Chicago, ILThere's no way to know how many PayPal users have been frustrated by the online payment service's 180-day lock-down on their accounts, but attorney Julie Miller says there could be "millions of people" with the same complaint. "I've heard from people who have a few dollars locked up and others with thousands in an account they can't access," she says. Miller is representing class members in a nationwide lawsuit charging that PayPal is guilty of consumer fraud, breach of contract and violation of the laws governing the electronic transfer of money.
PayPal, which is owned by eBay and has been in the business of moving money online for more than a decade, has yet to respond to the complaint.
Potential class members include anyone who has had a hold placed on their account anywhere in the US.
The company is less than helpful when PayPal customers ask why the money is being held, says Miller, an attorney with the Chicago firm of Freed & Weiss. "PayPal has not been very good at working with people when there is a hold put on the account. They have a lot of hoops they want people to jump through when people call to find out what's going on.
"Even if they do provide all the information PayPal asks for, they still won't tell them why the account is being held. They tell them to get a court order or a subpoena if they want more information."
The suit is in its early stages and Miller can't say how many PayPal accounts are affected or how much money may be tied up in accounts. "We suspect it the amount is a pretty high number," she says.
The suit seeks to release the money impounded in PayPal accounts and to return it to customers with interest. The suit also aims to force PayPal to end the practice and, if an account is frozen, to force PayPal to provide customers with a reason.
Julie Miller is an attorney with Freed & Weiss in Chicago. She has a BS from Pennsylvania State University and earned her JD at the Indiana University School of Law—Bloomington. Freed & Weiss is a national class action law firm and devotes its practice to plaintiff representation.
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