175 thoughts on “How I Convinced PayPal To Release My Funds”

1. I had a similar problem with Paypal a couple of years ago. Mine was two thousand dollars, but I didn’t bother complaining beyond the original appeal,as they were paying a nice money market interest rate on the money.

   The arrogant way they handled the situation still irks me.

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2. Good for you. My account is limited too. And I am having more than $1000 locked with it. I have given up my fight and am waiting for the 180 days period to end. LOL

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3. A most excellent tactic and story. Politely worded, but clear that there were consequences to their actions. Should be a lesson to anyone attempting to “right a wrong” by an organization.

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4. Wow! Good on you buddy, it’s all about people power here. I think I better book mark this page just incase this ever happens to me.

   Now I need to go find the reason why your account was limited lol

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5. Congrats! Thats the best response I’ve seen from paypal ever. I have an account that was locked several years ago and they said that it was permanently locked and could never be reopened. It had a 0 dollar balance.

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6. I’d still be inclined to file a complaint with at least the BBB.

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7. I am glad to hear you got your money back, good for you

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8. Nice to know things work out. And I am glad you are going Great too.

   Just to let you know, I was one of the first person who had bought your ebook at DP

   Pushkar

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9. I also recovered my PayPal by emailing them and uploading my documents, It took a week but it was good, Thanks Rand

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10. I just recently had my account limited and the email stating it will no longer be opened. I have just over $3,000 in the account so I am giving your email a shot. Like yourself I have been with them for a while and very little dispute issues.

    Does anyone know why they do this? They never even did a thorough investigation. (no phone calls etc…) Just scummy of them.

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11. Wow, here is an update.

    One hour after sending this email, paypal contacted me and and tried to understand how the business worked. After clarify and talking about several other issues which I was able to explain the lady I spoke to (very nice) said she would speak with an account specialist and call me back. 15 minutes later, I received an email stating my account has been reinstated!

    So just wanted to say a huge thanks!

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12. Mike said:

    Wow, here is an update.

    15 minutes later, I received an email stating my account has been reinstated!

    So just wanted to say a huge thanks!

    that is awesome! I’m glad I was able to help.

    See everybody?! Blogging CAN help change people’s lives!!

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13. I just wanted to say thanks…hopefully it will work. i emailed them earlier and will let you know the response after i know! =)

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14. Hey Ashley i’m glad i could help. Come back and post an update if you hear anything back from them.
    Good luck!

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15. Well, they did not reply as soon as I hoped, but IT WORKED! (they called this morning) I figured it would because it was VERY well written. I omitted some info & added a more personal note about my situation. Although they weren’t holding nearly as much money as they were with you (only about $300…lol), I have 2 toddlers to take care of and it was (MY) MONEY that I earned. =)
    I want to thank you so much for writing this!! I really appreciate it! I know you have helped a lot of people and will help so many more. Ebay & Paypal are TERRIBLE!
    The only thing now is that because of them taking the money out of my bank account UNJUSTLY, my account is overdrawn, so I still lose. I have to go to the bank and file a dispute and hope it works. Do you have any more brilliant ideas?
    Heres what happened(in short): My grandma passed away, I had to DRIVE out of state w/ 2 toddlers to make arrangements. I was in a bit of shock & did not mail items before I left, however, I did as soon as I made it back. AFTER proof of shipment AND delivery, paypal took $175 out of my bank account. So now I am overdrawn. Instead of releasing the money back into my bank, they put it in my paypal. It takes 3-4 days to post to my bank. ?????
    thanks
    Ashley

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16. I need your help with something. I have been scammed by esuccess2u.com and would like to know how I could go about getting my money back. =((

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17. Ashley Poole said:

    I have been scammed by esuccess2u.com and would like to know how I could go about getting my money back. =((

    Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that! unfortunately, i’ve never heard of them, and would not know where to begin.. I guess if you gave them any money, file a complaint/chargeback with whoever you used to pay them (credit card company/paypal, etc) ..

    Let us know how it goes.

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18. Just wanted you to know same story…Paypal holding $4000 for over 2 months….it was awful as I had bills to pay and etc….with no $$$$! I took your letter and tweaked it to my situation and within 8 hours all the money was released!!!!

    Thanks again and you are awesome!!!!

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19. PayPal just held my money and limited my acct, I have sent all the product and delivery conformation was received and every person left positive feedback. They then asked me to provide the receipt from the supplier i did that and they called the supplier which was my brothers wholesale business. They asked if he was related and he told them yes. They then told me that it could be fraud and I explained that he sells to everyone. This is not fraud and I am at a stand still I just wrote the an email and followed your procedure. What is the best thing that I can do to prove to them this is not fraud just because my brother owns the wholesaler it does not give them the right to do that. I have given them all my information and followed all of there verification procedures and am still lost.. Please Help

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20. Faye Awana said:

    What is the best thing that I can do to prove to them this is not fraud just because my brother owns the wholesaler it does not give them the right to do that.

    Wow.. isnt Paypal wonderful? If you have not broken any rules, then you have to keep on them! Keep sending the emails (to EVERYONE), quote their own rules, point out your past customer satisfaction rate, and tell them you are going to complain to the applicable agencies (like i did) if they don’t respond – and dont forget to stay polite and professional.
    Keep in mind though, that if you have broken any rules, etc, you may not get the results you expect.
    Good luck – lord knows you will need it!

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21. Paypal locked my account nearly one month ago now, balance just over $5000.

    I have been a customer for 8 years and 6 months, over 1000 transactions and only one complaint that I can recall against me.

    I don’t know what is going on, just automated email replies from them.

    They suck!

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22. Hello everyone,

    I see that I am not the only one who have a similar issue with Paypal. I just started to sell on Ebay 2 months ago, and using paypal for my transactions. I had almost $8,000 revenue within 1 month. My last transaction was for $2400, the payment was an instant payment in my paypal account. I never leave any money in my paypal account and wanted to transfer the $2,400 out of my paypal account to my bank account, before shipping the item. Right after i have initiated transferring $2,400 out of my paypal account, I received a phone call from 402 area code. A nasty/mean paypal representative was on the phone and asking me where I get the supply from? She told me that she needs to see the invoices of my supplies…etc.
    With that phone call, I understood that transferring money out of my Paypal account was not a right move on my part, before shipping the item. But it was too late to even think about it. Now, Paypal were asking me private questions which I would not like to give to nobody. I told the Paypal’s nasty representative, that it is not her business to know where I get my supplies from. I always send the items, and never cheated nobody, and all of my customers are very happy with my products and services.

    She told me that she will be sending me an email, and hung the phone on my face. Right after that, I received an email with a notice of “Restriction on my paypal account”. I had $2,950 in my account. I got so upset, and went ahead and gave full refund to the customer who sent me $2,400, because I had the item in hand(did not ship the item). Account balance came to $550. I gave more refunds to one of my other customers, who paid me $530 via Google Checkout, and right now, there is only $19 in my account. I don’t care about that money, and Paypal can stick that $19 right into their A** HOLE.
    Without any other payment method set up in the past, I had to take all of my listings down on E-Bay, because I can’t receive money from my Paypal acocunt.

    Currently, I am in the process of opening my merchant account through my bank. I will never work with paypal in the future. I did not provide them any of the information that they asked.
    However, I am wondering if they can charge any money into my bank account that is linked to my Paypal account.(Note: I do not owe any money or item to nobody)
    Also, I have a good user name on E-bay, I am wondering if Paypal can communicate with E-Bay to ban my E-bay account, because I did not provide information that Paypal required to do investigation.

    Do you think, still I should go ahead and send that email to see if they lift the restriction on my Paypal account?

    Thanks

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23. I am going through problems with PayPal right now for merchandise I didn’t receive. I am amazed how unprofessional and non-customer-oriented they are! I guarantee you, I’ve learned a tough lesson and want to warn anyone reading this: DO NOT USE PAYPAL!

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24. It worked!! I emailed paypal, with a few changes, and they released my money in a matter of 3 hours. Thank you so much!

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25. i am from mauritius and i registered with paypal with India as my country as i wanted to move to india later. Paypal doesnt allow mauritians to receive money. now my account is limited and they are asking for proof of address… i have around 500 USD and i think i will never receive this money…. what should i do.

