Paypal holding my money!

atr232000

Hello

I know this is not a credit card issue but i did not know where to put it.

I could really do with some advice on this as i will potentially loose a customer and money.

I had arranged to pay a Paypal invoice that was sent to me for a camera lens that i needed urgently for a photoshoot.
I had £1000 sitting in my bank account and I happily paid the invoice. I then go a email from Paypal saying my payment had been reversed due to potential fraud and the company I was purchasing from was emailing me to to say payment was refused!!

I called Paypal and they basically said that it did not fit in to my "spending trend" due to the payment being large. I asked why then only a week before I was able to use the Paypal service to purchase a camera for nearly £800 without issue .... they could not give me a straight answer on this.

I then asked for my money to be returned as I needed to get this money over to the seller. The Paypal representative the told me that it could take up to 30 day for this money to be returned to my bank account. I then asked just credit my Paypal account but they could not do that either.

I have a good understanding about BACS payments and Faster Payments and I dont understand how this can be right.
Who has the rights to the interest amount over this period? I know it wont be a lot but is this a tactic to increase their bank balance, im so annoyed

Where do i stand as I have a customer that has paid for a photoshoot and if this is not resolved then I loose my customer, have to refund them and my repretation is in tatters!!

Paypal says there is no complains procedure or compensation!

Any advice would be great

Alias_Omega

If you pay via BACS/Online Transfer/Postal Order/Cash in the Mail you have no buyer protection. The seller can simply collect your cash and not provide the goods.

You would be back on the forum in a few days with a thread that says "I paid via BACS, Seller promised to send the goods. Goods did not arrive. What can i do?"

3 Options...

1) Withdraw cash, drive to meet person. Pay in cash once goods inspected. Once you hand over cash, you cannot send the goods back if faults discovered later.

2) Buy online - Amazon/eBay or any other camera lens selling outlet. May pay more, but will have buyer protection. Item can still be collected from the seller.

3) Cancel your customer/Borrow Lens from a friend

Buzby

This has happened because you will have (quickly) gone over their internal limits for transfers. You have agreed to this - it is in their T&Cs! As a bank, their anti-fraud measures cannot be challenged, and because if the almost £2k in goods, they are right to be cautious.

atr232000

thanks for your feedback.

i know how BACS work as i use it everyday at work.

i appreciate fraud is a major problem these days, but if banks think a transaction may be fraudulent they ask for you to contact them immediately...so why don't paypal do the same - an instant email saying under review or a phone call - they have all my contact details.

so in my situation now.. i am £1000 down in my bank account and faced with a 30 day wait for a refund. if you withdraw money from your paypal account it takes 2-5 days so why is this different? can they hold my money for 30 days and can i claim interest or complain?

Igamogam

Lots of issues with PP at the moment and not just the sort of problem OP has encountered. I am surprised there aren't more threads on MSE asking for advice. Forum on PP website full of very angry PP users...........

thegirlintheattic

Paypal seems to be being over cautious the past couple of weeks. For example, twice I've had my withdraws held (for amounts under £10) while security checks have taken place, and I've heard about other people having similar problems.

interstellaflyer

Surely, rather than cause people maximum inconvenience by stopping the transactions and holding the money for 30 days, PayPal could just ask the user for confirmation that the payment is genuine, of course, then PayPal wouldn't make any interest on your money that they are holding for 30 days.

Gromitt

It seems like you only got a payment reversal. I tried to spend £800 a few months back and the payment was reversed and my account locked for "fraudulent activity" - I couldn't make any other payments or receive any money on that account. They refused to give me back my £800 or send it on until they had received a copy of my "passport or photo card driving license" and "a recent utility bill such as telephone (not mobile phone), gas or electric".

After about 4 weeks I gave in and faxed them the details, withdraw my £800 and decided never to use them again. That didn't last very long however as I use ebay, and ebay require paypal!

fozmcfc

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

Paypal seems to be being over cautious the past couple of weeks. For example, twice I've had my withdraws held (for amounts under £10) while security checks have taken place, and I've heard about other people having similar problems.

Exactly the same for me, 2 £10 (well £9.99) withdraws held up for a few days while security checks made.