HORRIBLE IDEA TO HOLD FUNDS FOR 21 DAYS!!!

[gearhed78]

  Holding funds from sellers until the buyer leaves feedback is the worst idea EVER! Since when does Paypal become an authority on buyer satisfaction?? A smooth transaction is all that I wanted from Paypal. If they are going to hold funds, then they should make it very clear BEFORE you use them!  Keeping my money in their account for 21 days is a HUGE disadvantage of using Paypal. Stick to transferring funds,not trying to be a satisfaction authority!

[spookster]

What a terribly cynical thing to say.

I've received 4 pieces of anonymous negative feedback and 2 neutrals in the last 240+ transactions; 1 was a flat out lie about misrepresentation - the buyer claimed I put the piece in the wrong category, I sent him a screenshot of the auction page that clearly showed I had put it in the right category, and I offered to refund him completely if he removed all his feedback.  Nothing.  The eBay Customer Service (a laughable moniker) representative admitted that I'd done nothing wrong, but they would not remove his negative feedback.  Her response to my statement, "But he's lying, you can see he's lying...it's in the right place" was, "well, we discourage lying, but can't do anything about it."

The second "mis-representation" feedback was a claim of inadequate description...forget that I put 8-9 photos of the item up, with close ups of the item from every angle that clearly showed what it was, I even included a ruler in one picture to show the size.

The others were shipping time complaints, in spite of the fact that I clearly state I can only ship out on weekends; anyway, 2 of the four apologized for their complaints, it seems they didn't know about the tracking provided on eBay and never looked, they just dinged me.  1 of the complainers didn't pay me for 3 weeks, didn't respond to several inquiry emails, THEN dinged me because it took 5 days to get this item. (All of these buyers emailed me to tell me this...I tried to provide these emails to the CS Reps, but they didn't want to know)

I tried to appeal, but as the Customer Service representative told me, "we can always get sellers" sothe Buyer is king.   This was after over an hour and being "disconnected" 3-4 times..Thanks Andrew, and the rest of you for reminding me repeatedly that as a Seller on eBay, being forced to used PayPal, I am the scat on the bottom of your shoes that you are desperately trying to scrape off; this in spite of the fact that we, as a class, are responsible for the shoes in the first place.

Now, Paypal is holding my money, interested free.  They can only do this because they claim not to be a bank.  I have reported them to the AG and the Controller of Currency Administrator at the US Treasury.  If you're going to behave like a bank, you should be held to the same standards as banks.

[jamesemcg]

It's just not letting me do it. I have an account on there that has been on there for ages. I really need my money in my bank account, I have bills to pay.

[ddewey454]

It appears that paypal is arbitraily picking accounts and holding money they say is for diputes, refunds etc after reviewing your account they feel there could be a problem.  That is really a crock and a way for them to use your money for a few more days.  It appears that PAYPAL is having financial issues.  I beleve the policy is against actual law and that the EBAY and PAYPAL community should contact the State and U.S. Banking commission and file complaints.  PayPal has access to verified accounts.  I could understand this policy if you were new but not for those of us with a good history.  Don't sit back silently.  Its time to take a stand against abusive financial institutions.

[sbterp]

I agree. I have been a memebr since 2007. I made some transactions in December, and all of the sudden my money is being held for almost a month before I can transfer to my bank account. I have made many transactions in the past, and usually have been able to transfer to my account within days, if not the same day. I have contacted PayPal countless amounts of times and get no reasoning other than for disputes. However, all of my buyers have recieved theuir products and are pleased with the transaction. I have bills to pay, and PayPal is really **bleep**ing me on this one. I will be looking for other ways to make transactions in the future if this is not resolved.