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26. I am desperate, we have had paypal put a reserve on our paypal account. They are holding a reserve of $35000 and then 5% thereafter of all sales. We sell on Ebay and because of my husband getting laid off while he was looking for another job we put alot of effort into ebay so that we could get through that period. We went from having only a bronze powerseller status as of January this year to getting right up to Platinum as of yesterday officially. Paypal says we pose a great risk even though our feedback is 99.5% positive and we have had extremely few chargebacks. They feel we are a risk which I personally don’t get and with our profit only being 5-10% I don’t see how we can be expected to continue operating. I really need to know what our options are as ebay has become our sole source of income and what irks me is that Paypals reason for all this is because we went from under $5000 in sales per month to doing over $27000 in sales / month currently. I never knew that working your but off to make ends meet to put food in your families mouth and increasing revenue was a bad thing. I need to know how to proceed as I feel the only other option is to close up shop because I don’t see how I can raise my prices another 15-20% just so that I can cover the reserve. I don’t think what they are doing is legal as it is not their money and I think the least amount of time they should be allowed to hold it for is till tracking confirms delivery.

    I hope you can advise us how to get them to release this ridiculous reserve as it is basically more than one months total sales and I cannot see how they can feel that they feel they need to cover themselves for a whole months turnover. I look forward to your response and hope that there is some light at the end of this very dark tunnel

    Best Regards
    Quentilla

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27. I know someone that works with the attorney general and paypal is being investigated for placing limitations on accounts for unreasonable reasons and there is talk they have turned their money transferring business into a way to make even larger profits. They are holding so many accounts with high balances that it’s like they have become a small bank and have started investing the funds. Looks like the sh– is going to hit the fan soon!! I always wondered when I read these posts how they could get away with doing something like that. Of course, I get holding a customers account if they feel the need but not holding peoples money. You all should breathe easier if what I heard is true.

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28. Any chance i can get you to share the actual letters you sent to the various attorney generals etc.
    thank you -

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29. @Mike; the letters to the attorney generals weren’t necessary! PayPal gave me my money back hours after my letter initial letter to them (above).

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30. hey guys, just tried this concept, I have had my $9,000 held by paypal for 2 months, they considered my selling a risk and Ebay and paypal both suspended me, I was selling legit stuff and selling alot of it an doing quite well…I will keep you guys updated. I just got the email off and I’m going to kick back and hope they will hear and review my situation. Later.

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31. Here is the result I got from my attempt with threatening PayPal. Didn’t go the result I had hoped for. If anybody can help me with any alternative follow-up to Paypal per their email below to me I’d appreciate the help. It is as it appears my 9k still sits in my account for a bogus reason and these chumps could care less. I could use this money too.

    Dear Jerad Waggener,

    My name is Rebecca and I work for the office of Executive Escalations. I
    want to personally thank you for contacting PayPal. Your concerns were
    recently forwarded to our office for review in the hope that we might be
    able to assist you further.

    A review of your PayPal account registered under the email address
    _____________ shows that it became limited on July 15, 2009. At
    that time, we determined additional information was necessary to
    authenticate the account information that was supplied when you
    registered with PayPal and the activity occurring in your account.

    Based on the pattern, frequency, and nature of the complaints received
    against your account, PayPal has determined that it is in our mutual
    best interests to part ways. This is not a decision we make lightly, and
    we deeply regret any inconvenience or frustration this matter may cause
    you. Unfortunately, this decision is final.

    Please understand, this decision in no way implies wrongdoing on your
    part in any way. It has simply become apparent in the course of our
    business relationship that it is in the best interests of our
    enterprises to part ways.

    Additionally, due to the risk represented to PayPal as a result of the
    transactions we have processed on your behalf, all funds in your account
    will be held for 180 days against chargebacks or other reversals. You
    may review this action within 10.2 of our Legal Agreement. Please be
    aware that should any complaint or reversals arise during the 180 days,
    the funds will be deducted available balance.

    At the end of the 180 day period, you may request, via e-mail that all
    available funds be sent to your confirmed address by paper check.

    Alternately, you may provide us with a list of customers you may wish to
    have refunded, and we will be happy to issue those refunds on your
    behalf.

    Again, thank you for this opportunity to address your concerns. If you
    have any additional concerns, I can be reached by e-mail at
    executiveoffice@paypal.com or by phone at 402-952-8416.

    Sincerely,
    Rebecca
    Executive Escalations
    PayPal, an eBay Company

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32. Well Jerad, now you have to carry out your threat and send your complaints to the agencies you listed in your letter. it’s not going to get your money back any sooner, but it will bring more pressure on PayPal. .and who knows, it might just be the straw that breaks the camels back.

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33. I use your email and they called me verrrrrrrrrrrrry early this morning and re-open my paypal and ebay Account. Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much.

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34. i sent the email, few hours later i got a call and a lady told me unfortunately they cant release my funds and i will have to wait 180 days. I explained the situation and i told her i think its unfair to hold all my money but she just wasnt listening..i told her i will have to go ahead and file the papers then and that was it. what do you suggest? should i go ahead? Thanks

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35. @Jin: YES – go ahead and file your complaints. Same as i told Jerad above, it may not help get your money back any sooner, but it may bring pressure on PayPal so that they think twice before seizing people’s funds for no reason.. oh, before you file those complaints, make sure you have actually done nothing wrong and not broken any of PayPal’s rules.

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36. Thank you! I sent your letter, with a few changes to fit my situation, and I received a phone call from Paypal within 2 hours. After discussing my issues with him, he agreed to re-open my paypal account and receive full access to my funds within 15 minutes!!

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37. hey how did you guys get phone calls from paypal?? i tried sending my email twice to the mentioned email addresses, 1st time i got a bot answer which is helpless and 2nd time i got an unclear response which led me to nowhere either. i’m considering sending my email the 3rd time, and even write a letter to their physical address, or submit the complaint to the agencies. any suggestion?

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38. @duong lam – we got the phone calls by sending an email like in my example in the post. If you send a similar email and they dont respond, either they feel you have no case, or the email isnt getting to the right person. a written letter send via registered-mail probably would not hurt. if they dont respond your only choice would be to carry through with your complaints to the agencies – but that’s not going to get your money released any sooner.

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39. i just sent them the email above and edited a little bit. i hope they release my funds to me since its been 180days!!!

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40. I have $800+ sitting in my frozen account.

    I dont even want to use paypal ever again, I just want my damn money.
    I am using your email template and I will update when they respond.

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41. Hi rand. I just had my account limited with aprox 7grand in it. Was selling stuff on ebay account hade been open since 2004 100% feed back customers got all the gear and im left with no money. i just sent that email to them as well. fingers cross i get some where. Pay pal have cost my partner and i our wedding. We was using that money to get married in january. Now its not happening. THANKS PAY PAL.

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42. Hey Rand, I used your email to hopefully get my money back, it was 300 bucks, but hey if im getting jipped I want my cash. So hopefully I get a call back. Thanks dude

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43. Wow, this is quite a story. I’m glad to see that so many other people have had success in getting their funds released because of your advice. You’ve really made a difference to a lot of people and that’s very meaningful. Next time I think twice about posting a personal experience like this, I’ll post it anyway because maybe it’ll help someone. -Mike

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44. Just sent the email off. Fingers crossed for my funds to be released. Currently have nearly £2000 sitting in PayPal which I cannot get!!

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45. About 700€ on my account – account banned.
    Just wrote an email in the style of yours, Rand. I really hope they call me back soon because I have to pay a lot of invoices and I can’t pay it with my regular income… hope this works well…

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46. Ok just sent of an email(Tailored to my situation) Hopefully all goes well) Ill keep you guys posted on the outcome, I know how all your posts gave me hope…hopefully mine will do the same:)

    $1500 at stake heres hoping!

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47. Thanks for all the wise info.. we’ll see what happens in the AM: )

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48. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    Any luck guys??????

    I have about £400 stuck in paypal, I feel like raping those bastards!!!!

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49. Hura!!! i got my money back from paypal $$800.
    Thanks, and thanks for your email. It worked.
    they just called me this morning and my money is release 5 h later. it’s incredible.

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    • Awesome Jamie!
      Another success!

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50. Hii rand my acc has got limited acces and i reside in singapore..I got 300$ stuck in my acc i dont know wat to do..i read all your articles about the doings of paypal..I would like to know if they will really release the funds after 180 days if the limited account access still continues( i mean can we get the money surely atleast aft tht 180 days or should i forget the money or somthg can be done)? help me with this…

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51. @Srik – i’ve never heard of PayPal not giving back the funds after $180 UNLESS it all got refunded to buyers. so as long as you havn’t been ripping people off, i would think that your money will be there after the 180 hold period.

