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

Cubbie62
New Community Member
No help has been given to me. Gave error message could not verify and all other questions complete. Keep referring me to resolutions. Help!!!
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I can see from everyone's post this isn't going to be easy to resolve.  I tried to supply all the required info online but I got the "not good enough" email a few days later.  However, now the 2 areas of request (business info and original sales receipts) which I've already provided, still show "under review", so I can't even try to add/update anything to address this "problem".  I finally had to call in, and now I am waiting for a call back, somewhere between 47-71 minutes. UGH!  

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titi090728
Contributor
Contributor
Hello. I wait 1 yeAr but i not yet receive email to withdraw money. Why?? Thank you
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curlyworld
Contributor
Contributor

I AM IN THE UAE and my account has been limited for 5 months now. I have been unsuccessful in removing the limitation because PayPal refuses to accept any documents I submit from my bank or Etisalat as proof of address. I am beyond disappointed and frustrated. This has caused a huge interruption to our life, as subscriptions and website have closed and my children have been unable to pay for games etc.... My personal business transactions have been complicated and messy.  I have contacted the call centre and email numerous times.  I am so dismayed.  Any help grateful received. 

 

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chef1
Contributor
Contributor

Typical PayPal response, Mark; all generalizations and no specifics. I've received ten email responses and they are all the same form letter variety; nobody answers my specific questions. I've done no selling for years, and after making a few purchases using PayPal Credit a couple of months ago, suddenly my regular PayPal account was limited. I made purchases from Vans, Southwest Airlines and eBay; nothing worthy of a permanent limitation. Every time I call, there's a 45 minute wait to speak to someone. There's nothing in the account resolution or limitation page; no disputes at all. So, PayPal_Mark, what's the real issue as to why my account is limited???

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corinafratu
Member
Member

I keep receiving on the right side this message: "There’s a problem with your account. Be sure to resolve it to restore full account access." I uploaded my ID card and all the required documents and the limitations are still there. I'm starting to be worried and I would be glad if someone could help me, because I don't know how to make the limitations go away.
Thank you! 

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KBostic82
Contributor
Contributor
I believe they respond when they feel like it (or never). My account is limited (PP-009-059-463-667), but good thing it’s on $2.47 on the account. My account was limited for cashing out survey money (all change - everything under $1). I sent my driver’s license and answered everything that I felt was pertinent. I also made sure I noted that Qmee is a survey site, so I didn’t sell/buy anything. I simply took the surveys and cashed out the payment. I have since tried closing my account since they are taking so long to review, but they won’t let me. My account has been limited over a month now.
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Soon_Ooi
Contributor
Contributor

They have the worse and i mean absolute WORSE support & customer service i have ever encountered.

 

Tried using all means available (emails, calls, community, resolution centers etc)  to resolve my limitation issues and always met with generic reply asking me to send additional supporting document. After sending the additional supporting document, there was no further reply or respond from their team. Even after numerous follow up, there seemed to be no reply from the original email sender.

 

When i call in for help, they ask me to start the whole process again of sending verification documents? After sending in the document again no feedback, reply or any form of acknowledgement. Garbage company, do they even care about their customer ? I have send in complains email, provided survey feedback, but i doubt anyone is reading it.

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Soon_Ooi
Contributor
Contributor

To update on my earlier post, limitation on my account was remove 2 days after i posted the above mentioned posting. They finally reviewed the document i send in.

 

Not sure if it's a coincidence or someone from the community has actually helped on this.

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