[paisa]

how cant use mi money from paypal or tranfer my pay pal money to my bank  account  the money is allready in paypal but i needed in my bank how do this transference

[Matthew_Moulton]

It's because PayPal is illegally investing your money, that's why they need to hold on to it for as long as possible. There's actually a class action lawsuit in the works against PayPal for their arbitrary, unexplained and ridiculous holds. They often like to make up new rules that aren't even in their ToS. For example their ToS says you need to have 25 TRANSACTIONS...doesn't say whether they need to be buying or selling transactions, however the completely uneducated morons you talk with via e-mail or on the phone will try and claim they have to be buying transactions...despite the fact that the ToS says absolutely no such thing. They also don't even follow their own rules. Like today I should have gotten my money released as per their idiot rules and yet, still no money and still no e-mails. Of course, given that the customer left positive feedback back on the 28th and said specifically in the feedback that the item was received that ~should~ have been all PayPal needed to release the money...however, like I said, they're illegally investing our money and profiting off of it behind our backs, which is why they come up with every excuse in the world to hold onto it for as long as possible. To further **bleep** things up, eBay (owned by PayPal) instantly charges you for sales and then expects you to pay WAY before their imaginary holds ever even pass, so like now I can't even eBay account at all, it's completely locked down as I'm unable to pay them because I haven't even technically gotten my money for the transaction yet.

[Matthew_Moulton]

PayPal is illegally investing your money, that's why they need to hold on to it for as long as possible. There's actually a class action lawsuit in the works against PayPal for their arbitrary, unexplained and ridiculous holds.

They often like to make up new rules that aren't even in their ToS. For example their ToS says you need to have 25 TRANSACTIONS...doesn't say whether they need to be buying or selling transactions, however the completely uneducated morons you talk with via e-mail or on the phone will try and claim they have to be buying transactions...despite the fact that the ToS says absolutely no such thing.

They also don't even follow their own rules. Like today I should have gotten my money released as per their idiot rules and yet, still no money and still no e-mails. Of course, given that the customer left positive feedback back on the 28th and said specifically in the feedback that the item was received that ~should~ have been all PayPal needed to release the money...however, like I said, they're illegally investing our money and profiting off of it behind our backs, which is why they come up with every excuse in the world to hold onto it for as long as possible.

To further muck things up, eBay (owned by PayPal) instantly charges you for sales and then expects you to pay WAY before their imaginary holds ever even pass, so like now I can't even access my eBay account at all, it's completely locked down as I'm unable to pay them because I haven't even technically gotten my money for the transaction yet.

[likeflint]

I knew they were doing this. In addition, I noticed that they bury or delete critical posts on the message board. Sickening.

[Raveninred]

"Illegally investing your money" - don't use terms you don't understand. When PayPal initially instated (INITIALLY) the 21 day hold, , it was clearly stated in the TOS that the virtual funds were theirs for the duration of the time it took to clear and therefore, they were free to use the cirtual funds as they saw fit, i.e.; invest them for 21 days (as ALL BANKS DO, THE WAY A BANK, INVESTMENT HOUSE, ESCROW FIRM, CLEARING HOUSE, OR OTHER FINACIAL INSTITUTION MAKES MONEY - even if it's investing it for 21 seconds, because they make money on that 21 seconds in the finacial world).

THIS is how PayPal makes it's money. It's how it manages to be cheaper than a credit card, which is charged a processing fee by each place that it's used because they have to pay to use the machines to use the credit cards in the first place. So the credit card hits you with fees you don't understand because they're getting hit with fees. And debit cards are getting hit with fees because so many checks are coming back bad, and so many cards are getting stolen and they are responsible for the first $100,000, but we **bleep** about a $2.00 ATM fee. PayPal gets **bleep**ed ALL THE TIME ( read another thread once in a while) ans has to recover revenue somehow, or it would shut it's doors completely leaving you with NO alternatives except for skeevy guys asking you to sent them money via Western Union, and THEN they'll send the item, they promise.

Get a little educated, don't talk about what you don't know, and don't try to start a revolution with a lighter in a monsoon. It's pathetic.

