Why Verify my Account?

[PayPal_john]

A question we often get is along these lines, from Terry O'Brien:

"I’ve done all the verification requirements and am waiting for the two small amounts to come into my bank account. Was it really necessary to do as I found out I can buy up to £500 worth of items per month without verification. Why do I need to be verified then if I’m not going to use PayPal a lot?"

Well, the short answer is you don't HAVE to become verified if you don't want to, however you will limit the amount of money you can send, receive and withdraw by doing this.

 When you open a PayPal account we want to get you up and running as quickly as possible, so we only ask for essential information. However, as a financial institution, we have to comply with laws and regulations, including limits on new accounts. There is a sending limit placed on each transaction and an annual sending limit. These limits are there because we have not verified certain information about you.

The sending limit per month is £500 GBP but the sending limit per YEAR is £650 GBP so really you could only spend £500 GBP one month and £150 GBP another month and that would be it.....

[justhadacurry]

There is no way I have spent £650 on my paypal account at all, ever! But i have had to verify my account and now can't list anything until I have completed the verification and to do this I have to wait for the amounts to be placed in my account.

Why have I had to verify my account?

Thank you.

[justhadacurry]

P.S. I'm sure I have verified my account in the past. I remember having to enter the amounts that were sent to my account.

[justhadacurry]

PPS. Sorry I didn't make it clear - the reason I am asking and the reason I am annoyed is because I cannot list anything to sell on ebay because my  paypal account isn't verified.

[PayPal_john]

If you've confirmed a bank in the past and have a Premier or Business account perhaps you didn't fill out the information form? This is required to be verified.

A Verified account demonstrates that you have followed some basic steps to confirm your identity and explained why you are using PayPal. eBay require that people do this to allow you to list more items for the security and stability of their system.

[Catmalan]

Hi, I need some info please?

I have had an email asking me to verify my account, well, sugesting I do, however, I am not sure about this? If I verify my account, do I have to transfer money into my paypal account prior to buying, and more, does this give open access to paypal?

Hope someone can provide some info for me!

Many thanks

Catherine

[frustratedinuk]

Oh where have I heard and seen this before? We are bombarded with words like 'Simpler' and 'Smarter' and 'Faster' to describe PayPal. It's 'Seamless' apparently! Then why, when I have been buying and selling (buying far more than selling I have to add), was I confronted last night with a red banner notice at the top of the page as I finalised two purchases? I had it seems exceeded or reached my £1,700 sending limit! I may have spent that much over the past years, but hold on - the payments have all been taken from my UK based credit card bank account.

The bank would not make payments unless I had funds to make them. So why does PayPal stop this perfect service? I have annoyed both the sellers and still cannot resolve the issue since it is nigh on impossible to speak to someone to get a straight answer and resolution.

The real answer would be for all sellers to go back to using the internet and secure bank servers to accept payments without PayPal in the chain.

Customer Service - please don't make me laugh. Your  'service ' is as bad as Virgin Media's and that's saying something!

[PayPal_lucy]

Hey there Catmalan,

The email you received, is it addressed to you personally? As in ‘Dear (your name registered on PayPal)’. If your name is not on it, it has not been sent from PayPal. PayPal will never ask you to sign in or provide account specific information through a link in an email.

If you verifiy your account you can still use it as normal. You do not have to have a PayPal account balance to make payments, you can still use your card/bank to funds payments.

And what is it you mean by open access? Do you mean by setting up the direct debit? If so then, no. PayPal can only request money from your bank account when you authorise a payment to be sent.

Hey frustrateddinuk,

PayPal have a sending limit in place for security reasons. PayPal cannot see how much is on your card or in your bank account, as we don't have this type of access to your accounts.

You can lift your sending limit by clicking on the ‘view limit’ option on your account home page.

1. Log in to your PayPal account at www.paypal.co.uk
2. Click the link 'View Limits'.
3. Check the boxes for the limits you wish to lift and click 'Lift Limits'.
4. Follow the instructions provided.

[lilblossomkatz]

How about for recieving payments?

I have a payment for a piece of art I want to sell and it has only given me two choices, "Verify" or "Deny Payment".

I do not want to to either.

I have been using your service for a while now, almost 4 years I think.

Why do I have to verify to recieve payments but not to send them.

I cannot, for the life of me, verify my account. 

I do not have a fax, and the information I sent was correct. Every time I try to verify it sends me this error that I need to fax my bank statement and I just do not want to do that.

There must be an easier way of recieving $20 on this service.