Payment processors freeze funds and stonewall business owners every day. I draft a demand letter citing the specific provisions of their payment services agreement and state money transmission laws that require them to release your money. $575 flat fee.
Attorney-drafted demand letter on firm letterhead with draft arbitration demand attached.
Rush available: +$150 for 24-48 hour turnaround.
These are anonymized examples from recent client work. Every demand letter is drafted by me personally and sent to the processor's legal department.
Stripe froze $47,000 in reserves from a SaaS company with a 0.2% chargeback rate. Their "risk review" had been pending for 3 months. I cited their payment services agreement Section 9 and California money transmission regulations. Stripe released the full amount within 14 days.
PayPal limited a seller's account and held $23,000 for 180 days claiming "unusual activity." The seller had been on the platform for 4 years with zero disputes. I demanded release under PayPal's User Agreement and cited state consumer protection statutes.
Square froze $18,500 from a 3-location restaurant citing "elevated risk." The business had been processing with Square for 2 years. I cited the Square Seller Agreement's reserve provisions and applicable state money transmission laws.
Stripe held $92,000 in a marketplace platform's reserve and stated the funds "will not be made available." The platform had a 0.1% dispute rate. I drafted a demand citing the CFPB's supervisory authority and state money transmitter licensing requirements.
These are the most common reasons processors give for holding your money. Most of them are pretextual.
The demand letter is not a customer support ticket. It is a legal document that cites specific violations of their own agreement and applicable regulations.
Email me: which processor, how much is frozen, how long, and what they told you. Include any correspondence.
I look at your chargeback rate, processing volume, and the processor's stated reasons for the hold.
The letter cites their payment services agreement, state money transmission laws, and includes a draft arbitration demand or complaint.
Sent certified mail to the processor's registered agent or legal department. Most funds are released within 14-30 days.
Tell me which processor froze your funds and how much they are holding.
Get My Funds Released →700+ reviews on Upwork
"Stripe had my money frozen for 4 months. Customer support kept saying 'under review.' Sergei sent a demand letter to their legal team and they released everything in 12 days. Should have done this months ago."
"PayPal limited my account and said I had to wait 180 days. Sergei's demand letter cited their User Agreement and state money transmission laws. They released my funds in 3 weeks instead of 6 months."
"We process about $400K/month through Stripe and they suddenly started holding 30% in reserve. The demand letter Sergei sent got the reserve reduced to 5% and the existing hold released. Huge cash flow relief."
Yes. Payment processors respond differently to attorney demand letters than to customer support tickets. The letter cites specific provisions of their own agreement and applicable regulations. Most funds are released within 14-30 days of receiving the letter.
Stripe, PayPal, Square, Shopify Payments, Adyen, Braintree, and most other processors. The legal framework is similar: they are all regulated as money transmitters and bound by their own payment services agreements.
There is no minimum, but the economics work best when the frozen amount exceeds $5,000. At $575, the demand letter pays for itself if it recovers even a fraction of the held funds.
Account closure and fund freezes often go together. The demand letter addresses both: release of held funds and compliance with their own agreement regarding account termination procedures.
Most processors respond within 14-30 days of receiving the attorney demand letter. Rush delivery (+$150) gets the letter out in 24-48 hours. The actual release timeline depends on the processor.
If the processor does not release funds within 30 days, you have options: file the attached arbitration demand, file a CFPB complaint, or engage a litigator for court action. The demand letter creates a documented paper trail for any next step.