PayPal Has Limited My Account as Activity on It Violated Their Buyer Protection Policy

nataliaava on 07/05/2019 - 16:53
Last edited 07/05/2019 - 17:34 by 1 other user

Today i have received an email from PayPal stating that my account has been limited and i can no longer withdraw my PayPal balance to my bank account in next 6 months (close to $300).

The email stated -

Following our review, we have permanently limited your account as activity on it violates our buyer protection policy. You can still log in buy can’t conduct any further business using paypal. ………

I have no idea what's wrong did i do. I called PayPal and the lady said they can’t tell me due to internal PayPal policy.

So many of my accounts are paid through this PayPal account. Any suggestion what can I do now?

As far as I can remember, I had a Belong service which was linked to this PayPal account and 2 days back I stopped the automatic payment authority because I don’t want to use the service anymore. Is that can be a reason?

Help pls…..

Financial

Related Stores

PayPal
PayPal
Marketplace

Comments

  • BillyStm on 07/05/2019 - 16:56
    +6

    Did you click the link and supply all of your personal information…

    …And before or after you checked the exact email address that sent you the notification to confirm it was actually from paypal

  • MeesusEff on 07/05/2019 - 17:02

    Yup, as above, check the email account. I am blown away at how easily people believe these things such as Paypal, Apple receipts, etc without clicking on the email to verify (not referring to OP, but rather my own family aha)

  • nataliaava on 07/05/2019 - 17:09

    I didn’t supply any info. At first i didn’t see the email. I wanted to transfer my paypal balance to my bank account as i do normally 2/3 times every week (i have a small business and i receive money through paypal). But yesterday in my paypal app, i didn’t see any “withdraw money” button. At first i thought this was a app bug, i deleted and reinstalled the app but no luck.

    Then i called the customer care of paypal and they said that i should have received the email regarding the change in my paypal account. Then i checked the email and the rest you already know……

    • fishball on 07/05/2019 - 17:59
      +2

      I am fairly certain that the regular transfers got flagged in their system.

      This is from their T&Cs for personal accounts:
      You must only use a personal account for personal, domestic, or household purposes.

      • nataliaava on 07/05/2019 - 19:23

        No idea. I have been using this account for last 10 years! And same activity in 10 years, nothing new in last few months.

  • holdenmg on 07/05/2019 - 17:17

    So previously you "Sold eBay $1000 eGift Card for $950"
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/439212
    Was this paid via PayPal?
    Maybe this is why…

    • nataliaava on 07/05/2019 - 19:24

      Yes. But whats wrong with that? I have been using this paypal for last 10 years and did those type of transaction thousand times

      • Neoika on 07/05/2019 - 20:17
        +2

        A thousand times is an amount approaching 1 million. Maybe Paypal does not like people make transfers and do not leave any fees for it?

      • holdenmg on 07/05/2019 - 20:45
        +2

        Well, probably nothing…

        Until something goes wrong.

        Unless somebody set up a fake PayPal Account and funded the purchase of your eGift Card using a hacked account or stolen Debit or Credit Card and the real card holder wants it all reversed.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 07/05/2019 - 17:19
    +5

    The only way we can answer your question is for you to provide you entire selling and buying Paypal history.

    I have a feeling you probably do not want to do this.

    • nataliaava on 07/05/2019 - 19:25

      Your feeling is right

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 08/05/2019 - 15:28
        +2

        Then you know why your account was frozen.

        • Zachary on 15/05/2019 - 16:05

          Heh, I bet some of them were dodgy stuff that paypal obviously didn't like…..somehow found out about it and limited OP's account escrowing he's $300 and any other more amounts that come in for 6 months….

  • xuqi on 07/05/2019 - 18:01
    +2

    Push PayPal again for info (via email), and if still unsatisfied lodge a complaint with AFCA:

    https://www.afca.org.au/

    Nothing much anyone else can help you out with here..

  • Ughhh on 07/05/2019 - 18:30
    +2

    Are you supposed to use a business account for business transactions, instead of regular account?

    • nataliaava on 07/05/2019 - 19:26

      No idea about personal vs business acc. I have been using this account for last 10 years. Should i use a business paypal account now?

      • Ughhh on 07/05/2019 - 21:03

        Not sure, maybe call them without disclosing yourself?

