helping you stay protected in the digital age

I’ve been dependent upon my premier PayPal account for one year, two months, and four days now acting as a proxy for my online payments. During this time I have never been displeased with their service and handling of my money transfers.

Until last week.

See, I sold my pocket PC online for $280.00 USD to a guy, actually Jon in New Jersey, that was looking for a pocket PC. I sell and buy a lot of stuff on Broadbandreports and use PayPal as my proxy. No problem there, I’ve done it probably thirty or forty times. So Jon sends me $280 USD and I drive to the UPS store in Slidell, Louisiana to ship it off. When I get back to my apartment here on the seminary I open up my laptop and log into PayPal to transfer the money into my bank account. Unbeknownst to me I am greeted with a big “Temporary Hold on Funds” and there is an e-mail saying that the funds might be unauthorized.
Figuring it would be a day to get the funds I wait and send a message to the buyer telling him of what is going on. Day 1, day 2, day 3, 4, 5, 6 and still no funds. PayPal has locked my account so I can’t send or receive any funds. I have a premier account, I don’t have to put up with this mess! I call PayPal and get the run around about how the funds are on hold until an investigation can be launched and how they can’t tell me anything.

INVESTIGATION!?!?!?! WHAT!!!! Are these from a terrorist group or something? Did the guy rob a bank and use marked funds?

More days go by, over four pages and 100+ messages to the original buyer and PayPal is STILL holding the funds. Jon reported that the funds were removed from his bank account but I don’t have the money. It is lost somewhere in cyberspace. I’ve lost confidence in PayPal.

Editor’s Note: While searching for a PayPal graphic for my post I came across this site, No-PayPal.com and towards the bottom of the page I find this entry, “PayPal for some reason likes to freeze accounts when it has money in it. (strange).”
Hmm… is it buyer protection or really a conspiracy for PayPal to fatten their pockets? Personally I think it is neither and PayPal just made a mistake but I guess we will never know…

(Que twilight zone theme)

Editor’s Note 2: I FINALLY received the money from PayPal after both the buyer and myself sent multiple complaints to PayPal’s Resolution department followed up by many phone calls.

~ by johndball on January 16, 2007.