Account Limitations: What You Need to Know

PayPal_Mark
PayPal Employee
PayPal Employee

 

Keeping your business and customers safer

To ensure PayPal remains a safer place for enabling payments, we regularly review all accounts. Sometimes, limitations may be placed on your PayPal account, which could restrict you from completing certain actions: such as withdrawing, spending, or receiving money. Limitations are in place to help protect all our customers, and in some cases to meet our regulatory obligations. Protecting your account and money is important to us.

 

Account Limitations: What might cause it, and how to help avoid it?

If your PayPal account is limited, you may be unable to withdraw, send or receive money. There are a number of reasons why your account could be limited:

 

Suspicious & unusual activity

  • We suspect someone could be using your account without your knowledge.
  • Your bank alerts us that someone has used your credit/debit card linked to your account without your permission.
  • There are unexpected changes to your selling activities such as a sudden increase in your typical sales volume.

In such cases, we do what it takes to protect you from potential fraud prompted by the unusual activity– through limiting your account, and investigating.

 

You can safeguard your personal information and help protect yourself against fraud through some simple measures.  For example, don’t enter your personal or financial details when describing items for sale or in response to emails, and log out of sites you’ve entered your personal information into.

 

Regulatory reasons or business is not compliant

Your account could be limited for regulatory reasons. For example, India PayPal sellers need to include additional information to be able to accept payments in their account. Also, reaching a certain transaction value in your account may trigger a limit, which can also be removed by providing information required to PayPal.

 

There are also restrictions on what a PayPal account can be used to accept (and make) payments for. For example, PayPal doesn't allow the sale of counterfeit goods or banned items. So, ensure that your business is compliant with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy .


Increased buyer issues

An increase of complaints, claims and chargebacks from buyers can lead to account limitations.

 

Following some simple guidelines can help you improve your performance and reduce the likelihood of limitations. Overall, communication is key. You should:

  • Provide detailed product descriptions and photos.
  • Be upfront about policies such as shipping and returns.
  • Ship orders promptly and track shipments.
  • Respond quickly to any messages from buyers.
  • Work to amicably resolve any problems.
  • Ship to the address provided in the transaction details page.
  • Use quality shipping materials to prevent damage.

 

Removing limitations

 If your PayPal account is limited, here’s what happens:

  1. We’ll email you to let you know –  we’ll ask you to log in to your PayPal account and go to the Resolution Centre for details on how to resolve the issue quickly, usually by providing information.
  2. Once you’ve submitted the information required, we’ll review and reply via email.
  3. We’ll remove the limitations once we have verified your account. At times, limitations can be removed by simply changing your security questions and password.

Here are the types of information and documents we may need from you:

- Supplier’s invoice with contact information

This helps us determine the inventory source and validate that you have the items that you’re selling in stock.

 

- Payment information

When an invoice is unavailable, we’ll review the following information about your payments:

  • The item or service that was sold
  • The buyer’s name and shipping address
  • Proof of shipment to verify that an order was delivered

- Shipping or Tracking information

This helps us to verify that customer orders are being fulfilled.

 

- Proof of business
This provides evidence of a valid business registration and business ownership.

 

- Information for India sellers
This is to comply with our India regulatory obligations. Provide a valid PAN, a local bank account and the purpose code in your PayPal account task board.

 

- Proof of address such as bank statement or utility bill, Proof of identity such as passport or driver’s license
This helps us verify your identity when there is unusual account activity or to comply with regulations.

 

Once you’ve submitted your information, look out for any more emails from us as we may need additional details. We’ll do our best to confirm your information and remove the limitation within 2 business days, but sometimes it can take a little longer.

 

Quick Tip: If your PayPal account is limited, don’t open a new account. It could be traced back to the limited account.  It’s always best to resolve the limitation. We will guide you through it and restore full access to your PayPal account as quickly as possible.

 

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1,050 REPLIES 1,050

homerlea
Contributor
Contributor

They tossed me out permanently too and they don't seem to even know why, so not likely you will change their opinion.

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Kizzieek
Contributor
Contributor

Paypal rejected my refund requestfrom what I reading on all the complaints it sounds like paypal is automated there is no human handling our complaints!  I was told that my paypal card was automatically turned off and that was it. 

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homerlea
Contributor
Contributor

I cannot list items on eBay because PayPal froze my account but still have about 200 items on eBay previously listed. When an item sells eBay tells the customer they cannot pay by credit card or PayPal and to contact me. I have to tell them that PayPal froze my account so the only way to pay me and get their item is to send me a money order or personal check, otherwise cancel the sale. About half the people just ask to cancel the sale which I do, but he item is now off eBay and if I hit the relist button it says sorry option not available so since it is no longer listed I cannot sell it to anyone else either.

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aychua11
Contributor
Contributor

You should go directly to your customer and make a new temporary arrangement for payments.  In the meantime look for another payment processing partner.  This PayPal is getting to be impossible and they need to experience stronger competition.  You're not the only one loaded with issues yet PayPal is uncooperative.

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prpmysterious7
Contributor
Contributor

That's all in the FAQs. It tells us NOTHING specific. I am not a seller. I just get my money through PayPal for mystery shopping, or I should say, did.

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Kenrow
Member
Member
I don't Know the reason I was permanently blocked/limited/restricted. I used 3 browsers to login into my PayPal account. Do different browser trigger the system? Is that the reason that triggered the system to suspend me? This is just a new account I opened to do business because they only accept PayPal. Am a student and suspending me on PayPal means I have no other platform to perform the transaction. Through the business I obtain my livelihood and train myself in school. Irrespective, of the cause of the permanent limitations, I'd like the PayPal crew to review my account and help me out. I haven't used the account for once to receive money. I have already given out my PayPal email to third party business am working with. I will be grateful if my account is lifted out of suspension and all restrictions taken out
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homerlea
Contributor
Contributor

once your account is permanently blocked you have no chance of getting it restored. It is really strange that after I was permanently tossed out I had no trouble signing up for Venmo, which is owned by PayPal.

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sammykins
Contributor
Contributor
You can't do anything. PayPal themselves are becoming frauds. They used to side with us, but now are siding with people who are crying wolf.
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Simbaloo
Contributor
Contributor

The big problem here is that you put restrictions on accounts only because of "suspicious" and "unusual" activity, and of course you very often create big problems for totally innocent people this way. And this is an even bigger issue when you refuse to give any helt whatsoever when people ask for it! I don't know if my account have been "limited" or if there is any other problems, but this is ompossible to solve because you don't even answer emails to the customers support with a full description of the problems. How can you ever defend this behavior, PayPal_Mark?

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smjjgs8
Contributor
Contributor

Same here. Suspicious activity; but never explain multiple emails, responses from different people each time. Just unthinking rote responses. Don't help, despite many requests for help. Then,just as suddenly it's OK. Oh, wait try again and it isn't. I feel like Alice following the white rabbit down the hole. And, ta da playing the infamous Red Queen, none other than the dastardly, PayPal....

 

 

 

 

 

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