Account Limitations: What You Need to Know

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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

The funny thing about this web site is that PayPal gives you Kudos for criticizing them, showing that nobody at PayPal cares what anyone says here or is even aware of what anyone says. They just want to give people a chance to vent about their problems. It is easy and cheap to sue in small claims court. If everyone who has a case against PayPal would get their act together and sue PayPal  in small claims court you would finally get their attention.

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Temp20230525FT
Contributor
Contributor
They have had a suit before for holding peoples money for 180 days. Not sure why or how they are still getting away with that. Google it. Class action lawsuit.
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homerlea
Contributor
Contributor

It  is the percentages. If they hold millions of dollars for 180 days and lose a few small claims cases they are still ahead in $$$$. If everyone sued PayPal in small claims court right away when their money was frozen PayPal would relent because then they would be losing money.

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LeanOnSully
Contributor
Contributor

Hi, I transferred my account from personal to business about 3 weeks ago. I waited for my business card to come in the mail, it finally arrived. I was excited that finally I would open up a business using paypal. Shortly after I received sales, my other paypal account was connected to eBay <removed>

so many transactions went through that account until finally eBay allowed me to replace my susu19898 email to this PayPal account. I didn’t expect charge backs from customers so, I refunded there money. Paypal later climates my account it’s been a long time since then no response I’ve been here worried because that is pretty much my start up capitol for the business and I have no access to it. After what I encountered with PayPal, I don’t know what to think, I’ve been using PayPal for many years never encounter a problem. Can you please take a look at my account on why it’s been so long, it’s still limited for a very long time. Thank you 🙏 

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Angieadams201
Contributor
Contributor
My account is on limits to. I need to know why
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homerlea
Contributor
Contributor

You will likely never know why because they are using software that they don't understand enough to give you a specific answer. After 20 years on PayPal they froze my account and stole my money with the excuse that I may have done something wrong and they say they don't have to tell me anything so I have filed complaints with the FBI computer fraud unit, FTC, Calif. Attorney General and Cal. Dept. of Business Oversight. As of today PayPal has about 2 weeks left to reply to one of the regulators about my complaints. They will have to respond to this regulator who has the power to stop them from doing any business in California if they do not comply and answer the complaint. Finally a human being is reading the complaint. This is, as they say, just a shot across the bow. More to come of they don't get their act together soon.

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Ponchokun
Contributor
Contributor
My transaction all set, the buyer already got the things,and i am not do anything fraud, but paypal still limited my account and no reply at all for all 4- 5 messages to paypal, the problem is, paypal is very slow at respond, you are a big company, you must take serious on this individual case, just dont ignore on your customer
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homerlea
Contributor
Contributor

They do not read these messages.

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aychua11
Contributor
Contributor
Yes they will not read blogs and these types of social messages. I’m not going to forward my message from here. I will email them straight and report “foul-up” and abusive tactics by their customer service agents.
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homerlea
Contributor
Contributor

Good lick getting anything other than a robot no matter what you do.

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