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Business Account Problem
 

I created a new business account on PayPal using a stealth name which is a little different than my own name. Same initials.

Everything was fine for the first few weeks but now my account is limited.

They are asking for ID, bills, invoices, and all sorts of stuff to verify my identity.

What should I do at this point? Out of desperation I have changed my contact name to my own name, stating that I am now taking over managing operations. Seems like contact names should be a fairly common practice with business accounts, since there could be many different members of the business.

Once my name changes, I should be able to provide all the documents, but will this actually work? If so, how long does it take for name changes to take effect? I spent good money on this LLC and really need to salvage this account. Having $1500 in there makes it even more of a desperate situation.

Re: Business Account Problem
 

I also had to change my SSN because they wanted a Social Security card. Is PayPal normally this strict with business accounts? All I did was make a deposit to my checking account after making some sales.

Re: Business Account Problem
 

Something either red-flagged the account or this could be a random ID check.

Are your items high risk? What CATEGORY of items are you selling? I don't mean the SPECIFIC item, just in general.

Have you followed all of the stealth guidelines? New IP address, new user account, bank account, phone number, credit card, etc.?

Re: Business Account Problem
 

The business sells mostly media goods and electronics.

I have used several Paypal accounts in the past, both stealth and real, and they are all in good standing.

My Ebay account was created by a user on this site and I purchased it. I have been using it since February with no problems. I do the necessary processes of changing IP, MAC, and all of that.

Hopefully my name change will go through on Paypal and then I will be able to provide the documents they want. I'm a little concerned that them having my SSN will be an issue on Ebay, since on there it is blacklisted.

Again though, I'm not worried about getting linked to a suspended Paypal account since they are in good standing.

Re: Business Account Problem
 

By media goods, do you mean DVD's? Those are considered VERY high risk. That COULD have triggered this, especially if you are selling box sets, Disney DVD's or new releases, since they are very heavily counterfeited. Even if your items are legitimate, you could have problems.

Electronics are considered high risk due to the potential for defective items. And some electronic items are also heavily counterfeited. Flash drives, for example.

Since you have already changed the information on PayPal, I would just follow through with your plan and see what happens.

Re: Business Account Problem
 

Yes. Overall I've sold DVDs, Blu Rays, games, software, books, etc...Sorta like stuff that would sell at a Best Buy or Barnes and Noble I guess. I normally buy stuff in auctions from other sellers and I will do business with another seller in Chicago.

Anyway, I guess I was wondering if it takes long for name changes to occur. The business name is the same, this is only the contact name. While put on hold, there was a list of things I could not do at the moment, but one of the actions allowed was changing account information.

I did not use my real name because I was under the impression that you could only have so many account in your name. Which I now found out is not true for business accounts. I just wonder if they find it suspicious that I would now change the name after the hold took place.

As stated above, my explanation was that the new person was taking over as the manager of operations. Hopefully this is reasonable, but does anyone have any other tips to make this seem a little less odd?

Re: Business Account Problem
 

It IS reasonable. And PayPal allows everyone to have one personal account and at least one business account. If you try to set up more than one business account, you will probably have to justify it to PayPal, although I have never done that. I have more than one business account, of course, but under separate identities.

Re: Business Account Problem
 

Hopefully this goes alright and the limit is lifted, but I am also concerned with having my SSN on a paypal account that is being used on Ebay, when I had a personal Ebay account a couple years ago that got suspended with this SSN. Will this be a problem, even though it's a business paypal account?

Re: Business Account Problem
 

Also, should I wait for PayPal to update my contact name before I send them the necessary documents they have requested?

I could send them the documents now and maybe tell them that they are in regards to the new contact that is has not reflected yet. Or should I just wait?

Just want to get this over with as soon as possible so I can get back in business.

Re: Business Account Problem
 

You have already used this SSN....that's a huge link - account may go down

Re: Business Account Problem
 

I also have an EIN, but business accounts also need SSN too. I don't see anyway around this. I already tried using a stealth name and a made up SSN, but now that the account has gotten limited I have no choice. Seems to me that it's impossible to use an LLC to get back on Ebay then.

Re: Business Account Problem
 

So just stick with the EIN