21 Day Hold Of Funds?

[imliltink]

I have a selling history for many years now, but I recently sold a refrigerator for local pick up only yet my sale was put on hold for up to 21 days - for no reason that I can see or find justifiable.  I read the terms and agreement AND I met all of the requirements for getting paid faster.  My buyer even left positive feedback for the sale 5 days ago, but when I called PayPal they said they had no idea why it was put on hold!  It is MY money, not Paypal's and they have no right whatsoever to arbitrarily hold on to it and collect interest on MY money. How much positive selling history does one have to have for the hold not to apply? I can't find any information on that. From what payment amount threshhold does Paypal take the liberty to hold the funds? I can't find that information either. Nor do I recall ever seeing any warning or notification when listing items that funds may be held at Paypal's discretion.  EBay forces you to use PayPal and you think it's for your protection, but they are making interest off your money!  If the seller marks the transaction as complete AND the buyer provides immediate feedback (as I have), they should notify the buyer on delivery of the item that he/she has 24 hrs to report a problem and otherwise release the funds immediately when that time frame is up. 21 days is completely unjustifiable. If the seller picks up the item right away after the auction and delivery occurs the next day, the buyer can use the item for 19 days and break it on the 20th, and the seller is completely **bleep**ed: out of the item and out of the payment. As a seller, you are essentially forced to provide a warrenty on the item for up to nearly three weeks. I have NEVER and would NEVER agree to do so, and I do not appreciate that Paypal is forcing me to do so.
 
Quite frankly, I am seriously angry about the Paypal process, it's arbitrariness, and the risk it creates for the seller. I  commend anyone who has the time and/or knowledge to do something about it. If I will continue to sell on ebay, I will certainly look around for different payment service option.  I am here to tell you that PayPal does this to most people versus a small handfull that they allege.  As a consumer, you can file a complaint with any one of these departments that will hold more weight than your tiny voice to PayPal who could care less.  If you don't force them to fix this fraud they continue to conduct on their consumers, then they will never change.

Better Business Bureau

http://www.bbb.orgor

US Senator

http://www.senate.gov (When you get there, look in the upper right corner of the page to find your U.S. Senator)

You can contact your member of Congress via email or write them a letter.

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtmlFederal Trade Commission:

Federal Trade Commission

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov

Securities and Exchange Commission:

http://www.sec.gov/complaint/select.shtml

Internet Crime Complaint Center:

http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx

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[Mejane]

It's nothing but a scam for PayPal to earn interest on everyone's money.  One person's money doesn't seem worth it but when they are pulling this scam on everyone, they rake it in.

[FTS]

"It's nothing but a scam for PayPal to earn interest on everyone's money."

It's been publicly disclosed that PayPal only earns interest on Reserve Holds (PayPal Here product).

You're claiming they're earning interest on Ship-To-Fund holds, which is false.

[sharpiemarker]

Also funds held in one's PayPal balance that is not pending, that you just keep in holding pattern until you spend it.

[sharpiemarker]

If a payment received from a sale is inconsistent with your selling patterns, like spike in amount or PayPal deems is high risk for dispute or chargeback then it is subject to the 21 days hold.

https://www.paypal.com/us/selfhelp/article/why-is-my-payment-from-a-sale-on-ebay-on-hold-faq1377

Also note that the buyer has 180 days to file a PayPal dispute besides what eBay Money Back Guarantee protection provides the buyer.  Generally, all payments that we received via PayPal could be reversed and made invalid at pretty much anytime that is within the statue of limitations and we would be held responsible.  These policies are all in the various user agreements that we all agreed to when signing up so we must assess the risks and make sure to protect ourselves.  Sometimes PayPal may not be the appropriate payment method for a particular transaction.  If you're re selling a fridge that is for pick up, then PayPal isnt the right method to use because if you have read the seller protection terms, do not cover transactions that are pick ups or delivered in person as there is no tracking number to show proof of delivery.  People try to make PayPal suitable for every transaction when it doesn't.  Since you won't be able to provide tracking number, you can mark the transaction as shipped via add tracking link and wait the 7 days for the funds to be released.

[DPCreations]

You did not provide online tracking to show delivery.  This has the appearance tht you did not ship.  This also means that you are at extreme risk of losing your funds due to a buyer claim of non-delivery.  PayPal is only protecting its own interest with these funds.

In future just accept cash for local pickup.

[imliltink]

Providing a "Ship to" or tracking number is moot when it's a cash buyer.  Your response also does not hold merit when the buyer had already provided positive feedback within 24 hours of their purchase, yet PayPal still holds your money for 3 weeks.  This should be illegal if it's not already.  I'm sure a class action suit will come out of this at some point in the near future.