Paypal account closed down - what now??

kazimojo69

Hi

I have recently had some correspondence from Paypal and they have closed my account down.

This follows some very rude emails from a buyer on Ebay to me - where I remained polite - but I wonder if he has sent something for them to do this.

I have 300+ positive feedback on ebay, all my fees are paid to date and I still have nearly £200 sat in my paypal account.

I was selling on ebay to earn extra income by selling items of clothing etc and things that we don't use any more - as well as a small amount of items I have found cheap and can sell on.

My questions are - how / when can I use my ebay account again - as this is linked to Paypal and it says I can't use it at present and to refer to ebay?

If I can get back on ebay to sell - how else can I send/receive money? apart from cheque, postal order etc. ?

I really enjoy using ebay - I love clearing the items and buying soem bargains.

No idea how mlong it will take for paypal to send me my money out of my acount either!!!

shaun_from_Africa

My questions are - how / when can I use my ebay account again - as this is linked to Paypal and it says I can't use it at present and to refer to ebay?

If I can get back on ebay to sell - how else can I send/receive money? apart from cheque, postal order etc. ?

Without a valid paypal account you won't be able to sell on ebay irrespective of you accepting other payment methods.
It's an ebay requirement that you must accept paypal (for the majority of categories).

When you were selling, were you registered as a private or a business seller?
If it was a private account, this could the reason that paypal closed your account as they may been worried about a private seller who was selling items that they had purchased to resell.

It's normally ebay and not paypal who tend to act over this, but if you can't think of any other reason then this could be the cause.

kazimojo69

Oh no - that's not good news. Will I still be able to buy on ebay? How can I use it? or is that it?

Is there anywhere else /site I can sell/buy on?

Yes - I was a private seller - but started selling a few items I had bought for resale. Should I contact paypal/ebay and ask to become a business seller even if I'm only just selling a few items?

starrybee

Did they not indicate in the email they sent you what the reason for closing it down was?

kazimojo69

No - it said "because of certain activity that took place relating to your account. This easure is necessary to protect us from potential financial loss"!!!

I always keep money in my paypal account (incase I want to buy anything online or on ebay. As I say at the moment there is £200 in there. My paypal bill will be due out of it - but that will still leave £160.

I haven't had any complaints on paypal. I have appealed but am not hopeful. I feel really gutted and as if I have done something really wrong.

Crowqueen

You haven't done something really wrong, but you have done something a bit silly - buying to resell while not registering as a business with eBay, Paypal or with HMRC. That is the very definition of a business seller - not volume, or making a profit (which I assume you were anyway) but the intention.

If this is happening to unregistered business sellers then I'm kind of glad - it's nothing personal, but this is a huge problem on eBay and I'm glad Paypal are keeping tabs on it. It's possibly because your activity changed from personal sales to business sales with no sign of proper returns policies etc. (which I'm assuming you don't have as they are needed by business sellers as well as registration with HMRC for tax purposes).

Paypal have stopped you for now. You need to co-operate with them; you may get your account back, but for the moment eBay is closed to you until you.

This is a good lesson in always making sure you are doing things above board. I don't think it's anything personal - but if you had registered properly with eBay and Paypal I doubt there would have been so much of a problem and you would have got to keep the £200 you have earned.

What a shame .

Haffiana

Eh? The OP's account has been closed because of the 'potential of financial loss' NOT because they didn't register as a business. If the business part was the issue then they would have been strongly invited ie forced to make a business account, as has happened to many others.

Can people offering help on this thread stop being so tied up with their smug imaginings about the retribution that they would like inflicted on non-registered businesses to actually answer the question?

OP you need to contact Paypal and find out what has happened to your account and what exactly they require from you.

kazimojo69

Thank you for your comments. I am trying to liase with paypal and if I need to open a business account - I am happy to do so.

I only dipped my toe in the water too, by selling items for £1.20 and making overall 20p profit. I was still selling garage stuff as well. Just bit devastated as I having been getting rid of so much stuff that has been stored or collected for years and enjoyed the extra money.

Is there anywhere else I can sell on that is ok or does not require paypal?

And will I still be able to use my ebay account to buy on?

hermum

OP I would try & phone Paypal, see if you can find out exactly what activity they say took place that could have caused them potential loss.
Have you ever had your ebay or Paypal restricted or closed before?
Is there anyone else linked to your account who has previously been banned?
Have you recently moved address
If ebay haven't restricted you then you can still buy as long as the seller will accept a different form of payment.
There are lots of other places to sell, Gumtree, local paper, freeads, adtrader, local Facebook selling pages, ebid.

kazimojo69

Oh - and is it better to phone paypal rather than email?

TY xxx

hermum

I would definitely try & phone them, until you get someone who will tell you what's going on.