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PayPal Account Freeze Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Why: PayPal allegedly unlawfully froze accounts without warning and subsequently seized their funds.
- Who: Three plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against PayPal.
- Where: The PayPal class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.
PayPal Inc. unlawfully seizes account holders’ funds without informing them of the reasons behind the account freeze, according to a class action lawsuit filed last week in California federal court.
Plaintiffs Lena Evans, Roni Shemtov and Shbadan Akylbekov filed the PayPal class action lawsuit on Jan. 13. They each claim that they have used PayPal accounts for years before their accounts were frozen without warning or explanation and their funds were permanently seized after a 180-day hold period.
“This action stems from Defendant’s widespread business practice of unilaterally seizing funds from its clients’ financial accounts without cause and without any fair or due process,” the PayPal class action lawsuit states. The plaintiffs argue that PayPal’s policy amounts to theft.
Plaintiffs Allege PayPal Seized Funds Without Warning
Evans alleges she began using PayPal in 1999 when she opened her eBay account. She uses PayPal to buy and sell items. She also uses it for her nonprofit organization and to exchange money for a poker league she manages, according to the PayPal class action lawsuit.
Evans says her PayPal account was frozen without warning in November 2020 and that she learned on May 22, 2021, that PayPal seized nearly $27,000 from her account without providing a reason.
Shemtov has used PayPal to sell yoga clothing on eBay since 2014, the PayPal class action lawsuit says. In March 2017, PayPal allegedly froze her account and ultimately seized nearly $43,000.
In August 2020, Akylbekov says he learned that PayPal had seized more than $172,000 from his account. He says he did not receive an explanation about the seizure of his PayPal funds until he filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau at which point he learned that the sale of injectable fillers that were not approved by the FDA violated PayPal’s User Agreement and Acceptable Use Policy.
The plaintiffs claim that PayPal has transferred their funds to PayPal’s own account, and that the amount seized has no causal connection to the damages PayPal actually suffered due to their alleged violation of the Acceptable Use Policy.
The plaintiffs filed the PayPal class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a proposed Class of other PayPal users who had funds seized by PayPal based on a purported breach of PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy.
They are seeking compensatory damages, restitution, treble damages, punitive damages and injunctive relief that would require PayPal to stop engaging in the allegedly unlawful seizure of account funds.
Does PayPal have a right to seize customer’s funds without warning? Tell us what you think in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Eric Bensamochan and Deborah C. Silver of The Bensamochan Law Firm Inc. and Eric Schreiber of Schreiber & Schreiber Inc.
The PayPal Class Action Lawsuit is Lena Evans, et al. v. PayPal Inc., Case No. 5:22-cv-00248, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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429 thoughts onPayPal Unlawfully Seizes Account Funds, Class Action Says
How can I do something they stole over $2000 and won’t let me even withdrawal my money saying got no wait six months
Add me to this PayPal froze my account for no reason claiming I owe them money when I don’t I made 980.90 and they froze my account for 180 days this is bs and also accusing me of owing when I don’t and it was a fake account. What sad about them is that they offer all this ways to make money but them themselves are stealing money or making peoples lives miserable for no reason when people here just wanna earn money for a living and half of the time when calling the customer service no answer smh
Make sure you check in on that account weekly and take screen shots and notes of anything that looks different from the previous visit. Your account shows inactivity, they will LOCK YOU OUT and your problems will escalate further yet.
PayPal used my own money as if it was theirs, with money transfered from a personal source of income I purchased a fly ticket that was cancelled, then I transfered back my money to the original source. PayPal marked my balance as negative red for the exact amount I transfered back, when I complained about, PayPal frozen my account and eventually dissappear it as it never existed., but I have evidence that proves the contrary.
Me too paypal just stole 600$ from me. Saying I violated terms. It’s been 4 months and I still can’t get my money. Any advice
I had purchased just a small amount of Bitcoin with a refund. I was worried from reading,that because my bank card info was in their site they could just charge whatever. So I closed my account jic Well. Guess what!??! A month later I had a pending invoice from Nicole Morin for 600 for crypto I never ordered. #1 Nicole Morin doesn’t exist (was a child that went missing from Florida in the 80s) I’ve constantly tried to dispute with no answer. Every time I’ve tried to get through it Shows an error message ( unable to complete your request) the same message it gives when I try to delete my card. So I sold the Bitcoin for nothing ( no big deal was just a couple bucks) and now ,shockingly, that pending transaction disappeared. I’ve asked to close the account and contacted bbb over a month ago and still no response from them. I never trusted those guys and never will. Sorry all you people lost money with them. I’m glad my loss wasn’t substantial.
This is my current situation right now. They have froze my funds and account. No one will tell me why
PayPal is currently holding 6500 of mine and froze my account with a ban and no response to why
How can I get in on this lawsuit? PayPal has done this to me a few times now and I’m a 100 % legit working American that has 7 children to provide for and they have put a permanent limitation on my account and are holding my funds for 6 months!! This is not right there is nothing wrong with my identity and no reason for them to do this!! I am beyond pissed
They are absolute criminals. Add me to the list! They are destroying my cashflow in an already difficult time. I am facing ruin.
Same here. They froze hundreds of dollars from my account and tried to claim the buyer disputed it. MY BOYFRIEND was the buyer. Then when I told them that it now turned into a chargeback, which is the bank. So we called the bank and got them on the phone who told paypal they NEVER charged back ANYTHING…. been 6 months and still nothing. They’re claiming it got refunded to hia account. His account with PayPal is closed and has been closed since befor this “dispute charge back” thing. I forgot to mention they disputed a payment from 3 months prior. They are absolute criminals. Everytime I ask for where they refunded it to they have NO ANSWER. they literally will sit in silence.
Same here Paypal took $2,967.00 from me for no reason saying that it’s “Payment to:Paypal;PayPal’s damages caused by Acceptable Use Policy violation”, without telling me what the actual violation is. This is a scam, how can they not tell me or email me beforehand and take someone’s money without informing the person who owns it. They took my money on July 11 2022 and I just found out because I wanted to check my paypal since it’s been a while since I checked and all my money is suddenly gone. THIS IS THEFT TO ANOTHER LEVEL!!!
Add me. $36,000 they stole from me. How to be added?