PayPal Account Permanently Limited

overkillxx on 30/08/2022 - 18:04
Last edited 04/09/2022 - 19:37 by 1 other user

Hey Guys,

Couple days ago I got a strange email from Paypal stating that I can no longer use Paypal.. The generic reason they gave is the following:

"Following our review, we've permanently limited your account as we found potential risk associated with it.
As a result, we can no longer offer PayPal services to you."

I've had my account for over 12 years and never had anything weird like this happen before.. Googling I have founds others in a similar predicament.. I have no suspicious transactions, do not use it for selling anything & as far as I am aware have not broken any T&C's.

I rang them shortly after seeing this email and the only advise I got was there was no reason on the system the operator could see as to why this has happened and that someone in the back office team took this action on the account..
Once again, googling has led me down the path of lodging a complaint to the Better Business Bureau (bbb.org). This however is meant for certain countries where Australia is not one of them.. I lodge it anyway but haven't heard anything back.. This was half suspected since I am in Australia

Does anybody know anywhere I can go to in order to lodge a complaint? I have already done so to PayPal. Though others did this and got nowhere until the lodge it with BBB. On BBB related cases on most occasions people got there account reactivated. Reasons were given from using a proxy anonymity service to selling items that aren't allowed..

Update & Issue resolved: Even though I am not located in US or America, the Better Business Business Bureau, they still contacted Paypal & I found out my account was permanently limited/unusable as I used a VPN sometime in the past. All they wanted was a thorough ID check & now my account is reactivated again.. This in my opinion is severely harshe for Paypal to do just for using a VPN. At least a warning would have been nice..

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Comments

  • Hybroid on 30/08/2022 - 18:06
    +3

    BBB doesn't apply to Australia. You can try Consumer Affairs if you wanted to.

    Paypal's risk analysis has deemed you an unfit customer, there's nothing you can do about it and they're not forced to offer you services if they don't want to.

    Maybe create a new account.

    • SlavOz on 30/08/2022 - 21:12
      +4

      they're not forced to offer you services if they don't want to

      OK fine, but they should be forced to be open and transparent about the reason. Culling someone's service for no reason without warning is bullshit. No other business has that privilege. What if your landlord or bank did the same thing?

      Give people a reason why this is happening so they have an opportunity to correct it or make alternative arrangements. Tech companies don't just want the right to serve who they wish - they want the right lie, mislead, and trap their customers so their lives are ruined after having their service disrupted.

      • Ughhh on 30/08/2022 - 21:30
        +3

        The bank does it with credit cards/loans.

        • Gervais fanboy on 30/08/2022 - 21:35
          +6

          What Slav is saying is trying to say is, that it’s wrong. Op should have received some headsup/warning.

          What you have just done is, reference another wrong to justify this particular wrong.
          This is what you call a circular logic involving a whataboutism.

          • Ughhh on 30/08/2022 - 21:36
            +1

            @Gervais fanboy: Slav was actually the first to mention and to compare banks for his argument, though incorrectly. Both are financial services btw.

            Perhaps you could correct him first. Unless you're not allowed to.

            • Gervais fanboy on 30/08/2022 - 21:38

              @Ughhh:

              though incorrectly.

              And all you did was, correct him.

              My apologies then, I misunderstood your point. Unfortunately can’t edit/delete my comment anymore…

        • SlavOz on 31/08/2022 - 00:09
          +1

          I'm not aware that a bank can just cancel a loan mid-service at its own discretion. Eg - if you've got a car loan or mortgage with them, they can't just decide to end the agreement and force you to surrender the asset for no reason. Having worked in financial services, I can tell you ASIC would have a field day with that.

          It's tricky. Banks can reserve the right to not associate with someone, but they don't have the right to leave you homeless or completely destroy your credit score and decades of financial planning.

          Digital services, such as social media or payment platforms, are an industry of their own which our consumer laws were never designed for. So these companies basically operate unregulated. A petrol station can't retrospectively decide to take back your tank of fuel after they've committed to serve you. Landlords can't just change your locks and leave all your stuff out in the rain. An electricity provider can't just shut off the hospital's power during peak hours.

          Yet many digital services have the right to make unregulated decisions. They can not only cancel your current service, but they can go back in time and cancel years of past service. Eg - you build millions of subscribers on YouTube, relying on it for income, and they just pull the plug. All your subscribers are gone and you lose any pending income you generated. How can that be legal but if an employer wants to fire you, they need to cite a good reason and give you at least 4 weeks of pay?

          See how it's an uneven playing field?

          • Ughhh on 31/08/2022 - 00:20

            @SlavOz: They can and have terminated people's accounts. Also can decline to give you products like credit card/loans without being transparent and giving you any reason.

            • SlavOz on 31/08/2022 - 08:58

              @Ughhh: But the point is, that right is not absolute. There are some situations where a bank can terminate your service at their own discretion, but in most instances they are bound by industry standards and consumer laws.

              Social media and other digital platforms are the only business that seem to have an absolute right on cancelling a customer's service.

              • Ughhh on 31/08/2022 - 12:53

                @SlavOz:

                No other business has that privilege. What if your landlord or bank did the same thing?

                Here you imply that banks can't do this 100%.

                There are some situations where a bank can terminate your service at their own discretion

                Thanks for realising and correcting yourself.

                Yes, mods can perm ban your account. Would you like the gov to step in and dictate how private non essential business' operate, my leftie?

                • SlavOz on 31/08/2022 - 13:29

                  @Ughhh: You misunderstood me.

                  Every business has some discretion around who they serve. But they are still bound by consumer protection laws, anti-discrimination codes, and industry standards. So their right to decide who they do or don't serve is not absolute - it has limits.

                  But certain digital platforms have unlimited rights when it comes to deciding who they do or don't serve. See the difference?

                  And as we've seen over the past years, social media platforms can single handedly influence the outcome of elections based on which information they decide to show like when people can vote, how to do so, or the policies of each candidate.

                  Is participation and facilitation of the democratic process not an essential service?

          • jv on 31/08/2022 - 00:38

            @SlavOz:

            I'm not aware that a bank can just cancel a loan mid-service at its own discretion.

            LOL… They do it all the time…

      • jv on 31/08/2022 - 00:37
        +2

        No other business has that privilege.

        Every business has that privilege.

        I've done it many times to ex-customers that were too high maintenance.

        • SlavOz on 31/08/2022 - 08:55

          So a landlord can just kick you out without notice for any reason?

          That's just verifiably incorrect.

          • jv on 31/08/2022 - 09:04

            @SlavOz: A landlord is not a business.

            • SlavOz on 31/08/2022 - 09:13

              @jv: Many of them do operate under an ABN for the purpose of their rental income.

              But fine, pick another industry. Can Origin shut off your power overnight for no reason? Can a dentist start chopping into your gums and then suddenly decide they don't want to serve you?

              Literally every business is bound by consumer protection laws or industry standards. Only some companies seem to have the privilege of absolute discretion, which is unfair.

              If you support the free market, it should be absolute. Either give every business the right, or no business should have it.

              • jv on 31/08/2022 - 09:38

                @SlavOz:

                Many of them do operate under an ABN

                They are not required to, and most don't

              • jv on 31/08/2022 - 09:45

                @SlavOz:

                Literally every business is bound by consumer protection laws or industry standards.

                That is for the products or services the business provides.

                They don't have to sell you a product or service if they don't want to, and they don't need to tell you why either…

                • SlavOz on 31/08/2022 - 10:01

                  @jv: So, if I open a bakery and don't want to sell my cakes to a gay guy, I shouldn't have to?

                  My decision right?,

                  • jv on 31/08/2022 - 10:08

                    @SlavOz: If you own a store, you can refuse to serve someone. Even if they are straight.

                    Happens every day at night clubs.

        • apiecost on 31/08/2022 - 11:19

          When you email customers, do you bold certain words for emphasis?

      • JIMB0 on 31/08/2022 - 07:45
        +1

        ING cancelled my accounts for no reason (about 2 months after I stopped using them). A colleague had it happen with a different bank because they weren't using the account.

      • Chandler on 31/08/2022 - 09:02

        Whilst I agree with you, unless there is a related law or regulation, Paypal are a private entity and can essentially do what they want.