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52. Wow. it is a wonderful post. I also have the same issue with paypal. Going to yry the way you used and hope I will convict them…

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53. Hey Rand- Thanks for your post, I have over $16,000 sitting in my “locked” Paypal account. I was a powerseller on ebay and running a legitimate business when they froze my accounts. I’ve been on ebay and paypal for almost 10 years. I just tailored your email and sent it out yesterday, but still haven’t heard back from them. Are there anymore new email addresses I could address to? I would think I should receive some response either way from them… Any advice would be great!

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54. Good luck Anant0087! Sorry, i’ve got no newer emails, but those listed should get some attention – they worked for me and several other paypal victims. Please come back and post what happens!

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55. Rand,
    I too have joined the list of PayPal victims. I have 2 businesses. I am a Powerseller on ebay, and I have a company that locates Copyright Violations. I notified several sellers that they were selling Pirated copies of books – They complained to PayPal – Paypal went through the same ‘procedure’ that I have read about where they ask for all types of identification – ie:photo ID, Bank statements, etc. I fully complied. The lifted the limitation on my account – then 2 days later FROZE ‘Both’ accounts, saying they were linked and are holding all funds for 180 days. My appeal was denied within 8 hours.

    What really sucks is the fact that I was NOT the one doing something wrong. The individual(s) that may have complained were the ones selling pirate copies of best seller books in pdf format!

    I have since switched to ProPay for my ebay sales as of April 6th. Not sure that sales will be forthcoming without using PayPal, as early results are bleak.

    As the story unfolded – Paypal limited my account 3 days before ebay was to withdraw the monthly selling fees – PayPal is holding approximately $600 and denied paying ebay fees – therefore I had to pay my ebay fees with a credit card, or possibly lose the ebay account and powerseller status.

    I will attempt you method and see what response I receive.

    Thanks for your help.
    Fred

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56. AWESOME!! Thank you so much! I thought this was a lost battle and I was going to wait out the 180 days to receive the funds. I tried calling them 3-4 times I e-mailed them a few times but within 24 hours of tweaking your e-mail to my situation I received an e-mail from executiveoffice@paypal.com that said ALL of my funds were available for immediate withdrawl! I cannot thank you enough Rand, you are a mastermind

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57. that is awesome Steve J, i’m glad i could help!

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58. Hi Rand thank you for all your info and advice. I wanted to let you all know that there is hope. I took your letter changed and added a few things that were to my own situation. They were holding $700 of mine. I got there letter ready and sent it out. Within in a hours I got a response I must admit it wasn’t great. They said the limitation was going to stand and they needed more info. By this time I had sent them all the info they requested. Copies of invoices, tracking info they wanted my suppliers which I gave the and my SS# or EIN I gave them the EIN that was not enough They still wanted my SS# which I refused. So back to the present I received from Executive office of Escalations the email that until I gave them that info the my account will not be restored and the limitation would stand but for the first time since I’ve been dealing with paypal thanks to your website I actually felt empowered and was not going to give up so I went back to me letter and actually added some more info and put it in that I will under no circumstance be giving out my SS# since my account with paypal is a Business account that my EIN is my proof and they can Authenticate who I am and sent it again to all the emails you provided and actually found much more on another website that has 110 emails of executives. I have to admit I wasn’t sure it this was going to work but new that come Monday morning I was going to do as I promised and start filing complaints. Well are midnight I receive an email for one of the Execs that received my complaint she to please give her some time she was going to look into the matter and get back to me. So I went to bed and at 4:30 am I receive an email requesting a phone number so I sent it to her within seconds I received the phone call she said she was handling this problem for me. She asked me a few questions I explained I had given paypal everything they asked for Including the EIN as per there own info is the alternative to my social I told please look at my info no complaints no chargebacks at all and great feedback there was no reason for this she was VERY NICE and said she agrees with me she said they had absolutely no reason to continue with this and that I had supplied them with more than enough info. At the time she guaranteed that may account would be restored with in 24 hrs and even gave me her personal cell number. WOW I couldn’t believe this could it be true that this has actually worked again I didn’t want to believe until the account was really restored so I went to sleep thinking we will see tomorrow well at 8:30 am I receive a phone call my a manager telling me that my account has been restored that I have provided them with all the info they will ever need so on so on and then he goes on to ask where did I get all the emails HA I don’t think so. So what I can say find as many emails and send them it only takes one person and even if you get a response telling you know keep on resend the emails. But if for whatever reason is still doesn’t work my advice is continue the battle and you have to go thru your threats of filing with the agencies. So that’s my story and thank you so much!

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59. I have taken your advice and sent the e-mail to paypal. I have had my paypal account for years and just started selling on eBay and within a week make about $450 and at first it was fine, but then they held around $300. Locked my account and said they had to know who my supplier was, which I don’t have one!!! I just want my money released. I have had 0 negative feedbacks and 0 complaints! This is ridiculous!!!!! I will let you know what happens!!

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60. I tried sending the e-mail and none of the e-mail addresses work and e-mail keeps coming back as undelivered. What to do?

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61. Wow Tammy, NONE of the email addresses worked? It’s been about 2years since I sent my email and made this post, but they all worked back then, and nobody else has commented up through last month that they didnt work. Can you confirm that NONE work? Maybe Paypal got tired of all the emails they were getting based on this post and deleted those addresses! at any rate, a bit of Googling should help you find out who’s in charge now, and what their email addresses are.

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62. That is correct, NONE of them worked. I almost expected it though. After all the e-mails they must have been receiving you can imagine they would have changed them eventually. I will keep searching. I’m not giving up. Thanks

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63. hi i feel good by reading all this solutions.. please help me if you can. .”please”. . paypal has limited my account by saying that “We have observed activity in this account that is unusual or potentially high risk.”. .. i have 100% positive feedback for over 200 transaction.. they are asking me for SS, and merchandise invoice and supplier info whick i dont want to give them.. so if i dont provide them with any of this documents would i be able to get my money back even after 180 days or not??

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64. Sid, if you don’t provide them with the information they are asking for then more than likely they will keep the account limited and you will get your money after 180 day hold period. Good luck!

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65. Hi, i have been using the just in time method on ebay, selling goods before i buy them….then once the ebayer buys them i buy the goods and dispatch immediatly. I have been doing this for the past two months and have built up a good name on ebay. Today paypal is putting a restriction on my account for 21 days. this means that my ebay business will go up in smoke. As i wont beable to purchase the items untill 21 days after the auction had ended and the customer had paid. Has anyone got any advice on what i can do now? As i have never used another online payment method. thanks

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66. niceone im haveing the same toruble over 140 english pounds i might do the same thing this all stemed from a ebay user ripping me off saying he never recieved parcells twice that got sent on the same day be nice to see if this works in the uk aswell

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67. Many thanks to Rand Wilson. I had my PayPal account banned too. My situation is quite different though. I applied for Paypal Debit Card so PayPal requested from me all kinds of papers to proof my identity. I’m international student here in US so my name is not on the Credit Report system yet. That made PayPal unable to proof my Identity eventhough I’ve been using my PayPal account for year along with eBay and I’m a power seller. So they decided to banned my account and hold my money. I felt so disappointed but hopeless. I found out about this blog and gave it a try this morning. And sure enough, right now, the same day’s after noon. I saw my PayPal account reactivated with all of my money and everything is ready like it was. I didn’t receive any call though.
    Many many thanks to Rand.
    Ps. I did change a lot from the “template” to fit my situation and plus I recorded all the calling to the agencies to add to my complaint. Good luck every one.

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68. Rand, OMG! ur a lifesaver!! I read this blog this morning, sent an email similar to your template about 8 am, and just now received a call from paypal stating that thought my account would remain limited they would allow me to withdraw my funds! I had only been on hold for 2 days, but had been told via email it would be held for up to 180 days! so to get it release today was a HUGE relief! I had almost $2k in my act. Thank god, and thank YOU Rand!! Guys, this works!!!

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69. Just tried to send my own letter and all came back as undeliverable to all the addresses

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70. anyone have addresses that actually reach someone????

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71. I just used this and it worked! paypal is sending me a check for the amount that was remaining in the account.

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72. Gaypal just fucked me pretty good for $4k. Sent them a nasty letter. Will be reporting here if it worked. If not I’ll squawk as loud as I can to whoever will listen.

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73. I was skeptical about this working on my funds hold but I sent the emails out (found the most current addys online by doing a google search) and gave a 48 hour notice. This was on a Saturday. Monday afternoon I received an email from PayPal saying my account hold had been lifted!! On Tuesday evening, I also got a phone call from a Rep at payPal letting me know my account hold had been lifted and she also APOLOGIZED!! Wow that was more than I expected! This DOES work!

