Where I'm at: Paypal, Stealth, LLC and the Tax Requirement....

FrancisK · #1 11-23-2011

Okay everyone, I think I'm going to become a guinea pig here but hopefully through it I can come up with some info to help everyone.

I should start by saying that I don't sell any restricted items, I have 2 paypal accounts which are well over the 20k limit. I have a seperatte LLC for each arm of the business and while I've never had a problem with Paypal my real name has been suspended from ebay in the past.

Okay I'll start with account #1:

I had entered the LLC and Tax ID info for this account a couple years ago but it's only now that Paypal is interested in it obviously. I've been asked to verify my info recently and they keep asking because the name on my Paypal account doesn't match the name on my LLC. I've spoken with my CPA and I cannot add this DBA name as an officer of the company, any officer has to have a SS#.

Alright, so at this point I have to give Paypal my real information. I have nothing to hide other than a previously suspended account. What I am hoping is Paypal will play by the rules and recognize that my business has nothing to do with my personal ebay suspension in the past. The DBA was an employee running the account and now the tax forms need to go in the actual owners name.

I haven't consulted an attorney yet but if they give me any trouble I am taking them to court over it. What happened with my personal account has nothing to do my business now. Obviously I don't want to give them my real name but I don't think I have a choice at this point. I'm not going to open 20 accounts and juggle them, I have a legitimate business and nothing to hide, or I would hope at least.

Account #2:

This is a seperate branch of my business, I have a seperate LLC for it so again assuming Paypal plays by the rules I should be able to have a seperate Paypal account for it.

This account is a bit different but still along the same lines. I took on a partner in this business, I gave an employee 30%. I opened the paypal account under their name with their SS#, I haven't entered the LLC and Tax info yet. I could conceivably leave this one alone but I don't want to do that to my employee, the revenue should be under my name.

I plan to call Paypal and make sure the revenue is under my LLC, telling them the account belongs to the business and the tax info should not be entered under my employees SS# and I am allowed to have another account because it is a seperate business.

Okay, like I said I don't have anything to hide, I pay my taxes and I sell legit items. I may have had a suspended ebay account under my personal info but that has nothing to do with my business and I am willing to fight for my rights. Just in case they do give me some trouble I am not going to do this until after Christmas. Also I am going to call them beforehand to feel some things out and specifically ask about the seperate accounts for seperate businesses.

So.....does anyone have anything to add here? I may be a sacrificial lamb but hopefully it's for the greater good. If anyone has anything to point out or suggest please do.

Although please stay on topic, don't hijack the thread! Perhaps we can use this new requirement to our advantage and become 100% legit again

Thanks,
Frank

FrancisK · #2 11-26-2011

Nobody has anything to add? Is there anyone else interested in being a legitimate seller or does everyone only sell VERO??

KingRay · #3 11-26-2011

How is your 30% employee taking care of the taxes in their name? that is an issue I dont see how you are handling. Just paying them what they will pay in taxes wont work. That makes a mess of their personal taxes and cannot simply be figured out to where you can just pay him the difference. Not that easy.

as for the other things. I dont see it working at all really. I hope it does, dont get me wrong but paypal doesnt care about you or your business as they have shown many times. If in ANY way it comes up to their computers that you are even closely related to another name or account then its a no go.

Sueing them is worthless. They have literally thousands of lawsuits pending at this moment. They keep it in litigation long enough for you to either run out of money or give up. They can last longer than you when it comes to money.

Usings LLCs doesnt shield you from your private information, It shields your personal assets in case the business goes under.

jeffweico · #4 11-26-2011

I really hope this works out for you, but PayPal might ban the new accounts anyways.

If the new accounts have been around for awhile and have a squeaky-clean record, they MAY decide to allow it. But they are notorious for eliminating ANY and ALL risks, no matter how small. I could easily see them thinking that you caused them a problem in the past and deciding against allowing you to continue to sell.

As for rules and rights, PayPal MAKES the rules, and WHAT rights? Nobody has a RIGHT to sell using PayPal. They can ban sellers for ANY reason whatsoever as long as they do not discriminate based on federally protected categories. And banning someone who they view as a risk, ESPECIALLY when a previous account was banned for violating their rules, does NOT run afoul of any anti-discrimination laws. Good luck taking them to court.

Again, I DO hope this works out for you. But you might want to have a contingency plan.

MtnDew · #5 11-27-2011

Im all ears thanks for sharing this. Im in a similiar situation. FrancisK's thanks button is at the bottom right of the OP people.

FrancisK · #6 11-28-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingRay

How is your 30% employee taking care of the taxes in their name? that is an issue I dont see how you are handling. Just paying them what they will pay in taxes wont work. That makes a mess of their personal taxes and cannot simply be figured out to where you can just pay him the difference. Not that easy.

as for the other things. I dont see it working at all really. I hope it does, dont get me wrong but paypal doesnt care about you or your business as they have shown many times. If in ANY way it comes up to their computers that you are even closely related to another name or account then its a no go.

Sueing them is worthless. They have literally thousands of lawsuits pending at this moment. They keep it in litigation long enough for you to either run out of money or give up. They can last longer than you when it comes to money.

Usings LLCs doesnt shield you from your private information, It shields your personal assets in case the business goes under.

Thanks for the reply KingRay, the employee getting 30% is family and part of the reason why I need to switch the account under my LLC. They don't mind if the taxes end up in their name as long as I pay them but I would rather put it under my LLC for that business. So basically I want to contact paypal and tell them "I had the account under my employees name and now we've incorporated, the tax info needs to go under my LLC".

FrancisK · #7 11-28-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffweico

I really hope this works out for you, but PayPal might ban the new accounts anyways.

If the new accounts have been around for awhile and have a squeaky-clean record, they MAY decide to allow it. But they are notorious for eliminating ANY and ALL risks, no matter how small. I could easily see them thinking that you caused them a problem in the past and deciding against allowing you to continue to sell.

As for rules and rights, PayPal MAKES the rules, and WHAT rights? Nobody has a RIGHT to sell using PayPal. They can ban sellers for ANY reason whatsoever as long as they do not discriminate based on federally protected categories. And banning someone who they view as a risk, ESPECIALLY when a previous account was banned for violating their rules, does NOT run afoul of any anti-discrimination laws. Good luck taking them to court.

Again, I DO hope this works out for you. But you might want to have a contingency plan.

Well it's not a new account, I've had these accounts for more than a few years. It's only now that they care about the LLC info which is creating the problem. I've never had an issue with Paypal but I've been suspended from ebay many years ago. I definitely understand your points and agree with them, thank you for the input.

FrancisK · #8 11-28-2011

I appreciate the replies everyone, I know we're all automatically pessimistic when it comes to ebay/paypal but I certainly appreciate the input. It obviously isn't what I want to hear but the truth suits me just fine.

I do have a contingency plan, it is to put my father as a partner in the LLC, he practically is anyway. That way I can just use his name when they ask for the name on the LLC.

But as I said that is a contingency plan, the main plan is to basically come clean to paypal. Come clean as in saying "oh, the name on the account is an employee, here is the name of the LLC officer".

Like I said I've never had an issue with Paypal and I certainly pay my taxes, I'm hoping they will simply neglect my suspended ebay account from 5 years ago but wo knows, this needs more thought.

Again....hopefully I can come up with some good info for everyone, nice to see there are still legitimate sellers on the forum and not just VERO scum....