I have has a Paypal account for years and been buying stuff on Ebay etc. Yesterday i bought something (only £5) and tried to pay with PAypal but was told I had exceeded £1600 of transactions and now need to 'get verified' which includes giving them my bank details, setting up a direct debit etc. It says they put a small amount (few pence) in my account then I need to verify that has arrived Ok etc. It's all starting to sound a bit Nigerian. Is this normal?

C

Yes

Yes – it's normal – a real pain in the a*se when your not expecting it though.

Yup – ironically enough I think this is down to money-laundering rules and regs (and probably flagged somewhere in case the tax man asks questions). I had no end of hassle when we moved house and I sold a couple of thousand pounds worth of decent furniture and camera gear within two weeks..

Great, thanks for the re-assurance. As you say it was a total shock!

C

[panic]…….oh you three arn't all Nigerians are you ……[/panic]

if you try and deposit a large amount of cash in your bank account, you have to fill in money laundering forms too

if you try and deposit a large amount of cash in your bank account, you have to fill in money laundering forms too

bet they didn't ask the government to fill out a poxy form when they deposited a few million into the bank.

ironically enough I think this is down to money-laundering rules and regs

…but their head office/accounts filled isnt in the UK is it? Thats utter tosh (not you poster). I bet they can sidestep those regs as they arent a UK-listed company?

What no one has mentioned is that SOCA and the FBI now have a file on you as a result and you'll be getting calls from wealthy Russians asking if you can do their laundry for them.

..but their head office/accounts filled isnt in the UK is it? Thats utter tosh (not you poster). I bet they can sidestep those regs as they arent a UK-listed company?

I don't think they're the ones under suspicion, you are. If the company fall under the watchful (or not) eye of the dreaded FSA, and as such are regulated (and I'd be very surprised if they're not) then they have to perform due diligence regardless of where they're based.