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74. SO I sent a modified email witht he same template. I was basically called and told to fuck off, they’ll be keeping my money for 180 days. I can do nothing but excalate and bring full heat to their business practices.

    Reply ↓

75. @F-Paypal: Had you actually broken any of Paypal’s published rules/TOS? assuming not, you’ll have to carry through on your threat and report them.. Please, let us know what happens!

    Reply ↓

76. WOW PAYPAL MUST BE DOING THIS BECAUSE THEY ARE GOING BANKRUPT.
    I HAVE 8000 IN MY PAYPAL NOW
    I HAVE BEEN SELLING FOR YEARS AND THEY PULL THIS.
    I TRIED TO SEND 400 TO MY BANK AND THEY DIDNT
    DO YOU THINK IT WOULD WORK IF i USED THE SAME EMAIL YOU SENT???
    IF NOT I AM EMAILING EBAY AND THEN IF NOT I WILL GET AN ATTOUNEY AND SUE THEM BOTH

    Reply ↓

77. @iHateMyPaypal: read all the comments above- this tactic has worked for dozens of people. Just be sure to modify the template to your situation.
    @Dianne: any chance you can post the updated email addresses or send them to me via my contact page?

    Reply ↓

78. EVEN IF EBAY DELETED MY ACCOUNT
    I SOLD A ROSETTA STONE A REAL ONE AND GOT GOOD FEEDBACK FOR IT
    EBAY DELETED ME THOUGH

    Reply ↓

79. If eBay deleted your account then I am assuming you have violated some rules somewhere. If you have broken the rules (ebay or paypal) then the technique in this post will not help. If however, as with most of the people that have posted comments here, and myself, if you did not break any rules and Paypal just decided to grab your money for no apparent reason, then the email tactic has a very high chance of success.

    Reply ↓

80. I just sent paypal this email(modified) but the emails came back to me. Where should I send my emails?

    Reply ↓

81. Just google PayPal email addresses and a site called F–K You PayPal will come up in the search. They have a list of the most recent email addresses. Some have just a slight variation from the ones that Rand has posted. Good Luck!

    Reply ↓

82. Sorry…site is called Screw-PayPal.com

    Reply ↓

83. it’s been about 4 hours and paypal has released my funds. thanks

    Reply ↓

84. Hi there just to say thank you because i did everything you said and i got my money unblocked from the account within 1 week, my account is still limited but i got the money out i now use moneybookers instead

    Reply ↓

85. Update: 2 days ago I also got a card from PayPal thanking me for my business and for contacting them (Executive Escalations)along with a token as their way of saying “thanks”. It came with a pair of PayPal Ink pens in a box!!!

    Reply ↓

86. Thank You so much Rand B. Wilson! With a slightly revised version of your letter sent to the Paypal addresses, I got them to call me back asap, and they released almost all of our reserve hold! Approx $23k. On Paypal’s behalf, I have to admit that they are a great company, but they do have room for improvement on working with small businesses. In any case, your advice was a godsend… THANK YOU SO MUCH.

    Reply ↓

87. Sir Rand, I have also a problem in paypal. They still hold my money even though I have sent documents. They will be holding it for 180 days. I’ve earned those money since I’m working at “outsourcing” particularly online jobs. They are suspecting me if where did I get those money. Can you advice me sir? On how Paypal may listen my apeal?

    Thanks!!!

    Reply ↓

88. @Ericson Cayasan: assuming you have not actually broken any rules, have provided all the information that PayPal has requested and maybe even sent a letter as i did in my post above, i’m afraid I have no other advice other than to not use PayPal anymore after your 180 day hold is completed.

    Reply ↓

89. Well, I just feel victim to this today. Had no wrong doings and absolutely NO complaints on my paypal account.

    Confirmed a Bank account and then tried to withdraw my $780.00. Immediately followed up with a Notification of Cancelation Of Account Email.

    So, Immediately I got on the phone. Called. First lady was ubserdly rude. Second phone call was a east indian. Immediately told her to put me on the phone with a Manager. He started out saying that he was backing up his employee, but before he could finish, I jumped in. They wanted to hold my money, but nothing was a payment. All my monies were “Gifts”. I asked him since “Gifts” are non-returnable or even debateable, why my funds were being held. He then told me he would release the funds and hold only what “payments” I had.

    So in the end, I am getting $680 “supposedly” sent to my bank on file and then the $117 is being held for 180 days.

    So once my money clears, I will be sending a followup draft of your letter and seeing about the remaining $110.

    Reply ↓

90. sir, paypal hold my $520 for 180 days, will they agree sir If I appeal to release half of the money? thanks

    Reply ↓

91. @Ericson – i have no idea if Paypal will agree or not. the only way to find out is to appeal and/or send the letter (above in the post) as myself and so many others have done. Good luck!

    Reply ↓

92. Well, I sent my letter off this afternoon so I’m crossing my fingers for a positive outcome. Paypal has limited my account with $1,100 in it and this poor college student was counting on the money for rent. I’ll let you guys know how it goes…

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93. I sent off my email, taken from the template you sent and now I am waiting to hear back. This was all too weird. I added funds from a bank account, and bought something off ebay and also used the remaining funds to buy at Best Buy, within an hour both transactions were being reviewed and limited my account. Then I noticed that I was refunded both from ebay purchase and best buy, but my account is still limited and my appeals were denied. Hopefully since this is my money they won’t hang onto it for 180 days. After all the hassle I have no problem using a different system than Paypal.

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94. Here are all the paypal 2010/2011 emails…….And great blog Mr. Rand:

    moldenburg@paypal.com,
    sthompson@paypal.com,
    mhentges@paypal.com,
    crme@paypal.com,
    appeal@paypal.com,
    harbor1@paypal.com,
    account-review@paypal.com,
    ppelce@paypal.com,
    cardreview@paypal.com,
    complaint-response@paypal.com,
    abuse@paypal.com,
    Europeanservices@paypal.com,
    resolutions@paypal.com,
    appeals@paypal.com,
    compliance@paypal.com,
    escalations@paypal.com,
    webform@paypal.com,
    service@paypal.com,
    spoof@paypal.com,
    complaints@paypal.com,
    aup@paypal.com,
    press@paypal.com,
    apires@paypal.com,
    chargebackresponse@paypal.com,
    pending_reversal@paypal.com,
    global2@paypal.com,
    intl@paypal.com,
    ppe_courtesycredit@paypal.com,
    BoEappeal@paypal.com

    Reply ↓

95. Really interested to see if this would work. Problem is, I’m from the UK. Any idea what ‘agencies’ I could threaten PayPal with… i.e. what is the UK equivalent to the attorney generals, federal reserve etc.

    Reply ↓

96. @Ricky – Not sure who in the UK you could complain to – the FSA maybe? But – just because you’re in the UK does not mean you cant still complain to the agencies i listed. PayPal IS a U.S. company, so i think your complaints to the U.S. agencies would still be valid… even if you are not within the country.

    Reply ↓

97. The FSA and financial ombudsman… gonna give them a try… and the US ones, maybe they are worth throwing in too! Let’s hope so… Paypal have got £6k of mine

    Really useful website by the way Rand.

    Thanks for yout help. Will let you know how I get on.

    Reply ↓

98. Hey Ricky,
    Same problem with me. Did you find out which EU Institutions apply to this case, so I can add them to the email template. Hope it will work for me.

    Reply ↓

99. Sent my emails last week to all the above email address’s and never got one reply! Have they receieved them and do not care?

    Reply ↓

    • that is exactly what has been happening to me i sent emails and faxes and no one has replied yet to them.

      Reply ↓

100. Well, that’s a first! Up until now, these letters had a reported success rate of 99%.. Now you have to carry through with your threats and report PayPal to the agencies you listed. Keep us updated!

     Reply ↓

101. I have used the resources on this website over the past 2 months and have gotten nowhere. I went the BBB route. At first Paypal had not responded to the BBB. A follow-up email to the BBB resulted to them emailing Paypal again, this time with a response in which they stand behind their user agreement while being very vague. I still have no clear concise reason for the limitation, but the BBB still closed the case stating that the reason given was one that was acceptable. I do not understand how a response that just restates over and over “As per the user agreement we will be holding your funds for 180 days due to suspicious activity”. I bought ONE item, ONE. however, it was a large purchase, how does that warrant them holding $1,007.00 for 6 months???? I sent an email to the California State Atty’s office and received a general response in the mail from them stating that they will look into the matter but it is my duty to file charges if I feel necessary. I am starting to feel helpless and that I may have to wait the 6 months.

