Ok I am the friend! Hiya Cheryl.
OK they can and will freeze your account for whatever reason they deem fit.
Here's my situation:
I booked a trip to Mexico and the resort only took Paypal. I paid in full, using my Visa, through Paypal. Months later, I cancelled the trip (found out I was pregnant) and the resort refunded me through Paypal. It wasn't a refund of the original payment because it had been over 60 days, it was just a cash payment. Bear in mind this resort has used Paypal for HUNDREDS of transactions over the past 5 years.
Paypal decided that this was "suspicious" activity. They reversed the transaction, leaving my Paypal account THOUSANDS of dollars in the hole. I called the resort and they had to mail me a cheque, which took 2 weeks to get here and then my bank held it for THIRTY BUSINESS DAYS because it was from Mexico.
I flipped my lid on Paypal. They insisted that this was suspicious and they would not lift the freeze on my account until I provided them with TONS of documentation, including all my ID, bank statements, credit card statements, the works. The kicker: they wanted receipts from my past 5 transactions, which were all eBay related. Why this was relevant I have NO clue, the trip wasn't eBay related. Anyways, I had to dig up all these receipts for what I had sold. One item was a stroller that I had purchased 2 years before, I actually had to call the store I bought it from and have them fax me a copy. They wanted proof of shipping for the past 5 transactions as well.
I literally faxed them HUNDREDS of pieces of paper and spent HOURS on the phone with them. Each time, they would request something new. They finally agreed to life the freeze on my account....BUT I had to bring the balance back up to 0. I was still waiting for the cheque to clear the bank so I had to take money out of an investment to bring the balance back up.
I finally thought everything was going well with them. I did dozens of eBay transactions over months and all was fine. Then, I bought some baby stuff from a friend (ironically, yummy*baby) and she sent me an email invoice and when I paid it, they immediately froze my account, froze her account and the funds, again citing suspicious activity.
About a week later, they reversed the money back into my account but would not unfreeze my account until I provide them (AGAIN!!!) with my ID, banking statements, credit card statements and a utility bill. The problem was that all the bills come in my hubby's name. I called them and they said too bad. I faxed them a piece of GOVERNMENT mail showing my address (keep in mind my bank and cc statements match my address) and that wasn't good enough. I had to have the gas bill transferred from hubby's name into my name. When the first bill arrived, I faxed it to them. I call them every couple days and while they acknowledge that they have received everything they asked for, their "resolution department" is still "reviewing the case"
So bottom line, my account was confirmed and verified. I had a bank account and a credit card attached to the account, all with the same address, same name. They STILL froze it. It's been about 3 months and it's still frozen.
Along with my SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!!!
Have fun with them. They are BRUTAL. Once I get my account reinstated, I will transfer out my $700 and NEVER use them again. I'd rather pay for my auctions with a money order and risk getting scammed then give them my business.
Phew, my fingers are flying. I forgot how angry I was about this until I started typing. LOL!
Anyways, OP. Good luck, I hope it works out better for you than it has for me!
Must use Buy It Now and PayPal.
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