Consumer complaint received 2018-09-03
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: WA
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service
Sub-product: Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Confusing or missing disclosures

Complaint:
I opened a PayPal account on XX/XX/XXXX with the intent of using my PayPal account to accept payments for items ( 2 rare coins from my personal coin collection ) that I planned to sell on XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX the coins sold successfully and I received the payments to my paypal account, {$1400.00} total, {$740.00} for each coin. My PayPal account immediately had a limitation placed on it pending a review of my account activity. I was told a couple weeks later ( after I already shipped the coins to the buyers ) that after PayPal 's review, my account would be permanently limited and my funds would be held for 180 days from the date of the limitation due to " high risk activity ''. I strongly believed at the time this was an unfair action but was told the decision was final. On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email saying my PayPal funds were eligible for withdrawal after this 180 day time frame passed. However, since then I've been having issues actually withdrawing the funds. I now receive an error message when trying to log into my account to withdraw the funds saying " Sorry, we can't log you in. If you think there's a problem with your account, please contact us. '' I have not been able to get this issue resolved with PayPal 's customer support so I can actually regain access to my account. Any department I'm connected to says it's a different department 's problem. And no one can explain why this block was placed on my account preventing me from logging in. I was promised by PayPal that I would be able to withdraw my paypal funds after the 180 days passed so I want PayPal to live up to this promise and allow me access to my money. It is my belief that PayPal has no legal or legitimate reason to continue holding this money. It has now been over 3 months past the date that I was supposed to have access to my funds. 

When contacting PayPal previously I was told I need to provide several documents in order for them to release my money. Inducing photo ID, credit card statement, bank statement, supplier information, and proof of address however, I have several problems with this request : 1 ) The email XXXX that paypal provided to send these documents appears to be unmonitored. I have sent numerous emails to this address and never received a response. I've also sent faxes to their fax number and never received a response. So even if the documents were sent to the places indicated, paypal would most likely never see them. 

2 ) PayPal has stated they need these documents because they are unable to confirm my identity. However, I believe it is not lawfully acceptable for PayPal to indefinitely hold my money because PayPal claims they were unable to confirm my identity. Also, most of these documents were provided to PayPal previously when my account was limited initially. And part of the reason my account was permanently limited was because they claimed they were unable to verify the documents. Note : PayPal has denied ever receiving or rejecting documents previously when talking to them but they have. 

3 ) PayPal classifies themselves as a banking/financial institution and the actions taken by PayPal when dealing with this issue are a clear violation of banking laws. Normal banks are not allowed to hold user 's funds for the extended periods of time PayPal has. Also, normal banks are not allowed to place these types of stipulations on releasing money in a user 's account and then confiscate their money if they do not comply with these stipulations. The bank could choose to close their account, but they would be legally obligated to return the money. 

4 ) PayPal had plenty of opportunity to request documents before allowing my account to be opened as is standard banking procedure. Instead, they waited until after the account was opened and had already accepted payments before requesting these documents as a condition of allowing me to withdraw my money. It is my belief that this practice is not lawfully acceptable.

5 ) The PayPal terms that the company cited where they stated you agree you will not, Refuse to cooperate in an investigation or provide confirmation of your identity or any information you provide to us. Further, the Other Legal Terms section of the User Agreement states, We may also ask to see your drivers license or other identifying documents at any time. If you use certain PayPal services, federal law requires that PayPal verify some of your information. PayPal reserves the right to close, suspend, or limit access to your PayPal account and/or the PayPal services in the event we are unable to obtain or verify this information. In NO WHERE does it say they can indefinitely hold your money over this like they're trying to do to me. Only that they can close your account or limit access. Also, this term was recently added to the PayPal agreement. It was not there during the time I signed up when I agreed to PayPal 's terms. 

I also attached a screenshot from PayPal 's page of RECENTLY ADDED TERMS ( were not part of the terms I agreed to when I signed up ) and even in this term it says that if PayPal is not able to verify your identity you can still withdraw money from your PayPal account. You just can't send your money to other PayPal accounts.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation