The ONLY thing I use PayPal for is to buy from PhilC, since it's the only option, and because Phil can be trusted. I DO NOT trust PayPal, however, because of numerous stories like Exotica's. Posette, your question is a good one. It seems to me that refusing to return account funds is theft, pure and simple. I have a friend who was making a lot of money from his "Goth Erotica" site, until PayPal suddenly pulled the plug on the payment system about a year ago, when they implemented their new puritanical policy. This basically ruined the site for my friend, who had to shell out to a lot of customers who had subscribed. It might have been different if they'd had that policy from the beginning, but they didn't, they moved the goal posts mid-game. I'm aware that the majority of PayPal experiences for customer and merchant alike are trouble-free, but again, based on the experiences of others, I really don't trust them. Exotica, I'm so sorry this has happened and I hope they will pay you what they owe you.