Grieving Mother Turns To CBS4 For Help Resolving A PayPal Account
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. (CBS4) - Mallory Sauer was a graduate of Colorado State University, and a social media influencer. She wrote a fashion blog called "Sweet & Sauer."
"The blog was going very well, lots of Instagram followers, lots of blog followers," said Kathleen MacDonald, Sauer's mother.
Throughout her short life, Sauer also struggled with her health.
"She had Crohn's Disease for about 10 years, and all of a sudden she was diagnosed with melanoma in her lung," MacDonald explained.
She embarked on a two-year battle against the cancer, sacrificing her treatment for the Crohn's Disease. Sauer blogged about the entire journey, right up until she passed away on May 31, 2017.
"The thing about Mallory is she was honestly one of the strongest women I have ever known," MacDonald told CBS4.
Her mother has been carrying on her strength since her daughter's death.
"We found a great organization called 'The Ray of Hope,' and we started a fund in our daughter's name," MacDonald said.
Even the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders raised funds for cancer patients in Sauer's name. Despite the good works, MacDonald grieved her 27-year-old daughter.
"You are kind of paralyzed for a good six months or more, and then the dust starts to settle and you think, 'What are the things we have to take care of,'" MacDonald remembered.
One of the things she had to settle was a PayPal account in her daughter's name, with roughly $2,600 in it.
"I sent everything they asked for on the website, and, of course, I thought, 'I'll hear back.' Never heard back," MacDonald said.
So she sent it all again… and again.
"I finally got my attorney involved, and he sent an attorney letter, and he sent it certified so that they had to sign for it. And he heard nothing," MacDonald said.
That tipped into months of calls and stalls. MacDonald kept copious notes of the hours she spent on hold, all the different customer services representatives she talked to, and all the different excuses she got. She spent nearly a year trying to get the account resolved.
"I am so mad, and I'm so frustrated, and I'm so hurt by all of this. My daughter worked really hard for this money," MacDonald said.
Then she called CBS4. Within two weeks of contacting PayPal, the account was closed and MacDonald had a check for the account balance.
PayPal gave CBS4 this statement:
We apologize for any distress this process may have caused Ms. MacDonald and her family. The company has offered our support and we are working to expedite the requested account closure. We take these matters seriously and regret the delays that have occurred. This is not the type of customer service that we strive to deliver to our valued customers.
"My attorney was not successful, but CBS4 was successful, so I'm very appreciative," MacDonald told CBS4's Karen Morfitt.
The money from the PayPal account will now go to the Mallory Sauer Fund at Ray of Hope.
"It will help at least 3 or 4 families, so I feel really glad about that."
LINKS: Sweet & Sauer Blog