In order to access my accounts, Paypal is demanding a phone number I don't have

[ramdasbatch]

I have an urgent and longstanding problem accessing my Paypal accounts. I am US citizen but have been living in India for many years. The problem is that the phone number I started the account with is an old USA number that I no longer have a SIM-card for.  I opened the accounts years ago I don't remember what the number was. The only USA number I have now is a TextNow number that Paypal does not accept. Now when I try to log in to either of my 2 accounts, one of which is attached to a very active charity, each time Paypal demands the phone number that I used to open the accounts. I don't have that number, so I am unable to log in. In addition to the TextNow number, I have an Indian phone number, which Paypal does not accept because I started the account with an American phone number. So essentially I am locked out of Paypal. I cannot even contact Paypal by phone. It was something of a miracle that I was able to enter my account and contact this message board today. I ABSOLUTELY need to have access to both of my accounts. The fact that I do not have access to my original phone number CANNOT be an excuse to lock me out permanently from my Paypal accounts. Can anyone give some advice for this? Is there anyone on the Paypal staff who sees this message who can DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT? Thanks.

[kernowlass]

@ramdasbatch 

Paypal is country specific so if you move countries you have to open another paypal account in the country you reside in and add an address / phone number / bank accounts / cards from within that country.

You should really withdraw any funds / resolve issues / remove cards and bank accounts / cancel any subscriptions and close the old Paypal account before you move countries. If you don't then you may have problems doing so once you have moved and may need to contact customer services for help to resolve things.

You can however add a U.S bank account (not card) to 'most' other countries paypal accounts. This is because paypal is a U.S company and so allows this.