Online freelance is challenging to navigate especially for newbies to the industry. If you don’t have mentors to walk you through the ropes, it is easy to commit mistakes. One common mistake that freelancers may make at the onset is creating or registering for a Paypal account under ‘Business’ set-up and not ‘Personal’.
If you are someone who intends to offer services to clients via online job portals, who expects to receive salary or commission once hired, know that the perfect account for you to make in Paypal is a Personal account.
Paypal Business accounts are best fit for those who runs partnerships and companies which are duly registered in the appropriate government agencies. These individuals or companies have the corresponding business papers.
How To Know If Your Paypal is under Business or Personal?
The fastest way to know for sure is to log-in to your Paypal account. Then click the gear icon to get to “Settings”. If you will see the line “Upgrade to a Business Account” it means that yours is a Personal account.
Account Creation Mistake
Now, fast track, what if you mistakenly registered in Paypal for a Business account, when it should have been a Personal account, just because you didn’t know any better when you were a newbie. And after using your account without any issues for years, suddenly you get notified that restrictions and limitations have been placed in your Paypal account? What to do then?
Account limitation, which is usually for 180 days, may include one or all of the following:
You couldn’t transfer payments or funds you got from your online work to your bank account.
You couldn’t send Paypal funds to another Paypal account.
You couldn’t cash-in to your eWallet like GCash using your Paypal account.
180 days is 6 months – a tad too long not to get your hard-earned money.
To correct this issue, you need to submit your business papers to Paypal. But what if you don’t have business papers to submit?
Contact Paypal Support
Logged-in to Paypal, once the dashboard load, open the notice, and follow the link to the Resolution Center and follow the instructions you will find therein. Submit the documents required.
If you don’t have business papers to submit, try to email Paypal at askpaypal@paypal.com.
Explain your situation, let them know that registering for a business account back then was an honest mistake on your part, and that you are requesting that your account be DOWNGRADED to a Personal account, which is more appropriate in your case.
Normally, they will reply within 24 hours. If you have not received any reply after 48 hours or you feel that all you are getting are canned replies, the next best thing to do is call Paypal support hotline. If you are in the Philippines, use Skype to call.
Real time talking with a Paypal customer service via phone or Skype is the best way to discuss any issue and to consult the rep on what you need to do lift the hold on the account.
How To Call Paypal Support Hotline
*The hotline is +1-402-935-2050, a US telephone number. CSRs are available starting 6:00 AM PT to 6:00 PM PT Monday through Sunday.
First, logged-in your Paypal account.
Second, scroll to the bottom and click “Contact Us”.
Third, click “Call us”.
Fourth, the dialing instructions will load, take note of the one-time passcode.
Fifth, dial the hotline number and then enter the passcode once prompted.
Sixth, you will then be connected to a support rep.
When you call Paypal support hotline, their customer representative will first verify your details by asking you a series of security questions, he or she might also ask you about the ID you used in verifying your Paypal account.
Once your identity is verified and confirmed, you can then proceed to discussing your situation. During the call, request for downgrading of your account.
After the Skype call, you will receive further communication from Paypal. Monitor your email and Paypal account for any instruction or new information. Account downgrade request may take a week or couple of weeks to get done.
Once the account is set as ‘Personal’ and the limits are lifted, you can then do transactions normally including fund transfers.
What If You Do Nothing?
Let’s suppose that you don’t need the money in your Paypal account or you are too lazy to contact support. Don’t worry because after 180 days, the account restriction will be lifted on its own.
Once the hold on account is lifted, you can then transfer the funds to your bank, send it to another Paypal account, use the funds to cash-in to your eWallet like GCash, etc.
There are lots of ways to commit mistakes in online freelancing. Don’t stress yourself too much if you commit one.
Do research to get ideas how to resolve the issue you are facing and apply the learnings. You may also ask help from more experienced freelancers or join communities of like-minded individuals and ask assistance from them. Issues can be resolved, remember that.