Account Limitations: What You Need to Know
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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:
- 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.
- Once you’ve submitted the information required, we’ll review and reply via email.
- 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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I just want a proper answer to my account limitation and a telephone call.
Loads of the same old, same old, do this do that without reading the issue I have raised with them.
Hiding behind Covid 19.
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Did you get this cleared? I cant get anyhere. Phone number ends with them using covid to hang up. Message center will get a rep but then they say I need to transfer you to security to resolve the limitations then that's it....you never get a security person to review your case or even get one to even ask what can I do. Its all a big game of circles. I will never use ebay or paypal again. Heck at this point I don't think I will ever get my money on hold for no reason
and nobody knows what to do with this company
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don't blame e-bay, paypal has been separate for some time.
2 raise a formal complaint through the regulator.
I would list their phone number and e-mail address, which I got from the UK FCA , but Paypal then removes the info from posts, ie obstructing it's customers attempting to complain.
this has been included, with evidence, in my complaint made to the UK FOS.
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In Australia, the standard driver’s license also reflects one’s address. Why does PayPal still need bank statement, utility bill etc.. as proof of address? One document should suffice! we are advised time and again not to give out banking details, when you don’t you are limited??? Never can win!
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This thing of "send us email and we'+ll answer"
I wish that would be truth, its fair from reality.
Tell me what email I need to send? my wife's account is totally blocked and she can't enter on it.
Thats BS
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Hello everyone
My account is also limited because of items being delivered late and customers complaining. I provided all the tracking numbers and I have no control over shipments coming from China. Please help since this is a new account and I know there are extra security in place but I need my funds out what should I do?
Many of my items are delivered to happy customers however a few late ones flagged my account 😞
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trouble is you don't answer your phones, and you don't respond to messages, other than the usual meaningless 'Our agent will respond to your message within 1 hour' which just causes your customers to sit waiting for a response that doesn't happen.
I have spent 6 days this week on message, you no longer offer e-mail or phone options, and your phone lines will not connect to anyone.
during those six days I had two responses, both of which promptly said they needed to transfer me to another department, and didn't, hence the six days wait before I finally lost the will to live and lodged a formal complaint against Paypal with the UK FOS.
it is also no use, putting a notification on someone's account, which tells you to click on 'provide info' which then leads you to a page that says, this page does not exist.
now in the hands of the FOS, and Paypal can get stuffed.
I also note that if anyone trys to give another person on here a phone number for Paypal, the number is removed.
so confirming that while Paypal can't be bothered to answer their phones or messages, they are censoring posts on the community.
oh. and by the way, I don't want your stupid badges, I want you to provide a working customer service.
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while waiting for anybody to actually reply at Paypal, I had an interesting thought today ...
1. when I phone and do the verification, I get told my 'available ballance'
2. when I started day 9 of my message fight with Paypal in the vague, forlorn hope of a response, the virtual agent told me
'I'm sorry, I couldn't find any limitations on your account. If you need further assistance please contact us'
3. I have a notification which tells me 'We need additional information to confirm your account details. Until you provide the requested information, some of your account features will be limited'
4. but when I click on the 'provide info' link, I get 'We're sorry. That page doesn't exist'
5. after several hours, suddenly I get this on the message link '
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You summed it up when you said there is no other option. The only real options are to sue them and complain to their regulators.
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