PayPal blocked my account and froze my funds!

Windows7forever on 14/04/2014 - 21:13

I am writing to you in regards to my recent account closure. On the 13/4 I made some changes to the account details such as changing the nominated email address, adding additional bank account details and withdrawing funds from my PP balance to my nominated funding source. Shortly thereafter, I bought something on ebay and paid using paypal via my back up funding source(nominated bank account) which the funds cleared with my bank yet you have also suspended this transaction !

The changes made to my PP account on the 13/4 were made because I was transferring the account over to my father and setting it up for him to use with his permission as he is not capable to do it himself. I was in the process of nominating his email address and primary bank account to link to up to it. This is also why I attempted to withdraw the remaining funds from the balance to $0 on the account and get it ready for him to use.

These activities have triggered a false alarm in the ebay system or fraud detection that has now blocked my account. I spoke to an operator on the 14/4 and she directed me to “lodge an appeal’. She could not provide me with specific excuse or reason why my account was blocked, therefore I don’t even know exactly why this has happened.
As a loyal ebay and paypal member the account has been in good standing for almost 10 years and I am appalled at the unprofessionalism and feeling of being left in the dark regarding this matter. Why wasn’t a phone call made to myself or a security verification check conducted if there was suspicious activity detected on the account? Instead you have taken the heavy handed and unprofessional approach by terminating my account without warning and freezing $104 of my own money(plus $16 for a recent purchase on ebay) in the process which I can no longer access or use to pay for my ebay purchases.

I need this issue resolved ASAP and expect more recourse than merely an appeal on a decision which you have so hastily made without warning. I am a long standing ebay member and have had this account in good standing for 10 years so I expect more from your companies(ebay and paypal). If you cannot unfreeze the account then I will have no choice but to escalate the decision with the ACCC to recover the funds that you have frozen because the money does not belong to you. You will also be losing a long time customer.

I would like to use paypal and ebay in the future but this has left a sour taste in my mouth and your unprofessional handling of the matter and lack of communication have been noted.

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Comments

  • mini2 on 14/04/2014 - 21:29
    +5
    1. You've made wayyyyy too many changes in one hit to the account
    2. You've tried to clean the account out
    3. Send them the doco's they're after, they're trying to ascertain who the heck you are (and possibly collect evidence should the account clear out activity ended up being fraudulent)
    4. Try the FOS as they specifically look after banking/financial products stuff, ACCC = Australian Competition and Consumer Commission…

    Good luck, they've been doing this since year dot.

    • Windows7forever on 15/04/2014 - 08:08
      1. I re-nominated an alternative email address that was already in their records and I added additional bank details(pending verification). Not exactly earth shaking stuff.
      2. I attempted to withdraw a whopping grand total of $104 to my nominated and verified existing bank account on file. I do this often and regularly anyway, because I foresee drama and problems like this arising and don't like holding too much money in the PP account.
      3. They haven't requested these docs yet but I'm presuming this will happen after they read my "appeal". Send in the lawyers.
      4. Thanks for the advice. I will def look into this. Good to know there is a superpower to regulate these inflated corporate demigods.
      • ESEMCE on 15/04/2014 - 08:17
        +3

        The name change on the nominated account is sure to raise some warning flags for them.

  • botftw on 14/04/2014 - 22:19
    +1

    I don't really have an answer but I hope you get this resolved. Bastards also did this to me, I had $146 in my PayPal until they froze my account.

    • Windows7forever on 15/04/2014 - 08:00
      +1

      How did you get it resolved?

      • botftw on 15/04/2014 - 10:22

        Depending on your circumstances.. you may be able to withdraw the frozen funds to your bank.

  • plmko on 14/04/2014 - 23:17

    You just need to ride out their online system, they'll likely ask you to provide ID such as passport scans and the like.

    If you thought your case is bad, I got my account frozen by Paypal right after they assisted a scammer get away with $2000 of mine. They froze my remaining $600 generated by the last 4 online sales which I've already shipped the goods. They asked me for all sorts of identification and shipment labels as if I was an untrustworthy user (I mean I was ONLY paying $500 in fees a month for the last 3 months, nope not trustworthy what so ever). This went on for 14 days, and risked them refunding the customers of the last 4 sales, which meant they'd get my product for free.

    Make sure you abide by their request to the letter, and anything that's troubling you, you should contact them immediately. Because whilst they deny it, all their decisions are automated and will decide stupid stuff because of technicalities.

    • regenade on 15/04/2014 - 00:26

      Why not go to FOSS if you got all the proof. They will get a hefty fine and will start immediately doing all good things to you. God forbid you have FOSS here, in other countries Paypal are like a fiefdom and they can do anything they want.

      But I am sure there are 1000s of scammer sellers as well who sell things and run Paypal dry and take off money to bank immediately after sale, come back with new ID, rinse and repeat. So they have to make that money back somehow !

