US paypal account transferring (Xoom) or sending (email) not working

[PleaseHelp-TY]

Two issues, could be related. Just need assistance to get this sorted so I can pay my landlord, and at the moment I am late.

Overview.  Paypal account holder/user for over 20 years.
Dual citizenship > opportunity to live in Europe for the first time ever.  Before Covid I wanted to do this and was on my way.... 
I have been selling some of my music collection, only excepting Euros because part of my plan was to transfer the Euros to my EU bank account.

Fast forward... A few weeks before I left, I contacted paypal who insisted I would not have any issues using Xoom or emailing another email address with Euros, so I could then transfer those into my EU bank account.

Xoom Issue

US Paypal account balance has Euros that I want to transfer to my EU Bank, using Xoom > Xoom does not show any balances from Paypal, and they told me this is a Paypal problem, with restrictions on my Paypal account, and there is nothing Xoom can do about this. I've been on several phone calls with Paypal customer support, who insist there are not restrictions on my account, and they seem to have no idea how to resolve this issue because they transfer me to someone else who they believe can assist me, where I am on hold waiting. 
Shouldn't XOOM work as it is intended?  What could be missing that Paypal customer service is not seeing?
Steps > logged into US Paypal account > click Transfer > send abroad with XOOM > go through all steps > my balance is not showing up. Only options are to add debit or credit card, which must be from EU bank, which is not what I want to do.  

Sending Euros from me US Paypal email to my EU Paypal email > 

I opened up a EU Paypal account and attempted to send my EU Paypal email (Friends and Family) Euros and .... I received

"Sorry, we weren't able to complete your payment at this time. Please try again later.  If you continue to encounter problems please contact customer server."

I've told Paypal about this issue  and they told me there is nothing wrong with my account, no restrictions, they see my balance and the transaction, and they told me to try back in 48 or 72 hours. 

Between the time I started on this journey, I have only been successful to EMAIL my EU Paypal account (sending money friends and family) three times.  1st time was 10 Euros, 2nd time was 100 Euros, the 3rd time was 500 Euros.  I tried 1000 Euros and then got the generic "Sorry..." message listed above.  Since then, I wait 48 or 72 hours, call Paypal (with them on the phone) and inform them of my issue, and they confirm I have no issues on my account, and then they tell me to try again to send my EU Paypal email address Euros... and "Sorry..." again..

Reaching out to anyone in the community to PLEASE HELP ME! I need to pay my rent while I am in Europe. 

I am in a pickle and would appreciate if anyone with the knowledge to get this resolved could assist me.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH! 

[sharpiemarker]

@PleaseHelp-TY 

It’s possible that PayPal/Xoom is restricting access to a payment method, possibly due to the amount you are attempting to send. Try Xooming a smaller amount.

I suspect emailing yourself the money via PayPal is no longer working because you’re accessing the US PayPal account from overseas. You did tell PayPal that you’re doing that, right? Based on what the error message is, it does seem like the internal security system is blocking your transactions because of the gradual jacked up amounts you are sending. Maybe the frequency too. The system is protecting itself. What might work sometimes is to leave the PayPal account alone for a while. Wait a full week or 10, 12 days straight, for example so security system can cool down/reset. And waiting random amounts of time before performing each transaction. Got to exhibit casual/normal pattern of use. It’s algorithmic. Also stick with sending €500 or below since those were the last successful amounts before the ‘shadow’ restriction. The security system is hard coded and can’t be overridden. There is a difference between being restricted because of an account limitation and the job the automated security system does daily, reviewing and temporarily restricting or slowing down certain transactions based on irregular patterns of activity

It’s not looking like you can’t readily rely on these funds to pay your rent at this time if customer service is unable to override. Maybe request a supervisor when you next call if the basic level customer service can’t do anything.

[PleaseHelp-TY]

@sharpiemarker appreciate the response.

Paypal is aware I am out of the country and I even tried using a VPN (while on the call with them) so it looks like I am in the USA.
One of the paypal representatives told me that using a VPN is not a good idea because that would cause more "security flags", which would put my account in a state where they would recommend to try again in 48 to 72 hours. I've also spoken to several supervisors who basically "give up" because they apparently do not have the knowledge to inform users of how to properly handle these situations. I was basically told to try again, but wait as long as I possibly before trying again.  I get it, security/algorithms, etc... but my accounts are linked, I have biometric security enabled, two factor authentication, etc..  

I was on a call after I posted this message with Paypal for 3 hours (mostly on hold). It all depends on who you get and if they are willing to assist you.
First guy I got had no idea how to assist me. We tried the email to email transaction, with the same results. He suggested that I get transferred to the Global Support team, who listened to my concerns and was willing to assist me.  They sent me a verification code to my phone, and we tried again, and I was able to email my other email only once with 500 Euros.  After that one time it did not work any more. He suggested I try again in 48 hours.
He also was not aware of how to handle the XOOM situation, where I provided him with the help comments from XOOM site that Paypal is responsibility for ensuring the Paypal balance shows up in XOOM and there is nothing that XOOM can do about this.  I asked if he could conference XOOM on our call and he  stated he could not. Same with XOOM, asking them if they could conference each other. I tried, but at the moment I am on an ip phone, so my conferencing more than one call is not working.  XOOM and Paypal are pointing the fingers at each other, and that seems a bit odd.  Someone is responsible and the fact that they both are pointing at each other seems that the customer service team is not skilled enough to handled this issues. I did try previously with smaller amounts in XOOM, 10 EUROS, and every time it never shows my Paypal balance or any balances for that matter.  Definitely a disconnect somewhere.   

For me this isn't resolved, because I believe Paypal and XOOM can do a lot better.
Especially since I do not even start any transactions until they are on the phone with me.

[PleaseHelp-TY]

Has anyone else had this issue using XOOM?
I would really like to understand who is responsible, because in my case... XOOM is telling me that PAYPAL owns the solution and PAYPAL is telling me its XOOM.  Too much finger pointing and not enough support for the issue. No one seems to want to touch it.

Thanks

[kernowlass]

@PleaseHelp-TY 

Paypal is country specific and not supposed to be accessed internationally which is why you are hitting issues.

Also using a VPN is against paypals user agreement so be careful you don't a get a ban!!

[PleaseHelp-TY]

@kernowlass appreciate the insight, however when I was preparing for my move, I contacted Paypal customer service (by phone from the USA), more than once, asking them directly if I would have any issues with this situation and they all told me it should be fine, don't worry, it will work, its easy, you will not have issues. The assured me there would not be any issues.

In my experience since, the customer representatives that have since been involved have no idea why its happening, and I should not have any issues, it should work with no problems.

VPN was a suggestion by one of the PAYPAL customer services agents and then another agent told me not to use it.

Case in point.  What if you are on vacation (out of your country) and need use paypal? 
Can you please point me to the documented details around this?  

Seems its not so simply, especially given the fact that PAYPAL should acknowledge situations like this and how to properly handle those, which I have not been provided anything but "Wait 48 to 72 hours and try again".
Still this does not resolve my XOOM issue.


Thank you

[kernowlass]

@PleaseHelp-TY 

The call centre staff do not always give accurate advice believe me.

However the moderators on here have said many times that if you try and access paypal internationally you may well hit security bumps.

Also if they can't confirm its you some users have been limited until they return to their own country.

That is why if you move countries you have to close your old account and use a new one in your new country.

If the advice you have been told is correct you would not be having issues would you?

[PleaseHelp-TY]

@kernowlass 
Appreciate the advice, but you seem to be missing some key points regarding the situation.

I contacted PAYPAL directly before my move and they gave me no reason I would have issues, so why would I research the community before moving?

The reason I posted in the community (for the first time) was to try to get clear answers, and had no reasons to post before because PAYPAL assured me there would be no issues. I did search in the community for my specific issues before posting, and could not find anything related for my specific situation.

In order to open a PAYPAL account in another country, that you want to transfer funds to, then you must have a bank account associated to that country. For the country I moved to, you must have a physical address that you reside at <not USA> with proof before you open a bank account. This is a letter from the city that shows you are registered at the address that your bank account will be associated with.  These steps require physically being there to both register the address and open the bank account.  Doing this before I moved was never an option for me.