     Reply ↓

102. I sent the emails last week and paypal apparently is used to these types of letters now. It seems that they didn’t flinch when I told them that I was considering legal action. This is the response I received:

     “I am sorry to hear you are considering legal action. Should you find it
     necessary to escalate this situation by filing a legal dispute with
     PayPal, we would encourage you to print a copy of our User Agreement for
     your attorney, specifically Section 14 – Disputes with PayPal, as our
     goal is to provide you with a neutral and cost effective means of
     resolving the dispute quickly. We will gladly respond to any inquiries
     we receive.”

     I’m glad that you could get your money from paypal Rand, but I don’t think it works anymore I guess I’ll just wait the 6 months.

     Reply ↓

103. Hey Tony! My letter does not threaten legal action!! My letter (above) threats to REPORT PAYPAL the agencies that oversee businesses/financial institutions! I dont think they even read your letter – which means, now you must go through with the threat and report them!

     Reply ↓

104. On October of 2010 I posted up them holding my $780. Just wanted to follow up on that post. I ended up getting my $680 out and just sat on the other $100 for 180 days.

     Maybe if you get payments as a “gift” you have some what of a stand towards them.

     Reply ↓

105. hi rand i tried your way and got no satisfaction from paypal could you tell me if the rules are different in the uk then it is in the states as they are not even going to take limits of for 180 days then no longer wish to do buisness i suplied them with all information they requested and still no luck.

     i am now looking into taking them to court and put a website on stateing if any other people would wish to take paypal to court and fight them all the way
     thankyou

     Reply ↓

106. Sorry Darren but i have no clue about the differences in rules between the U.S. and the UK. before you put up a new website, have a look through PayPalSucks.com and screw-paypal.com .. you will quickly see that ours are not isolated incidents.

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107. thsnks i have seen their websites and think if nothing is done about paypal now then they will get away with it all the time it needs to be stopped once and for all

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108. so if any pearson wishing to take paypal on please let me know the more people the better

     Reply ↓

109. Hey Darren – if you setup a new website about this, send me the URL or post it here and i’ll make some posts about it.

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110. Hey there and many thanks, I read your post yesterday morning and wrote my own letter asking for the funds to be released and how many problems they were causting me, loss of sleep, stress and ect….this morning I got an email telling me once the limitation was lifted they would email me and then at 1100am this morning they called, but since my Mom wasnt her because it is her account I told them to cxall back later, so Im hoping they are calling to give me good news, thanks…

     Reply ↓

111. Thanks for the info man. Great stuff. Paypal those jerks are holding over 8,000 of my money. I basically had my whole earning and cash in paypal. Never again after today. I’m going to put what you said to use. Hopefully it works. Thanks again

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112. So basically I’m in need of help, PAYPAL IS HOLDING $23,800 OF MY MONEY!!! The have restricted my account stating that they are doing it for my safety and to validate the transaction. I have sent them my identification, but I am not willing to hand over the rest of the information they have requested such as Supplier Contact Info, and Provide Invoices. Is there any way around having to send in supplier contact info and invoices? I basically make my living and they are tying up all of my funds ,bills will need to get paid soon and I’m running out of time any help would be much appreciated.

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113. @HBreslin; that sucks! I’m afraid that the only help i can offer i have already posted (above).. Read thru the comments posted by others for more tips.. at this point I can only tell you two other things:
     1) Paypal sucks!
     2) good luck!

     ..come back and let us know the outcome..

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114. I like to refer to them as PayEvil. Rand I would like to thank you for this great blog, and the light you’ve been able to help shed on this situation. I have picked through the blog and will be using the material in my case against them, I will be updating here.

     Reply ↓

115. i got the same problem, but paypal says that my item was not genuine but my ebay account has 100% positive feedbacks which customers give to me after getting item. Is i can get money after following these steps?
     and the other thing that i am living in UK, is i can email them the same agenicy sites of USA
     please help me to sort it out.
     thanks

     Reply ↓

     • Presumably you use something like Paypal.co.uk? if so, then you would probably want to find agencies in your county similar to the ones that i listed and use them either instead of, or in addition to the agencies that I listed above.

       How has PayPal arrived at the conclusion of that your items are not genuine? did someone complain? and the big question, regardless of what your feedback says – ARE YOUR ITEMS GENUINE? Because if your shit aint genuine and you are selling it as REAL, well, i would say PayPal/eBay is doing their job.

       Reply ↓

116. well, i had great success in using your template above for releasing finds from paypal. However, i then moved my business to moneybookers. Despite their extremely long “settlement period” for releasing funds, I’ve had no problems with them in the 6 months I’ve used them . Until today. i just received this message from them. looks like paypal all over again…
     “We thank you for choosing Moneybookers as your online payment processor.

     You have successfully been transacting with Moneybookers for a while now, it’s time to become a fully verified Moneybookers member.

     Further to this, we hereby kindly ask you to send us a copy of the following documentation and information:

     - A Copy of your Incorporation Certificate or Business Licence;
     - An explanation of your business activities;
     - Statement showing the share ownership of the company;
     - Some recent invoices from official suppliers for the brand products you sold on your auction.

     You can send the documents scanned via e-mail to verification@moneybookers.com or via postal mail to:

     Moneybookers USA, Inc.
     61 Broadway, New York
     NY, 10006, USA

     Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience. Once the documents mentioned above have been received, the verification of your account may take up to two business days, you will receive confirmation that your account is fully verified. Please be advised that we are legally obliged to freeze your account if it is left unverified.

     We hope you understand that Moneybookers USA, Inc. has a strict security policy aimed at protecting your account privacy.

     We thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.

     Kind regards,

     Moneybookers Security”

     considering i only sell on ebay every couple of months i obviously have not retained invoice copies of the last items i sold. and i dont have a business license since my sales are so sparatic. so now i’m not sure how this will turn out.

     Reply ↓

     • Oh man! Send them what you can, and hope for the best, then come back here and let us know what happens.

       Reply ↓

117. … of course my account along w/ alll of urs got the “indefinite suspension” for no apparent reason… So after getting my appealed denied as well.. i decided to tweak ur letter and use that as a template. Just emailed those greedy, jewish, half-witted bastards this morning…. I had about 1.2k in there and dont wanna wait the 180 days so yeah.I will keep all of you up-to-date on the outcome. BTW thanks!

     Reply ↓

     • I contacted them too but still no answer after 1 week :/ … I think the 2010 list is little outdated

       So much for paying car insurance :S .

       Reply ↓

118. Oh nvm, today they emailed me and said my account will be on “permanent suspension”. So, now all i have to do is wait 180 days until i can receive my cash. If they won’t let me get cash i’m going to report complaint to my local lawyers :@ .

     Reply ↓

119. I to had my account limited and I submitted all of the documents I could, invoices, photo ID, utility bill, supplier info. They still denied the apeal for security reasons. I don’t understand as I have 100% positive feedbacks and do not have chargebacks or complaints. This is just too wierd to me. So I’ve followed your advice and emailed them the letter this morning. So now I guess I’ll just wait and see.

     Delivery to the following recipients failed according to postmaster.

     moldenburg@paypal.com
     appeal@paypal.com
     account-review@paypal.com
     cardreview@paypal.com
     appeals@paypal.com
     escalations@paypal.com
     complaints@paypal.com
     chargebackresponse@paypal.com
     boeappeal@paypal.com

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120. Blimey! I just landed on this site by accident! I didn’t realise that I wasn’t alone in my disgust at Paypal’s general crapness! I have a site which, yes, is a begging site and will maybe make me rich (probably not). My site is aimed at getting people to donate their paypal loose change. Not only do I get a little bit more out of debt, but paypal don’t sit there collecting interest on all those accounts with £2.13 in them! Spread the word if you’re feeling generous! This site has really cheered me up! Ta guys!

     Reply ↓

121. Hi Rand,

     Do you know if paypal will release funds automatically after the 180 day period if I don’t comply to their requirements? Basically I cannot provide the invoices for the stock I was selling. So they have locked my account with my funds! Is my money lost for good?

     Abz

     Reply ↓

     • Abz;
       I guess it depends on what payPal said. if it is just a temporary 180 day hold, then there should be no issue with them releasing your money after that time. IF it was 180 PENDING something from you, then that may be different.

       Reply ↓

       • All I can gather is paypal has limited all my funds due to a dispute of a £30 transaction. There is no mention of them releasing my funds but simply ten steps to confirm various things most of which I provided when I opened the damn account and pending their investigation. I will refuse to talk to those imbeciles that work for that organization given the horror stories I have read and will simply be wasting my time. Just hoping that ignoring their requests will lead to an eventual release of my funds after 6 months. If not I cannot come to terms with how they can get away with behaving like this and can they really retain money that is not theirs? Worst of all I can’t even close the account and until they they have access to my bank account! Bummer but thanks for the response.

