The transaction is still being reviewed by PAYPAL

On July 15, my friend received an e-mail from this merchandiser telling him that his payment was still not credited because his transaction was still being reviewed by Paypal. My friend was advised by the merchandiser to wait for about a week. He assured him that what happened to him was a rare occurrence but it does happen. However, one question really looms in our mind? If the merchandiser does not have the money in his account and it is also not in my friend's account according to the bank, then where is it? And what right does Paypal have to hold money for a week? or even for a day? or even for just a few hours. It's not their money!!! This is sleeping money. Money that will not earn interest? Money that is just floating there somewhere? Money that as some people said in other blogs frozen for years because they cannot get Paypal to return it! My friend and I share the same emotion. That feeling that this is utterly and obviously NOT RIGHT! It's like the same feeling that you have been robbed under your nose. For the inconvenience, for the time spent, for the unnecessary phone calls and document preparations? What is it for? And why is there no definite actions listed in the Paypal site which tells you where and when do these occurrences normally happen?

Like for example: Does it happen when you add a credit card? But my friend did that before and he did not get this limited access account from Paypal? Is it because you used the newly added card right away? But that was also done before? Is it because one was not able to enter the verification code in the Paypal site? But that's also bollocks because the last time my friend verified his first card he had to wait for the bill which was normally after 25 days and he's account was not limited. For the new card, the card was verified in a week's time? So what was different? What went wrong?

Or is there someone in Paypal who reviews these transactions subjectively and when he does not feel like it or he's not in a good mood, he'll slap every account that goes in his desk with a limited account access issue. My rantings may be figments of my imagination but then again what happened with my friend's account was also absurd. And now Paypal holds the money indefinitely with no advice whatsoever besides a note "The transaction is still being reviewed by PAYPAL".

Finally on July 16, Paypal has moved from Step 2 to Step 3 of the Resolution process.
They sent a letter to my merchandiser who in turn forwarded the e-mail to me. It says:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:
Date: Fri, Jul 16, 2010 at 10:19 AM
Subject: A payment has been reversed
To: xxx


Hello xxx,

We've concluded our investigation into the transaction detailed below.

Because we determined that you did not meet the eligibility requirements
for the PayPal Seller Protection Policy, you are being charged for this
reversed transaction. We've returned the funds to the PayPal account
holder, and your account will be debited for the amount of this transaction.

-----------------------------------
Helping ensure safe transactions
-----------------------------------

Most of the payments you receive will be from, honest buyers. PayPal wants
to help ensure that your transactions are as safe as possible.

You can often reduce your risk by paying close attention to payment details
and unusual requests.

* Watch for address inconsistencies:
It's fairly common for a buyer's shipping address to be different from the
billing address. In some cases, though, it could indicate fraud. For
instance, a high-priced item that has a billing address in one country and
a shipping address in another may be suspicious.

* Beware of unusual requests that could indicate suspicious activity, such
as:
- Buyers who want rush shipment at any cost
- Buyers who send partial payments from different PayPal accounts
- Do not make payment in full

Go to the PayPal Security Center for more information.

-----------------------------------
Transaction Details
-----------------------------------


Buyer's name: xxx
Buyer's email: xxx
Transaction ID: xxx

Transaction date: Jul 8, 2010
Transaction amount: xxx
Your transaction ID: xxx
Case number: xxx


Thanks,

PayPal

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you
will not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account
and click the Help link in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

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Users are advised to read the terms and conditions carefully.

PPID xxx

At this time the merchandiser has relinquished his responsibility to Paypal since the payment has been reversed. My friend was thankful for the prompt communication between his merchandiser and him. However, now the problem was my friend was stuck with no payment to his merchandiser, a floating money and no advice from Paypal whatsoever as to what happened to the money he sent. There's no e-mail from them what to expect next instead they sent my friend something that he thinks was kinda inappropriate at that time.

To find out what was that, tune in to tomorrow's blog.