Will eBay Release a Suspended Seller's $7000?

by: Goo Goo

It was not left in an 'eBay Account', the funds were never sent to the seller in the first place, it is an illegal hold, PayPal started doing that to all accounts by making the false claim that volume did not justify sending the money instantly any longer due to them being cut off by eBay.  They held money my Mom sent me to pay bills, I had to tell the supervisor to release the hold so I could pay my bills, he released it after I told him I was going to report PayPal to the above linked agency.  These illegal holds need to be reported here:  

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/  

by: Marie

Railady makes a great point.  Sellers now have the ability to move their money out of MP faster than they did before.  The options are now Daily, Weekly, Biweekly and monthly.  We also have the option of doing an On Demand payout.

So if the money wasn't on hold from the moment it landed in the MP account, a seller can move it out of their account quickly.  

It all depends if that $7000 came in and was immediately put on hold or part of it or all of it was in the account for a few days before the hold happened.

by: Goo Goo

It makes ZERO difference if you move your money out of eBay Payments, since they link to and control your bank account they can put you in NSF status negative balance and out of business with one sale, if you bank pays that debt, you own the bank and are finished.

by: Goo Goo

Sorry, if your bank pays eBay, you end up with a negative balance, you owe the bank, they turn you over to collection and you are out of business with a lawsuit to answer.

by: railady

@GooGoo - I took the OP's comment about a hold on her eBay account that the funds were there, just not being released. I had the same problem, PayPal funds frozen/held  because I supposedly had not shipped a bunch of purchases.  (Despite the fact that I have never, ever, used PP for shipping) They have taken it upon themselves to ''guarantee'' the shipments, so they froze the funds using what I felt was a FLIMSY excuse -- that I had not added tracking numbers?? Once I did that, the freeze was lifted.  

Regardless, knowing what we here know about eBay and PayPal, it's sensible to never keep a serious amount of money in either one.  As soon as the funds hit, move them out ASAP !

by: railady

@GooGoo - Whether eBay can get the funds out of one's bank account depends entirely on the bank's rules.  My bank allows money IN but not money OUT. I own the account, not eBay, and the bank (in writing) will not authorize an outsider to debit the account.  

by: railady

@GooGoo - thank you for the link to the place to file a complaint about illegal holds!!

@Marie -
"So if the money wasn't on hold from the moment it landed in the MP account, a seller can move it out of their account quickly..... It all depends if that $7000 came in and was immediately put on hold or part of it or all of it was in the account for a few days before the hold happened."

I have to agree. They can't claw back money that has been withdrawn and not there, when they try to put a hold on it. The only exception could be if it is OWED to eBay or someone THROUGH eBay (or PayPal).  And based on experience in this forum, it would seem too many "holds" have little to do with funds that are present in one's account; they slap punishment on for some reason, and placing holds/freezing unrelated funds to hold money hostage seems to me like a great way to ensure compliance by an account owner?  

by: Goo Goo

Hold means hold, in other words eBay never made the money available to the seller period.   eBay calls them reserve funds, reserved for eBay's use, in simple terms they are using the moneys on hold for their own until they are forced to release it, PayPal is doing the same extortion deal.

by: Goo Goo

My bank allows money IN but not money OUT. I own the account, not eBay, and the bank (in writing) will not authorize an outsider to debit the account.  

eBay is not an outsider, the agreement you signed when you agreed to eBay payments authorized them to debt your bank account anytime they wish, you better have your banker review the eBay payments terms of service and explain it to you.

by: Goo Goo

7. Using Managed Payments
Returns and Cancellations; Refunds
If your buyer is entitled to a refund for a return or cancellation for a Managed Payments transaction, based on an agreement between you and the buyer or according to eBay’s policies regarding such transaction, you authorize us to pay to the buyer the corresponding refund amount on your behalf.

eBay Buyer Protection Programs
eBay offers buyer protection programs on certain eBay Services to ensure that buyers receive the item they ordered or get their money back. Such programs are referred to as “eBay Buyer Protection Programs,” and known in many jurisdictions as the “eBay Money Back Guarantee” (“eMBG”). You understand that if your buyer successfully files a claim under such program for a Managed Payments transaction, the respective eBay company offering the eBay Buyer Protection Program (“eMBG Service Provider”) will reimburse the buyer the amount owed on your behalf pursuant to the applicable User Agreement and eMBG policy. According to the applicable User Agreement and eMBG policy, you must reimburse the eMBG Service Provider for any such amounts.

