Flagged transaction, and now account limited...

[ChrisFaris]

I cannot say strongly enough how annoyed I am at PayPal...to the point that I'll close my account after this is cleared.  Apparently my transfer of money to a colleague arranging a tour to Cuba (fully legal, btw) got flagged for OFAC reasons.

Customer service cannot help, "Compliance" has been non-responsive after 48 hours and after I uploaded all of their required documentation.  My only 'sin' was putting the word "Cuba" in the note to my colleague...otherwise, this would have never been an issue (i.e. transfer of money from one US citizen to another).  My awareness is now:  a) Customer Service and Compliance at PayPal is clearly unaware of current events, policies and procedures for travel internationally, b) Trolling email messages between customers is now clear...watch what you say! c) Getting things cleared in a timely manner isn't in PayPal's DNA.

Can hardly wait to close my account!

[ChrisFaris]

Seriously?  Are you absolutely kidding me with this comment?  I've known this guy for forever...

You are missing the point:  a) poor service, b) poor response to the issue, c) keying in off of a single 'word' in a private message etc. to lock down my account, d) no Customer Service acknowledgement when information supplied as requested/immediately

Please, no conspiracy theories on "do I really know what my friend is doing..."   He is a respected doctor who has done humanitarian work worldwide...I'm well aware of what he's doing.  Travel to Cuba is fully sanctioned according to the United States governments, the airlines allow tickets to be purchased for direct flights to Cuba with absolutely no issues using mainstream credit cards.  I don't think I need PayPal's protection in this instance.

[ChrisFaris]

Epilogue:  Well, I got notice this afternoon that my account was "reinstated" to its full capabilities, and that my money transfer was paid!  Interesting, I noticed PayPal took the money from my bank account on 11/28 and on 12/2  completed the transaction...so PayPal was able to take my money out of my bnak account on the day of the transaction, "block it" my PayPal account, use it to pool my funds with others for a few days, play the short term interest game, all while I'm allegedly "OFAC" non-compliant for putting the word "Cuba" in my message to my colleague...'wow', the beauty of computers, pooling micro-transactions, all to make a buck, while I'm under investigation!    I submitted all that they asked for immediately and had to hound them constantly via email for an update, to finally be 'cleared'.  No explanation, other than they completed their review and its all "ok".

Suffice it to say I'm now looking for a PayPal alternative and will be closing my account...have never seen this type of shoddy service/treatment before.  All the best.

[temp201809261t]

I agree - it looks like a complete scam on PayPal's part. They did the same thing to me under even fishier circumstances. I ignored their emails because their accusation of OFAC violations was so bizarre that I thought it was a fishing scam.

In my case, I sent a $50 deposit to a moving company in NYC. All parties are American and domiciled in New York. There was no message sent with the money and no reference to any activity or countries of any kind. The transaction was appropriately marked as for goods and services. PayPal took the money out of my account in May 2016. But that's when things got weird.

PayPal alleged a so-called "OFAC violation" with absolutely no details provided other than, "You may be selling goods or services prohibited by the US Government." PayPal then ignored my emails and held the money for over 12 months until I finally gave in to their requests to submit a copy of my state ID and a utility bill to prove my address in June 2017. It is worth noting that none of the documents provided in any way speak to whether there was a so-called OFAC violation.

Once I submitted the requested documents, the issue was resolved within 30 minutes and my account was restored to full access. Customer Service was no help and I definitely got some thinly-veiled hostility from the lady on the phone. She literally did nothing but read back to me the exact same emails sent from PayPal, but offered nothing in the way of an explanation or justification for PayPal's actions or requests of me. Additionally, neither Customer Service nor the Compliance Transactions teams ever responded to my emails seeking additional information on these alleged violations.

Based on the shady nature of PayPal's conduct, I would not be surprised to learn this was a scam to pool small-dollar amounts from millions of customers into a short term investment fund, which allows PayPal to earn additional revenue without giving their customers a cut. With competing services available with none of the headache, and that have more robust commitments to customer service and transparency, I don't think I'll be using PayPal anymore.

[Whac-A-Mole]

Paypal robot/software is constantly looking for violation,keywords like ISIS,Islam,Syria,gun powder,blabla bla,and you guys just got caught in the fishnet.

[FTS]

"private transactions, that are perfectly legal are being monitored...that is what I find the most disturbing.  Way too much 'big brother' for me."

OFAC regulations/holds/reviews are under the umbrella of the Patriot Act which is administered directly by the U.S. government.

I've seen emal accounts get locked down for mentioning groups, names, or weapons from video games that happen to echo real-life events.

"keying in off of a single 'word' in a private message etc. to lock down my account" -- Patriot Act, not Paypal.