    • Bargainbeth on 11/05/2019 - 17:29

      I didn't know this… I mean i use my personal account for selling bits and pieces. More recently started selling in a more business sense but most of the time these are sent through via the "business transactions/goods and services" facet of my account (paying roughly 4% of the item and postage).

      I don't think anybody uses paypal for personal sending lol "I'll shout dinner, just PayPal me after" bahaha. Who does that?

      • Ughhh on 11/05/2019 - 18:40

        More recently started selling in a more business sense

        Like small business type or hobby trying to make some pocket money?

        I don't think anybody uses paypal for personal sending lol "I'll shout dinner, just PayPal me after" bahaha. Who does that?

        Dominoes uses that feature for bill splitting. PayPal also has commonly used feature called "friends and family".

        You buying a top from myer is personal spending, you're not buying retail/commercial quantities to resell.

        • Bargainbeth on 11/05/2019 - 20:59

          Not at small business volumes, but I do buy things to resell for some small profit (bought some petty large quantities). Didn't work too well and now I'm selling things to make back cost. Not sure if that classifies as business anymore now haha. It's much lower volume now.

          The reason I never thought to make a business paypal account is that most of the time when people pay through PayPal, it goes through "good and services" to me- so paypal gets their 4% cut.

          None of my friends use any form of Bill splitting service, as net banking's payid or a bank transfer feature works too well (1-2 days/immediate). Using PayPal to Bill split also adding a step (having to withdraw from paypal into our banks, which takes 3-5 business days).

          • Ughhh on 12/05/2019 - 00:36

            @Bargainbeth: When you sell on eBay, they get a cut of the payment btw, regardless whether you have a business or personal account.

            You and your friends are 0.00000001% of their total clients. Many classified threads on Ozbargain use "friends and family".

            I think you were confused with what "Personal account" means.

            • Bargainbeth on 12/05/2019 - 00:43

              @Ughhh: Yeah, that's not news to me. If someone pays through PayPal, it goes via goods and services. Don't PayPal get a cut of the payment everyy time goods and services is used? This means eBay or not, as long as its sent through that mode, regardless of the kind of paypal account, paypal gets their cut.

              Yeah I guess so. Nobody I know (friends, siblings and their school/work mates, acquaintances) nor their networks use it (hundreds of people). But anyway, interesting to know another world exists.

              • Ughhh on 12/05/2019 - 00:49

                @Bargainbeth:

                The reason I never thought to make a business paypal account is that most of the time when people pay through PayPal, it goes through "good and services" to me- so paypal gets their 4% cut.

                Huh.. Here you're saying you didn't make a business acc because of the PayPal fees. Implying regular acc don't pay a fee.
                But then you say

                Yeah, that's not news to me. If someone pays through PayPal, it goes via goods and services. Don't PayPal get a cut of the payment everyy time goods and services is used?

                • Bargainbeth on 12/05/2019 - 01:01

                  @Ughhh: Haha no. I'm not sure how you can't to that conclusion. I meant I never knew the business account existed. I was 16 when I made a PayPal account, to buy stuff on eBay. I'm almost 30 now. It never crossed my mind that business paypal was even a thing, CONSIDERING that that have "goods and services" facet inbuilt into their personal accounts (which I use). Ergo, personal accounts seems to comprehensivelt cover business transactions too.

                  I thought my "personal" PayPal account was the only one, and that g&s was for business while fnf was for personal.

                  I am not trying to evade detection or anything lol. This thread is the first I've heard of a "business paypal account".

                  You seem knowledgeable on the subject. Can you answer my earlier question?

                  Your line "When you sell on eBay, they get a cut of the payment btw, regardless whether you have a business or personal account"-

                  I'm confused. Are you implying that it's alright to use a personal account for selling as long as things are sent via g&s?

                  • Ughhh on 12/05/2019 - 01:17

                    @Bargainbeth:

                    I'm confused. Are you implying that it's alright to use a personal account for selling as long as things are sent via g&s?

                    When you sell things on eBay, payment is automatically sent through as goods and services, regardless what account you have; hence why PayPal protection is always applicable. You can not send payment on ebay via friends and family (no fees) . Just because you sold something, it doesn't make you a business. Others wise, every garage sale is a business.

