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Todd Eddington
2010/03/12 20:48:42
PeterM

My Experiences with PayPal Australia.


Hello All,

Maybe I am jinxed or something.

Over the past 18 months I have had a number of problems directly associated with PayPal Australia.

Like most of us I like buying and selling bits and pieces on ebay.

Like most of us I like the convenience and consumer protection offered by PayPal.

However the most recent problem I have had with PayPal Australia is that they are demanding my photo ID and also my proof of residential address "for security reasons, as demanded by Australian law".

Obviously I have refused to supply this documentation.

So PayPal have without warning frozen my PayPal account so that I cannot use it. Online Assistance replied and said that my account will be unfrozen immediatley I supply the documentation.

Obviously I have sent a firm letter to PayPal to immediately refund my money in my account.

The lesson is to avoid using PayPal services entirely.

PeterM.
26 comments Leave a comment
smallvan
Yep i had the same thing,just send them a e/mail saying that you are ringing the banking ombudsman.It turned out that someone had hacked my acc,but they reinstated it for me after a lot of yelling.
2010/03/12 20:52:21
cosworthfreak
I'm not a Paypal employee, or generally a supporter due to similarly bad experiences, but the links below may go some way to at least explaining why they have done this. It's essentially because changes to Australian anti-money laundering laws require PayPal to confirm the account information of its customers whose accounts reach a specific transaction level. You run into additional grief if your Paypal account name doesn't match your bank account name, which is why they ask for photo ID to verify who you are.

The links below may be helpful, especially the 2nd one from the Attorney General's Department.

https://www.paypal-education.com.au/aml/

http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Anti-moneylaundering_Anti-moneylaundering

If you wish to make a comment on the latest exposure draft for the latest round of amendments to the Anti-Money laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006, you can do so until 10 December.

Cheers
Jamie
2010/03/12 21:22:19
PeterM

Well here is absolutely no way anyone can convince me to supply my personal details to an international company with no accesability ie shop front/s here in Australia.

If I did supply these details exactly where do they go?
Which country?
Which data base?
Who will have access to them?
And for exactly what reason?

Sorry paypal I refuse to use your service now.
2010/03/12 21:41:36
BryanS81
refusing simply means not selling....without paypal i dont think you can list any items for sale on ebay...i could be wrong tho.

Bryan
2010/03/12 23:33:28
Scott
This is odd because I have not been asked for anything like that yet, but I did create my account this year.
2010/04/12 09:43:18
INBreplica
Ihad an issue with PayPal a couple of years ago when I sold some items to a guy in the States.
he payed and asked for me not to send them till he was ready. After a few weeks he filed an item not received dispute,which he emailed me and told me to ignore,as he was only doing it to protect himself.
After 2 months,he asked me to post them,regular sea post.I did this and kept all of the documentation.
Paypal then advised me that my account had been frozen due to the buyer esculating the dispute to a claim.
I furnished al of the proof of postage to them within the given time frame,only to have the claim awarded in the buyers favour.
This ,I disputed,with no success.
they closed my paypal account and sent the account to a debt collecter.I disputed this,but was told I had to pay it,which I did.
Due to this,I am down 3 very rare 1/3 scale ,remote controlled go karts worth around $1100 each,$135 freight and a lot of stress.
2010/05/12 10:33:27
cosworthfreak
quote:
Originally posted by INBreplica

Ihad an issue with PayPal a couple of years ago when I sold some items to a guy in the States.
he payed and asked for me not to send them till he was ready. After a few weeks he filed an item not received dispute,which he emailed me and told me to ignore,as he was only doing it to protect himself.
After 2 months,he asked me to post them,regular sea post.I did this and kept all of the documentation.
Paypal then advised me that my account had been frozen due to the buyer esculating the dispute to a claim.
I furnished al of the proof of postage to them within the given time frame,only to have the claim awarded in the buyers favour.
This ,I disputed,with no success.
they closed my paypal account and sent the account to a debt collecter.I disputed this,but was told I had to pay it,which I did.
Due to this,I am down 3 very rare 1/3 scale ,remote controlled go karts worth around $1100 each,$135 freight and a lot of stress.



I'm not trying to defend Paypal, but you've clearly fallen victim to a scammer here.
2010/05/12 18:38:15
harrier
eBay got into a bit of strife with the ACC when they forced PayPal to be an option, there is another similar service that is not part of the eBay-PayPal machine, I think its Paymate or PayMe??? May be worth a look. PayPal haven't asked me for the details and the day they do is the day I shut down my PayPal account.

I had an auction with an extra charge if they buyer used PayPal and ebay pulled the add off and hit me with a 'violation'. So I've now pushed up the postage fee and offer a discount for direct deposit. No problems so far with that.

