PayPal held $2,800 of my freelance payment for 21 days and I almost lost my mind

Last month I finished a big website build for a client in Austin, sent the invoice for $2,800 through PayPal like I always do, and they flagged it as suspicious. Then they put it on a 21 day hold without any warning. I had to call three different support lines and spend two hours on hold just to talk to someone. They told me I needed to upload tracking info for a digital service which literally makes no sense. Meanwhile my rent was due in 5 days and I was sweating bullets checking my bank account every morning. I ended up having to borrow $500 from a friend just to cover bills until it finally released. Has anyone else had PayPal freeze a big payment like that and had to fight to get it cleared? Got any tips for avoiding this in the future?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_grant704d agoRising Star

Buddy of mine had the same thing happen with a $3,200 design job... drove him nuts.

white.keith3d ago

Calling them daily is what finally worked for me.

robin8964d ago

Honestly I feel your pain, PayPal once held $400 of my money and I acted like I was starring in my own survival movie. Tbh I still don't know how you kept it together for 21 days because I would've been camping outside their office with a lawn chair.