PayPal Apologizes for Holiday Mess; Twitter Reacts

PayPal found itself in hot water after a blog post made the rounds this morning showing how the company had seriously mishandled attempts by Regretsy to use the service to donate money and toys to needy children for Christmas.

The blog post detailing the debacle went up on Regretsy last night and was picked up by Twitter this morning. In response to the backlash PayPal backed down, unfreezing the account in question and making a donation to boot. Below are some of posts that made the rounds on Twitter today.

@WLLegal
Trevor TimmOn The Anniversary Of Cutting Off #WikiLeaks, PayPal Slaps Christmas Charity Project by @a_greenberg: http://t.co/IvGRYRDz 3 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

@Jezebel
JezebelPaypal Grinches Shut Down Toy Drive For Needy Kids http://t.co/uHjGx1u5 5 hours ago via jezebel · powered by @socialditto

@alexdecampi
alexdecampiWow, @paypal. You are a horrific service staffed by people who move beyond incompetent into the realm of actively evil: http://t.co/cbOVAmEO 5 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

@wilw
Wil WheatonCome on, PayPal. You messed up, your representative was a jerk, and you need to admit your mistake and make this right. http://t.co/35UX76jk 4 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

@jenshow
jen showalterSo how did PayPal get so stupid, so rude, and so completely unhelpful?! 6 hours ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto

@mkoper
mkoperwow @PayPal, if even half-true, you’ve colossally done bad. it’s possible to fix — so please do (or I’m out)! http://t.co/99ySEysX 6 hours ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto

Eventually, PayPal took to Twitter with their response:

@PayPal
PayPalWe have released funds back to http://t.co/o8wpIBuE and will be making a donation. We are very sorry this occurred. http://t.co/MYwC0fPW 4 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

However, that was not enough for some, who found parts of PayPal’s apology wanting.

@TheBloggess
TheBloggesshttp://t.co/kgMwUx9f Seriously, @paypal. Release the statement AFTER doing the things you say you’ve already done. 2 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

@paulandstorm
Paul and Storm[P] From PayPal’s response: “We have clear guidelines for any business that uses PayPal to accept donations.” Well, no. http://t.co/pDWY6SY1 4 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

@cakewrecks
cakewrecksGlad @Paypal is starting to take steps to fix their @Regretsy screwup. But this should only be the start – it’s still not enough. 1 hour ago via web · powered by @socialditto

@bennettdanielle
Danielle BennettWhy does it take public scrutiny for you to do the decent thing, @paypal ? http://t.co/BDDr7ZBB Longer dissection here: http://t.co/hObdG5ET 8 minutes ago via HootSuite · powered by @socialditto

While others were simply grateful that PayPal did the right thing at all.

@micahrapp
Micah RappGlad to see @PayPal back down concerning @Regretsy. Had me looking at closing my account for a second there. 8 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto