Serious PayPal Issues. I need some help.

[Lethal Squirrel]

I first made my account during the summer. at first I just used a pre-paid debit card because I had no bank account. It worked fine. I could buy and sell things on ebay perfectly.

Then all of a sudden, PayPal was saying my account needs to be verified with a bank account or debit/credit card. So I decided to open up a bank account. PayPal sent me a random small amount of money and I tell them how much it was they sent me to verify it, as I'm sure you all know.

It was all working fine again, but a few days later, they say my account is limited and I need to send them a fax of my ID, Social Security Card, and mail with my address on it. So I send them the documents, but after a few days, nothing.

They sent me an email saying the last names on the documents didn't match up with the last name of the PayPal account. I have 2 last names. A legal one (the last name of my mom's X given to me as a child to get revenge on my dad) and a personal one (the last name of my father) I used my personal last name to register with PayPal.

So I requested a last name change on my account. But in order to do that. I need MORE info to send to them, One of which is a piece of mail with the address that matches the one on my ID. Problem is, I moved years ago when my ID was issued, and I have no mail from my old house.

Oh and also. I have $180 sitting in PayPal that I can't spend/transfer/or gift
It is just sitting in limbo.

Is there anything I can do to get around this? I don't even care about the account. I just want my money back!

I can't even make a new account because I don't have another bank account

So if I have bought/sold anything from any of you and couldn'y use paypal, This is why.

[Brian8bit]

I can't help. But...

I had a Paypal account years ago. eBay and Paypal became a monopoly. I didn't like the fee's they were taking. So I closed the account. I thought I'd deleted all the bank information associated with the account when I closed it.

So I'm interested in buying an SMK-88 from ElbowGlue. I decide I better open a new Paypal account just because it will probably be easier than a bank transfer when (if) we decide to do a deal.

Sign up. Try to link my bank account to the new account. No you can't. This account is linked to an account already on Paypal. Try adding credit card. No. That's no good either.

What in the name of ****. Contact support. The account does not exist. But the bank details do. Though we've cleared your card. If you need further assistance, call this number. Call said number. Glorified answer machine. Get fed up. Email back support to tell them that there is no way in hell I'm wasting my money phoning their support line to talk to a ****ing answering machine and would they just go ahead and delete the bank account floating around on their system.

No reply yet. But I'm awaiting an email to tell me I need to send some form of identification, a mouth swab, a semen and blood sample and a contract for my first born.

Oh. And I can't make a new account. Because I don't have another bank account.

**** Paypal.

[Lethal Squirrel]

agree with that. The only problem is. you can't buy or sell crap without paypal nowadays

[chimera15]

I've had some problems with paypal, they usually fix it, but take their time doing it, and it of course feels like forever, and it's never fast enough.  I suggest just having some patience and trying to explain to real people your problem in an honest and frank manner.  They usually like to kick you around to 2 or 3 people, so you'll probably have to explain it over and over again as well.

[Oqsy]

Read my sig. Currently boycotting paypal due to similar issues as the OP is experiencing. Paypal can never have my bank info.  Until they undo that policy change, not one penny of mine passes through their hands.

I'd recommend a geekhack-wide paypal boycott, but who am I kidding, this place would disappear without paypal. Probably 90% of user keyboard purchases are made with paypal :/

[keyboardlover]

In my experience, PayPal's customer support is horrible. I would call and complain a bit/ask to speak to a manager.

[Lanx]

paypal is universally known as being horrible. your best place for help would be paypalsucks.com
no seriously that place hates paypal and was started b/c of these stories so i'm sure they have a very detailed help section on how to get your money out of limbo.

[.XL]

I've had issues with them before, too. The serious **** starts when you sell on eBay. I used to sell things on there to help make some extra money to help get me through college.

So I'm selling things one by one (personal things) when one month I come up with some hand-me-down fur coats. I post them on eBay (6 or 7) and make some 2k in a month. Paypal held onto those funds for 2 months. TWO. months. Money I needed for college. I called and called and called and nothing happened. I just had to wait. Luckily my mom payed for my tuition that semester and I could save up for next.

I've had money held in my account for various 'reasons' three or four times. I've also had bad experiences with their customer service and resolution center. I sold a WoW account for my little brother (he wanted a new xbox since his died) for $800. I get paid. Mother of the kid disputes it. It was on the fathers account, but apparently the family didn't get together to have their little family meeting to decide if they could buy their kid a friggin WoW account.

And Teleflora on Valentine's Day...let's not even get into that cluster****. Paypal, I hate you for that too.

I'm definitely contemplating stopping my Paypal, but I still need it for intrapersonal reasons. I know I can make Amazon payments, but I'm still seeing if I can make it by online without releasing my credit card info to 500 sites.

I have, however, found that Amazon and Googlecheckout can be trusted...and they cover pretty much 2/3 of internet stores right now. Googlecheckout has progressed a lot and is pretty great now.

I'm worried about Paypal having access to my bank account. They're not a bank, so they don't have to be held responsible as a bank, but they act like a bank so they hold your money and make interest off it. Their whole profit model is a bit ridic. And they charge exorbitant fees for anything you do. Sigh.

I've head stories of them holding onto peoples bank accounts and the like. Notch from Minecraft had them seize some $120,000 of his that he had in an account. He needed that money to continue developing the game, but at various times they'd just put his account on lock and wouldn't let him access it for months.

[godly_music]

I closed my account today. With all the negative stories going around, it's better to be safe than sorry. Anyways, I told them to remove all my leftover account information (German Data Protection Act), and they replied within a few hours. Unfortunately, other laws seem to override this. So they are a real bank then?

Thank you for your inquiry regarding your wish to have your data removed.

Even after closing an account, we can't delete the saved client data. We
are bound by law because of taxes and other reasons relating to business to
store the data of all monetary transactions for typically 7 years.

But we stand by our promise to only use this account data in compliance with our
terms of use and the PayPal-data protection policy. Furthermore, the personal
data isn't only protected by the data protection policy, but depending on
country by other laws as well.

[bugfix]

So they are a real bank then?

You can thank Luxembourg and the EU for that. Luxembourg will accept anything to be a bank as long as they get money.

And because we are in the EU we have to accept them as a bank as well.

[sixty]

I have a really annoying PayPal bug on my account. Every time I login I get a message saying "Thank you for providing your identity proof. We appreciate your cooperation. Click here to return to your account".

This is supposed to show up once, but it shows up every single time, since 4 months now. I mailed their support and they said it was a bug and would be fixed shortly. Still is there now.

So annoying.

That is my calm PayPal story, I have much worse, but I'll spare you that.

[7bit]

I first made my account during the summer. at first I just used a pre-paid debit card because I had no bank account. It worked fine. I could buy and sell things on ebay perfectly.

Then all of a sudden, PayPal was saying my account needs to be verified with a bank account or debit/credit card. So I decided to open up a bank account. PayPal sent me a random small amount of money and I tell them how much it was they sent me to verify it, as I'm sure you all know.

It was all working fine again, but a few days later, they say my account is limited and I need to send them a fax of my ID, Social Security Card, and mail with my address on it. So I send them the documents, but after a few days, nothing.

They sent me an email saying the last names on the documents didn't match up with the last name of the PayPal account. I have 2 last names. A legal one (the last name of my mom's X given to me as a child to get revenge on my dad) and a personal one (the last name of my father) I used my personal last name to register with PayPal.

So I requested a last name change on my account. But in order to do that. I need MORE info to send to them, One of which is a piece of mail with the address that matches the one on my ID. Problem is, I moved years ago when my ID was issued, and I have no mail from my old house.

Oh and also. I have $180 sitting in PayPal that I can't spend/transfer/or gift
It is just sitting in limbo.

Is there anything I can do to get around this? I don't even care about the account. I just want my money back!

I can't even make a new account because I don't have another bank account

So if I have bought/sold anything from any of you and couldn'y use paypal, This is why.

Welcome to the club!

Luckily, I'm just waiting to get a few Euros refunded.

I closed my account today. With all the negative stories going around, it's better to be safe than sorry. Anyways, I told them to remove all my leftover account information (German Data Protection Act), and they replied within a few hours. Unfortunately, other laws seem to override this. So they are a real bank then?

In Europe they are a Luxemburgian bank, which means there are more sloppy rules for them as for banks located in other European countries.

[Ekaros]

Only thing I ever use Paypal is buying directly from websites, atleast on that haven't had serious issues... Hmm, should get real VISA, once I get one, just for extra safety...

[kriminal]

wow havent had any problems yet... will go easy on the ebay purchases O_O

[audioave10]

I suggest everyone reads up on PayPal. This is almost a criminal entity. If I can't buy with a normal Visa card, I don't buy at all.

[itlnstln]

Never had a problem after lots of purchases.  But then, I've never had to file a dispute.

My general rule on Ebay is 99% feedback or better only sellers.

This.  I have filed 2 disputes, and they were resolved in my favor (they were on 99% + rated sellers, too).  I also avoid buying stuff over about $200 on the 'Bay as well.  I prefer a "real store" for those purchases.

[Twitchy]

They sent me an email saying the last names on the documents didn't match up with the last name of the PayPal account. I have 2 last names. A legal one (the last name of my mom's X given to me as a child to get revenge on my dad) and a personal one (the last name of my father) I used my personal last name to register with PayPal.

So I requested a last name change on my account. But in order to do that. I need MORE info to send to them, One of which is a piece of mail with the address that matches the one on my ID. Problem is, I moved years ago when my ID was issued, and I have no mail from my old house...

...Is there anything I can do to get around this? I don't even care about the account. I just want my money back!

Change your legal name to match your personal name (as that appears to be the one you want to use) and get new ID that will actually show your current address?

Part of my job involves checking ID for people who will be employed in sensitive situations (working with children and vulnerable adults). It never ceases to amaze me that someone will turn up with two or three pieces of ID with different names and an old address and be completely unable to see why this would cause problems.

If I'm sending Joe Bloggs money via Paypal I want to be sure that Paypal have performed proper checks on them. The last thing I want is for someone at Paypal to have said "Well his ID doesn't match, but that's OK!"

[speakeasy]

Paypal has stolen $3.90 from me with that stupid verify your credit card thing. They actually stole $5.85, but refunded $1.95 and promised to refund the other $1.95 charges the next day. That was like a a month ago. Even still, it took like 2 or 3 calls to get that $1.95 refunded.

Even though it seems like chump change, I'd still like to give them a hard time about it cause of the principle of that matter, but my work schedule makes it difficult to communicate with them while their phone lines are open.