Frozen Funds Command Center: Stripe, PayPal, Cash App

• Start at $575 when the hold facts are clean and a documented demand to the legal team is likely to free the funds on its own. Most matters resolve here.
• Step up to $1,200 when the hold is large or the processor has already dug in. A drafted complaint or arbitration demand attached to the letter makes the settlement threat specific, credible, and harder to dismiss. The pleading is leverage, not filed automatically.
• The $1,500 Pre-Litigation Negotiation Phase is triggered when the matter enters multi-round negotiation: a second response from the other side, opposing counsel signaling continued negotiation, a conditional settlement offer, or a settlement agreement or mutual release needing review. It includes additional counter-letters, written settlement negotiations through settlement or impasse, strategy updates, and review of one settlement agreement or mutual release for the dispute.
• The $2,500–$4,000 Arbitration-Ready / Pre-Arbitration Retainer is for matters heading to a filing. It is scoped and quoted in writing after a short intake, because the forum, the claim, and the record drive the work.
• Stripe-specific: where Stripe's terms point to AAA arbitration, I also run a dedicated Stripe AAA Arbitration Filing Package at $2,700 that covers both the legal fee and the AAA filing cost. Representation in the arbitration beyond filing is a separate, quoted engagement.

• Square funds demand letter guide and the California Square freeze demand
• Shopify Payments holds are covered by the consolidated frozen-funds service page, and I keep a Shopify terms analysis in the Watchdog
• Crypto exchange freeze demand letters for locked exchange accounts and withdrawals
• Chargeback abuse demand letters when the freeze grew out of dispute activity

It often changes who is handling the matter, which is the point. A documented demand from an attorney, grounded in the processor agreement and your hold facts, moves the file off the support-ticket script and to people with authority to release funds. Many frozen-funds matters resolve at the demand-letter stage, but no letter guarantees a release; the outcome depends on the contract terms, the hold rationale, and your records.

Many payment-processor agreements contain a binding arbitration clause, often with a class-action waiver, and frequently name a specific administrator and seat. Whether court is available, and where any arbitration must proceed, depends on the operative version of your agreement on the date you signed up or last accepted updated terms. I read the actual clause in your agreement before describing the forum, because these terms change and differ by processor.

Processor agreements let them hold funds in reserve to cover potential refunds and chargebacks, and the 90-day and 180-day figures track common chargeback windows. That is a contractual and risk rationale, not a court order. A demand letter to the legal team forces the processor to justify the hold against the actual contract terms and the actual chargeback data rather than a default support-script timeline.

An attorney-drafted demand letter on firm letterhead, USPS certified mail with signature requested plus email delivery, up to two client revision rounds before sending, review of the other side's first substantive response with a short next-step recommendation, and a narrow counter-response if strategically appropriate. Full substantive counter-letters, multi-round negotiation, second-and-beyond exchanges, settlement agreement or release review, payment-plan negotiation, settlement implementation, draft complaint, and filing are the $1,500 Pre-Litigation Negotiation Phase.

Usually two business days after I receive the necessary documents, and faster if you flag a hard deadline. Rush same-day or next-morning turnaround may be available when a deadline requires it.

When the hold is large, the processor has already refused or dug in, or the agreement points to arbitration and you want the filing path prepared rather than threatened. The tier is scoped and quoted in writing after a short intake before any work starts, because the forum, the claim, and the record drive the fee. Representation in the arbitration beyond the scoped work is a separate, quoted engagement. For Stripe matters headed to AAA, the dedicated $2,700 Stripe AAA Arbitration Filing Package covers the legal fee and the AAA filing cost together.

The freeze or limitation notice, the reserve or hold notice, the processor support thread or ticket history, any KYC or document requests plus proof of what you submitted and when, your chargeback and dispute data, and your transaction and balance records, including the settled balance held and the account or merchant ID. Send what you can access today; I will flag any gap that materially affects the demand.

No. It is attorney-supervised AI that provides legal information, not legal advice, and using it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice tailored to your facts, the engagement is where that happens.