I have been using Shopify for a while now and all of a sudden, I received an email that my shopify account was under review and all my payouts are on hold. Customers can still see my store and make purchases but until the review is completed, my payouts will not be released.
They asked for review info like banking info, ID, copy of a recent bill, fulfillment process, etc.
I sell ebooks and the access to them is granted instantly to customers via email confirmations. I included all of this info in response to the review email.
The issue is I really need the payouts to pay my employees! It is a very serious matter. I was told my the shopify rep that the review should take 3 business days but it’s already over 3 business days and I am panicking! I saw a few people on forums saying it could be as long as 3 weeks! Most of them have not followed up their comments with what happened after the 3 weeks whether the matter was resolved or not. I have already been having sleepness nights for a week and this thing is taking its toll!
Anyone else experienced this?
Hi Sean,
I’m in the same boat. Very suddenly noticed that I wasn’t receiving payouts with no warning or emails. I can’t pay any bills, rent or staff, and I’m reading the same posts as you (taking 3 weeks). The communication is terrible from Shopify and I’m just getting the same responses to my queries.
Did you get any resolution? What can we do?
Justin
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Hey Justin, so I will reply to everyone on this thread since I can relate to the stress we have to go through. Yes, I did get a response after a week. My payouts are back to normal now. Here is what happened:
-after a week from the hold, I emailed the same team that emailed me regarding the review docs. I said it’s urgent and need my payouts and that it was taking a toll on my mental health and business.
-note that this was a SEPARATE email that I sent them. I saw a thread where it was advised not to send follow up queries on the initial Shopify review email (the one that asks for business info and docs). In that thread, you just submit the review docs. But for any follow ups, start a new thread. This is because, according to one Shopify rep, if you send more follow up requests on the initial thread, in their messages, your thread is refreshed and pushed upwards which is counterproductive since the review team is trying to catch up on old threads, not new ones.
-I believe my new thread email got noticed with the urgency mentioned since the same day, I got an email with more questions about my business
-submitted the info right away. After 30 mins, they said something like “Thank you, that’s all that needed”.
-I emailed back saying does this mean everything is normal? What happens next?
-Next business day the rep replied saying yes, the payouts are back to normal. They just needed more info.
-24 hours later, my account was okay.
I hope this helps and I hope you get your situation resolved soon too!
Thanks Sean, I really appreciate your reply. 72 hours have gone by and still nothing here. I haven’t even received an email asking for the documents/details. I’ve got two physical stores and one online store and I’m at my whit’s end - I’m so stressed and Shopify is holding all of our money. I can’t pay bills and all of the direct debits are going out with no money going in. And all I can get through to is the same chirpy (and useless) assistant on the live chat, who promises to escalate it but nothing happens. Thank you again, wish me luck!
I really think you should email the team that I was dealing with who handle all these reviews. Here is their email: legal@shopify.com. That may expedite things.
Best of luck my friend! If you are running a legit business, you will pass the review eventually so don’t worry!
Thanks, Sean. I’ve emailed them and been on chat twice - still nothing. I do appreciate your support and advice. Fingers crossed this is sorted next week!
Hi Sean, just thought you’d like to know that FINALLY my payouts will resume tomorrow! I am so relieved! I received an email today and, it turns out, that they were querying the authenticity of some Disney products on my website. Of course, they are all legit - so I’ve sent them the proof and they’ve unfrozen me. My remaining question is though - how on Earth can they be permitted to continue doing this to innocent store owners. I mean, I don’t mind them investigating and querying, BUT surely they can keep the payouts running whilst the investigation is going on? And then, if they’re not happy, they can freeze. I’m still speechless that this can happen. Anyway, thanks so much for your support - best of luck for the future. Justin
Glad to hear it’s resolved! You must be relieved! I know that feeling.
Yes, it’s pretty insane. Either these reviews should be done at the start of creating the Shopify account or if they are done in the middle, they should take no longer than 1-2 business days! Keeping business owners hanging like this is just unacceptable.
Anyway, all the best to you and your business!