Account Limitations: What You Need to Know

[PayPal_Mark]

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.

[lynseyfb81]

yes me too I submitted birth certificate and government issued letterstwhile last week and finally was able to confirm my card with the code after my online banking pass code came in the post so I could set it up and view my statement. low long after submitting ur I.d did it take for ur account to be put back to normal? customer service agent told me today it's now being looked at and to expect update by email within 24-72 hrs!

[LilyPadStock]

I am not okay with you taking my account by force. We are not children we don't need you to control our businesses. This is not okay. You are not keeping us safe because we are not allowed to do anything about the problem by you stealing our money and account. You are not a good company by doing this. Your reasons are corrupt. How can you claim to be secure yet you take away our ability to control our own accounts to fight for ourselves? It doesn't make sense. I am not the only one who feels this way. You don't seem to care about your costumers. We've been complaining from the beginning. Your practices are wrong. If we wanted your help we would ask for it. Your nothing but a theft. It's not helping us. How can we learn how to run our business if you take away the ability? Not cool PayPal. You seem to think your costumers are too stupid to think for ourselves.

[BMW328I]

It’s not only that they protect scammer to keep scam people . My account was limited cause I find out I purchased item $660 from scammer who sent me empty box and the mail man told me this box to light so I refused to take it and told him just return it to sender so I’m being safe and I told the seller please when you got your package back refund my money package was reach the post office and status says ready for pick up 2 weeks seller never picked up the package if he was honest person he would picked up the package but he/she scammer so why would he/she pick up it after almost 3 weeks I got my refund and dispute closed next morning I found out my account limited I called and they told me you account risky . I was selling/buying almost $400k a year with almost 600 transaction . This is ridiculous

[ivvpajj]

My account is temporary limited. I have submitted all the necessary requirements but i cannot provide the bank statement since I haven't linked any bank account. How can i fix this? Pls help. Urgent

[artemerson]

I have been notified that my account has been permanently limited and i can not use it any more. I was given no examplyes or why. I am a new small pottery studio in the us and do not have a lot of online sales.

[Jdude54]

My account just got "PP-L-253449820542" which apparently is a no-warning permanent ban????? With no warning???

Its my personal paypal I use to pay for my kids' roblox account. And I know exactly why this happened. My wife sends me money f/f once a month and I transfer it to my checking account via PP.

I guarantee you some AI fraud bot flagged that, because her personal account got locked too!!!!!

If there was a probably sending around 2k a month f/f this way, shouldn't I have gotten an alert or something?

It's DECEMBER. I can't believe this is going on during a pandemic when eveyrone has to buy things online. Now I have to go put in credit card information with Roblox, Steam, etc, etc, etc. 

Paypal, I've been on hold all morning to talk to a real human. This is insanity. 

[Jdude54]

Follow up, here is how today is going:

1. Any bank or credit card information linked to your PayPal account cannot be removed nor can it be used to create a new account. You can still log in and see your account information but you can’t send or receive money.  (wow, my Limitation is an actual blacklisting).

2. "You earned Your PayPal Anniversary badge"

This is bizarro.

[Bibobello]

@Jdude54 this is happening to thousands of us, and like you said it’s December and during a pandemic! They are stealing our money, I have thousands blocked on PayPal for 3 months now and Was never Able to talk to a human being on the phone. Their office of escalations is made of incompetent people all named Catherine and. Repeating that the decision is final! They are destroying our lives, I can’t pay rent, tuition, food for my family and lost everything because of this stupidity!

[homerlea]

I have gone through the same thing. Banned for no reason after selling for 20 years with no complaints. Also, very odd, is that after 180 days I was able to get my money but although banned for life they say I cannot close my account. Very odd logic or rather lack of logic. The real problem is that they are trying to do everything by computer with no humans involved for most things and the few actual people involved don't seem to understand their computer software.  The only actual person I have been able to contact is the VP and Corporate Secretary and that is because I am a PayPal stockholder and have sent in a proposal for the next stockholder meeting addressing the problem.

[Zappaz]

I have the exact same issue and still not resolved.....they are a joke at the absolute best