Date Received: 2021-04-14
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: Dear Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I need to report an issue I am having with Paypal please. They recently banned my account and will not give me a reason. I have tried calling and speaking to an agent, emailing them, and reaching out through the XXXX XXXX XXXX. As of today, Paypal is still not giving me a specific reason as to why they banned my account. This all began with the one and only Dispute I ever filed with Paypal since I created my account in XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX my Paypal account was banned ( " Permanently Limited '' ) for " violating buyer protection policies. '' However, there was nothing I did that violated any policies. In short, I was sent an item that was advertised as something else, requested to return the package back to the seller for a full refund, Paypal decided in my favor, then banned me the same day they processed my refund. The Dispute Information : I purchased an item from a seller that was falsely advertised. I purchased a lot of 4 items, advertised as : a XXXX, a XXXX, and XXXX XXXX. These are collectable items from a XXXX shop called XXXX the XXXX XXXX XXXX, and all in the theme of their bear mascot. What the seller labeled as the purse was actually a coin pouch, a much cheaper and less useable item. Their photo was angled so you could not see the major difference between the two, which is only visible from the top and of the straps, which the seller did not take a picture of. ) The seller admitted fault in our messages XXXX which I sent screen shots of to Paypal XXXX, but said they " already spent the money '' and would not do anything to fix their mistake. After a lot of back and forth with the seller without reaching an agreement, I tried opening my first Paypal Dispute ever. I also reached out to the mods of the buying platform I used, XXXX ( which is a platform to buy/sell clothing ) who also told me the seller 's behavior was suspicious and told me I should open a Paypal Dispute as well. The seller was sending me many messages that made me feel uncomfortable as they were hostile, so that coupled with the fact that I would not have purchased the lot had they properly labeled the item being a coin pouch, it seemed easiest to just send everything back for a refund since the price difference with the falsely advertised item made the lot 's value lower than. In the end, Paypal decided in my favor, however while I had been requesting to send the box back for a refund since the beginning of my Dispute, I was instead just granted a refund. I called Paypal immediately after they approved my Dispute, confused, and asking when I was supposed to send the box back. The agent looked into the specifics and said the refund was already starting to be processed as an e-check, and after it cleared I could ship it back and then submit the receipt to Return on Us for reimbursement. A few hours after I spoke to this agent, I suddenly got an email from Paypal saying my account was " Permanently Limited '' aka Banned. I called immediately, but Paypal 's office hours were already closed. I tried using their messaging system, but I just got a bot auto-reply directing me to articles about why I was banned. I called first thing the next morning and spoke to an agent named XXXX. I asked why I was banned and XXXX just read the email I received back to me and said they could not see any other information. I explained what happened and while they seemed confused about my ban, they said it was out of their hands and there was nothing I could do to appeal it. Some sources online suggested I contact the XXXX XXXX XXXX which I did, and I just heard back a few days ago from Paypal with just a vague answer and telling me they approved me for the refund of my Dispute and that " There may be excessive risk involved in doing business with you. '' I wrote them back last night asking what exactly these possible excessive risks are, since I have had an account with them since XXXX and never had a single negative experience or Dispute before. I appreciate the XXXX XXXX XXXX for helping me get some sort of reply from them when calling/emailing them on my own did nothing, however after doing some more research online I came across many people who suggested I reach out to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about this, which is why I am submitting this to you now. After I was approved for a refund by Paypal for being sent a product that was falsely advertised, I was supposed to be able to get reimbursed for the shipping I would be paying to send it back to the seller with Paypal 's Return on Us, as said by the Paypal agent I spoke to. Since I was blocked a few hours after our call, on XX/XX/XXXX after the refund went through to my bank account, I paid out of my own pocket to return it as I did not want to keep the seller 's items since I already received my refund. ( USPS Tracking : XXXX for you to see, the cost was {$17.00}. ) All of this is so confusing since Paypal told me they decided for my Dispute the day they banned me. Paypal is not communicating with me and giving me any real, tangible reason as to what I did wrong. The reason I got banned seems to vary as well agent to agent : In the email, it said I violated buyer protection policies, but in the one reply I received through XXXX, someone named XXXX from Paypal said " There may be excessive risk involved in doing business with you. '' Considering I never filed a dispute since XXXX, never had a negative balance in my Paypal, was approved in my Dispute by Paypal themselves, and even shipped the box back to the seller out of my own pocket so the seller could at least have their items back, I am at a loss as to what could possibly warrant me being banned. I use my Paypal as my main means of buying things online and sometimes selling things online as well. No longer being able to use Paypal is a huge inconvenience since it is the most widely used payment program available and being banned directly negatively impacts me being able to buy and sell in the same spaces as most other people and my business with ecommerce. This entire issue with not only the dispute with the seller but also Paypal banning me has taken many hours of trying to reach out to Paypal for a response/help and writing up lengthy messages detailing what happened to try to get this fixed. Since I still have not been given an actual reason to my ban, I feel it may be a mistake and hope that by filing this with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, it may be fixed. Since there were so many messages and documents involved with this, I have everything uploaded in this XXXX XXXX folder for you to see as well : https : XXXX? usp=sharing Thank you for your time, XXXX
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 92056
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-04-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-04-14
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: PayPal closed my account for no reason and will not help me with getting it back up and going. I am not sure if this is some mistake as I assume it has to be. I have not been able to get help from them for months but I just remembered I could file a report on here as I feel they are not doing their job properly and it is effecting me a great deal as I used PayPal quite frequently. My email linked to my PayPal is XXXX.
