Shopify Froze My Payouts Without Any Notice or Explanation

Topic summary

A long-time Shopify user (since 2017) had their payouts frozen without warning or clear explanation. The only notification was an email directing them to contact support via a link that led to chatbot interactions.

Current situation:

  • Payouts have been frozen for over a week with no resolution
  • Unable to reach a real human representative despite multiple attempts
  • Shopify continues deducting Capital loan payments from their bank account while withholding payouts
  • This has created significant financial hardship for a single parent running an art business

Key concerns:

  • No explanation provided for the freeze
  • Customer service appears to be entirely automated (chatbots)
  • The platform can freeze funds without notice or recourse

Status: The issue remains unresolved. The user is seeking advice on how to reach an actual Shopify representative and asking if others have experienced similar customer service problems. They reference negative TrustPilot reviews suggesting this may be a broader pattern.

Summarized with AI on October 30. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.

So, last week I received an email stating that my payouts were frozen and that I needed to contact customer service. The email didn’t explain why—just provided a link to click. That link led me to a chatbot posing as “customer support.”

After several attempts to get help, I was eventually transferred to a “Customer Advisor.” But based on the canned, robotic responses, I’m almost certain that too was a chatbot—maybe a more sophisticated one, but definitely not a real person.

It has been over a week now, and my funds are still frozen. I have received zero answers from anyone at Shopify. To make matters worse, I have a capital loan through Shopify—and they are still deducting payments from my bank account even though they aren’t releasing my payouts. As you can imagine, this has caused a great deal of financial stress.

I’ve been using Shopify since 2017. I’m an artist and a single mom who relies on this platform to keep my business afloat. The fact that Shopify can suddenly freeze payouts without warning or explanation, and provide no way to resolve the issue, is beyond unacceptable.

Am I the only one experiencing this complete lack of customer service? Judging by their TrustPilot reviews, I doubt it.

Does anyone have tips or tricks for getting through to an actual human being at Shopify who can help me understand what’s going on?

If it will help me reach a customer service person - I am.