PayPal SUCKS...AGAIN!

1whobuys

1whobuys

Feedback: +53 / =1 / -0
Joined
Mar 20, 2001
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Just a heads up....I have been selling off some of my personal collection to raise some funds..(out of work) so I have been taking a lot of PP payments..
Yes, I know, I HATE PP...always have.
So I have about $6000 in my account and I'm going to pull some of it out, I set up a withdraw all looks good, an hour later I get an email saying my account is under review for fraudulent and suspicious activity.

So after looking everywhere for the hidden phone number I call them up..Twice
First time I was on the line for over an hour..they want to know who my supplier is and invoices from same..they want supplier contact info with names and numbers
I explain it is from my collection, I have no suppliers, I have no invoices or contact numbers..I only have about 20 old mail slips showing I shipped what I sold..Then give them each number one at a time, they say OK, we'll be in touch.

I get home and find a laundry list of MUST fulfill requirements online at my account..
The second time I called I was on the phone for 3 hours and talked to everyone that works for PayPal..every time I would have to go through the story from the beginning.
they want a copy of a utility bill, they want tracking information for every transaction I have done though PayPal, They want a copy of my phone bill, Credit card numbers, bank account numbers, verification of where I live..
and explanation of every transaction I've done for the last 3 months!

They will send me an email if they need anything else..I should hear from them in 2 or 3 days..

Point being made here is PayPal has stolen my money until they are satisfied and they want to release it..
$6000 that I need now to pay my mortgage and buy my Mothers drugs..

$6000 that they will hold as long as they want with a whole list of unreasonable requirements to get it back.

$6000 from selling a PERSONAL COLLECTION of knife..

At this point I'm screwed and there is nothing I can do because I sold my collection and I used PayPal...

So watch how you sell your personal collections or how you do trades if you deal with those assholes..

GOD, I hate PayPal...
 
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i hope you didnt give them any of your personal info over the internet like your credit card numbers.
 
I'd be very concerned about fraud/scam activity if the message asks for any personal information from you, esp. your credit card. There have been messages from scammers that have come across my desk that have looked very much like PayPal's that have NOT been from them.

Supposedly they will NEVER ask for that info over the net...way too dangerous.

Just my read on your situation...good luck!
 
jkarp_53 said:
I'd be very concerned about fraud/scam activity if the message asks for any personal information from you, esp. your credit card. There have been messages from scammers that have come across my desk that have looked very much like PayPal's that have NOT been from them.

Supposedly they will NEVER ask for that info over the net...way too dangerous.

Just my read on your situation...good luck!
Click to expand...

+1

That sounds way over the top with your info, even for them. Make sure you're talking to the real company by looking them up independently and not from info on any emails sent to you. Had a problem with my bank sending me notices about my account, only it wasn't my bank. If there's any question, talk to their security people.
 
Please be very careful when receiving emails. I have had "fake" emails in the past from both paypal and ebay stating my account was frozen or account was under review ( several years ago, not lately ). I then copied and sent a copy of the emails to the paypal & ebay address on the official sites themselves. Both stated they were not "Authentic" emails from their site and the info in the emails they would Never Ask For. This happened about 2-3 times a few years ago. For yseveral years I only "bought" from ebay, and never sold. This seemed to happen when I first started selling several years ago. After the initial couple of times, nothing of this kind has happened since. Just make sure you Only Contact them through Official address through the main site........Hopefully this helps.
 
I doubt a scammer would keep you on the phone for 3 hours transferring you to many people during that time.

I never leave money in my PP account. If I sell something it immediately gets moved to my bank account.

Hope everything works out for you.
 
I always take the money out through at ATM ( I have their debit card) and then deposit it to my bank account as cash. Good luck on the outcome.
 
1whobuys said:
Yes, I know, I HATE PP...always have.
So I have about $6000 in my account and I'm going to pull some of it out, I set up a withdraw all looks good, an hour later I get an email saying my account is under review for fraudulent and suspicious activity.


Point being made here is PayPal has stolen my money until they are satisfied and they want to release it..

that they will hold as long as they want with a whole list of unreasonable requirements to get it back.