                    It's not illegal to sell things as an average Joe. But when your cash flow is indicative of anything but a casual buyer/seller, then your account may be flagged as it may violate account usage terms and conditions.

                    What earlier question?

                • Bargainbeth on 12/05/2019 - 01:12

                  @Ughhh: "Huh.. Here you're saying you didn't make a business acc because of the PayPal fees. Implying regular acc don't pay a fee.
                  But then you say"

                  Read what you quoted again. I think your confusion lies in the fact that "goods and services" is a facet of paypal personal account too. That's what I'm referring to when I say "goods and services". Unless their business account is called the same thing.

                  • Ughhh on 12/05/2019 - 01:21

                    @Bargainbeth:

                    Read what you quoted again. I think your confusion lies in the fact that "goods and services" is a facet of paypal personal account too.

                    It is… There's 2 payment methods on paypal, goods and services or friends and family. Which one do you think you buy and sell on eBay? If PayPal protection is active, then you've used goods and services.

                    "good and services" isn't exclusive to business' or business accounts.

                    • Bargainbeth on 12/05/2019 - 08:51

                      @Ughhh: Sorry, I know it's not exclusive to business accounts, that's why i said a couple times that I use it myself in my personal account.

                      I still don't know what you are saying the difference is with someone buying and selling (buying to sell for profit, though at low volumes) using PayPal goods and services on a personal account, and the same with a PayPal business account.

                      Is it the level/structuring of fees or reporting to paypal obligations that varies?

                      I've mentioned above that I bought with commercial intent, rather than personal use. But that it's probably not selling in large enough quantities that it raises a PayPal flag (I also use other systems for payment).

                      • Ughhh on 12/05/2019 - 12:18

                        @Bargainbeth:

                        I thought my "personal" PayPal account was the only one, and that g&s was for business while fnf was for personal.

                        Then

                        Sorry, I know it's not exclusive to business accounts, that's why i said a couple times that I use it myself in my personal account.

                        So all along, you've been talking about what you thought back when your were a teen and what you know now?…
                        I give up.

                        • Bargainbeth on 12/05/2019 - 22:25

                          @Ughhh: I think i may have thought I was replying to someone else's comment at first. Then I replied to you cause you twisted what I said. Don't think either of us gained anything from this useless debate. Peace.

  • Tech5 on 07/05/2019 - 18:33

    Pretty sure this is a scam… there is even a typo in the email they sent

    Buy instead of but

    • nataliaava on 07/05/2019 - 19:26

      No not scam. I types it. Thats why typo.

  • nataliaava on 07/05/2019 - 19:29

    So i have a feeling that nothing can be done now. Few question:

    1. Can i open a business account using the same bank acc detail?
    2. If number 1 is not possible, can i open a new paypal acc with another bank acc detail?
    3. What will happen to my ebay plus acc? Its been 2 months i have become a plus member but didn’t buy/sell anything yet
  • elgrande on 07/05/2019 - 21:17
    +2

    Another example of Paypal overstepping the line. Banning your account is fair enough, but preventing you from withdrawing your balance is not acceptable.

    Can you imagine if banks took the same approach?

    Best of luck with it.

    • Ughhh on 07/05/2019 - 21:25

      Can you imagine if banks took the same approach?

      They do, they can freeze accounts. Can't withdraw.

    • nataliaava on 07/05/2019 - 23:10
      +1

      don’t understand how did i overstepping paypal line of limit? I received regular money in my account . Is that illigal? The main problem is they are not telling me what is my fault.

      • Ughhh on 07/05/2019 - 23:29
        +1

        Comprehension fail ;)

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 08/05/2019 - 15:27
      -1

      but preventing you from withdrawing your balance is not acceptable

      Incorrect. Standard procedure in any fraud related/reported incident.

      OP won't reveal further details - I'm sure they're aware why their account was frozen.

      • nataliaava on 08/05/2019 - 17:12

        Partially frozen. I can still buy things. Add money to my account. Receive meney. But cant withdraw/transfer money to my bank acc

    • Choc0 on 10/05/2019 - 10:13

      I've been a victim of PayPal skullduggery in the past. They'll let you withdraw after 180 days

  • reactor-au on 08/05/2019 - 15:56

    I think constantly withdrawing your PayPal balance at 3 times a week limits PayPal's ability to refund buyers via PayPal Buyer Protection.