Respect, mon.

Raven

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@Matthew_Moulton wrote:

PayPal is illegally investing your money, that's why they need to hold on to it for as long as possible. There's actually a class action lawsuit in the works against PayPal for their arbitrary, unexplained and ridiculous holds.

They often like to make up new rules that aren't even in their ToS. For example their ToS says you need to have 25 TRANSACTIONS...doesn't say whether they need to be buying or selling transactions, however the completely uneducated morons you talk with via e-mail or on the phone will try and claim they have to be buying transactions...despite the fact that the ToS says absolutely no such thing.

They also don't even follow their own rules. Like today I should have gotten my money released as per their idiot rules and yet, still no money and still no e-mails. Of course, given that the customer left positive feedback back on the 28th and said specifically in the feedback that the item was received that ~should~ have been all PayPal needed to release the money...however, like I said, they're illegally investing our money and profiting off of it behind our backs, which is why they come up with every excuse in the world to hold onto it for as long as possible.

To further muck things up, eBay (owned by PayPal) instantly charges you for sales and then expects you to pay WAY before their imaginary holds ever even pass, so like now I can't even access my eBay account at all, it's completely locked down as I'm unable to pay them because I haven't even technically gotten my money for the transaction yet.

---

[likeflint]

I want this thread to be a place for sellers of the community to let Paypal hear just how badly we are hurting because of the new payment holds policy. This policy is especially poorly designed for sellers of services. Those who--like myself--sell services instead of goods have no tracking numbers or delivery confirmations which Paypal is treating as the only proof of exchange. Thus, my payments are almost assured to be on hold.

Please post how you have been affected by this unfair policy. So here's what I want to say to Paypal:

Some of us make a living selling goods and services. I can't afford to have my payments on hold for 21 days and to have my account "reevaluated every 35 days", a statement that is vague and unhelpful to me. This is ridiculous. How would you feel if your employer said "Sorry, but we're going to hold your paycheck indefinitely until we arbitrarily decide the customer is satisfied, based on factors that are often out of your control."

Let me give you an example of how this policy is flawed in practice. On eBay, I have no control over whether my customers rate our transaction. In addition, since I sell a service I have no way of providing a "tracking number" or "delivery confirmation". In the eyes of Paypal, I have not provided a service, and while my customer is enjoying the benefits of my hard work, I am waiting indefinitely for the money that I have earned. I work hard for my money, and I have never had a single negative review or dispute for the service I provide, even after 2.5 years. 

Paypal claims that this policy is in place to "ensure that the transaction is completed smoothly". But that's not what this policy is really about, is it? It's not just about ensuring that customers are satisfied, it's about reducing the number of disputes and expediting the dispute process for Paypal. Buyers are happy, Paypal is happy, and meanwhile, sellers--especially sellers of services--are getting sacrificed because Paypal knows we have no other option when it comes to transactions through eBay and outside of eBay with the majority of our customers. Don't you think it's wrong that people like me are getting sacrificed just so that Paypal can save time and money avoiding disputes?

All of this boils down to one thing. Effectively, this is what this bad policy has done to my life: I had a successful online business while the money was flowing, when I could do the work and get the paycheck. I was living my dream working from home. But now my successful eBay business is dead. I have had to get a traditional job because I cannot afford to "wait and see" if I'll get paid by Paypal, who has effectively become my employer for all intents and purposes. Hence, my business has suffered and I can no longer maintain it because I can't depend on a paycheck from my employer. I would switch to a different middle-man, like G_____ Checkout, but with Paypal so widely used and closely intertwined to eBay, it's really not an option.

It's really sad. I trusted Paypal and have advocated it for years to friends, family, and customers as a trustworthy "people's company". Unfortunately, I can see that the company has shifted its focus from people to profit margins. I'm very disappointed. This bad policy has had a profoundly negative impact on my life, and I hope Paypal quits sacrificing it's sellers soon.