         Reply ↓

122. Hi, Rand, Paypal also limited my account and came with it my $479. Im a blogger, audio transcriptionist and work on several review sites and a ghost writer too. I did not receive any email although the agent said they already sent two emails. I checked my spam junk folder and all locations of my gmail account but no email received. It was my 3rd call when they informed me that my account cannot be appealed and funds will only be released after 180 days. I might try your email template above with some few revisions but this incident really made me decide not to use paypal anymore. Because of this Paypal issue, after the call I had a fight with my wife regarding were to get funds for the payables we need to settle today. Paypal sucks and ruins lives. I will include in my blog to discourage the usage of Paypal. and I as well might twit this and share this to my Facebook friends how really PayPal made my day worst. How I wish, other services can really replace Paypal, google checkout, moneybookers or alertpay perhaps an option.

     Reply ↓

123. I was a new seller on ebay and just because I tried to transfer my funds early into my bank account to see if it would work, my account at PP got limited, needed verifications, sent that in and they still limited it and then told me the same stuff every one else got, they closed my account and I have to wait 180 days if I didn;t give them proof , which I sent in every thing they asked for except the Invoices, they wanted and another credit card number (which I thought was very odd and I couldn’t or would not give them another number) PP closed my account and denied every appeal I put in. I wish I had the email addressed that was listed earlier, even though I filed complaints with the Attorney General for Florida, Ca .

     I hate PayPal and I don’t wish any good luck to whoever owns it. They are a bunch of crooks that have ruined my life and alot of others !!

     Ebay is to blame too for making it where no one can use any other service for payments except for the ones they control !!!

     Reply ↓

124. I run a very succesful blog with over 85k followers and have a huge following on twitter over 100k.. so I decided to open a shop. I made over £36k in the first 6weeks. Paypal limited my account on the 2nd of June, they decided that they were going to hold onto 10k for chargebacks. Why? I had five chargebacks out of 1800+ orders.

     On the 27th of June they permanetly limited my account. There is over 20k in there, which I was going to use for postage and paying my printers. There said they would release the funds in 180 days. So i took the advice from this site, and wrote them a email using the emails listed above. The only email I got a response from was paypal@paypal.com. They agreed that my account was limited unfairly and said they will help and make sure my account is restored so I can fulfil my customers orders.

     Haha what a joke, I received another email from the head office in Luxemberg and they said they MIGHT consider releasing my money in 90 days If i dont receive any chargebacks and refunds.

     This is impossible, What a joke, My customers are already getting impatient, they have been waiting for their orders since the first limitation. I get chargebacks almost everyday now and I really dont know what to do.

     This is my only source of income until I go back to university. I study fashion and business and I’ve always dreamed on running my own with this much awareness. Now, Paypal have completely fucked me over..

     What can I do?

     Reply ↓

125. What I don’t understand is why the News ( who is always hungry for something new to comment about) has not ever did a story on PayPal or Ebay and how they are ripping people off. I filed a class action suit with this company . Here is what they sent me :

     Thank you for your inquiry regarding PayPal. We recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of people who have had money held by PayPal without justification. I have attached a copy of that complaint for your review. I would like to get some background information from you to add you to our database:

     1) What is your address and phone number?

     2) How long and how frequent have you been using paypal as a seller?

     3) When did paypal first start holding funds?

     4) Are they still holding funds?

     5) How much money is being held?

     6) Did paypal say how long they will hold the funds for and/or why they are holding funds?

     7) Do you have any emails or messages from paypal regarding the hold on your account that you can send us?

     Before PayPal started holding your funds, did you have any complaints filed against you/what was your “rating” (e.g. top seller, 99% positive feedback, etc)?

     Please feel free to contact us by phone or email if you have any additional questions.

     Vincent Francone

     Legal Assistant

     FREED & WEISS LLC

     111 West Washington Street

     Suite 1331

     Chicago, IL 60602

     Toll Free: 866-779-9610

     Firm Phone: 312-220-0000

     Firm Fax: 312-220-7777

     http://www.freedweiss.com

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126. I tried to email paypal with your demand mail. and all email is “Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently”

     So I faxed them. And 2 days later, they let me withdraw most of my money $900, and leave $400 in my paypal account. That’s great!

     Thank you Rand (Wilson) Brown.

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127. Whats their fax number please? Im still fighting, they have over 15k in there

     Reply ↓

     • I faxed to 4025375755
       3033952802
       4083767514

       Reply ↓

128. The above emails all bounced. Anyone know some good ones?

     Reply ↓

     • try faxin them

       Reply ↓

129. I have just edited the above email and sent it to them. Few of the emails were bounced back but i managaed to send to a a few of them.

     J.R fax 2 the following numbers:
     4025375755
     3033952802
     4083767514

     Reply ↓

130. Amazing, I sent it and in 24 hours got a call. They apologized up and down and then got my money back the next day…..AMAZING!

     Reply ↓

     • I have been emailing them so much. Did u fax the above numbers and what did you say? Sorry, im still waiting for a reply on them been 8 days heard nothing

       Reply ↓

       • Hi

         Could you leme know what you faxed of to them please? Im waiting for my 5k and am not having no response from them. I only emailed a few of the email addresses. Its been a week since i told them to escalate it and review my account but they have not got back. please tell me what you faxed them and could you confirm its the correct fax number above. Please
         Would really appreciate it.

         Reply ↓

131. send me a phone number and i will call you or give me your email

     Reply ↓

     • please email me on rukshana20@yahoo.com

       Thank You

       Reply ↓

       • email me too pls. hartjohnsons@yahoo.com

         Reply ↓

         • need help also

           Reply ↓

132. I have wrote the above letter in my own words, only edited it abit. But paypal have not got back to me yet its ben 4 days now i have also emailed them, I think this will only work for the US customers of paypal, as the UK advisors arent giving a damn about it. I escalated this to the executive team through an advisor of paypal and they emailed me this morning saying they will hold onto it for 180 days. So i dont think the letter will work for me either, bearing in mind they havent replied to my letter they have only replied to the escalation i put through to atleast get abit of my funds released but they said I just gotta wait till october 4th when the 180 day period will be over. Any UK paypal customers on here sent the above letter and got a reply from them? please let me know. Thank you

     Reply ↓

133. Hey, Rand. Thank you so much for this blog. I sell page plus activations on ebay, and yesterday a woman bought an activation from me, and within just a couple of hours, she’d already filed an item not recieved claim with ebay and got a “hold” put on my paypal account. Seriously, she bought the item, and when I got home that same afternoon and signed on, I saw her purchase so I messaged her with details for the activation, and after I hit sent, I went to my selling page, and saw she’d ALREADY filed with ebay. She hadn’t emailed me or anything about the item. I refunded her money with paypal, and blocked her on ebay. I called paypal and explained the situation to them, but they said that the hold is going to stay on my account and I can’t have the money until I provide shipping information. I told them that my items are electronic deliveries and there isn’t any tracking information. She then told me, “Then you’ll have to wait for 21 days or until your ebay seller rating improves.” The paypal account is my OLD account, I have a new one and won’t be using it with ebay anymore. I closed the paypal account a few days ago, and changed it with my ebay listings, but for some reason I got an email saying that I had funds waiting so I had to reopen the account to recieve the funds. After I recieved the funds, I was going to transfer them to my new paypal and close it again. Then I noticed that it said i’d reached my spending limit of $0.00. So I called paypal, explained and they transfered the money to my new paypal account. But for some reason, the money from my ebay buyers is still going to old one, even though I’ve updated it on the listing. I told all this to the lady, But she just said that’s paypals mistake that its still going to the old email and she’s sorry but I still just have to wait 21 days. I don’t think it’s fair that they put a hold on an account I’m not even going to be using, knowing that the item not recieved was filed within hours of her purchase. I feel paypal has wronged me by holding all the payments i have recieved since the claim, and all that I’ll recieve after, because it’s not even the account that I’m using, and all I want to do is transfer my funds and close it. I sent paypal an email, I hope it works.

     Reply ↓

134. Paypal put limitations to my account. I called them and found out that my profile information is linked to another info or account. I told them I have no clue what they are talking about. She says: it looks like your credit card is being compromised with all of these different names, and there are other accounts with your last name…
     there is other accounts with your name that are also used for the many accounts. I have no idea what she’s talking about. I tell her this.
     Next day I get an email that my paypal appeal is denied. I called 3 ppl and they said they cannot reverse the decision. I did not do anything wrong, followed their rules.
     Do I have any hope of getting it back?