Disputes
A buyer (or the owner of a payment instrument) may initiate a chargeback, direct debit reversal, or PayPal buyer protection claim, or otherwise asks their financial institution to open a payment dispute (all referred to solely within this Part I as “Dispute”) in connection with a Managed Payments transaction. The final outcome of the Dispute will be decided by the buyer’s financial institution.

We will manage Disputes, as follows: When a Dispute is opened, we will notify you and ask you whether you choose to accept or challenge the Dispute. If you accept the Dispute, you agree to the reversal of the payment to the buyer. If you challenge the Dispute, eBay will submit to the financial institution any relevant evidence you provide about the Dispute. You agree to provide timely information to assist in the Dispute resolution process and understand that your failure to provide requested information on the timeline we require and as specified by credit and debit card networks' and other payment service providers' rules could adversely impact the outcome of a Dispute investigation, up to complete forfeiture of the amounts in Dispute. If you accept the Dispute or if the buyer’s financial institution decides in favor of the buyer, the respective amount will be refunded to the buyer's original payment method and charged to us. You must reimburse us for such charges, unless you are eligible for seller protection in which case you are not held liable for amounts refunded to the buyer. If you choose to accept the Dispute, we may still decide to challenge the Dispute in our discretion and at no additional costs to you.

Some payment institutions offer an optional arbitration process to contest the results of an individual Dispute. We may ask for your consent to participate in such arbitration process. If you consent to chargeback arbitration, you authorize us to represent and defend you throughout the arbitration. You will be responsible for all costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees and any arbitration fees assessed by third parties, arising from such arbitration proceedings), as agreed between you and us in each case, and you authorize us to pay these amounts on your behalf while the arbitration is pending.  

by: Goo Goo

Collection of Fees and Other Amounts You Owe
You authorize us to collect from you any amounts you owe us, our Affiliates (in particular the Affiliate which provides the eBay Services to you), or third parties who, as separately authorized by you, provide services to you in connection with your use of the eBay Services (such as shipping carriers), under these Payments Terms of Use, the User Agreement, any other service contract, policy, agreement or as required by law (referred to as “Owed Amounts”). Owed Amounts typically include the following:

Fees;
Amounts as described in “Returns and Cancellations; Refunds”, “Disputes” or “Fines, Penalties and Losses” in Section 7 above;
Amounts you owe the eMBG Service Provider under the applicable eMBG Policy;
Taxes or other charges related to your use of our or our Affiliates’ services, if applicable and required by law; and
Amounts we incorrectly settled to you due to a payment processing error or otherwise (see Section 1 above).
For clarity, your authorization permits us to collect amounts which you already owe to us, our Affiliates or third parties as described above. This authorization does not establish any new claims for payment against you. In some cases, our Affiliates may assign a claim against you for payment of Owed Amounts payable by you to us.

Collection of the Owed Amounts may be carried out on a one-time, sporadic, or recurring basis by the following means:

Retaining such amounts from your current or future disbursements relating to any transactions that you may have;
Recouping from your Linked Financial Account (and if required, by issuing a direct debit mandate or other similar authorization);
Recouping from any other payment instrument or payment method you may have authorized or placed on file with us or our Affiliates (for example, to pay for seller fees, shipping labels, or dispute resolution);
Recouping from your stored value account, if a stored value account has been issued to you;
Recouping from your payment account, if a payment account has been issued to you (see Part III); and
Retaining collections agencies or using other collections methods, if the collection by other means has been unsuccessful.
You authorize us to choose the method of collection among those listed above. We generally deduct Owed Amounts from your current or future disbursements we process on your behalf. If a stored value account or payment account has been issued to you, we will deduct the Owed Amounts from funds held in the relevant stored value account or payment account before disbursing the funds to you. If your disbursements awaiting payout or funds held are not sufficient to cover these amounts, we will charge your Linked Financial Account or another payment method on file. If you have several payment instruments on file, you may indicate a specific payment instrument as your preferred payment method for collecting Owed Amounts in your eBay account.

by: pace306

Baloney

Do a chargeback on THEIR withdrawal and let them come and chase you for it.

