posted on June 14, 2001 09:44:52 PM new
I'm a casual seller on eBay and my PP account was suddenly "restricted" 2 days ago even though I'm already a verified member. When I appealed they replied asking me to provide a copy of driver license, bank statement, credit card statement, and even utility bill!
I find this totally outrageous. My bank statement, credit card statement, utility bill are my personal matter and I'm not going to let them have it.
I've replied back asking them to just close my account and send me the balance, but I doubt if I ever get my money.
So I'm wondering what's the consensus here of what I need to do to maximize my chance of ever getting my balance?
posted on June 15, 2001 05:34:01 AM new
It's quite likely he has no idea why his account was restricted, and may never find out, though PayPalDamon might decide to get nice and give him a partial answer of some sort -- the rest of PayPal's staff seems to be under strict rules never to tell customers anything meaningful, and to always give them a bureaucratic runaround, while Damon seems to have only one of his hands tied by corporate policy instead of both of them.
PayPal has any number of reasons why they might restrict an account without ever telling you why:
* Maybe he tried to access it while on vacation in a country that PayPal doesn't like.
* Maybe PayPal decided retroactively that the bank or credit card company he was using wasn't one of the ones PayPal thinks is worthy of acceptance, and thus the account was immediately frozen.
* Maybe some kind of glitch in either PayPal's system or that of the bank or credit card company at the other end of a transaction caused some momentary difficulty in getting a transaction completed, and PayPal reacted in its usual way by freezing the account(s) involved.
* Maybe he made an attempt to change his name, address, email, or to add or drop a bank account or credit card, and somehow failed to jump through all the right hoops put up by PayPal, or he just didn't type his changes in the right tone of voice to please them, so they froze his account.
* Maybe his bank or credit card company went out of business, or merged with another, or changed its account numbering system, and this change naturally was interpreted by PayPal as attempted fraud and led to the account being frozen.
* Maybe somebody he received money from through PayPal received money from somebody who received money from somebody who received money from somebody who later had their account frozen by PayPal for suspected fraud, so now everybody down the line from them is considered tainted.
posted on June 15, 2001 06:04:59 AM new
Tivo, you are correct. Their request is overreaching and does not respect the consumer's need for privacy. You would need to submit less to a credit reporting agency to receive your credit report - and that is one of the most sensitive private financial areas.
I suggest you complain to the BBB at
http://www.bbbsilicon.org/gccomplaint.html
It has been reported that consumers receive better customer service by complaining through this agency, since PayPal has an "unsatisfactory" rating through the BBB (their lowest rating). One of the factors that led to this was "complaints alleging that the company requires too much personal information in order to withdraw funds."
posted on June 15, 2001 06:09:19 AM new
Oh, also, a PayPal rep will come here and ask for your email address. The account will be unrestricted. No explanation will be given or there'll be allusions placing the blame on the user.
posted on June 15, 2001 07:46:01 AM new
Or perhaps he/she finally made enough in a month that put him/her into the "business" category in PayPal's mind--which would mean, of course, that although the account had been active & "verified" for some length of time, that now they want to VERIFY it & get access to a bank account, etc.
posted on June 15, 2001 07:47:44 AM new
The usual pattern following someone coming on here posting that their account was restricted for no reason:
-upon investigation, it was shown that the poster was mistaken. The account was not restricted at all.
-upon investigation, it was found that the account was used in a way which violated the PayPal terms of use
-upon investigation, it was found that the account was used in a way which indicated likely fraud.
-upon investigation, the poster goes away and refuses to tell us what the result of the investigation was (although Damon reported that the poster was advised of the reason). This is the ONLY reason we have not found out the whole story eventually.
posted on June 15, 2001 08:36:56 AM new
PayPal may make mistakes, but NO recent case of a restricted account reported here has been the result of any mistake by PayPal.
posted on June 15, 2001 09:31:19 AM new
In the 2 months you've been posting I haven't seen anything to substantiate what you are emphatically saying above.
posted on June 15, 2001 10:25:41 AM new
it looks lie roofguy is paypaldamon's 2nd ID....they sure seem to be one in the same either that or roofguy has never used paypal because they definetly give you the runaround and have questionable tactis at times........
The reasons for an account restriction can be found in the terms of use.
I will, again, re-state that roofguy is not me and that they are not a PayPal employee.
The information is being asked for because it is used to further support identity. That is it. The information will be shredded after it is recived, but there is a possible indicator on your account that could be fraudulent. As a security precaution, for your safety and the safety of other users, the account was restricted.
posted on June 15, 2001 12:34:22 PM new
The reasons for restriction contain some beauts:
Receipt of potentially fraudulent funds
Translation: any reason
-----
Unconfirmed identity
Translation: if you do not agree to send PayPal every form of personal data you have, including your personal credit card statements, your account can be terminated
-----
Incidentally there is nothing in there about restricting an account for accessing your account in certain countries, as Damon has indicated may happen in other posts.
posted on June 15, 2001 01:01:09 PM new
Hi loggia,
Yes, that is a security procedure for countries with high fraud rates. I am sorry if you don't think we take the safety of our users seriously.
Again, you don't know why the account was restricted and you assume that everything is Ok. It could be something simple, such as having incorrect contact information on the account (phone number) and it can be cleared quickly with the documentation requested.
I realize that restrictions are a concern, but they are rare and they are a last resort.
Incidentally there is nothing in there about restricting an account for accessing your account in certain countries, as Damon has indicated may happen in other posts.
Sorry, but I've got to go with PayPal on this one. From PayPal's TOU:
Restrictions.
PayPal, at its sole discretion, reserves the right to restrict an account for any one of the events listed below.
1. Reports of unauthorized or unusual credit card use associated with the account including, but not limited to, notice by the card issuing bank.
Bold added.
I agree that it is not actually spelled out that attempting to access your account from certain countries can get the account restricted, but they can pretty much restrict an account any time they want, and justify it under the terms above (not that they make a general practice of this, however- is that enough of a disclaimer?).
Unusual credit card use is defined as, well... what? Inquiring minds want to know.
posted on June 15, 2001 01:12:12 PM newI am sorry if you don't think we take the safety of our users seriously.
Damon, I am truly sorry you don't take the privacy of your users seriously. If, using your example above, it was as simple as a phone number, you have no right to ask for such overreaching personal data.
And worst, your company is quite overly broad and arbitrary - your solution to any restriction is to ask for
Driver License
Bank statement
Credit card statement
Phone or power bill
There is no context. I once again invite you to call the BBB and ask them their insights. There has to be a balance between security and privacy.
* * *
Potato, I should have said "specifically." And yeah, I agree there are enough loopholes and vagueness to restrict you for anything...
