Emergency kit for frozen payouts
Your processor froze your money. Here's exactly what to send.
Unfreeze Pack is an emergency kit for online sellers on Stripe, Shopify Payments, PayPal and Square: response letters, a document checklist for your processor, a 120-day hold timeline and a plan to keep getting paid meanwhile.
- 41page guide
- 26editable letters
- 4processors covered
Templates and information only. Not legal or financial advice. No one can promise your funds will be released.
The clocks that matter
The first 48 hours count. So does day 120.
Every published deadline in one place, so you answer the right thing on time. The pack's timeline links each one to the processor's own terms.
Day 0
Notice arrives
Log in directly (not through the email link) to confirm it's genuine. Screenshot the notice, balance and deadlines.
Days 0-2
Answer what was asked
Information requests are the fastest lever. PayPal says review usually takes 3 business days once steps are complete.
Days 7-21
Dispute evidence deadlines
Stripe says a card dispute response window is usually 7-21 days. Missing it means losing by default.
Up to day 21
PayPal risk-based holds
PayPal says these generally last up to 21 days from payment, and uploading tracking can lead to earlier release.
Day 30
Two 30-day clocks
Stripe's window to request card-data migration, and Shopify's pause for unverified EU/UK accounts.
Days 60-90
Dispute decisions land
Stripe: issuers usually decide within 60-75 days of evidence. Square: banks can take up to 90 days.
Day 120
The common hold horizon
Card networks typically allow disputes for 120 days, and Shopify's own reserve examples use 120 days.
Up to day 180
PayPal's outer limit
PayPal can hold a payment tied to a dispute, or after a Restricted Activity, for up to 180 days.
No processor's general terms promise a release date. Your notice and dashboard are what count; these are the clocks the processors publish, checked 18 Oct 2026.
Start here, free
Name your situation in two minutes.
- Pick your processor and paste the notice.It runs in your browser. Nothing you paste is sent to us.
- See what kind of hold it is.A reserve, an information request, a business-type issue, a dispute-ratio problem, or unclear.
- Get the checklist.The documents to gather and where to upload them, with links to the processor's own pages.
Example noticeStripe
"We've placed a reserve of 25% on your payouts for 120 days due to elevated chargebacks."
Triage result
- Reserve or funds hold
- Information request
- Business type
- Dispute ratio
- Unclear
What's inside the pack
The letter, the evidence and the plan.
Written from each processor's published terms, with every claim linked to the source.
To: Stripe Support (reply in the same email thread, or via the Dashboard support form) Subject: Request for review of the hold/reserve on our account ([DATE OF NOTICE]) Stripe account ID: [acct_...] Business legal name: [LEGAL NAME] | Trading as: [BRAND] | Website: [URL] Hello Stripe team, We received your notice on [DATE] that [DESCRIBE: e.g., "25% of each payment is held for 120 days" / "our balance of $X is held until DATE"]. We want to work with you to reduce the risk you've identified, and we're asking for two things: 1. Written confirmation of the terms: the amount or percentage held, the start date, the scheduled release date(s), and the date of the next review. (I can see [WHAT YOU SEE IN THE RESERVE RELEASES REPORT IN MY DASHBOARD], but I'd like to confirm it.) 2. A review of the hold based on the evidence below. About our business - What we sell: [PRODUCTS/SERVICES, price range] - Time in business: [X years/months]; processing with Stripe since [DATE] - Typical monthly volume: [$]; recent change: [e.g., "sales rose from $X to $Y in [MONTH] because of [CAMPAIGN/LAUNCH]"] Evidence attached (see index) - Fulfillment: [N] of the last [N] orders delivered; average [X] days from payment to delivery (tracking export attached) - Refunds and disputes, last 6 months: refunds [X]%, disputes [X] ([X]%), with reasons and fixes - Unfulfilled paid orders today: [N] totalling [$], expected to ship by [DATE] - Supplier capacity: [invoices/contracts attached]
One of 26 templates, shown as written. Fill in each highlighted [BRACKET]. Read a full PayPal letter and sample pages
26 editable letter templates
Five per processor (reserve review, information response, business-type clarification, dispute remediation plan, request for reason and dates), plus follow-up, formal complaint, customer and subscriber emails, a backup-processor disclosure note and Stripe's card-data migration request. Word and plain-text files.
Document checklists per processor
What to gather for Stripe, Shopify Payments, PayPal and Square, including PayPal's exact rules for ID and proof of address, and where to upload each item.
