Paypal illegally holding money

sdfasf
Contributor
Contributor

Money paid by buyer's on ebay have been put on hold. I sold 4 items - all from an old computer, at once. 3 of those have been unduly put on hold. This has made it so I'm unable to complete the transaction and send out the items. Reading here it seems like it's a total crap-shoot if they'll even release the money after everything has been sent and positive feedback has received. I'm not a new seller and I've never really had any problems or complaints.

 

This seems like an illegal, and outright gross attempt to hustle members of this service. I am honestly surprised that paypal hasn't been sued to the ground with these shark tactics, and ebay moreso with their complete anti-competition.

 

What is the best thing to do here, as a seller? Contact the buyer and tell _them_ to speak to paypal, as they've locked their money away?

 

Attempt to cancel the order completely? As people have suggested here, the best thing to do to move forward is to move over to Amazon. If I cancel the order I assume that Paypal will have no choice but to refund the money back. They'll no longer be able to hide behind the idea they're protecting anyone.

 

Thoughts?

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78 REPLIES 78

ursisle
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I am a seller since 2003 with all positive feedback and never an unresolved disputes. I have also had many time periods of inactivity in the past. When I started selling again this September or so I was surprised to find my payment on hold marked as 'unusual selling activity' and 'high risk'. (it was not either) I thought it was an isolated incident, but no... holds continue. I have now sold a few thousand dollars in items with no issues, having to FRONT the money for shipping! The holds are still continuing with no end in sight. Customer service just spouts the same vague answers with absolutely no timeline for this to end, so I am forced to assume it's being placed on me permanently.
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jrnygirl1982
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Contributor
This is happening to me right now. $15,200 that they are holding hostage. I was helping out a friend who needed money by buying jewelry that she had in her family and makeup. I was attempting to buy a second hand vehicle for myself, but PayPal froze my funds. Every time my friend or myself would call to get help, we both got different answers. The best answer they gave my friend: go to her account (seller) and send as a refund. How? Both of our accounts are now permanently limited. I have been stressing over this for a month now. Suspicion of fraud.....there was no fraud. No one will listen or help me out. I need that money ASAP. But keeping it 180 days? There will be no disputes. What do I know? No one at PayPal is willing to help me out. I’m being treated like an imbecile. Will someone be willing to help me? Probably not.
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ursisle
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Contributor
Under some circumstances it is possible to refund money that is on hold. Even though I can't access it, I can return it to an ebay buyer. I had to do this recently when a seller came in person to purchase my item. He wanted to use PayPal credit. The only way I could be sure my funds would release sooner than 21 days was to mail him a 'dummy package' with a tracking number so PayPal could verify 'received goods'. Just to clear, I issued him a partial refund... the refund came out of the funds on hold.
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ursisle
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linnex-
Contributor
Contributor

Yes, I asked ebay to take the hold off the buyers money because I had completed their terms and condition agreement ' 25 sales etc to have it removed only to be told by ebay that "PayPal" was holding the money now!!!!   I rang them and asked them if they were holding my money ?? and holding up my sale with ebay 'only to be told that it was for safety reasons? 'PRECISELY the same reasons that I had completed in eBay's terms and conditions. I explained to pay pal that I had completed all the relevant hold checks over the last 25 sales and had had all holds taken off on ebay so why now are Pay pal doing the same thing??? I am still waiting for an answer and they have given themselves a full 8 weeks to reply as is consumer law in the UK...I will be taking it to the FSA if I am not happy with their reply

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NorvilleRodgers
New Community Member
'it is legally in the agreement'.. that's a Nuremberg defence. What a scam
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VLC2020
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Exactly 100% true !

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Stev222
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This is clearly an unethical and unfair paypal policy, when an individual has successfully completed their sale and have done all the due diligence by properly listed an item on ebay and always and consistently maintaining 100% satisfactory feedback from every single customer, Then after considerable patience during an already financially challenging, uncomfortable and limited quarantined lifestyle, you eventually sell your item at a fair market value, complete it by paying ebay fees, paypal fees, as well as covering all shipping and handling costs$$. Only to be told that your a security risk for not being a more frequent seller and or being "Dormant" for to long? Lol.. According to paypal agent... apparently one does not qualify to paid in a timely manner if one does not sell frequently enough to satisfy paypals imposed standard of payment eligibility? Oh, they can slice this any way they like? But their really actually putting ALL the assurance and responsibility for the whole sale ALL ON YOU from A to Z, the complete process of the sale from begining to end, The Shipping to its final destination, and a confirmation of receipt whenever it happens to arrive these days?, ..lol.. Nevermind that ebay has already gotten paid, Paypal certainly gets paid and you've paid all shipping and handling costs $$$ straight out of pocket....(Your money is on HOLD) and is utterly at the mercy of their one sided policy? and only going to be released when they deem your particular transaction worthy? No matter how diligently you maintain honest and fair dealings with the general public? They will never consider that in ANY regard? Very cutthroat corporate tactics across the board... PS.. Very dissatisfied and certainly not encouraged to do more business with "don't get paid paypal" "Huh!
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jcmos
Contributor
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Too many layers of security always create problems. Simplicity is the key. Just change the system, obviously not working as many people are complaining about this issue.

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