Can PayPal Legally Withhold Money From Ebay Sales For 21 Days?

[buythis005a]

Can PayPal legally place a 21 day hold on money that came from selling an item on ebay?

I sold an item for $200 ($194.90 after palpal had taken their fee) and as soon as the buyer paid PayPal placed it into a 21 day hold.

I have a 100% seller rating and this is the first time I have been denied access to my own money. I would have received a negitive feedback if I held off from posting the item until the funds had cleard.

Basically Paypal have found a way to give themselves an interest free line of credit at our expense. 

Surely this can not be legal in Australia?

[davewil1964]

Still, not again. They never stopped.

Good luck with the ombudsman - they encourage financial institutions to be prudent these days.

[lyndal1838]

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@spacealien38 wrote:

Looks like ebay are doing this again. I will be making a complaint to the financial ombudsman.

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What makes you think the FOS will be interested now when they were not interested 5 years ago?

You accepted it by agreeig to the ebay and paypal Terms to use their services.....nobody is twisting your arm to continue if you are unhappy.

[chameleon54]

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@spacealien38 wrote:

Looks like ebay are doing this again. I will be making a complaint to the financial ombudsman

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chameleon54 wrote:

What most sellers complaining about this fail to recognise is that agents holding money from the sale of goods for set time period is standard commercial practice in Australia. I run a sheep grazing business and sell lambs and wool. These sales are regularly in the tens of thousands of dollars and for larger producers can easily be $250,000 per transaction. ( 1000 breeding ewes at $250 each is pretty common ) 

The agents I use ALWAYS pay the funds ten days after sale, regardless of when, or if they recieved payment from the buyer. How is this any different to ebays 21 day hold on funds ? 

A regular sheep or cattle market can involve combined funds of many millions of dollars. Farmers are not running to the FOS to get their funds earlier.......Its just standard commercial practice and is not even noted in the paperwork when you sign up with the agents ( unlike ebay where the 21 day hold is clearly stated in the terms and conditions you agree to when selling on ebay ).

[shacou81]

It is not legal on Australian banking law

[padi*0409]

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@shacou81 wrote:
It is not legal on Australian banking law

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Maybe not, but when you decided to sell on eBay you agreed to their T & C's which state that for new sellers a 21 day hold will be put on funds - or until tracking/feedback shows the item has been delivered.......................

[davewil1964]

Paypal is not a bank. But I'm fairly sure they are legally entitled to hold monies in this instance, given they do it and still have their financial services licence.

You could always lodge a case with the Ombudsman.