     Reply ↓

     • sure you have hope.. try crafting a letter as i did (above) and sending it. be sure to modify it to meet your circumstances.

       Reply ↓

       • UPDATE!

         Paypal lifted my appeal!! Just the appeal, although still limited but that means they are willing to work with me unlike with the appeal denied.

         I modified the letter to my situation and sent it to most of your suggested email addresses. Most of them came back undeliverable except 1 or 2. I got an auto reply that they got it. (means nothing) Then the next day, they requested some information! I called them and sure enough my appeal was lifted so they WILL talk to me now. Yay! I think I found out what the problem is by their vague answers, multiple Paypal accounts were created under my name. I figured it out – identity theft. I had that problem few years back and the dates that they were created matches the dates I reported it to the police! So they want the police report. I hope this works.

         Thanks so much for your encouragement. I really didn’t think I had any hope after the appeal was denied.

         Reply ↓

135. hi rand,

     paypal put my money on temporary hold and put the case as OPEN DISPUTES CLAIMS.and i’m not even a seller.the money was sent to me by a friend as a gift and nothing more.can you tell me what should i do about this?please

     Reply ↓

     • Call them and ask them WTF !

       Reply ↓

136. Hey Rand,

     I was wondering if you had any way of helping me get a more updated email list. I am feeling so sick from this paypal issue. They are holding 22,000 dollars of my money and I gave them all of the proper paper work. THey think my invoice for supplies is not legitimate because the address that comes up when they google the company doesnt match that which is on the invoice. If they would call the number on th einvoice they would find out that the company has moved locations which is why the google address is off.

     PLEASE HELP!

     Also do you know of any personal lawyers that I could call to hire as this is no joke. I need that money. I do not just want it, I NEED it.

     This is what I get for working hard and being honest?? It is so crazy!

     Reply ↓

137. ipaypal did the same to me limited my account and said there was suspicious activity.after tearing my hair out nearly and getting angry,someone told me to contact the financial ombudsman,and let paypal know.i did this and after 90 days they released my money.my account is still limited,but at least i got my money back.this was paypal uk.so there is hope.i wouldent ever use paypal again,and i hope to see their business go down the pan in time to come,what goes around comes around.

     Reply ↓

138. I created a peitition to help get this stopped PayPal has been holding my funds for 3 months now. They have $1000.00 of my hard earned money it is now the holidays and I can’t even buy presents for my friends or family I can’t even pay my phone bill this needs to be stopped! Please sign this petiton and let everyone know what a horrible affect paypal is having on its members.
     I’ve also already filed for a class action suit.

     http://t.co/pwaENtcd

     Reply ↓

     • Hey..WTF YOU ASKED US TO SIGN A PETITION AND THEN ASKED FOR A DONATION PAID THROUGH PAYPAL…..????

       Reply ↓

       • The donation begging is from the online-petition website, not the person that created the petition.

         Reply ↓

         • Yes I should have made my comment clearer that it was not the petitioner,,,but I wouldn’t promote a online petion that would help benefit PayPal in ANYWAY !! PayPal has ruined too many lives and I wouldn’t give them more money to help them to keep doing so ! I keep asking myself WHY the news have not did or said anything about what they are doing to People???

           Reply ↓

139. I have started 2 petitions. One asking the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection to investigate Paypal & Ebay’s business practices and the other asking Better Business Bureau of San Jose to lower their ratings of the two company’s from an A+ to an F. Please sign these petitions as neither agency will act without further complaints. Here is a link to the petitions.
     http://www.change.org/petitions/ftcs-bureau-of-consumer-protection-investigate-paypal-ebay-business-practices

     http://www.change.org/petitions/better-business-bureau-of-san-jose-change-paypal-ebay-rating-from-a-to-an-f

     Reply ↓

140. So 2 years ago my account gets “limited” for not complying with there user agreement. Fine. Whatever.I admit my wrong doing. The other day I attempted to create a new PayPal account. Using a new email, new banking info & new address. At 1st it seemed like it was open, but they wanted more info, such as my SS#. Fine…no problem.I really wasn’t trying to hide my identity from them. I figured a few years had passed and was planning on following their terms. I get an email from them to both my emails, my previous one I had used with them and then to the new one stating that my account was again “limited” and they would not be able to offer their services. I wasn’t totally surprised. However, no sooner then my husband then received the same “limited” email. Apparently they wanted to connect his account with mine! I have never used his PP account. He runs a business on eBay. Therefore really relies on PP as a payment source. Other than us being at the same address we aren’t connect to PP in anyway. So after using them since 1999 with ZERO issues, they refuse to reopen is account!! What upsets me the most is their total lack of compassion. They couldn’t care less about the misunderstanding surrounding the situation. They simply said, our “review department” reviewed the account and closed it! Period! The End!! WTF Even though I wanna tell PP to F off, he really needs them. Any suggestions?? I have a letter I spent about an hour on begging them to re-review his account. Thanks so much!

     Reply ↓

141. Glad i found this blog. I have recently and unfortunately fallen into this “limited account” crap from paypal even after submitting all of information i was denied and just given the option to either refund or wait for the dreaded 180 days. I had honestly just about given up until i landed on this site. Anyway, tried the email list but to no avail all the emails failed. Tried contacting them via PayPal only to receive “auto-responses” from them. So now im trying the Fax numbers and hopefully i’ll hear something from this. Any other updates from others who tried this method and where successful? I’ll post my update if anything happens..otherwise 6 months to go.

     Reply ↓

     • UPDATE

       Just days after sending my email and faxing through the posted numbers i had received an email to what seem very promising ..the emails don’t really work and you will most likely get an automated response like i did. Mine said my account was being reviewed by an account specialist. so i had hopes my limitation might get removed if it was going to revised again.

       BOY! was i wrong about 3 days after that i got the same response i had gotten before…
       “For the safety and security of the PayPal network, we often review accounts
       for potential risks. After reviewing your account, we have decided to close
       it because of security issues.

       We are making every effort to minimize any disruption to your business.

       If your PayPal account balance is zero, and you have no unresolved buyer
       complaints or chargebacks, your account will remain limited.” BLAH BLAH BLAH CRAP!

       At this point i had given up, and decided to refund my client and had him send me a money order instead. However just yesterday i received this email from “service@paypal.com”

       Reply ↓

       • UPDATE CONTINUED **

         “We’re writing to let you know about a change to your PayPal account.

         Starting 12/8/2011, money from payments you receive will be placed in a pending balance for up to 21 days. By doing this, we’re making sure that there’s enough money in your account to cover potential refunds or claims.

         Even though you can’t access the money right away, please ship orders quickly and communicate with your customers. After 21 days, you can withdraw money from each payment as long as the customer hasn’t filed a dispute, chargeback, claim, return, or reversal.
         The money may be available sooner if:

         We can confirm that the item was delivered.
         Your buyer leaves positive feedback. (Applies only to eBay items)

         This change isn’t necessarily permanent. We’ll review your account every 35 days and re-evaluate if we should continue to hold your payments. If we decide to stop holding payments, we’ll email you to let you know.

         Why are my payments being held?
         We reviewed your account and determined that there’s a relatively higher than average risk of future transaction issues (such as claims, or chargebacks, or payment reversals). We understand that it may be inconvenient to have your payments temporarily held but please know that we didn’t make this decision lightly.

         Before deciding to hold payments, we consider many factors. These factors include account and transaction activity, the rate of customer disputes, the type of business a seller runs, average delivery timeframes, customer satisfaction, performance and history.

         Questions? Let us know
         We understand you’d like to have immediate access to the money you receive and we’re here to answer your questions about this change to your account.

         For more information and tips on what you can do to avoid having your future payments held, please see our Frequently Asked Questions. To speak to a Customer Service representative, log in to your PayPal account and click “Contact Us” at the bottom of any page.
         Thanks,
         PayPal

         Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and click the Help link in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

         To receive email notifications in plain text instead of HTML, update your preferences.”

         Although i only got 20 dollars in that account know my paypal still says its limited but after 21 days i’ll see if i can retrieve it..still a long time to wait but it beats the 180 wait that had originally been imposed on me.

         Reply ↓

142. Wow, this just happend to me today as I was trying to use my PayPal debit card. I also have 100% positive feedback for the past 5 years on eBay. I was fine dealing with my eBay account being blocked for good. Then today I get hit with PayPal doing the same. I spoke to about 4 different people with the same response. Im hoping I can write an email as well but the post above (John) mine does not sound promising. Any recent success stories?

     Reply ↓

     • I say try writing them, your results my vary..although mine aren’t great per say they at least responded with a decent agreement. a little too late for me but well see what happens.

       -John

       Reply ↓

143. My husband emailed the original email at the beginning of this blog this afternoon to aup@paypal, got an automated response that it was received. However, as of this evening no word on whether or not his funds ($2500.00) will be released :- (( Not sure if he should try another email address. I am just worried they will simply ignore his request. So upsetting & stressful!!

     Reply ↓

144. Don’t know what to do they have hold over 21,000.00 for over 180 days now. On Nov 30 2011 they sent me an email letting me know funds are now available, when i log in only 4k was available and they are still holding 17,700.00. Again its been over 180 days, can they keep holding the funds? And any one else that get money hold over 180 days?

     Reply ↓

145. I think PayPal UK is probably a different legal entity than PayPal U.S.. so you would have to modify the letter to mention UK specific institutions to file your complaints with and you would probably have to use different email addresses. Hopefully someone can help with PayPal UK email addresses.

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146. Even with the threat of filing complaints, still PP says F’ Off about releasing funds before 180 days!! Their attitude is what is the most offensive!! I CANNOT believe that they are not regulated in some ways by the government. As customers we have NO support or resources!!! Also, come to find out…. try to use an eBay Gift Card for purchases…. Haha!! Nope!! You MUST have a PP account. If you don’t you will be required to provide bank/CC info and they will create it for you!! WTF is up with that?? How is THAT legal??

     Reply ↓

147. Really glad i found this blog. I have unfortunately fallen into this “limited account” issue from Paypal since Nov 07/11, so I contacted them by phone and they ask me to call to the “limited account” special department, I did that and they said that the reason they limited my account was due to the fact that I had opened two accounts under the same IP address and one of these accounts was in negative balance (all of that was true), so I ask them to release the balance and they said it was no possible.
     After I read the Rand blog I sent the letter suggested modifying the obvious details to the emails addresses suggested and I did receive a response after two days; in a few words they said the same they told me by phone but this time they offered me to “please contact us again in 45 days to review if some balance could be available to release at that time”;
     So I was waiting for 45 days and again I contacted the “executive office” email as they suggested me before; two days after that, no response, in the day number three they send me an email telling me, between other things, that “as a fact of good faith, my balance now could be released to my bank account” and I can tell you guys, that it was true because today I receive my 100% balance ($1,815.00 US), so guys, this REALLY WORKS !!!, thanks Rand you´re the MAN !, also for your information my business is located in Mexico, so anybody at any country can use the same strategy suggested by Rand.

     Reply ↓

148. I tried e-mailing several of the addresses mentioned in the lists above: complaints@paypal.com, account-review@paypal.com and appeals@paypal.com. All failed. Resolutions@paypal.com was not returned as failed. But I’ve received no response.

     But my big question is: while your accounts were “permanently limited,” did PayPal continue to charge its monthly fee? In my case that fee is $30/month. I will do whatever I can to prevent that from happening. It makes no sense to pay them the fee for a service that is not rendered. I was just wondering if the fee was charged in your cases. Thanks for your input.

     Reply ↓

149. In my case they never charge a monthly fee, while my account was limited my balance kept 100% complete till they release my account..

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150. As a follow-up to my earlier post, a rep from the AUP people at PayPal called my home phone number and left a message that was essentially unintelligible. I then spoke to a regular customer service rep who clarified that PayPal would not be charging me the monthly fee. I later received an e-mail saying that the account was permanently limited without the possibility of reversal. I received absolutely no explanation as to how our Web site violated the AUP. I am now in the process switching over to Google Checkout and, though I remain mystified by PayPal’s stupid action, I can live with it.

     Reply ↓

151. Rand, thank you so much for this blog/post and your letter example.

     In early December last year my paypal a/c was permanently limited because it was linked with my husbands paypal a/c, which was permanently limited at the same time because paypal had decided he sold ‘wholistic health products’ and didn’t want their name associated with such. (Shock.) No fraud was involved, no claims, no chargebacks, no complaints… Googling the situation led me here.

     I spent a few days removing all mention of paypal from my husband’s websites (his appeal to reverse the permanent limitation was politely and quickly denied via phone) then prepared my version of your letter Rand. I had not yet appealed the limitation on my account and so I included my request for release of funds with my appeal. I also gave them 5 days to respond to my request, instead of 48 hours, before I filed my complaints with relevant agencies, etc.

     aup@paypal.com is the official email address for review/appeals… the standard autoresponse arrived followed by, within a day, a form-letter denying my appeal. The form-letter reply did not reference my request for release of funds, my intent to file complaints, etc.

     I also emailed these accounts, which did not bounce, but nor where any replies received:
     executiveoffice@paypal.com
     crme@paypal.com
     mhentges@paypal.com
     sthompson@paypal.com
     press@paypal.com
     abuse@paypal.com

     These accounts bounced:
     BoEappeal@paypal.com
     slivnat@paypal.com
     lfriedberg@paypal.com
     moldenburg@paypal.com
     mrfry@paypal.com

     I did not send any faxes.

     On the 5 day, when I was due to file complaints, I happened to be unusually busy and hence did nothing re paypal. On the 6th day, out of the blue, paypal rang me – someone from the executive office I believe – and offered to release 50% of my paypal balance, and to consider a further release in 3 months. I agreed. The person I spoke to filled in the paperwork to authorize the release and it took a couple of days for the release to actually be done by the relevant paypal staff.

     Reply ↓

152. I just found this blog and was amazed that there is a way to get the money or even better to reinstate the paypal account. My account just got limited several days ago after 5 years I’ve been using it with no issues .I have been wondering if this technique will work for my situation. I will appreciate your advice. Thats what I got :

     “Dear ……,

     We routinely review account activity in the PayPal system. When we reviewed
     your account, we noticed that your activity violates some of the agreements
     you have with us.

     Because of this, we’ve limited your accounts and can no longer offer our
     services to you. You’ll still be able to log in to view your transaction
     history, but you won’t be able to send or receive money.

     What’s the problem?

     We noticed one or more of the following problems:

     1. You provided information that we believe was false, inaccurate, or
     misleading; or

     2. You sent or received money that was potentially related to fraudulent
     activity; or

     3. You have more than one account with a negative balance; or

     4. You are in violation of the User Agreement, the Commercial Entity
     Agreement, the Acceptable Use Policy, or another agreement you have with
     PayPal.

     Our decision was based on terms outlined in these agreements.

     What to do next

     As allowed under the User Agreement, we’ll hold the money in your account
     for 45 days. We’ll use your balance to reimburse buyers who file claims,
     chargebacks, or any other reversals against you. Before we reimburse the
     buyer, in most cases, you’ll have a chance to respond to the claim,
     chargeback, or reversal.

     We’ll send you an email after 45 days letting you know when you can
     withdraw money from your accounts.

     If you think that we permanently limited your accounts in error, you may
     appeal this decision. Just go the Help Center and click Contact Us.

     When you contact us, we’ll need some information to process your appeal.
     Please have your drivers’ license, your Social Security or tax ID card, a
     current utility bill, your business license, your articles of
     incorporation, or other identifying documentation.

     Sincerely,
     PayPal”

     I called paypal same day and asked lady why they limited my account and lady also didn’t know but told she will follow up my request to investigation department . Thats what I got next day :

     “Hello ………….,

     For the safety and security of the PayPal network, we often review accounts
     for potential risks. After reviewing your account, we have decided to close
     it because of security issues.

     We are making every effort to minimize any disruption to your business.

     If your PayPal account balance is zero, and you have no unresolved buyer
     complaints or chargebacks, your account will remain limited.

     ———————————–
     Disbursement options
     ———————————–

     Option 1. If you owe refunds to any of your buyers, you can use the money
     in your PayPal account to refund them.

     To refund your buyers:
     1. Log in to your PayPal account.
     2. Click “Contact Us” at the bottom of any page.
     3. Click “Contact Customer Service.”
     4. Under “Choose a Topic,” select “Sending/Receiving Money.”
     5. Under “Choose a Subtopic,” select “Refund/Cancel a Payment.”
     6. Click “Continue” and follow the instructions to refund payments.

     Option 2. Money in your PayPal account will be held for 180 days. After 180
     days, we’ll email you information on how to receive your funds.

     We regret any inconvenience this may cause.

     Thanks,

     PayPal”

     And I didn’t even appeal. I just asked on the phone why it was limited. And there also two disputes was opened by PAYPAL for two of my purchases, I wasn’t even a seller in this situation.

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