The ‘Terms and Conditions’ Reckoning Is Coming

Eleanor Margolis had used PayPal for more than a decade when the online payment provider blocked her account in January. The reason: She was 16 years old when she signed up, and PayPal Holdings Inc. insists she should have known the minimum age is 18, because the rule is clearly stated in terms and conditions she agreed to. Clearly stated, that is, in a document longer than The Great Gatsby—almost 50,000 words spread across 21 separate web pages. “They didn’t have any checks in place to make sure I was over 18,” says Margolis, now 28. “Instead, they contact me 12 years later. It’s completely absurd.”

Personal finance forums online are brimming with complaints from hundreds of PayPal customers who say they’ve been suspended because they signed up before age 18. PayPal declined to comment on any specific cases, but says it’s appropriate to close accounts created by underage people “to ensure our customers have full legal capacity to accept our user agreement.” While that may seem “heavy-handed,” says Sarah Kenshall, a technology attorney with law firm Burges Salmon, the company is within its rights because the users clicked to agree to the rules—however difficult the language might be to understand.