anyone excluded would be in the same class, so why sign up for it?

 

[Jean-Francois]

I Don't Know!

First, I don窶冲 know who those plaintiffs are and what they are suing for. Selling/exchanging personal information without a/c holder窶冱 approval? Security leak holes? These are popular causes to sue these days. Hmmm窶ｦ both PayPal and parent company Ebay are cash cows 窶ｦ there窶决e lots of money to go after窶ｦ. I 窶藁 not sure about their motives. Competitors may pull crazy stunts too窶ｦ

Second, I don窶冲 quite understand your last question 窶 窶廝ut anyone excluded would be in the same class, so why sign up for it?窶拏/B]

Err窶ｦ from what I understand, they窶决e not the same窶ｦ if you sign for the exclusion, which means you don窶冲 want to participate in their case and you won窶冲 take a bite of their money. Whether you are going to sue PayPal later is none of their concern. But it looks like they want the qualified people to sue (An indication of a weak case for now. If they have a strong case, they don窶冲 need you. Nobody wants to share profits窶ｦBesides, Ebay has a panel of prestigious lawyers too).

They have nothing to lose by asking though.

1. They can get more plaintiffs.
2. If the lawsuit is in the United States, it is very possible that the plaintiffs don窶冲 need to pay any legal expenses if they lose the case. However, their legal counsel may want to do an estimate of the firm窶冱 proceeds. (Legal fee = % x reparations to plaintiffs) and reparations oftentimes depend on the number of plaintiffs.

Hee hee窶ｦ it窶冱 pure speculation. Sorry, can窶冲 help you there!

 

[PaulTB]

I recently got an e-mail saying that I can become a plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against PayPal for various reasons.

I'm just amazed you got an email about PayPal which wasn't trying to a) fraudulantly obtain your PayPal account details, b) fraudulantly obtain your bank account details, c) persuade you to go into some fraudulant pyramid scheme.

Er, you are sure it wasn't one of those, right?

 

[Maciamo]

I also got that email. It might be a scam, so we had better be careful about sending our personal info to anyone before having more info about it.

 

[Jean-Francois]

I'm just amazed you got an email about PayPal which wasn't trying to a) fraudulantly obtain your PayPal account details, b) fraudulantly obtain your bank account details, c) persuade you to go into some fraudulant pyramid scheme.

I think that is what he was thinking too. That's why he sounded so pissed off. Moi? I dunno... I didn't get the email.

But yeah, lately there are lots of scams on PayPal.

 

[PaulTB]

But yeah, lately there are lots of scams on PayPal.

"I made MILLIONS using this AMAZING and LEGAL method. But rather than lazing in the sun on my private beach on a small Pacific island surrounded by hot women lusting after my BIG, THICK bank account I'm sitting in front of a computer sending this email to thousands of randomly selected people."

 

[Jean-Francois]

"I made MILLIONS using this AMAZING and LEGAL method. But rather than lazing in the sun on my private beach on a small Pacific island surrounded by hot women lusting after my BIG, THICK bank account I'm sitting in front of a computer sending this email to thousands of randomly selected people."

So, was this one of your work?

This one is really difficult to tell because it looks very similar to the form I fill out at PayPal every three months. The email address and the wordings looks very much alike the real email sent by PayPal. And in the real email, there is a link to click too.
http://www.cash-2-go.net/scams.htm

But you know what? My credit card company says my bank will "take care" of any fraudulent transaction not made by me. I just need to pay attention to all the transactions on my statement.

 

[Glenn]

Second, I don窶冲 quite understand your last question 窶 窶廝ut anyone excluded would be in the same class, so why sign up for it?窶拏/B]

What I meant was that unlike inclusion, which has two different categories, exclusion only has one -- not being included. So it just seems a bit strange to have to sign up for that to clarify that I'm not in any other group.

I'm just amazed you got an email about PayPal which wasn't trying to a) fraudulantly obtain your PayPal account details, b) fraudulantly obtain your bank account details, c) persuade you to go into some fraudulant pyramid scheme.

Er, you are sure it wasn't one of those, right?

It doesn't seem to be after any of those goals. They continuously say that more information is available at a certain website, but I haven't followed that link yet.

Here is what the lawsuit is about:

The lawsuit alleges that PayPal violated the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act ("EFTA"), 15 U.S.C. ﾂｧﾂｧ 1693 et seq., including provisions requiring PayPal to supply customers with information about dispute resolution procedures and to follow certain procedures when investigating complaints of unauthorized or incorrect electronic fund transfers. For example, the lawsuit claims that PayPal did not provide account statements in the manner required by the EFTA. The lawsuit further alleges that PayPal has placed inappropriate restrictions or other limits on customers' accounts and engaged in other improper practices. Based on these practices, the lawsuit asserts claims under California state law for conversion, money had and received, negligence, and violations of consumer protection statutes.

By the way, I got this e-mail from PayPal. I'm not sure how that affects the legitimacy of it, though. Now I'm really confused. Is it a scam, or not? What will happen if I do nothing?