paypal are a joke! holding my money for 21 days! mean't to be easy way! nothing but lies and stress!

[bruciebonus]

I recently opened an ebay account and then a paypal account, as mean't to be easier. I got verified and have since recieved payments from sales. Now they say i can not withdraw or pay for the items until i receive positive feedback, give tracking number or else i wait 21 days! what a joke, i can not give tracking details, when items are collected in person, i can leave positive feedback for buyer, but i can not control when they choose to leave it for me, yet as they haven't complained, that shows there is no problem or they would let paypal know i am sure.

Why do paypal not mention this when you first set it up? I am selling, like most people because i need the money, it is discusting that i have to wait 21 days!

I believe they have breached on an agreement as they never stated these restrictions, it is false advertising.

To try and get through to them on the phone has been impossible as you wait over an hour, then your code runs out.

I wish to make a formal complaint to them, does anyone know how i can do this please? also any other organisations i can make aware of this.

If i knew this would apply i would never have used paypal, why should they hold my money, making interest. I am fuming,

please can anyone advise what to do?

[PayPal_lucy]

Hey there brucibonus,

I know it can be frustrating but you are informed before you list your item.

When you are going through the listing process, there is a page that informs you that if you are a new seller your funds may be subject to payment holds.

If you wish to make a formal complaint you can sent a written latter to the address I have provided below.

PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. & Cie, S.C.A. (“PayPal Europe”)
5th Floor
22-24 Boulevard Royal
L-2449, Luxembourg

The address can also be found on the PayPal website here.

[melaniekarl]

It is actually illegal and a criminal offence (Obtaining a Pecuniary Advantage) under the Theft Act. We have also been subjected to these ludicrous holds " In the interests of our safety and security " which anyone with half  a brain cell is Paypal speak for " We will hold on to your money as long as we can ".

Had an e-mail today saying I no longer fit their dubious criteria (We knew that weeks ago) so holds are lifted. However funds that are currently on the 21 day hold are STILL being held despite there being no reason for this. Customer service is appalling and basically insulting when trying to phone on their profit sharing 0807 number.

Don't bother filing a complaint direct with Paypal as it will just get responded to with directions to various links in a computer generated e-mail. After consulting the FSA in London we have filed a complaint with the Banking & Securities Regulator (CSSF) in Luxembourg (e-mail can be found online but hey.....when I originally posted it here it wouldn't let me. I wonder why???) and laid out our case regarding this scam. The FSA can't deal with it direct as Ebay / Paypal, once based in London, now hide in Luxembourg which goes some way to show how dishonest they are as a company.

If everybody affected were to do this they would be forced to change their ways. We have entered this on numerous blogs as well as Twitter, Facebook etc.

[PayPal_paula]

Hi melaniekarl,

I can assure you that any payments held for any period of time ,are all held in accordance with our User Agreement and Policies that we have set out. As far as I am aware we are entitled to hold payments in relation to the payment service directive if we deem that there may be any risk involved.

I understand that you are not happy with our policy and if you wish to make a formal complaint please write to us at the following address,

PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A.
Société en Commandite par Actions
Registered Office: 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg
RCS Luxembourg B 118 349

This address can also be found on our website in the legal agreements section.

Thanks for your input

Paula

[Karenattightsin]

I have been trading for over 3 months now I have completed over 300 sales with no issues. Why can I not get access to MY money until after 21 days?  This is causing me cash flow problems and restricting my business, not to mention earning Paypal lots of money in interest on other peoples money. Contacting Paypal is also a 'nightmare'.  I write my own lables and use postage stamps because the postage label system in Paypal is very poor and does not meet sellers needs. Come on Paypal show some professionalism or move over and let a British do this job.

[melaniekarl]

I don't think anybody is happy with this policy, especially when your customers perception of "risk" is totally different. Its all too convenient in Paypals favour. All Paypal have done is alienate their customers which makes us mistrust them even more. If it wasn't for Ebay demanding that you MUST offer Paypal then I think they would be very lonely up there in Paypal Towers.

Complaining to Paypal? No thanks. Thats like asking a criminal to prosecute himself in court. I would rather go for the Regulators like we have done and let them investigate.

[PayPal_barry]

Hey there melaniekarl and all other sellers affected by this, just to follow on from Paula’s reply above. We know that payment holds are really frustrating experiences for sellers. You are right; it is your money, why are we holding it? – First off, it would be really easy just to release the funds right away and accept any consequences that may follow. But we at PayPal and eBay feel obliged to protect both buyers and, though you may not believe it, sellers.

We want a system with good and honest sellers and buyers. We also wish to deter any fraudsters or scammers out there from viewing eBay/PayPal and its community as a soft touch. This does not mean that we consider you or anyone else with payment holds to be scammers. But we feel that we need to implement this policy for the benefit of all. Please be assured that as your feedbacks grow along with your business, the holds will become less frequent. We know it’s a real pain point and we apologise for the obvious frustration it is causing you, but would ask that you bear with us on this, and always remember that we do respect you as a customer, as we do all our buyers and sellers. Good luck on all future transactions.

[hellsbouncer]

This is more bs If a scammer sells something expensive for their hit of crack they can simply

mail a pencil and use the tracking numbers to apease the pay pal gods, If someone is going to scam its going to happen all your doing is flexing your bossy monopoly ways and paving the way for what surely will come, although it may take a while a counter to ebays wiked ways and a new auction site that we all eagerly await, then remember the bs youve pulled

[Jhw27]

I am a new seller on eBay and like most others there seems to me no alternative but to use PayPal to receive payments. My buyers have received there items and responded with positive feedback and my estimated funds availability date is up to 13 days away. Add another four business days to complete transfer from PayPal to my bank account. You will have a hard time convincing me that holding my money for 17 days after both parties are satisfied with a transaction is in the best interest of anyone other than PayPal. This is a service that we are paying for. There absolutely needs to be a government inquiry into paypal's practices. Absolutely the worst treatment of paying customers imaginable. To try to convince people that this is for the good of the customers is insulting. eBay needs to find an alternative to PayPal in a hurry!

[llepp0613]

Ebay can't and won't find an alternative. Afaik they are the same company. PayPal owns ebay or ebay owns PayPal. They are both criminal companies and it's kinda disheartening there aren't any alternatives. You would think someone with the skill to create the aforementioned would realize its nearly guarunteed to succeed. Also thought our government had laws against monopolizing stuff like this. They both obviously are. I have been robbed by them several times. Most recently after I was intentionally sold broken goods and after the seller replied to the dispute the day before I was set to get an auto refund and paypal denied my refund and naturally he was never seen or heard from again. The mods on the forums kept an eye for him logging in but he is long gone. Way to go PayPal. Buyer protection is sure working well. Morons