PayPal account suspended!

[Martin]

I just got this e-mail from PayPal:

"Dear Martin,

We appreciate the fact that you chose PayPal to send and receive payments
for your transactions.

However, after a recent review of your account, it has been determined that
you are currently in violation of PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy. The
Policy prohibits the use of PayPal in the sale of backup copies of games
software (e.g., games which require a mod chip or other special hardware to
play, games referred to as "silver" or "gold" copies, or multiple games on
one CD); beta copies of games software (e.g., mod chips, game enhancers, or
boot discs); or hardware or software designed specifically to produce
unauthorized copies of games. The complete Acceptable Use Policy
addressing Games Software can be found at the following URL:

http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/use/index_frame-outside&ed=games_software

In order to comply with the Acceptable Use Policy and avoid the limitation
or closure of your account, you will need to:

1. Remove PayPal as a payment option, as well as all references to PayPal,
including the PayPal logo and/or shopping cart, from your website(s),
http://www.emulation64.com; and

2. Submit the online Acceptable Use Policy affidavit.

This is not intended to be an all-inclusive review or list of your Internet
sites in violation. Furthermore, the violations of the Policy described
above are not intended to be an all-inclusive list. It is the
responsibility of the user to ensure that all transactions comply with the
Acceptable Use Policy.

For more information about the status of your account, please log in to
your PayPal account.

We encourage you to login and return your account to good standing as soon
as possible. Failure to respond by 10/25/2006 will result in the further
escalation of this issue.

We appreciate your cooperation in this matter. Please understand that this
is a security measure meant to help protect you and your account. We
apologize for any inconvenience. If you have any questions, please contact
the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy Department at [email protected].

Sincerely,
PayPal Acceptable Use Policy Department
PayPal, an eBay Company"

Where is the PayPal logo on Emulation64? I don't even sell anything using my PayPal account, let alone copyrighted material. In fact I haven't sold anything using PayPal for at least a year. Why don't they check this before sending out such mails? I wonder if it's the domain name that's triggered something, if so that's just sad. :saddam:

 

[Martin]

Dear Martin,

Thank you for contacting PayPal with your concern regarding the limitation
on your account.

Your appeal to lift the limitation on your account has been denied. In
order to comply with PayPals Acceptable Use Policy and bring your account
into good standing, you will need to:

1. Remove PayPal as a payment option, as well as all references to PayPal,
including the PayPal logo and/or shopping cart, from your website(s),
http://network.emulation64.com/donate.php.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. If you have any
questions, you can either log in to your PayPal account for more
information, or contact the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy Department at
[email protected]

Sincerely,
PayPal Acceptable Use Policy Department
PayPal, an eBay Company

 

[Martin]

Since we're an emulation site we must do something illegal eh? Those donations aren't really to pay for the servers, they're payment for backup discs I send out that people have ordered.

/me suspects PayPal is being pressured by Big N

 

[Martin]

This is getting better, now they want me to remove the PayPal logo from a site I have nothing to do with.

Dear Martin,

Thank you for contacting PayPal with your concern regarding the limitation
on your account.

In order to comply with PayPals Acceptable Use Policy and bring your
account into good standing, you will need to:

1. Remove PayPal as a donation option, as well as all references to
PayPal, including the PayPal logo and/or shopping cart, from your
website(s) http://www.1emulation.com,

2. Submit the online Acceptable Use Policy affidavit.

We understand that you do not accept "payments" through PayPal. However,
you do receive funds through PayPal for a website whose content is
questionable, as you are dealing in areas that come under copyright issues.
This is an area of business that PayPal has chosen in which not to
particpate.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. If you have any
questions, you can either log in to your PayPal account for more
information, or contact the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy Department at
[email protected]

Sincerely,
PayPal Acceptable Use Policy Department
PayPal, an eBay Company

This means we'll no longer be able to accept donations, sorry folk. And thanks once again to everyone who donated in the past.

 

[Doomulation]

So sad... They can't even get the facts right before starting to send out cease & desist. Or maybe you are selling something illegal behind our backs?

 

[Martin]

Hehe no of course not. Read that last post (I think we posted at the same time so you missed it).

 

[tye stik]

So, did they suspend your account because of your involvement in emulation?

 

[Allnatural]

We understand that you do not accept "payments" through PayPal. However,
you do receive funds through PayPal for a website whose content is
questionable, as you are dealing in areas that come under copyright issues.

:doh: :angry:

Idiots. How are payments handled at your store? Perhaps we can make donations that way...

 

[Toasty]

We understand that you do not accept "payments" through PayPal. However,
you do receive funds through PayPal for a website whose content is
questionable, as you are dealing in areas that come under copyright issues.

What ignorant idiots. Emulators have nothing to do with copyright issues; you can't copyright hardware. I do hope you give them a hard time about this Martin.

 

[Cobrax1884]

screw them, toasty said it, emus have nothing to do with copyrighted issues.And i hate paypal X(

 

[Miretank]

Yeah and if you ever need to "paypal" something, send le moniz to me and I'll take care of it

 

[Jaz]

Those donations aren't really to pay for the servers, they're payment for backup discs I send out that people have ordered.

LOL

That made me chuckle.

"Wh3r3 i5 my R0mZ CD?!"

 

[ScottJC]

Paypal are a joke, everyone needs to stop using it because they seem only concerned with shutting down accounts for no apparent reason. Also Martin you told me my donation was to help the servers!!! Y DIDNT MA GET A ROMz CDEEEEEE?? YYYYY!!

 

[Doomulation]

I doubt that. They are just like other companies, though - they don't like to be affiliated with emulation sites. Could get them in trouble.

 

[ScottJC]

Paypal are huge - they are not affiliated with emutalk anyway, thats like saying if I put paypal link on my sig that I would be. It was just a donation page - besides i've noticed Paypal have closed accounts on a lot of the places I visit on the web so it is no co-incidence.

 

[Doomulation]

What can we say? They are a company - a corporation and corporations does things like this. It is no surprise.

 

[dave_luther]

I hate paypal. A few months ago, some asshole got entry into my parents account and drained about £5000 from it. Fortunately, they only had something like £20 in it in the first place. My parents noticed and tried to notify Paypal, only to get no responses to emails and automated telephone numbers with no conclusion. Therefore they thought nothing of it. After some time Paypal called and threatened to have their belongings repossesed, and had some guy call my parents all the time asking for their bank details etc. Oh and they had their account suspended, shame that so many things in the modern age support only Paypal

 

[Doomulation]

That's the company way. I never had a problem with Paypal.

 

[Jabo]

If you guys didn't see this on slashdot a while ago, its worth a read

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/09/04/1227227

Certainly made me wonder, if you read their terms of service it's actually companies like Nintendo that helped them with this policy it would seem, maybe they just dont want to piss the big companies off in fear of loosing those big retail contracts.

 

[Acorn]

While their policies and actions are questionable, there is a much simpler reason to avoid paypal at all costs: they can't reliably preform their primary purpose of money transfer, even in a case as simple as depositing $20, and buying a book on Ebay.

They stole $200 from me long ago - before they were bought and "reformed". After this, with a different account, they have failed to transfer money (with the action waiting forever in que), charged my card then had no record of doing it, and sent account closure notices - only to have no record of this later after a long struggle. My parents (who still try and use them, and have accounts completely seperate from mine) have had their account suspended for selling "pornographic material" (a CD transaction in which they used the word 'fugue').

Obviously they manage millions of successful transactions - but they are understaffed and unwilling to correct problems - almost any problem. They provide a service cheaply, which can be obtained elsewhere at slightly greater cost with much more reliability.