dotDB, a search engine for all registered domains, has had its PayPal account permanently suspended without any explanation. This move has left the company with no choice but to accept only credit cards as payment, while any funds held by PayPal will be frozen for up to 180 days.
The suspension came about after a subscriber disputed their payment, alleging that the services offered by dotDB were not as described. However, after an investigation into the matter, it emerged that the subscriber had extensively used dotDB’s services for a month before making the dispute. Moreover, this subscriber had already requested refunds twice with the same reason in 2022 as the 30-day subscription period was coming to an end, both of which were granted by dotDB in good faith.
Despite this, the subscriber subscribed to the service again in March 2023 and requested a refund for the third time. After presenting evidence to PayPal that the subscriber was exploiting their services without intending to pay, the case was eventually closed in favor of dotDB.
However, on April 18th, 2023, dotDB was informed by PayPal that its account had been permanently suspended due to potential risk, with the company no longer authorized to use PayPal’s services. Despite dotDB’s explanation that it is not violating PayPal’s policy, PayPal’s Risk/Compliance team denied their request to recover their account.
As a result, dotDB is now seeking legal and public support to raise awareness of the issue and to recover its account. This is not an isolated incident, as other domain services such as Namebio and Sav.com have previously experienced the same PayPal ban. However, they were able to successfully retrieve their PayPal accounts, and it is hoped that dotDB will also be able to do the same. PayPal is an important payment method for most domain investors, and the suspension of accounts can have a significant impact on their business operations.
For more details, please refer to dotDB’s Official Announcement.
It’s regrettable to hear this kind of story again. I hope an entrepreneur would establish a rival company to let PayPal know that they should have treated their users better.