Cedar Point Charged My PayPal For Purchase I Didn't Make

I just spoke to Accesso (the company that handles Cedar Point's processing) and they stated it will be 5-10 business days before the charges are refunded. Cedar Point customer service also informed me that Accesso would cover any overdraft or other fees associated with the deductions of money that were made in error.

Accesso's customer service number: 407-261-4291.

Good luck!

Well, there you go, at least it's understood where the issue is.

Jeff said:

Well, there you go, at least it's understood where the issue is.

This brings us right back to the fact that Cedar Point owes us at the bare minimum an acknowledgment and apology for causing many an inconvenience and a major hardship to others.

I also do not hold PayPal blameless, as they are the ones that took the funds from our bank accounts in less than 24 hours. They should be responsible to put it back in the same time frame.

It is both Cedar Point and PayPal's responsibility to us, their customer to acknowledge and make it right immediately. Both are too big to care and it is sad that we do not have any recourse but to wait and hope for the best.

Even if they really do pay for NSF charges (Which I am sure will be like pulling hens teeth to get ), it still puts a black eye on everyone who has a payment bounce.

And the above post is the exact reason why the phrase 'the customer is always right' is wrong.

I'm afraid I just don't get the "PayPal messed up so Cedar Point owes me an apology" viewpoint. If my debit card doesn't go through at Walgreens because my bank's network is down, I don't blame Walgreens.

And did I mention that if you use a credit card, these kinds of things get sorted out with no inconvenience or issues to you?

Have to disagree with you there, Jeff. I had my Discover card hacked because of this debacle (was on the payment plan for Hotel Breakers), and while I am not liable, it certainly has been a huge inconvenience and created many issues. I have had to be issued a new card, and now I am in the process of updating all of the service related accounts (Sunpass, DirectTV, Netflix, etc.) that are on recurring payments with the card that was stolen. I think both Cedar Point and Accesso are hoping that because it is probably such a small amount of people- that word doesn't get out. Look what happened when Target had their security breached and millions of people had to get new credit cards.

I do believe an apology from both Cedar Point/Accesso is warranted at this point. At least an explanation of what happened.

Do you even know if your card was "hacked" because of this? Does CP use Accesso for resort reservations?

I spoke to a very nice supervisor, Heather, who apologized profusely and explained what happened. Apparently, they were running a project in a test environment and a mistake was made where it was switched to production. After going into production, this new project deducted payments thinking that the accounts were 'behind,' thus taking out those payments from PayPal.

Again, she was extremely apologetic and is sending me her email and personal cell phone. She promised to make any penalties right (negative balance fees, etc.) which went a long way in my book. It was nice to speak to someone who was extremely forthcoming and honest about what happened.

I posted their number earlier in the thread, so if you're concerned about what happened, it is worth giving them a call. They've handled everything really well so far and I don't see that changing.

I just spoke with Heather at Accesso again this morning because she said yesterday it was her understanding that PayPal would release the funds today. Unfortunately that did not happen, so she said she was working on getting a conference call with PayPal, and would email me an update later today.

Unfortunately, this means our money still sits in limbo, and it is us, the customer that is left to suffer the consequences and spend our valuable time chasing money that was taken from us without our permission, and finding ways to pay our bills while we wait.

Jeff- I understand your repeated comment regarding using credit cards and while I agree that for many of you that is the ideal option, there are still others that it is not an option for a host of reasons that is none of our business. My OP was never asking what is the best way to pay. It was saying that money was wrongfully taken from me.

I am at the point now, where I could care less about the acknowledgement or apology. I just desperately need / want my money back. Once that happens, they can sweep it under the rug and pretend it didn't happen, as I am sure they will anyway. I just beg Cedar Point and PayPal both to PLEASE just make it right.

Cedar Point would find it unacceptable for a guest to walk in one of their gift shops, pick up an armload of merchandise without their approval, leave the park, and then send them the money for it a week or two later. That is pretty much what has been done to us.

So, this is an Accesso problem, not a PayPal or Cedar Point problem. Cedar Point and PayPal can't make it right as their systems did not screw up, but I'm sure there is an Accesso IT employee somewhere that is getting reamed a new you know what. Good luck with getting PayPal to release the funds earlier, they are processing transactions per policy and they didn't screw up so I doubt they are going to change policy. You WILL get your money back in due time.

My big issue is, and perhaps this is shifting the blame, PayPal keeps changing the refund date. I was informed that it was the previous Thursday, then today, then... who knows. Regardless of who's jerking who around, it ultimately stinks having a decent sized chunk of change tied up. I'm beyond blaming Cedar Point at this point, but it would be interesting to know if this dampers their relationship with Accesso given that they seem to handle much of the payment processing for the park.

The point Jeff was making with using a credit card is the issue is cleared up without affecting your cash flow. Since there are those that have Paypal tied to a checking account, you are out the cash until its refunded. With a credit card, issues are generally cleared up before the billing cycle ends.

Why is it when someone wants to take money from your account, it can be done in the blink of an eye...yet when it comes time to refund it back to you, it may take up to 5-7 business days? With today's technology it should be able to be put back in as fast as it was taken out. We have a cure for polio but nobody can fix this?

Is it they can't fix it or they don't want to fix it?

Nancilee said:

I am at the point now, where I could care less about the acknowledgement or apology. I just desperately need / want my money back. Once that happens, they can sweep it under the rug and pretend it didn't happen, as I am sure they will anyway. I just beg Cedar Point and PayPal both to PLEASE just make it right.

This is the exact reason why I think apologies are way over rated. A few days ago you just wanted an apology but in reality what you wanted/want is your money back, and rightfully so. Had they apologized profusely many days ago that still would not get you your money back and you'd be just as upset today with or without an apology. I prefer action over words, that includes the word sorry.

Well regardless of who is to blame, who apologizes and who doesn't, and whether using a credit card is a better idea, my funds finally released in PayPal, so I rest my case.

Thank you to everyone who commented on this thread. Whether we agree or disagree, I am of the firm belief that everyone has a right to their own opinion!

I do appreciate a place where I can come and express mine from time to time. :-)

CPfan1976 said:

...yet when it comes time to refund it back to you, it may take up to 5-7 business days?

We have a cure for polio but nobody can fix this?

There's just no incentive for the businesses to process refunds quickly.

WaterDummy said:

I spoke to a very nice supervisor, Heather, who apologized profusely and explained what happened. Apparently, they were running a project in a test environment and a mistake was made where it was switched to production. After going into production, this new project deducted payments thinking that the accounts were 'behind,' thus taking out those payments from PayPal.

Wow... at risk of sounding overly critical, that's a mammoth and very amateur mistake. If production data is being used in a test environment, there are about a hundred basic compliance things that aren't cool about that.

DSShives said:

The point Jeff was making with using a credit card is the issue is cleared up without affecting your cash flow.

This. Over and over again but unheard, this.

Yeah, very concerning that (real) payment information would be used in a test environment; let alone for that test to go to the production side. I am apprehensive to continue to use PayPal through them, but at the same time I don't see how it would be any different if I switched it over to another card when they're using actual accounts to "test."