Consumer complaint received 2026-02-24 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Mobile or digital wallet
Issue: Trouble accessing funds in your mobile or digital wallet — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: IL

Complaint narrative:
PayPal ( PayPal Holdings , Inc. ) Issue Type : Funds held / account restriction/ legal order or lien asserted without disclosure and without verification of ongoing enforceability Amount : {$1500.00} Timeline : PayPal account limitation since XXXX ; {$1500.00} withheld since XXXX ; ongoing as of XX/XX/XXXX Summary of Complaint ( what I want CFPB to address ) PayPal has maintained a limitation on my account since XXXX and has withheld {$1500.00} in my PayPal balance since XXXX based on what PayPal describes as a court order or lien/levy endorsed to PayPal. PayPal refuses to provide meaningful information about the alleged legal basis, refuses to verify whether the restraint remains valid and enforceable, and instead repeatedly directs me to contact a third-party legal contact ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX who is unresponsive and appears inactive. This continued restraint is no longer lawful in light of the XXXX XXXX Attorney Generals enforcement action and the Consent Order and Judgment in People of the State of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, et al., Index No. XXXX ( Sup. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, which imposes obligations affecting the XXXX merchant cash advance network and related collection activity. PayPal has been provided direct notice of that order and judgment but continues to hold my funds and restrict my account without confirming enforceability or providing a lawful basis for continuing the restraint. Key Facts ( straight timeline ) - XXXX : PayPal placed a limitation on my PayPal account. PayPals representatives now attribute this to a court order or lien/levy endorsed to PayPal ( allegedly originating from XXXX ). - XXXX : {$1500.00} was deposited into my PayPal balance. PayPal has withheld my ability to withdraw these funds since that time. - XXXX XXXX ( present ) : The account remains limited and the {$1500.00} remains restrained. PayPal continues to refuse to provide a lawful basis for continuing the restraint in light of the XXXX XXXX Attorney Generals Consent Order and Judgment and related relief regarding the XXXX XXXX. Why this is unlawful/ unreasonable PayPal is not merely processing a legal order ; PayPal is continuing to enforce an indefinite restraint on my funds and maintaining a long-standing account limitation without demonstrating that the underlying legal process remains valid and enforceable. PayPal has been repeatedly put on notice that the legal contact they direct me to is directly tied to the XXXX enforcement matter. PayPal has repeatedly instructed me to contact : - XXXX XXXX - XXXX - XXXX This is critically important because the same individual ( XXXX XXXX ) is referenced by name in the XXXX XXXX Attorney XXXX XXXX Order and Judgment materials connected to the XXXX matter ( People v. XXXX ). I informed PayPal of this and provided the XXXX materials for review. Despite this, PayPal refuses to reassess enforceability or release my funds. XXXX XXXX Attorney General enforcement action and court judgment ( notice to PayPal ) The XXXX XXXX Attorney General brought an enforcement action against XXXX and related entities : People of the State of XXXX XXXX, by XXXX XXXX, Attorney General XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, et al., Supreme Court of the State of XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX, Index No. XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX : XXXX Consent Order and Judgment ( XXXX-hosted PDF ) XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX I provided PayPal with these materials ( including the Consent Order and Judgment ) and explained that the XXXX enforcement action includes relief addressing MCA-related debts , collection activity, and vacatur/cancellation obligations. PayPal continues to restrain my funds anyway and refuses to confirm whether the restraint is still enforceable in light of this court-ordered relief. PayPals conduct and communications : PayPal representatives repeatedly stated the following positions to me in PayPals messaging support channel : - They claim the restriction is based on a court order / lien/levy endorsed to PayPal. - They claim they can not provide underlying details in the messaging channel for security and process reasons. - They insist the only way to resolve is by contacting the legal contact/firm that placed it ( XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX - They acknowledge an internal case/escalation exists ( Case ID : XXXX ) but still refuse to release the funds or confirm enforceability. This creates a dead-end where PayPal indefinitely restrains my funds while pointing me to a non-responsive third party, even after PayPal was given court-ordered enforcement materials showing that the XXXX networks collection and judgment practices are subject to state enforcement relief. Related enforcement materials ( New Jersey Attorney General ) The New Jersey Attorney General also pursued XXXX and related entities, including XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, reinforcing that these entities are part of the same network and subject to enforcement scrutiny for XXXX lending/collection conduct : Press release : XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Additional press release : XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Complaint ( PDF ) : XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Settlement agreement ( PDF ) : XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX Why CFPB intervention is necessary PayPal has held my account limited since XXXX and has withheld {$1500.00} since XXXX without providing a meaningful mechanism to challenge the restraint, without confirming ongoing enforceability, and while directing me to an unresponsive third party whose name appears in the XXXX XXXX court judgment materials. A payment platform should not be able to indefinitely restrain customer funds without confirming that the underlying legal process remains valid and enforceableespecially after being provided notice of a state Attorney General enforcement judgment that directly impacts the creditor/collection network involved. What I am asking CFPB to do ( requested resolution ) I request that CFPB require PayPal to : 1 ) Conduct an immediate enforceability review of the alleged XXXX court order / lien/levy in light of the XXXX XXXX Attorney Generals Consent Order and Judgment in People v. XXXX and XXXX relief affecting XXXX debts , collections, and judgment vacatur/cancellation obligations. 2 ) Release my {$1500.00} immediately and remove the account limitation unless PayPal can demonstrate that the restraint remains lawful, current, properly served, and enforceable notwithstanding the XXXX court-ordered relief. 3 ) Provide a written explanation to CFPB of the legal basis PayPal claims authorizes ongoing restraint and account limitation, including confirmation of whether the asserted order is tied to XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX activity and how PayPal determined the restraint remains enforceable after notice of the XXXX judgment. Supporting sources ( as referenced above ) XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX https : XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX https : XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX PayPal case ID ( as provided by PayPal support ) : XXXX

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief