PayPal faces lawsuit for freezing customer accounts and funds

Three PayPal customers who’ve allegedly had their accounts frozen and funds taken by the corporate with out rationalization have filed a federal lawsuit in opposition to the net cost service. The plaintiffs — two customers from California and one from Chicago — are accusing the corporate of unlawfully seizing their private property and violating racketeering legal guidelines. They’re now proposing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all different customers who’ve had their accounts frozen earlier than and are in search of restitution, in addition to punitive and exemplary damages.

Lena Evans, one of many plaintiffs who’d been a PayPal consumer for 22 years, stated the web site seized $26,984 from her account six months after it obtained frozen with out ever telling her why. Evans had been utilizing PayPal to purchase and promote clothes on eBay, to change cash for a poker league she owns and for a non-profit that helps ladies with numerous wants. 

Fellow plaintiff Roni Shemtov stated PayPal seized over $42,000 of her cash and by no means obtained a suitable motive for why her account was terminated. She acquired a number of completely different explanations when she contacted the corporate: One buyer rep stated it was as a result of she used the identical IP and pc as different Paypal customers, whereas one other stated it was as a result of she offered yoga clothes at 20 to 30 % decrease than retail. One more consultant allegedly stated it was as a result of she used a number of accounts, which she denies. 

Shbadan Akylbekov, the third plaintiff, stated PayPal seized over $172,000 of his cash with out giving him any reason why the account obtained restricted within the first place. Akylbekov used the account of an organization his spouse owns to promote Hyaluron pens, that are needle-less pens that inject hyaluronic acid into the pores and skin. After the cash disappeared from the account following a six-month freeze, PayPal allegedly despatched his spouse a letter that claims she “violated PayPal’s Person Settlement and Acceptable Use Coverage (AUP) by accepting funds for the sale of injectable fillers not authorized by the FDA.” It additionally stated that the cash was taken from her account “for its liquidated damages arising from these AUP violations pursuant to the Person Settlement.”

PayPal has lengthy angered many a consumer for limiting accounts and freezing their funds for six months or extra. One high-profile case was American poker participant Chris Moneymaker’s who had $12,000 taken from his account after six months of being restricted. Moneymaker was already within the technique of asking individuals to hitch him in a category motion lawsuit earlier than his funds had been “mysteriously returned.” 

A part of the criticism reads:

“Plaintiffs deliver this class motion in opposition to Defendant PAYPAL, INC. (“PayPal”) to recuperate damages and different reduction out there at regulation and in fairness on behalf of themselves, in addition to on behalf of the members of the category outlined herein… This motion stems from Defendant’s widespread enterprise apply of unilaterally seizing funds from its purchasers’ monetary accounts, with out trigger and with none truthful or due course of.

PayPal locations a “maintain” on Plaintiffs’ personal funds in their very own PayPal accounts. PayPal has failed to tell Plaintiffs and members of the category of the explanation(s) for the actions PayPal has taken, even telling Plaintiffs and members of the category that they’ll “must get a subpoena” to study the easy info as to why PayPal was holding, and denying Plaintiffs, entry to their very own cash.”