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We got banned from PayPal after 12 years of business

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Re: We got banned from PayPal after 12 years of business

#471

Post by nakodari »

astura wrote: post #246
neotek wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You got banned for running a file sharing site, I’m afraid. PayPal’s terms require all file sharing sites to seek explicit approval before using the service, no exceptions.

I mean... its not even hidden in fine print or written in legalese or anything, they are pretty clear about "Activities Requiring Approval" in readable plain language. https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/acceptableuse-full >Providing file sharing services or access to newsgroups

When we created an account, there was no such clause. We discovered that it was added later. When they pointed it out that it violates their policy, I found it surprising. At the very minimum, they should have allowed us to get permission and if denied, then at least return us 30% of our revenue at that time which was in the account. They did neither. They shut down the account and did not even answer back to our emails. I would never trust Paypal again after that bad experience.

Re: We got banned from PayPal after 12 years of business

#472

Post by mattigames »

cvuls wrote: post #466
mattigames wrote: post #434

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hundreds of sites have been brought down for hosting pirated movies thanks to laws against that, don't know why putting down PBns would be unrealistic.

ah yes, and the wide-reaching effects on piracy those have caused.

Nobody is gonna start torrenting spam web sites to access their useless content.

Re: We got banned from PayPal after 12 years of business

#473

Post by sethhochberg »

mcv wrote: post #450
hunter2_ wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone should come up with a credit card that has a dynamic hard limit connected to a checking account balance. Paid daily, too, so the checking balance is almost always caught up. Seems like it would meet the needs of those people while letting them benefit from protections, rewards, etc. Any reason this couldn't work? Does it exist already?

> Someone should come up with a credit card that has a dynamic hard limit connected to a checking account balance. You mean a regular bank transaction card? Is that not something that exists in the US? I always find the American reliance on credit cards somewhat bizarre. Not having an alternative would explain it, I guess.

This is called a debit card in the US, and almost everyone has them - but the key distinction between a debit card and a credit card is that the debit card is a direct link to your bank.

People like using credit cards (or charge cards, like some Amexes) to buffer transactions between the bank and the merchant, so if the merchant screws up there is time to resolve the issue before the credit bill comes due.

If a merchant screws up with your debit card, or it gets skimmed/stolen, the only limit to abuse is how much money is in your checking account. If you just got a direct deposit from your employer and are expecting your rent payment to pull from that account today, but your account was drained because your debit card got skimmed at a gas station... not much you can do.

Re: We got banned from PayPal after 12 years of business

#474

Post by driverdan »

1337biz wrote: post #458
dwaltrip wrote: post #456

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just googled PBN. It looks like it is a black-hat, completely inauthentic SEO tactic that has no legitimate value. Why on Earth or you defending them? Am I missing something?

Because if what they are selling does not break any laws PayPal should not ban it. Or do you don't want PayPal to treat the world as their app store and pick and choose which software or service they find ok to sell.

They already do that. There are a lot of legal things PayPal has banned. Try to use PayPal to buy firearms and see what happens.

Re: We got banned from PayPal after 12 years of business

#475

Post by magduf »

anonymousab wrote: post #377
magduf wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>These are businesses, not charities. It's not just that: these are businesses, not the government. A lot of free-speech advocates and libertarian thinkers seem to think somehow that private businesses somehow have a responsibility to uphold free speech, and they simply don't. It's the government that can't restrict you from free speech (in the USA); but companies don't have to put up with it on their property or whe…

Many people believe that businesses and corporations have a responsibility to uphold and respect free speech as a societal virtue moreso than as a constitutional right. This isn't a crazy position given the power many companies wield over the workings of society.

Who are these "many people"? Libertarians? They're a tiny, tiny minority.

There's a simple saying about free speech: I'll respect your right to free speech, but I'm not going to provide a podium for you. If you want to speak freely, you can go to any street corner and do so, but don't expect my company to provide a platform for you if I don't agree with your views.

Re: We got banned from PayPal after 12 years of business

#476

Post by Fnoord »

lawn wrote: post #462
Fnoord wrote: post #424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (crypto shouldn't be used to mean cryptography either if it's possible to mix it up with cryptocurrencies) > The English language is ever changing, we re-purpose and come up with new words all the time. Except that my argument isn't that the old meaning is older (ie. no appeal to tradition, nor is appeal to novelty valid); it is that the older meaning is: 1) Far more important than the new one, and 2) Far broader,…

Well yes, it makes more sense to use it for cryptography. I'm not arguing otherwise. I just don't see the harm in this context when it's obvious what he's referring to. > Use an autocomplete to make 'crypto' change to 'cryptocurrency'. Yes, we should all install autocomplete in our browsers so we can avoid stepping on the toes of an opinionated commenter. This issue is so overblown.

It is obvious to you. However the practice of using that abbreviation for that term is widespread, and is used wrongly and is being confusing all too often.

Browsers? Not necessarily browsers. iOS and macOS have native support for that. Not sure about other OSes but hey it isn't me who's too lazy to type what they mean.

An opinionated commenter? An? You're assuming I'm alone in this. The amount of upvotes on that comment alone suggests otherwise.

Overblown? The issue is widespread, and common.

Re: We got banned from PayPal after 12 years of business

#477

Post by misterprime »

qbaqbaqba wrote: post #440
dreamcompiler wrote: post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google has spectacular user focus on the users that pay them (i.e. advertisers).

Not really. Perhaps the huge ones, but if you are small, medium or even a big one they don't care.

As demonstrated by a $50k+/mo account who's Google reps only recommend one-size-fits-all strategy and can't be bothered to listen to feedback that such a strategy only works with advertising to end customers and not B2B advertising.

The account rep is just a marketing vector for Google to their paying customers.

Re: We got banned from PayPal after 12 years of business

#478

Post by nroets »

Lowkeyloki wrote: post #401
mprev wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ooof, PBNs are literal spam. They're designed to game Google by producing a deluge of low quality content with backlinks on whatever search terms you're hoping to squat on. I'm utterly sick of this kind of junk.

True, but as long as there are rules, somebody is going to find a loophole or a way to game the system. I'd personally be more concerned with Google improving their product or with society's increasing reliance on a single company's service and our unwillingness to consume information critically. PBNs are garbagey, but trying to put them all down is unrealistic. And even if they could be stopped, it would only be a b…

My guess is that in this case many of the sites copied content from other sites i.e. substantial copyright infringement. That is illegal.

Re: We got banned from PayPal after 12 years of business

#479

Post by urda »

thedaemon wrote: post #248
LeonM wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess that I was trying to say is: don't assume that people have credit cards. In many countries credit cards are uncommon.

Credit / Debit cards are the same thing online. We, as is USA people, use the terms interchangeable often. I'm going to guess that most EU people have some form of banking card. So we will continue to assume that people have a form of payment other than cash.

Hello HN readers arriving here: this is not true.

Not only do both have completely different payment processing workflows, but there's another key takeaway:

With a credit card the money going out is the issuer's. If you have a compliant or need to handle a charge, it's not your neck on the line.

With debit? Once the cash is pulled it's pulled. Yes they have protections as well, but while you're fighting with your bank to get your money back it's gone.

Re: We got banned from PayPal after 12 years of business

#480

Post by ginsuown »

downandout wrote: post #461
dwaltrip wrote: post #456

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just googled PBN. It looks like it is a black-hat, completely inauthentic SEO tactic that has no legitimate value. Why on Earth or you defending them? Am I missing something?

You are indeed missing something. I am not defending them. But if they are doing something that PayPal hasn’t banned and obviously found acceptable for 12 previous years, it means that all businesses are in immediate danger of being instantly banned without explanation on the whim of any of thousands of PayPal employees. That is a huge problem, and should concern everyone that depends on them for payment processing.…

Ummm....no. As a software engineer, I can assure you there are not "thousands of PayPal employees" that can just ban businesses at will. I don't even think engineers working on that particular piece of software have any jurisdiction over that. Time and time again people post complaints that PayPal banned them "for no reason", without cause, etc, but invariably when you do your research, they have violated the TOS, and they have often been warned by PayPal many times. They were scamming someone, exploiting return policies and systems, etc. People will conceal those facts, as well as their own actions which led to their consequences.
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