Company Response:
State: MA
Zip: 01826
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-04-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-04-14
Issue: Problem adding money
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: They just hold my money for no reason. Even after stating it wasn't a business transaction but it was a personal gift transaction from a friend. Paypal decided to hold the money
Company Response:
State:
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-04-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-04-14
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: PayPal permanently locked my account and is withholding a total of {$100.00} in my current account on their platform, and they are also holding {$49.00} which was processing for a total of {$150.00} that has been taken from me. I feel that I was wrongfully banned from the platform, and after carefully reading the PayPal license agreement I feel that I followed all guidelines. I contacted PayPal via telephone and was told by a representative that my money was on hold and that I would not have any access to it. The date that I received the decision from the company to banish me from their services was XX/XX/2021. I would like for my money to be released to my bank account with XXXX and for my account to be reinstated as soon as possible. My email with paypal is XXXX XXXX
Company Response:
State: FL
Zip: 34638
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-04-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-04-13
Issue: Closing your account
Subissue: Company closed your account
Consumer Complaint: Hi, My Problem is with Paypal, Some 4 months or more ago palpal had suspended my personal PayPal account due to their statement of violation of the terms of services. I have tried to reach them over the phone but never get through to anyone to discuss this issue. I emailed them, then the reply was as stated before, I asked exactly what was the specified transaction or transaction that violated the terms of services, but unfortunately, I never got any specific answer, only the general vague response of violating the terms of services with no specific or reference to the stated violation. The Account had a balance of XXXX if I remember correctly and was frozen and can not use it or transfer it for my bank account or pay for any purchases, and was informed that it will be there for 180 days. Today XX/XX/2021, I received an email from Paypal stating that " {$190.00} USD ; Paypal posting date : XX/XX/2021, payment to Paypal damages caused by Acceptable Use Policy Violation ; Paypal Damages caused by acceptable Use Poly violation. Transaction type : Correction. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- I have the civil right to specifically know what and how I had violated these rules and to know where I did make the mistake to be held liable for this penalty both financially and mentally. exactly what happened? why they did what they did? NO Answer from Paypal. that is so uncivilized and unlawful, when someone is being penalized, he or she would have known the exact situation of their violation not just blunt and blank accusation, in order to review and respond to these charges. it is at least just a fair " Due Process as they say. this is totally unacceptable and totally offensive and I believe under fair law it must be solved according to the just and fairness to both parties. I demand an exact reference to the stating the violation incidence that I was charged with and entitled to my full rights under the law. Thanks,
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 90503
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-04-14
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-04-13
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Subissue: Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Consumer Complaint: I have an issue with PayPal. Open dispute for unauthorized charges twice and they close it twice in a scamer favor
Company Response:
State: PA
Zip: 19115
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-04-13
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-04-13
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: This is a complaint against Paypal. I have been using Paypal for more than 3-4 years now and for the last year, since the pandemic, I have been actively using Paypal and its services to buy/shop things, transfer or send money to friends and family. But then all of a sudden, I get an email from PayPal that my account is permanently limited and that I won't be able to use it anymore. I won't be able to send/receive money and if that wasn't enough, they mentioned that I won't be able to transfer/withdraw the amount that I have in there! How is this not extortion? I tried reaching out to them because I still believe this is a mistake but after multiple phone calls ( on average lasting about 2.5 to 4 hours ) and attempts to reach them, I still haven't talked to a single person or heard from them. As a last resort, I had to try you guys out and check if you guys can intervene and help me sort this out. My email address associated to the Paypal account is XXXX XXXX
Company Response:
State: TX
Zip: 77459
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-04-13
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-04-13
Issue: Unauthorized transactions or other transaction problem
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: I sold a piece of equipment on XXXX on XX/XX/2020 for {$5000.00} ( included shipping ) And we used paypal. When The money came to my paypal the buyer tried to file a dispute. The dispute was settled by paypal in my favor. I now have $ XXXXUSD in my PAYPAL account that is ( available ) but i can not do anything with the money i want to withdraw it into my personal bank account but Paypal has permanently limited my account and they are saying they can hold my money for 180 days. The reason for holding the money is in case of any charge backs. Well the customer already tried to do a charge back and was unsuccessful so now PayPal is just holding on to my money for no reason. Please Help Desperate for my money.
Company Response:
State: CA
Zip: 95747
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-04-13
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-04-13
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: PayPal closed my account for no reason and will not help me with getting it back up and going. i am not sure if this is some mistake as i assume it has to be. i have not been able to get help and them for months but i just remembered i could file a report on here as i feel they are not doing their job properly and it is effecting me a great deal as i used PayPal quite frequently. My email linked to my PayPal is XXXX.
Company Response:
State:
Zip: XXXXX
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-04-13
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A
Date Received: 2021-04-13
Issue: Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account
Subissue:
Consumer Complaint: My account was permanently banned PayPal refused and balantly lied in my first complaint. My account was banned on XXXX the XXXX not over XX/XX/XXXX. My account was banned because of me get lump sum of XXXX from a friend for my stuff he bought. When I tried withdraw it be some this whole back and forth. They wasnt XX/XX/XXXX rewiew. One his agent got mad banned me again. That why it seems like I got 2 bans in which I recovered I am planning on suing this company. They steal money from people and pass it on. As for unemployment. My friend who recently got out jail. Used my PayPal account number to receive his unemployment. For a few weeks before I changed it. PayPal didnt have problem with than why have problem with it now. It been 200 days since the permanently ban. I just want my funds back. Tell the company to give me my money. PayPal is terrible scamming there innocent consumers. Worst part the guy who sent the XXXX was limited for 180 days but got his account back in one month.
Company Response:
State: GA
Zip: 30331
Submitted Via: Web
Date Sent: 2021-04-13
Company Response to Consumer: Closed with explanation
Timely Response: Yes
Consumer Disputed: N/A