PAYPAL also  requires you to provide a phone number that is associated with that bank account in the country that you open an account with, and typically phone plans (unless you get a pre paid card that you have to purchase inside of the country) will require bank account details as well.  PAYPAL will confirm your foreign phone number by sending you a text message, to ensure your phone number is linked to the account. 

I could not live at two places (before leaving the USA) at one time.  There was no way around that.
I had to wait until I proved residency at my new country before I could open a bank account, which is where I need to transfer my funds into.
Closing my USA account before I moved, was never going to be an option for me.  What is the point of having XOOM as a tool to use with PAYPAL to transfer funds to a foreign bank account if it does not work properly? 

All accounts are in my name, clear with my details, 2FA is associated with both, and linked to bank accounts with the same name.

With PAYPAL being in existence for over 20 years, and supporting international transactions, then shouldn't PAYPAL have something documented in its "help" section stating the "do's and don'ts" or expectations based on anything related to my situation?

Hindsight is always 20/20 , don't put the cart In front of the horse... I had the conversations previously with PAYPAL (more than once). Take into consideration that in this situation I trusted PAYPAL to provide me with the correct details and had no idea I would run into issues after I moved.

I have another plan I will try, but it will require the help of someone in the USA. If that does not work, then it seems there is no solution for this.
Thanks

[kernowlass]

@PleaseHelp-TY 

I contacted PAYPAL directly before my move and they gave me no reason I would have issues, so why would I research the community before moving?

As I have already said, call centre staff do not always give correct advice, whereas the 'moderators' on here ie Paypal staff and not just advisors (non-paypal staff) like me are higher than the call centre staff.

I didn't tell you to post to the community first but if you had done so we would have advised not using a country specific paypal account internationally.

In order to open a PAYPAL account in another country, that you want to transfer funds to, then you must have a bank account associated to that country.

Incorrect, some countries can't receive Paypal payments / some countries can only withdraw to a visa card / some countries can't add a local bank account but 'may' be able to add a U.S bank (as Paypal is a U.S company and allows that).

If you are moving abroad for a period of time then you have to open a Paypal account in the country you are living in. You don't have to do that before you move, the only part you have to do before you move is closing the old countries account and transferring all funds out of it. OR if you are returning to that country you can leave it open as you can have up to 2 paypal accounts BUT only if x1 is personal and the other x1 is a business account.

I could not live at two places (before leaving the USA) at one time.  There was no way around that.
I had to wait until I proved residency at my new country before I could open a bank account, which is where I need to transfer my funds into.

No one is saying you had to live in both places at once, but you should have removed your funds to your U.S bank account before you moved and removed any cards/banks and then closed the account.

 https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/can-i-change-the-address-on-my-paypal-account-to-another...

[PleaseHelp-TY]

@kernowlass 

Appreciate your time, but unfortunately it seems you have missed my points or misunderstood my specific situation.

Closing my accounts before transferring any money is not a solution because my US bank does not support Euros, which is what I am wanting to transfer out of my US PAYPAL account. US PAYPAL only supports US Banks, where my European Bank is not listed.

I already knew before I moved that in order to establish a European PAYPAL account that I would need requirements, which I have already stated. There was no way for me to open a European PAYPAL account without a European Cell phone number (specific to the country I am residing in) and a bank account, where I would need to transfer the funds into.  

The solution is to transfer my EUROS from my US PAYPAL account to my EU PAYPAL account via email (friends/family) or EU Bank via XOOM, and still XOOM does not work because XOOM does not see any of my PAYPAL funds, which I have, and would like to transfer. XOOM says this is a PAYPAL issue and PAYPAL says its a XOOM issue. XOOM is the only one that has documented its help section that states its a PAYPAL Issue which when discussing with PAYPAL does not acknowledge.

There was no way for me to transfer any of my Euros from my US PAYPAL account until I had a bank account setup in Europe, which required me to be physically located in Europe in order for the accounts to be established, which I already explained what I had to do in order to do this. There was not another way.  My US Bank does not support EUROS, where PAYPAL accounts support all types of currencies. 

Hope this clears it up.

Thanks