what are the various types of PayPal $$$ holds - with UPDATE 04/02/2012
CrazyMind2017
Posts: 1,205 ✭
Had a payment put on hold for the first time ever. It's a cheap graded card plus $2.75 shipping sold on ebay. Payment was sent to the PayPal address specified in the listing and the buyer has 100% positive feedback in the four-digits and has been registered on ebay over 10 years, all from buying, many (over 15) in the past week or less.
My eBay is telling me, "I need to ship 1 item. Purchase and print shipping label."
PayPal.com, when logged in and click on Resolution Center, get this message:
"Resolution Center – Case Reversal Details
This payment has been selected for review and we have opened an investigation.
We suspect that this transaction may not have been authorized by the PayPal account holder.
We have placed a temporary hold on the funds until the investigation is complete.
Please provide some additional information about this transaction."
When I click to "Resolve Claim Now," I'm presented with these choices:
(1) I have not shipped the item and I would like to refund the payment.
(2) I can provide proof that the item was shipped through an approved shipper to the address on the Transaction Details page.
(3) I have refunded the payment for this transaction.
(4) None of these apply to me.
I would have liked a fifth choice, which should read, "I want PayPal to release my damn money and stop playing games for less than $15 so I can ship the card and be done with this transaction," but that wasn't an option.
The e-mail I received from PayPal is the most cryptic:
"You have received a payment that we believe may not have been authorized by the PayPal account holder. We recommend that you don’t ship the item until our investigation is complete. If you’ve already shipped the item, please log in to your PayPal account and go to the Resolution Center to provide the shipping details."
The auction ended two days ago and payment was sent that night, after the post office had closed. If everything had been normal, I would have shipped the card yesterday. Instead, I e-mailed the buyer through the ebay messaging system a little after 3PM yesterday asking him what he wanted to do. I said that I would prefer to just refund the payment and have him try again, hoping that the next payment would not be subject to review, but I would wait to hear back from him before doing anything. It has now been more than 24 hours without a response, so I e-mailed him again, making it very clear that if I don't hear from him soon, I'm going to choose option (1) above and cancel the transaction entirely.
I plan to wait another 24 hours for the buyer to respond. If he doesn't, I'll refund and relist the card.
Does anyone else have any experience similar to this? Should I be aware of anything they haven't already told me? Are there other types of cryptic messages that PayPal sends out when they hold funds?
My eBay is telling me, "I need to ship 1 item. Purchase and print shipping label."
PayPal.com, when logged in and click on Resolution Center, get this message:
"Resolution Center – Case Reversal Details
This payment has been selected for review and we have opened an investigation.
We suspect that this transaction may not have been authorized by the PayPal account holder.
We have placed a temporary hold on the funds until the investigation is complete.
Please provide some additional information about this transaction."
When I click to "Resolve Claim Now," I'm presented with these choices:
(1) I have not shipped the item and I would like to refund the payment.
(2) I can provide proof that the item was shipped through an approved shipper to the address on the Transaction Details page.
(3) I have refunded the payment for this transaction.
(4) None of these apply to me.
I would have liked a fifth choice, which should read, "I want PayPal to release my damn money and stop playing games for less than $15 so I can ship the card and be done with this transaction," but that wasn't an option.
The e-mail I received from PayPal is the most cryptic:
"You have received a payment that we believe may not have been authorized by the PayPal account holder. We recommend that you don’t ship the item until our investigation is complete. If you’ve already shipped the item, please log in to your PayPal account and go to the Resolution Center to provide the shipping details."
The auction ended two days ago and payment was sent that night, after the post office had closed. If everything had been normal, I would have shipped the card yesterday. Instead, I e-mailed the buyer through the ebay messaging system a little after 3PM yesterday asking him what he wanted to do. I said that I would prefer to just refund the payment and have him try again, hoping that the next payment would not be subject to review, but I would wait to hear back from him before doing anything. It has now been more than 24 hours without a response, so I e-mailed him again, making it very clear that if I don't hear from him soon, I'm going to choose option (1) above and cancel the transaction entirely.
I plan to wait another 24 hours for the buyer to respond. If he doesn't, I'll refund and relist the card.
Does anyone else have any experience similar to this? Should I be aware of anything they haven't already told me? Are there other types of cryptic messages that PayPal sends out when they hold funds?
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Comments
Anyway, what happens if you pick the seconds option, you provide the delivery confirmation # and then once the card arrives, and for three days after it will be released, or it will be released early if the buyer leaves feedback.
I know it is a crappy system, but you will get your money if you ship the item... Think of it as ebay's crappy escrow.