$6000 from selling a PERSONAL COLLECTION of knife..

At this point I'm screwed and there is nothing I can do because I sold my collection and I used PayPal...

So watch how you sell your personal collections or how you do trades if you deal with those assholes..

GOD, I hate PayPal...
Click to expand...
I feel for ya brother... it's a btdt. While I didn't have the small fortune you had in your account... it was enough ... they still haven't released mine after 2 years. I sold an air rifle fwiw and supposedly 'violated paypals policies' by doing so. If it violates policy how can it be listed with "twenty seven eight-by-ten color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph " under each one? I rant... nevermind

I hope you get yours returned to you - posthaste - with no fees and crap to line the monsters pockets as well as any fees you may incur as a result of them holding onto your rightful cash.Alas... It may be too much to ask.
 
I'm glad I read this. I have been in the habit (if I'm selling off some of the collection) that I transfer cash out often and never let the balance get to high. I didn't know Paypal was in the business of stealing people's money.

Good luck with getting your money back. I suspect you'll have to threaten/take legal action for them to give it to you.

Another option is to contact your Representative in Congress and explain what's happened and ask for help. I doubt Paypal and eBay want to get caught up with the Fed's looking into wether or not they need to be subject to full banking rules & regulations.
 
Flatlander1963 said:
Another option is to contact your Representative in Congress and explain what's happened and ask for help. I doubt Paypal and eBay want to get caught up with the Fed's looking into wether or not they need to be subject to full banking rules & regulations.
Click to expand...

That is an interesting option.
 
As stated,be very sure that the emails are legit.I've got a friend who got a supposed email from paypal that his account was compomised and he needed to resend his personal info.Well,let's just say he did it and now he's broke:eek:After he looked a little closer at the supposed email from paypal he noticed something wasn't right.He contacted paypal and they said that there have been alot of reports of this lately.:grumpy:
 
very sorry to hear about this.....like others I hope this isn't some sort of scam and not really paypal..but knowing how long you been around the forums it you can prob tell the difference.



thanks J
 
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I went through the same thing a few years back--it took about three weeks (IIRC) to get the money freed up after jumping through their hoops and countless FAXs and phone calls.

I quit PP for a while after than hassle and switched to BidPay but they folded and I had to once again deal with the devil.

It is wise to NOT leave any balance there that you cannot afford to lose. Good luck!
 
I hardly ever agree to take PP for a sale, other than when forced to by selling on eBay. When I do I either immediately withdraw the balance or turn around and spend it all on something else.

I'm giving serious thought to setting up a separate checking account just for PP and keeping the balance low so they don't have access to the full balance of my checking account. Nobody should have such a godlike ability to swoop down and confiscate your
money, but until the government reigns them in then it's up to the user to protect themselves.
 
Sorry to hear Chuck. They do suck.


They've gotton so Huge I'm afraid we'll never have another option that most people would use.

I've never trusted them, and take my money out as soon as it hits.

Good Luck.
 
It would look like a scam to me, I know a couple of guys who sell that much worth of knives per week on the forums and they never had such a problem.
Or one of your buyers filed a complaint without you knowing about it. Could be that they suspect you might be fencing stolen goods.
Bottom line, it sucks whichever way you look at it.
 
If it was a scam, then somehow the scammers would need to be able to lock your PP account down. I doubt that is the case. And if they could lock it down, why not just take the $ outright? My sense is that you ARE dealing with PP and not some scammer. However, I do not think what they are doing is legal, especially if there are other instances of people using their accounts alot and yet they are not on the PP hook. PP policy is supposed to apply a lawful objective standard across the board to everyone, or at least to everyone with a certain type of account (people who are similarly situated). If they aren't doing that, and it doesn't sound like it to me, they may be open to civil/criminal issues. Personally, if I were you, I would get on the horn to my State Attorney General's Office and try to get them to pursue something. Also, give the BBB a holler and fill them in on it. Your situation may not make PP change, but if enough people did these things, it might be different.

Good luck!
 
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