If you are right, the issue will resolve itself, if you were wrong - then you didnt deserve the money anyway.

But THIS is the problem when sales platforms become the bank.

WORSE, when they "let you have your own return policy", but create a separate 30 day ( or more) one that they use YOU to fund/uphold/create.

You can of course have any color car you want, as long as its black.

This is why they are the San Jose Mafia. THEY control "YOUR" business from top to bottom and you have no say in the matter.

by: mjr55

Or maybe the OP actually did something to warrant the money not being released. When OPs post on here and then never come back to fill in details that are ambiguous....there normally is a pretty good reason.  

by: Marie

@Goo Goo

They can't just dip into your checking account because they want to.  They have to have a reason, like to REFUND a buyer.  The OP has said nothing about any refunds happening.  Some do think MP can do things they really can't.  

Lets say the money came into your account on Tuesday and on Friday Ebay placed the hold on your funds.  If you had moved that money out sometime during Tuesday through Thursday, they can't hold it and they can't pull it back simply to place a hold on it.

YES, as I said before if there is a dispute in place and Ebay needs the funds to cover it, they can go into your checking account and get it.  But they can't take it just cuz they feel like it, there is going to have to be a reason.

by: Marie

@mjr55

It could be as there is a lot of information the OP has not shared.  So we do not have a full picture of what transpired.  Most are just assuming that Ebay screwed up and maybe they did, that is entirely possible, but the OP has not told us the whole store either.

by: woundedtiger

I suggest to show up at shareholder meeting. Buy 1 share which gives you a voice.

by: JusTrains

Back in 2010 I filed a court claim against 7 appeals eBay refused to acknowledge. The day before court, I was advised the docket had been settled. SETTLED??? I didn't settle nothing! But eBay apparently advised the court that THEY settled. Arrrgh - I wanted my day in court but eBay even thwarted that! The appeals went away but I lost my MFS and Power Seller status and was told I'd have to wait the customary one year waiting period to have my status restored. Really? I prompty closed my eBay store which was hosting 1,500-1,800 items per month averaging $8K sales. I guess that wasn't worth keeping for them, hmmm?

Anyway, I did speak to my eBay contact regarding the court issue and he told me, "We just wanted to see how far you were willing to go."

Sooo... my advise? Sue the crap outa them and go public everywhere - you're way past civilities here. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU!

by: zeut

As a previous poster posted, file a complaint with the Ca. attorney general office. Also your state and most people are unaware of this:
eBay has corporate offices in Nebraska, Utah, Texas and other states. Google their locations and file complaints in each state AG office. I have found Utah and Nebraska work considerably faster than Ca AG.

by: railady

@Goo Goo -  You make some excellent points about "holds" I had not considered! namely, (1) keeping funds and not transferring them to the seller's account and (2) holding funds that had been transferred to the seller's account. When I read Grace's "The problem I am facing is I still have over $7000 of my funds held by eBay. There is zero issue with the PAYMENTS I RECEIVED for the fund." I immediately concluded the funds were in her account before they slapped on the hold. But YES, indeed, agreed - Grace is entitled to a REASON!!!!! so she can contest it.

As to eBay being about to get into my bank account - my bank allows me to transfer funds in.  It does NOT allow eBay to get into it and take funds out unless I give them my approval. YES I read disclosure statements and agreements when I opened the account, and YES this was confirmed at that time by a bank official.  It was one of the primary reasons I went with this particular financial institution.  

by: railady

@zeut - Extremely useful information - !  No reason to not file the complaint in ALL of these offices !!