Consumer complaint received 2026-04-23 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Virtual currency
Issue: Money was not available when promised — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: MA

Complaint narrative:
I am filing this complaint against PayPal regarding the wrongful permanent deactivation of my business account and the withholding of a total of {$650.00} in funds. Business Name : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Business Owner : XXXX XXXX XXXX, Sole Member EIN : XXXX Business Address : XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX PayPal Reference ID : XXXX I registered a legitimate business PayPal account under my LLC 's EIN. When PayPal requested identity verification, I submitted THREE forms of official documentation : 1. My IRS CP XXXX A notice an official letter issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury confirming my EIN and business name. 2. My government-issued driver 's license. 3. My XXXX federal tax return ( Schedule C, Form XXXX ) showing my name, business name, and business category as filed with the IRS. Despite this extraordinary level of documentation, PayPal claimed my identity could not be verified and permanently deactivated my account on XX/XX/XXXX. My account had a completely clean record with no disputes, no chargebacks, and no fraudulent activity. I was actively purchasing shipping labels through PayPal as part of normal business operations, demonstrating legitimate business use. PayPal is withholding FOUR separate amounts totaling {$650.00} : 1. {$120.00} shown on my account dashboard as " available balance '' but PayPal has made it impossible to transfer or withdraw these funds. PayPal 's own interface labels this money as available, yet I can not access it. 2. {$280.00} explicitly frozen business earnings shown on my dashboard as " not available yet '' with a 180-day hold imposed with no legitimate justification. 3. {$74.00} a XXXX refund processed on XX/XX/XXXX. PayPal sent me an official confirmation email from XXXX stating this refund was received and would be available by XX/XX/XXXX. It was never delivered to my linked XXXX ending in XXXX. PayPal received this money, confirmed it in writing, and has failed to deliver it. 4. {$160.00} a second XXXX refund processed on XX/XX/XXXX and marked " Refunded '' in my PayPal transaction history. This amount has never appeared in my bank account despite several days passing. PayPal locked my account on XX/XX/XXXX and appears to have absorbed this refund in the process. Additionally, on the same day PayPal locked my account ( XX/XX/XXXX ), they accepted a {$420.00} business payment from a customer, immediately collected their {$12.00} processing fee, placed my remaining {$410.00} on hold, and then locked my entire account collecting their fee while withholding my funds with no justification. There is no financial or legal justification for withholding any of these funds. I have a spotless account history, a fully verified identity backed by three forms of federal documentation, and PayPal 's own written confirmation of at least one of the refunds they have failed to deliver. Furthermore, PayPal has blocked my access to the Resolution Center, leaving me with absolutely no internal appeals process. I am requesting the CFPB require PayPal to : 1. Immediately release all {$650.00} being withheld 2. Explain in writing why an IRS Treasury letter, government-issued ID, and federal tax return were deemed insufficient for identity verification 3. Waive the 180-day hold given my clean account history 4. Account for and release both XXXX refunds ( {$74.00} and {$160.00} ) they received but never delivered 5. Explain why they collected a {$12.00} processing fee on the same day they locked my account and withheld my funds 6. Restore access to a fair internal appeals process Supporting evidence attached : IRS CP XXXX A letter, XXXX Schedule C tax return, government-issued ID, PayPal confirmation email for {$74.00} XXXX refund, complete PayPal transaction history screenshots, PayPal account dashboard showing frozen and inaccessible funds, and PayPal deactivation notice ( Reference ID : XXXX ).

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation