Not upheld: account limitation and fund retention complaint against PayPal UK Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr D complained that PayPal permanently limited his account and retained over £1,000 without explanation. The ombudsman found that Mr D had engaged in restricted activities by using a VPN and accessing from a non-permitted country. While PayPal kept some information confidential for security reasons, the ombudsman was satisfied that PayPal acted fairly in both limiting the account and offsetting the funds against a previous loss Mr D had caused PayPal. The complaint was not upheld, and no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Mr D engaged in restricted activities (using a VPN and accessing from a non-permitted country) which gave PayPal grounds to permanently limit the account. While some information was kept confidential for security reasons, the ombudsman was satisfied that PayPal had acted fairly in offsetting the funds against a historic loss Mr D had previously caused PayPal. The ombudsman considered the action proportionate as PayPal was recovering a legitimate internal claim against the funds.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website