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Comment by nakodari | Hacker News Reader

Not surprised at all. We got banned too without any warning a few years ago. I wrote about my story here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11944701

Lots of people would simply think "It won't happen to me" and move on. But this is just another example that if it can happen to people using Paypal for years, it can happen to you too. It's better to offer other payment channels to customers so you can diversify. And if possible, move away from Paypal entirely.

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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.

I wonder if there's a potential class action suit there if you could get enough people together.

Unlikely to win, https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/acceptableuse-full

Activities Requiring Approval > Providing file sharing services or access to newsgroups;

Looks like he didn't seek approval and got flagged for it.

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