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

MTU2019
Contributor
Contributor
@donna I have contacted you guys and had an online chat with one of your guys buy the name "Vizopunuo" in his words he says my account has been limited for 180 days and he/she says she/he can not help. And I have no clear reason for why my account is permanently limited, but rather what am given are speculations as to why it may be limited. I would just PayPal to have a one on one engagement with its clients to clear the air than putting someone's business on hold for 180 days like you would compaset them for the losses. So @donna if you can help please do. You limiting 15k is a lot of money that can multiply to 500k in the 180 days you are permanently limiting it
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PayPal_Donna
Moderator
Moderator

@MTU2019.

 

I understand.

 

I'm afraid I do not know why the account became permanently limited. When our review team permanently limits a PayPal Account it is an evaluation of all the information and payments on the account, along with the risk involved. I am sorry, I know this is not the news you wanted to hear.

 

-Donna

 

 

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MTU2019
Contributor
Contributor
May I get to know what exactly could be the issue. Is it the amount of money or something else. If PayPal needs clarification then they should ask. 180 days to resolve an issue to me shows incompetence with an organisation that transacts Money meant for business. I need a solution from PayPal nor " Sorry"
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K8dobey55
Contributor
Contributor
This is happening to me what do u do?
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LastLurker
Contributor
Contributor

It's more than incompetence - holding money like this is actually illegal in some countries, which is one reason PayPal is currently the target of so many class action suits. They're also never going to give you an explanation - it took me two years and a half-dozen complaints before they told me anything, and when they lied and claimed that I had sent them fake documents.

 

In any case, I would strongly recommend filing complaints with the BBB and the CFPB, which is the only thing that animates PayPal to do much of anything for their customers these days. If that doesn't work and they're still holding your money, you might have to try arbitration.

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checksy
Contributor
Contributor

please help me i don't have any disputed but it says locked for 180 days 

Reference ID: PP-L-223630477741

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cmjmaz
Contributor
Contributor

Paypal is literally trash I wish I found these operators on the street . on god. 

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apesssss
Contributor
Contributor

lol some how idk why i still use pay pal, it is **bleep**tiest money online

 

now i use skrill

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Rui2019
Contributor
Contributor

This is a lot of nonsense.

 

I was never warned about possible limitations on my account, unless it is in fine print somewhere in the rules and regulations.

 

I have tried to lift the withdrawal limits without success, and I have written emails (that are supposedly answered within 24 hours and have had zero response). Meanwhile my money continues to be locked away in the Paypal account - and I intended to provide those funds to my parents, who need those funds urgently.

 

Seems unreasonable to me.

 

Trying this forum now, to see if I can get any help

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KBostic82
Contributor
Contributor
My account is limited also. I sent the requested information a while back and it is still locked. My account was locked/limited due to cashing out Qmee Survey funds. I am waiting on the limitation to be lifted so that I can close my account. This is ridiculous. Good thing I didn’t have much stored on this account. I never received an email saying that they were about to place limits on my account either.
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