      Also for all sellers, always try this on Paypal.

      http://www.ygoodman.com/legal.html

      • plmko on 15/04/2014 - 03:01

        My business was structured that it wasn't necessarily Australian. So I didn't bother to go through Australian services, besides I've since left Paypal, too bad for them I would've ended up paying thousands of dollars of fees a month had I continued using them. It's funny because I became a silver level power seller on Ebay in a month, and they treated me like a super star, until they made their decision and started talking and replying to me like a criminal…real digusting how they were also quick to continue taking their fees from me whilst I was quickly winding down my business connections with them.

        I'm also not sure how sellers can scam buyers these days on Paypal, unless a buyer is willing to deposit money not within a 'store' context like a direct deposit. Because there will always be a way to dispute payments.

        And having said that, what you linked I don't know if that's possible, which is why the OP and myself had problems with Paypal. You won't get to the stage where the payment is sitting in your bank account for you to draw and close it. It takes 5 days for money to appear in your bank account and in that period, they'll reverse it and freeze your account.

        Having said that, once they freeze your account, you'd might as well keep well away from Paypal. From my experience they clearly black list you and will continue freezing accounts associated with your details. After I unfroze my business account, weeks later I'd thought I'd stick to just buying with a personal account (what could go wrong), yeah they froze it again and shit follows.

        • Windows7forever on 15/04/2014 - 07:59

          That is pathetic. I would really distance myself from their services altogether but there is little viable and safe alternative out there.
          My father and I share an almost identical name so I hope this erroneous blacklisting won't affect him too because he will blame me until the cows come home if he cannot buy things online!
          I sure hope Bitcoin becomes mainstream soon.

    • Windows7forever on 15/04/2014 - 08:02

      What a nighmare! The less I have to do with these 2 big evils the better for humanity and my sanity!
      Just to clarify, I'm a private account holder and primarily a buyer. I'm not a business, power seller or anything like that.

  • Ughhh on 15/04/2014 - 01:09

    You will also be losing a long time customer.

    Tbh, I dont think they care about this or any loyalty from their customers. Paypal is probably the only payment method right now that is safer and popular- as in most online stores have paypal but not paymate or something else. Also, I dont think paypal makes money from buyers, they make their money from sellers.

    • Windows7forever on 15/04/2014 - 07:56

      It's an expression more so than a literal statement.
      Although I have been a small volume seller on ebay for many yonks so I considered paypal/ebay to be two sides of the same big evil.

  • altomic on 15/04/2014 - 08:42
    +3

    How much tax did Paypal pay to the Aut Government last year?

  • insular on 15/04/2014 - 10:14

    i've said it before and i'll say it again. PayPal is a criminal organisation.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 15/04/2014 - 11:19

    " because I was transferring the account over to my father and setting it up for him to use with his permission"

    User Agreement for PayPal Services
    https://www.paypal.com/au/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full

    3.8 You cannot transfer or assign any rights or obligations you may have under this Agreement without our prior written consent.

    4.3 Potential buyer risks include:We may limit access to your account, restricting: Access to your funds; and/or
    Your ability to send or receive funds and make withdrawals. This may occur when: We believe there is an increased risk associated with you, your account or any transactions in your account; and/or We cannot Prove Your Identity.

    6.3 You authorise us to make, directly or through third parties, any enquiries we consider necessary to Prove Your Identity. This may include ordering a credit report, performing other credit checks and verifying information you provide against third party databases. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for more information.

    7.1c Provide to us in a timely manner all documentation relating to your identity or the identity of those with authority to operate your account (including Additional Users), if requested by us;

    7.1g Not allow others to use your account unless you have a business account with an Additional User.

    7.4i Allow anyone else to have or use your Payment Methods or password details;

    16.2 If we hold a reasonable belief that there is an increased risk associated with your account, we may limit your access to sending, receiving or withdrawing funds or using guest checkout or direct Credit Card payment processed by PayPal for up to 180 days. We may take these actions beyond 180 days if we reasonably believe the risk still exists or are prohibited by law from releasing funds or unrestricting your account.

    16.4o The following is a non-exhaustive list of events which may lead to your account being limited: The name on the Nominated Bank Account or Nominated Card not matching the name on your account; Material breaches of this Agreement or its incorporated policies;

    You disregarded their terms and conditions. Why did you not simply sign him up for his own account?? Try transferring a ANZ/NAB bank account over to your father. Will never happen. Follow their process and get your account unblocked and sign him up for his own account so he can understand and give consent to the terms and conditions.

    • Windows7forever on 15/04/2014 - 12:57

      He wanted to use his email address which is already being used to log into the account.
      I will do exactly that once the account has been unblocked.

  • juventino on 16/04/2014 - 00:23
    +1

    None of this will happen if you create a fresh account from scratch.

    Put it this way, if someone else has access to your Paypal, changed the name and cleared all the funds (which is what you did), you would out all the blames to Paypal for not blocking the account.

    See it from the other side buddy

  • Windows7forever on 16/04/2014 - 20:15

    PayPal has denied my appeal letter so I must now write to their legal department and send them a physical mail. All other account holders in my household have had their accounts blocked too because of the IP address. They are so arrogant and unhelpful when you call them. I'll be glad to recover my money and never use them again if I can help it. If I do nothing then I will get money back after 6 months but will have no PayPal access indefinitely.

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