On Your Side: Locked Out of a PayPal Account

PayPal froze almost $20,000 of my funds without reason. In spite of my faxing the company copies of my credit card statement, bank account statement, driver's license, and utility bill, PayPal still did not give me access to my account. Every time I called PayPal's customer service, the reps would tell me only that my account is under investigation, nothing else. When I asked how I could fix the error, they had no useful advice whatsoever. Can you help?

Sanjay Amin, Youngstown, Ohio

On Your Side responds: I contacted PayPal spokesperson Amanda Pires on Amin's behalf. Pires says that "PayPal limits a member's access when there is unusual activity on the account." Company reps try to explain to members why this is occurring, Pires adds, but they always use discretion in case there is actual fraud. For Amin, however, the reps did not provide sufficient information to help him understand and fix the situation. PayPal ultimately restored Amin's account within a few days, and Amin now says he is happy with PayPal's handling of the situation.

When an account has been limited, PayPal asks the member to follow a few steps to verify the account information. After that, access to the account should be restored, but occasionally PayPal requires additional steps, which is what happened to Amin. "We tell members that we need to review some items and will get back to them," says Pires. "If account members have any questions during the process, we encourage them to e-mail or call us."

For additional tips on how to keep a PayPal account safe, visit the Security Center area at PayPal's site.