Permanently Limited PayPal Account with Funds on Hold

[azeemismail025]

Hi everyone,

I’m reaching out to share my frustrating experience and see if anyone else has gone through something similar. I recently created a new PayPal account and received a payment of $280 from a client. Right after receiving the payment, I got an email from PayPal saying that my account has been permanently limited. They mentioned that they can’t process payments anymore due to "activity" that supposedly violates their policies.

What’s even more upsetting is that they’re now holding my $280 for up to 120 days! This is extremely unfair, especially since I’ve done nothing wrong. I rely on PayPal for business transactions, and this sudden, permanent limitation has severely disrupted my cash flow and business operations.

I understand PayPal has policies, but this feels like a huge overreaction, especially for a new account with a single transaction. Holding my funds for such a long period without any specific explanation or resolution is causing a lot of stress.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? How did you handle it? I’d really appreciate any advice or insights.

Thanks for listening.

[kernowlass]

@azeemismail025 

If you have been told your Paypal account has been permanently limited then Paypal tends to hold any funds for 180 days. This is the same time frame that buyers have to open Paypal disputes.

If no disputes are opened in 180 days then normally you are allowed to withdraw the funds. That is as long as you are over 18, account is in your legal name and the account is registered in the country where you reside.

However you have to wait until you receive the Paypal email citing you are now eligible to withdraw those funds.

Sometimes they confiscate funds if you have violated their acceptable use policy.

Paypal also may request further documentation from you before you can withdraw those funds.

You can rarely appeal a permanent ban but if you want to try an appeal then contact customer services.

They 'may' pass it to the back office but the chances of the appeal being successful are slim. Paypal state that the decision is not made lightly and once made is usually final.

https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/how-do-i-contact-paypal-customer-service--help378