To start off: The issue with PayPal was FINALLY resolved today, after nearly 3 months of struggling with the verification process. It's definitely a relief to see all warnings and limitation lists erased, and have just been able to withdraw the money frozen in my account to pay some of my overdue rent.

The help came from an unlikely source: I received my Patreon payout through the card I have with Payoneer (a bank and payment processor similar to PayPal). Payoneer offers the option to download card statements in PDF format, which thank goodness happens to be formatted in a way that meets all the criteria PayPal wants (company name and logo, my full name and address, date of issue, recent transactions). I decided to upload it to PayPal, and this time the issue was solved within minutes.

I remain greatly disappointed at how careless and precise PayPal is with its process, and how they leave the burden on the shoulders of user even when there's nothing they can possibly do more. They have recklessly strict criteria on what counts as valid "proof of address"; If one letter or date is missing or out of place, you can send them every bill or bank statement in the world and they'll still reject it... if you have no way of obtaining a document that counts, though luck to you as far as PayPal is concerned. Some people have solved this verification process within a matter of days, because they luckily had documents resembling what the PP staff expects... others like me instead were forced to obtain and scan documents for months, because our banks or institutions happen to not offer anything that PP wants.

While I understand they need to abide certain laws, I feel that I was punished for no reason by PayPal during those past few months. For this reason, even if my PayPal account is now back up and running, I've taken the decision to switch my Patreon account back to Payoneer and use PayPal as a backup. Even if Payoneer may have a few slightly higher fees, they seem a lot more solid and competent and caring toward their users... something other people have been able to confirm from what I could find on the internet. I prefer to pay 25$ an year to a service that hasn't mistreated me, compared to giving transaction fees to a service that has been accused of multiple wrongdoings (which I now got to experience first hand). If you have the option of getting Payoneer for Patreon, I suggest giving them a go and at least keeping them handy as a backup to PayPal; You're less likely to find yourself unable to withdraw money one day.

Anyway, now that this whole mess is solved, it's time to think of how I'm going to rebuild my Patreon; A shocking amount of pledges were lowered or pulled out over the last 2 months, and I'm left with a monthly income on which I can't survive for long. This has demotivated me a lot, but of course I'm still working on several sweet projects in the background. I'll have to think of what and how to change, since I will honestly need a solution fast. Till then I'm going to focus on getting through the upcoming Christmas and new year, preparing potential updates for January 2018 in the process.