Escalation path
The order to use each official channel, from the dashboard request to a formal complaint, plus the dispute-resolution steps in each agreement.
120-day hold timeline
Every published clock in one table: PayPal's 21 and 180 days, card dispute windows, Square's 90-day dispute decisions, Shopify's reserve reviews and Stripe's 30-day card-data window.
Keep-selling plan
Backup processors, Shopify provider switching, manual payments, customer messaging, and a 13-week cash plan worksheet.
Sources you can check
Every processor-specific statement links to the processor's own terms or help page, with the date we checked it (18 Oct 2026). No invented stats, no fake reviews.
Built for your processor
Four processors, each with its own rules.
| Processor | What the pack covers | Start free |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe | Reserves, paused payouts, closures and information requests, with Stripe's own terms linked. | Free guide: Stripe account under review or funds on hold: what to do |
| Shopify Payments | Account holds, reserves, EU/UK verification pauses and how to keep checkout running. | Free guide: Shopify Payments payouts paused or on hold: what to do |
| PayPal | 21-day holds, 180-day holds, reserves and limitations, plus PayPal's exact document rules. | Free guide: PayPal 180-day hold and limited account: what it means and what to do |
| Square | Deactivations, suspended transfers, information requests and appeals. | Free guide: Square account deactivated and funds held: what to do next |
Keep selling meanwhile
Don't wait for the outcome.
The pack's keep-selling plan, in short. Each step is spelled out in full, with sources and templates.
- Don't try to get around the decisionOpening a new account with the same processor to get around a restriction breaks the rules.
- Add a second, independent way to get paidApply to a different provider (another major processor, or a merchant account through your business bank).
- Shopify stores: switch or add providersIn Settings > Payments you can switch to a third-party credit card provider.
- Subscriptions on Stripe: ask about card data migrationIf the Stripe Payments Terms ended for reasons other than your breach, request (within 30 days) that saved card details go to your new PCI-DSS Level 1 processor, so subscribers don't all have to re-enter cards.
- Keep fulfilling and keep the old account usableShip every paid order and upload tracking.
- Tell customers only what they needCustomers don't need to hear about the hold.
- Plan cash flow for the last date, not the firstList every held amount with its stated release date.
Keeping the books straight during a hold? LedgerPicks is our sister site (same owner). It lists AI and automation tools for bookkeepers, with QuickBooks, Xero and Wave filters, useful for tracking held amounts and release dates.
Pricing
One price. Everything included.
Unfreeze Pack
$79USD, one-time
- 41-page PDF guide with sources
- 26 editable letter and email templates
- Checklists and worksheets (CSV for Excel / Google Sheets)
- All four processors included
- 14-day refund if it doesn't help
Secure checkout by Stripe. Emailed from pawsledger+unfreeze@mail.grokbot.com, usually within about 3 hours (8am-8pm US Mountain Time) and always within 1 business day.
Honest limits
Unfreeze Pack is templates and information only. It is not legal, financial or tax advice, and it doesn't create a lawyer-client or advisor relationship. We can't get your funds released, and we don't promise any outcome: the processor decides. Processor policies change; check the linked official pages before you rely on them.
Questions
Before you buy.
Will this get my money released?
No one can promise that, including us. The processor decides. The pack helps you respond quickly, completely and in the right channel, which is the part you control.
Is this legal advice?
No. It's templates and information drawn from each processor's published terms and help pages. For large sums or a legal dispute, talk to a lawyer.
Which processors does it cover?
Stripe, Shopify Payments, PayPal and Square, with separate checklists and letters for each. PayPal and Square get full coverage, not an afterthought.
How do I get it?
After checkout we email the PDF and editable templates (Word and plain text) from pawsledger+unfreeze@mail.grokbot.com, usually within about 3 hours between 8am and 8pm US Mountain Time, and always within 1 business day.
What if it doesn't help?
Email us within 14 days and we'll refund you in full.
Free guides
What each processor's terms say.
- Stripe account under review or funds on hold: what to do
- PayPal 180-day hold and limited account: what it means and what to do
- Square account deactivated and funds held: what to do next
- Shopify Payments payouts paused or on hold: what to do
- How long does Stripe hold reserve funds? Rolling, fixed and 120-day holds
- Stripe closed my account with money in it: the 120-day review and what to do
- PayPal 21-day hold on a new seller account: how to get your money sooner
- PayPal permanently limited my account: what happens to the money?
- Shopify Payments disabled and funds held for 120 days: what happens to your money
- Square holding funds for 90 days (or longer): why, and what you can do