Why would they mess with me on a $10 card now?
If there's something wrong with MY account, why would they tell me there's something wrong with the buyer's account?
I refuse to ship without receiving payment on principle alone, not to mention the fact that the card is so cheap and I'd rather throw it in the garbage than have it stolen from me.
I read this as maybe the account that bought this purchase has been hijacked. Maybe he bought a few items and regrets buying them so he told paypal his account got hijacked.
Best to call paypal to find out what they are talking about. For the shipping you charged them i cannot see you getting confirmation for that cost. Delivery confirmation(green slip) means nothing to paypal. Does not confirm that item was delivered to the right address or person.
I say call to see what is going on. If they believe the account is hijacked then refund the money and get the fees back through e-bay.
Steve
"HI - I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PROBLEM IS.. CARD WAS PAID FOR SO WHAT IS THE PROBLEM. PLEASE LET ME KNOW. THANKS"
I'm not sure if he's being intentionally dense or if he legitimately didn't see the message I sent him yesterday.
From my perspective, PayPal is holding the money hostage. Therefore, it has not been paid for.
<< <i>Well, ***IF*** the buyer is legitimate, ***IF***.... then from his perspective you have his money and you still have the card. From his point of view you are holding his money hostage. >>
Well no, I'm not holding his money and I told him that. I also was explicit in my desire to refund his payment and start the transaction over from scratch. If he wants to just get a refund and forget about buying the card, I'd be fine with that too. Hardly holding his money hostage.
The bigger question in my mind has nothing to do with the $15 in play in this specific situation. I'm wondering if Sean is correct that the problem is actually with my PayPal account and not with the buyer's account. If this is the case, then PayPal has a lot of nerve to blame it on an innocent buyer. It also makes me wonder if other payments for other items from other buyers will also be held in a similar fashion. That's what I'm concerned about, especially for more expensive items, as well as what kind of feedback the buyer might leave if I tell him I'm going to refund his money and cancel the transaction. The situation sucks because as the seller, there's pressure on me to complete the deal because I might get less-than-glowing feedback for backing out. PayPal holding funds in some B.S. psuedo-escrow account is not what I signed up for.
"HI - I AM SORRY I DID NOT SEE THAT MESSAGE. I HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH THIS NONSENSE WITH PAY PAL EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS. THEY STATE SOMEONE IS TRYING TO USE MY ACCOUNT. I CHANGED MY PASSWORD AND SEVERAL OTHER ITEMS YESTERDAY, SO I THINK I AM GOOD TO GO AGAIN. PLEASE SEND THE CARD."
Either he's an idiot, or this is not sounding good. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should write/do next?
-Sorry $15 not $2.75, I would refund also and list it again to see if it works.
<< <i>It's the "PayPal screen of death". No worry, you can resolve it within a few weeks :-( >>
So you think it's my account that got flagged and not the buyer's?
<< <i>Wow, lots of trouble for $2.75. I would just say screw it and send him the card then block him and move on. >>
No man, the shipping was $2.75 in addition to the price of the card. Granted, the distinction is all but irrelevant, since I'm not concerned about the money. I'm concerned about future selling and about feedback, which can impact future selling. But comments like these only add to the frustration.
<< <i>You could refund the money and have him resend payment if as he claims that he is 'GOOD TO GO AGAIN'
Way too much aggravation for 15 bucks!!!
I agree, and that's what I'd like for him to do, but his most recent communication does not indicate that he actually understands this is what I want from him. If PayPal is going to hold every payment I receive from now on, I'm done with ebay. I only use it in spurts anyway for a month or two at a time, then I won't sell anything for many months.
My brother added his address to my paypal account before and payment came up as unverified until a few transactions went through and then the address was concidered verified. Something similiar might be the problem here.
Steve
"Hi [Buyer]
I'm not sure the situation is clear right now. I can't send the card because PayPal is holding the money hostage. I'm going to reverse the transaction and if you still want the card, we will have to start the transaction over from scratch. If you want to just forget about it, that would be fine with me as well. Thanks for your understanding."
Like I said, if you shipped it and DC shows delivered, after 3 days it will be released - or earlier if the buyer leaves you feedback. But it is Paypal putting the hold and it has nothing to do with the buyer.
Edited:
I forgot to add, holds will likely be placed on alot of your payments incoming unless they are gifts. You told me you didn't do much business, then you did a ton of business - which is one of the reasons I think I posted in the first one (just starting back up).
You will keep getting money held until you start selecting and delivered with the DC
I understand the risk of not selling for a while and then starting up again, but why would they let $1900 of sales go through for the past 30 days and NOW start holding funds, especially for such a cheap card?