They are rouges....
2010/05/12 19:28:50
INBreplica
quote:
Originally posted by cosworthfreak

quote:
Originally posted by INBreplica

Ihad an issue with PayPal a couple of years ago when I sold some items to a guy in the States.
he payed and asked for me not to send them till he was ready. After a few weeks he filed an item not received dispute,which he emailed me and told me to ignore,as he was only doing it to protect himself.
After 2 months,he asked me to post them,regular sea post.I did this and kept all of the documentation.
Paypal then advised me that my account had been frozen due to the buyer esculating the dispute to a claim.
I furnished al of the proof of postage to them within the given time frame,only to have the claim awarded in the buyers favour.
This ,I disputed,with no success.
they closed my paypal account and sent the account to a debt collecter.I disputed this,but was told I had to pay it,which I did.
Due to this,I am down 3 very rare 1/3 scale ,remote controlled go karts worth around $1100 each,$135 freight and a lot of stress.



I'm not trying to defend Paypal, but you've clearly fallen victim to a scammer here.

It WAS Paypal that sent it to the debt collectors,even after I sent them the details they asked for
2010/05/12 19:34:14
cosworthfreak
quote:
Originally posted by INBreplica

quote:
Originally posted by cosworthfreak

quote:
Originally posted by INBreplica

Ihad an issue with PayPal a couple of years ago when I sold some items to a guy in the States.
he payed and asked for me not to send them till he was ready. After a few weeks he filed an item not received dispute,which he emailed me and told me to ignore,as he was only doing it to protect himself.
After 2 months,he asked me to post them,regular sea post.I did this and kept all of the documentation.
Paypal then advised me that my account had been frozen due to the buyer esculating the dispute to a claim.
I furnished al of the proof of postage to them within the given time frame,only to have the claim awarded in the buyers favour.
This ,I disputed,with no success.
they closed my paypal account and sent the account to a debt collecter.I disputed this,but was told I had to pay it,which I did.
Due to this,I am down 3 very rare 1/3 scale ,remote controlled go karts worth around $1100 each,$135 freight and a lot of stress.



I'm not trying to defend Paypal, but you've clearly fallen victim to a scammer here.

It WAS Paypal that sent it to the debt collectors,even after I sent them the details they asked for


Maybe so, but the scammer had put everything in motion, and was playing the system. Like I said in my post, I'm not trying to defend Paypal.
2010/05/12 21:06:24
PeterM

Hello INBreplica,

If you have kept all of your documentation that would be enough to pursue your claim to the courts.


Interesting info and a good read at:
http://www.screw-paypal.com/international_pages/Australia.html
2010/05/12 21:32:15
nimr0d17
I remember a couple years ago hearing of a class action in America being set-up against them because of unfair holding of money owning etc.

I'm not sure how the action went but I remember reading a few similar stories to yours on their website.

http://www.paypalsucks.com/

2010/05/12 22:06:50
grant
quote:
Originally posted by PeterM


Well here is absolutely no way anyone can convince me to supply my personal details to an international company with no accesability ie shop front/s here in Australia.

If I did supply these details exactly where do they go?
Which country?
Which data base?
Who will have access to them?
And for exactly what reason?

Sorry paypal I refuse to use your service now.



Peter,

I think the push is that the ATO will be able to audit your account. This is an old story http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/declare-ebay-sales-taxman/story-e6freooo-1111117781380

You being in business yourself do you think is fair someone else can run their entire business from paypal without the gst?

Example

Hello EBAYID,

eBay has received a request from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for information relating to members of www.ebay.com.au who had sales greater than AU $20,000 in any given year during the period 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2009.

Our records reflect that you had sales greater than AU $20,000 in at least one of these financial years. As a result, the ATO has requested the following information:

•Contact name and user ID
•Email Address and IP Address
•Company /Business Number and ABN
•Address
•Telephone numbers
•Date of Birth
•Registration Date
•Banking Account Details
•Monthly sales for the period 1 July 2007 – 30 June 2009

We can confirm that eBay has and will continue to work with the ATO to provide them with the information we are legally required to provide. Disclosure of this information is permitted in accordance with our Privacy Policy. eBay will be the ones to provide this information to the ATO.

For further information regarding the ATO, please visit its website at www.ato.gov.au, or consult with your professional legal or tax adviser.

Sincerely,
The eBay Team
2010/06/12 09:15:17
Phil
I have never been asked for any extra ID from Paypal, I have my doubts as to whether the initial email is authentic...it may be a scam. I have recieved the ATO notice from Paypal but nothing came of it as I dont run a business.
2010/06/12 09:31:39
BryanS81
i have been asked for the additional ID info from paypal but this was because of my account being frozen with funds until i provided such things...i went the extra length and rang paypal and enquired what the go was and weither this was real or a scam and yes they confirmed it was real and what i needed to do and have never had an issue with paypal since.

Bryan
2010/06/12 11:49:50
PeterM

But I don't run my business using PayPal.

I have sold via PayPal less than $500 worth of old second hand goodies (not business related) per annum over the past 3 years.



