Frozen Paypal account a nightmare for unemployed man; company now helping

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Waking up to a message saying your account has a problem can be a little disconcerting but for Lexington resident Donald Luttrell, that was just the beginning of what would become a nightmare.

When he tried to resolve the issue he got a message saying, “You can’t use PayPal anymore.”

As a carpenter, he was forced to apply for unemployment. Luttrell was having his checks deposited to PayPal and using that card to get by during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I started just spending my money pretty regularly. Hardware stores, grocery stores, paying back people that I owe money, and then just one day my card wouldn’t work,” Luttrell said.

After doing some digging through the PayPal disputes and claims, we here at ABC 36 discovered one of the most common problems encountered by PayPal users is the sudden freezing of their accounts.

It’s what happened to Luttrell, he says he tried to reach out to PayPal through multiple emails and phone calls but the company continued to tell him his account was frozen for activity inconsistent with their user agreement.

He says he asked multiple times what the specific problem was but never got the direct answer, only that his money would be held for 180 days.

“Just to up and say, “Hey we’re taking your money and at the end of six months we’ll decide whether we’re going to give it back to you or not.” Now, who are they to do this? What makes them be able to do that?” Luttrell said.

Luttrell provided screenshots of some of the information he received from PayPal, including possible reasons for a limitation of his account:
– Possible unauthorized account access
– Unresolved disputes or chargebacks
-Violations of the user agreement or acceptable use policy

ABC 36’s Alex King reached out to PayPal this week and now PayPal is helping out, Luttrell says the company has offered to help him receive his money sooner, it’s even said the issue was with a deposited check.

A PayPal spokesperson says the issue has been resolved.

They responded saying, “We know that receiving unemployment payments is front of mind for many people around the country and we apologize for any delays. We have been working diligently to help ensure customers that have chosen to receive their payments through PayPal can access their money as quickly as possible. While the vast majority of individuals using our services have received their payments, our customer service teams remain dedicated to helping customers access their payments quickly and efficiently.”