Advice needed:
PayPal does not normally allow accounts from Croatia (something to do with local rules on sending and reveiving money or something), but I was able to open one anyway, I think from eBay, and use it for payments via my credit card (that is the only function available, but that's what I need it for). So, I was hapilly spending my money, buying DVD's on eBay, memory board from Patrick, sending donations to those wireless Katrina relief guys and to Wikipedia and so, up to and including day before yesterday, Friday 13th.
Yesterday I tried to buy
VoIPStunt* credits, and all of a sudden I got this message:
Error 3028. You have been accessing your account from a sanctioned country. Per international sanctions regulations, you are not authorized to access the PayPal system. For more information about your PayPal account status, contact [Email]ofacappeal@paypal.com.[/Email] For further information regarding international sanctions, please refer to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control at www.treas.gov/ofac, or to the UK Bank of England at www.bankofengland.co.uk/sanctions.
I am getting this as soon as I log in - I dont have a chance to even review my past transactions.
Mail to the address mentioned only produced what looked as stock answer to the effect that Croatia is on some kind of sanctions list. I checked on
OFAC site and found only two executive orders, the most recent two and a half years ago, and pertaining only to freezing assets of individuals promoting the war on Kosovo and doing similar nasty things.
I don't have any money on my PayPal account (they only let me pay transaction by transaction using credit card, which is OK with me) so it evaporating or being blocked is not a danger, but I need the damned service occasionally, and I feel decidedly uncomfortable when someone having my personal and credit card data something decides they don't like me.
I seem to remember we have someone working for eBay here, and certainly many people are experianced PayPalers. Please advise.
Thanks!
*) The VoIPStunt is a Skype copycat, except that you get a service equivalent to SkypeOut (PC to POTS)
free for most of Europe, USA, NZ & Australia, Singapore etc.
Edit: I followed the link to Bank of England, got 404'ed, searched, and found equivalent of said executive orders in more or less palin English. The mentioned sanctions (freezing of assets) apply to a grand total of
one Croatian citizen, Ante Gotovina, who, BTW, comfortably rests in ICTY's prison in The Hague.
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