180 Days My Money is Froze

cdguy · #1 08-23-2010

Hi there. Been watching this forum for the last few weeks now. I have had a good standing e-bay and PayPal account for the last few years now, no problem. However, just recently I opened a new e-bay and PayPal account in my partner's name, no worries - started selling stuff - great!!

Suddenly, the e-bay account was blocked and the paypal account froze. E-bay said that they blocked us because paypal had done the same and that we had to resolve all issues with paypal first. So .......... I contacted paypal and they gave us a long list of things that they wanted from us, usual Credit Card, Bank A/C, proof of adress etc. plus invoices from suppliers, proof of posting etc.

Confirmed bank a/c and bank card, sent photo i.d. but told them that the items that I were selling, information on CD from public domain, were low value items and that proof of postage was not available and also there were no supplier details. This went on for a week, e-mails etc. but then received an e-mail saying that my paypal account had failed it's appeal and that my money would be held for 180 days - after which paypal would tell me how I could get it back.

a) is this legal?
b) what will happen after the 180 days?

I think that there may have been some uncertainty as to whether one of the items I was selling was actually in the public domain or not. However, I know somebody who was selling something that was bootlegged and they simply had their listing cancelled with a note saying that it was in breach of copyright - what they have done to me this time seems really heavy handed and over the top.

Comments and advice greatly appreciated

jeffweico · #2 08-23-2010

Yes, it is legal.

After 180 days, you can get your money.

PayPal/eBay do not like compilation CD roms or burned public domain DVD's. This is high risk because there are usually a large percentage of dissatisfied customers.

I don't think the issue with PayPal is the copyright question, but what you are selling.

This happens all the time.

Stealth is the answer. And NOT telling PayPal they are low value burned discs with public domain information on them.

vokonta · #3 08-23-2010

Are you saying they blocked both accounts or just the new one in your wife's name?

**aspkin** · #4 08-23-2010

Hopefully they only blocked your new account and your long standing account is still good.

cdguy · #5 08-23-2010

they just blocked the new ebay and paypal account. My old accounts are in my name with a different email address and different bank account.

Thanks for replies so far - how do you get the money back as the address in my partners name is a stealth address. Will they just let her withdraw the money into her verified bank a/c?

Cheers

vokonta · #6 08-23-2010

Yeah ,you will be able to withdraw direct into her verified bank account when the 180 days elapsed

rsot · #7 08-23-2010

They should let her withdraw to the attached bank account regardless of name. Now, if you have been operating that longstanding account on the same computer with same IP, cookies, etc...withdrawing could flag it for limitation and cause you problems. Just the truth of the situation.

cdguy · #8 08-23-2010

Cheers so far. As for I.P. address, my internet provider changes the I.P. Addy every 2 or 3 weeks or so, sometimes a couple of times in a week! not sure how that works but when we get the opportunity to withdraw the money I'll do it on a friends pc if that helps the situation.

Cheers again

rsot · #9 08-23-2010

Please keep the forum posted - experiences always help for understanding cdguy - all the best.

cpm · #10 08-28-2010

It is only legal because it is written in the PP T&C -- namely it is what they can do.

Don't expect PP to make qualitative judgments on your merchandise, namely in this case authentication of merchandise being sold. They only consider the look of the wrapping, irrespective of what inside. As one of the posters already mentioned, it was probably the nature of the crap you were trying to sell which turned them off. But to be perfectly honest why would you care to repackage what's public domain knowledge on a CD and then sell it? Talk about wasted recycling.

Yes PayPal are dumb as dildos, attempting to overreach their grasp. And their actions are heavy handed. Dumb as said.