Anyone who has read this story elsewhere might want to be sure and view /listen to the video here, as it clearly indicates the person did receive an voicemail message for the amount stated. In other reports, both official comany spokespeople and paid pettifoggers alike have denied the event occured , and insisted he misread the written notification.
Company says voice mail to customer on transaction was mistaken
7:11 p.m. ET Feb. 28, 2009 UpdateTimeStamp
A commuter in Richland, Wash., who thought he had been overcharged by $81 billion for a tank of gas was fooled by an error in a voice mail about the transaction, his debit card company said.
Juan Zamora told the Tri-City Herald newspaper this week that he received a communication from PayPal showing a debit card transaction of more than $81 billion, instead of the $26 worth that he said he pumped.
But a spokeswoman for PayPal, Sara Gorman, said Friday that misunderstanding was the result of a mistake in a voice mail from a PayPal processing partner about the transaction that put the merchant identification number where the amount should have been. I can assure you that we did not charge him $81 billion, Gorman said.
Zamora told the newspaper he had called customer service for PayPal and that the matter had been resolved after some discussion.