I just wanted to pop on and see if anyone has had issues with PayPal recently? I’ve used them since 2012 and without warning found my account was restricted over the weekend. I can’t access funds, make payments, transfers etc… I can only process refunds. To lift the restrictions they wanted the following information about my business:
-Driving licence and facial scan for ID
-Proof of goods sold for X4 folksy transactions and proofs that those items had been shipped
-where I store my goods
-how long are they stored before they are sold
-how long does it take to dispatch sold goods
-what do I make and where do I sell
They have given me no reason other than they need to understand more about my business (probably checking I’m not money laundering!)
I’ve been happy to oblige them with this information so my account restrictions can be lifted. However it can take upto 5 working days for my information to be reviewed and hopefully approved. So my I can’t pay my folksy bill until it’s resolved. There is no option to remove PayPal as method of payment for my customers so they can only use stripe (as you can imagine I don’t want PayPal to receive any funds that currently I cannot access freely).
I’m totally disgusted that PayPal didn’t have the courtesy to inform me they had restricted my account and why they needed all of this information.
Has anyone else had issues like this with them and is there the option to remove PayPal from the checkout options for customers?
No Jenny I certainly haven’t had anything like that. Are you absolutely sure it was from Paypal - I do get a certain amount of spam emails that appear to come from Paypal, and actually do not. If you go to your account at Paypal I think they do specify how to tell if an email is genuinely from them.
I logged onto my PayPal, not via an email or link. As I said there was no notification via email or otherwise from them. Just got a nasty shock when I logged on and discovered the restrictions! It sounded like a scam doesn’t it but having spoken to a few fellow makers they have experienced the same thing… One said it was because there was unusual sales activity one weekend where she did a good market.
3/6 creatives I have asked have had to send ID and had these random restrictions in the past 12 months. So I thought I’d ask on here too? Xx
I have a verified business and verified personal PayPal account. When you go to pay Folksy you can log into a different account to pay the fees etc.
Are you using a personal pp account? Know if reaches a certain figure in a year of income they can block the accounts. This is all to do with the tax thresholds. Should not happen on a business account.
‘ What are the restrictions on PayPal personal account?
We may limit an account for several reasons, such as:
Regulatory requirements. We may limit your account to comply with regulatory requirements. …
Acceptable Use Policy. If you’re not in compliance with our Acceptable Use Policy, we can limit your account. …
This happened to me not long after I had opened our folksy shop and account. Partly I understood the need for verification but I wasn’t happy with their heavy handed approach. I was a bit wary when PP took over Zettle. It so far we haven’t had any problems. I do wish there was a Uk company who did all this - I prefer stripe except they seem to take a week to pay any money across.
That’s interesting and makes total sense. But it is a business account. Interestingly I messaged them to make a formal complaint about the lack of notification of account change (usually with a bank if they suspect unusual activity they’d email telling you that you have a message on your account they want you to read so please go and log in to find out).
I also reminded them that online and on the phone with customer support that did not answer by question about why I had to provide the information and for what purpose!
And this seemed to do the trick as my account has been reinstated. I am waiting to see if an apology or explanation is offered? And interestingly I got an email notifying me that it had been reactivated. So it is in their power to notify you it seems! Xx
Yes it is all a bit heavy handed. I know what you mean about stripe and zettle for talking a while to send money across. As a back up to PayPal and zettle readers I have just got a square account and card reader. They transfer funds next working day. Hoorah! Might be worth a look. Xx
Actually we find Zettle pretty quick so don’t really have a problem there. I had a customer buy a basket on 8 April and the funds only arrived in the bank today - 5 days if you take off the weekend.
If I were you Jenny, I would now set up PayPal so any balance is transferred to by bank as soon as possible for all transactions, so they are not holding any monies of yours, so if it happens again you can turn them off.
Yeah, that sounds about right. I find that with Zettle. I’ve still ordered another device with square. PayPal owns Zettle and currently until PayPal answer my questions I’m far less trusting of them to hold my funds. Currently they’ve reinstated my account again but no answers to my questions. Seems I’m not alone here, a lot of complaints from others on their forum. Although they have had emails to inform them the account was restricted where as I received no notification for some reason. I’ll brush it off. Had a good grumble now . Just be aware as I have a hunch a lot more users will be experiencing this over the next 12 months. Xx
I messaged with a formal complaint yesterday and within minutes it was unblocked! So they delt with it swiftly. I have a bit of a trust concern currently due to a lack of transparency and apology over lack of notification of account restrictions. Going for a nice dog walk and blowing the dust off now. Xx
Not sure if you are replying to my comment, I ment, make sure you transfer all money in your PayPal account everyday, so if they restrict you again, then they will not have much of a hold on you, if it happens again, then turn them off
I have Square and a card reader. They send funds next working day and also give you a free website, which is a no brainer to have as well as your shop here.
Please double check this is Paypal. Logon onto your account and it will tell you near the top of the page whether you have a restriction, all the info you have mentioned they requested sounds very suspicious to me. Drivin g license and facial scan?
Xx
. Just be aware as I have a hunch a lot more users will be experiencing this over the next 12 months. Xx
Xx