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    Ask HN: Stripe holding funds for 120 days for no reason

    158 points interesting_att | 15 comments | 22 Oct 22 15:43 UTC | HN request time: 0.45s | source | bottom

    Hi Guys--

    I started a Stripe account (even incorporated through them) for a basic graphic design and web design service business.

    I process a few charges and even though I didn't get a single chargeback or dispute, Stripe decided to deactivate my account and said they would refund all the charges that were processed.

    Which would have been fine with me. They said they would refund on Oct 17, but that date came and past. So I kept emailing.

    Now they're saying they're holding all the funds for 120 days because of "elevated risk".

    Which is insane because they have already withdrawn all the funds, meaning their risk would be zero if they refunded everyone.

    I am beyond hurt and confused as I did need this money for my daughter. These decisions have real impacts on real families.

    What do you do in this scenario? I have tried contacting support at Stripe but seems to be of no help.

    1. nodesocket ◴[22 Oct 22 17:22 UTC] No.33300189[source]▶
    HN is not the forum to file customer support tickets. Stripe has great customer support and even live chat support.
    replies(7): >>33300283 #>>33300299 #>>33300311 #>>33300385 #>>33300545 #>>33300633 #>>33302597 #
    2. OhNoNotAnother1 ◴[22 Oct 22 17:35 UTC] No.33300283[source]▶
    Unfortunately it is. Looks like someone from Stripe just replied with a person email address for the guy, not something he would be able to find anywhere else on the web but this site.
    3. xwowsersx ◴[22 Oct 22 17:36 UTC] No.33300299[source]▶
    The fact that OP (and many others) have felt they need to post on HN in order to escalate is a reflection of the fact that, however good Stripe support may be (and I've no doubt they are swamped, trying their best, etc.), it is clearly not "great." This is the third or fourth time just this month I've seen people at their wit's end, reaching out on HN because they have nowhere else to turn. As in the other posts, Edwin usually responds. I agree HN isn't a support forum, but let's not pretend Stripe customer support is great or that people aren't feeling they have to come here as a last resort after having exhausted conventional support channels.
    replies(2): >>33300327 #>>33300596 #
    4. throwaway729562 ◴[22 Oct 22 17:37 UTC] No.33300311[source]▶
    You forgot to add /s, there may be some people who will think that you really mean it.
    5. smoldesu ◴[22 Oct 22 17:39 UTC] No.33300327[source]▶
    I don't have to pretend Stripe Customer Support is great to know that Hacker News is the wrong place to whine about it. At least, it severely dilutes the intellectually gratifying content with banal, emotional diatribes. Every company experiences this, regardless of the quality of their customer support.
    replies(3): >>33300398 #>>33300998 #>>33301373 #
    6. juanse ◴[22 Oct 22 17:45 UTC] No.33300385[source]▶
    https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=pastYear&page=0&prefix=fal...

    If something is clear, is that Stripe support is not that great and that HN is the last resort for many people.

    replies(1): >>33300801 #
    7. xwowsersx ◴[22 Oct 22 17:46 UTC] No.33300398{3}[source]▶
    This wasn't mere whining and characterizing it as such is uncharitable at best.

    > What do you do in this scenario? I have tried contacting support at Stripe but seems to be of no help.

    OP is clearly asking for advice, not just idly whining. The fact that Stripe is a YC company (no, I'm not saying that this means HN becomes the de facto support channel for any YC company) and the fact that many developers in the HN crowd use Stripe means HN is as reasonable a place as any to ask for advice on how to proceed.

    (Let's also have a bit of empathy towards someone whose funds, which could quite possibly be the livelihood they depend on, is locked up by an unresponsive, faceless company.)

    8. fn-mote ◴[22 Oct 22 18:05 UTC] No.33300545[source]▶
    Another counterpoint - I greatly appreciates knowing just how bad things can be, sometimes for no reason. I am sure I am not the only one.

    There's a gamut of actual reasons things go wrong, which I also learn from these "support tickets" and the associated comments. So also thanks to everyone who helps clarifiy what kinds of risks make problems more likely.

    replies(1): >>33301904 #
    9. luckylion ◴[22 Oct 22 18:11 UTC] No.33300596[source]▶
    What makes you so sure that people are coming here as a last resort, and not just as the easiest and fastest way to get a higher up to look at their personal support ticket?
    10. kelnos ◴[22 Oct 22 18:15 UTC] No.33300633[source]▶
    If I had a catastrophic issue like this with Stripe, I would absolutely come to HN first, or at least simultaneously. A Stripe employee responded here less than an hour and half after the post was made: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33300024

    Granted, that's not a resolution, just a first contact, but in a case like this I'd want to explore every avenue, immediately.

    11. nanidin ◴[22 Oct 22 18:32 UTC] No.33300801[source]▶
    I have noticed that when people complain about Stripe on Reddit in places like /r/personalfinance, people direct them to HackerNews with instructions to escalate here.
    12. ◴[22 Oct 22 18:52 UTC] No.33300998{3}[source]▶
    13. toss1 ◴[22 Oct 22 19:33 UTC] No.33301373{3}[source]▶
    >>Hacker News is the wrong place to whine about it.

    If this were true, these posts would not gain sufficient upvotes to consistently make it to the front page.

    Clearly something is wrong at Stripe, it has potential to affect many HNers, and it is not merely whining but is seeking advice.

    In any case, it appears both from the front-page location and the very light gray font on your comment, that your view is strongly outnumbered this month.

    14. fedorareis ◴[22 Oct 22 20:28 UTC] No.33301904[source]▶
    > I greatly appreciates knowing just how bad things can be, sometimes for no reason.

    How do you know that the people posting about problems they had for “no reason” are being honest and not disingenuous? They could be leaving out key facts or straight up making up a story that they feel will gain enough traction for it to end up on the front page.

    A Stripe employee replied elsewhere that they have been looking into the poster’s case for the past 24 hours and it isn’t straight forward. So either Stripe is lying or the poster was getting support but they didn’t like the way things were going or maybe they felt they weren’t getting support because Stripe was taking a few days to respond because they were investigating the situation.

    We have no way of knowing the truth. Stripe and/or the poster could be lying or they could be telling the truth or the truth could be somewhere in between. And we will never know what the reality of the situation is.

    I’m really not trying to be provocative, I’m just trying to figure out why in situations like this HN seems to take the complaints at face value. At least that’s what I’ve seen. If people have examples of complaints like this not being taken at face value by HN I’d love to see them.

    15. dmitrygr ◴[22 Oct 22 21:59 UTC] No.33302597[source]▶
    Evidence to the contrary: this and all other stripe posts here on HN.