2010/06/12 20:30:33
cosworthfreak
quote:
Originally posted by PeterM


But I don't run my business using PayPal.

I have sold via PayPal less than $500 worth of old second hand goodies (not business related) per annum over the past 3 years.


You only need to be holding $1000 in Paypal to get the notification you received, even if it's accumulated over a number of years. If you sell a car, or a half decent car part worth more than a grand, I assume this flag is raised straight away. It is supposed to discourage money laundering via Paypal.

You only get the ATO notification if you sell thousands of dollars of stuff. That is to stop businesses (and people running home businesses) from selling goods without declaring the income gained from it. It's not designed to catch the casual seller who is cleaning out the shed.
2010/06/12 21:20:04
grant
quote:
Originally posted by PeterM


But I don't run my business using PayPal.

I have sold via PayPal less than $500 worth of old second hand goodies (not business related) per annum over the past 3 years.






Just fill out the form

Someone can create a paypal account with your name address steal your details and use it. How do they tell if you are the scammer or the guy thats doing it? At least you have ID to verify this.

From what i understand you can't open a bank account without ID so why is this any different, it is dealing with money same thing.

You don't have to run a business from it, if you are making profit then your account will be looked at you just need to explain yourself. Keep in mind there are businesses that sell old second hand parts.
If you refuse to continue with paypal, you will not be able to list items on ebay thats the choice you need to make.
2010/08/12 08:51:31
PeterM

Funny how an ugly letter to PayPal worked.

I transfered all the money from my payPal account to my bank account. Now I have disconnected my bank account from my PayPal account.

Never again.

No more PayPal for Peter ! [}:)]
2010/12/15 22:13:09
grant
quote:
Originally posted by PeterM



No more PayPal for Peter ! [}:)]


No more ebay then??
2010/12/16 08:13:10
samb0_82
You dont have to give up ebay sales just because you refuse to use paypal, just specify that you dont wanna use it in your auctions, if people still use it then they wait till the money is clear from your paypal into your bank account or refund their money, you can specify that aswell.if your selling only a small amount of stuff it shouldnt matter if someone opens a dispute coz you would have it cleared up well before your next sale anyway, people dont generally have an issue with their stuff being held up if you keep them informed of what's going on. Surley there is some sort of law against ebay forcing you to use paypal anyway. theres almost as many people now that have had a bad experience with paypal as with ebay.....
2010/12/17 17:53:35
Juiceman
PayPal have just been hassling my band because there was an issue with the address and seeing as the band is listed as an organisation, PayPal asked that a letter needs to be written from the director of the organisation to the secretary saying that the address has been changed, and have the secretary sign it, then return it to the director who has to sign off on the secretary's signature, then forward the letter to paypal.

We said to paypal that there are two guys in charge of the group and they do everything, they still insisted that the letter be written. So basically what they're asking is that one guy writes a letter to himself, signs it, then gives it back to himself and signs it again.

Pretty funny really hahaha.
2010/12/17 19:51:35
wombat2509
ebay was in hot water early this year (i think) because they were trying to maker all transactions go through Paypal,it was deemed illegal by trade practices
2010/12/17 20:10:22
ratta tat tat
So I tried to list my item tonight, only to be told that "if I didn't give Ebay permission to automatically take money from my account they would deny my right to sell on ebay.

So I guess that means I just have to "trust" they take the right amount of money from my bank each time?? It makes me sick.
2010/12/29 20:55:14
smiley_666
they obviously dont want you to take off with their cut...
2010/12/29 21:39:09
Firewire
quote:
Originally posted by INBreplica

Ihad an issue with PayPal a couple of years ago when I sold some items to a guy in the States.
he payed and asked for me not to send them till he was ready. After a few weeks he filed an item not received dispute,which he emailed me and told me to ignore,as he was only doing it to protect himself.
After 2 months,he asked me to post them,regular sea post.I did this and kept all of the documentation.
Paypal then advised me that my account had been frozen due to the buyer esculating the dispute to a claim.
I furnished al of the proof of postage to them within the given time frame,only to have the claim awarded in the buyers favour.
This ,I disputed,with no success.
they closed my paypal account and sent the account to a debt collecter.I disputed this,but was told I had to pay it,which I did.
Due to this,I am down 3 very rare 1/3 scale ,remote controlled go karts worth around $1100 each,$135 freight and a lot of stress.



I guess it makes you only the wiser. No matter if you buy or sell, you will get screwed buy someone who knows how to rost the system.

All you have to do as a buyer is pay using paypal, and hopefully the seller doesnt send by regd mail and bammo, u file a not recieved item, as the seller cant prove they sent it to ur address. And then the buyer gets their refund. What a crock of crap. As we almost got done by this, our paypal was frozen for nearly a week as the idiot filed a not recieved item as it was 1 day late, and then didn't fix the paypal thing.
2010/12/30 00:01:21

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