And I still don't get why they're saying the problem is with the buyer's account if the problem is really with my account. Are they just flat out liars?
For instance, I've asked for transcripts of the conversation to be emailed to me before, they said they did it... Never got it, called back and actually got the same person... They didn't seem to recall me asking for transcripts and then told me they aren't allowed to send emails of it when I've had a disputed payment conversation emailed to me before.
But, there is no risk for you... The buyers payment is 100% completed on his end, paypal will hold it until you provide DC.
I don't know if you have sold anything since then (so don't know if you have more holds), but if you don't start uploading DC and your account is flagged... and you start ending transactions instead of shipping you will just shoot yourself in the foot... Likely locking your paypal, any money in it, and just getting downright screwed.
Like I said, treat it like Escrow - except paypal will release it after 3 days of a confirmed delivery if the buyer doesn't
I already sent in the request saying, "I have not shipped the item and I would like to refund the payment."
Now it's pending review.
It's disgusting that they lie, but seriously, if they penalize me for asking to send the payment back, that's ridiculous, since they explicitly told me the problem is with the buyer and they have not once even hinted that there could be a problem with MY account. If I take them at their word, then I have every legitimate reason to not do business with this buyer and never send him the card. I'm not doubting that I'd be shooting myself in the foot by rejecting such payments exactly as you explained it, but that's complete and utter B.S.
But, is the buyer lying too? He said he's been having these exact types of problems with his PayPal account "every couple weeks" for who knows how long.
I'm only waiting on payment for one other item right now, and I only have two active listings that probably won't get bids anyway.
I have little doubt that the things you're saying about their disgusting and dishonest procedures are true and accurate, but I'm going to take their e-mails at face value when I respond to them.
Sending the card is no longer an option at this point since I responded to the "claim" in the "resolution center" by choosing option (1) above, which says that I haven't shipped the item.
I'm now waiting for an update so some desk chimp can approve the return of money I never even had to the buyer.
I am having the same issue, I sold a lot of Raw 1970 Topps Football $20+ shipping, immediatly Paypal e-mailed me that account is on hold. I answered that I HAD NOT shipped the item as Paypal told me not to and here it is 2 1/2 weeks later and all I get when click on the status is Paypal is Investigating.
My concern is: Can the Buyer Ding my Stars or Neg me for not sending his item when Paypal told me not to?
Thanks
Neil
<< <i>It's not your account that is the issue, it's the buyer's. Sean's a little off with his 100% guess. Well, actually more than a little >>
Thank you.
<< <i>My concern is: Can the Buyer Ding my Stars or Neg me for not sending his item when Paypal told me not to? >>
Of course he can! Did you expect any different?
That's what's bothering me too.
<< <i>Hey Zep, feel free to explain why it is the buyers account I'm curious. >>
pretty clear from the original post that it has nothing to do with the seller:
"The e-mail I received from PayPal is the most cryptic:
"You have received a payment that we believe may not have been authorized by the PayPal account holder. We recommend that you don’t ship the item until our investigation is complete. If you’ve already shipped the item, please log in to your PayPal account and go to the Resolution Center to provide the shipping details."
Bid and won on an auction of mine and paid. I shipped the item out the next day and in a few days
the buyer left feedback. About a week later I notice a negative balance on my PayPal account, Pay Pal claimed
the buyer said he never bought or received the item. I found that odd since positive feedback had been
left already. I tried getting into touch with the buyer all to no avail. Long story short, I had no DC and
because I didn't PayPal said there was nothing they could do. After I went up a few rungs of what I call
the PP ladder I finally found someone who reversed the decision.
Not sure if it applies to this situation or not.
Jason
Finally today I received a separate payment for a totally different, unrelated item, and the funds were not held. Everything was processed normally, and I was able to draw all the funds directly into my bank account immediately. So I'm confident now that my PayPal account has not been flagged, and the original issue is 100% a problem with the buyer's account, not mine. I'm in the clear it would seem.
The original transaction is still on hold and being "investigated" by PayPal. LOL yeah right. A bunch of crack smoking antelopes employed at PayPal headquarters think they're Bunk Moreland.
<< <i>UPDATE A bunch of crack smoking antelopes employed at PayPal headquarters think they're Bunk Moreland. >>
Looks like the Crack Smoking Antelopes were busy over the weekend, they closed the case I had and took the $22+change and gave it back to somebody. Now well see if the Battle Royal of the Century has to happen if I get a Neg or Star Dinging!!!
YeeHah
Neil