    • nataliaava on 08/05/2019 - 17:09

      Is there any withdrawal limit?

      • paraneoplastic on 24/09/2019 - 23:06
        +1

        700 per month unless you call and increase it by providng iD

  • TheRealDeal1 on 08/05/2019 - 21:49
    +3

    Happened to us a few years back as well.
    We had a sudden spike in turnover as business ramped up - must have triggered some sort of AML / CT alert.
    PayPal asked us for all sorts of very INTRUSIVE info and we said get stuffed - so before we could blink they sent us a "Parting Ways" letter and would not respond to calls, emails etc after that - completely cut us off and were going to hold our funds for 6-months. We were absolutely stuffed as it was all of our working capital - thousands of dollars - we were naive at that stage and left it in the PayPal account rather than regularly transferring it all out to our linked bank a/c.
    I was furious and stormed into their offices in Sydney CBD and demanded to speak to their legal team and refused to leave until someone met with me. I was there for over 2 hours until someone finally came out and spoke to me (perhaps my bright red face and clenched fists had scared them???).
    Anyway - he happened to be an amazingly sympathetic and helpful guy who worked with me to get documentation - send it to the US and await their response overnight and then coordinate back with me the next day. They wanted everything - including full details of suppliers, business plan, profitability reviews, financial statements, proof of purchase of stock, proof of delivery of orders etc - We literally had to drop our pants and take it…. An extremely painful exercise, but eventually, after about 2 weeks and after having provided everything they asked for, our account was finally unfrozen and reinstated to previous status.

    Subsequently, I have worked in financial services and now understand the implications of Anti Money Laundering / Counter Terrorism funding requirements and reporting and I can only assume this is why they were after that info - It was never explained to me by PayPal.

    So We have been offering PayPal as a payment method for our business up until the beginning of this month when their refund policy changed and we will no longer be offering it - ridiculous how they will now keep the full transaction fee even if you process a full refund to the purchaser. Not sure how many people know about this, but not a cost our business is willing to bear…See https://www.techspot.com/news/79545-paypal-new-refund-policy…

    • nataliaava on 09/05/2019 - 00:45

      The best answer so far. Thank u soooo much. The problem is paypal didnt ask for anything. They just suddenly made the account limited.

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 09/05/2019 - 08:55

      PayPal asked us for all sorts of very INTRUSIVE info

      Did you have a personal, business or premier account? I'm guessing personal.

      we said get stuffed

      Well, if PayPal don't report as per requirements, it can have serious consequences for them. What did you expect would happen by telling them to "get stuffed"?

      It was never explained to me by PayPal.

      It's one of the key documents in their terms and conditions. It has been since 2007. Depending on the year you signed up, you either ticked a box saying you'd read the linked document and the link was above it, or you were forced to scroll through the document in embedded window before you could progress. Not sure that's Paypal's fault here.

      • Samsungnote10 on 09/05/2019 - 09:30

        Years ago I had the same problem.
        And yes i provided the info required amongst protest.

        They wanted supplier invoice or something like that.

        Just because a company says it's their policy dorsnt make it reasonable or ethical.

        PayPal just make up rules to suit them selves.
        I've never heard of any company asking for supplier invoices in my life

        Even the bank that offered me eftpos machines didnt ask for that much info.

        They might as well say our t and cs state that you must send nude selfies to unfreeze your account.

        I hate PayPal and only use it as a buyer

        Google account freezing, account limiting, siding with buyers in disputes incidents and it would probably scare you if you are a busienss

  • Turd on 10/05/2019 - 16:59
    +1

    Paypal is evil

  • nataliaava on 10/05/2019 - 20:42

    So far i have understood that if you just buy through paypal then there is no problem, i can still purchase things. But when u do business that is receive money then you are on the problemetic side. Anytime they can close down your business. They have that authority.

    And now all the ebay sellers have to pay the cancellation fee as well if the customer claim their money back. Horrible situation. I think paypal is doing injustice to the sellers.

    • Turd on 11/05/2019 - 13:11
      +1

      I cant wait still ebay go ayden payments

  • Mibo on 11/05/2019 - 21:02

    Have you sent in any support tickets on their website? I had the same email as well and now my account has been fixed. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/455357

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join