How to file a CFPB complaint about a frozen payment account

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) accepts complaints about money transfers, virtual currency, and money services — the category that covers payment processors and money transmitters. You file at consumerfinance.gov/complaint (or call 855-411-2372); the CFPB routes the complaint to the company, and companies typically respond within 15 days.

What makes a complaint effective

Regulator complaints work when they're factual and documented: the amount and date of the freeze, the written requests you already sent and the (non-)responses received, the evidence of legitimate business activity, and the specific relief you're asking for. That's why the HoldRescue sequence has you exhaust T1–T3 first — by the time you file, the complaint narrative writes itself from your case timeline.

Supporting routes

State attorneys general accept consumer complaints about financial companies (find yours via the NAAG directory at naag.org/find-my-ag). State financial regulators — like California's DFPI or New York's DFS — handle complaints about state-licensed money transmitters. The BBB complaint process is public-pressure, not enforcement, but companies do respond because complaint histories are published.

⚠ Intake categories and response windows change — verify the current process at consumerfinance.gov before filing. Not legal advice.