Payouts on hold for 62 days with no response

Shopify Discussion
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1

On June 26th, prior to making a single sale in a new shop, I received a message that my payout account was on hold. I contacted support who explained that this was a standard review and I would be receiving an email shortly. I have contacted support weekly since with the same response “keep an eye out for an email”. Support offers zero information. They all provide the same copy and paste response about how they understand how frustrating this must be and that it will be escalated. They have since closed all conversations and I have yet to receive a single email or message asking for further information. In the meantime, over $26,000 is being held and I have never received a single payout. My bank account has been verified, I have not received any chargebacks, all of my orders have been shipped and delivered through Shopify, and I only sell one item in my shop, which is a t-shirt, so I know that I am not in violation of selling anything that is not allowed.

I know that Reg. E of the EFTA states that payment processors must clearly disclose the terms and conditions under which the funds are being withheld, which they have not. It also states that procedures must be in place to resolve errors promptly, including those related to withheld funds. 62 days is hardly timely. Withholding funds without proper cause or clear communication is also considered a violation of the EFTA, so how is this happening to so many people without repercussion?

2

Thank you. I will absolutely be consulting an attorney if this is not resolved in the next few days. I have recently removed all methods of payment that are being held by this payment processor, though that doesn’t help me to collect the $26,000 plus that they are currently in possession of. I have seen Shopify refer to the Terms and Agreement in similar threads, though those Terms certainly do not indemnify them from Regulation E compliance.

3

How do I go about directly contacting the payment processor’s support team? I have only been dealing with Shopify support, who I understand has no control over the issue.

4

Well this gets more interesting… I contacted Stripe directly (they actually have a phone number with a person you can speak to) and they have informed me that they are not holding my funds, it is Shopify withholding the payouts. I then contacted Shopify support, who confirmed that it is Shopify holding the payouts, not the payment processor. How in the world is this legal? They are not the financial institution and have no risk. They are just holding shop’s funds on the basis of a “standard review” and earning interest on the millions of dollars of other’s funds?

5

Why did you delete all of your responses @Julius_Chrome ? Luckily, I took your advice and documented everything.