eBay account restricted (MC011): what should you do?

What should I do if eBay says my account is restricted?

Start with the notice. Save the date, the wording and any reference. People search for MC011 because that code appears in restriction emails. The eBay pages checked here do not define MC011. Quote whatever code your email actually shows.

Upload only the documents the notice asks for. Do it on the eBay page you opened yourself. Do not send identity documents to a social media account or to someone who messaged you first.

A restriction, a request for more information, and a block on selling are not the same event. Do not guess the cause. Answer the question in the email.

eBay’s payments-on-hold page says it may hold funds if there is an open case or dispute, the buyer reports a problem, the account is restricted or suspended, you owe eBay money, or you are a new or infrequent business seller. Payout holds include a registration discrepancy, a compliance hold, unusual selling activity such as more claims, a sudden change, late deliveries or negative feedback, and a payment method eBay cannot charge. It says you can use pending or on-hold funds to buy postage labels. If the account is restricted, eBay says it will notify you and may ask for more information. Source

Why would a restriction hold my money?

eBay’s hold page says a restricted or suspended account is one reason it holds funds. It also holds funds for an open case, a buyer problem, money you owe, a registration mismatch, a compliance check, or unusual activity.

eBay says it will notify you and may ask for more information. There is no published number of days on the pages checked here. Ignore any fixed “90 days” or “180 days” figure that is not in your own notice.

eBay’s payments-on-hold page says it may hold funds if there is an open case or dispute, the buyer reports a problem, the account is restricted or suspended, you owe eBay money, or you are a new or infrequent business seller. Payout holds include a registration discrepancy, a compliance hold, unusual selling activity such as more claims, a sudden change, late deliveries or negative feedback, and a payment method eBay cannot charge. It says you can use pending or on-hold funds to buy postage labels. If the account is restricted, eBay says it will notify you and may ask for more information. Source

How do I complain about a blocked payout?

Money sitting in the account is a payment complaint. eBay’s page says to complain to eBay Commerce UK Ltd. The examples include a delay paying funds out, a blocked payout, and account verification.

Use the contact button on that help page, or write to the postal address it prints. eBay says it does not take these complaints from social media or community boards.

For a payment complaint, eBay says you get a final response within 15 business days. Keep that letter.

eBay’s complaint page says a seller can complain to eBay Commerce UK Ltd about payment services. Examples include a delay paying out funds, a blocked payout, and account verification. For a payment complaint, eBay says it will give a final response within 15 business days. If that does not resolve it, you may be able to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of the final response. Complaints have to be sent through eBay’s contact route or by post. eBay says it does not accept them on social media or community pages. Source

When is the Financial Ombudsman the next step?

Only after eBay has answered, or the time for an answer has passed.

The Ombudsman says to complain to the financial business first. eBay says that if its final response does not resolve a complaint about eBay Commerce UK Ltd, you may be able to go to the Ombudsman within 6 months of that response. Miss the 6 months and eBay says the Ombudsman can look at it only in very limited cases.

The Ombudsman cannot take every complaint. One it has already decided, one the courts have decided, or one outside its time limits is out. A marketplace disagreement that is not about the payment service may also be outside what it can look at. The complaint page is the route. It is not a prediction of the result.

The Financial Ombudsman Service says to complain to the financial business first. It is a free service, set up by Parliament, that looks at complaints about financial businesses. It says it cannot help with every complaint, including one it has already looked at, one the courts have decided, or one outside its time limits. Source

eBay’s complaint page says a seller can complain to eBay Commerce UK Ltd about payment services. Examples include a delay paying out funds, a blocked payout, and account verification. For a payment complaint, eBay says it will give a final response within 15 business days. If that does not resolve it, you may be able to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of the final response. Complaints have to be sent through eBay’s contact route or by post. eBay says it does not accept them on social media or community pages. Source

What will a new account not fix?

Stay on the account in the notice. Write down every reference. A second account does not move a payout or a complaint.

SilentSale® cannot lift an eBay restriction or release an eBay balance. If you later sell somewhere else, that is a new account with its own checks. Buyer and seller each contribute £0.30 + 3% of the item price to SilentCover® (£0.60 each on a £10 item), a discretionary protection service, and Stripe holds funds until that order is complete. None of that reopens an eBay case.

Read why eBay is holding money, moving listings from eBay and SilentSale® and eBay.

Stripe processes payments and holds funds until the order completes.