What should I do if my balance is negative?

If your account balance is negative, check your recent Activity to find out why.

Your PayPal balance could be negative because:

• You tried to pay using your bank account, but your bank was having technical problems, or there wasn't enough money to cover the payment.
• A buyer opened a dispute, but there was insufficient balance to cover the amount.
• A chargeback was filed through the card issuer – more information.
• A refund was issued on your behalf to cover a buyer complaint.
• We had to take back a payment that wasn’t protected by our Seller Protection program.
• Someone may have used your PayPal account without your permission.
  

If your account balance is negative, check your recent activity to find out why.

If you think your balance is negative because someone used your account, report it immediately in the Resolution Center.

Here’s how to mail us a check, a money order, or a cashier's check:

1. Make the payment payable to PayPal Inc.
2. Write your name and the email address registered with PayPal on the payment.
3. Send the payment to:
   PayPal Operations – ADD
   P.O. Box 45950
   Omaha, NE 68145-0950
   United States

Please note:

• The check should be in USD and drawn on a U.S. bank.
• If you don't have a U.S. bank checking account, you can send an International money order in USD.
• Upon receipt, it can take up to 7 business days for the amount of your personal check to show up in your PayPal account and up to 2 business days for your cashier's check or money order to show up in your PayPal account.

While your account balance is negative, any payments you receive in your PayPal account will be applied to the outstanding balance, and any refunds you attempt will be funded by your primary bank.

If you don't resolve the negative balance within 120 days, your account maybe locked or limited. You will need to log on to self-service. If you are unable to log on and resolve, Contact Us. 

If your PayPal account balance is negative for an extended period of time, we may pass this debt to a collection agency.

The debt collection agency may contact you on our behalf. They’ll ask you to repay the amount owed, while providing you with a range of payment options. You may also be charged a fee by the debt collection agency. We urge you to work with this agency to resolve the matter.

Note:

• If you have multiple currency balances in your account and one of the currency balances becomes negative, we may resolve this by using the money you maintain in a different currency balance.
• If you’ve had a negative balance in another currency for 21 days, we’ll turn it into US dollars.
• You can always bring your negative balance to zero by adding money to your PayPal account.