Permanently disabled account email received and no reason given

[DeanSquire]

Hi everyone and thanks in advance for any advice given.

I am a UK user, and have had a paypal account for as long as I remember, maybe 20 years. Never had any issues whatsoever. Used to sell and buy on ebay, but havent done any selling for about 7 or 8 years. Havent used the account much at all in recent years, except a wikipedia appeal a couple of months back to which I donated £2 and a very occasional purchase off ebay UK.

Out of the blue earlier in the week stating that my account is being permanently disabled or words to that effect. Also that my PP balance of about £90 will be refunded in 3 months. I thought it was a spoof email, and after logging in got a shock to find that it was real. I logged in to the chat which was no help and rang the helpline. The lady on the phone apologised and looked at my account, and said she couldn't find any faults or reasons why the account was being killed off. She told me that I would receive a further explanatory email.  An email received today thanking me for being understanding and co-operative, and stated that they are unable to provide me with a reason, in order to protect PP security. I found it quite patronising and very unfair. If I had done something wrong I would happily accept my punishment. There were no prior notifications or warnings. It's a strange way to treat a customer. I am a bit dumbfounded to be honest, as it was always good to know that the service was available, as so many people prefer this payment method.

Thank you

dean

[kernowlass]

@DeanSquire 

PayPal does review accounts regularly, and any concerns with security, violations of the User Agreement or Acceptable Use Agreement, compliance obligations, etc., could lead to a permanent restriction. Additional information beyond what would have been provided to you in a notification and/or email would not be available due also to security concerns ...in other words they do not give you an exact reason, they just direct you to the user agreement or acceptable use policy. I guess having a reason wouldn't make any difference if they have permanently banned you.

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

[DeanSquire]

Hi and thank you. I appreciate your taking the time and effort to respond. Unfortunately it doesn't give me any further clue as why my account got banned permanently, and I have rarely used PP in 6 years. I have only one bank account, so presumably I will not be able to use PP ever again. It's all a bit bizarre tbh. I wonder is AI involved and making an error in the decision, as nobody even seems to be able to give a basic, general, non specific idea of the nature of the perceived problem. I wonder have many others had similar issues? is it a recent phenomenon etc. I find it all very frustrating. It's a bit like being sent to jail for committing a crime, but not being told what the crime is, not being allowed legal representation, or to appeal. Absolutely astonishing way to do business. At best extremely rude and at worst totally authoritarian.

dean