Has PayPal Gone Insane ? Advice Requested

R

rprocter

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I have been a PP member for 5 1/2 yrs. During this time i have made about $500,000 in payments to PP. Never once has any transaction had a problem. My bank and credit card have always honored every payment.
There has been no change in my banking, credit card or where i live.
Today i tried to pay $19.99 for a pair of pants on ebay and got the message after logging in to PP that "Your account has been limited".
I called PP to find that "limited" means blocked. I was told i had to send them a copy of my drivers licence, a bank statement and something to prove where i live. I asked what the reason for this is, that i am unaware of any problems and that nothing has changed in my banking, credit card, etc. The reply was to send in the documents. Again i asked "why" only to be told "you need to send us these documents".
Then I spoke with "Gavin". a supervisor, who was equally unhelpful. Finally he said that if i want to know why i need to get a lawyer and subpeona PP to court.
He then went on to say this kind of checking is "routine for all financial institutions". This is nonsense. I'm 65 and have done a lot of banking and never had anything like this happen. If a bank ever had a question they volunteered why they wanted to know something.
Now i have received a even more bizarre request from PP via email:

"We regret to inform you that access to your PayPal account has been
limited. To meet financial service industry regulations of our payment
processors, PayPal will need to confirm some of your personal information.
Please provide the following documentation:

1. A copy of a government-issued photograph identification (i.e. passport,
driver's license), with your date and place of birth.
2. A copy of your bank account statement for the account ending in 6305.
The statement must show the name of the bank account owner/holder.

Please ensure you use the cover page provided by PayPal when submitting the
documentation. This ensures that your documents are routed and handled in a
timely manner.

Fax the information to Attention: Compliance at +402-537-5731 or mail the
documentation to:

PayPal, Attention: Compliance
P.O. Box 45950
Omaha, NE 68145
United States"

I paid via PP for items yesterday and one today, all without a problem until this attempt to pay for some nice pants on ebay.

Can anyone tell me what is going on ?
Do i send a copy of my passport ?
What does it matter where i was born ?
What the F**K is going on ?
roland
 
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Haha, yea man, I have had a similar experience in the past. What a PITA. Just jump through the hoop for them, tell them where they can stick the fax, and move on.
 
Amazing B.S.- I've never had to give that information to open real bank accounts.

I've cut all financial connections to my PayPal Account just to cut back on easy spending and will never reconnect them to my finances.

I was surprised recently when I realized you can't Buy anything from eBay without using PayPal- I haven't been on eBay in a longtime and it appears never again.

There's no more convenience or security with PayPal so F'm.
 
Wow! I got a similar request about a month ago and I thought it was a scam so I replied to go screw themselves. So far I am still buying things with Paypal and have not experienced any problems (so far.)
 
Calling themselves a financial institution stretches the bounds of credibility to me but that's another discussion. Unless you can get a straight answer out of someone there then I don't see any reason to comply. It doesn't surprise me though since the user agreement says, or did the last time I looked, that they can do pretty much whatever they want to your account at any time without reason or explanation to you.
 
If you don't give them documentation they'll just leave your account limited. I sent in a copy of my license with my photo and other info blacked out and it got accepted.
 
They stole $4000 from my account about a year ago, there was nothing I could do, no-one seems to care what PP does to "Common" people.
 
I had to go thru an "interview" with paypal to re instate my account when i was "caught" selling a Benchmade auto one time.

I understand your frustration.
 
Is it even legal to make a copy of a passport ?
With all the legitimate concerns about security, sending a copy of your passport to someone you don't know could well be against the law. Once someone has your passport ID number, date of birth, place of birth and home address, this info could be used to creat a false ID or false passport.
These demands are coming from PP, not some other 'outfit' phishing for information.
Maybe a lawyer will read this and comment about the legality of sending off a copy of one's passport.
roland
 
And folks wonder why I don't use Paypal. It seems that while most of the transactions go well, when there is a bump, it's a dang mountain.
 
Roland--Are you sure you are dealing with Pay Pal? I have received E-mails before telling me that my account was restricted, and that I needen to contact them to verify information. I disregerded the message. I think though you said they declined to pay for an item you bought. I don't envy you if they are that insensitive to your request for an explanation. Good luck.
Harold
 
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I refuse to use paypal. I sell auto on the auction sites and I take money order only. I just got a neg feed back because the person demanded I must take paypal. paypal finds out you are takeing money for a auto they will reverse the money and that is your toff luck.
 
They really do send these emails out. If you log in to you paypal account you can see that it's "limited" and you have to send them documentation through their site to get them to remove the limitation. It's obnoxious.
 
The 1/2 Million Dollars you say you've run through them might have raised some kind of Red Flag?

ETA: Being outside of the US and all. Just sayin'...
 
Be very careful with this sort of thing. This is a very classic ID theft come-on. You get a very legitimate-looking e-mail saying you need to reconfirm your account information by going to this website or calling this number. Do not do it. This is a fraud trying to get you to hand over your ID-theft-sensitive information.

I am not a Paypal user and yet I have received e-mail telling me that my Paypal account is "suspended" and I need to reconfirm my account information on some website.

Just the other day I got a strange telephone call with an automated voice saying, "This is your bank calling. We have detected fraudulent activity on your ATM card. To reactivate your card, enter your card number now." Well, I hung up fast. To be on the safe side, I called my bank immediately using the number printed on the back of my card. They confirmed that it was a fraud attempt. They also assured me that they will never ask something like that.

Legitimate financial institutions do not "loose" your information and then call you and ask you to resubmit it.
 
+1 on the identity theft concern.

Assuming that its a legit email, it looks like a KYC (know your customer) measure. Banks in the US do this all the time. Its the reason why opening an account takes close to an hour (vs. 5-10 minutes.)
 
This is not an attempt at identity theft unless PP has now entered the ID theft 'business'.
In my OP i stated i had talked with 2 PP employees on the phone who told me i had to send this info (although then it was drivers licence, now it is passport). To make this call i had to log into my PP account, get a 'password number' and then call the PP phone number.
I am dealing with PayPal.
The Questions are: Why ? and is it legal to ask someone for such personal information as a copy of your passport ? and what is the reason for asking for proof of WHERE i was born ? (London, England, moved to Canada in 1947 at age 1), and why does PP refuse to tell me why the want this information and tell me i would need a lawyer to subpeona them to court to even try to find out why ?
Has it got to do with PP being a spy for the U.S. government and my spending a relatively large amount of money on knives ? I buy collectible vintage Traditional style folders, including little 2" Quill knives, i.e. nothing that could remotely be considered to be 'weapons'.
PP is becoming an increasingly strange business. Because of it's size and control over ebay payments it is able to interfere with a great many people in a personal way.
Is this a sign of a society that claims to value personal freedoms above all else, actually becoming one that controls it's citizens and those who do business with them ?
If i was dealing with China not U.S.A. this kind of privacy invasion and control MIGHT be more expected.
Something strange is going on here that is much larger than just my addiction to knife collecting.
roland
 
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