Consumer complaint received 2025-09-14 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Domestic (US) money transfer
Issue: Other transaction problem — 
Company: Paypal Holdings, Inc
State: CO

Complaint narrative:
So my complaint is with PayPal. So I opened my PayPal account over a year ago I think it's been closer to like a year and a half I've had the account I've never had a problem with it I mean I only had money transferred to account once XXXX some dollars for a check I did and that was it I haven't used it in months cuz I don't really like using PayPal. I was in an XXXX contest through a gallery overseas in XXXX  it was an international XXXX  contest and I won XXXX XXXX XXXX award which was {$500.00} prize they said it'd be easy for them if I would use a PayPal account for them to send it to me because it was easier on them, if I had them send it to my Paypal account the money sent instantly it wasn't them that was the problem it was PayPal that was the problem so once it was received PayPal sent me a message saying that when people have their first couple sales or purchases they can hold the money up to 21 days I contacted them several times and to tell them over and over again it wasn't a purchase it wasn't a sale it was an award for a contest it was price money but they still made me wait 21 days then they decided that they were going permanently close my account they said after they permanently closed my account that the only reason they closed it was because there's other accounts connected to this address I told them they weren't my accounts they were the other people that lived at this address but they still said they had to close my account okay well that's fine I said then once the money clears in 21 days then I can transfer it to my account they said yes, then when the 21 days were up I got a message saying they could hold my money now for 120 days because in case there's cash back are liabilities I have contacted them about 15 different times and every time I have told them over and over again there's not going to be any cash backs or liabilities because it wasn't a sale it wasn't a purchase it was an award for a contest, the XXXX  gallery is not going to be taking my XXXX XXXX XXXX award back so the money isn't going to be returned nothing 's going to happen there's not going to be anything else that's going to happen, they should be no reason they're holding my money and they agreed to that, but they said they still had to hold my money untill XXXX. I explained to them that I have XXXX  bills right now that need to be paid I am extremely tight right now I need that money it is only XXXX because it is not a purchase or sale it is a reward that I won for a contest that is the only money that's in there but they are refusing to give me the money back even though there should be no reason that they should close my account there should have been no reason that they should be holding the money that long the people I've talked to have even admitted that but they're still keeping it and I've had many other people I've talked to that have had the same situation they said that's how PayPal is they like to hold the money, and it seems just because they can, which is why so many artists and people do not use PayPal any more, it's only XXXX it's a prize for winning XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX contest I would really like to have access to the money before XX/XX/XXXX which is when they said it would be released. I actually need it now I don't know what to do

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation