Having any of your accounts permanently limited or banned and losing that service is frustrating, and it’s especially frustrating if you don’t know the reason why.
If PayPal has recently “permanently limited” your PayPal account, you’re probably wondering why and how to get any leftover funds from your account?
I researched why PayPal permanently limits accounts, and what you can do, and this is what I learned!
What Does “Permanently Limited” Mean at PayPal In [currentyear]?
Your PayPal account is permanently limited because you may have violated one of PayPal’s Terms or Agreements, or there is fraudulent activity. This means you can no longer use your account, and you will not be able to create another account in the future as of [currentyear]. Additionally, any leftover funds in your limited account will be held for 180 days.
Keep reading if you’re interested in learning more about what PayPal considers a violation or fraudulent activity, how to withdraw your remaining funds, and more!
Why Is My PayPal Account Permanently Limited?
Regrettably, if your PayPal account has been permanently limited, it’s because PayPal believes you have violated one of its Terms of Conditions or Agreement policies, or you have participated in fraudulent or illegal activity.
Some violations, illegal, or fraudulent activity you can participate in are as follows:
- Violations of:
- “Acceptable Use Policy”
- “Commercial Entity Agreements”
- “PayPal Balance Terms and Conditions”
- Or any other agreements
- Violation of any “law, statute, ordinance, or regulation”
- Selling counterfeit goods
- Give “false, inaccurate, or misleading information”
- Send or recieve what could be fraudulent funds
- Have a negative balance on your account
- Etc.
Unfortunately, if you have participated in any of the activities listed above, and PayPal permanently limits your account, PayPal can also:
- Refuse to provide any PayPal services to you in the future
- Hold all remaining funds in your PayPal account for 180 days to protect against liabilities
Additionally, you’re responsible for all reversals, chargebacks, claims, fees, fines, penalties, and other liability incurred by PayPal.
How Can I Withdraw Money from a Permanently Limited PayPal Account?
If you have any funds remaining in your account when PayPal permanently limits your account, PayPal will hold these funds for 180 days to protect itself from liabilities.
Therefore, if PayPal receives any refund requests, disputes, claims, etc. towards your account, PayPal will pay for all of these, using the remaining funds leftover in your account.
Furthermore, once PayPal has finished paying for any refunds, disputes, etc. and the 180 days are up, PayPal will send you an email with instructions on how to recover any leftover funds.
Additionally, if there isn’t enough leftover money in your account to pay for all of the refunds, disputes, etc. then you will have to pay for these out of your personal funds separate from PayPal.
This is because, as stated before, “You are responsible for all reversals, chargebacks, claims, fees, fines, penalties, and other liabilities.”
Can PayPal Remove a Permanent Limitation?
If you’re able to get to a PayPal employee with high enough clearance, PayPal can do anything, including removing a permanent limit on your account.
Unfortunately, this process is very long and difficult, and the only reason why PayPal would remove the limitation is if PayPal was wrong about the limit.
Furthermore, if PayPal wrongly limits your account, you should contact PayPal immediately.
Moreover, if the reason for the permanent limit on your account, such as violating an agreement with PayPal, did happen, then PayPal will likely continue to maintain its decision and turn you away.
Additionally, if PayPal has decided to revoke any future use of its services to you, then PayPal will not want to allow you to use your previous account.
How Do I Contact PayPal Support?
If you believe that PayPal’s decision to permanently limit your account is wrong, or you know your account has been hacked, you should contact PayPal directly.
Furthermore, you can contact PayPal in a couple of ways.
One way to contact PayPal is to go to Facebook or Twitter and send a message.
Another way to contact PayPal is to go to PayPal’s Contact Us page, and click one of the contact links. On this page there is:
- “Message us”
- “Call us”
- “Ask the community”, and
- the “Resolution Center”
Additionally, on PayPal’s Contact page, there are also common issues and answers that can help with problems.
Furthermore, you can call PayPal’s Customer Support number, which is 1 (888) 221-1161.
To know more, you can also see our posts on how long do PayPal refunds take, is PayPal a bank, and if you can get scammed on PayPal.
Conclusion
If PayPal permanently limits your account, it’s because you have participated in illegal or fraudulent activity, or you have violated one of PayPal’s Terms of Conditions or Agreements.
Unfortunately, this cannot be undone, and your leftover funds will be held for 180 days until all complaints have been dealt with. Additionally, you most likely will not be able to create a new account in the future.
I recently opened a PayPal business account and the account was immediately permanently limited, supposedly because their AI system detected fraudulent activity.
I sent a message to customer support and after not receiving a response within 3 business days, I’ve decided to just abandon the account because you can’t delete it.
The permanent limitation has really left me with a bad impression of PayPal. I’m considering closing my personal account and never participating in any commercial transaction that involves PayPal.