        • SlavOz on 31/08/2022 - 09:17
          +4

          There are no laws. My question is, why? The government loves making laws. We have some of the most trivial and useless laws in the world. Virtually nothing in Australia is unregulated.

          Yet they let these multi billion dollar platforms do whatever they want? It's a load of shit.

  • scrimshaw on 30/08/2022 - 18:07
    +6

    You should go to AFCA https://www.afca.org.au/make-a-complaint

    see related forum post
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/544174

    • overkillxx on 30/08/2022 - 18:36

      Thanks.. I just lodged a complaint on AFCA

  • Nutrino on 30/08/2022 - 18:24
    -6

    UN court of human rights?

    • cookie2 on 30/08/2022 - 19:57
      +4

      If you're serious, please advise why and if you're being stupid, please also advise why.

  • FLICKIT on 30/08/2022 - 19:58
    +4

    Just out of interest, do you only buy things with the account, or do you sell things and receive money also?

  • plmko on 30/08/2022 - 20:34
    +2

    You're probably logging in via VPNs etc

    • HardQuiz on 30/08/2022 - 21:00

      etc ?

      • FullPrice on 30/08/2022 - 21:27

        Pay for facetime video from Philippines etc

  • SlavOz on 30/08/2022 - 21:12
    +3

    Did you donate to the Canadian or Australian truckers by any chance?

  • screensaver on 30/08/2022 - 22:02
    +2

    I think this is a scam, spoof email

  • iamherenow on 30/08/2022 - 22:34

    Are you costing them too much money? Making the most their free returns?

    • vikvance on 30/08/2022 - 23:23
      +1

      Yes, there is obviously something that caused Paypal to do this.

      I'm not saying that Paypal were necessarily correct or treated OP fairly by doing this. But, I find it hard to believe that Paypal just randomly picked out OP's name & limited their account.

      This is comparable to how Amazon bans people permanently when they make "too many" returns. Now, it is unfair that Amazon doesn't define what is "too many returns" & the decision can appear unfair. But, there is still a reason for their decision.

  • apiecost on 31/08/2022 - 11:21

    Any chance you use a VPN, and PayPal see you buying stuff from IP addresses in various different countries?

  • Bargainitis on 31/08/2022 - 14:11
    +1

    I've had to deal with Paypal a few different times in my life so can share with you my experiences but some questions first.

    1) as others have asked, have you been paying and receiving funds using the paypal account? If so, have you paid or received from related parties account? i.e., you have set up a few different accounts and have been moving money around?

    2) Probably the most important IMO, do you have funds sitting in your paypal accout and now its locked up? if so, there are ways of getting this out.

    Otherwise, just open another account. There are heaps of ways of doing that using the same details - requires some creativity but i'm not encouraging it….

  • GOMOOTYPRO on 31/08/2022 - 16:04
    +4

    I think we're missing a few pieces to this puzzle…

  • Aureus on 04/09/2022 - 12:56
    -1

    There is no one to complain to. PayPal isn't forced to take you as a customer. Assuming they didn't take your funds, just move on.

  • sergeinorz on 07/07/2023 - 12:34

    @overkillxx, I've just had the exact same happen to me. I've been with Paypal for probably 15 years now and first time this has happened randomly. I'm suspecting it may be because I used a VPN too at some stage.

    Thinking to get in touch with Better Business Bureau as it seemed to have worked for you, any advice how to go abouts this?

  • T-man on 07/07/2023 - 22:31

    Do you mind to share which VPN service you used for your PayPal account? I used NordVPN many times for my PayPal account, hopefully it should be fine, my account is still active.

  • Manazuru on 27/09/2023 - 08:37

    Same thing happened to me earlier in the year. I must have been a PayPal customer for at least 20 years too. At this stage I haven't attempted to open a new account (their systems will prob have the smarts to detect me and block). However, I just don't use them anymore. This has happened to many people without a proper explanation, it's rude and disrespectful to long term loyal customers.

    PayPal had better watch out, as Musk will eventually release X as a payment system and take PayPal out. I hope he does.

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