Email support maybe?

Paypal Support

Threaten to pee on their servers.

You should go with the prepaid debit card, really. The minimum load on the ones I know of is only $20, plus the fee, which is less than $2. You don't lose the money. You can just spend it after you take care of the Paypal issue. The ones I know of even refund you the fee in the form of a check mailed to you after you close the account, so unless you let it sit on the card long enough to accrue maintenance fees, it won't cost you a dime.

I had something similar, asking for details that I simply did not have, I just sent them a quick complaint email about how I did not have that info to give and like the next day my account was back

First off, don't reply directly to whatever email you got because for how many of those are legit, there are also some phishing scams saying that when it's false and what they want is to steal your credit card details.

If you checked the account itself and saw it blocked, then it's legit. Have you checked about getting a debit card? Many banks provide them for free with a checking account and they count as credit cards. It's not a bad idea to have one because it does make it so easy to buy stuff online without the risks of a credit card since it's using actual money in the bank.

how do you know it isn't a scam email?

Yea I agree with what lady said. Delete the e-mail then log into paypal and see if what it said are true. It could be a phishing e-mail.

I get texts and e-mails all the time saying my Verizon account has been disabled or my bank debit card has been shut off for fraud reasons and every one is a scam trying to get my info.

smells like phish.

I recently also got a similar email. Email looked good, but the address was not. It tried to be, you know somethingsomethingofficialsounding@support.com.au, but obviously nothing to do with actual Paypal. So yeah, plenty of phishing scams out there.

Call them. Whenever I have problem with Paypal I call their support. It's best to do such business personally (voice to voice).

E-mail or phone them. Tell them you do not have a credit card. If they insist on holding your funds then ask them for alternative methods for verifying your identity. This can include a utility bill with your name on it which is what they asked me for many years ago when I had issues with them.

Keep in mind dymoblade it for your protection and look into any fraudulent activity go on your account.

DO NOT EVER click on any paypal email link which is a common problem you clicked on a link in a fake email you thought was from PayPal.

To see what you need you to do to restore your account:

1. Open your web browser and log in to your PayPal account.

2. Click on Resolution Centre near the top of the page.

3. Complete all steps listed in the Steps to Remove Limitations table.

Make sure you have registered a bank account and at lease debit card or credit card on file.

I'd recommend the prepaid, although I personally stopped using Paypal after I realized that they slap a bunch of limits on you, ask for way too much information, and take a rather large cut of your money in transfers.

So yeah, take the Prepaid, you won't lose any money anyway with it, seeing as you can still use whatever money you've invested in the prepaid to buy stuff later.

Yeh if you cant login to your account it won't be fishing. If there is only a few dollars in the account I don't get why they blocked it. In general they only block big accounts. I don't see how just a few dollars can be suspicious. The best thing to do is just contact them to resolve it. When they realise there isn't much money in the account I doubt they will act all that difficult. Sueing costs more than whats on the account. Going to the police for theft will only annoy them (if the police can be bothered) and won't solve anything, it might be funny though.
Getting a debit card (prepaid credit card) doesn't cost much. I am with skrill (moneybookers (its mastercard)) If I remember corretly it's free, but it costs $10 per year to have an actual card. I think you can still have the credit card number for free without the card. It's actually quite handy. Contacting them is still the best way to go. Good luck :)

Happened to me ... TWICE this summer sale. Paypal sucks big time!

Paypal has always been good to me, In situations where my account was in question or in situations where i had been charged back on for sales of virtual items they have always sided with me.

The best way to get your problems solved is to just call them and explain your situation. Be straight with them and tell them exactly what you do with your account. There is a luck element that you a compassionate customer service agent but in general most are helpful.

If they don't help you right away (which sometimes happens) call back in a day or two and ask them about the status of your account and explain you situation again and most of the time they will help.

Getting your account verified does help. It also helps to have your account attached to an active ebay account.

"The few dollars I earned from trading stuff on the market."
Black market I see.

Happened to me ages ago. I got flagged when I logged into a computer I had never logged into before, and proceeded to try to transfer my entire Paypal balance to my mom's paypal account. (Needed cash, bank withdrawal takes 2 business days at the least). I got flagged for "suspicious activity." By they way, you can't unlink your bank account or credit card once it's linked to a Limited account. I provided everything they asked, identification, a card, utility bills, etc. Long story short, I did everything they asked, and in the end, my account was limited permanently. They let me withdraw money to my bank account after 180 days (iirc) of my account being limited.

TL;DR VERSION: Basically, I accidentally made it look like I got hacked, they froze my money for half a year, and a ton of tickets, documentation, and whatever later, they finally let me withdraw my money, but kept my account in permanent "Limited" status.

Email them saying "I don't negotiate with terrorists"

well, since they blocked wikileaks everyone should know that they cannot be trusted