PayPal doesn't want you to buy knives

Brummie

Brummie

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A lot of us use Paypal, the Exchange virtually runs off it, so you may be interested to know that PayPal has blocked me making a knife purchase from a well-respected overseas maker who often offers his excellent blades here.

When I first sent the payment, I got a message that it was suspended because they needed to review for a potentially illegitimate transaction. Then I received an email from PayPal asking why the message attached to the payment included the words "for persian". I responded that this was a custom knife purchase and it was for what is called a persian-style blade.

Then today, I received an email to say that my payment was being reversed:

"We have completed our review of this transaction.

Amount: $XXXX USD
Transaction ID: XXXXXXXXXXXX
Recipient: XXXXXXXXXXXXX
View the details of this transaction

Unfortunately, we are not able to complete this particular transaction. This reversal is specific to this transaction and does not affect the use of your PayPal account for other transactions. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

For more information, see Government regulations and policies.

Sincerely,
PayPal"

When I click on the link to "Government regulations and policies" it just directs me to PayPal's generic help / contact page. So that's no use.

However, when I log into my PayPal account, I get a message telling me that there is a problem with my account, because: "Apr 18, 2016: You may be buying or selling goods or services that are regulated or prohibited by the U.S. government.", and that I need to provide them with additional information in order "to return your account to regular standing".

When I click through on the links, it takes me to another message that says, "You have 12 days to resolve before your account becomes restricted.".

BUT there is nothing to tell me what information I need to provide to resolve the situation - the website just refers me back to the email above, which doesn't ask for any information.

So, PayPal has refused my payment and is still holding the funds (the refund is "pending"), and is threatening to "restrict" my account unless I supply them with unspecified information, all because I tried to buy a knife which is perfectly legal to own where I live.
 
Maybe it has to do with the laws of the country you are buying the knife from?

Good luck!!
 
So many tales of horror from people who used or tried to use paypal. i don't understand why anyone would use it anyway ? I mean, you're paying it with a credit card right ? So just passing your private info and money around to some corporation for ....what reason ? so they can deny your purchases based on their leftist corporate belief system. Just try to buy a firearm using paypal.
I guess the same people using paypal still pay AOL for online service. They simply provide a service that no-one actually needs.
 
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The seller is going to try to call them tomorrow. I am currently bouncing around East Africa, and don't have the means to do so readily.
 
No you are paying from your account in which you have sufficient funds-You do use a Bank Correct? I am amused when something does not work correctly how people play this leftist card, you may actually want to investigate how Pay Pal works before making unfounded allegations-Pay Pal works very much the same way any Bank works, if they think the transition is a risk to you the customer, they may deny the sale for YOUR PROTECTION-The item in question may be illegal to import because of U.S. Sanctions or Laws!-I have had only one problem with Pay Pal in the years I have used it, and that was a problem with my computer
mknopfler said:
So many tales of horror from people who used or tried to use paypal. i don't understand why anyone would use it anyway ? I mean, your paying it with a credit card right ? So just passing your private info and money around to some corporation for ....what reason ? so they can deny your purchases based on their leftist corporate belief system. Just try to buy a firearm using paypal.
I guess the same people using paypal still pay AOL for online service. They simply provide a service that no-one actually needs.
Click to expand...
 
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^

That may be true in some sense, but my bank doesn't block me from purchasing legal items like Paypal does. Paypal can suspend or close your account for purchasing or selling items that may be perfectly legal, but against their policy. I am not saying that they shouldn't be able to do this, because its their business and they can run it as they please, but they are deciding what you can and and can not purchase based on their own criteria and not law. Some would consider that political.
 
From the fragments of information they have provided, it seems like they have blocked the transaction because they are concerned that it might not be legal, but they haven't explained the source of their concern or told me what I need to do to assure them it is legal. The transaction seems to have been flagged in the first place because of the word "persian" and now they seem to have blocked it just because it is a knife.
 
