Back in August I sold a few items on eBay. The winner paid through PayPal for a total of $2000. I did not do any more business on eBay for a few months, so I decided to close the account. My wife opened a new account with PayPal so that she could start bidding on eBay. I could not use my wife's account because PayPal told us one account per household unless we had two different bank accounts.
I opened a new bank account, and I also signed up with PayPal again (mid 2001). It was great from here on until March 12, when PayPal informed me that my account had been restricted and that the $2000 in my account was frozen until further notice.
I called PayPal numerous times and only received one returned phone call, which led nowhere. I was told that my account was frozen because my wife's account has two chargebacks. I asked PayPal why my account was frozen when my wife's account had not been used for months and we have separate accounts. They told me that as long as we both live in the same household, the accounts can be linked. Why is this so, when in the past I called PayPal about issues with my wife's account and was told that they could only speak with my wife and not me? Now we are the same? Anyway, they told me that she has $500 in chargebacks and that this must be paid before my account can be unrestricted.
I immediately sent PayPal a money order for $500 the same day via express mail. The following day, I received a phone call from Brian Lopez, a fraud analyst from PayPal, who said they had also received a chargeback from my original account opened two years ago. I asked what the amount was, and they said it was $2000.
I then asked Brian how PayPal could let someone charge me back eight months after they received the merchandise. Brian simply said to me, pay us back $2000 or else we will not release the $2000 in your current account. He was so rude that he was colder than ice.
I immediately contacted the post office to stop the express mail envelope from reaching PayPal, or else I would be out another $500 on top of the $2000 they have in my current account. They do not provide any protection for sellers. They will charge you back even though it is past the 90 day grace period for chargebacks with credit card companies, they will threaten you by not releasing your funds, and they will avoid your emails and phone calls.
Not only did I lose $2000 in cash in my account, but the people who did the chargebacks kept all of the merchandise for free.
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