Paypal - any suggestions?
Many of you know my wife passed recently. I have taken over her store in my name - she had dementia for the last decade but I kept the store and Paypal account in her name which made her feel good. My Paypal account had not been used in years, so now they put a hold on transaction payments. The last straw was a hold on a $2.10 sale.
They do not have an email address and make it clear that their customer service reps are unable to discuss the hold program. I am going to send them a letter which will probably not even be read. It is copied below. Anyone have any suggestions as to how to stop them from picking up the 20 day float on every transaction? Or anything that might be better left unsaid.
“Paypal Headquarters
2211 N. 1st St.
San Jose, CA 95131
Dear Sirs
Just asking why you would put a hold on a $2.10 transaction.
We have been in business since 1985. We were on Ebay from 1998 to 2007 when Donohoe took over and we left with over 4000 feedback at 100%.
We then moved to Hipstamp and currently have over 15000 feedback at 100%.
https://www.hipstamp.com/display-feedback/webpaper
The Paypal account had been in my wife’s name - She died March 31st so I had to create new tax accounts and a new Paypal account. There is a balance of around $300 in her account which I guess will be forfeited because after 52 years of marriage it is the only thing that was not in both our names. Our lawyer quoted $3500 to make me executor and $1500 to make me administrator - as he said - not worth it for $300.
And you are putting a hold on me for $2.10. Please tell me when you anticipate this nonsense might stop. I am growing a bit weary of being treated like a petulant 4 year old. I am 73 years old with a background in corporate America, teaching business courses (Syracuse University) and close to 20 years of Federal service. APS member since 1985.
Sincerely
Henry Brooks
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX”
Thanks for any advice
They do not have an email address and make it clear that their customer service reps are unable to discuss the hold program. I am going to send them a letter which will probably not even be read. It is copied below. Anyone have any suggestions as to how to stop them from picking up the 20 day float on every transaction? Or anything that might be better left unsaid.
“Paypal Headquarters
2211 N. 1st St.
San Jose, CA 95131
Dear Sirs
Just asking why you would put a hold on a $2.10 transaction.
We have been in business since 1985. We were on Ebay from 1998 to 2007 when Donohoe took over and we left with over 4000 feedback at 100%.
We then moved to Hipstamp and currently have over 15000 feedback at 100%.
https://www.hipstamp.com/display-feedback/webpaper
The Paypal account had been in my wife’s name - She died March 31st so I had to create new tax accounts and a new Paypal account. There is a balance of around $300 in her account which I guess will be forfeited because after 52 years of marriage it is the only thing that was not in both our names. Our lawyer quoted $3500 to make me executor and $1500 to make me administrator - as he said - not worth it for $300.
And you are putting a hold on me for $2.10. Please tell me when you anticipate this nonsense might stop. I am growing a bit weary of being treated like a petulant 4 year old. I am 73 years old with a background in corporate America, teaching business courses (Syracuse University) and close to 20 years of Federal service. APS member since 1985.
Sincerely
Henry Brooks
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX”
Thanks for any advice
Comments
I am not sure if this is what you are looking for. This is as posted on Paypal
https://www.paypal.com/us/brc/article/funds-availability
Most businesses will experience a time when their funds become unavailable, also known as a payment hold.
In this article, you’ll learn more what a payment hold is, why it happens, and how to resolve it.
Why are my funds inaccessible or on hold?
PayPal may place a hold or restrict your account activity if we need a little more information from you about a transaction, your business or your account activity. Some of the reasons why we might need this information include:
You’re a first-time seller. When you’re a new PayPal seller, it takes time to build up enough history to demonstrate a pattern of positive buyer-seller transactions. The good news is you can usually move out of this status by confirming your identity and building up a history of positive selling activity.
You haven’t sold in a while. When your selling activity has been dormant for a long time, it’ll also take time to rebuild a history of positive buyer-seller transactions.
Multiple customers filed for a refund, dispute, or chargeback. If multiple customers file for a refund, dispute or chargeback, it can delay the availability of your funds. The best way to resolve this is to work directly with your customers to prevent, or solve, disputes and chargebacks. Sometimes it’s possible your customer filed for a refund, dispute, or chargeback because someone illegally used their PayPal account to buy something. We ask that you hold off on shipping any items when this happens.
Your selling pattern appears unusual or changed. An unusual sales activity includes: a recent spike in sales or a change in your average selling price, business platform or type of item being sold.