Brummie said:
From the fragments of information they have provided, it seems like they have blocked the transaction because they are concerned that it might not be legal, but they haven't explained the source of their concern or told me what I need to do to assure them it is legal. The transaction seems to have been flagged in the first place because of the word "persian" and now they seem to have blocked it just because it is a knife.
Click to expand...

In past, I heard not to use the Damascus anywhere in a paypal transaction because it was a flagged word... Not sure if it was true but regardless; I always just leave the comments section blank LOL; no issues in many years of using PP for knife purchases.
 
I would guess it was the word they asked about, it being the old name of a modern country with which we aren't entirely comfortable, despite recent agreements.
 
Just guessing but it may have to do with importing a weapon from a country that has a history or track record of exporting hazardous or dangerous materials-contact PP via phone as soon as you can-They will explain why this happened, if their explanation is not logical or does not meet your expectations-close the account-sorry to hear it interfered with your trip-Good luck
 
Maybe they thought you were actually buying a Persian person. That probably raised a few eyebrows

Sent from my D6708 using Tapatalk
 
mknopfler said:
So many tales of horror from people who used or tried to use paypal. i don't understand why anyone would use it anyway ? I mean, your paying it with a credit card right ? So just passing your private info and money around to some corporation for ....what reason ? so they can deny your purchases based on their leftist corporate belief system. Just try to buy a firearm using paypal.
I guess the same people using paypal still pay AOL for online service. They simply provide a service that no-one actually needs.
Click to expand...
Are they conservatives for not liking Persian.

Are they leftist for not liking knives?

Are they maybe even capitalists and trying to make us buy from their buddies at eBay only?

I guess without more information we all can pick whatever suits our personal world view.

I don't have PayPal stocks but if I had even a single one and the shareholder meeting is in my town I might just pop in and ask a question or two.
Everybody can do that it just depends how important the topic is and how much effort one is willing to put in.
(PYPL is their stock symbol)
 
TommyGun56 said:
No you are paying from your account in which you have sufficient funds-You do use a Bank Correct? I am amused when something does not work correctly how people play this leftist card, you may actually want to investigate how Pay Pal works before making unfounded allegations-Pay Pal works very much the same way any Bank works, if they think the transition is a risk to you the customer, they may deny the sale for YOUR PROTECTION-The item in question may be illegal to import because of U.S. Sanctions or Laws!-I have had only one problem with Pay Pal in the years I have used it, and that was a problem with my computer
Click to expand...

Leftist card huh ? I'm speaking from firsthand experience. When I was naive I also used paypal. What a mess and mistake. They held up payment on an item that i was paying with a debit card to my bank account which had suffecient funds. In reality there was no reason to use them in the first place, that same debit card would be accepted by the place i was purchasing from. No need to insert some third party corporation and their policies, whatever they may be, into my purchases. I stupidly let them mess with my finances(lesson learned) and will tell anyone that paypal absolutely sucks.
 
Czechmate said:
In past, I heard not to use the Damascus anywhere in a paypal transaction because it was a flagged word... Not sure if it was true but regardless; I always just leave the comments section blank LOL; no issues in many years of using PP for knife purchases.
Click to expand...
This is 100% true. Personal experience. Tell them it is a cutting tool with a Persian design.

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk
 
For PayPal and a few other companies that traffic in online currency exchanges, "Persian" is a keyword they use to comply with the mandate of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, a section of the Treasury Department that ensures US assets aren't used to fund, say, global terrorism. Unfortunately for you, simply writing it anywhere they can see it will get your transaction flagged and your account 'reviewed.' Yours is not the first case of this I have seen.

I would be surprised if PayPal is of much help. As you can see, they're sending you merrily around in circles without instructions or guidance as to how to resolve this. And once your account is restricted it's only going to get worse. Best of luck - here's hoping you don't end up on a no-fly list -__-
 
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