PayPal - help!!- resolved - system issue

OtleyDominic

Last week a friend sent me £1500 to buy my car into my paypal account. I added my bank account to the paypal account on Thursday. I sent £500 to my sister to withdraw for me, but she is having to wait at least 72 hours before the funds reach her bank account. But paypal is not allowing me to withdraw the money to my own bank account.

Despite calls to paypal, they just keep saying to wait a further 24 hours and to try again then. I am now 48 hours in, two attempts and I am no nearer to getting my money out of paypal. All I get is an'unable to progress the withdrawal' on the screem and customer services saying they cant do anything, it is a system constraint and to try again tomorrow.

I find this appalling and upsetting. I do not know what to do and feel at a loss.

Help and guidance welcomed on what I can do to get my money.

BrownTrout

This sounds dodgy
Why didn't your friend just do a bank transfer.....

Ben8282

BrownTrout wrote: »

This sounds dodgy
Why didn't your friend just do a bank transfer.....

Agreed. And why was the OP's bank account added to the paypal account only after the funds were received from the friend. How did the OP make withdrawals from the paypal account prior to this?

To OP: You may well be behaving quite correctly and innocently. But what you are saying looks suspicious. What looks suspicious to us can also look suspicious to paypal which may account for the hopefully temporary blocking of the funds.

Large amount of money received - new bank details entered to withdraw it - some of the money passed on to a third party. This is, unfortunately, classic money laundering behaviour.

OtleyDominic

I have had a paypal account for several years, predominantly used for purchases for which there are many over the years. Explaining myself here, I thought I had a linked bank account so accepted the funds as a paypal transfer. Paypal have advised they do not view my transactions as a risk of fraud or laundering, they actually have no idea and see no reason as to why I they can not let me withdraw my money. My id is uploaded, all validation, verification checks done.

Do I just go to the small claims after issuing a letter before action or is a company withholding access to money a criminal rather than civil act? Or should I progress a dispute via the FSA?

OtleyDominic

BrownTrout wrote: »

This sounds dodgy
Why didn't your friend just do a bank transfer.....

No more dodgy than you are?

[Deleted User]

Did you not have your bank account linked previously to make purchases?

OtleyDominic

yes but via visa card and also a credit card on the account so when I paid I could choose between them.

badger09

I may be on completely the wrong tack, but here goes.

IIRC, when you add a bank account, rather than a debit card, to your PayPal account, the usual process is (or certainly used to be) that PP would send 2 random payments to that account, and you had to verify the account by entering those payment amounts somewhere in PP.

Those payments into your bank account were made over a period of 2 or 3 days.

Sorry its been so long since I did this, I could have the process slightly wrong. But could that be the reason - that PP haven't yet been able to verify your account?

OtleyDominic

PayPal sent me amounts to my account while I was on the phone to them. I then read the codes to them on the phone and entered them real time to validate the accounts. My frustration with PayPal is that the system says all is fine, the customer service lot say all is fine, however the system does not allow the funds to be released and no one in PayPal knows why or is offering to help further, other than 'fingers crossed' for tomorrow currently.

badger09

FAQ here

https://www.paypal.com/uk/smarthelp/article/faq686

badger09

OtleyDominic wrote: »

PayPal sent me amounts to my account while I was on the phone to them. I then read the codes to them on the phone and entered them real time to validate the accounts. My frustration with PayPal is that the system says all is fine, the customer service lot say all is fine, however the system does not allow the funds to be released and no one in PayPal knows why or is offering to help further, other than 'fingers crossed' for tomorrow currently.

OK, wasn't sure you'd gone through this already. Hope you get it sorted.