You’re selling higher risk items. Higher risk items can include tickets, gift cards, consumer electronics, computers and travel packages. You can also read our User Agreement for more information on other holds and reserves we may place on your account.
How long will PayPal hold your funds for?
Your funds are usually held for up to of 21 days. However, there are several things you can do to expedite this timeline.
You can also read our User Agreement for more information on other holds and reserves we may place on your account.
What you can do to access your money sooner.
Assuming there are no issues with the order, you may be able to expedite the release of temporarily unavailable funds sooner than the scheduled 21 days by taking any of these actions from your PayPal account:
Action Time to release What you need to do
Print a USPS or UPS shipping label 1 day after delivery Print a USPS or UPS shipping label from your PayPal account. This will automatically update your tracking information and delivery confirmation.
Add tracking information 1 day after delivery with supported carriers. See chart below for supported carriers. Upload a supported carriers’ tracking number. PayPal will release the payment within three days of the carrier confirming delivery.
PayPal Supported Carriers in the United States as of June 18, 2020:
DHL eCommerce US
DHL Express (Piece ID)
Echo
Ensenda
Expeditors
FedEx
Globegistics Inc.
MailAmericas
Newgistics
OnTrac
RL Carriers
RRD International Logistics U.S.A
UPS
USPS
How can you prevent the delay of available funds?
There are four things you can do to help prevent a delay of available funds in the future:
1. Review the email we send and the alert in your account overview.
2. If a buyer pays you and the payment isn’t immediately available, we’ll notify you via an email titled “An important message about your PayPal balance” or via an alert in your Account Overview page. This email or alert will be the best source of information about why your payment isn’t available and what you may be able to do to prevent the delay of available funds in the future.
3. Prevent refunds, disputes, and chargebacks by:
Setting yourself up for success by posting actual photos and detailed, accurate descriptions of items so buyers know exactly what they’re getting.
Being clear about shipping and handling time, costs, and methods; process orders promptly to avoid delays.
Packing items carefully with appropriate, quality packing material, so customers receive the items in good condition.
Uploading tracking information of our supported carriers or printing a USPS/UPS shipping label through PayPal.
Clearly defining your return policy upfront to avoid problems later.
4. Communicate and work with your customers.
When customers contact you, do your best to be responsive and helpful. Working with customers early on can prevent a minor issue from ballooning into a much larger problem, and following the guidelines listed previously will help to reduce the number of buyer disputes, claims, and chargebacks. If you are involved in a buyer dispute, start working to resolve it right away. Frequent, honest, and open communication with the buyer via the Resolution Center can help clear up any misunderstanding.
5. Set up a customer service message.
Also, setting up a customer service message in the Resolution Center may help to prevent disputes. For example, if shipments will be delayed because of a hurricane in your region, letting the buyer know may answer their question and make a dispute unnecessary.
Selling on eBay.
If you sell on eBay, take a look at these eBay-specific tips for managing your seller performance rating.
I am aware of all that. I guess after 37 continuous YEARS in business (and an APS member all those years) I don't like being treated like a child. The business has been on Hipstamp and predecessors since 2007 and has over 15000 feedback at 100%. It would have been a lot higher if I was not a 24/7 caregiver for the last few years.
How am I to track a $2.10 order? The first hold was on a $40 order and when tracking showed it delivered and I received positive feedback I tried to notify them of that. There is no way to do so, they make it impossible to COMMUNICATE with them.
I can live with a 20 day hold but why should they get the float? It adds up to a lot of money they are "earning" from other people's money - legal, yes - ethical - not in my opinion. I spent 20 years with the SBA helping small businesses survive - it is not always easy.
I suppose the easiest thing to do is to toss in the towel and go back to getting together with a few of the high end dealers at someones house a couple of times a year. No fuss, no trips to the post office and my annual gross would at least triple or better. But I enjoy the time spent working on stamps.
Tough call/
They are NOT treating you any different than anyone who signs up for a new account or someone starting back up an inactive account after a long period of time. They will remove the holds after so many transactions that go through without any problems. Just give it a little bit of time and and some transactions and they should lift the hold.
Frustrating when I used to work for the government in a fiduciary capacity and underwent occasional security clearances. What is frustrating is the inability to make contact.
If I remember correctly Paypal will do a review after 90 days and at that point they will usually remove the "new" seller holds at that time.
I only have about 88 days left! LOL